Paula Wiseman

Faith and life meet in a story

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I Gave My Life for Thee

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Wednesday Worship I gave My Life for Thee title graphic

I gave My life for thee,
My precious blood I shed,
That thou might’st ransomed be,
And quickened from the dead;
I gave, I gave My life for thee,
What hast thou giv’n for Me?
I gave, I gave My life for thee,
What hast thou giv’n for Me? 

My Father’s house of light,
My glory circled throne, 
I left for earthly night,
For wanderings sad and lone;
I left, I left it all for thee,
Hast thou left aught for Me?
I left, I left it all for thee,
Hast thou left aught for Me?

I suffered much for thee,
More than thy tongue can tell,
Of bitt’rest agony,
To rescue thee from hell;
I’ve borne, I’ve borne it all for thee,
What hast thou borne for Me?
I’ve borne, I’ve borne it all for thee,
What hast thou borne for Me?

And I have brought to thee,
Down from My home above,
Salvation full and free,
My pardon and My love;
I bring, I bring rich gifts to thee,
What hast thou brought to Me?
I bring, I bring rich gifts to thee,
What hast thou brought to Me?

Francis Havergal, 1858
Read Galatians 2:20

(“I Gave My Life for Thee” is a challenging hymn. It causes us to confront the reasons why we follow Jesus and the expectations we bring to discipleship. Do we follow Jesus so He can make our lives easy or comfortable? Are we indignant at the thought that we must give up things that pull us away from Him? Are we scandalized by the thought of sacrificing for the kingdom of God? What exactly have we given, left, borne or brought to Him? May we prayerfully and genuinely consider the questions the hymn poses.)

Here’s another hymn of commitment: Take My Life and Let It Be

Doctrinal Definitions: Redemption

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Doctrinal Definitions Redemption title graphic

For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, Romans 3:22b-24

There are two Greek words.
One refers to the price paid.
Like for a slave’s freedom.

We were slaves.
We don’t like to acknowledge it or admit it.
We think we are smarter than that.
We are stronger than that.
That’s called deception.
Satan is very, very good at deceiving people.

But the truth is, before we understood we were slaves,
Jesus paid the price to free us.

There’s more, though.

The other Greek word for redemption means the freedom secured.
Freedom from guilt and shame.
Freedom to walk in newness of life.
Freedom to embrace my identity in Christ.
Freedom to follow my calling, find my purpose.

Paying the price slavery demanded.
Securing my freedom.
This is what Jesus did for me.
This is the redemption that is in Christ Jesus

Here’s another post you may like Choosing to Pay.

Into the Wilderness: Restoration

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into the wilderness restoration title graphic

For the LORD will restore the excellence of Jacob Nahum 2:2a

A wilderness is anywhere that’s uncultivated, uninhabited or undisturbed by human activity. Metaphorically it is a bewildering situation. As it turns out, Scripture has a lot to say about the wilderness and what happens there. For some a lot of wandering happens. For others, like Elijah, transition to the next thing begins in the wilderness. Sometimes, like with Jacob, a time alone and separated can bring restoration.

You can read the details of Jacob’s life beginning in Genesis 25. You’re probably familiar with the major events. Jacob gets the blessing and birthright from Esau in a couple of shady deals. He runs for his life to his uncle Laban’s place where he spends the next twenty years. While there, he marries two wives, takes on two concubines, has a big family, and amasses quite a fortune in livestock. He senses a shift in attitude with father-in-law/uncle the rest of the family, so he packs up and slips away.

Restoration with Laban

Laban finds out and takes out after them, catching up to Jacob and his party seven days later in the mountains of Gilead. A wilderness. The very name means raw or rugged.

In Genesis 31, Jacob and Laban had a very frank exchange. Jacob vented his anger at Laban’s taking advantage of him and his labor. But at last the two men make a covenant, the covenant of Mizpah. “May the LORD watch between you and me when we are absent one from another. Genesis 31:49. Along with that was a promise from each man never to harm the other. With the relationship restored, Laban got up the next morning, blessed his family and left.

