From Pity to Praise

“God has done what the law weakened by the flesh, could not do” -Romans 8:3

How do people change? How do you and I really change? We all need to. If God is who He says He is -and He is – and if we are who He says we are -and we are – then we need to change. But how? There are two approaches to change law and grace.

The 10 Commandments, and all His commandments in the Bible are God’s Law. Romans 7:12 us, “The Law indeed is holy, and the commandments holy, and righteous and good.” What if for just one day everyone on earth obeyed the 10 Commandments? It would go down in history as a great day. The problem is not the Law but what the Apostle Paul calls “the flesh,” I think Paul wants us to notice that even the Law of God is weakened in its practical sense. It tells us right and wrong, but it doesn’t change us. It only condemns us. If logic and rules cannot actively help us overcome our natural weaknesses and passions, the reason only serves to make us aware of our foolishness, rather than helping us improve. This comes from Alexander Pope’s “An Essay on Man.”

Law is not only the commandments of God in the Bible. If only the Law is within us, it becomes an accusing voice inside of us. We accuse ourselves and others. If we learned God’s law as a Religious law, we might have heard “Do this and you’ll be superior” such as wear this. Follow the rules and God will like you. Conform to us, and we will accept you.” Neither the Law of God nor the law of man can change our hearts.

So what is the mechanism for change? The grade of God changes us. The grace of God does not say, “I love you just the way you are.” It says, “I love you for the way Jesus is. I love you enough not to leave you the way you are. I will imprint Jesus on your heart.” Grace succeeds, because it works with two unstoppable powers -the power of acceptance, and the power of the Holy Spirit. This is God at work. Grace is God giving Himself to us wholeheartedly and calling us to trust Him. Grace works because it’s how we change. When we face what we are and hand ourselves over to the grace of God because He knows what we are and still handles us with compassion.

I don’t think our problem is God’s Law, our problem is flesh. The Law is powerless to do what it is meant to do because it is weakened by our sinful nature. Our flesh keeps us stuck because we don’t think it’s sinful. So we need to watch out for our sinful nature. We won’t understand ourselves until we notice the real enemy within. We never know how much we need God, until we notice this.

It’s pretty easy to think we’re the “good guys” Who are working on a few problems and end up as shallow believers, that only rearrange the surface things in our lives. With Law and grace, we can go deeper into a relationship with God.

How can we obey the Law of God if the power inside of us decides that we’re going to want other things? It’s like trying to jump out of a joke that has no bottom.

Paul calls “the flesh” our moral, and emotional subculture under everything else about us. It’s the mediocracy we settle for -the defeated selves that we are, socially acceptable with. Our flesh is our natural moral condition. It’s both virtues and virtues, our capacity for evil and good. It’s something we need to work on every day to reach our potential.

With God’s help, we can abondon our flesh and take new steps according to the Holy Spirit we can change in ways that surprise us.

This is the beginning of the Psalms of Assent. Psalms 120-134. From my pastor.

We live in a world that never stops talking. Notifications buzz, opinions shout, and everyone seems to have something to say about who we should be, what we should believe, and how we should live. In all that noise, living out our faith can feel less like a declaration and more like a quiet struggle.

The Bible remind us that this noise isn’t anything new. In 1 Kings 19, Elijah doesn’t encounter God in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire, but in a gentle whisper. God often speaks softly, which means we have to be intentional about listening.

Living our faith in a noisy don’t world starts with creating space or quiet. This doesn’t require a perfect routine or even long hours of prayer. It can look like starting the day with a few minutes in scripture, or taking a short pause to pray before reacting. These small moments can re-center our hearts when everything else distractions our attention.

It also means living differently, not loudly. Jesus didn’t compete with the noise of His culture -embodied truth through love, humility, and consistent obedience. Our faith show most clearly in not what we argue about, but how we treat people, handle stress, forgive, freely, and choose integrity when no one is watching.

Our faith in a noisy world requotes trust. Trust that God’s voice guides us, and that faithfulness matters even when it’s unseen, and that quiet obedience can have a lasting impact. In a culture obsessed with volume and visibility, choosing a steady faithful walk with God is a powerful act of worship.

Sometimes the most faithful thing we can do is turn down the noise and listen.

“Don’t give that which is Holy to the dogs, neither throw your pearls before the pigs, lest perhaps they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces” Matthew 7:6

This is from Jesus’s sermon on the Mount. It warns against sharing valuable, sacred, or deeply meaningful knowledge with those who cannot appreciate or understand it. As such efforts are futile, and the recipient may disregard, ridicule, or react with hostility, trampling the message and tearing the giver.

Jesus advises us against wasting spiritual truths (pearls) on inreceptive, antagonistic, or disrespectful people (swine).

Pearls represent wisdom, valuable spiritual truths, or the gospel. And swine represent individuals who are not only incapable of appreciating the value but are also destructive to it.

