Tag: Jesus (Page 7 of 22)

Advocate
Almighty
Almighty God
Alpha and Omega
Amen, The
Ancient of Days
Anointed
Anointed One
Author
Author of Eternal Salvation
Beginning
Beginning and the Ending
Begotten
Beloved
Beloved Son
Beloved Son of God
Blessed of God
Bread of Life
Bridegroom
Bright and Morning Star
Captain of Man’s Salvation
Captain of Our Salvation
Carpenter
Carpenter’s Son
Chief Cornerstone
Chosen
Chosen of God
Christ
Christ Child
Christ of God
Christ the Lamb
Comforter
Consolation of Israel
Cornerstone
Counsellor
Creator
Creator of All Things
Deliverer
Divine Son
Door of the Sheep
Emmanuel
End of the Law
Endless
Eternal
Eternal Father
Eternal God
Eternal Head
Eternal Judge
Eternal Judge of Quick and Dead
Everlasting Father
Example
Exemplar
Faithful and True
Father
Father of Heaven and Earth
Finisher
Finisher of faith
First and the Last
Firstborn
Firstfruits
Forerunner
God
God of Abraham
God of Isaac
God of Israel
God of Jacob
God of Thy Father
God of Whole Earth
God’s Anointed
God’s Holy Child Jesus
Good Shepherd
Governor
Great I AM
Great God
Great Shepherd
Head of Every Man
Head of the Body
Head of the Church
Healer
Heir of All Things
Holy
Holy Child
Holy Messiah
Holy One
Holy One of Israel
Holy One of Jacob
I AM
Image of God
Immanuel
Jehovah
Jesus
Jesus Christ
Jesus of Galilee
Jesus of Nazareth
Joseph’s Son
Judge
Judge of Quick and Dead
Just One
Just, The
King
King of Israel
King of Kings
King of Zion/Sion
King of the Jews
Lamb
Lamb of God
Life, the
Light of the World
Light, the
Lion of the Tribe of Juda
Living Bread
Living Stone
Living Water
Lord
Lord from Heaven
Lord God
Lord God Almighty
Lord God of Hosts
Lord Jehovah
Lord Jesus
Lord of All
Lord of Dead
Lord of Glory
Lord of Hosts
Lord of Living
Lord of Lords
Lord of the Sabbath
Lord Omnipotent
Lord our Righteousness
Lord’s Christ
Maker
Man of Counsel
Man of Holiness
Master
Mediator
Meek and Lowly
Messenger of the Covenant
Messiah
Messias
Mighty God
Mighty One
Mighty One of Israel
Mighty One of Jacob
Minister
Most High God
Nazarene
Offspring of David
One Body
Only Begotten
Only Begotten of the Father
Only Begotten Son
Our Passover
Physician
Power of God
Prince
Prince of Life
Prince of Peace
Prophet
Prophet of Nazareth
Propitiation for Sins of Whole World
Rabbi
Redeemer
Redeemer of Israel
Redeemer of the World
Resurrection and the Life
Revealer
Righteous Judge
Righteous Man
Rock, the
Rock of Heaven
Root of Jesse
Sacrifice, the
Savior
Savior of Israel
Savior of the World
Second Comforter
Seed of Abraham
Seed of David
Seed of the Woman
Servant of Jehovah
Servant of the Lord
Shepherd
Son
Son of Abraham
Son of David
Son of God
Son of Man
Son of Mary
Son of Righteousness
Son of the Blessed
Son of the Eternal Father
Son of the Everlasting God
Son of the Highest
Son of the Living God
Son of the Most High God
Spiritual Rock
Stem of Jesse
Teacher Come from God
True Vine
Truth, the
Unchangeable One
Way, the
Well Beloved
Wisdom of God
Wonderful
Word of Life
Word, the
Worthy

Have You Been Stained By The World?

dirty-hands-1-1438009

A common roadblock for many of us coming to Jesus is the truth that we are not good enough. And so we have convinced ourselves that once we clean up our mess we will feel “right” in approaching Him. It almost doesn’t matter when someone says something like, “Come as you are.

Recently I read James1:27, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” Immediately my mind went to “What if I am hopelessly stained by the world? What if I serve widows and orphans, help the homeless, feed the hungry and seek justice for the oppressed, but still feel stained?”

Maybe you’ve asked the same question. Maybe you feel like you have been angry one too many times. Maybe you have watched porn so many times that even when you desperately want to erase it from your mind it creeps back in. Maybe you have had an affair, or multiple affairs. As much as you want to put it behind you, heal and prove your dedication to your wife, the remnants of that hurt will not release their grip on your conscience. Perhaps it’s a problem where your pride pushed others down for your benefit. Does your habit of lying make it difficult for you to even know your own truth?

Whatever your stain, it doesn’t wash off. And a verse like James 1:27, taken by itself, makes it seem like an impossible task. It is. For you.

No amount of good work or deeds, on your part, will remove your stains. Nothing you do will wash away the stains that are there. So what are you to do?

The most important thing is to understand that James isn’t talking about our relationship with Jesus, well, not directly anyway.

