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     Where do strong convictions come from? Are they little more than the product of strong opinions fostered by inaccurate assumptions based on very
little thought? Perhaps, but not likely. Rather, it is more probable that strong convictions emerge from intentional and focused study and prayerful
thought. For the conscientious believer, convictions have come at great cost and suffering. Because those values are held close to the heart, they cannot
be easily dismissed (often in discussing differences, it’s not unusual to hear; "Those are just your opinions, but these are my convictions!") . And so when
we are confronted with opposing views from another, it is vitally important that we understand that we are now treading on what may very appropriately
be called ‘holy ground’. These beliefs have come at a price (what had to be released or repudiated in order to draw more closely to God?)--perhaps a
great price. Though I may never embrace those particular convictions, it is inexcusable for me to do anything less than offer my brother or sister the
same courtesy and welcome that I receive from Jesus Christ Himself.

     Philippians 1:6 has a connection to Romans 14:. It has become a very precious truth that has revolutionized my thinking and compelled me to adjust
attitudes not only toward myself, but also toward other believers. It has changed my life. Paul wrote to the Philippian believers (some of whom were
experiencing serious problems with each other), stating; ". . .being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion
until the day of Christ Jesus."

     Coming to a genuine faith in Jesus Christ means that God in His sovereignty will accomplish His purposes in my life so that I may grow to maturity in Him.
But guess what? It also means that others coming to a genuine faith in Jesus Christ will experience that same process of transformation as I, even when
there is disparity (maybe even great disparity) between us. And so, when Paul stated that his goal was to attain maturity, wholeness, perfection, he also
made it clear that "All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point [matter] you think differently, that too God will make
clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained" (Philippians 3:15-16).

     This instruction dovetails beautifully with his remarks to the Roman disciples. Because God is sovereign and has everything well in hand in my life, He has
everything well in hand in the lives of others as well. This means that I am to tend to my own knitting [see Romans 14:12- MSG]. I have my hands full just
taking care of my own life before God without being excessively concerned with others who obviously fail to measure up to my scruples!

     Paul made it clear (it is a key theme of Romans 14:) that accountability is not primarily to other human beings. Each person is obligated directly to God. The
Apostle said, "None of us are permitted to insist on our own way in these matters. It’s God we are answerable to . . . . ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every
knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.’ So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God" (Romans 14:7,11-12 [MSG]). My
acceptability is determined by what God thinks of me, not by what someone else thinks of me. Likewise, my behavior or attitude toward someone else will
do nothing to change our Lord’s attitude or behavior toward him/her. Since we are servants of Jesus Christ, we are beholden to Him, not to each other.

     We are thus released " . . . from the petty tyrannies of each other." (Romans 14:9 [MSG]).

                                                                                                                                                      

            
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  I am still amazed that I could have ever seriously believed and expected that believers should always be the same. I know it seemed reasonable 
to me (and sometimes I still get caught up in this) that since God is One and that since He gave His message in human language because He
wanted humans to understand Him and His will for the world and He is all-knowing and all-wise, then it should follow that everyone could and
should understand that will in the same manner--in the same way. And if people didn’t "understand it in the same way" then it was obvious that
though some did understand it, others with a different understanding did not understand it at all.

    Didn’t Paul himself demand that every believer should ". . . speak the same thing . . .[so] that there be no divisions among you"
(I Corinthians 1:10 [KJV])? But to maintain that this statement from Paul was a demand for complete conformity among believers ignores
everything that he had to say in Romans 14:. The Message  translation states very well what Paul insisted of the Corinthian believers and it fits
equally well with His words to the Roman disciples (I Cor.1:10 [MSG]):
 
         

     Paul’s very first assumption in Romans 14: is that At the end of the day, believers will still hold views that differ from each other.  He
begins his instruction to the Romans with this very thought and it is pervasive throughout the remainder of the chapter; "Welcome with open
arms fellow believers who don’t see things the way you do" (v.1 [MSG]).  Note here and throughout the chapter that Paul insists upon accept-
ance and not compliance or conformity to a particular norm.

