Refiner's Fire

I thought I would share some thoughts from a book I read recently called Messy Spirituality, I may have shared some of this before since I've had this book for awhile. But it was what started me down the path of understanding how depraved I am without Christ. Most religions these days strive for perfection, even some reformed churches strive to be perfect. They concentrate more on the doing than on God being with them and in them. We should be resting in Christ who is the Sabbath rather than worrying about if we're keeping the Sabbath or doing this or that. Much like the story of Martha and Mary, Martha was so concerned about doing things to prepare for the meal, while Mary sat at the feet of Jesus and listened, rested in Him.

There's a few quotes from this book I'd like to share, some may not be worded the best since Im pretty sure this author isn't from the reformed faith but the idea is there and I will try to explain if need be.

First some verses to reflect upon, all NASB:

Psalm 16:2 "I said to the Lord, "You are my Lord; I have no good besides You."

This verse if only some people understood its meaning would understand how depraved humans are and how in need we are of a Savior. We cannot save ourselves by saying some simple prayer because without Christ in us, we are nothing... no good is in us, no desire to be good, and absolutely no desire to follow and believe in Christ. That desire comes from God alone because we have no good in us.

Psalm 37:24 When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand.

This verse has meant more to me in this last year than any other. God is the one who causes all things, and when we fall whether thats from sinning, or trials, or anything that is hard in life... we know that God holds our hand. We dont have to face suffering without CHrist, for we have CHrist within us to protect, comfort and heal us. If we are in pain, if we have messed up lives, or if we are going through hard times we know the Lord is soviereign over all and he shall hold our hand, and God will sustain us, He will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear, we will not be hurled headlong.

And I have more verses but for now I'll end with this one then some quotes maybe write more later. This verse is comforting because we know when times are hard we are not alone, other Christians have struggled with sin just as much as we may have.

Psalm 40:12 For evils beyond number have surrounded me; My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see; and my heart has failed me.

Even when we ourselves have failed God, when we cannot see and dont know how to change. God picks us up, loves us and changes who we are. Ive noticed more change in my life over the last year from just being with God from when I stressed over things. God will never forsake us because God is present in our messed up lives. And before you know it God has changed that messed up life, though we are never without sin in this life we will always sin, even daily... God continues to teach and grow us. He shall mold us and make us more like Christ His Son, teach us the lessons that Christ taught His disciples.

Now for some quotes:

"The way of the spiritual life begins where we are now in the mess of our lives. Accepting the reality of our broken, flawed lives is the beginning of spirituality not because the spiritual life will remove our flaws but because we let go of seeking perfection and, instead, seek God, the one who is present in the tangledness of our lives." (p13)

And this I like too, shows that even the bible characters had messed up lives, yet through it all were great men/women of faith.

" What? Drunk and naked? I dont recall any of my Bible teachers or pastors talking about Noah's...uh... moment of indiscretion...er... weakness...um... failure."

We all fail at times... we all have things in our past we look back and regret. But the best thing in our walk with God is we can live each day in the moment. We can forget about our past sins that happened YESTERDAY and look forward to today, how we can change and be a better person, how we can obey God more. BUt when we sin that day, when we fail which we will... we know that we have a god who is forgiving, full of grace, and forgets our sins, while holding no grudges. If only people were more like God in the way they interact with others, if only we could let old behaviors of our friends and family go as easily as god does. Im not saying that we are not punished for our sins, God makes that clear that a father who loves their son will discipline them but in love. Continueing the quote:

"Why should I be surprised? Turns out all of the biblical characters were a complex mix of strengths and weaknesses. They were men and women who could be gently, holy, defenders of the faith one minute, and insecure, mentally unstable, unbelieving, shrewd, lying, grudge-holding tyrants the next. The New Testament characters weren't much better. His disciples were hardly models of saintliness. They were commited to Jesus, were ready to follow him anywhere (with one notable exception) but they were also troubled by infighting, always jockeying for position, suspicious of each other, accusatory, impulsive, selfish, lazy, and disloyal."

I cant recall in all my years of going to church hearing about this, no one pointed out the bible characters flaws, no one hardly ever talked about forgiveness and grace. It was always act holier than the person next to you, always about who is holier in the church than the next person, always about doing good. Course we are to do good, but what is it like for a Christian when they fail? That was never talked about because it was to never happen. Which is a sad thing because when we do fail, when I used to during the time in my old church I would feel guilt for days, I would get down on myself, and I would feel like I let God down and He was mad at me. I had an unhealthy view of how God was when I failed.
The truth is, it does happen we fail all the time.. we fail God, we fail ourselves, we fail each other. And in those times we know that we can come to God because He loves us unconditionally. We can tell him of our failures, ask forgiveness for our sins, and make a pact to do better next time. And God will love us, show us grace and forgive us. What happens if we fail again? The same thing grace and forgiveness, with most likely a bit of discipline to but its out of love.

I also liked this quote, it kind of hits what Paul was saying when he said pray without ceasing. "Thinking about God is being with God. Being with God is spirituality. Thinking about God is praying" Kind of flies in the face of those who say you must go to church twice a week, and if you do your more spiritual than a person who doesnt. BAH HUM BUG! That dont mean a thing.. they may only think about God those two days, where someone who doesn't go may think all days of the week about God, going to church says nothing about someones spirituality let alone if they truly understand Gods Word. Dont get me wrong church aint a bad thing as long as they are following the true God. And I love how people go to church and yet dont act like it, most church people I know are the most hypocritical stuckup self righteous people I know. Not all... but a wide majority make it out to be more a social class thing and competition.

hehhe I like this too "When you and I stop pretending, we expose the pretending of everyone else. The bubble of the perfect Christian life is burst, and we all must face the reality of our brokenness."

And since this is so long already I will end with this:

"Spiritual describes someone who is incomplete, imperfectly living their life for God. Spirituality isnt about being finished and perfect; spirituality is about trusting God in our unfinishedness."

In summary, we are not perfect Christians we deal with failure everyday. But even though we sin we have a God who loves us unconditionally, will forgive us of our sins, and hold no grudges against us. Ten years from now God wont look back on our lives and say, you've sinned too much I cant love you anymore. God wont think that day when we've sinned 10,000 times the SAME sin, that we are worthless children and He doesn't love us as much, He is mad at us. God is not like that.. God is not a mean god, God is a loving god, for God is Love. And the more one realizes Gods prescene in their messed up lives, the more easily it is to love Him back. Love in our actions, in our life and to each other in the body of Christ.