May

4

Scape Goat

By Julie B Cosgrove | Comments Off


And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness.  The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.  Leviticus 16:21-22

Ever hear of the term “scape goat?”  This is the passage it comes from. It is an innocent person upon whom blame is placed. It describes the guy who takes the fall. It is the little brother who gets blamed for breaking the vase his older siblings crashed into while rough housing. Or the medium level executive who has been set up to swing in the breeze once the corporate ladder of corrupt crumbles when he or she was just doing their job. 

There are times in all of our lives when we wish we could blame someone else, point the finger at another person and shift the limelight to them.  Some people are prone to blame everyone else for what goes wrong in their lives. It is never their fault. Perhaps they were criticized too much as kids, or blamed for everything no matter if they were at fault at not.  So now they shun from taking responsibility.  They look for a scape goat to clear their conscience.

The good news is, none of us have to do that. Christ died for us and, when we come forward honestly to confess them,  separates our sins as far as the east is from the west.  He is the sacrificial, blemish-less Lamb, which is better than a scape goat.  If anything is sitting heavily in your heart, place it in God’s hands.  Like the man in Leviticus who stood in readiness, our Lord is there to receive your deepest regrets and most hurtful confessions. Then, He will whisk away the guilt and pain, sending it off to a remote place far away from you. Forgiven. Done. Time to move on.

Yes, there are consequences for our actions. But with a clear conscience and forgiven soul, we can, by the mercy of God, face those circumstances head on and not look to shift the blame.  Plus, we will be open to finally receive healing and grace.  No more will we say something has “got our goat.”

Apr

8

Mirror Image

By Julie B Cosgrove | 1 Comment


Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and after looking at himself,  goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.” James 1:23

How can that be? How could someone forget what he or she looks like?  We all spend a fair amount of time in front of a mirror grooming, and perhaps being  disappointed our hair is not cooperating the way it should, or a new wrinkle has popped up near our eyes, or a blemish is surfacing. But that is not the image I think James is talking about.

We are supposed to be Christ’s image to the world. He is to be reflected in us.  We are to mirror His actions and teachings. That is what James means by not just merely listening to the Word, but doing it.  If we just hear Scripture and not take it to heart and put it into action, we are forgetting who we are in Christ. When we concentrate too much on our outward appearance, we become too self conscious to step outside of ourselves and reach out to others.  Those negative thoughts of “what will they think?” or “I am not good enough, strong enough, smart enough, pretty enough etc” creep in. We have forgotten what we look like to the world when we allow Christ to shine through us. And we walk away, shrinking from the task.

But when we forget we are having a bad hair day or there is a zit on our forehead or a new wrinkle around our eyes, and concentrate on helping the other person, then Christ’s beauty is free to shine through. We reflect the beauty of His love and mercy. That is what they see.  Paul said now we look through a mirror darkly, but when we get to Heaven we will see God face to face. Even so, Christ’s light can shine through us and we can see others as Christ would see them. And those people , in turn, can see Christ mirrored in us.

Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven. Matthew 5:16

Apr

6

Under His Feet

By Julie B Cosgrove | Comments Off


For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.  The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 1Corinthians 15:25-26

Paul is talking about Christ, who through His death and resurrection, has defeated death for all of us who turn our hearts to Him and declare Him to be the Lord of our lives.  At Easter we proclaim “He is risen. The Lord is Risen Indeed.” It is the pinnacle of our faith. As Paul says in this chapter, “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” (vs.14)

That is why these verses give me such hope. Because not only was the Risen Lord able to defeat His enemies, even the last enemy called death, He is able to defeat mine as well.  No matter what sorrows, hurts, illnesses and pains I have in my life, I can turn to Christ to help. My pride, unrighteous angers, envies and despairs can be turned into humility, forgiveness, gratitude and hope (every time).  Deep down I know I can turn to Him and that ultimately, even when I cannot see the outcome, He will be right in there with me, battling the evil that touches my life. He will be there until the end, and will ultimately defeat my last enemy – death.

What reassurance to know that whatever we go through, it is not permanent. I have just in the last few years seen dear friends suffer pain and sorrows, face major surgeries, cancers and losses, including death. I have suffered as well, as I am sure have each of you reading this.  It is a part of life on this earth. But praise God it is not the end. Christ has made sure of that.  Whatever the battle, I already know in faith what the outcome will be.  My enemies will eventually be defeated one way or another. And that is what makes each fight easier and the wounds not so painful to bear.

