Josh McDowell's Blog, page 25
May 12, 2019
Self-Image: See Yourself as God Sees You
Welcome to another post in our new year-long blog series, “Journey Together,” where we answer questions about God, relationships, and life!Hi there! We’re Jennifer Davis and Anne Clark. Having the opportunity to work with Josh McDowell, we’ve learned just how important self-image is. Josh says it affects every relationship in our lives. For that reason, we’re going to chat about how to develop a healthy self-image and why it’s so important. Josh has written a book on the topic called See Yourself as God Sees You, which has positively impacted lives around the world. Before we get started, let’s hear Josh share why he felt compelled to write it.
Says Josh….
“I believe that one of the key factors in life, especially in a Christian view, is relationships. And I believe a person’s [unhealthy] self-image is a basic problem in loving, intimate, relationships. Why? If you don’t see yourself as God sees you, who He created you to be, it’s very hard for you to see someone else in a way that God created them and their value in life. Part of a relationship is being able to see another person for who they are. You need to know who you are in God’s view, what God says about you as His created being, then you’ll understand more about the other person. Second, if you are not yourself, then you’re never really going to be intimate with and be known by someone else because you’re always building up a facade to cover up [who] you think you really are. So, the more I see myself as God sees me, the more I can be open to other people and real.”
Why This Truth Matters
ANNE: I can so relate to what Josh says! I became a believer at 16, when I accepted Christ into my life as my Savior. What I didn’t conceive of was the deep love God has for me. Even though the Bible says that God is love, it never really became personal and real to me until I went through a situation in which I became desperate for direction from Him. That life event drew me to His Word, in a more in-depth way than ever before, and I began to see the theme of God’s love throughout the Bible. God’s steadfast and faithful love became so personal to me, in a way that my background and culture had not allowed to sink in. That journey to learn the truth and experience His deep love for me changed my life!
JENNIFER: You said something that really resonated with me. You mentioned culture, and how it contributes to how we view ourselves.
ANNE: It’s so strong.
JENNIFER: Yes! There’s often an expectation of “If I get this car, I’m going to be more valuable,” “If I get this job, I’ll be more valuable, “If I look better, I’ll be more valuable.”
ANNE: Oh, skinnier for sure.
JENNIFER: That’s right!
ANNE: Culture does try to define us. Even all the way back to, as Josh talks about in See Yourself as God Sees You, the voices that we hear growing up, from our parents and other family members. Josh speaks from a standpoint of authority, considering his really painful childhood. It’s so impactful how he brings God’s truth and lays it over what culture tells us.
JENNIFER: He does that very well.
ANNE: It brings to light how the Bible says no matter what culture says to us or about us, His Word is always true, and along with His love, it never changes. In his book, Josh did a fantastic job of not only giving us his own insight, but also using scripture to prove his point, validating his message.
JENNIFER: I agree, and honestly I have never heard self-image described in such a profound way. Josh has a beautiful way of illuminating God’s truth in relatable and personal ways, as I’ve never heard before.
ANNE: Absolutely.
JENNIFER: Well that’s all the time we have; I wish we had more! There is so much more we could say about how valuable we are through God’s eyes. We encourage you to grab a copy of See Yourself as God Sees You. It really opened my eyes to the stark difference between my false identity — derived from unhealthy influences — and my true identity, based on who God says I am. Thanks for watching!
Don't listen to what culture says about who you are. Only what God says is the truth! We can take Him at His Word!
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It’s not always easy for us to love and accept ourselves. Life has probably convinced you that your identity is shaped by how you look, how you perform, and what you achieve. But in See Yourself As God Sees You, you will discover the truth: that only God’s view of you matters.
The great news: He sees you as loved, accepted, and valuable. Regardless of your past, God sees you for who you really are — and He likes what He sees! This book works well in Book Clubs; the discussion questions help readers to understand and apply what they learn.
Softcover. 202 pages.
In the next post in our Journey Together series, let’s look at how our self-image affects every relationship in our life. Get super healthy in your self-identity!
Catch up: The introductory post to the Journey Together series.
The post Self-Image: See Yourself as God Sees You appeared first on Josh.org.
May 10, 2019
Josh’s Special Mother’s Day Message
Click to watch video | Transcript
Moms, you deserve honor and affirmation every day, not just one day of the year! So Happy Mother’s Day, 365 days a year!
“Hi, Mom!”
You know what’s interesting to me? That in all my years of watching sports, whenever the television camera keyed in on a player on the bench, I only ever heard ONE player say, “Hi, Dad!” EVERY other time the player said, “Hi, Mom!” You wanna know why that is?
