His Plans

I was thinking about the Scripture verse on a sign I received recently as a gift:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” - Jeremiah 29:11

Sometimes I wonder what God's plan is. Sometimes it seems like maybe his plan is not as good from my perspective as it is from His. Like maybe something that is a good thing in the grand scheme of His plan might just feel exactly like a disaster to me. Sometimes I think that maybe His plans are working out a bit more slowly than I want them to, you know? Ever feel that way?

So I looked up the chapter in my Logos software to remind myself of the circumstances surrounding this prophecy. I've read through Jeremiah before, but it's been a while, so I wanted to get a refresher. What I found surprised me a lot!

I had forgotten that Jeremiah was a prophet during the time that God's people were in exile from their homeland - they had been invaded, captured, and been deported to a foreign land. It was the ultimate disaster for them! Yet Jeremiah had a message of hope for them: God's plans for you are for good, not disaster.

Of course, Jeremiah had an additional message for them: settle in, boys, because you're going to be here for a while.

WHAT?

Jeremiah's message of hope was that God was going to redeem his people... later?

It certainly was. Let's read more of that chapter:

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare....For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. - Jeremiah 29:4–7, 10-11 (ESV)

God's plan was for them to be in a seventy-year time out, and then He would miraculously rescue them. And we find out in the book of Daniel that that's exactly what happened! God rescued them exactly when He promised!

Do you think the people wanted to live in exile for seventy years? Of course they didn't. But God's wisdom, His plan, was that things would happen at a certain time, and that was the right time.

Years ago I asked a man I knew had a lot of wisdom about the Word about a Scripture from Galatians:

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.- Galatians 6:9 (ESV)

There was something I was waiting on, and I wanted to know what "in due season" meant. He told me it was like the "due date" for a baby. You can know roughly what the right date is, and you can hope for a certain date, but in the end, the baby is going to be born at a time over which you have limited control. The baby is "due" at the right time. You may want him or her to be born three months after conception, so you can see his or her sweet little face, but that's not the right time. The right time is the "due" time.

Sometimes your and my idea of the right time for God to answer our prayers doesn't match up with His idea of the right time. In general, you shouldn't try to modify the due time for a baby, and in general, it's probably not a good idea to try to influence God's "due season" for your answer to prayer. It might take longer than you want it to, but when the right time comes, God's going to make sure it happens!

Crucified!

One of my favorite Easter songs of all time! It's based in part on Galatians 2:20-21:

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

Lyrics are below, since the "Cookie Monster" Jamaican rap parts are a little tricky to make out. Enjoy! (Oh... and it's okay to DANCE!)



Crucified
by Christafari
as recorded on their album Soul Fire
 
He died for me so I could live for Him.
He gave His life for me so I could give mine to Him.
He died for me so I could live for Him.
He became like me so I could become like Him!

And so me cry: and so Lord Jesus He died, the same way I have been crucified. Take up your cross and follow Him as He said to His children "Live in no more sin."

Everyone say! And so Lord Jesus He died, the same way I have been crucified. Take up your cross and follow Him as He said to His children "Live in no more sin."

It's by faith through which you've been saved, and according to the mercy the Father did give. Just like the faith of one mustard seed, the smallest in size, but becomes the biggest weed.

It's by faith through His grace that put me in this place of righteousness that you cannot erase. So I've been justified, and-a sanctified, I am glorified with the Spirit inside. So do not bother filling up yourself with pride; as a humble lion you must be crucified.


He died for me so I could live for Him.
He gave His life for me so I could give mine to Him.
He died for me so I could live for Him.
He became like me so I could become like Him!

He was born so He could die, died so we might live.
We lift His name on high, pure love that we give.

Watch-a!

And so Lord Jesus He died, the same way I have been crucified. Take up your cross and follow Him as He said to His children "Live in no more sin."
Everyone say! And so Lord Jesus He died, the same way I have been crucified. Take up your cross and follow Him as He said to His children "Live in no more sin."

Watch this!

I've been crucified with Christ for eternity, it's I that no longer live but Christ that lives in me. The life that I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of Yahweh. He who loves-a me and He gave Himself for me, I do not set aside the grace of God, can't you see? For if through the law righteousness could be, then Jesus Christ, He died for nothing.


He died for me so I could live for Him.
He gave His life for me so I could give mine to Him.
He died for me so I could live for Him.
He became like me so I could become like Him!

And so Lord Jesus He died, the same way I have been crucified. Take up your cross and follow Him as He said to His children "Live in no more sin."

So don't big up your music, don't big up your fame. You must come refuse it, don't big up your name. Don't big up your status don't big up your wealth, me cry don't big up anything just die to yourself.

You must first count up the cost, then you take up the cross... and follow Him.

Hallelujah! Amen. Amen. Amen, amen, amen.

I have redemption and propitiation, election and pure substitution, adoption and reconciliation, confession and regeneration, expiation, and joy, enough conviction, and strength over temptation, me have discipleship and fellowship, security for surety in this life (relationship) with God.

Amen!

