The Holy Pause

Wake Forest Presbyterian
Wake Forest Presbyterian
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Christianity
  • Daily

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  1. 1d ago

    Without Evil there can be no Good

    What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Consider: My husband and I enjoyed a certain animated movie when it came out twenty years ago. We were in our twenties, and it hit just the right spot. In it, a big, muscular cartoon Satan sings a song about longing to leave hell for earth, where everything looks better. The song’s argument is that good cannot exist without evil, so a little evil must be good. Every once in a while my husband sings it at me, because he knows it makes me mad. That idea has long been a struggle for Christian theology, and really for people of any faith. We tend to believe there must be a balance, a yin and yang, black and white, good and bad. Surely you can’t recognize good unless you’ve experienced bad first. That feels logically true. A man named Pelagius made a version of this argument long ago. If we never sinned, he said, we would never experience God’s grace, and we wouldn’t know what grace was without something to be freed from. That is solid logic, but it is not the gospel, and Paul addresses it head on. Must sin abound so that grace can abound? Absolutely not. Grace is God’s unmerited favor. It is not given in proportion to our sin. It is poured out in abundance over and above it. And as we’ve talked about before, sin is not behavior. Behavior is the product of sin, which is the inclination of the heart that leads us away from God. There is no more or less of it. It just is. So the tidy balance of good and evil sounds meaningful, but it doesn’t survive contact with the reality of grace, which is bigger and wider than we have ever deserved. Paul also makes a second point. When God’s grace floods into our souls, it fills us so completely that we no longer even desire sin. We are dead to sin and its consequences. Elsewhere in Romans, Paul says the wages of sin is death, but God’s grace has conquered death. It frees us from the soul-deadening, hardening, difficult parts of life that come from our brokenness. So we don’t go looking for sin. We seek God’s grace each day, until sin simply isn’t what we want. That may sound impossible, but I know that when I have consciously and willingly prayed for God’s grace to pour into my heart, everything changes. My attitude, my approach and my experience of the world are all different. Grace builds resilience, hope and possibility. It breeds patience, and all the fruits of the Spirit that come from it. So is it good to be evil so that good can be experienced more fully? Absolutely not. Respond: Begin the day with an intentional prayer. It doesn’t need to be wordy or complicated. It can be as simple as: God, grant me your grace today. Allow me to see the world through your eyes. Set me free from the consequences of the sin that stains my heart. Then notice how you experience grace differently through the day, and maybe how you experience other people differently. When sin tempts you to act in ways that don’t fit with grace, pause and pray it again. How many times today might you need grace poured out and renewed in your heart? Ask for it, and see how the day goes. Prayer: God, we want to experience your grace in abundance. We want to be alive and resurrected in the newness that your death and resurrection make possible. Set us free from the temptations and traps that sin offers, so that we can live more fully into your grace. Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wfpc.substack.com

