Tilted Halos

A man walked into the doctor’s office and said, “Doctor, I have this terrible headache that never leaves me. Could you give me something for it?”
“I will,” said the doctor, “but I want to check a few things out first. Tell me, do you drink a lot of alcohol?”
“Alcohol?” said the man indignantly. “I never touch the filthy stuff.”
“How about smoking?”
I think smoking is a disgusting habit. I’ve never in my life touched tobacco.”
“I’m a bit embarrassed to ask you this, but – you know how some men are – do you run around with women at night?”
“Of course not! What do you think of me? I’m in bed alone by then-thirty every night.”
“Tell me,” said the doctor, “the pain in the head you speak of, is it a sharp, shooting kind of pain?”
“Yes,” the man said. “That’s it – a sharp, shooting kind of pain.”
“Simple, my dear fellow! Your trouble is you have your halo on too tight. All you need to do is loosen up a bit.”

The trouble with all our lofty ideals is that IF we live up to all of them, we become impossible to live with!

The tilted halo of the saved sinner is worn loosely and with easy grace. The cross of Jesus says: what we cannot do for ourselves, God has done for us. On the cross, somehow, some way, Christ bore our sins, took our place, died for us. At the cross, Jesus unmasked the sinner not only as a beggar but as a criminal before God. Christ bore our sins and bore them away!!! We cannot wash away the stains of our sins, but He is the Lamb who has taken away the sins of the world.

So the saved sinner is prostrate in adoration, lost in wonder and praise. He knows repentance is not what we do in order to earn forgiveness; it is done because we have been forgiven. It serves as an expression of gratitude rather than an effort to earn forgiveness. So the sequence is like this: First forgiveness, and then repentance. Not the other way round! That is crucial for understanding the Gospel.

Jesus said, “Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke on you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest to your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28.

So come, fellow ragamuffin. Wear that a halo a little more easy, and relax in the unconditional goodness of the Father.

Someone recently wrote to me, in response to one of my chronicles. He was quite upset, and told me in no uncertain terms that I was proclaiming a false message by proclaiming the unconditional love of God. He insisted that man has to "do his part' in order to "qualify" for God's salvation. I've been thinking about it, and my thoughts were directed to Matthew 9:9-13, which captures a lovely glimpse of the gospel of grace.

“As Jesus was going down the road, he saw Matthew sitting at his tax-collection booth. "Come, be my disciple," Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him. That night Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to be his dinner guests, along with his fellow tax collectors and many other notorious sinners.
The Pharisees were indignant. "Why does your teacher eat with such scum?" they asked his disciples. When he heard this, Jesus replied, "Healthy people don't need a doctor-sick people do.”
Then he added, "Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: 'I want you to be merciful; I don't want your sacrifices.' For I have come to call sinners, not those who think they are already good enough.”

Here is a revelation as bright as the evening star: Jesus comes for sinners, for those as outcast as tax collectors and for those caught up in squalid choices and failed dreams. He comes for corporate executives, street people, superstars, farmers, hookers, addicts, SARS agents, AIDS victims, and even used car salesmen.

Jesus not only talks with these people, but dines with them - fully aware that His table fellowship with sinners will raise the eyebrows of religious bureaucrats who hold up the robes and insignia of authority to justify their condemnation of the truth and their rejection of the gospel of grace.

This passage should be read, reread, and memorized. Every Christian generation tries to dim the blinding brightness of its meaning because the gospel seems to good to be true. We think salvation belongs to the proper and the pious, to those who stand at a safe distance from the back alleys of life, clucking their judgments at those who have been soiled by life.

It is startling that the men and women who are truly filled with light are those who have gazed deeply into the darkness of their imperfect existence. I do not have to apply spiritual cosmetics to make myself presentable to God! I can accept ownership of my poverty and powerlessness and neediness.

C.S. Lewis said, "The good man is sorry for the sins which have increased his need. He is not entirely sorry for the fresh need they have produced."

So, to you ragamuffins, filled with regrets, and feeling unworthy to approach God, I say; "YOU are the very person Jesus came for. He not only came to talk to you, but to dine and fellowship with you. So draw near to Him with boldness, and soak a while in the glory of His love and grace."

Six Thousand years before Christ, a Greek philosopher said, "The only thing that is permanent in life is change." Here in South Africa we’re experiencing continual political and economic change, which brings stress, uncertainty, frustration and fear. My friends living in the U.K., Greece, New Zealand and the U.S.A. are not exempt from these changes. Education is evolving, technology advances at an alarming rate, and by the time science textbooks are printed they’re out of date. As if this isn’t enough, we experience ongoing change in our personal lives. Births, deaths, marriages, divorce, job changes and relocation add to our insecurity.
Alvin Toffler says we live in what he calls a throw away world, a throw away society. In other words, things were made to use temporarily and then be discarded. We use something for a while and then toss it. Very few things were made to last any more because we're in a constantly changing world.

