Breastplate of Righteousness

Jeremiah 9:23-24
But let him who boasts boast in this: that he understands and knows me,
that I am the LORD who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth. 
For in these I delight."

God can do all things, right?  Kind of. 
Here in Jeremiah, God describes himself as one who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness.  God is good not just because he says so but because his actions are good.  All that he does exercises kindness, justice and righteousness in a world full of hatred, injustice and corruption.  If God acted in hatred, injustice and corruption, he would no longer be the kind of God he says he is... he wouldn't be God.

This is the kind of God he is.  He has all power.  But all the actions he exercises are to establish kindness, justice and righteousness. 

Ezekiel 18:21-23
"Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked," Declares the LORD, "and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?"

We can learn two things from this
1.  It doesn't matter how wicked your life has been, God does not hate you.  He would always rather see you turn from your previous life than to consider you hopeless.
2.  He delights in seeing us do righteousness, in seeing us do good for others, in seeing us be selfless.  Because of the good you do, he says he will forget the bad things that were done.

Have you ever been reminded of how wicked and awful and bad you are?  That is Satan talking, he would rather you think yourself hopeless.  Righteousness is our breastplate, because of the good things you do, God says you are not hopeless.  He says "I can do great things with you, you are not all bad and I can make you all good and right and just."

Some Take Home Questions:

1. What does he want for wicked people?
   
2. In what ways are you reminded of how bad you are?
3. Have you missed opportunities to do good for others?
   
4. What does God delight in?
5. How do you exercise justice and righteousness in the world?
   
6. What can you do in the next week?
   

The Belt of Truth

This Week we begin the series "The Armor of God" from Ephesians 6:10-20.

Fascinating! The first item Paul tells us to be equipped with when going into the fight is not a weapon or a piece of protecting armor. The first item he says we need is a belt: A belt of Truth. Without it, you will never make it to the battle to use a sword and shield. Truth is like that.

Satan is the Father of all lies (John 8:44) but Jesus is called "the way the TRUTH and the light."

"You are not good enough." "That isn't really a sin." "No one will notice." "You could never do that like he can." "You can sin a little bit...you're not really hurting anyone." "THIS will make you feel better." "you have more important things to do, you can pray later." "They don't want to hear what you have to say."

It is common to feel like you are alone in the world; it is common to feel like no one understands; it is common to feel like no one cares, it is common to feel like what you do doesn't make a difference.

These are common feelings.

These are powerful lies.

When we believe these things, we never even get to the battle because we never get beyond the things we are struggling with in our own lives. Satan wins. His goal is not to kill you or make you into the next Hitler, he is content with keeping you from what God wants for you.

Scripture teaches that you are not alone (Isaiah 41:10) it teaches that God has a plan for your life (Jeremiah 29:11), it teaches that God loves you (John 3:16) and that he has given you real power to fight off the darkness (Luke 10:19).

Jesus Christ is Truth and his word is Truth. Scripture provides the truth against the lies that make us feel weak, that make us feel guilty, that make us feel unclean. Put on a belt of Truth, build Scripture into your life.

Some Questions to Ask (and Answer):

• What were some of the lies you guys talked about that you remember?
• What lies does Satan try to tell you?
• Which verses were your favorites? (I will give them a handout of verses against some of those lies)
• How do you think that verse (those verses) would be helpful?
• What are some ways you can surround yourself with Truth?

It Was Great, Thank You

This past wednesday was my Birthday. It was great, thank you. As a birthday present to myself, I had my sister come in as a guest speaker. She has been wanting to meet the students here at Bartlett Chapel and also to visit me in my new hometown since she hadn't been here yet. She lead a game called "fishbowl" which is kind of a mix between "Catch Phrase," "Charades," and a memory game.

The lesson my sister taught was that God is faithful to do what he says he will do. When we are faithful to follow even when we aren't sure about what God has in store for our lives, he will be faithful in making your path straight and shedding light on your feet. Her own faith journey included a major turn in career from working toward being an elemenary teacher to now working toward a position as a magazine art director. Sharing about the conflict that went on in her heart during that time and the joy and relief of finally understanding where God was leading her, she related her own story to the story of Esther.

Esther spent years preparing herself for a role that only involved looking pretty and staying quiet until it came on her to rescue the Jewish people from large-scale extermination. Being the only one in a position to affect change, she found that the years she spent preparing for one role was really for an incredibly different role that changed the history of the Jewish people.

Being my birthday, we loaded them up with all kinds of sugar and sweets afterward that parents and students had generously brought for me. I want to thank Kelsey (my sister) and all the parents and students who made last night great. God bless you all.

I forgot to take pictures :(