Because of the special role moms play in the heart, memory, and life of their children.
Bottom line, moms build special connections with their kids because they “get” the value of relationship. Much more than dads do — though we try! Perhaps because God created moms to be nurturers, they seem to understand that relationship trumps rules. Here’s the truth: rules without relationship lead to rebellion. But when rules stem from relationship, kids listen!
Develop strong relationships with your children, and watch the life-long influence you can have with them.
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When I think back on my childhood, my dad was hardly ever around for me — or if he was around, he was drunk. But I so clearly remember all the times my mother was there for me. She stood in the gap, ensuring that I felt wanted and loved. I think that’s the special ministry of moms: the ability to really be there for their kids, particularly if they’re sensitive to God’s leading.
“Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.” ~ Proverbs 1:8-9
My wife, Dottie, really helped me to minister to our children as they grew up. And she gave me the huge gift of always elevating me in the presence of our children. Moms, that’s a terrific thing to do for your children, especially if their dad can’t be around as much because of work, ministry, or other reasons! Help your children to feel loved by their father — especially when he is incapable of showing it — and they’ll love you even more for it.
I know that you single moms carry a heavy burden, but you can excel at being the primary foundation in your children’s lives by building a strong bond based on availability, love, and trust. But don’t hesitate to let others help you to carry this load. There are, for example, so many older people without grandchildren in their lives who would love to have a shot at filling the role!
Moms, everywhere, I encourage you to begin building strong relationships with your kids early, and to dig in and keep the relationship going as they grow (even through the teen years when it feels like they’re not listening to you!), so you’ll get to savor the thrill of having a tremendous, life-long impact in their lives. I so enjoy spending time with my now-adult kids and their children!
Moms, I salute you!
Josh
P.S. Want to know my 7 A’s of Parenting? I’ve made a bunch of short videos in which I share these valuable parenting tips I learned over the years with my kids. My seven tips cover the topics of Affirmation, Acceptance, Appreciation, Availability, Affection, Approach Their World, and Accountability. Check them out!
I’ve been married to my lovely bride, Dottie, for nearly half a century now (wow!). She is an excellent mother to our kids because she always strives to be a conduit of God’s grace, love, and patience. Our kids adore her — as do I!
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“Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: ‘Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.’” ~Proverbs 31:28-31
If you need parenting support, please peruse our Youth & Family Resources page. We’re here to encourage and support you!
In the next post in our Journey Together series, let’s look at how our self-image affects every relationship in our life. Want to be a terrific parent? Get super healthy in your self-identity!
Catch up: The introductory post to the Journey Together series.
The post Josh’s Special Mother’s Day Message appeared first on Josh.org.
May 5, 2019
God: Our Relevant Father
A Father’s Presence Matters
Many people would agree that Will Smith made his career through his great performance in the old TV show Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, a sitcom in which Will plays a fictionalized younger version of himself as a poor boy from Philadelphia who moved in with his rich aunt and uncle in Bel-Air.
Many also would say that Will’s greatest performance in Fresh Prince was that poignant father scene. If you viewed that scene, you know what I’m talking about. In that episode, Will’s biological father pays him a visit after abandoning the family 14 years earlier. He promises to take Will on a nice father-son trip — but cancels at the last minute.
Will is heartbroken, though he manages to hold himself together as he watches his father walk out the door — and out of his life. He tries to shake off the pain with the help of his sympathetic uncle, but the pressure on his heart expresses itself first in raging anger, then tears. “How come he don’t want me, man?” asks Will as his uncle pulls him into a tight bear hug and they cry together. The typically funny sitcom dove into the painful.
This certainly isn’t the only tv/film scene featuring an emotionally gripping “father moment.” How many movies can you think of where the protagonist has a tenuous relationship with his or her father? The darkest moment in these films tends to be when the father rejects his son or daughter. And the brightest moment is when the father returns and restores the relationship.
Fathers. Their existence (or non-existence) in our lives burrows deep, affecting our very soul. Those of us who grew up with absent fathers often struggle with belonging. Those who grew up with abusive fathers often struggle with passivity. Those who grew up with unloving fathers often struggle with acceptance. These are all overly-simplistic generalizations, but fathers matter. We can all attest to the truth of this statement, based on our own personal experience. A father is critically relevant to a child.
Isn't it interesting that in the Bible, the God of heaven and earth, infinitely powerful, all-knowing and perfectly holy, addresses Himself as our Father?