    Without Evil there can be no Good

  2. 4d ago

    Mirror Adam

    Just as through one human being sin came into the world, and death came through sin, so death has come to everyone, since everyone has sinned. Although sin was in the world, since there was no Law, it wasn’t taken into account until the Law came. But death ruled from Adam until Moses, even over those who didn’t sin in the same way Adam did—Adam was a type of the one who was coming. But the free gift of Christ isn’t like Adam’s failure. If many people died through what one person did wrong, God’s grace is multiplied even more for many people with the gift—of the one person Jesus Christ—that comes through grace. The gift isn’t like the consequences of one person’s sin. The judgment that came from one person’s sin led to punishment, but the free gift that came out of many failures led to the verdict of acquittal. If death ruled because of one person’s failure, those who receive the multiplied grace and the gift of righteousness will even more certainly rule in life through the one person Jesus Christ. So now the righteous requirements necessary for life are met for everyone through the righteous act of one person, just as judgment fell on everyone through the failure of one person. Many people were made righteous through the obedience of one person, just as many people were made sinners through the disobedience of one person. The Law stepped in to amplify the failure, but where sin increased, grace multiplied even more. The result is that grace will rule through God’s righteousness, leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord, just as sin ruled in death. Consider: This passage is often considered the cornerstone of Paul’s theology. While dense and requiring some unpacking, it essentially comes down to this: just as Adam brought sin through an act of disobedience, Jesus brings life and grace through an act of obedience. They are mirror images of each other. This text also introduces the concept of original sin. In the Presbyterian tradition, we believe that all people are born with the stain of sin. We often confuse sin with its manifestations—the ways we experience it in the world—and speak of “sins” merely as moral failures or acts of wrongdoing. We joke that we sinned because we ate a chocolate bar, even calling desserts “sinful” or “guilty pleasures.” But that is not what sin truly is. Sin is the posture in our hearts that replaces God, leading us to believe we know better than He does. It causes us to choose spiritual, soul-crushing death over life. Those desires and inclinations reside in every one of us. Yet, Paul goes on to explain that every one of us also has access to grace. The “second Adam”—the fulfillment of God’s promise to the world—offers us grace and life. Jesus makes it possible for our hearts to change, to be inclined differently,and to embrace the humility that reminds us we are not God. Every time our hearts remember that we belong to God and turn toward His goodness, we offer ourselves and others a little bit more life. It is a story of humility versus sin, where sin looks like arrogance. We try to complicate it, but at its core, it is simple:humanity is inclined toward selfishness and hardened hearts, but the One who came offers us life instead. That is the Good News. Respond: How you were taught to understand sin. How does your upbringing compare to the story Paul tells? Did you grow up believing sin was simply bad behavior deserving punishment, and how has that shaped your view of God's freely given grace? Consider today what it means that grace is offered to you with no conditions or strings attached. How might you choose to live into that grace today and allow yourself the freedom of experiencing God's love? Prayer: God of grace, help us to remember that sin is not merely the wrong things we do, nor does it make us bad in your eyes—it is simply a part of the human condition. In those moments when we are inclined toward selfishness, remind us that You offer life-giving grace. Give us the humility to remember who we are and whose we are. In God's name we pray, Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wfpc.substack.com

    Mirror Adam

  3. 5d ago

    Productive Struggle

    Therefore, since we have been made righteous through his faithfulness,we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have access by faith into this grace in which we stand through him, and we boast in the hope of God’s glory. But not only that! We even take pride in our problems, because we know that trouble produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope. This hope doesn’t put us to shame, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. While we were still weak, at the right moment, Christ died for ungodly people. It isn’t often that someone will die for a righteous person, though maybe someone might dare to die for a good person. But God shows his love for us, because while we were still sinners Christ died for us. So, now that we have been made righteous by his blood, we can be even more certain that we will be saved from God’s wrath through him. If we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son while we were still enemies, now that we have been reconciled, how much more certain is it that we will be saved by his life? And not only that: we even take pride in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, the one through whom we now have a restored relationship with God. Consider: When my daughter started middle school, her school hosted a parents’ night a couple of weeks before classes began. It was a chance for us to meet her teachers, tour the building, and locate her classrooms. They gave us a copy of her schedule, and we literally walked from room to room. Before that, all sixth-grade parents and students gathered in the cafeteria to hear from the grade-level principal. He shared key concepts to help us prepare for the upcoming year, and one idea he highlighted was “productive struggle.” As parents, it’s tempting to jump in and fix everything. When our kids are toddlers and fall for the first time, our immediate reaction is to rush over, ask if they’re okay, hug them, and check their knees for scrapes. But I vividly remember learning that if I didn’t overreact, they were usually fine. They would look to me first to see if they should be afraid, hurt, or crying. That dynamic continues throughout life. There can be a misconception around this concept—the idea that you need to go looking for trouble, create hardship, or make life deliberately difficult, as if a harder life makes you more righteous. But that’s not what Scripture teaches. Instead, it means that when obstacles and hard times inevitably come, learning to productively struggle through them—and asking the hard questions—is how we build perseverance. That is when we learn to trust and grow closer to God.We don’t have to seek out trouble; it will find us, just like that first tough math test will find our kids. In the midst of those inevitable times, asking, seeking, and striving to overcome obstacles is the most important work we can do. Over time, it develops character: the kind of character that trusts God in hard moments, remains humble enough to recognize we can’t do it alone, and learns to seek, ask, and find. Respond: Consider the last time you faced a struggle—a tough question you couldn’t answer, a difficult conversation you had to have, or an unwelcome diagnosis. How did you begin taking steps to overcome that obstacle? In what ways could you turn to God, ask for help, seek guidance, and find resources? What can you do to lean into the productive side of the struggle? Respond: God, we give thanks today that when uncertain, lonely, or overwhelming moments come, you are with us in our suffering. You offered yourself for us before we could do anything on our own. When struggle arrives, help us take the steps to let it be productive rather than destructive. In your holy name we pray, Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wfpc.substack.com

