How I Experienced Hospitality at its Best

It was a Sunday morning and after the worship service ended, my husband left church to visit a friend that was in the hospital (out of town). 

That meant that I would need a ride home. I thought of asking a friend who lives close to me, but she didn't sit in her usual place (down the isle from us). Instead, another friend sat next to us, who usually sits elsewhere. So after the service ended, I asked Myrian if she could take me home. She was happy to do so. 

We left the church and made the short five-minute trip to my house. But, I didn't get out of the car immediately because we had been engaged in conversation which now continued in the parked car in front of my house. In fact, we continued to talk for about an hour in Myrian's car. 

All this time, I was being nudged by the Holy Spirit to invite Myrian into my house, which wasn't in perfect condition - it looked lived in. But I just continued on with our conversation until I had to go into the house to feed the dog. Even then, I didn't invite Myrian in (I'm ashamed to say!). 

Once in the house and after feeding the dog, I looked around the living room area of my home and it hit me. What was keeping me from welcoming in my friend? The house simply looked a little lived in. 

Besides, it was lunchtime and I had an opportunity to feed the hungry - that was both of us. But what could I serve my friend? And then I remembered the homemade soup - delicious at that - in the refrigerator from the day before.

It was time for me to swallow my pride and obey the mandate given in Scripture to be hospitable. So back out to the car I went and finally asked Myrian to come in for lunch. She was delighted.

I put the soup in a saucepan to heat and while it was heating, I set about to make a simple salad to serve alongside the soup. Next on the table - after pushing aside the papers that were occupying the space we needed for our soup bowls - was some wonderful artisan sourdough bread and butter. Finally, the table was ready with a savory and delicious repast - the perfect meal that Myrian and I needed to nourish our bodies and satisfy our hunger. 

We ate and continued to enjoy the sweet fellowship we have in Christ. What a precious time we had, encouraging one another, laughing and be nourished by the love of Christ as we ate the leftovers from the day before. I've never had a better meal! And what the Lord taught me through this joyful appointment was priceless. 

At that time, I had been reading a book called The Gospel Comes with a Housekey by Rosaria Butterfield. It was the testimony of how the Lord had redeemed Rosaria through a Christian family's ministry of hospitality to her. I had been convicted while reading the book for having had a worldly mentality when it came to opening my home to welcome others. Now the Lord was showing me the joy of welcoming others, prepared or not, into my home, perfect or not.

Through this sweet time with Myrian, I've come to realize that all the busyness and frenzy to get my home perfect for guests had limited me in welcoming others into my home. My home is not a museum nor is it the White House and it especially is not to be shut up to others when it's not perfect. 

We live in our home and it looks lived in. When I thought about that, it hit me that life happens in my home. Productivity via life creates a mess sometimes. And sometimes people come to my door before that mess is cleaned up. Do I typically invite them in? No. Instead. I'll step outside and casually visit with them on the front porch. 

But the Lord has provided a home that should be His first and foremost. If He truly lives here, He would never hesitate to warmly invite anyone who drops by to come inside, no matter what life has done to my house. 

For a welcome mat to be laid at my doorstep and yet nary a welcome extended by me is paramount to hypocrisy. It is anti-Christ! How stingy I've been with what I've always said belongs to Him. 

What blessings I've missed because of the mentality that my house must have a "photo-finish" look to it for a welcome to proceed from my mouth. And how enslaved I've made myself to the flurry of cleaning and polishing this place I call home before anyone can enter in. What I've actually done is to pamper and polish a house instead of loving and caring for others in the lived-in home I have been blessed to share with them.  

And for the very reason I call it home (not "house"), it should be a home, not just a house. There are phrases that express the meaning of home: "being at home" means for one to have a relaxed sense of well-being, to be able to let all the agitating aspects of life go and simply calm one's self in a peaceful state of mind. Should this benefit of my home be only for me? Would Jesus want me to invite others in to "be at home" here also? Would He want me to use my home as a vehicle to minister to those who are harassed by life?