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God: Our Good, Good Father
It isn’t an accident that God calls Himself our Father. He presents Himself to us in the most tender way, holding us in love from that deep place in our soul. He is never an absent father. He is never an abusive father. He is never an unloving father. God is the father who sees us, knows us, and understands us. He loves our personalities and desires to be us with. Let’s be honest: our hearts cry out for this full acceptance. God is so relevant to our life!
I don’t mean to suggest that our Heavenly Father makes our earthly father irrelevant or unimportant. Or that God is the instant cure-all for any father wounds we experience as we grow up. My point is that the relationship God offers to each of us goes deep, to our very core. It’s not superficial, conditional, or fleeting. It can meet the needs of every person, in every culture, because God completely knows us.
God is with us when no one else is. He loves us when no one else does. He makes Himself present in our lives and in the lives of our fellow brothers and sisters as we gather together. We don’t need to have our act together before coming to God. I’m telling you: the God of this universe is a good Father!
Right here, right now, and in Heaven, where we’ll be with Him in person. Heaven, by the way, is not about strumming on a harp, or enjoying a bunch of virgins, or even governing our own planet. It’s not about escaping desire, or becoming part of the cosmos, or enjoying an endless all-we-can-eat ice cream buffet without bellyache.
Heaven is about our one-on-one relationship with God! Revelation 21:4 says that In Heaven every tear will be wiped from our eyes. That’s beautiful, but not the real beauty of Heaven. The real beauty of Heaven is that He will be the one wiping away our tears!
“How come he don’t want me, man?” isn’t a question we can ever ask about God. He wants us fiercely, wholly, and unconditionally. Let’s run to that love! Oh, that our entire world would long for and come to know our amazing, utterly relevant Father.
View or download Josh’s The Father Factor, 25 years of compiled research documenting the impact fathers have on their families.
In our next blog post, let’s look more at how our self-image is affected by our relationships.
Catch up: The introductory post to this series.
The post God: Our Relevant Father appeared first on Josh.org.
God, Our Relevant Father
A Father’s Presence Matters
Many people would agree that Will Smith made his career through his great performance in the old TV show Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, a sitcom in which Will plays a fictionalized younger version of himself as a poor boy from Philadelphia who moved in with his rich aunt and uncle in Bel-Air.
Many also would say that Will’s greatest performance in Fresh Prince was that poignant father scene. If you viewed that scene, you know what I’m talking about. In that episode, Will’s biological father pays him a visit after abandoning the family 14 years earlier. He promises to take Will on a nice father-son trip — but cancels at the last minute.
Will is heartbroken, though he manages to hold himself together as he watches his father walk out the door — and out of his life. He tries to shake off the pain with the help of his sympathetic uncle, but the pressure on his heart expresses itself first in raging anger, then tears. “How come he don’t want me, man?” asks Will as his uncle pulls him into a tight bear hug and they cry together. The typically funny sitcom dove into the painful.
This certainly isn’t the only tv/film scene featuring an emotionally gripping “father moment.” How many movies can you think of where the protagonist has a tenuous relationship with his or her father? The darkest moment in these films tends to be when the father rejects his son or daughter. And the brightest moment is when the father returns and restores the relationship.
Fathers. Their existence (or non-existence) in our lives burrows deep, affecting our very soul. Those of us who grew up with absent fathers often struggle with belonging. Those who grew up with abusive fathers often struggle with passivity. Those who grew up with unloving fathers often struggle with acceptance. These are all overly-simplistic generalizations, but fathers matter. We can all attest to the truth of this statement, based on our own personal experience. A father is critically relevant to a child.
Isn't it interesting that in the Bible, the God of heaven and earth, infinitely powerful, all-knowing and perfectly holy, addresses Himself as our Father?
Click To Tweet
God: Our Good, Good Father
It isn’t an accident that God calls Himself our Father. He presents Himself to us in the most tender way, holding us in love from that deep place in our soul. He is never an absent father. He is never an abusive father. He is never an unloving father. God is the father who sees us, knows us, and understands us. He loves our personalities and desires to be us with. Let’s be honest: our hearts cry out for this full acceptance. God is so relevant to our life!
I don’t mean to suggest that our Heavenly Father makes our earthly father irrelevant or unimportant. Or that God is the instant cure-all for any father wounds we experience as we grow up. My point is that the relationship God offers to each of us goes deep, to our very core. It’s not superficial, conditional, or fleeting. It can meet the needs of every person, in every culture, because God completely knows us.
God is with us when no one else is. He loves us when no one else does. He makes Himself present in our lives and in the lives of our fellow brothers and sisters as we gather together. We don’t need to have our act together before coming to God. I’m telling you: the God of this universe is a good Father!