We want to draw a sharp distinction between religion and relational reconciliation. While both are important, the order in which we approach them is more important. Relational reconciliation always leads to religion, but religion does not always lead to reconciliation.

Here is the line that I’m drawing. Relational reconciliation is salvation. It is being introduced to Jesus and deciding to enter into the relationship that He offers. Relational reconciliation is choosing to believe in Jesus so you can be reconciled to and approach the Father unblemished by the world. Relational reconciliation is spending time with God and allowing the redeeming work of Jesus on the cross to wash you clean. It is about allowing the Holy Spirit to transform your heart and character so that the fruit of the Spirit becomes evident to everyone else. Religion is where we display the evidence of that; it is where we have relationship with Jesus.

A religion is nothing more than an institution for expressing belief in a divine power. While Christianity as a title identifies us as followers of Jesus, as a religion it is the venue where we are “energetic in [our] life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God.” The religion that James is talking about comes after our salvation and reconciliation. The religion he is talking about is the product of the work of Jesus in our heart and the power of the Holy Spirit in our life.

I’ve struggled with this more than once. So many times I have felt like I was not working hard enough or that I had not kept myself unstained by the world. Each time I was reminded that I do not have to work hard enough and it isn’t me that keeps me unstained by the world.

Jesus on the cross allows us to start again. It doesn’t always erase the memories in our head, the stuff that gnaws at our conscience, but it does erase the sin stains on our heart that separate us from God. The conscious gnawing does lessen – through time spent in God’s word and acts of confession to God and others.

Regardless of how you feel or how bad you think you are, the redeeming work of Jesus frees you to approach God. Healing is always the result of Jesus’ compassionate heart. Wholeness is always the result of the Holy Spirit’s immense power.

Religion without relationship is just tedious work, often times good work, where many become disillusioned with Christianity. Religion without relationship keeps you from the abundant life that Jesus offers.

Don’t start with religion, start with relationship. The stains come out, I promise.

He said, “Tell Her How You Know.”

used from http://rainnmakers.rainn.org/mlp

used from http://rainnmakers.rainn.org/mlp

I had always wanted a newspaper route. I thought it would be cool. Having my own money to spend only made it more desirable. I was 11 when my parents agreed to let me deliver papers. It was hard work. I got up every day at 4:00 am and hauled my bound stack of daily news into the dining room. There I would roll and stuff each one into a plastic sleeve and place it into the double-sided pocket carrier. Once all the newspapers were packed, I would sling the heavy carrier over my head and rest its weight on my shoulders. Each morning I headed out into the dark, snow-covered, streets of my neighborhood. It was hard work, but I loved doing it.

The day after Christmas in 1988 was the day that my world forever changed, and it happened while delivering these newspapers.

It was near the end of my route. I was working on the cul-de-sac across from the one I lived on and was almost finished for the morning.

All I remember about the car was that it was big and green and that the passenger door window was taped up with plastic. This boat of a car pulled up next to me and a middle-aged man opened the driver-side door. He leaned out of the car, calling out, “excuse me” and motioned me over. As I approached the car, he asked, “Can you tell me where Snow View Drive is?” I knew exactly where it was. I was eager to help. Standing next to the car, I turned to point down the road to indicate where he should go.

The next moment happened so fast. As I turned to point, the man grabbed me and threw me across his lap onto the passenger seat.

I know where you live and I’ll kill your family if you try to run.” I believed he would. He drove for what seemed like hours. When the car stopped he forced me into the back seat. For the next forty-five minutes I endured some of the vilest acts that should never be experienced by a child. My innocence was stolen from me; ripped from my child’s grip. At one point a car pulled up and the headlights shone onto the green car. The man quickly opened the door, to avert the driver of the other car from getting out. The other driver asked if the man needed help, to which he answered no. The car drove off. The horror continued.

At the end, he dumped me out of the car, into the snow, and reiterated his threat to kill my family if I told anyone. He drove away.

I was alone. In the dark and in the snow. I began to run and saw a house just off the road. For a moment I thought of stopping there for help, but the fear of being hurt even more kept me on the road. I ran until I saw a road I recognized. I ended up being a mile and a half from my own home.

When he was arrested he said he did it because he was drunk, high and distraught that his girlfriend had just ended their relationship. He claimed he never before entertained such a thing. When he saw me, he said he didn’t know what came over him. It was random. He did not live near us; he was just driving around.

He was sentenced to 40 years and had 10 of it suspended.

In the wake of his arrest and trial he left a hurt and very confused little boy. My dad’s boss was a Christian. My parents asked her to come pray with us and she did. Her influence led us to attend church and was how I heard about Jesus. I prayed the sinner’s prayer when I was 12, about 6 months after my rape.

Saying that prayer didn’t fix anything. Things seemed to get worse. For a long time I was so angry. I struggled with wondering if the rape made me gay. I slept with women to prove I wasn’t. It formed and twisted my views of sex, sexuality and relationships resulting in something that wasn’t healthy. My anger and brokenness grew. Being raped cost me a lot.

I’ve talked with many professional counselors. Some counselors helped, some did not. Even as they told me I wasn’t alone, I felt I was. I always felt alone in what I suffered. Talking about it was too difficult, so I didn’t. This time in my life was lonely and heavy.