This, I believe, is what happened when I invited Myrian into my lived-in home. That was true hospitality! It was not me entertaining guests. It was the Lord Jesus ministering to both of us as He used a little piece of earth on which a shelter had been erected in 1941 to calm us, to enjoy one another, to bring laughter and to remind ourselves of the kind "welcome" the Lord Jesus has extended to us. This truly was God's will being done on earth as it is in heaven. In fact, it was "heaven on earth"!

My earthly father used to tell us, his children, about the most welcoming family in the church that he attended growing up (where his own father was the pastor). 

This family was not only the most welcoming in the church, but they were also the most financially deprived family in the church. There was hardly anything of value in their home. The couch was old, threadbare and broken down. Yet folks visiting there sat on that couch with no hesitation because of the warm reception they received from this family. Their feeling at home there had nothing to do with the furniture. Rather it was the Christ-like hospitality extended to all who entered.  

There was a great deal of laughter and love in that little ramshackle house. As a child, my father loved visiting there. The joy inside the home was contagious. It was the healing and strengthening joy of the Lord shared by all who entered. This family truly used their home to bring glory to God. 

I do not know the name of those saints, but you can bet that they are with the Lord now and He's welcomed them into His eternal home with the words we all long to hear from Him, "Well done, my good and faithful servants...enter into the joy of your Master."

And those are the words I long to hear my Savior say me when I meet Him face to face. And it won't be because I entertained others in my sparkling clean museum of a home. It will be because I welcomed others as Christ has welcomed me. 

Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, welcome one another, just as Christ has welcomed you to the glory of God. (Romans 15:5-7)

Posted by Sharon Kaufman

How I Experienced Hospitality at its Best

on September 07, 2025 0 comments

Why Does He hear Me?

"...the Father Himself loves you because you have loved Me and believed that I came from God." John 16:27

Struggling with a self-focus in prayer

In my praying, I am constantly battling the thought that I am earning "merits" so to speak - the thought that because I pray, God is pleased with me and rewards my good behavior by answering my prayer. The negative side of that thinking is also present - that if I could word my prayer just right or pray longer or more often, then I could move God's heart to act.

Nothing could be further from the truth! God's answer does not depend on how good I can make my prayer or how often or long I pray. I am not earning kudos every time I bend my knee. The only reason He hears me in the first place is because of Christ's goodness and grace. Jesus has made me righteous and acceptable in God's sight (Phil. 3:9). I cannot come to the Father except through Jesus (John 14:6) and His unmerited grace.

So then, why does God hear and answer me?

Then when I come into God's presence with adoration for my Savior, that gets God's attention. And I cannot fake that love. God knows when my heart is fervent with love for Christ. He also sees when I come with self-gratifying motives. Jesus said in John 16:27, "...the Father Himself loves you because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God."

How absurd is it to think that I can impress God?

Furthermore, a completely different thing happens when I come into God's presence. He is not at all impressed by my "devoutness in prayer". The truth is that when I come into God's presence, I am changed. I am impressed. No! I am astonished by Him! "...In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore." Psalm 16:11are pleasures forevermore. there 

Being at His throne of grace, praying to a God who should never have loved me (according to my own faulty standards of how to earn favor with others) yes, being at His gracious throne transforms me. He turns my gloom into rejoicing. He turns me from my self-focus to His sovereign and gracious purposes. He forgives my sin, again. I become aware once more of His glorious and eternal grace for my messy heart. I am reminded of God's love for me which fuels my adoration for my Savior.

How absurd is it then to think that I can impress God? To think that I can gain His favor by "behaving" a certain way! How silly to think that I could be in league with the sinless Savior. I am actually, without realizing it, trying to prove to God that I am more transcendent than my Savior.

Impress my Heavenly Father? How could that ever happen when Jesus is beside Him, seated at His right hand - the flawless, glorious, magnificent and incomparable Son of God? In truth, my effort to impress God with my "devotion" is really an effort to marginalize my Savior. What a flagrant sin that is when understood in this way!