Right here, right now, and in Heaven, where we’ll be with Him in person. Heaven, by the way, is not about strumming on a harp, or enjoying a bunch of virgins, or even governing our own planet. It’s not about escaping desire, or becoming part of the cosmos, or enjoying an endless all-we-can-eat ice cream buffet without bellyache.
Heaven is about our one-on-one relationship with God! Revelation 21:4 says that In Heaven every tear will be wiped from our eyes. That’s beautiful, but not the real beauty of Heaven. The real beauty of Heaven is that He will be the one wiping away our tears!
“How come he don’t want me, man?” isn’t a question we can ever ask about God. He wants us fiercely, wholly, and unconditionally. Let’s run to that love! Oh, that our entire world would long for and come to know our amazing, utterly relevant Father.
In our next blog post, let’s look more at how our self-image is affected by our relationships.
Catch up: The introductory post to this series.
The post God, Our Relevant Father appeared first on Josh.org.
April 27, 2019
If I Can’t See God, How Do I Know He Is Real? Quick VIDEO
Original post by Sean McDowell here. Used with permission.
Sean McDowell, Ph.D. is a professor of Christian Apologetics at Biola University, best-selling author, popular speaker, part-time high school teacher, and the Resident Scholar for Summit Ministries, California. Follow him on Twitter: @sean_mcdowell and his blog: seanmcdowell.org.
The post If I Can’t See God, How Do I Know He Is Real? Quick VIDEO appeared first on Josh.org.
April 25, 2019
Self-Image: Five Steps To Overcome Shame
As I mentioned in my previous post, our shame and self-image plays a significant factor in the unhealthy thoughts and actions we struggle with on a daily basis. Many of us don’t yet see ourselves as God sees us, because we’re stuck in seeing ourselves as the world, friends, and even the haters see us (#HatersGonHate). We struggle to love our neighbor as ourself because we don’t love ourself (Matthew 22:39). We struggle to accept God’s love for us because we view life through the filter of our shame.
Shame has been at the root of mankind’s struggle since day one, when sin entered the Garden of Eden. But Jesus can break the chains of shame.
Jesus healed much of my shame and negative self-view through the five steps I share below. I believe they’ll help you find healing and freedom too.
It took a proactive daily choice, and praying for God’s healing, to overcome my “worthless sinner” shame mentality. Jesus brought healing and freedom through these five steps. I encourage you to take them, too.
1. Understand What God Says About You
I began to study and understand what God says about me through Scripture.
I learned that I have inherent value and dignity (Genesis 1:27), that I am loved for who I am (Ephesians 2:4), that I am uniquely gifted (1 Peter 4:10), and that I am here for a purpose (Ephesians 2:10). That Christ defeated not just sin, but the effects of sin on the cross — including shame. Jesus gave me a new identity as a son of God when I began a personal relationship with Him (1 John 3:1) and received His forgiveness for my wrongs. These understandings developed the mindset I needed for this truth to begin to sink deep into my heart.
2. Surround Yourself With People Who Affirm the Truth of Who God Says You Are
I began to surround myself with people who affirmed my true value, who loved me for who I was, and who accepted and encouraged me.
These affirming experiences helped the truth of my value in God’s eyes to sink into my head and heart.
3. Stop Listening to Certain Voices
I stopped listening to the voices of those who perpetuated the “worthless sinner” mentality in my life — including certain bible teachers, authors, bloggers, and friends.
If you listen closely, you’ll start to notice how many Christians teach that “humans are evil and bad,” rather than the Biblical truth which is “humans are broken.” When you start paying close attention, you’ll begin to realize how many obsess about sin and the old self (Romans 6:6), rather than putting their emphasis on our inherent value as the pinnacle of God’s creation (Genesis 1:26-27), His love for us, and our new identity as saints (Galatians 2:20, Colossians 1:11-13, Ephesians 2:18-20).
4. Cut the Trash-Talking Voice of Shame
I made the conscious decision to cut out the trash-talking voice of shame in my head.
For years, I had been turning inward on myself, letting my thoughts and emotions run wild. I routinely told myself negative things like, “Yeah, I guess I am worthless,” and “I can’t do anything right,” which only reinforced the deeply rooted lies. For years, when I felt really sad about myself or situations in my life, I’d just sit with it rather than confront the lies that lead to the deep sadness. How self-defeating was that?! I’m not sure how many lies Satan whispers to us, because we do a pretty good job of feeding them to ourselves.
I’m not sure how many lies Satan whispers to us, because we do a pretty good job of feeding them to ourselves.
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5. Meditate on the Truth
I began meditating, morning and night, on specific verses about who God is and who I am as His loved, righteous, redeemed son.
