AFTER THE FALL

Down the Old Road

By Duncan Heinly

Okay, you’ve blown it again.

You thought that this time you could do it on your own and you fell flat on your face.

You’re wondering why you shouldn’t just give up and give in. You hear the voice in your head telling you that you’ve crossed the proverbial line; the point of no return; the final measure of grace. You feel disappointed in yourself and imagine that every one around you is condemning you. You feel too ashamed to even think about asking God for forgiveness.

Yes, God is not mocked and we do reap the consequences of what we sow into our lives, but He knew us from the beginning. Do you think He was surprised when you messed up? Do you think He fell off His throne in amazement when you slipped up? Do you think He doesn’t know what you are made of and what your weaknesses are?

He’s known it all along and He called you in spite of all you’ve done. He sees the end from the beginning and knows how to restore you to right relationship with Him.

Don’t give up now that you’ve come this far. He hasn’t. Don’t forget His abundant mercies toward you. All the steps you’ve made. All the times you stood on His Word and resisted. All the times you’ve allowed Him to show Himself strong through your weakness.

He’s still for you. He wants you, not because He needs you, but because He loves you and wants to bring you to Himself. He created you for relationship with Him.

He promised to complete the work He started in you but you’ve got to let Him.

Sure, give up, but when you do give up to Him and not to your old controlling habits.

Ask for that forgiveness that He so much wants to give you. Ask for that restoration that can only come through the comfort and the Power of the Holy Spirit.

Believe Him, Receive Him, and Continue in Him.

You were made for Him.

He loves You.

He wants You.

He knows You.

He’s waiting….for you.

Giving Thanks in all Things

R.Duncan Heinly

Scripture instructs us to give thanks in all things. It also says for us to count it all joy when we go through various trials for His Namesake.

For the longest time I had a hard time with this teaching.

How do I give thanks for the abuse, hurts, labeling, cons, lies, broken promises, and perverse temptations that were in my life? How could I count it all joy as I bit the bullet and endured being bombarded by the temptations of this world and the fiery arrows of the enemy?

I don’t want to give a simplistic answer or lay down some method or formula for you to follow. I’m just going to tell you the truth.

I wouldn’t know my Savior the way I know Him now if I hadn’t gone through the valleys with Him there. I wouldn’t be able to testify of His longsuffering if I hadn’t known it myself. I wouldn’t know how merciful He could be if I had not partaken of His Free Gift of Love for me in spite of myself.

It is when I get a glimpse of Who He is and see myself in His light that I am amazed that He would consider calling me His own; that He would actually consider it a joy to have fellowship with me and wildly rejoices over me as His chosen beloved.

It is in this that I am thankful.

I’m thankful He’s never given up on me when I would have. That even when I’d given up on Him He still showed Himself faithful. When I was ready to throw in the towel He took the towel, humbled Himself, and washed my feet. When my finite understanding left me disappointed, His infinite wisdom and compassion brought me comfort.

We are called to be thankful, let’s remember what we should be truly thankful for.

Let our perspective be in the light of His love and not in the darkness of our wants and selfish desires.

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

James 1:2-4 ,12-15(New King James Version)

THE HARVEST NO ONE WANTED

Who were the ones Jesus targeted in His ministry during the three and a half years before His death and resurrection? Look at the character traits of those who He chose to minister to.

Most of those whom Jesus went out of His way to reach, many of us would go out of our way to avoid; The professional beggars, the unclean leper, the social outcast, the flagrant sinner, the corrupt tax collector, and the sexually immoral. They were the throw-away’s of society; the ones who couldn’t measure up, the ones who had been scarred and wounded not just in the flesh but in their souls.

In our striving to keep our flocks safe from the influence of those very individuals that Jesus went out of His way to reach, we have very often created environments that are unsafe for them to be ministered to.

We allow fear of man to out way the love of God. We put up walls to protect ourselves from the ones who have the greatest need.

Jesus spoke of the shepherd leaving the 99 to go after the one, but we would rather have the one out of the way so that we don’t make the 99 uncomfortable. We are so afraid of making waves that we never even get near the water. Perfect love drives out all fear.

The love of God compels us to declare His love to a lost and dying world. God is looking to reach the “whosoever’s” of this world through us. We have to get out of our self made religious boxes and stop telling God who is and isn’t eligible for salvation through our actions as well as through our words.

Hebrews 13:12-14

12And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. 13Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. 14For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

New International Version (NIV)

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

We have to go outside the camp to get to where Jesus is; To not be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

So often today we find cutting humor about gays and lesbians coming from the mouths of believers, (even clergy!) How effective do you think it is to reach the broken when you are publically and ignorantly humiliating them? It’s one thing to speak the truth in love; it’s entirely another thing to verbally blast those who may be seeking deliverance. How can we reach the broken when the only message they get is one of repugnance and rejection?

I know personally that growing up with unwanted same-sex-attractions put me in a place where I saw the church as unsafe territory. The cutting innuendos and sly remarks did not paint a picture of safety and healing. The whole “sweep everything under the rug and act like perfect “Christians” who never have any problems was prevalent. There were those in the church who disowned their children and counted them as dead because they were gay. Do you really think I would confess to find healing in that kind of environment?

GET REAL!

Then the whole argument about ordaining those practicing homosexual behavior definitely sent mixed signals. The fact that the question came up at all was enough for me (who was seeking to be free from homosexual tendencies) to leave the particular denomination I was a part of at that time. How would I expect to find freedom if I was being ministered by those who were endorsing the very thing I was trying to be freed from?

I praise God that the church has come a long way in the past 30 years. With ministries and churches who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty it is much easier to locate the resources and support for those who desire change.

Yet there are those PC individuals and organizations who would try to cut off any and all help for those seeking change.

We still have a long way to go. The church is built out of broken people and as such the pieces can often rub each other the wrong way. But in the rub the iron is sharpened.

In the Kingdom of God we should be door of hope and not a wall of rejection?

• DANGEROUSLY SERVING CHRIST

• R. DUNCAN HEINLY

IT'S NOT ABOUT ME