    Productive Struggle

  4. Oct 23

    Debits and Credits

    It was not through the law that Abraham in his offering received the promise that he would be heir of the world. For if those who depend on the laws are heirs, faith means nothing. The promise is worthless, because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law, there is no transgression. Therefore the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who have the faith of Abraham, for he is the father of us all. As it is written, I have made you a father of many nations. Abraham is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed. The God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not. Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations just as it had been said to him. So shall your offspring be. Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had the power to do what God had promised. This is why it was credited to him as righteousness. The words credited to him were not written for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness. For us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, for he was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. Consider: There is this belief in American society that we get what we deserve. That if you work hard enough, you get ahead. That if you do the right things, good things will happen to you. And if you do bad things, that bad things will happen to you. We believe that we get the fruits of our own workings. And that in the end, we get our just desserts. Think about how many phrases and cliches we have that basically end up meaning that we get the fruits of our labor, that the results are equal to the input. But that’s not actually how it works. I have a really good friend whose son loves basketball. He loves basketball. He plays basketball like All day. He comes home from school and he plays basketball. He plays basketball video games. He reads basketball books. He knows every team in the NBA. He knows most of the major stars in the NBA. And he can tell you he won the last 10 years of NBA championships. That boy loves basketball. That boy is also short. I mean, short. Not like Tiny, but you know, not the tallest kid in this class. And I have bad news for him, but his parents are not that tall either. It’s unlikely that he is going to grow to the height that you need to play at any level of competitive basketball. Is that fair? Did he get what he deserved? Are the results equal to the amount of labor that he has put in? The truth is that most of us are the products of gifts and skills, talents and work,or not work, or anger, or abuse. Most of us are the products of other people’s work. Most of us are the products of our genetics and our circumstances. We are who we are because of where we were born, who our parents were. What culture did we live in? Did we have more money or less? As much as we like to think that it’s possible for every person to chart their own destiny, the truth is we are always going to be held captive to somebody else’s destiny. Which sounds awful. If you’re thinking about it in the American context, Paul here offers us a different way to view that. He says here that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness, but not only him, his children also. In the same way, Jesus’ sacrificial death, one that he did nothing to earn or deserve, It’s credited to us. We are the privileged recipients of Jesus’ act of salvation and justification. And then we don’t get what we deserve. That is so often a good thing. Because if we got what we deserved, would we really want it? Instead, we are credited with righteousness. We are credited with other people’s hard work. We are credited with who God sees us to be. And so despite our strengths and our weaknesses, we are given grace upon grace. We are given so much more than we deserve. And that right there is the good news of the gospel, even on the days when it doesn’t be like that. Respond: Now I invite you to put that into practice today. Look around. How many things and people that you see around us are the product of your hard work? And how many of them were gifts? Something you earned through nothing else but somebody else’s righteousness. How many of the things and people who surround you are gifts given to you through the grace of God? And how many times do you find yourself in places of gratitude and joy and freedom for somebody else’s sacrifice? Respond: God of righteousness, we are thankful that who we are is a gift from you and that our salvation, our being made righteousness with you and with one another, It’s not through our own making, but through the acts of Abraham and of Jesus. Help us to be grateful and thankful for the work that others have done on our behalf. In God’s name we pray. Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wfpc.substack.com