Whenever the lies about myself came up, I’d take those thoughts captive and make them obedient to the truth of Christ in that scenario: who I am in Christ. For this to not simply be intellectual, but to sink into my heart, I visualized past experiences with God, where I had encountered His presence, love, and goodness.
Shame Off You
Each of the above steps drew me closer to God, because I began to see Him for who He truly is: my loving Father. As my default view of myself began to change, I was freed up to share the love I was experiencing with others. As I got God’s eyes on me, I was able to get God’s eyes on other people.
I began to have more compassion and empathy for others. I desired more and more to share with people how much God loves them, and desires a deep personal relationship with them. I began to experience the life I was meant to live, one of deep friendship with God and others, being fully known and fully loved — and inviting others into this life of true fulfillment.
Which steps will you implement in your life this week, as you ask Jesus to grow you?
At the cross, Jesus overcame all shame. Period. Now, it’s only a matter of living into what is true. Take these steps as you ask Jesus to bring healing and freedom from shame. You’ll be freed up to experience a life of maximum satisfaction, because you’ll be living in your true value. You’ll encounter deeper love with God, self, and others.
God desires for you to see Him as He truly is, so that you can see yourself as He sees you, and others as He sees them. #loved # yourvalue #noshame
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April 21, 2019
5 Attributes of God: Viewing God Correctly
God lives up to His promises because His character never changes. His faithfulnesses, as the Bible reminds us, is immeasurable.
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Why is it important that we view God as He really is?
A.W. Tozer, in his classic book, The Knowledge of the Holy, puts it this way: “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”
What does Tozer mean by this? He means that if we are to truly experience the life-changing power of Christianity, we must hold the correct view that God is all-powerful, sovereign, holy, just, and merciful. Adds Tozer: “Man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshipper entertains high or low thoughts of God.”
God has shared numerous attributes about Himself, so that we can correctly view Him within the limited capacity of our puny human brains.
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Can We Really Know God?
How do we know what God is like? The Bible. The Bible is full of details on what’s important to God. In broad strokes it tells us what He loves (us!), and what He hates (sin). It gets nitty gritty on His guidelines for how we are to love and forgive others, and His stance on stealing, coveting, and killing. It tells us how to battle our pride. It even leaves us with no doubt as to His views on some of our biggest societal issues, including porn, abortion, and homelessness.
Quick question: Do you entertain “high” or “low” thoughts about God? Do you know Him as your Creator — or more as a cosmic genie? Do you have a daily relationship with God — or do you seek Him out only when you have a problem?
Let’s look at five attributes of God’s nature. Each of them points us to seeing God correctly: as good, gracious, and reliable. He is who He is, not who we try to make Him into. God loves us fiercely, but His justice is as concrete as His love.
God is All-Powerful
“O Sovereign LORD! You have made the heavens and earth by Your great power. Nothing is too hard for You!” (Jeremiah 32:17)
God enjoys unlimited power; absolutely nothing is too hard for Him. God can simply speak something into existence! Everything God wants to happen, will happen; nothing can thwart or prevent His plans. God even has power over life and death. None can challenge Him or His plans. Because God is good, His power reflects His good character. We can trust that God not only holds this crazy world in the palm of His hand — but our individuals hurts and fears and needs as well. We serve a BIG God.
Notes Tozer: “God knows instantly and effortlessly all matter and all matters, all mind and every mind, all spirit and all spirits, all being and every being, all creaturehood and all creatures, every plurality and all pluralities, all law and every law, all relations, all causes, all thoughts, all mysteries, all enigmas, all feeling, all desires, every unuttered secret, all thrones and dominions, all personalities, all things visible and invisible in heaven and in earth, motion, space, time, life, death, good, evil, heaven, and hell.”
God is all-powerful because He is sovereign.
God is Sovereign
“All the people of the earth are nothing compared to Him. He has the power to do as He pleases among the angels of heaven and with those who live on earth. No one can stop Him or challenge Him, saying, ‘What do You mean by doing these things?’” (Daniel 4:35)
God is self-sufficient and self-sustaining. He has no need of anything, including us. Yet He finds it a good thing to work through us to accomplish His master plan. So why are we too often guilty of trying to define God, stuffing Him inside a box we label and think we control? As if! Let’s not kid ourselves. God has dominion over all, including our life and death. God’s power diminishes any we think we have!
“Left to ourselves we tend immediately to reduce God to manageable terms,” notes Tozer. “We want to get Him where we can use Him, or at least know where He is when we need Him. We want a God we can in some measure control.”