But Jacob had more restoration ahead of him, particularly with his brother Esau. That would happen at a wilderness at Mahanaim near the Jabbok River.

Restoration with Esau

The last words Jacob had heard from his twin brother were a very angry death threat. Now as Jacob passed ever closer to Canaan, word would surely get back to Esau. Jacob made the first move and sent messengers (with lots of gifts) to Esau. Esau responds that he will come out to meet Jacob . . . With four hundred. Genesis 32:7 says Jacob was terrified and distressed by this news. Jacob makes preparations but then he prays, “Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him,” Genesis 32:11. This is the first recorded prayer for Jacob since he left home back in chapter 28. But then night falls . . .

Restoration with the covenant-keeping God

Yes, Jacob had prayed to God, but he wasn’t confident God would answer it, so he devised a plan of just how they would meet Esau and he rehearsed it with all his servants. He sent his wives on ahead with the servants and he was left alone. At night. In the wilderness.

In Genesis 32:24 he begins an all-night wrestling match with a man who was clearly more than mortal. (My son was a wrestler in high school. I can’t imagine the stamina and strength necessary to wrestle all night. And Jacob was an old guy by now.) Jacob had been wrestling, scheming, working his whole life to obtain something God, in grace, had already promised him.

The wrestling match proved that his way would never succeed. It was when Jacob let go that the blessing was pronounced. Later, in verse 30, he marvels “I have seen God’s face.” Perhaps literally, but to see His face is to have His favor. Jacob finally understood God’s covenant blessing irrevocably rested on him.

The next morning, Esau ran to meet Jacob, embraced him and the tears flowed (33:4). Jacob’s prayer was answered. The relationship was restored. The next time we see the brothers, they have come together to bury their father, Isaac in 35:29.

So after a lot of narrative, let’s look at some application. Time in the wilderness can underscore and provide the opportunity for restoration. Do we have relationships with others that need mending? What about our relationship with God? Have we paid Him lip service while wearing ourselves out trying to do everything? Are we trying to earn His blessing and His favor when He has already given it?

What needs to be restored in your wilderness time?

Jacob isn’t the only one who learned some lessons in the wilderness. Next week we’ll see more about how time in the wilderness can be a time of instruction.

O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee

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O Master let me walk with Thee title graphic

O Master, let me walk with Thee
In lowly paths of service free;
Tell me Thy secret, help me bear
The strain of toil, the fret of care.

Help me the slow of heart to move
By some clear, winning word of love;
Teach me the wayward feet to stay,
And guide them in the homeward way.

Teach me Thy patience; still with Thee
In closer, dearer company,
In work that keeps faith sweet and strong,
In trust that triumphs over wrong.

In hope that sends a shining ray
Far down the future’s broad’ning way,
In peace that only Thou canst give,
With Thee, O Master, let me live.

Washington Gladden, 1879
Read Matthew 20:25-28

(A servant’s life is not a popular one. When we were kids, I’d guess none of us listed that as what we wanted to be when we grew up. But Jesus gives servants the highest regard when He identifies with them. That should be enough for us to pray, “Master, let me walk with Thee. Let me learn and serve alongside You.” May God give us a servant’s heart.)

Incidentally, the author of this hymn, Washington Gladden, even though he was a servant was not afraid to mix it up with the rich and powerful including New York City political machine under Boss Tweed and even John D. Rockefeller. You can read more about him at hymnary.org

Here’s another assignment for servants. Ye Servants of God, Your Master Proclaim

Doctrinal Definitions: Condemnation

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There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1

No condemnation.
No sentence of eternal, not just physical, death

Paul has spent seven chapters laying out his case.
It is airtight.
Every one has sinned.
No one is righteous.
Not Jews. Not Gentiles.
We are all condemned.

There will be no stay.
There will be no last minute appeal.
There is no new evidence that will suddenly be brought to light.

God is holy.
We are sinful.
We are sinners.
The sentence is separation
Eternal separation from God and everything good.

It is in that moment of hopelessness that Jesus Christ stepped in.
And everything changed.

No longer under condemnation.
We were set free.

For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:2

A higher law.
A greater authority
Done and done.

