The official video for Waking Up Slowly is ready to watch. I am proud to announce a cameo from Maggie the Rescued Labrador (?) appearing as herself. Hope you enjoy the video preview of the book. I am super excited to share this book with you.
Tag: grace
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Monday Musing: Redeemed. Believe it.
One of my phone apps offers new music that I can redeem from the app. Recently I went to download a song and this message came up.
Already redeemed.
I had already acquired the song. There was no need for further redemption. It was mine. How I wish I could trust that for my relationship with God.
A song by Big Daddy Weave called “Redeemed” sums up my struggle and encourages me to know that I am not alone in this battle.
Seems like all I can see was the struggle
Haunted by ghosts that lived in my pastBound up in shackles of all my failures
Wondering how long is this gonna lastThen You look at this prisoner and say to me “son
stop fighting a fight that’s already been won”That is the truth I have to remind myself just about every day. The fight has already been won. Yet I too often live as if my self-effort is required to make up for past struggles and efforts. That I need to earn the grace that is already mine. I need to remind myself everyday what the lyricist proclaims next.
I am redeemed, You set me free
So I’ll shake off theses heavy chains
Wipe away every stain now I’m not who I used to be
I am redeemedI am redeemed. Paul had to remind the Ephesians in the first chapter that they already could count on these three facts being true. They already were:
- Adopted
- Redeemed
- Sealed
Makes me feel a little better that folks who were mentored by Paul needed a refresher course in who they were. It makes me feel a lot better that Paul understood that the first thing on the list was to remind them of who they were and then address their wrong behavior. We too often reverse that order. One more line from this wonderful song by Big Daddy Weave…
I remember oh God, You’re not done with me yet.
Praise God for that! And praise God for His amazing grace and amazing patience.
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Done
One of my favorite songs from Tenth Avenue North popped up in the rotation recently. The song “You Are More” talks about a young woman lost in fear and shame.
She says, “How did I get here?
I’m not who I once was.
And I’m crippled by the fear
That I’ve fallen too far to love”That is a lie from the very pit of hell. The lyrics beautifully convey that no one has gone too far to experience God’s amazing Grace.
But don’t you know who you are,
What’s been done for you?
Yeah don’t you know who you are?You are more than the choices that you’ve made,
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
You are more than the problems you create,
You’ve been remade.Most of us have heard the passage from 2nd Corinthians preached over and over.
So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. (2 Corinthians 5, NLT)
I am ashamed to admit that I too often glazed over and thought about lunch when that verse came up again. I know that already! Give me something deep. Should we go for brisket or Tex-Mex?
The truth is that I forgot or didn’t trust the truth of that passage. I once wore a WWJD bracelet. I quit wearing it because the bracelet only reminded me of how often and spectacularly I failed to do what Jesus would do.
The truth is the bracelet should read W.H.J.D. anyway. What Has Jesus DONE? Here is a partial list of what He has DONE for you. Finished. Completed. Finis.
- You have been changed.
- You are a new creation.
- Your sins are forgiven. Past, present and future.
- Jesus loves you just as you are
- You are righteous because of your relationship with Christ and not by your disciplined attempt to do right things.
- You have the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in you so you don’t have to be a slave to sin.
In short, you have been remade.
This same God that created the heavens and earth has changed this creature named Dave Burchett into something I never thought possible. Godly. A saint. Righteous. Are you kidding me? But that is what God says is true about me. And can be true about you if you put your full trust in Christ. It is DONE. The chorus of the song reaffirms that truth.
‘Cause this is not about what you’ve done,
But what’s been done for you.This is not about where you’ve been,
But where your brokenness brings you toPaul finished his letter to the Galatians with this thought.
Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. (Galatians 6, NLT)
Trust that truth and see what a difference it can make in the New Year.
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Hump Day Hope: This Little Light of Mine
For some reason this song came to mind today.
This little light of mine,
I’m gonna let it shine.
The song was written by Moody Bible student Harry Dixon Loes as a children’s gospel tune. “This Little Light of Mine” also became a Civil Rights anthem in the 50’s and 60’s. Racial reconciliation is still an area that could use a lot of Gospel light.
I didn’t realize that the full lyrics included a bit of light for each day.