God is sovereign because He is completely holy and just.
God is Holy and Just
I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.” (Isaiah 46:9-10)
God is perfect. Thus His holy presence demands that He reject our sin. But because He loves us so fiercely, He sacrificed Himself on the cross so that we can stand in right relationship with Him. Think about that: only God’s holiness could cover the filth of our sin. But just as He fights for us, God will turn His back on us if we refuse to give up our sin. Because God respects our free will, He leaves the choice entirely up to us. Now that’s a gracious God!
“Justice is not something God has,” notes Tozer. “Justice is something that God is.”
Because God is holy, He is pure love.
God is Loving
“ And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from His love, Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can not keep God’s love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35, 37-39)
God’s goodness stems from His loving nature. Not even our gravest sin minimizes God’s love for us! As Joyce Meyer frequently says, God separates our “who” from our “do.” We may have bad moments, but that doesn’t make us bad people in God’s eyes. Isn’t that amazing?! He instantly forgives us when we ask, and remembers our sin no more. He hears even our softest whisper of remorse!
“We need never shout across the spaces to an absent God,” notes Tozer. “He is nearer than our own soul, closer than our most secret thoughts.”
Because God is fully loving, He extends unmeasured mercy.
God is Merciful
“The LORD is gracious and merciful; Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.” (Psalm 145:8)
God is omniscient; He knows the past, present, and future. He knows every thought and word and action we’ll take today, tomorrow, even next year. Yet He has promised to “never relent from showing mercy to His children.” Thus, he administers His justice to us fairly. God listens to our pleas for mercy, and washes away our transgressions.
“As judgment is God’s justice confronting moral inequity,” adds Tozer, “so mercy is the goodness of God confronting human suffering and guilt. Were there no guilt in the world, no pain and no tears, God would yet be infinitely merciful; but His mercy might well remain hidden in His heart, unknown to the created universe. No voice would be raised to celebrate the mercy of which none felt the need. It is human misery and sin that call forth the divine mercy.”
God promises to never relent from showing His mercy to us. It is instantly given, when we confess our sins. As a society, however, we have decided we don’t need mercy. Because, we’ve decided, that a loving, merciful God won’t eventually punish us by casting us from His presence. Tozer puts it like this: “The vague and tenuous hope that God is too kind to punish the ungodly, has become a deadly opiate for the consciences of millions.”
God is Who God Is, Not Who We Say He Is
The truth, of course, is just the opposite. God is who He is, not as we try to mold Him into being. He makes the rules, we don’t. That sounds harsh, until we finally begin to understand His utterly holy and just character.
So, we have a choice: accept and follow Him as He is, to eternally remain in His precious presence. Or refuse to love and follow God, and miss out. I personally can’t wait to be overwhelmed by the majesty and glory of God.
This Tozer quote is utterly fab:
“O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need for further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, so that I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, ‘Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away.’ Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long.”
Study the attributes above, until you begin to get a solid, truthful view of who God is. He’s kinda irresistible once you open your heart and brain to all that He is!
In our next blog post, let’s pay homage to great moms everywhere, by looking at how they reflect God’s love!
Catch up: The introductory post to this series.
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Your Identity: Are You a “Worthless Sinner”?
Throughout my years in ministry, I’ve known many missionaries, college students, men, and women who also view themselves this way, whether consciously or subconsciously. Perhaps you default to holding a similar view? That, at a conscious level, you believe you have little to no value? That there’s something inherently wrong with who you are? That you’ll never fit in, and never measure up? That you’re a failure? And that God agrees, seeing no more value in you than the trash you threw out last night?
Even if you don’t consciously hold these views about yourself, they might still operate in your life on a subconscious level. Because throughout life, especially in our early years, we look to people’s actions and words to define our value.
Have you been bullied or rejected by others? Have you experienced conditional acceptance — gaining the approval of others only when you “performed” as they wanted you to? Perhaps you felt the rejection of a sibling who was constantly annoyed with you, or a parent who was physically or emotionally absent. Or, perhaps, as you were growing up, you weren’t allowed to express your opinions or they were belittled.
All of these scenarios, intentional or not, can communicate that we lack value, leading us to develop negative core beliefs about our worth. This, in a word, is shame–believing “I am bad” or that “something is wrong with who I am.”
Your Self-Image Is Revealed Through Your Actions
We reveal what we believe about ourselves through our thoughts and actions. Do you find yourself procrastinating on tasks, or getting overwhelmed and dreading failure? Do you find yourself getting angry when someone disagrees with, rejects, or embarrasses you? Do you fear conflict, or find yourself trying to make others happy and doing whatever it takes to “keep the peace”?