Here are some other posts you may like: When the Gospel message is more like drum lessons

Into the Wilderness: Transition

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into the wilderness transition title graphic

But [Elijah] went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” 1 Kings 19:4

The dictionary defines a wilderness as uncultivated, uninhabited or undisturbed by human activity. A wilderness is also pathless. Metaphorically it is a bewildering situation. No doubt many of us have had our own wilderness experiences- or have that to look forward to. As it turns out, Scripture has a lot to say about the wilderness and what happens there. Last week we looked at God’s care for Israel while they wandered. Today, let’s look at Elijah’s time in the wilderness.

In 1 Kings chapter 18, Elijah experiences one of the greatest spiritual victories in Scripture when God sends down fire from heaven in response to Elijah’s prayer. Eight hundred fifty false prophets are eliminated and it seems the people finally recognize that Yahweh alone is God. Here in the very next chapter, he is under a death sentence and running for his life.

It is easy to look at Elijah and wonder how in the world he could be so discouraged after such an amazing experience. But that’s just it. Elijah was completely confused. He stood strong. He obeyed God. He faced down the opposition. And everything fell apart. That wasn’t how it was supposed to work.

Exhausted physically and emotionally. Alone. “I don’t know what’s going on anymore. Lord, I can’t keep doing this.” Maybe you can identify.

What Elijah didn’t know, couldn’t know until God told him was that the LORD was working behind the scenes, getting pieces in place for the next steps He would take. Elijah’s time in the wilderness was a season of preparation for the transitions that were coming. God was ready to clean house in Israel and Syria and He had a right-hand man chosen for Elijah. He spoke to Elijah in the still, small voice and gave him three tasks.

First transition task – And the LORD said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. 1 Kings 19:15

Hazael of Syria was having his own wilderness experience. However the sovereign LORD of Israel and Judah is also Lord over Syria. God showed Elijah that He was still in control of everything.

One of the key things to remember during a wilderness experience is that no matter what we feel – and our feelings may be 100 percent reasonable and justified – no matter what we feel, the reality is, God is in control. Things may be out of our control. Things are never out of God’s control.

Second transition task – And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel (1 Kings 19:16a).

God had not forgotten about the Baal worship in Israel and the corrupt leadership that perpetuated the ungodliness. Judgment was coming for Jezebel and the house of Ahab. It was a few years ahead, but God was getting the pieces positioned.

God does not ignore sin, ungodliness, and injustice, nor has He let it slide. Judgment is coming. It is coming at a time and in a way that glorifies God.

Third transition task – [A]nd Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place (1 Kings 19:16b).

God showed His compassion and grace for His prophet and answers his prayer. God allows Elijah to retire, but not before designating a successor. This gives Elijah the chance to pass on what he knew, what he had experienced to a younger man. Mentoring Elisha validated Elijah’s work. It renewed his commitment and his energy to keep going. It proved to Elijah that he was not alone in the service of God. When Elijah was called to heaven, it was a moment of triumph.

God sees and hears our frustrations and He knows how best to alleviate them. We have the freedom to be honest and open with God.

Elijah shows us the wilderness can be a place of transition. Maybe you are there now. Do you need a reminder that God is in control? Or perhaps a reassurance that Gods sees and knows and is at work? Do you need to know God hears you in the middle of your confusion? Is there someone God is ready to bring alongside you?

Times of transition get us on the same page with God. Learn to see them as a gift, a time of God revealing Himself.

The wilderness can also be an opportunity for restoration. Join me next week to see how.

Encounters Series

From the opening pages of Scripture, no one who has encountered a holy God has come away unchanged. Adam, Abraham, Hagar, Moses and many, many others realized that God is not distant but a God who … Read More

Covenant of Trust Series

A covenant is a solemn, binding agreement. God chose to unilaterally enter into a covenant with Abraham. No matter what Abraham said or did, God vowed to uphold the terms and bless Abraham. Marriage … Read More...

Foundations Series

Jesus told a parable about a wise builder and a foolish one, underscoring how important it is to have a solid foundation. He declared that obedience to His word was the surest foundation of all. In … Read More...