Confession

" Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are proved right when you speak
and justified when you judge.
Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Surely you desire truth in the inner parts;
you teach me wisdom
in the inmost place.
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me."
Psalm 51:1-10

One of the great stories of the Reformation has to do with confession. Martin Luther, then a monastic and scholar would attend formal times of confession with a priest. This process of confession for the absolution of his sins became increasingly frustrating to Luther though. He discovered that as soon as he left confession and was walking out, he would sin again and need to return to confession to confess that sin for his absolution. This process of confession, only to immediately sin again became a huge burden to Luther. He imagined what might happen to him if he were to die not having confessed all of his sins.

It was in the midst of this burden, and during a time of devout study of Scripture that Luther was led to a freeing truth by the Spirit of God - that we are justified of our sins once and for all by the grace of God through faith. Forgiving our sins is God's work of grace, and not our work. When we receive the gift of Christ's forgiveness in faith, all of our sins are forgiven - the ones we did, the ones we're doing, and the ones we haven't even done yet. To be justified is to be declared forever righteous in the eyes of God. In a very real sense, when God looks at our lives, He blessedly sees the righteousness of Christ and not our filthy rags.

In other words, the only confession of sin that we will ever need in order to justify us before God is the one time confession that comes through faith at our initial conversion. From that point on we live in the freedom of righteousness bought for us by Christ. The astute reader amongst you might ask the very good theological question - if by grace through faith we have already been declared righteous before God, why do we still need to confess our sins? I mean we do this every week as a part of our Sunday worship liturgy.

The simple answer is that our prayers of confession are really not for God, but for us. We do not confess our sins in order for God to forgive us, but because God has already forgiven us in Christ. It is an exercise in honesty and humility where we claim the promises of God for our own life. It is an admission to ourselves, others and God, that although we have already been declared righteous in Christ, we are still sinners - and these sins often prevent us from doing that which God would have us do. Our confession is also a constant reminder that we are in need of a savior - we ought not take our freedom in Christ for granted, rather our humble confession ought to lead us to a life of thanksgiving and service.

Psalm 51 is a wonderful prayer of confession from David after he (a servant after God's own heart) had an adulterous tryst with Bathsheba and made arrangements to have her husband killed. This prayer evidences for us the raw honesty and penitence of a sinner. Oh that we would have the same raw honesty in our own life before God.

May our sins not be a burden to us as they were to Luther. May we claim the promises of our baptism, and live in the joyful freedom of forgiveness in Christ. May our confession lead us to rely even more deeply on our savior and propel us forward into thanksgiving and service.

Be God's, Scott

I Know French

“The time is coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant
I made with their forefathers
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to them,”
declares the Lord.
“This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
No longer will a man teach his neighbor,
or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”
Jeremiah 31:31-34

Knowledge is an interesting word. In Canada growing up we all took French classes every year. One thing I learned about the word knowledge is that the French have two words for it: Savoir - means to have knowledge of a fact. Connaitre - means to have knowledge that is intimate relationally regarding a person or a place. Savoir is, I know what my wife's name is (Tanya, if you're interested ;) Connaitre is, I know my wife better than anybody else does.

I find these two distinct understandings of the word knowledge to be helpful when we consider our faith, and how it is that we may know God.

The passage above is a beautiful picture of the new covenant promises that God has made for us in light of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Prior to Christ, our knowledge of God was limited to that of a savoir knowledge. Knowledge of God came from the law. Humanity was able to know about God through the law, and consequently we were able to know the extent of our own sinfulness. In the law we could see God's holiness on the one hand, and our depravity on the other. Unfortunately, our knowledge could not go anywhere past that stage because our sin prevented any type of intimate knowledge. The law is our work to try to know about God.

The work of Christ graciously enabled humanity to have a connaitre knowledge of God. A knowledge which moves beyond mere facts and figures and into intimate relationship (as God has always intended for us). Christ's work on the cross of "forgiving our wickedness and remembering our sins no more," removed the barrier that we put up, and gave us the freedom to really know God. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people." You see, Jesus by forgiving our sins and fulfilling the law for us effectively re-united us with God in vibrant relationship. In Christ "we shall all know Him, from the least to the greatest." The work of Christ changed our relationship with God from an external one defined by our work, to an internal one defined by Christ's work. If the law was our work to try to know God, then grace is God's work for us that we might truly know Him.