I would hear people comment on other’s experiences similar to mine. Without thinking or knowing what to say, they would say stupid and hurtful things. Hearing comments like “everything happens for a reason” or “God has a plan for all of us” only made me angrier.

As the years trudged on, I attempted to put it all behind me. However, it always lingered in the back of my mind. I wanted to be healed from what happened to me, but I wasn’t even sure what healing would look like. It would be almost 20 years later before I saw God purpose that wretched day.

One day, as the Student Administrator for the military school I was assigned to; I found myself sitting across my desk from a young female student. She had been in the Air Force for only 3 months. The story and feelings she shared with me could have been my own. At first I didn’t know what to say to her. But a voice inside me kept saying, “Tell her she’s not alone, and tell her how you know.

And that’s what we all need, right? Not just to hear that we’re not alone, but to hear from those that are in it with us. We need to know others who understand our hurt and loneliness. A few years after that conversation with the young female Airman; Jesus captured my heart in a way that I had never known. Suddenly I discovered the Source for complete healing that had previously felt unavailable to me. It was then I realized that I really was not alone.

I want to be clear here about what I am communicating when I talk about not being alone. Of course I’m talking about Jesus “being with us to the ends of the earth,” and the Holy Spirit being our present Comforter. However, I’m also talking about community. The community of people that God surrounded me with. It was through community that I felt “with” others and experienced genuine love. That kind of love heals a multitude of hurts. The words of the Psalmist, that “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” rings most true through community.

This is the first time that I’ve written my story, let alone shared it so publically. I did so for one reason. So that if this has happened to you, you will know that you are not alone. There are others that know the kind of hurt you know, that know the same kind of loneliness, and that suffer over the same questions.

While the number of women who are victims of rape or sexual assault is substantially higher than the number of men, the gap is shrinking. If you’re a man who has gone through this, you are not alone. If you’re a woman who has gone through this, you are not alone. I could throw a ton of statistics in here, but it wouldn’t be helpful.

What is helpful is Truth. And here are some truths you need to know. What happened to you – it’s not your fault. You did not deserve it. You are not alone. And while it may feel like it, what happened to you does not make you less than who you are or who you are meant to be.

Here is something else I want you to know. This event, as horrific as it was, doesn’t define us. It isn’t who we are. It is something that happened to us and we can heal from it. About a year into my counseling I decided I wanted to be a police officer. I wanted to help others who would experience the same thing. That event was the catalyst for how I would direct my life toward helping others. Later I learned it was God actively purposing it.

Of course, deep down, most of us know there are others who share in our suffering. Only knowing does little to move along the healing process. If you feel alone in your hurt, here is an organization committed to helping you heal:

Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN)

How Community Heals

27254_384791982408_6911483_n

In the book of Mark, Jesus is asked: “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “…Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.Mark 12:28-31

I use to believe that obeying the Greatest Commandment, to love God and love your neighbor, began with learning how to love God and allowing that love to compel you to love your neighbor. This common model is one that many Christians operate under. I am not arguing that we shouldn’t live under them, we must. However, this two-fold commandment begins with learning to love God and then allowing that love to prompt us to love our neighbor.

Loving God as a singular command is fairly abstract. It may take some time to learn to love Someone that is invisible and intangible. And because figuring out how to love an intangible God can be difficult, we may approach loving our neighbor with an attitude of duty. I have seen this “attitude of duty” lead many Christians to burnout and frustration. So what could be the answer to learning to love our neighbor without an “attitude of duty?”

I believe the answer lies in Jesus’ new command, to love each other, and thus in community. In John 13:34 Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”

Jesus could have asked us to do our best to love each other. He could have even left it at “love your neighbor” since that pretty much covers everyone. But instead, He made sure to tell us that He was giving His followers a new commandment. I’m confident that Jesus gave us this command (“…love one another”) so that we would have an environment to receive healing and be restored to wholeness – to equip us to obey His command to love God and love our neighbor.

Christian community allows us to learn to love others in the safety of the body of Christ. It is in this community where we practice the love Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 13. Community is where the fruit of the Spirit is cultivated. It is where we practice confession and healing prayer as instructed in James 5, in the company of our brothers and sisters.

The essential elements of community allow the Holy Spirit to bring us to a place of healing and wholeness. When we become healed and whole, we are able to love our Christian brothers and sisters as He desires. As we learn to love, we become better equipped to love our neighbor, which is the outward expression of our love for God; in essence we are loving the Lord our God, with all our heart, soul and mind. We are able to care for widows and orphans in their affliction, which becomes a natural outpouring of the love that exists in our community.

As we become the likeness of Christ, we become better equipped for every good work of His ministry (i.e. loving others.) Growing our love for God points to and glorifies Him. This is God restoring us to wholeness as a means for caring for others and for the purpose of lifting Him up.

And it is this “real religion” that honors God and reflects wholeness in Christ. It is here we begin to fulfill Christ’s declaration in John 13:35, “By this, all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” It is in that fulfillment that we reveal wholeness and invite others to receive the same.

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2024 BrucePagano.com

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