Promise with the King 4-29-13

"Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. A spirit of prostitution is in their heart; they do not acknowledge the LORD.” Hos. 5:4

God, out of LOVE, calls us to live a holy life. (1 Thess. 4:7) As we better understand this divine love affair, we are much less likely to be seduced by “the show”.  

“The show”: Society’s theater, where in the masses blaspheme in matters they don’t understand. Like unreasoning animals their idea of pleasure is to carouse with eyes full of adultery, mouths full of empty and boastful words, appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, and enticing the vulnerable with promises of freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity.  (2 Pet. 2:12-14; 18-19)

Yet Gal. 5:1 encourages us: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery!”

People frequently comment on the banner of blessing (vs. a yoke of slavery) that our family lives under. All we can say is thank you, Lord Jesus. The primary “secret”? ~Amidst inevitable difficulties of this life, we Cleary’s pray that we each will continually make personal choices that honor our Lord’s binding covenant with us.

This is a profound concept to understand, but likened to Jonathan and David’s example of covenant (1 Sam. 18:3-4), we too have exchanged our identity, our defense, our strength and our very life with Christ.

We exchanged our identity with Christ by choosing to take off our sin nature and put on His robes of righteousness … His character. (Jesus clothed Himself in our humanity and took upon Himself the sins of mankind, past, present and future. Out of LOVE, He paid the ultimate penalty for our sin --the cross--, and now sits at the right hand of the Father making continual intercession on our behalf.)

And we’ve exchanged our defense and strength with Christ by taking off our independent “me-me” life, putting on His armor (Eph. 6:10-18), then taking on our covenant partner’s (Christ) enemies, with His strength (His Holy Spirit within us), whilst trusting Him to take on our enemies, both tangible and intangible.  

~Praying this is making sense to you.

The cool thing is that this kind of faith and power is not limited. Through developing an intimate and trusting relationship with God by means of studying His Word, prayer, and obediently living out our days in the joy of His presence (no matter how difficult the circumstances), the flow of His blessings is limitless.

Living through the power of His love and strength this week,   ~Shaun and Betsy

Pseudo Love vs The Real Deal 4-15-13

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” Jn. 15:12

Believers in America today too often believe “to love as Christ loves”, means we must accept, then embrace all of society's lifestyle choices and cravings.

Not long ago, we Cleary’s had a note placed on our minivan in the high school parking lot telling us that if we’re truly Believers, we would “love as Christ loves” and embrace a particular progressive movement at the school.

Question: What does Christ mean when He says, “love as I love”? Does Jesus mean embrace all lifestyle choices and cravings of sinful man? Or does He mean something quite different? 

Let’s explore what He says in His love letter to us:

First, Jesus tells us and shows us how much He loves us:

His unfailing love is as high as the heavens. His faithfulness reaches to the clouds. He is so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for His help. ...God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son (God had His Son beaten, scourged, forsaken and crucified), so that everyone who believes in Jesus will not perish but have eternal life. (Ps. 57:10; Ps. 86:5 Jn. 3:16)

Next, Jesus describes what love looks like:
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and 
endures through every circumstance. 1Cor. 13:4-7

Then Jesus cautions us:

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. 1 Jn. 2:15-17

The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world. Don't you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.” Jn. 15:19; Jms. 4:4

What love He’s lavished on us who believe.  Oh that we may love others in the manner He intends, and not via our own intentions in His name.

His is coming so soon.

Much love,

Shaun and Betsy

Eagerly Awaiting 4-11-13

These days, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.

But our citizenship is in heaven.

And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. Phil. 3:18-21

What are some of the qualities produced when we genuinely “live with the expectancy of Christ imminent return”?

Development of a sense of self-examination and a commitment to “training”, where then the indwelling Spirit refines our character and transforms us into His image

Development and refinement of our unique “calling”, so we more effectively serve Him, plus realize a higher level of personal fulfillment

Development of a yearning for intimacy with Christ, where He then keeps our hopes vibrant and our spirits lifted

Development of dependence on the Spirit in us (versus dependence our own strength, intellect or feelings), generating freedom, joy and rich blessing

Development of inward groaning concerning sin and a yearning for our eternal home

Development of a sense of urgency to “get our house in order” and share Jesus’ love and truth with others

Development of genuine love to aide a loved-starved world (LOVE bred from the Spirit within and not our limited nature)

That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe. 1Tim. 4:10

May we in everything set an example by doing what is good. In our teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose us may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us. Titus 2:7-8

He is coming for us soon.

Shaun and Betsy

Clinging...to What? 4-1-13

“I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses”

2 Cor. 12:5

God makes us a powerful promise when He says, in 2 Cor. 2:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”

~But what does this promise connote and how does it play out in our daily lives?

Looking up the meaning of this verse, we discover that His kids are actually possessed by His unfailing strength, unmerited favor, goodwill and kindness.  … ~We are actually possessed by His personal attributes when we make the choice to revere and adore God in our moment-to-moment life choices.

Further, this unfailing strength (His resources and ability, power for performing miracles, moral power, influencing power, and excellence of soul) is performed and accomplished when we are weak in ourselves, and strong in the Lord.    …

~“Weakness” resulting not only from infirmities/illnesses, but also, weakness in bearing trials/troubles, weakness in restraining corrupt desires, weakness in gaining understanding, and weakness for doing great and glorious things in this life.

This Easter week has challenged each of us Cleary’s in differing areas of weakness as we ventured in different corners of the USA. Choosing to cling to Him and not our own notions, we praise our Lord’s faithfulness in bringing forth unexplainable joy, peace and understanding into our diverse situations.

This is motivating. As we begin to truly understand the nature of God’s grace and power in our lives, and recognize what necessitates their ignition, we too join Paul and say, “I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses”.

But it’s a difficult battle. Our world system places her confidence in powers other than God Almighty, and demands we do likewise.

So the question for us this week is this:

Is my source of strength today GOD in me or ME in me?

(MY feelings, MY intellect, MY courage, MY might)

In this together,

Much love,

Shaun and Betsy