I wonder though, despite this Amazing news, how many of us are content with a life of knowing lots of things about God - knowing all the Bible stories, right theology, the right things to do at church, how to morally act in society - yet not truly knowing and enjoying your blessed relationship with God.

Our life of faith is not about following a bunch of external rules and regulations - our work...our life of faith is all about grace - God's work, and enjoying our intimate connaitre of Him.

Be God's, Scott

Zero to Hero

"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
Ephesians 2:4-10

Any of you remember these ads...

Charles Atlas promised Comic Book readers of the 70's quick and amazing transformation from Zero to Hero simply by sending away for his book and 15 minutes of work a day. How could a skinny boy resist the opportunity to morph into a tough, punch throwin' muscleheaded man? - particularly if the swim trunks were included :) Though I have never tried Charles Atlas' program - which is quite obvious for those who have seen me - I question if this sort of "too good to be true" promise of instant "before and after" transformation is even possible.

Physically...no - but Spiritually...thanks be to God...YES!

OK, here's the amazing "after" to yesterday's "before." Yesterday the Scriptures left us with a pretty bleak picture of the human condition - dead in our trespasses and sins. The rest of the passage describes the "after" state of our transformation in Christ:

- instantly made alive in Spirit - regenerated from death to life

- immediately raised up with Christ, where we (right now!) sit with Him in the heavenly places - in other words, upon being made alive we have been elevated to eternal life right now and already glorified in Jesus

- marvellously shown the exceeding riches of His grace

- the stain of sin which had previously tarnished and rusted the workmanship of God in us, has been completely removed to the point where we can now do what we were always created to do...good works

I mean this work of Jesus on the cross on our behalf is nothing short of an amazing undeserved spiritual transformation.

And how does on receive this new life in Christ? Not by anything we could ever do in our spiritually dead state (like we'd boast about that), but solely by grace through faith. Ultimately, it was the richness of God's mercy and His great love for us that raised us from death to life.

Thanks be to God for not leaving us to rot and rust in our sinful dead state, but for quickening us to new abundant life out of the depths and richness of His love for us in Christ Jesus.

Be God's, Scott

I See Dead People...

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath."
Ephesians 2:1-3

A friend was sharing with me a story the other day about this big tree they had on their property. One day, out of the blue, this big old tree snapped at the trunk, tipped over and landed on two of their cars - I was even graced with a picture to see the damage. This big old tree had been a fixture on that piece of land long before my friend ever pulled up residence there. Why did this tree fall over you might ask? Despite the fact, from all outward appearances, that the tree was healthy, alive and vibrant - it was dead and rotting on the inside. After the tree snapped in two, you could see the death and rot that was previously unseen. Kind of makes you wonder about other big trees you see as you pass them by - is there death behind that bark that is beyond our vision?

Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, gives us a similarly sobering reality about the nature of humanity - though we are born, and live and breathe and move - we are in fact spiritually dead. Outward appearances indicate life, health and vitality: We love, we laugh, we play, we work, we cry, we dance. All of humanity move through this life with the appearance of strength and vitality, while all the time rotting away in death on the inside.

He tells us that the cause of this inner death of spirit is our transgressions and sins. This condition of spiritual death is one that all humans are born into through no choice of their own. Much as a Fetal Alcohol Syndrome child had no choice in being born with a debilitating addiction to alcohol (the choice was made for them by their parents) - we were all born with a debilitating addiction to sin (a choice made for us by our first parents Adam and Eve). As a result, our natural tendency is to sin and fulfill the lusts of our flesh, not obey God in our spirits. In fact, if we are spiritually dead, we are totally unable to live in good relationship with God as we were initially created to be. The human condition is tragic in that we all have the outward appearance of life and vitality, but in reality we are dead people walking.

In our dead condition, we can do nothing to resuscitate ourselves any more than a corpse could choose to pop out of a coffin on its own.

Thanks be to God, in Christ Jesus, that He has made us alive! He has conquered sin and death. His resurrection has enabled our resurrection.

As one made alive in Christ, as I walk the streets - I see dead people - people who are spiritually dead and unaware of it and I am filled with compassion. I keep my eyes on the trees and wonder, not in judgment, but in love and hope.