    Jesus calls us into His body to be ‘one’ not to be the ‘same’ . Everything, and I mean, everything in the world around us repeatedly drives
home this very point. There are similarities that we share with every living creature, and we have the same basic needs for shelter, nourishment,
rest and a sustainable connection with the world around us. But we are different: the very important needs that all living things share are not always
met in precisely the same manner or measure. Even among human beings, there are significant differences--differences in sex, size, skin tone, diet,
mental, emotional and intellectual capacties, etc, etc. Foods that are very nutritional for most, are deadly for others. We are very much alike, but
the differences are astounding. We have even been told (and I believe it to be true) that of all the billions of people that have ever lived and are
presently alive, there are no two people who are exactly alike. And in his very limited manner and space, this is exactly what Paul was telling the Romans:
"You are very different from each other--learn not only to accept those differences, but learn how to embrace each other in the midst of those very
different realities that are a part of each one of you."

    To the ‘dead serious’ believer, this is a tall order and well beyond our human capacity and ability to do. If for no other reason than the need that
we have to be very suspicious and protective against that which is alien and potentially dangerous, acceptance runs against our very natural inclination
to discriminate and to make a difference. We invite serious risk to ourselves by carelessly embracing what is new and foreign and different. We need
God in our lives to provide discernment and wisdom to discriminate between those differences that are benign and those that are deadly, and to instill
a quiet courage to welcome and embrace the good that others, who are very different from ourselves, bring to us.
                                                                                                                                                  

 
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Attention ‘Dead Serious’ Believers!!
[Note: I have no clue at this point, how long or many posts (or even what the timing schedule for these) will be devoted to this, but for the purpose of getting the ‘ball rolling’ on it, I am not going to try to finish
writing everything before posting. I will be posting stuff as I write. And perhaps you, the reader, will have appropriate things to say that will need to be included.]

Recent events of extreme conflict among believers have compelled me to revisit the fourteenth chapter of Romans. It is here that Paul the Apostle addressed
the very ‘thorny’ issue of how people who are very different from each other may co-exist in a very peaceful and harmonious manner. What Paul had to say
is not for the weak-hearted ‘nominal’ believer. If you are not dead serious about how Christians in conflict (what other kind are there?) are to resolve their
differences in order to live in a manner that truly honors Christ, then you have no business whatsoever in reading what Paul has to say.

I must preface my remarks from Romans 14: by saying first of all, that Paul seems to make what might be called some Holy/Apostolic assumptions. They are
either actually stated within the context of his instructions or are strongly and reasonably implied by what he has to say. Being Apostolic, they carry the
authority of Jesus Christ Himself and so they cannot, in fact, must not be ignored by conscientious-God loving disciples who desire to please Him! In like
manner, they are not optional. They portray reality as it is, not as we want it to be.

[please, if you would, read through Romans 14: preferably from such translations as the NIV and/or the MSG.]

Paul’s Assumptions:

[I recognize that this is probably not a comprehensive listing of Paul’s instructions to the Roman believers regarding this matter. Perhaps there are other
Apostolic assumptions that you have found from your reflections of Romans 14: that need to be included.]

Paul began and ended his Apostolic instructions to the Roman believers who, like us, embraced some extremely different lifestyles from each other--and
from ourselves:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

 
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    Earlier this summer going through the Old Testament, I spent some time reading and researching the books of Kings and Chronicles (there are two of each). History doesn’t usually ‘stir the juices’ for me, but I came to some intriguing conclusions never-the-less. I had never been aware that the focus of the books of Chronicles is primarily on the reigns of the kings of the Southern nation of Judah, whereas the books of Kings provide a running account of both the Southern kingdom and the rulers of Israel to the North. In giving a general overview of those who ruled these two nations, these books include their names, the kings’
fathers (sometimes mothers and/or grandmothers), how long they reigned and a description of what Yahweh God thought of them. Of the forty or so monarchs
of these tiny kingdoms, from God’s perspective, none from the North were any good and only seven or eight from the South were.