These reactions reveal negative core beliefs you hold about your worth, otherwise known as low self-worth or low self-esteem. If we’re honest, most of us would admit to struggling with our self-esteem to some extent. If we truly believed we are of great value, we would be steadfast in who we were created to be. We wouldn’t struggle so heavily with these scenarios that reveal our fears, anger, and ways of attempting to manage our value. So, is the solution to just try to develop better self-esteem?
Pop psychology tells us to just believe in ourselves; to essentially just try harder to think positively about ourselves. But there’s a significant problem with this method. What we desperately need is an objective and universal standard of value from an outside source, not a subjective source such as people’s opinions or even our own.
Your True Value
The solution to our struggle of knowing and accepting our worth comes from seeing ourselves as God sees us.
We need to truly believe, deep down in our heart, who God says we are. To live out of new core beliefs that change the way we think, behave, and operate. To know who we are as image bearers of God. To truly believe He specifically made each and every one of us to be unique. It’s why we all have different personalities, gifts, and talents (Psalm 139:13-14).
We are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), meaning that we, unlike animals or other aspects of creation, are given distinct dignity and value. The very breath of God breathed life into us, as human beings (Genesis 2:7). God created us and said, “It is very good” (Genesis 1:31). The entire earth has been entrusted to us to rule and reign over (Genesis 1:28).
When mankind chose to sin and turn away from God, the first thing God did was come after us to restore the broken relationship (Genesis 3:9). Our turning away from God never changed our worth or God’s love for us. Once sin entered the world and we were born sinful by nature (Psalm 51:5), we never ceased to be created in the image of God (Genesis 9:6). Our inherent value never changed. Amazing!
I love how Psalm 17:8 expresses God’s love and affection toward us. It says, “Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.” At face value, that may not seem to carry much weight. But the Hebrew word for “apple” literally means “little man.” When you stand close enough to someone, you see a tiny reflection of yourself in their pupils. You see yourself as the “apple” of their eyes. In this Psalm, David is saying this is who you are to God. You are the little man reflected in God’s eyes.
You are always in His vision. You are always the object of his affection and obsession. This is how much you are loved and valued.
God Doesn’t Merely Tolerate You
Jesus didn’t go to the cross to be tortured, die, and defeat death for the sake of trash. In love, He went to the cross to redeem and restore a relationship that was lost. One of the most well-known verses in Scripture says it plainly, in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that He sent His only son…” God doesn’t merely tolerate or love you as a result of Christ’s work on the cross. Rather, His love was the fuel for Christ’s work. Whether or not we choose to follow Christ, God has radical love for us and deems us to be of great value.
When we seek forgiveness and reconciliation with God, we experience the thriving life we were meant to live. One of knowing God deeply and being known by Him. As a result of Jesus’ work on the cross, we are adopted into His family (Ephesians 1:5), approved of and accepted (Romans 15:7), made right in God’s eyes and blameless (Romans 3:28), becoming an indispensable part of His kingdom work (1 Corinthians 12:22).
Let this truth sink into your soul: God the Father's love for you, as His child, is as great as His love for Jesus.
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We see this clearly when Jesus prayed to God the Father saying, “You sent me and loved them even as you loved me” (John 17:23b). What an amazing reality!
Living Out the Worth God Has Already Assigned Us
Think about this: If we could get value from our performance, then Jesus died in vain.
Performance is the essence of man-made religion, which teaches us to “do good” in an attempt to be loved by God. But what Christianity teaches is that since we are already loved by God, we do good as a result. We don’t do good in order to earn God’s love, we do good in response to His amazing love. Attempting to perform to get our worth from others will always end in futility.
Jesus’ whole mission on earth was to live the perfect life that we could never live, fully obeying God the Father, and then die, taking the punishment and separation from God that we deserve as a result of our turning from God. Jesus already received the approval of God for us. It is done. Through Jesus, we can be fully loved and fully approved of by God.
It is essential that we grasp the value God says we have. Because what we truly believe dictates how we live, love, and interact with God and others.
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Seek Him. He Loves You. You Were Made For This.
If you’re a Christian, rest in your value as an image-bearer, and your identity as a son or daughter adopted into His family. Dwell on who God says you are and how much He values you. You’re not defined by what you’ve done to yourself or others. And you’re definitely not defined by what’s been done to you.
You’re defined ONLY by the value and identity God gives you. Meditate on times in your life where you have felt His love and experienced His acceptance.