Oh LORD, may you continue to bring life to those we know and love through your Son Jesus, and Father, may you even use a recovering sinner like myself to help bring others this life. AMEN

Be God's, Scott

My Own Personal Jesus

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son."
John 3:16-18

Ah...John 3:16, those sweet familiar words from the Book that we love. For most people they are the first (and only) words memorized from the Bible. Though, I suppose if you are going to memorize any Scripture, might as well be these words of life.

I wonder with you today, if our familiarity with these words, in conjunction with our self-centered culture, has lead us into an under appreciation of what Jesus is really saying here. Let me see if I can explain.

I can remember a time when I was a youngster, having a well intentioned adult discuss John 3:16 with me and instruct me to personalize the verse by putting my name in place of "the world." So, something like this...

"For God so loved Scott that He gave His one and only Son, that if Scott believes in Him he shall not perish but have everlasting life."

Now, I understand why I was instructed this. The adult wanted to teach me of God's amazing love for me. The fact that even if I was the only one who needed saving unto everlasting life, Jesus still would have come and died. This is a knee-knocking thing to think upon. And truthfully, this is exactly what our self-centered culture longs to hear - faith is about you and your belief in Jesus in the vacuum of an isolated personal relationship. The spotlight is on you and Jesus without much consideration of community or the world we live in.

I see the negative effects a personal relationship with Jesus gone awry can have: Christians more concerned with personal growth than service and love. Christians more concerned with being blessed than being a blessing. Christians more concerned with fulfillment than suffering. Christians more concerned with a need for self-help than using their self to help others.

The reality is, that we need to make all of these concerns a priority.

The reality of things is that Jesus did not say "insert your name." Jesus said that He came out of His love for the whole world and to provide for its everlasting life. The Greek word for world here is cosmos, and it encapsulates all of God's creation that suffered the curse of sin - the earth, the stars, the animals, the plants, and the humans. God's plan in salvation is bigger than saving those humans who come to Him by grace through faith in Christ - it is nothing less than the redemption of the cosmos - a plan that He graciously invites His redeemed children to participate in.

Life in Christ is much more than having your own personal Jesus - it is enjoying the love of God, including everlasting life right now in community with His beloved creation and the saints. And it is sacrificially loving the world as He has, alongside Him in partnership.

Be God's, Scott

Good

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say this—
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
those he gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south."
Psalm 107:1-3

Let me tease you with a scary thought today...what if God was not good, and what if God was not loving? Go ahead, try to imagine that scenario, an exercise that I found very difficult to do. But think about it:

If God is almighty and all-powerful - in other words, there is nothing that He cannot do any time He wants to do it. He can create and eliminate. When He speaks, things happen.

If God is omniscient and omnipresent - in other words God knows everything and He is present in every place, in every time all at once. Nothing is beyond Him or hidden from Him.

Imagine if this improbably big and incomprehensible God was without the defining characteristics of goodness and mercy. I mean, if God were bad or evil in addition to all that awesome power and authority He would be incredibly dangerous, and we would find ourselves at the mercy of a tyrannical despot. If God were not good, it would be incredibly bad for us. However, God is good and loving at the core of His being (in addition to all that other stuff). Though I do wonder how often we take it for granted that He is good and loving without really appreciating that fact.

The Psalmist does not take God's goodness for granted. In his song of praise to God he reminds all of us who have been redeemed by the mercy of God to give thanks to Him. We simply ought to give thanks to God because of His goodness. This thanksgiving ought to flow into our everyday lives in which all we do is a testimony of gratitude to God's goodness.

When we choose to pray, we do so with thanksgiving that God is good and will stoop to listen to our prayers.
When we choose to serve, we do so with thanksgiving that God is good and that He chose to come to us as a servant.
When we choose to obey, we do so with thanksgiving that God is good and that His commands are the best way for us to live.
When we choose to love, we do so with thanksgiving that God is good and that He first loved us.

To confess in a God that is good is to live a life of extreme gratitude.

May you know and experience the totality of God's goodness today.

Be God's, Scott

quick note...

I will be attending a Pastor's retreat thingy at Camp Fowler on Monday and Tuesday. I am not sure if they have internet access there or not. Depending on the wired up capacity of that place there may or may not be a Meditation post until Wednesday morning.

Enjoy your worship amongst the saints tomorrow!

Be God's, Scott