Tuesday, August 28, 2012


Am I All That?
Well, am I? 

“For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”  Galatians 6:3

I found myself in the book of Galatians a couple of days ago.  I was reading about the truth of the Gospel; about not being enslaved again to the law; about not believing any different Gospel other than the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  And it got me thinking. 

I love that Jesus died for me.  I love that He rose and lives and moves and EXISTS.  I love that He is my Mediator and my Savior and my Lord.  I love the TRUTH of the GOSPEL of Jesus. And my heart rejoiced as I read….because it convicted me again of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

And I kept reading.

The people of Galatia believed in Jesus.  They loved Him and rejoiced in the gospel of the truth.  Just like me!  And then I read Galatians 1:6-9.  These people, who loved Jesus, just like me, began listening to a different gospel; a distorted gospel; a contrary gospel! 

When I think of distortion, I think of silly putty.  Do you remember that stuff?  I think of getting it and flattening it out.  Then, I imagine taking the flat silly putty and pressing it to a newspaper.  The words on the newspaper get transferred to the silly putty.  But it is backwards! And then, I imagine taking that silly putty and pulling and stretching it. What happens to the words? They get distorted.  They get blurred.  They get hard to read.  It really does make the truth ‘putty in your hands’.

That is exactly what was happening in Galatia. They had the TRUTH of the gospel of Christ, but someone got them believing a distorted version of the truth, thus making it untruth.  They began trying to do it on their own. They went to the law to save them, instead of clinging to Jesus, the Savior.  (Gal. 3:3; 4:9; 5:1)

They were being re-enslaved to the law.  Paul said that by doing this, they would be cursed (Gal. 3:10-14); they would not be justified (Gal. 2:16); they would be deceived (Gal. 6:3); and they would reap corruption (Gal. 6:8) Yikes. 

I kept reading, because this all made me so sad and angry and frustrated. I mean, seriously, how could anyone who has experienced Christ want to move away from that freedom and salvation and sweetness?  I kept reading, hoping for changed hearts. 

And as I was reading, I noticed several contrasting ideas.
Hagar versus Sarah
Sanai versus the New Jerusalem
Flesh versus Spirit
Law versus Grace 

I thought about Hagar; about Abraham; about Sarah.  God made Abraham a promise.  God told Abraham that he would be the father of many nations.  (Genesis 15:1-6; 17:1-6)  His wife, Sarah, was old and did not bear him any children. So Sarah gave her maid, Hagar, to Abraham in order to have children.  When Abraham was 86 years old, Hagar gave him a son, Ishmael.  This caused Sarah to be jealous of Hagar.  As a result, Sarah treated her badly. When Abraham was 99 years old (13 years later), and Sarah was 90 years old, God told Abraham that the promise of many nations would not come through Ishmael, but through a son that Sarah would bear.  Yes, go ahead and laugh…..it was even humorous to Abraham and Sarah.  But a year later, they had a son, Isaac, just as God promised.  And it indeed was through Isaac that many nations came.  Isaac is in the lineage of Jesus. 

I thought about Sanai; the “law mountain”.  It was at Mount Sanai where God gave Moses the Ten Commandments.  It was at Mount Sanai where the people were not allowed to touch without being killed, where God came down and spoke with Moses and where the people trembled when they saw the lightening and heard the thunder and loud trumpet. (Exodus 19)  Then I thought about the New Jerusalem.  I thought about Hebrews 12:18-24.

I thought about flesh.  It decays and ages.  It misleads and gets me into trouble.  I thought about the Spirit, about His fruit (Gal. 5:22-25); and how against that fruit, there is no law. 

I thought about the Law, and how un-saving; how condemning it is.  The law cannot save.  I thought about grace, that it is a free gift from God (Romans 6:22-23) I thought about the Grace of God and how faith is intrinsically tied to it. (Gal. 3:12; Hebrews 11:6)

Then Paul tells them that by leaning towards the law and away from grace, they, in essence declared that Christ died for nothing, and grace is nullified!  (Gal. 2:21)  That grace in not valid; that it does not have any credence or power!  Again, yikes.