Monday gave me the gift of love,
Tuesday peace came from above,
Wednesday told me to have more faith,
Thursday gave me a little more grace,
Friday told me to watch and pray,
Saturday told me just what to say,
Sunday gave me the power divine,
Just to let my little light shine.
Wednesday is have more faith day. Regular readers know that I will love Thursday.
Jesus told His followers that we are to be a light to those around us.
“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” (Matthew 5:14-16)
I don’t know about you but those challenges from Jesus are daunting. Sometimes I don’t feel much like a light to the world. I feel more like the dimmest bulb in the Church Light Store. A quote from one of my favorite authors gave me hope.
“Imperfection is the only prerequisite for grace. Light only gets in through the cracks.”~ Philip Yancey
For years I tried to patch the cracks with new disciplines and phony masks. Now I own each and every flaw and crack that allows the light of the Gospel into the darkness of my soul. And when I am vulnerable to others they see that light shining right back through those same cracks of imperfection. And suddenly the command of Jesus is not so daunting because it has NOTHING to do with me. It is all about letting the light of the Gospel into my heart and sharing that light with others. Then good deeds flow out of gratitude and not begrudging obligation.
Another of my favorite writers is 19th Century preacher Charles Spurgeon. He said this about the topic of light.
“I would not give much for your religion unless it can be seen. Lamps do not talk, but they do shine.”
Remember where your light comes from today. And let a little bit reflect back to a world that could us some light now.
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Monday Musing – Live Like You Are Loved
Regular readers of the humble ramblings (you both know who you are) know that I often confess how my brain was not wired to factory specs. There is no other explanation for the dizzying turns my mind makes. For example, this weekend I heard a song from my ’70’s disc jockey days. The song was Tin Man from America and the normal brain would have heard the song, registered a like it or don’t like it vote and moved on. Not my brain. I fixated on a piece of the lyric and spent time linking it to a spiritual epiphany in my life.
You may recognize the lyric that started this Monday Musing.
But Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man
That he didn’t, didn’t already have
The lyricist double negatived his way to an important truth. The Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz went on a long journey to try and find a real heart. But all the Wizard did was affirm what he already possessed. Sadly that confused search is what so many of us imitate as followers of Jesus. We go on a journey thinking if we can only find the right training or Bible study or church or friends or pastor that we will become more righteous and effective for God.
But if we could have followed the yellow stone road to meet Paul he would have told us we were wasting our time trying to find the perfect things to change our walk with Jesus. Paul would have (and did) simply affirm who we already are.
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (2nd Corinthians, 5:17, NLT)
Because of Christ you have a new identity. You are righteous because of Him and not because of trying to do more right “stuff”. You are a saint and there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus. It is a liberating and joyous message. But there is a problem. Satan hates that message of hope and change. And so he goes about trying to “steal’ our identity in Christ. I am afraid we make it all too easy because we find it difficult to really trust that we are changed.
You are righteous because of Christ. Period. When you trust that and believe that all of the guilt and shame and sin that used to define you is no longer true. That old life is gone. New life has begun. All of those accusations that Satan (and others who are quite happy to help) hurl your way are no longer true about you.
My life was changed forty-five years ago (ouch) when I decided to trust Jesus as my Lord and Savior. It has just been in the past few years that I have begun to fully understand who I am in Christ and that I live my life daily desperately dependent on grace. I have often quoted from my friends at Truefaced. This statement rocked my world.
If you are a Christian God is not interested in changing you. That has already happened. You were changed when you trusted Christ. You were imputed with His righteousness. Your very spiritual DNA was rewritten and you became a new person. So the change happened right away. God is now interested in maturing you into what is already true about you.
We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God freely and graciously declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. (Romans 3:22-23, NLT)
Remind yourself daily who you are. That you are a new person. Righteous because of Christ. A new life has begun. Live it joyfully and without condemnation. I am deeply loved by God today. I pray I will live like it.
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Weekend Wildcard : Where Does Healing Begin?
I interact with a lot of wounded people. My books and a big hunk of my writing have been directed toward those who are beaten up by life, religion and too often by other people in the church. There is a better way. A song titled “Where The Healing Begins” by one of my favorite groups, Tenth Avenue North, describes that way.
