The Name of God

I spent some time in Ezekiel 36 today and I was hit with some things. First, read these verses:

16 Then this further message came to me from the LORD: 17 “Son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own land, they defiled it by the evil way they lived. To me their conduct was as unclean as a woman’s menstrual cloth. 18 They polluted the land with murder and the worship of idols,* so I poured out my fury on them. 19 I scattered them to many lands to punish them for the evil way they had lived. 20 But when they were scattered among the nations, they brought shame on my holy name. For the nations said, ‘These are the people of the LORD, but he couldn’t keep them safe in his own land!’ 21 Then I was concerned for my holy name, on which my people brought shame among the nations. - Ezekiel 36:16-21 (NLT)

The people of Israel had totally rejected God. They had defiled the land God had given them because of their actions: murder, worship of idols, sexual immorality, and more! God HAD to judge this sin…his fury was poured out upon them. They were scattered across many nations after being conquered. Families were torn apart…many lost loved ones. Why? Israel had brought shame on the holy name of God. How? The nations knew that Israel had been called by the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It was made plainly clear as God blessed Israel and had given them the promised land. God had fulfilled his promises to Israel; Israel did not. God was showing how great his name was…sin had to be punished. We can sit here and wonder why God did this. We can wonder why Israel was this STUPID to do the things they did. We can ask why God came down so hard on Israel. In fact, that’s probably the questions that come to most of us right off the bat. HOWEVER, let’s pause. Are we really any different than Israel? As followers of Christ, don’t we find ourselves right where Israel found themselves? We have idols in our lives, we are selfish, maybe even sometimes we think life would be better if someone was out of our lives…ever had that thought? Then…because of this sin…we find ourselves in the same positions, don’t’ we? Families are torn apart, loved ones are lost (physically and spiritually)…we face the consequence of our sin. Why? Could it be that we bring shame to the name of God at times? God MUST judge sin…but he waits…waits…waits. He waits for us to turn back to him. He gives us opportunities to follow him again…and again…and again. Just as he did with Israel, he does with us…time and again.

God continues in Ezekiel: 22 “Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign LORD: I am bringing you back, but not because you deserve it. I am doing it to protect my holy name, on which you brought shame while you were scattered among the nations. 23 I will show how holy my great name is—the name on which you brought shame among the nations. And when I reveal my holiness through you before their very eyes, says the Sovereign LORD, then the nations will know that I am the LORD. 24 For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land. 25 “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.* 27 And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations. - Ezekiel 36:22-27 (NLT) 

God comes and protects his holy name…and reveals more of what he is like. He reveals his holiness through the VERY PEOPLE that had shamed his name. He will REDEEM them! He will dwell WITHIN them to help them obey the commands that he had given! God is telling Israel what he would do…through CHRIST!

If you know Christ, you have been washed clean! The stain of sin is G-O-N-E! God is in the process of removing your heart of stone and replacing it with a heart of flesh. God’s Spirit dwells WITHIN you. You are not alone! God’s Word declares this to be true…but we don’t live like it, do we? We flounder, we fail, we falter…because we are still relying on our OWN STRENGTH.

My prayer for you today (and myself as well) is that we would allow God’s continued work on our hearts. That we would see what God has done and LIVE IN THAT. May we not take the cross for granted. May we accept the grace that God has given us.

Oh great God! Take out my heart of stone…and replace it with a heart of flesh! Give me YOUR heart, God. Instead of shame today, allow me to have the great honor of bringing GLORY to your name! Allow my life to be full of your praise! Help me believe today, God. I trust you today…and give you praise…even in the middle of my struggle. Make me about YOU!