And then I had a drastic thought; a catastrophic thought:  Do I, just like them, do any form of that?  Do I, just like them, lean away from grace in my own life?  Do I try to do it all myself, as Hagar; at Mount Sanai; in my flesh; trying to live in law?  Yes.  Yes, I do.  I do it every time I step out of faith and try to solve a problem without consulting God; without listening to God; without waiting on God.  I do it every time I make my faith about accomplishing tasks or fulfilling a checklist instead of living in the truth of the gospel of Christ.  I do it every time I forget Christ in any equation in my life.  I do it every time I put myself above God.  I do it every time I put myself above others.  I do it every time I try to take the best seat, assuming I deserve it.  I do it every time I try to live my life without Christ in the center of it all.  I do it on some level every time I………!

And then my next thought:  How arrogant and vain am I? How could I imagine that I am even capable of it?  Am I all that?  Seriously!  Am I?  Do I really think that I am strong enough, disciplined enough, knowledgeable enough, powerful enough or thorough enough to pull it off?  How can I try to equate myself and my ‘abilities’ with the awesome, powerful, all-saving, free gift of grace and eternal life?  Why do I not remember that He is God and I am not?  (Galatians 6:3)

And then:  Why would I even want to attempt to do it all by myself?  Am I all that?  Seriously!  Am  I?  Why would I want to try to secure God’s promise on my own?  (like Hagar & Sarah)  Why would I want to live by the Law?  Why would I want to stand afraid and trembling at the foot of Mount Sainai when I can kneel confidently at the foot of the cross and at the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:14-16) and be in freedom at Mount Zion, the New Jerusalem?   Why would I hand my flesh that kind of falsified power?  Why would I want to be enslaved and shackled like that?  Being a slave for Christ means freedom!  Why would I trade that in for a false security?  Why would I want to be cursed or deceived?  Why would I want to prevent God from justifying me?  (I can’t justify myself!)  Why would I want to reap corruption over eternal life?!  I wouldn’t, and yet, against my better judgment, I often try.

So how do I go full force into the grace of God?  How do I go all the way into embracing the truth of His gospel?  How do I prevent myself from nullifying the grace of God:  By fulfilling the whole law; yes, the WHOLE LAW, of Jesus Christ, that is, “Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the whole law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2)  And, “For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness.  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.”  (Gal. 5:5-6) Or as Jesus Himself said, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment.  The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the WHOLE Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 25:37-40)

God brings me to His grace with my complete and utter humility before Him, total surrender to Him, acknowledging my dependence on Him for not only my salvation and justification, but in my day to day living.  My every breath and step and action is because of and for His glory.  It is because of Him I live and move and breathe and EXIST.  It is by Jesus that this whole world is held together.  It is only by His power and strength and will and might that I have any abilities or gifts or talents or success at all. 

“For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created through Him and for Him.  He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.  He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in EVERYTHING.” (Colossians 1:16-18)

Because Jesus really is ALL THAT!

By Tamara Vanderdasson
August 28, 2012

Saturday, August 25, 2012


INTENTIONAL

Intent on one purpose; nothing random at all!
Let’s put love in action – sure of His call!

Community; fellowship in Jesus, our King!
Living our thanks, exulting, we sing!

Loving in truth and loving in deed;
Reducing our lives to serving each need.

Exposing our lives without any shame;
Sharing; confessing; without any blame!

Giving ourselves with all of our souls;
Striving continuously; fulfilling our roles.

Weeping; rejoicing; sharing all things.
Communing together – what blessing it brings!

The nature of Christ becoming our own;
His love pouring forth – our light is shown!

Fruit and obedience – disciples for sure!
Love put it in action – intentional; pure!


By Tamara L. Vanderdasson
Written:  January 7, 2006