Is there anything permanent in life? Yes, there is.
Hebrews 13:8 - "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

There is something on which you can build your life in the midst of an uncertain future – The Love of God. Because God’s love for you will never change.

No matter what happens, no matter what you do, no matter how you feel, God's love for you will never change. You say, "No matter even if I do the wrong thing?" Right. Why? Because His love is not based on what you deserve. His love is based on His grace. He loves you, not because you live up to His standards. He loves you because He's chosen to love you. That's grace. God loves you just as much on your bad days as He does on your good days. He loves you just as much when you don't feel it as when you do feel it. The thing that you can build your life on is that God's love will never, never, never change.

Jeremiah 31:3 - "I have loved you with an everlasting love.”

It is permanent, so you can build your life on it. God's love for you will never change.

Romans 8:35 - "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?”

Romans 8:37 - “ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life nor angels nor demons nor things present, nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

That is permanent!!!

Alvin Toffler who wrote “Future Shock” says that in a time of change people need what he called "spots of security". When the winds of change are blowing everything away, and everything's being uprooted, we need little rocks, islands, spots of security, that we can hold onto, that we know are not going to move, so we're not blown away by the changes that occur.
The first spot of security that you can hold onto is the love of God.

Do you feel sometimes that you just can't handle the pressure? Do you feel like the changes are coming too quickly, too fast, too great and maybe you feel like you're going to cave in and collapse because of the pressure and stress. Maybe you feel lonely, isolated or rejected. Remember this: God loves you. He always has. He always will. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. That is a rock of stability that you can hold onto. If you anchor your life into the rock of God's love, nothing can devastate you because it gives you stability in life.

How do you cope with change? Remember the things that count, the things that last, that cannot be taken from you. You can't get security in a bank balance thinking, "If I just get enough money, then I'll be financially independent and then I'll be secure." You cannot put your security in something that can be taken away from you. You can lose your income overnight. You could get wiped out with a cancer, a catastrophe, a stock market crash, anything. If you want security, put it in something that cannot be taken away from you. The love of God cannot be taken away from you. He says, I will care for you... I will never leave you or forsake you... he says, "Lo, I am with you always.” The love of God will never change - His love for you.

Gallery of Real Life Church Jeffreys Bay

You Are Valuable

Too often we base our self-worth on what the world thinks is valuable. The world thinks that money is the measure of value, and if we don’t have it in great amounts, we feel bad about ourselves. Physical beauty and good looks have just about become a religion in itself, and those of us who don’t have it feel no value in a society that judges by the looks on the outside. In this age of technology, IQ is often used to decide who will be honored, and who will be regarded as a handicap.

Let’s face it: It’s difficult for most of us to measure up. In every area of life there is a constant pressure on us to have to perform! And the more we focus on the world’s standards and values, the more miserable we feel about ourselves.

But here’s some good news for YOU today!!! God has a different system. And if your faith is in Him, you can find some relief right now. God talks about the worth of an individual. His words are really good news to those of us who will never be fashion models, participate in the Olympic Games, become billionaires (although I’ll never give up hoping on this one!), or receive awards from the president.

Christ told his followers not to be afraid of those who attack a person physically, because the attackers cannot touch h a person’s soul. He explained that even though a little bird might be sold for 2c, not one bird can fall to the ground without God knowing it. “So don’t be afraid,” he said, “you are worth more than many little birds” (Matthew 10:31). The Greek word translated “you are worth more” is from the verb diaphero, which literally means “to excel, to be highly valued.”

Now think about this: If God knows the destinies of every single little bird (even though it’s worth no more than 2c), and He cares for every one of them, we can feel pretty good about ourselves, knowing He cares much more about us. If our sense of self-worth comes from God, we don’t have to worry what the world thinks of us or does to us. The fact that God sent His Son to die for you, should be an overwhelming confirmation and affirmation of your worth!

The problem comes when we start comparing ourselves by the world’s standards and rely on our own efforts to measure up. Stay focused on God and the value He has given you – you have been made in His image, and you have been reconciled to Him by the wonderful blood of Jesus.

In the Creator’s value system, you never, ever, have to feel disappointed if you can’t measure up to the world’s expectations. You are valuable! So go ahead, sigh that great sigh of relief right now. Relax, and allow yourself to feel good abut yourself.

Let Go!!!

Let go of your fear. It says 365 times in the Bible - "Fear not." That's one for every day of the year. Let go. Cast all your care on God. Say, “Lord, this is too heavy a burden. I can't handle it. I'm too afraid." Let go of your fear.

How do you let go of your fear? There's only one way. Recognize and remind yourself that God is in control. That's the only way you will ever let go of a fear. Recognize and remind yourself that God is in control. Then you can relax a little bit.