So you thought you had to keep this up
All the work that you do
So we think that you’re good
And you can’t believe it’s not enough
All the walls you built up
Are just glass on the outsideAll of those years of working hard (and then harder) to be Godly and I found out to my great sadness that it wasn’t enough. Not only was self-effort not enough it was counterproductive to my desire to experience God’s presence and love. The walls so carefully constructed were, in fact, see-through to those who really knew me well. I picture that in my sadness and tiredness God smiled. He didn’t smile because I was suffering or sad. He smiled because I was finally ready for grace. At the point of brokenness I was ready for the healing to begin.
So let ’em fall down
There’s freedom waiting in the sound
When you let your walls fall to the ground
We’re here nowThis is where the healing starts
When you come to where you’re broken within
The light meets the darkComing to the point where I was broken and realizing my own inability to walk this journey of faith is where the healing began for me. Letting the walls down and trusting God and others with who I really am is where the healing continued. Understanding and trusting that I am completely forgiven and my past is completely forgotten is where the healing became real. Knowing that Jesus loves me desperately on my worst day is where the healing began to translate to the daily walk.
Afraid to let your secrets out
Everything that you hide
Can come crashing through the door now
But too scared to face all your fear
So you hide but you find
That the shame won’t disappear
For too many years I danced that awkward and ugly dance of hiddenness and shame. For so many anguished years I thought that if I was a better Christian this wouldn’t, this couldn’t, be happening. If I prayed/studied/fasted/read/attended more church events I would be more Godly. I was depending on the wrong source.When you come to where you’re broken within
The light meets the dark
Sparks will fly as grace collides
With the dark inside of us
So please don’t fight
This coming light
Let this blood come cover us
His blood can cover usThis is where the healing begins
I love the image of grace invading the darkness and sparks of healing flying as the truth about me was set free. I am a child of God who is deeply loved. For decades I lived with a God who I suspected had a contractual obligation to love me because of Jesus but who was generally disgusted with me. I fought grace because it seemed too easy. Not spiritual. Not enough sacrifice. Not enough obedience. Not enough…me. Paul wrote this to the Church at Ephesus.
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2, NLT)
My fear of punishment led to strained and inconsistent compliance with a law I couldn’t possibly keep. Grace and forgiveness have led to joyful obedience nourished by gratitude and love. That is the product of the healing power of grace and I second my brother from Taursus. I can take NO credit for this.
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Hump Day Hope : Come on. Say it! Say it!
The use of Hump Day to describe the midweek turning point has been around for awhile. It became a bigger part of the national lexicon thanks to a commercial and a camel.
I wish I was mature enough to say I was only mildly amused by the Geico commercial featuring the overbearing camel wandering through an office. I can’t. I stopped whatever I was doing every time it came on.
The hope of this humble rambling each Wednesday is to provide a little hope to get you to the weekend. This is how hope is defined as a verb by dictionary.com.
…to feel that something desired may happen.Example: I hope that the Cleveland Browns will play in a Super Bowl before I die. It is interesting that the next meaning of the verb hope is noted as archaic.…Archaic. to place trust; rely (usually followed by in)Call me archaic (my sons and workmates often do) but that definition is what I need this Hump Day. In a world gone crazy I need some place to put my trust that is trustworthy.Billy Graham summarized it beautifully.“God’s mercy and grace give me hope – for myself, and for our world.“Well played. I believe that ultimately God’s sovereign plan will be completed in this world. What I need on Hump Day is hope for myself to be able to deal with the cards that life is dealing. Pastor/writer Rick Warren has a helpful reminder.“What gives me the most hope every day is God’s grace; knowing that his grace is going to give me the strength for whatever I face, knowing that nothing is a surprise to God.”So instead of trying to figure out why I am going through a trial with something or someone I should turn to the One who offers hope that I can persevere. Paul talks about hope in his amazing letter to the church at Rome.For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with endurance. (Romans 8:24-25, NET)
And what is that hope?For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News. (Colossians 1:4-5, NLT)
I have wasted a lot of time trying to figure out why. That is a waste of precious time. My hope and my trust is in Jesus. Together we have this. Or as Paul more eloquently wrote.Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. (Romans 12:12, NLT)It is okay to be archaic. You can be old school if that makes you feel better. But remember where your hope is today. I give the last word to my friend the camel. “Awww, come on! I know you can hear me!”