Day 40 - The Next Step

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?* Is anything worth more than your soul? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds. - Matthew 16:24-27 (NLT)

 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. - Ephesians 3:16-21 (NLT)

Wow…God…I’ve NEVER, in my ENTIRE life…spent 40 days straight with you and your Word. I’ve done many things to think about you and consider what you want for my life, but not 40 straight days in your Word and spending daily, concentrated time with you. I don’t want to let another day go by without spending concentrated time in your Word with you. You are my King. You are my Lord. You are my Savior…God, crucify my desires and all that is Josh until all others can see is your Son. I don’t want to be the me that I think is best…I wanna be the me you’ve created. The me YOU see…give me that abundant life you’ve promised me! The thief is trying to steal my joy, kill my testimony and destroy my life! Keep my eyes upon you every step of the way. Thank you for your love. Thank you for what you teach me every day. Thank you for…YOU. Give me more of you, God…give me the strength to run the marathon of the Christ-follower. I cannot do it in my own strength…Be my provision…be my portion…be my passion!!!

Today, I raise my white flag...

Black Friday 2011

WOW…

That’s about all I can say about Black Friday this year. Stores are now opening at 9 PM on THURSDAY for the convenience of their shoppers. Let’s see…Toys R’ Us opened at 9, Walmart opened at 10, and Best Buy & Kohl’s opened at midnight. It’s a RACE!

I went to Best Buy tonight at midnight. For those of you that know me, you know that I’m a tech geek and love Best Buy (Apple, too). I went to the store with nothing specific in mind, knowing that there are unpublished specials that are in-store. Thought I might pick up a season of a TV series we like, find a good deal on headphones, etc.

What I found was ASTONISHING! There were probably 1,000 people in line…NO JOKE. The line went from the front door to the side of the building, down the side of the building to the back, THEN all the way across the back of the store, AROUND the other side of the building!!! WOAH!

All this for a CHANCE at a $200 HDTV? A $300 laptop?

I don’t know…I love my electronics…you love the things you love and are willing to brave the crazy people during Black Friday. But the first thing that God brought to my mind was Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:19-21:

Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being. (Peterson, E. H. (2002). The Message : The Bible in contemporary language (Mt 6:19–21). Colorado Springs, Colo.: NavPress.)

It’s convicting to me. I was thinking about the fact that we are willing to stand in lines for HOURS (I heard that people were lining up in tents at our Best Buy at 3 PM and earlier today) for stuff…more stuff…meaningless stuff. Believe me, I’ve stood in my share of lines too, so this is convicting to me as well.

What if we re-directed those energies…those funds…our time...our families…toward our Savior? To where our treasure should be…dream with me:

- Maybe hunger could be a thing of the past

- Maybe that neighbor that needs Jesus would MEET Jesus

- Maybe that family member that is struggling would be changed by God’s amazing grace

- Maybe abortions would decrease and be eliminated

- Maybe the homeless population would be greatly lessened

- Maybe medicine would reach AIDS-stricken Africa (along with the AIDS education they so desperately need)

- Maybe child slavery/prostitution would be abolished

- Maybe we’d develop a love and hunger for God’s Word that couldn’t be quenched

- Maybe we’d see marriages healed

- Maybe we’d see children drawn back to their parents

- Maybe we’d see parents leading their children in Christ

- Maybe we’d see our churches fulfill their calling

- Maybe we’d be men and women after God’s own heart

Maybe…

That’s a big word, MAYBE. It’s unsure. It’s scary. Possibly that’s the reason we don’t dedicate our whole selves to God…the word, MAYBE. We’re not sure if He will come through. So…we divide our hearts, our treasures, our time with one foot in the world and one foot with God. We become the church of Laodocea.

Is Jesus worth our treasure? Is he worth our time? Where is my heart today? Here, or in Christ? Big questions. I hope you’ll take the time to consider them today…as I have.

MAYBE…we’ll look more like Jesus as a result.

NOW GO GET SOME SLEEP AFTER ALL THAT SHOPPING! ;)

A Psalm...