    Debits and Credits

  5. Oct 22

    Father Abraham

    What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh,discovered in this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.” Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness.Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised.So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. And he is then also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. Consider: Now Paul uses the wordcircumcised quite a lot in this passage for most of us. Most of us start getting a little uncomfortable when circumcision comes up.But it’s a really important concept. What Paul is reminding us here is that theorder of operations matters. You remember back in middle school when youlearned the first parts of algebra? You remember how your teacher wentthrough the order of operations? That it matters how you work your formula? We learned it as PEMDAS. I thinkmy kids have learned a slightly different acronym. And I’ve learned that inother countries, it’s in a different order, or at least they say things differently. Idon’t know. But PEMDAS was taught to us as this, parentheses, equations, Multiplication or Division, Addition or Subtraction.You see, if you work through that formula in the right order, you get to the endresult, right? Paul reminds us here that Abraham was not saved throughanything that he did. Abraham was not called because of any actions he hadalready taken. God did not choose Abraham because Abraham had done anything Godchose Abraham. God called Abraham. God gave Abraham the gift of faithlong before he ever took his first step into the wilderness. Faith always comesfirst. Faith is always the first step in any journey. Faith is always the first actthat happens. And guess who’s in charge of that? It’s not you. God is always the initiator.God is always the first one to speak. God is always the first one to offer a gift,an olive branch. God is always the one calling and sending. God is always theone lighting fires and sending wind. Nothing that we do brings us salvation. We are not justified through our ownacts. We are not made right with God because it’s not possible for us to dothat yet. We got to get the parentheses in order. And those parentheses areGod. God’s arms wrapped around us. God’s actions initiating. God reaching out to us and seeing our potential long before we are able tosee it ourselves. Yes, there is responsibility on the other side. Yes, we areasked to do things in response to God’s grace. But it’s so important toremember that it is God who begins. That God’s most central identity is theGod of creation. And that God is always, constantly, and consistently creating. So all we haveto do Is respond. And that means that everybody and anybody, maybe evenyou, can be loved and offered grace by God through the gift of faith. Respond: How many times today do you take credit for something that God began? Think through the major things that have happened in your life in the last sixmonths. How many of those things were caused or created by somethingexternal to you? And how did you respond? Were you able to see God’s gift of grace in the midst of them, even the hardones? I invite you to sit and spend a little bit of time today and consider whereGod is initiating, creating, beginning new things in your life. Respond: God of creation, we are thankful for your gift of beginnings. We are grateful that you reach out to us before we do anything. Because if itwere up to us, we’d still be sitting in the field. We ask that you give us thecourage to risk the small steps that you have asked us to take, knowing that all things happen because of your grace and that we can trustyou because you have given us the gift of faith. Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wfpc.substack.com

    Father Abraham

  6. Oct 21

    Gift Policy

    Scripture: Butnow, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been made known, towhich the law and the prophets testify. This righteousness is given throughfaith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jewand Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace and Through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Godpresented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement through the shedding of hisblood to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness because of God’s forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished. God did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time so as to bejust and the one who justifies those who have faith. Where then is boasting? Itis excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, becauseof the law that requires faith. For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes,of Gentiles too, since there is only one God who will justify the circumcised byfaith and the circumcised through the same faith. Do we then nullify the law by this faith? Not at all. Rather, we uphold the law. Consider: So from time to time, we get lost in the details. We get lost in the process andthe rules and the structure and the sentences and the words and thebreakdown of each sentence and grammatical. We get so lost sometimes in the details that we begin to think those things,the sentences and words themselves are holy. We begin to worship thosethings instead of worshiping The one who created all of those things. Fromtime to time, my kids get a little particular. They like to be right. They like to know more than mom and dad about things. They like toespecially know more about things than their brother or sister. And so theyget a little particular. They start arguing about very, very small things. Thismorning, as we were getting into the car, My youngest asked if we could go to my middle child’s school first and drophim off first. And I said, well, no, because his school doesn’t open until 9 andyour school opens at 7.30. To which my middle child responded, well, it’s 9.15.Now, I want to be clear. Drop off starts at 8.45. So nine was an average, a median, a mean, whatever. So we were both right,but in our desire to be right, we forgot about the actual point of theconversation, which was to say that one child’s school opened earlier thanthe other, and that’s why he got dropped off first. We can get lost in this argument about how we are saved. Some people makea whole religion out of a process. Say these exact words, do these exactthings, check these exact boxes. It’s almost like casting a magic spell overour lives. If we just say the right things and do the right things, if we just show up in the right ways, if we wear the right clothes, if we don’twear the wrong clothes, if we eat the right food or don’t eat the wrong foods,that is what will save us in the end. Paul pushes against that so strongly here.He tells us instead that we are saved by faith. We are saved by grace through faith is how the reformer John Calvin put it.And faith is a gift. Faith is not something you do. Faith isn’t even a verb. It’s anoun. Faith is a gift. That is given to all people by the God who loves usunconditionally. God’s grace is poured out onto us despite the fact that sometimes we chooseto argue about 9 and 915. We cannot be saved by grammar. We cannot besaved by Diligently following a set of principles and rules, we cannot be savedby anything that we do. Instead, our lives, our hearts, belong to God. And that is the good news. Because some days I like to get in an argumenttoo. Some days I like to be picky too. Some days I like to be right. And onthose days, I’m missing the point. So try it on today. I wonder how you might approach today if you see it as a gift and not a set of things to accomplish. What if today your value isn’t wrapped up and what youproduce and how much you get done But in how often you can be aware of God’s gift of grace in your life. Respond: So today I ask you to be aware. I invite you to notice where God isshowing up in your life. And tonight, before you go to bed, I want you to makea list. Pull out your notes app or write it down on a piece of paper or just say itout loud to yourself. But make a list of all the ways God showed up in your life. I bet you noticedsome different things happening. Pray: God, we give thanks foryour gift of grace. We give thanks that you save us from ourselves. You save us from our desires to make rules where you create freedom. We thank you for the faith that you give us free of charge. Despite who weare, not because of it. We ask that you help us to offer that grace to others.To live into the faith that you have given us. And to be the kind of people whosee that grace everywhere and every day. Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wfpc.substack.com