God hears me because I love Jesus

God's love for me is real. He loves me - the Bible tells me so! He delights to hear from me when I come to Him with sincere devotion to Christ. Would you not love the one who adores your own child, the one who desires to see your child benefited and spoken well of to others? Would you not love the one who avails himself to see that your aspirations for your child are carried out because he recognizes that they are good, needful and important? Would you not then offer to that friend your resources knowing that your child would be greatly honored ultimately?

Photo by Tim Cooper on Unsplash

This is why God avails His resources to me. I long to see Christ glorified, lifted up, adored through my life, my body and my all. This is why God hears me. He knows when my heart is truly set on loving His Son and that is when I pray according to His glorious will. 

Afterall, is it not only through the name of our Savior that we gain access into our Father's presence? We dare not come to God by any other name, certainly not by my name - one who had no use for the Lord Jesus, other than to use His precious name as a byword. It is only by the Savior's worthy name that we can even approach God's glorious throne. 

And He answers the prayer that is according to His will (1 John 5:14-15). When I pray this way God sees that my heart's motive is love for Christ. He answers my prayer for His Son's sake - for His glory. He loves to hear and answer the prayer that is carried into His presence on the wings of love for Christ. It is music to His listening ear.

Praise be to God for this precious truth! 

Lord, may I love Your Son in this manner. May my every prayer be influenced, permeated and saturated with sincere adoration for the One through whom I come. And this I ask for in the name of Your gracious and compassionate Son.

Posted by Sharon Kaufman

Why Does He hear Me?

on June 30, 2021 0 comments

Partiality - Not an Attribute of God

This is the second post on the Art and Heart of Hospitality (read the first post here). What you'll read below about partiality is crucial to truly being hospitable. As you read, ask the Lord to renew for you His heart of love and welcome to you when He drew you to Himself.

 

A sad exhibition of partiality

Most of you, by now, have heard about Susan Boyle and her incredibly beautiful singing voice. She stunned the Britain's Got Talent  judges and audience on April 11, 2009.  If you haven't seen the video, click here to view it on YouTube.

You may wonder what this video has to do with the topic of this post. To answer that question, I decided to post about Susan Boyle based on a text in James. That text, James 2:1-5, confronts the sin of partiality or favoritism:
"My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, "You sit here in a good place," while you say to the poor man, "You stand over there," or, "Sit down at my feet," have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?"

After having seen the reaction from the judges and the audience when Susan Boyle appeared on stage for her audition for Britain's Got Talent, it became even more clear to me how fickle the human heart can be. It was only after she began to sing that everyone who had disgracefully judged her just seconds before, changed their opinion of her and instead displayed their approval. It really was a sad exhibition.

Some apologized. But what if she had croaked out her song? The following comment, from a secular blog, pretty well sums up what I am thinking also:

"The unspoken message of this whole episode is that, since Susan Boyle has a wonderful talent, we were wrong to judge her based on her looks and demeanor. Meaning what? That if she couldn't sing so well, we were correct to judge her on that basis? That demeaning someone whose looks don't match our impossible, media-reinforced standards of beauty is perfectly okay unless some mitigating circumstance makes us re-think our opinion?"

As a Christian, would you even speak to this individual, let alone eat with him as did Jesus when He dined with sinners? Or would you and I shun him as one who is not worthy of love? Think about the fact that we were in no better condition when Christ welcomed us. Apart from His compassion, we all would still be in our sins, doomed to a life apart from anything good. 

A crucial question: does this happen in our churches?

It is sad to say that we, in our churches, do this very thing. If someone does not come up to our preconceived idea of what a person should look like, talk like, dress like, etc. we have no intention of going any further to discover who that person really is. We remain in our comfort zones, excluding that individual from the grace God would display through us, were we willing. And then we are relieved and think we are vindicated if that person turns out to be what we judged them to be in the first place.