Mar

31

What a Pain

By Julie B Cosgrove | Comments Off


Now if anyone has caused pain, . . . you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.  So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him.   2 Corinthians 2:5,7-8

Paul knew of where he spoke. When first confronted with the followers of Jesus, he persecuted and stoned them.  Paul inflicted a great deal of pain until he was converted on that dusty road into Damascus. Christ forgave him and because of that, Paul became so very instrumental in not only the spread of the Truth, but in writing it down for those he met on up through the centuries to us today.  Martin Luther was converted over a thousand years later after reading Paul’s letter to the Romans. And he was just one of countless millions who have found Christ through Paul’s letters.

It all started with an act of love and forgiveness after a deep painful act.  The same act Christ died for, that he prayed as one of his final words, “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.”  Jesus taught us to pray  that God should forgive us as we forgive those who trespass (cause pain) against us. Yes, Paul spoke Truth.  Still, it’s the hardest thing in the world to do, isn’t it? Especially when that person who pains you never says they are sorry, but keeps right on paining.

Most likely the people who have caused you the most pain, unless you or a loved one has been the victim of random violence, is someone you have an emotional attachment to, otherwise the pain wouldn’t be so deep. It could be a friend who turned on you, a spouse who puts you down all the time and yells at you, a child who has turned away from your love, a parent who has rejected you because you do not see eye to eye.  Joyce Meyer is famous for saying, “Hurting people hurt people.” She is one who knows, having been abused by her father.  Yet her forgiveness of his atrocities eventually not only led him to Christ, but removed the thorn in her side that was preventing her ministry to millions from flourishing.

I have a hard time forgiving, especially when the other person keeps on doing me wrong. But I realize if I turn to lick my own wounds, they fester because I am concentrating on poor little me and my pain. That gives the other person permission to keep on hurting me. But if I give that all to Christ, He heals me each time a new wound appears.

If anyone understands how humans can pain each other, it is our Lord and Savior. For me, I  have to keep trusting and trying to turn the pains over to Him each time the arrows sling in my direction. Only then can I begin to try and forgive, again . . . because Christ keeps forgiving me. Though my heart is broken, Christ’s love for me spills out into love for the other person, because after all, they are in pain as well and deep down know not what they are doing.

Mar

12

Lord, Pass Me By?

By Julie B Cosgrove | 2 Comments


Mark 6:47-48  And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land.  And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night (about 3 AM) he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, . . . 

Why would Jesus mean to pass by his disciples?  Wouldn’t He want them to see Him so they would know He hadn’t abandoned them in their time of need? Perhaps because He knew what their reaction would be – they would be afraid instead of trusting in Him. That is exactly how they reacted.

” . . but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out,  for they all saw him and were terrified.” (vs 49)

It wasn’t “Thank you, Lord, for hearing our cries and coming to our rescue.”  The disciples were already in an anxious state trying to battle the sea and the waves that were defeating them. It was three in the morning. They were worn out, tired, probably cranky. In other words, they were not in the mindset to receive peace. 

Have you ever been in a stew like that? I have. It seems like a magnetic tornado of bad is swirling around me. Everything else that could go wrong seems attracted to me and sucked into the situation. The stress grows and grows. It is “Really? What could possibly happen next?”  In my struggle, I am relying on my own strengths, and not God’s. Frustration sets in.

Perhaps it is those times that God chooses to come to my rescue even if I don’t ask Him to do that.  He goes ahead while my head is bent to the pressures and calms the situation. He knows I just can’t ask Him to help me with whatever storm I am facing because of my mindset, but He also knows I can’t deal with it on my own (even though I, like the disciples, do not yet realize it).  Instead He handles it, then reveals He was right there all along.

But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded. (vs 50-51)

Would I, like the disciples, be afraid and astounded by His mighty power if He revealed it to me? No. not so much now, because He has come to my rescue, over and over again. But early on in my walk with Christ, probably. God knows our hearts and the amount of faith we can muster. He is always finding ways to increase that faith in Him. He meets us where we are. Often, it is only after the storm that I can see the part He played in calming it down, or calming me down. Then, and only then, can I look up and see His mighty Hand was in it after all. That’s when I stop and fall to my knees in relieved thanks and praise.  Several years back, there was a Christian song that spoke to that – “Sometimes He calms the storm - other times, He calms His child.”

Trust and letting go of control is a learning curve. Perhaps, someday, I’ll ace that test.

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