    Gift Policy

  7. Oct 20

    Universal Guilt

    Scripture: So what’s the advantage of being a Jew? Or what’s the benefit of circumcision? Plenty in every way. First of all, the Jews were trusted with God’s revelations. What does it matter, then, if some weren’t faithful? Their lack of faith won’t cancel God’s faithfulness, will it? Absolutely not! God must be true, even if every human being is a liar, as it is written: So that it can show that you are right in your words; and you will triumph when you are judged. But if our lack of righteousness confirms God’s justice, what will we say? That God, who brings wrath upon us, isn’t just (I’m speaking rhetorically)? Absolutely not! If God weren’t just, how could he judge the world? 7 But if God’s truth is demonstrated by my lie and it increases his glory, why am I still judged as a sinner? 8 Why not say, “Let’s do evil things so that good things will come out of it”? (Some people who slander us accuse us of saying that, but these people deserve criticism.) All are under the power of sin 9 So what are we saying? Are we better off? Not at all. We have already stated the charge: both Jews and Greeks are all under the power of sin. 10 As it is written, There is no righteous person, not even one. There is no one who understands. There is no one who looks for God. They all turned away. They have become worthless together. There is no one who shows kindness. There is not even one. Their throat is a grave that has been opened. They are deceitful with their tongues, and the poison of vipers is under their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are quick to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways; and they don’t know the way of peace. There is no fear of God in their view of the world. 19 Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, in order to shut every mouth and make it so the whole world has to answer to God. 20 It follows that no human being will be treated as righteous in his presence by doing what the Law says, because the knowledge of sin comes through the Law. Consider: I often feel an urge to be perfect. Not just to be perfect in my words or in my actions but to be perfect. Even though I logically know that I cannot reach perfection, this pressure can be strong and I often am faced with the reality of not living up to my own standard of righteousness. When I read this passage in Romans, I felt that it was pretty harsh from Paul, but as I reflected on it more, I think I started to see how it is something that is actually liberating. An endless search for one’s own perfection is truly a dangerous and incapacitating endeavor. Perfection is something that seems ideal, and it seems like the thing that of course you should want for yourself. But in reality, it becomes this shadow hanging over you. It becomes an impossible standard that you will always fail to achieve. As I reflected on this passage, it hit me that maybe Paul is actually trying to set us free from perfection. After all, he says all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We can’t justify ourselves. We can’t make ourselves perfect because to do so is to invalidate the goal of righteousness. For if you strive for perfection just to be perfect, haven’t you missed the message that you are loved even when you’re not perfect? If you are obsessed with being perfect, can you see that Jesus already did all the work through his life, death, and resurrection. For Christians then the only goal left is to participate with Jesus in that life and death. Paul is critical here of a perfectionist mentality that believes all one must do is live in perfect alignment with the law. It is not laws that bring life but participation with Jesus. We live like Jesus, love like Jesus, and we die to ourselves like Jesus. We don’t do this perfectly, but because Jesus was perfectly righteous in his life, death, and resurrection, we get to share in his righteousness. True righteousness does not come from the pursuit of perfection but from the pursuit of Christ. For if you strive for perfection just to be perfect, then you will never be truly self aware. Self awareness requires accurate self assessment. You can never have an accurate assessment of yourself if you are always comparing yourself to perfection. And without an accurate self assessment, you can never realize how you need others, where you can make proper improvements, how to connect even when you are flawed. The pursuit of perfection is ironically the true danger, and Paul is ultimately trying to break us of our obsession with perfection so that we might be able to see that the fullest righteousness can be found in Christ. I still have work to do when it comes to letting go of perfectionism, I’m sure others do as well. But I think it is a worthy process to do, because it opens up the door to a more accurate self assessment. Without an accurate self understanding, you can never realize how you need others, where you can make proper improvements, or how you can beautifully connect with others even when you are flawed. The pursuit of perfection is ironically the true danger, and Paul is ultimately trying to break us of our obsession with perfection so that we might be able to see that the fullest joy, awareness, and righteousness can be found in Christ. Respond: In what ways am I trying to be perfect. Is that perfectionism getting in the way of me being my best self? Pray: Mighty and righteous God, We pray for humility when we struggle to wrangle our pride. We pray for clarity when we feel lost. We pray for peace when our hearts feel restless. And we pray for your love to enter into our lives. Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wfpc.substack.com

