Less Than…

Posted on February 7, 2013 by suemariericker

I admit that I have been harassed with “less than” thinking; thinking otherwise is somewhat new and risky. There is a lot of security in thinking that I am less than competent, for in thinking so, I don’t have to take risks. Thinking that I am too broken to be used of God means that I don’t have to make any efforts; and to think that I am poorly equipped or ungifted suggests no vision. Considering my insecurities, seeing myself how I think others see me (negatively), thinking that I have sinned too much, and considering my internal voices far too loud to hear the voice of God, precludes me from listening for His voice and responding to what He is saying in the moment.

It is a safe thing to say that God speaks to us through His Word–recognizing that He has fresh, personal words, which He speaks through His Holy Spirit, takes the Word out of the box, out of the structure, and releases Him into our lives. God doesn’t contradict; rather He magnifies – He must increase and I must decrease. When I am focusing on my “less thans”, I am increasing. When I confess that I am more than conqueror through Him, he is increasing.

I keep coming back to the scripture in 1 John 5:4, 5 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world–our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? The issue is all about who I’m believing – the lies that the enemy, the world, and my old, before Christ nature or what God is saying about me. He says that I am more than conqueror (Romans 8:37), He says that I can do all things through Christ (Phil. 4:13), His Word tells me that I have a future and a hope (Jer. 29:11), He tells me that if I trust Him (and to not lean on my own understanding), He will direct my paths (Prov. 3:4, 5).

Less Than thinking is not humility, it is sin! What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died–more than that, who was raised–who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Romans 8:31-34

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Wounds

Posted on February 5, 2013 by suemariericker

Sin creates wounded people, and since we all have sinned and fallen far short of the glory and righteousness of God, we are all wounded to some degree. Not everyone has an (obvious) gaping hole in his or her soul, exposed by the battering of life or other wounded souls, but every one of us has been damaged by sin in one way or another. Often we respond to the trauma of life out of our woundedness, rather than the faith we may confess. …and when I say “we”, I mean me!

For instance, a divorcee’ (I know something about this) is wounded by rejection, often verbal or emotional abuse, sometimes physical abuse (I’m not saying that this has been my total experience) and is left feeling abandoned and overwhelmed with the reality of once it was “we” and now it is only “me” trying to get by in the world. There is also the feeling of “where was God when I needed Him?” …so the feelings of abandonment and rejection extend to the One who promises to never leave or forsake us. Oh, how misguided we are to attribute the qualities of God to a person or situation – and then end up alone and forsaken! We have been wounded by sin and by sinful human nature, how can we expect more than abandonment when our hope is in our marriage or our marriage partner?

So we are wounded, and often we make poor choices as a reaction to the pain we suffered. What pain did the woman caught in adultery suffer? …and how did religious people exacerbate it? What did life hold for the battered child, the one whose mother was never emotionally available, or the one whose father left at an early age? I’ve seen divorced people “come to the realization” (I have to put that in quotes to emphasize that it may be supposition rather than fact) that they were gay, or the divorcee’ reach out to multiple relationships in hope of finding love.

The fact is, we all have been wounded, we are all sinners, and we all want to be loved and accepted for who we are. Some of us have sacrificed our identity for so many years in our attempts to please others, to be loved, to be acknowledged, and to be heard, that insecurity becomes our security, where we test the waters before we jump in and adapt to all of the acceptable procedures for the current circumstances.

So where do we turn? Are we without hope in the world? –I don’t believe so. There comes a point in our lives where we have to make the hard decisions, the “choose ye this day whom ye will serve” decisions. And I think the only answer we can give to the tragedy of life is the grace of God and the knowledge that the work God has begun in us, He will bring to completion (Phil. 1:6).

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The Dilemma of Grace

Posted on February 4, 2013 by suemariericker

Just off-hand, I can’t imagine that grace would be a tricky subject, but I think it has become a matter of some debate. Now, you know I’m not here to present facts and statistics – particularly because I don’t think there are any available (but I could be wrong). This is just about observations and my thoughts on the subject.

We are saved by grace, by the gift of God through Jesus. Intellectually, I think all Christians will agree with that. However, I think Grace has become a “yes, but…” statement to many believers. As if the blood of Jesus isn’t quite good enough to get the job done. I’m pretty sure no one would consciously agree with that statement, though. …seemed kind of appalling or blasphemous to write!

I think about the woman caught in adultery, her accusers left and Jesus asked her if no one condemned her – she answered, “no one, Lord.” Jesus responded by telling her that he didn’t condemn her, either, to go and sin no more. Was that a cruel statement or a grace statement? How can one with a human, sinful nature go and “sin no more?” Is that a “better go hide in a closet for the rest of my life” statement or an empowering statement? Did Jesus not only release her from condemnation, but also release her from the bondage of sin?

So I’m not exactly going the direction I wanted to with what I’m typing here, but maybe I’ll get to it in a round about way. What triggered my thoughts about grace has a lot to do with an “in your face” topic (in my opinion) that confronts Christians (everyone, actually) almost daily in our society and the media. Homosexuality. Is grace an “anything goes” ticket to ride anywhere our sinful flesh takes us? Is there no such a thing as sin now that we have grace? I heard an explanation of the verses in Romans 1 making an attempt (again, my opinion) to explain how Paul didn’t mean what he was saying there, that the gay lifestyle was really ok for people who were born that way.

To be honest, I consider myself to be a conservative, right-wing leaning Christian – I just don’t want to be a rock hurtling, sinner condemning Christian. I think, as Christians, we need to be careful about who we condemn while holding on to greed, covetousness, unforgiveness, denial…. However, I do not think we have the privilege of defining or redefining sin on our terms or based on our needs or feelings. This is a very tricky area, but I sincerely believe we need to come to a place of resolution in our hearts. Jesus ate with sinners because sinners were the ones who welcomed him. Jesus didn’t embrace sin to deliver sinners – he conquered sin and death on the cross. Jesus wasn’t embarrassed or ashamed to be seen with sinners, he didn’t defend himself – his love gave hope to a woman caught in adultery, his acceptance caused a greedy tax collector to refund with interest what he had stolen. God’s grace, manifested in Jesus, changed lives.

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It’s A New Beginning!

Posted on February 1, 2013 by suemariericker

This is something new for me, something that I have considered doing for a while now, but it has taken some thinking before doing.  Writing is something that has tugged at my heart since I was a young child (6 years old).  However, there are many reasons why I have made few attempts to follow through.  I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I grew up with the understanding that children were to be seen and not heard–which is a belief that stifles the quiet and weakest voices.

I’m beginning to discover that God loves weak things because he can be heard through them.  I’ve also realized that in my 60+ years, I have not learned how to be loved.  It was always a matter of something to be earned not something given “just because”.  However, God is love and what He does is love – which makes love quite unavoidable as I am pursuing Him.  His love is pure, it is natural, and it is “just because” He loves me, not because I love Him.

So this blog is going to be a journey to know Him and my expressions of faith and hope in His love.  I cannot help but share some of my concerns about the things going on in the world, and some things may not have a “scriptural” basis – they are just opinions. I can guarantee that much of what I write will have to do with reading the Bible and what the Holy Spirit is speaking to my heart. I am excited about this new leg of the journey!

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