It is a call for discernment, advising that while sharing truth is important, it should not be forced upon those who are actively hostile to it. It is closely related to the idea of not being a judgmental hypocrite.

The modern application of this can be described as not wasting time, effort, or resources such as advice, love, and trust on people who do not value them.

It’s common for people to focus on Jesus standing in place of our punishment. The Bible talks about the substitution, but there are others. Jesus created a tapestry on the cross that we often miss, because we focus on one part of the cross and Jesus.

These are all mentioned in the Bible. They are facets of the atonement and they all fit together.

1. Substitution

Jesus stands in our place, so that as Martin Luther King put it the “Great Exchange,” we gain His righteousness while He takes our sin. This is our cross to bear, our rightful death, and He takes it instead of us.

Jesus died so we don’t have to, even though our sin causes death. This is found in Isaiah 53:6, 1 Peter 2:24, and 2 Corinthians 5:21

2. Propitiation

This is often lumped together with substitution but it’s a distinctly different thing. It means the turning aside of wrath. Jesus’s death turns aside the wrath of God so that His anger is not poured out at those who trust in Jesus’s death.

Therefore, God’s wrath is not poured out against any of us who believe even though He is just and we deserve it. This is found in Romans 3:35, 1 John 4:10.

3. Expiation

Jesus cleanses our filth so that our sin is taken far away from us. If we think of the second goat (the scapegoat) on the “Day of Atonement” or Yom Kippur who is sent out into the wilderness to be eaten by goat demons. He is identified with the people’s sin and cast out of the camp with their uncleanliness on him. Jesus cleanses us not just from the penalty of sin but from its pollution, sending it far away.

Even though of sins make us filthy, Jesus cleanses us. This is found in 1 John 1:7, Leviticus 16.

4. Ransom

Jesus paid the price for our sin. He paid the price to the Father.

We are free from the price of our sin. This is found in Matthew 20:28, Colossians 2:14.

5. Redemption

Some church teachers or preachers use the example of redemption using slave markets and say that being redeemed is like being bought from slavery. I think this is half right, but the referent can be wrong. If we look at Exodus. God didn’t buy Pharaoh off, He crushed Him under the weight of the Red Sea. Jesus forcibly brings us from the oppression of this world’s snake-king into a promised land.

We are set free from our bondage to sin. This is the narrative of the whole Bible. Read Galatians 3:13, and Exodus 6:6.

6. Reconciliation

This is the classic “bridge to life” analogy. If we follow Jesus, we are no longer enemies of God but we are at peace. Our warfare with heaven has ended. And more than that we are given the greatest love, the love of the age to come. Jesus declares us as friends.

We can have a relationship with God despite our sin. This is found in 2 Corinthians 5:18, John 15.

7. Sacrifice

The Cross acts like the Levitical sacrifice of Purification, Ascension, and the Peace Offering. We are made Holy, our sin is covered, and we are lifted to the heavens, and a table is laid in the Lord’s Supper with the meat of the sacrifice.

Jesus takes us to the Father and feeds us a meal. This is found in Hebrews 9:13-14, and Leviticus.

8. Recapitulation

This is the climax of the Cross. The Resurrection, Ascension and the Gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus consciously re-done Adam’s failure at the tree in the Garden, and being spiritually killed on wisdoms tree so that we will have access to the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

9. Demonstration

Jesus’s death is a demonstration of God’s justice. This is found in Romans 3:24-25, Romans 5:8, 1 Corinthians 1:22-25, and 1 Timothy 1:15-16. It is in the death of Jesus, that we discover who God is.

10. Example

Jesus’s death is an example of how we are supposed to live, self-forgetfully and self-sacrificially. Because some people have taught that Jesus’s death was only an example, others scoff at it. But, it’s a Biblical idea, ad we look at God dying for us, we can learn who God is and who we can turn to.

We are called to live like Jesus. 1 John 3:16, 1 Peter 2:21.

11. Victory

Jesus conquered death. Death is dead in the death of the living. He has wrestled the keys of hell from the enemy’s cold hands and now rules over death. Satan, sin, and death died on the Cross and Jesus won.

Satan was defeated in the way Zechariah 3:1-4 described it. The true accusations of the accuser are made to be false because Jesus stood in our place on the Cross. Found in Colossians 2:15, Genesis 3:15.

12. The Gift

The Cross was not required by the laws of God had set to govern the universe. No one forced Him to do it. Jesus chose to freely offer Himself in our place. He hung in the air, arms wide outstretched to embrace the world. Found in Isaiah 53:10, Galatians 2:20

God loves us. And that’s good news.

“My life is but a weaving Between God and me. I cannot choose the colors He weaves steadily. Oftentimes times He weaves sorrow. And in my foolish pride forget He sees the upper and I the underside. Not until the loom is silent and the shuttles cease to fly will God unroll the canvas and reveal the reason why” -Life is but a weaving by Corrie Ten Boom.

Where we only see the messy underside God sees the beautiful finished pattern on the top.