    My research has helped me come to one of four general conclusions regarding all of the kings of both Judah and Israel:
                              

    Every time-line chart I have consulted tags Manasseh as among the "worst" of all the heads of the divided kingdoms. Both II Kings and II Chronicles agree
that his fifty five year reign was terrible. In an uncharacteristically long description, the writer of Kings detailed the excesses of Manasseh as Judah’s king:

                

    Were it not for the description found in II Chronicles (which follows closely the account of II Kings), that would be the end of it--an extremely bad ending
to an equally bad beginning. However, the writer of Chronicles injected details that faintly lift the stark edges of the black veil of evil and wickedness that
indelibly punctuated the life of Manasseh. His extreme wickedness compelled Yahweh God to commission the Assyrians to capture him and unceremoniously haul
him off to Babylon in shackles. Which is precisely what they did. While there, Manasseh humbled himself before the God of his fathers. In "total repentance" he
prayed to God and God was so effected by his repentance and prayer, that He restored Manasseh to his throne in Jerusalem. At that moment in his life, Manasseh
" . . . knew that the Lord is God" (II Chronicles 33:13 [NIV]). In addition to strengthening the city’s defenses, Manasseh;

                 

    Despite Manasseh’s best efforts to turn them around toward serving Yahweh God, the people of Jerusalem and Judah, for the most part, ignored him in
refusing both his advice and example. Instead, they continued in the ungodly ways that he had originally encouraged them to travel. Finally, though Manasseh
ended well, he had paid a horrendous price along the way. His career of evil had a devastating effect not only upon himself, but upon his people as well. He had
horribly misled them so that they too suffered the humiliation of captivity in Babylon--being evicted from the land and separated from everything they held near
and dear to themselves.

    Like Manasseh, we have begun badly. Whether we subscribe to the prevalent notion that we have entered this world as sinners--or were created by God
like our original parents, innocent with natures profoundly susceptible to evil, we still find ourselves along with everyone else, to be sinners (see Romans 3:23).
The deck has been stacked against us. We are born into a world that "lieth in wickedness" (I John 5:19 [KJV]). We are raised by sinful parents. We are
surrounded by rank sinners. We are no match for satan, who is a foe possessing thousands of years experience misleading people into sin and alienation from our Creator.  He deftly assaults us daily. And regardless of our view of basic human nature, we have begun badly.

    But this is not the focus of this piece! Though often it is, this is not to be our fixation--the focus of all that is deep within us. We must break the vicious
cycle of our lives in which every waking moment is filled with how horribly we have failed (even though we have). This was the challenge that the Apostle Paul placed before the Philippian believers. In acknowledging his profound failure by obsessing over his extreme success at being a good Jew, Paul confessed;
"This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark of the prize
of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14 [KJV]).

    This too, is our primary work: to end well --To fight the fight and to finish our course (cf. II Timothy 4:6-8). Several places in the Message translation, the phrase "to live wisely and well" is highlighted and it is ‘spot on’ in describing our primary responsibility before God:

                                     

I have been reluctant to offer the advice that I give in this post. Why? Because I have not yet come to the end of my life here, and it would cause me deep shame and regret to so strongly urge these things upon others and then in the end to find that I have failed to take my own advice. It is so very simple and noble sounding to talk about living wisely and well, but as others have said, "the proof is in the pudding". Living wisely and well--to end well is no easy task especially since we
have begun so badly! In the final analysis, it comes down to depending less and less on ourselves and depending more and more on our Lord and that is so very
hard to do!