    Universal Guilt

  8. Oct 19

    Revealing Laws

    Scripture: Nowif you call yourself a Jew, if you rely on the law and boast in God, if you knowhis will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law,if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, />a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of knowledge, a teacher oflittle children, Because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge andtruth. You then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preachagainst stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commitadultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob at temples? You who boast in thelaw, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? A person is not a Jew who isone only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is circumcision ofthe heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is notfrom other people, but from God. Consider: This passage is quite the challenge orredress if we look at it closely. Paul is claiming that we can look like people of faith on the outside while ourhearts remain unchanged on the inside. How dare he? And yet how very, verytrue this message is when we dig deeper. How many times have wewitnessed someone claiming to know God better than anyone else Orperhaps we ourselves have outwardly posed as spiritually upright individuals and looked down on others while trying tohide the scars of our own transgressions and acts that are anything butreligious in nature. We want to practice the rules, but do we also want tofollow them? Paul speaks directly to those who rely on their knowledge of thelaw and their religious identity. They know what is right. They teach others. They possess the law. They evencarry the outward signs of belonging to God. Yet Paul reminds them thatsimply having the law or appearing religious is not the same as living inrelationship with God. The problem is not the law itself. God’s law is good. The problem is believing that our external religious practice can substitute fora heart that belongs to God. The cover of the book can be pretty, but thecontent on the inside is what really matters, right? We may attend worship,know scriptures, serve on committees, teach Sunday school, pray, givegenerously, or wear the label Christian. All of these things can be good and meaningful, but none of them bythemselves make us godly individuals. Allowing God in, allowing God toconstantly work and shift and move our hearts into a more holy place. That iswhat being Christian really means. And it is a never ending process. This passage invites us to ask an honest question. Is my faith primarilysomething I practice on the outside? Or is God transforming me on theinside? An even bigger question to me is, am I remaining open to that changedespite what it does to my predisposed ideas or suggestions? Our faith becomes authentic when our outward lives begin to reflect whatGod is doing within us. Respond: Take a few minutes today to take inventory. What spiritual words haveyou spoken recently? Were they words of judgment or words ofencouragement? Have you spent much time taking stock of your own faithjourney recently? Have you felt stuck or static in your faith? You know, have you been challenged to grow or change a thought or beliefrecently? Just take inventory and sit with it for a few minutes. If you don’t feelany growth has happened recently, perhaps there is a beautiful opportunitythere. Pray: Gracious God, help us look beyond outwardappearances and religious habits. Search our hearts and show us where our faith has become merely external.Transform us from the inside out. So that our words, actions and lives reflectyour love and grace. Through Christ, make our faith genuine and our heartsfaithful. Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wfpc.substack.com

    Revealing Laws
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