In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it’s easy to lose sight of our calling and purpose. To live in the light of God‘s love. I’ve learned a few ways through trial and error to cultivate a deep relationship with God to allow His life to illuminate my path.

Our journey through life often leads us to crossroads. Either a path of light or darkness. Our choice is significant because it shapes our relationship with God and spiritual development.

The Bible is full of examples of people who chose to follow God‘s path. For example, Moses, who abandoned the riches of Egypt, to lead his people to freedom in Hebrews 11:24-26. Or Ruth, who chose to follow Naomi and her God despite uncertainty. (Ruth 1:16). their choices were not easy, nor were they without sacrifice, but they chose God’s light.

Choosing the path of Light.

Choosing God’s light is a leap of faith, it’s about trusting that His ways are better than ours (Isaiah 56:9).

Sometimes we choose early in life to follow God’s light, other times you do what I did. After I tried everything else and failed I chose to give God a try.

Choosing to follow God’s light is about believing that no matter how dark or difficult the path seems, His light will always guide us home (Psalm 119:105).

Building a spiritual community

God’s is light. His light not only guides us but also connects us. It fosters a connection with other believers, creating a spiritual community. Just as one candle can light many others without diminishing its light, God’s light within us can inspire and encourage others.

Having a spiritual community plays a vital role in our journey through life. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10-11 reminds us, “Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow, but woe to him who is alone he falls, and doesn’t have another to lift Him up.” In times of doubt or struggle, our spiritual community lifts us, prays for us, and reminds us of God’s promises.

We can help this along by being transparent about our spiritual journey and sharing our victories and struggles. Doing this allows God’s light to shine in our lives. And serves as a beacon of hope and encouragement to others.

From sin to sanctification

Sin separates us from God. It darkens our spirit and prevents us from fully experiencing God’s grace and love. Thankfully, God’s love has the power to forgive all sin. 1 John 1:7 tells us, “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.”

Sanctification is not a one time event but an ongoing process. As we continually choose to walk in God’s light, we allow His truth to expose our sins and Hid grace to cleanse us. We learn to let go of our sinful habits and cultivate habits that are pleasing to Him.

Living in alignment with God’s nature

As we choose the path of light, we foster fellowship, listen, and allow God’s light to purify us, and we align our lives more closely with God’s nature. This alignment is the ultimate goal of our spiritual journey.

When we walk in the light, we are challenged to embody love, truth, and holiness daily. We can learn to love unconditionally, live truthfully, and strive for holiness in all we do.

This is a process and we shouldn’t aim for perfection but growth and transformation. It’s about becoming more like Jesus each day. Paul describes this process in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, and being transformed into His image with every increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.“

Walking in God’s light is a lifelong journey. It can be filled with challenges and obstacles, but it is also filled with abundant blessings and profound joy. Through it all we need to press on and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith.

“For in His light, we truly find our purpose, identity, and home.”

Reacting is often quick and emotionally charged, and it can occur without much conscious thought or reflection. It can be influenced by past experience, conditioned responses, or the activation of the fight or flight response in the face of perceived threats.

In contrast to this, responding typically involved a more deliberate and thoughtful approach. Taking time to process information, consider different perspectives and choose the course of action consciously. When we learn to respond, we are more likely to experience more positive outcomes in our daily interactions.

Reactions are often based in the moment, and driven by emotion, they are often aggressive and fuel disagreement, this triggered psychological responses in the body, such as increased heart rate or sweating. While a response to a well-thought-out reaction can result in a positive outcome.

We can control the urge to react by practicing mindfulness. Mindfulness involves acceptance and nonjudgmental awareness of present-moment experiences that can help us respond rather than react in difficult situations. By pausing and being mindful, we can be present with our thoughts and feelings to identify our triggers so we can choose how to respond rather than react.

I learned a little trick years ago that has worked for me in difficult situations. It is taking 10 deep breaths to calm and relax my body to avoid reacting.

The benefits of being mindful lead to:

• Less emotional reactivity
• Reduce stress and rumination
• Increased cognitive flexibility
• Higher relationship satisfaction

Learning to respond and empower you to become a better person. Here are a few ways I respond rather than react:

Name your emotions

Verbalize them out loud or write them in a journal. This helps your brain realize the situation is temporary.

Recognize how your body feels

Pay attention to any physical symptoms you’re having. This helps you in the future to know when you’re being triggered. For example I can the tension in my neck when I’m feeling triggered.

Use your breath to regain control

Take 10 deep breaths. This helps slow your breath to a calm rhythm.

Ask yourself why you reacted

This helps identify and deal with what triggered you so you can respond, not react.

Practice mindfulness regularly

This helps improve your awareness of your body and brain responses, which helps you respond rather than react. Reacting and responding are both natural human tendencies, developing your ability to respond thoughtfully can lead to more positive outcomes. This helps in conflict resolution and decision-making. With practice and self-awareness, you can cultivate the skills necessary to respond mindfully.