Exodus 14:1 - "Then the Lord said to Moses, `Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea.”

Who told the children of Israel to camp in a cul-de-sac? There was no exit! The Red Sea was ahead of them, mountains and deserts flanked them, and the Egyptians were chasing them. They had reason to be afraid!!!
But God told them to go there. Not Moses. God led them there. He put them in an impossible situation with mountains on two sides and an ocean ahead and the Egyptians coming.
Sometimes God sets you up for a miracle. He sets you up by pushing you. "I don't know how I'm ever going to get out of debt! This is a total mess. There is no way it can work out." You have a Red Sea on your hands.

Remind yourself that God has led you there and the safest place to be is in the centre of God's will.

So what's the lesson? When God guides, God provides!

It was a test of faith on behalf of the Israelites. Are you facing a personal Red Sea today? My word to you then is "congratulations!"
God can do something significant in your life. Let go of fear because you know if you're trying to the best of your ability (not perfectly), live for the Lord, God has allowed these things. Nothing can happen in my life without the heavenly Father's permission. I am a child of His, so He's watching out for me.

God is in control!!! Therefore I don't need to be afraid because where God guides, God provides. If you're in an impossible situation, you're probably right in the middle of the will of God. He's setting you up for a miracle. So let go! Let go of your fear.

The Story of Grace

1 John 2:1-2 – “I write this, dear children, to guide you out of sin. But if anyone does sin, we have a Priest-Friend in the presence of the Father: Jesus Christ, righteous Jesus.
When he served as a sacrifice for our sins, he solved the sin problem for good - not only ours, but the whole world's.”

The unconditional, all-encompassing grace of God is not an excuse for us to sin. The reality is that sin carries a price tag. Not with God – He does not condemn us or punish us for our sins. Jesus carried that judgment and punishment in full. But sin does have consequences, and they are often painful.

However, the reality is that we all sin and fail. The Bible says that if anyone says he has no sin, he is a liar and he deceives himself. Now the devil has twisted the truth, and people confuse the consequences of sin with the punishment of God. Settle this issue for once and for all – God does NOT punish sin. Since the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, sin does not separate us from God.

But I still meet people all the time who are living in deep condemnation because of past failures. These people feel unworthy to ask God to help them dealing with the consequences of their failures, because they feel they have disappointed God too deeply and too often. Perhaps you are at a place where you’re about to quit on God. You feel that somehow you’re worse than other people, and your sins are greater and more regular than anyone else.

You need to good dose of the love and grace of God. Perhaps you will find it in this beautiful story;

Fiorella LaGuardia was the mayor of New York during the worst days of the Great Depression and all of World War II. He was adored by the citizens of New York – a colorful character who used to ride the New York fire trucks, carried out raids with the police department, and would take entire orphanages to baseball games.

One bitterly cold night in January of 1935, the mayor turned up at a night court that served the poorest ward of the city. LaGuardia dismissed the judge for the evening and took over the bench himself. Within a few moments, a tattered old woman was brought before him, charged with stealing a loaf of bread. She told LaGuardia that her daughter’s husband had deserted her, her daughter was sick, and her two grandchildren were starving. But the shopkeeper, from whom the bread was stolen, refused to drop the charges. “It’s a bad neighborhood, you Honor,” the man told the mayor. “She’s got to be punished to teach other people around here a lesson.”

LaGuardia sighed. He turned to the woman and said, “I’ve got to punish you. The law makes no exceptions – ten dollars or ten days in jail.” But even as he pronounced sentence, the mayor was already reaching into his pocket. He extracted a bill and tossed it on the bench saying: “Here is the ten dollar fine which I now remit; and furthermore I am going to fine everyone in this courtroom fifty cents for living in a town where a person has to steal bread so that her grandchildren can eat. Mr. Bailiff, collect the fines and give them to the defendant.”

So the following day the New York City newspapers reported that $47.50 was turned over to a bewildered old lady who had stolen a loaf of bread to feed her starving grandchildren, fifty cents of that amount being contributed by the red-faced grocery store owner, while some seventy petty criminals, people with traffic violations, and New York City policemen, each of whom had just paid fifty cents for the privilege of doing so, gave the mayor a standing ovation.

What an extraordinary demonstration of grace. You know what – we, with all of heaven can stand and give the greatest author of grace a standing ovation – for solving our sin problem for once and for all.

Here’s the issue: Your sins and failures are no longer a barrier between you and God. People who say that God is judging the world, or judging people, have absolutely no concept of the real story of the Bible. It’s the story of grace! And it’s your story. It is my story. Have you been running away from your Father, instead of running to Him, afraid of His judgment? Fear no more! Turn around, and run home today. He's waiting - waiting for you!