I'm a little fearful in sharing this...but I'm feeling led to share. May God meet you as he met me today...may this encourage you:



I want to follow you, God. I want to be used up for Christ. God…help me in my unbelief. There are many times I’m scared…just like many of the students you have given me to minister to. I’m scared about what I will have to give up. I’m scared of what I may lose. I’m scared of not being good enough to serve you at all…let alone mighty ways. I’m scared you won’t show up. I’m scared I’m too useless. I’m scared that I’m too sinful. I’m scared…..

But you have not given me a spirit of fear or timidity…but of POWER…of a SOUND MIND! God, I claim that today. I claim that greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world! You are my GOD…and I will serve. You are my FRIEND…and I will share my heart with you. You are my COUNSELOR…and I will listen to you. You are my SHEPHERD…and I will follow you. You are the LOVER OF MY SOUL…and I am astonished. You are my KING…and I bow before you. You are a CONSUMING FIRE in my life…and I am fearful. You are my COMFORTER…and I am no longer fearful. You are a FATHER to this fatherless one…and I am your son. You are JEHOVAH JIREH…and I can trust you. You are JEHOVAH ROPHE…and I am healed. You are JEHOVAH-TSIDKENOU…and I am white as snow. You are JEHOVAH-SHAMAH…and I am never alone. You are JEHOVAH-MIKKADESH…and you make me like Christ. You are JEHOVAH…and you show me how to be a father. You are JEHOVAH-NISSI…and I am more than a conqueror. You are JEHOVAH-SHALOM…and I can rest in you. You are ADONAI…and you are worth it all…you are worth MY all...


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Vernon Pl NE,Atlanta,United States

Back to Square One

Well, today I desire to start my weight loss journey yet again. I’ve got to admit that I’m pretty frustrated at myself. I did really well two years ago and lost 50 lbs...only to gain most of it back in the last two years. I’ve got plenty of excuses, but nothing that justifies that. I do think I’ve found a reason, however.

Any time we lose self-control in our lives, it is an indicator of an entirely deeper problem...something is broken inside that individual. There is something broken in me. I have begun to see that I am a truly broken man. I am strong in many areas, but I am also weak in others. I have set my reliance upon myself. I feel as though “I deserve” things, so I deserve to eat how I want. I find my “solace” in food. When things aren’t going well, I’m an emotional eater. This has caused my “relapse”, if you will, over the last two years. Life has been hectic. These last two years have been the hardest I’ve had in ministry. There’s been victory, there’s been pain...some deeper than anyone knows.

I can no longer rely on anyone else but God. This does not mean that I will not place my trust in people, but my reliance must be upon the God of the universe that has called me His child. I am his and his alone. If I go to the heavens, he is there. If I descend into the pit of hell, he is there. He is my refuge, my strength and my portion. I cannot please people, but I CAN please my God. I AM pleasing to my God, right where I am! That is something that we all miss. We don’t have to DO ANYTHING to be loved and accepted by our God! HE PLACES VALUE ON ME BECAUSE HE CREATED ME AND LOVES ME! As I learn to live into this, then my life will change. Little things are changing in my life once again.

I do not desire to be on a diet because I am unhappy with who I am, what I look like and what I think others think of me (even though that is a daily struggle for me). I want to get healthy because my God has called me to have self-control and the life that I am living physically is NOT what he has for me. It is NOT the abundant life that God has called me to. I want to be the daddy that my daughters can look to as an example of what Christ is and how Christ feels about them...this means I need to allow God’s Holy Spirit to continue to mold me and shape me into the man he desires me to be. This means I want to allow the Spirit to teach me to bear his fruit! (Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control) I need to be the best Josh Yates that I can be through Christ!

I am not there yet...I will never be “there” this side of eternity...BUT...

“I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” Tyndale House Publishers. (2007). Holy Bible : New Living Translation. (3rd ed.) (Php 3:12–14). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

Will you pray that God will work his will in and through me? This is not a journey that I can travel alone. I do not travel this alone, but I need your prayers...and your encouragement.

Love Wins...Most DEFINITELY!!!