                 
                                                                                                                                                             
                      

 

The 48th essay of my book (If Our Hearts Condemn Us, Will God?) has just been been loaded on my new Web Hosting Page
(  http://www.turniphdpubs.byethost32.com/page53.html  ).  I have 4 more essays to load up before my complete book will be published (for
the second time) to the internet. The past 7-8 months have been extremely frustrating for me.  I have tranferred my book files to
at least 3 different hosting sites, but my webpage has consistently been off  the 'net' more than it has been up and running.  I am
hoping this new site will run consistently enough in the next month or so--long enough for me to get everything published (I literally
have my fingers crossed!!).

For those of you who have been wondering where my book had wandered off to, it is at the moment back in operation and I
hope you will be taking a look at it from time to time.  Thanks for your patience.     

                                                                                                                                                   --Lynn--

 

 
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behavior.  We keep it close at hand and dearly embrace it--for a while. But somehow through the course of living, the dust begins to settle and the surge of enthusiasm that this truth had once stirred within us begins to wear-off. Deep within we intuitively realize that it no longer works for us. IT HAS BECOME TOO FAMILIAR. We have taken it for granted . We have come to forget how vitally important these principles truly are. And we have failed to hold them close to our hearts in favor of other more pressing though less urgent concerns.

Perhaps part of the problem comes from the feeling that there are just too many details for us to remember, and to remember them vividly!!  It is in the work (and it is work) of remembering, focusing and utilizing the energies we have been given that they retain their value. It is in the exercise of self discipline that we begin to keep all that we are learning fresh, robust and in a healthy state of balance.

Consider the excellent advice Paul gave to the Roman believers;

                

Paul instructed the Romans to focus their energies on God and His nurturing as they refused to be immersed into the thinking and living of the worldly culture that threatened to engulf them. This advice is a good fit to the description of God’s person in Psalm 1:

        

    

The key to keeping the magic of the simple truths that have had such a deep impact in our lives, and the process of reclaiming those that have lost their luster or ceased to inspire awe and wonder within us, though simple, is a grueling and formidable task: "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life" (Proverbs 4:23 [NIV]).

However, the payoff for keeping God’s realities a vital part of our lives is amazing:

           

Here are some simple truths that have touched my life deeply through the years: (and they still do!)
                      

[Most Scripture references are taken from The Message]
 

Earlier this summer I came across another thought that has captured my imagination and energized my thinking. It is the response of a friend of mine to the comments of an atheist/agnostic(?) denigrating the efforts of believers as they attempted to communicate the gracious message of the Gospel to others. Such efforts were characterized as ‘pushing our agenda’ off onto others to satisfy some deep need to belong--so as "not to feel like an outcast." My friend wrote in part;

                  ". . . sharing our faith isn't born out of some misplaced sense of belonging. We already belong. We belong to him . . . and he satisfies those longings much better than a lover, a friend, a mother, a father . . . and we want to share him with the world not because we want more people who are like us, but because we know that he is perfect, and amazing, and loving . . . and he is the best thing we can spend our lives telling others about."

She went on to suggest that if someone were to come up with a serum or drug that genuinely and effectively cured all forms of cancer, it would be the epitome of negligence not to do everything in one’s power to see that all who needed it be given access to it--even if many refused its benefits. My friend then closed her remarks with this powerful statement: "Well . . . we have something much greater than the cure for cancer. We have the cure for death!" (I Corinthians 15:54--"Death has been swallowed up in victory!").

I needed this observation to challenge me . . . and to remind me that God is still good even when the sun/Son is shadowed by the clouds:

" . . . When it’s dark and it’s cold and I can’t feel my soul- You are still good.
When the world is gone gray and the rain’s here to stay- You are still good.
With every breath I take in I’ll tell you I am grateful again and the storm may swell even then it is well- And you are good.

So how can I thank you and what can I bring?   What can a poor man lay at the feet of a King?
So I’ll sing you a love song it’s all that I have To tell you I’m grateful for holding my life in Your hands.
So I’ll sing you a love song it’s all that I have To tell you I’m grateful for holding my life in Your hands
You are holding my life in your hands."
                                                                                          Point of Grace--