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Blameless

He is Able

by TerryLema

“To him who is able … to make you stand in the presence of His glory, blameless [faultless] and with great [exceeding] joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.” [Jude 24-25 HCSB]

I do love this doxology that closes Jude’s letter.  Yesterday I wrote about our God and His ability to “keep us from falling,” the first praise expression of Jude.  But there is a second reason Jude is praising God, and that is God is able to present us before His glorious presence blameless and with exceeding joy.

Blameless/Faultless. The Greek word means simply unblemished, without blame or fault. Have you ever wondered what it will be like to be eternally faultless, no blemish on our soul ever again? Have you ever wondered what it will feel like to be completely, absolutely without shame?

I know that is the way God sees me now in Christ. I also know that is not how others see me, or even how I see myself. In this life, my blemishes and faults are often very visible. And inside my soul I am often reminded I have no one to blame but myself for my choices, my sins, my flaws.

But the day is coming … that day when all my blemishes, faults, shame will remain in the grave and I will exit into the presence of the Lord white as snow. No wonder Jude says that when that happens there will be great, exceedingly great joy!

Thank you, Father, for Christ whose sacrifice makes me white as snow. I long for the day when I will no longer be able to see (or perhaps even remember?) the faults and failures of this life. Amen.

 

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Blameless & Pure

by TerryLema

As I was reading further in Philippians, I came across another occurrence of the English word “blameless.”  I saw that word in Chapter 1 (which I wrote about yesterday), and then it occurred again in Chapter 2.  That made me wonder if it was the same Greek word.  Turns out, it is not.

The “blameless” in Chapter 1 is “aproskopos.”  It means “not causing to stumble, not stumbling.” It conveys the idea of free from harm or hurt, not offending nor causing offence.  Paul prayed in Chapter 1 for his readers to have increasing knowledge and discernment so that they could approve things that are superior and could be “blamesless” (not stumbling, not causing others to stumble).

Then in Chapter 2, Paul reminds his readers of more important items that they need to watch out for.

“Do everything without grumbling and arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world.” [Philippians 2:14-15 HCSB]

Paul’s word for “blameless” in this passage is “amemptos,” and it means simply “free from fault or defect, above reproach.”

Oh, beloved, we are to be above reproach in all things. We are not to grumble or argue.  We are to be people of integrity and honesty, full of compassion and kindness and light.  We are to be different from the world.

Paul described the world in his day as “a crooked and perverted generation.” We could describe the world in our day the same way.  So, if we act like, or look like, or talk like the world … if we grumble and argue … how can we be light? How can we shine like stars?

Oh Father, help us to be light amid all this darkness.  Amen.

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Things that are superior …

by TerryLema

I do not know about you, but I am bombarded every day with so much stuff. It comes through the television, the online news pages, Facebook, emails, snail-mail, and a host of other avenues. It wants my attention. Often it wants my money too.

Just the other day I was invited to pursue hearing aids, burial insurance, life insurance, new windows for the house, lawn care, a new home, a new car … and that was just in the mailbox. The commercials on television were worse. The ads on Facebook popped up constantly. My phone rang with robo-calls telling me my auto warranty was up on cars we no longer own!

Bombarded from every side. Even as I am writing this, an ad for faster wi-fi flashed on my screen!  Perhaps that is why I was captured by Paul’s prayer for the Philippians.

“And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, so that you can approve the things that are superior and can be pure and blameless in the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.” [Philippians 1:9-11 HCSB]

Paul prayed for his readers to have a growing knowledge and discernment so that they could “approve the things that are superior.”

Then he described those things. He wanted his readers to be pure, blameless, filled with the fruit of righteousness. He wanted them to lead lives that brought glory and praise to God.

I really was struck by that phrase “approve the things that are superior.”

The world bombards us with things that are inferior. It demands our attention to stuff that will pass away with the using. It wants us consumed with consumerism. Our Father God wants us to grow in the knowledge of Christ Jesus so that we might live superior lives, consumed with the desire to know eternal things that will last forever.

Maybe we should all be praying Paul’s prayer – for ourselves and for each other.  Amen.

 

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