If you’re not yet a follower of Jesus, you need to know God loves you, unconditionally, just as you are, and desires so much to be known by you. At this very moment, in fact, He is offering you an invitation to enter into a personal relationship with Him. He wants you to experience the depth of His love, to know and live into your purpose, and to experience His forgiveness. As 1 Timothy 2:4 says, God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
In the next post I share five steps that helped me overcome shame and my negative self-image. It will encourage you in practical ways to implement the truths of this post.
For more on knowing God personally, check out this really good info.
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April 20, 2019
Three Ways the Resurrection of Jesus Can Transform Your Life Today
Original post by Sean McDowell here. Used with permission.
Some of the greatest skeptics have been convinced by the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. These include literary geniuses (C.S. Lewis), lawyers (Simon Greenleaf), cold case detectives (J. Warner Wallace), historians (Will Durant), journalists (Lee Strobel) and many more.
As my father and I demonstrate in the updated Evidence that Demands A Verdict, the historical evidence for the resurrection is remarkable enough to persuade some of the greatest minds in history.
And yet the resurrection of Jesus is not merely a historical event from 2,000 years ago. The truth of the resurrection has power for your life today (Philippians 3:10).
Consider three examples:
1. The Resurrection Offers Answers for Doubters.
Doubt is not a sin. Even some of the apostles of Jesus doubted at his ascension (Matthew 28:17). Jude encourages us to be merciful towards those who doubt (1:22). I went through a period of significant doubt in my early twenties, and the evidence for the resurrection was significant in helping me maintain my faith. Part of what motivated Dr. Michael Licona to research and write his massive book on the resurrection, The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach, was to find answers to his own doubts. Knowing and experiencing the truth of the resurrection can help Christians who doubt.
2. The Resurrection Offers Hope for Grievers.
Like taxes, death is inevitable. We have all lost loved ones. As Christians, the resurrection offers us hope in our grief. The Apostle Paul writes:
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)
3. The Resurrection Offers Forgiveness for Sinners.
Guilt is a universal human experience. Naturalists try to explain it away as a vestige of Darwinian evolution. It is a trick, some claim, to get us to live in peaceful relationship for the sake of propagating the species. But the Christian has a different perspective: we feel guilty because we areguilty. Guilt is not illusory. We have wronged God, and we have wronged other human beings. The solution is not to deny the reality of guilt, or to rely upon human effort, but to embrace the forgiveness only Jesus offers. The Apostle Peter said:
The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. (Acts 5:30-31)
The resurrection offers answers for doubters, hope for grievers, and forgiveness for sinners. If you are not a Christian, will you at least consider the evidence for the resurrection? You just might be surprised by its strength, but more importantly, how that truth can transform your life today.
Sean McDowell, Ph.D. is a professor of Christian Apologetics at Biola University, best-selling author, popular speaker, part-time high school teacher, and the Resident Scholar for Summit Ministries, California. Follow him on Twitter: @sean_mcdowell and his blog: seanmcdowell.org.
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April 16, 2019
Why a Jigsaw Guide to Life?
Why a Jigsaw Guide to Life?
Well, it’s not too difficult to look at life like a giant jigsaw puzzle. The biggest puzzle of them all. This world is broken. Life is confusing. We’re surrounded by all these pieces and we’re not sure what to do with them.
I grew up with many people who could look at life like a broken puzzle, and they knew we’d never find all the pieces. They knew we’d never find all the answers. The trouble was many stopped asking the questions.
If we look at life like a broken jigsaw puzzle there is hope!
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But if we look at life like a broken jigsaw puzzle there is hope, because when it comes to a jigsaw puzzle you don’t need every single piece of a puzzle in place to see the big picture. You don’t need to know everything to know the truth.
This is where it starts to get exciting. All those ultimate questions that were beyond reach may be within reach.
Where did we come from?
Why are we here?
Where are we going?
Questions that many people have dismissed and thought, “there’s no point asking those questions. We’ll never find all the answers!” The jigsaw reminds us, we can start snapping things into place.
It’s great to know that God wants us to know the truth.
He has made pieces of the puzzle visible, within reach, available to us. When we start to look at things that stand out and fit them together, we can start to see the big picture.
A Jigsaw Guide to Life reminds us that we can look at life with hope, knowing you don’t need every piece of a puzzle to see the big picture, you don’t need to know everything to know the truth.
Question.
Knowing that life is about being discoverable, what is your purpose?
Not just your purpose, but what is the purpose to life?
READ Alex’s blog on purpose here.
Have you been Journeying Together with us?
Catch up: The introductory post to this series. Next week’s post we will look forward to learning more about Christ’s divinity in our upcoming posts. Knowing this will change our lives!
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