NLT Bible Contest

I'm a big contest-enterer. I enter some contest on the Internet almost every day on the Internet, especially the kind where you can enter every day (like this "Win an iPad" contest). I faithfully keep track of a couple of places that have ongoing contests, like this CBD page, and enter the ones with prized I think I'll like. I've even won a contest or two, like this time when I won the beautiful NASB Bible that I still take to church every week. I even have a contest of my own running right now! I don't often enter contests that require something out of me other than a tweet on Twitter or just typing in my address, but my mom mentioned a Tyndale NLT contest to me and I decided to enter. You do have to write something in order to enter, but by this time I figure I know my way around a computer keyboard. The grand prize winner gets a trip to Oahu! hey, that's worth writing a few words! (Daily winners also get copies of the New Living Translation Life Application Study Bible).

To enter the contest, you choose one of six passages from the NLT Bible and write a "what this passage means to me" about it. You can see some examples of recent entries here, and read testimonies from a recent similar contest here. Here's the passage I chose:

Galatians 3:26-29
For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.

And here's what I wrote:

The verses from Galatians 3:26-29 in the NLT tell me what it takes to be a part of God's family. I've heard it said so many times that the members of the human race are all brothers and sisters, God's children, but according to this verse, that is wrong! We are God's children only if we have faith in Christ Jesus. But when we have that faith, we become members of a family where racism and sexism are completely foreign concepts. And becoming a member of that family is as easy as changing your shirt! Wonderful!

I don't think this verse means that Christians are some elite group, better than everyone else; just that we've made the right decision. If God has made it as easy as changing clothes, then I have no reason to think I'm better than anyone else... anyone can change their clothes. Members of God's family are special not because we are inherently better than anyone else, but because God has made us into something special. We've just given him permission to do so!

You are allowed to enter multiple times... maybe I'll even enter again sometime. Try your hand. Worst case, even if you don't win, you spent some time thinking about God's Word. And that's a prize in itself!

Something Remarkable

Yesterday I was listening to Galatians Chapter 2 on my MP3 player and I got to verses 15-16:

We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

Can you imagine what it must have been like to have been an all-star in your religion from childhood, knowing all the ins and outs of how it worked and becoming a leader who was so zealous that he would even physically exterminate those of conflicting belief, and then to have an experience that was so powerful that you would completely make a 180° turn and become a member of the religion that you had killed the members of before? To actually preach that the things you used to think would bring you close to God were in actuality not capable of doing that? Paul had clearly experienced something very powerful. He had no reason to leave Judaism, where he was already superstar clergy, and join what (from the perspective of Jewish leadership) amounted to a cult... and not a "safe" little cult, but one that was being actively persecuted by both religious and political authority. It would be like the Pope becoming a Mormon or Billy Graham embracing Islam (although neither of those groups is currently experiencing anything like the persecution the early Church was experiencing). Paul was a thoroughly-educated man, an intelligent man, a highly devout man... and he believed in Jesus. If he was ready to risk his life for Christ, what about you and me? How ready are we?

Here "he" comes

Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, right down Santa Claus lane
He doesn't care if you're rich or poor; he loves you just the same
Santa knows that we're God's children, that makes everything right
So fill your hearts with Christmas cheer, 'cause Santa Claus comes tonight!

I don't know why I'm being such a Grinch this year, but I just head this song on the radio (thank you, Elvis!) and remembered how much this pseudo-religious mumbo-jumbo verse has always bugged me. It's almost like Santa is being cast as Jesus in a mushy local theater production of A Christmas Carol.

I see nothing in the Word of God that says that everyone in the world is a child of God. I've actually heard Christian leaders who should know better (Michael Tait of DC Talk comes to mind) saying baloney like this. I see in the Word that those who receive Jesus and believe in His name (John 1:12) through faith (Galatians 3:23-26) are sons of God. I see that those who are led by the Spirit of God are His sons (Romans 8:14). I see that peacemakers are sons of God (Matthew 5:9). But until everyone meets these criteria, not everyone is a son of God.

And even assuming that we were all God's children... how does that "make everything right"? Is everything right in the world? In a dream world, maybe. In this world, I don't think so.

The only person that truly loves each and every one of us exactly the same (infinitely) is not Santa Claus. Santa may love us a lot, but the only one who can love us completely is Jesus Christ! ;)

The Son In Paul

The ESV translation of Galatians 1:15-16 reads:

But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone... [emphasis mine]

There is a footnote on the word "to" that the Greek actually says "in" me. Since I am still reading from The Evengelical Parallel New Testament, I was able to easily check a whole bunch of translations... and the NKJV, NIV, TNIV, and HCSV all say "in." Of all of the translations in the book (NLT and The Message are not what I consider reliable to look at as "translations") only the ESV and the NCV (which is supposed to be one of the more "dynamic" translations) said "to." I can only assume that the idea is that we don't want anyone to think that Christ was in Paul even before he was a believer and was only "revealed" in him later. Seems like the translators of the other versions didn't have too much trouble with that, though. I'd say if the Greek says "in" I'd like to read "in" and settle out any Theological difficulties myself. (Although I understand that articles in Greek are pretty vague, so maybe "to" is just as valid as "in" and the other translations were simply following the traditional rendering; I'm not a Greek scholar so I don't know for positive!)