Well, after what seems like an aion (ok...I had to put that pun in there, if you don’t know to what I am referring, read the book)...I’m finally getting to write a review of Rob Bell’s “Love Wins.” Ministry happens and is much more important than a few musings about a book. However, I wanted to write down some of my thoughts, so here we go.

(Please note that the book I read was the iBooks form of the book, so quotations from pages within the book may not be on the same page if you are reading the printed version.)

For the sake of brevity, I will largely condense my comments. If you’d like to have a more in-depth conversation, please comment on the blog or on the Facebook post where you clicked the link.

First of all, I am extremely disappointed in how so many Christians have personally attacked Rob Bell. I can’t believe the vitriol that has been spewed by those in the Body of Christ, ESPECIALLY those that have not even read the book! I do believe that when heresy is exposed, it must be decried as such, but whether or not the book that Bell produced is heresy or not, we lose the ability to be heard and reprove when we react in the way that many have. Rebuke assumes relationship, of which I do not have with Rob. I seek to simply respond to some of the points made in his book. Remaining true to the Word of God is ultimately at the forefront of all the responses, but we must also show the love of Christ. Rob is still my brother in Christ...even if we STRONGLY disagree!

I think the main point that Mr. Bell is attempting to get across is the fact that the Body of Christ is NOT fulfilling the call of Christ. We live our lives for ourselves as if we are living for a future kingdom...a kingdom that we cannot or will not see this side of heaven. I have to agree with this point. “Heaven, for Jesus, was deeply connected with what he called ‘this age’ and ‘the age to come.’” (p. 46) The prophets in the Old Testament continually spoke within the context of the “now and not yet.” Prophecy was understood to have a “right now” fulfillment and a “yet to come” fulfillment much of the time. Ultimately, God desires to change people’s lives today...he is all about HIS GLORY because he knows that is what’s best for us! We cannot simply explain away the problems of this world because it will “all be destroyed one day.” We are on this earth to continue to bring the Kingdom of God onto this earth by being Christ’s ambassadors! Yes, the Kingdom of God is coming, but it is also already HERE! The Spirit of God dwells within his people...live your salvation DAILY!

I appreciate Mr. Bell’s comments about the fact that we all desire that injustice be punished and even though most people say that they can’t believe in a God of judgement...the reality is, THEY CAN! “We crave judgement, we long for it, we thirst for it. Bring it, unleash it, as the prophet Amos says, ‘Let justice roll on like a river’ (chap 5).” (p. 56) Also, as is pointed out in the book, while the prophets speak of judgement, there is always a reminder that God would not judge forever. There is a lot of talk about God’s mercy and grace as well! The book of Isaiah is a GREAT example of this!

However, “Love Wins” is based on an extremely slippery slope. “This (the doctrine that only a few will spend forever in heaven) is misguided and toxic and ultimately subverts the contagious spread of Jesus’ message of love, peace, forgiveness, and joy that our world so desperately needs to hear.” (p. 7) What is the goal of God in the world? Why does God desire that “none perish, but all come to repentance?” (2 Peter 3:9) For HIS GLORY! He is the ultimate good, the ultimate love, the ultimate judge!

Much of what Mr. Bell speaks of hinges on what he believes the word aion to mean in translation (p 28). He desires to translate the word (which is translated into English as “eternity”) to mean something more of a period of time with a beginning and an end, rather than a time that has no end. However, in Matthew 25:46 the same word is used for BOTH eternal judgement AND eternal life! “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.” Matt 25:26, NLT. This is referring to those that did and did not reach out to others while on the face of the earth...they did that to Christ. You can’t translate it both ways! Either both are eternal...like...eternal, or both are temporary. To say that “eternity” wasn’t understood as eternity to the original readers of the Scripture is a LARGE stretch. “To be sure, the adjective aion may on a few occasions have reference to an age, that is, a very long period of time, rather than to eternity. Usually, however, in the absence of a contrary indication in the context, the most common meaning of the word is the one in view (eternity).” (Erickson, 1238)

