Who Are We?

Let's start with who we are not. For all who believe in Jesus, the old, sinful self is dead and we are no longer slaves of sin (Romans 6:3-7).
Now for who we are. We are born again, born of God's Spirit (John 3:3-8). We are the holy temple of God's Spirit. Jesus and His Father have made their home in our hearts, and they're not moving out (John 14:23, Hosea 2:19). God has given us spiritual life in Jesus (1 John 5:11). Jesus described this life as rivers of living water flowing out of our hearts (John 7:38). Sign me up! Oh yeah, I'm already signed up.
The Christian life is about living according to who God has made us to be. Ephesians 4:22-24 says to "put off....the old man"--the old lifestyle and thought patterns of that sinful dude who died--"be renewed in the spirit of your mind"--line up our thinking with God's truth--"put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness." I think this means that, in total dependence on God, we live as the righteous, holy people that we are in Christ.
A personal example: My old, sinful self had a habit of withdrawing from friendships if things started to get rocky. As soon as fear of rejection set in, I'd be looking for a place to hide. Or a safe distance from which I could examine the other person's faults and deem them unworthy of my company. Mind renewal: There are no loser Christians. In Christ I am amazing; and I am able to see His love and wholeheartedly share it with others. My brothers and sisters in Christ are amazing, and able to receive His love and share it with me, wholeheartedly. In the unlikely event of rejection, Jesus will be there for me (John 9:35-37), and He understands rejection (way too well, see Isaiah 53:3). Hey, this train of thought could lead to joy!

The Lord is my Shepherd

"He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. -Psalm 23:3
This verse was in this morning's sermon, and it reminded me of a time that God used this verse to comfort and encourage me. I was having some significant difficulties in my relationship with my oldest daughter, and it had become obvious that a lot of the problem was me. I woke at 4 a.m. one day, and began wondering and worrying about what in the world was wrong with me. God brought to mind this verse from Psalm 23, and He told me that the sheep doesn't have to figure it all out; the sheep only needs to follow the Shepherd. That was exactly what I needed at that moment; and the Lord has reminded me of it many times since then. Life is so difficult and complicated; it's easy to see that we weren't meant to live independently of God. It reminds me of a song that Randy Stonehill sang in the 70s:
All alone, drifting wild
Like a ship that's lost out in the ocean
Everyone's a homeless child
It's not hard to understand
Why we need a Father's hand.

There's a rainbow somewhere
You were born to be there
You're just running in circles
Till you reach out your hand to the King of hearts.

Confession

Yesterday I read this verse in James 5: "Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed." Confessing sin isn't fun, but here's my confession: Sometimes I think that nobody cares about me. And lately God has shown me that this isn't true, because Christians are taught by God to love one another (1 Thessalonians 4:9), so my brothers and sisters in the faith do love me. And it's sin to not believe the truth. It also hurts people who love me when I think they don't love me.
This is a big change of perspective for me. It's easy for me to feel like the misfit, but there really aren't any misfits in God's family, are there? 1 Corinthians 12:7 says that the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all. Sounds to me like we all fit in, and are needed. Awesome!

Harold and Maude

I watched this movie last night--wow, it was bizarre, and, though rated pg, it promoted terrible morals (including theft and evading police)--not meant to be taken too seriously though. It was a very odd combination of sad and hilarious. The back of the dvd case said that it is a cult movie (like Rocky Horror Picture Show). Yes, definitely. Anyway, here's my favorite quote:
Maude: "A lot of people enjoy being dead. But they are not dead, really. They're just backing away from life. Reach out. Take a chance. Get hurt even. But play as well as you can. Go team go! Give me an L. Give me an I. Give me a V. Give me an E. L-I-V-E. LIVE! Otherwise, you got nothing to talk about in the locker room."