Mr. Bell brings humanism into the picture and wraps it in the cross. It’s as if God is sitting in the background and hopping up and down like a school boy screaming “Pick me! Pick me!” Eternal punishment is referred to throughout the Scripture (Matt 18:8; 25:41, 46; Jude 6-7; 2 Thess 1:8-10; Rev 14:11; 20:10) and cannot be seen otherwise. God has offered us grace and mercy through the cross, which Bell readily believes and espouses. However, it seems as though he places man in the center of the equation and as long as we eventually choose Christ, whether on this side of death or the other, we can be saved and enter into heaven’s glory. This is NOT something that is supported by the Scripture as seen in the above-referenced verses. Hell is a literal place that people choose to be in...and go to. It can be both on this earth and will be in eternity. To simply explain that when Jesus refers to ghenna (hell) as a garbage dump is to forget that Jesus was the master teacher! He was masterful at word-pictures and illustration! What an illustration!

As I stated earlier, I could go on...but will conclude here. Can there be heaven on earth? Through Christ, we can have a PICTURE of what heaven will be like, but nothing here can EVER compare to what God has in store for his people. Can there be hell on earth? Yes, through poor choices and the sin of mankind, we can live in a type of hell on earth. However, nothing can compare to what an eternity without the presence of God will be like! Is there a literal hell? The Scripture speaks of that implicitly. Do people get a second chance to accept Christ? YES!!! Second, third, fourth, 100 chances...this side of death. The grace of God is HUGE! It overcomes any and all sin! The cross of Christ redeems the most evil of men when they choose him. However, “ And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.” Heb 9:27-28, (NLT) Scripture simply does not support a second chance after the finality of death.

“The argument that eternal punishment is unfair (because there is a disproportion between temporary sin and eternal punishment) wrongly assumes that we know the extent of the evil done when sinners rebel against God” (Grudem, 1151). This argument (which Bell seems to support) again places man’s intellect and sense of morality at the forefront, not God’s. “Man was designed to live eternally with God; (it may well be that) if man perverts this his destiny, he will experience eternally the consequences of that act” (Erickson, 1240). This fact should move our hearts to sorrow AND action! “It is hard - and should be hard - for us to think of this doctrine (eternal punishment) today. If our hearts are never moved with deep sorrow when we contemplate this doctrine, then there is a serious deficiency in our spiritual and emotional sensibilities” (Grudem, 1151-2).

Ultimately, Rob Bell says a lot about what he believes, by really saying nothing. He gets close to saying where he stands, and stops short. He enjoys tension and asks many questions without answering them himself (even though the Scripture speaks to his questions). He loves to read between the lines, but reading between the lines within our cultural context is not a sound hermeneutic.

Finally, remember that it is not God that sends us to hell. God has offered salvation to anyone that will accept him (John 3:16). “God created man to have fellowship with him and provided the means by which man can have that fellowship. It is man’s choice to experience the agony of hell. His sin sends him there, and his rejection of the benefits of Christ’s death prevents his escaping” (Erickson, 1240). C.S. Lewis puts it well, “Sin is man’s saying to God throughout life, ‘Go away and leave me alone.’ Hell is God’s finally saying to man, ‘You may have your wish.’ It is God’s leaving man to himself, as man has chosen” (Lewis, 127-28). (We’ll leave the doctrine of predestination and the sovereignty of God for another time!)

So...does love win? YES, in both grace and judgement, for GOD IS LOVE...and he is holy.

Bibliography

Bell, Rob. Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. New York, NY: HarperCollins e-books, 2011. iBooks e-book.

Erickson, Millard J. Christian Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1985.

Grudem, Wayne. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press & Zondervan, 1994.

Lewis, C.S. The Problem of Pain. New York, NY: Macmillan, 1962.

VIVID Week 5 E-Votion 1 & 2 + Memory Verse

Here are this week's VIVID e-votions and memory verse. Memorize = SPIN THAT WHEEL!