God does not look at the outward appearance

The sin of partiality is wrong no matter what. We become judges with evil motives when this happens. God is no respecter of persons, "for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7b). He looks upon the heart. Since we cannot look on the heart as does the Lord, we must give way to love, compassion and mercy.

And consider what it means that God looks at the heart. What a very frightening truth! He saw me for who I really was before I knew Him. I was unlovely to Him, as are we all. All of us were guilty in His sight. All of our works were like filthy rags. We were altogether unclean, haters of God, lovers of sin. This is the condition we were all in when He chose to redeem us from our vain manner of life.

Our example, a compassionate Savior

Had God been a partial being, such as we are, He would never have chosen to save any of us. We would all face His wrath. And He would have been justified, judging us rightly. But God saved us in spite of ourselves.

Knowing that, can we as followers of Christ, learn from what we saw in Susan Boyle's appearance? Can we learn to look at others with compassion and kindness as our Heavenly Father looked upon us in our forlorn and ungodly state? Can we then decide to offer mercy and Christ-like love to the ones we find unlovely?

Jesus did this very thing when He "went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." (Matthew 9:35-36)

The "crowds" Jesus saw represented every human condition. People like ourselves, sick people, demon-possessed people, beggars, wealthy people (like Zacheus), prostitutes, government officials, criminals, various races, men, women, i.e., people from all walks of life. Two things they had in common was that they were all 1) all created in the image of God and thus were to be "image-bearers" of the God that gave them life, and 2) they had all been separated and alienated from God because of their utter disregard for Him (universal and personal sin).

This is why Jesus saw them as sheep without a shepherd. He was/is the Good Shepherd and they were without Him, though they followed Him. And He had compassion on them immediately, by healing them, by feeding them, by preaching the gospel to them and ultimately, by being crucified to pay the price that their disregard for Him cost. 

The word I am using here, "disregard", is a very mild term for how we all feel and think about God before we bow our hearts to Him. But our flagrant "disregard" for Him resulted in His condemnation and crucifixion on the cross. This is the greatest indictment of and proof for our inherent sinfulness - we brutally slaughtered the Lord of Glory, God in the flesh, when He visited us*. 

So, how can we have the same compassion that the Lord Jesus Christ had upon us?

As for me, I have been very convicted by all of this and am stunned when I think of it in terms of my acceptance before God. He has taken a poor, ragged, sinful wretch, welcomed her into His heaven and given her all the blessings in the heavenly realms. In Him, I have redemption through Christ's blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that He lavished on me with all wisdom and understanding. (Ephesians 1:7-9)

I pray like Paul for those of us making a claim to know Christ:

"For this reason, I kneel before the Father, from whom His whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:14-19)

Once this kind of knowing is a reality, there is no telling what would come of it in our churches, homes and neighborhoods and who we would welcome, just as our Lord has indeed welcomed us!

*Note: If you do not believe this about yourself - that you took part in Christ's violent death, let me ask you, how do you think about God, in particular, Jesus? Have you ever resisted/disbelieved the truth about Who He is? This unbelief of Who He was in the flesh is what put Him on the cross. He was crucified because He claimed to be the Son of God which meant He was equal with God (John 5:18). Jesus was crucified because He was hated and called a blasphemer - He claimed to be God - and those who killed Him did not believe Him! We are all guilty for we are born alienated from Him and in enmity to Him. We all, because of our unbelief, were guilty of putting Him to death.

Posted by Sharon Kaufman

Partiality - Not an Attribute of God

on July 09, 2020 0 comments

The Art and Heart of Hospitality

We have no idea how wealthy we are just to have a roof over our heads. I take so much for granted. This struck home so profoundly to me today.

And it also struck me that our homes must be shared at all times, even (or maybe especially) when they look lived in. This is how these thoughts came to me:

My neighbor had texted me to ask for ice. When she came to my door, I gladly handed the frozen cubes to her. She then told me that she needed to drive her truck to the store just down the street so she could use the restroom there.

I know you think that you read that last sentence wrong, but you didn’t. You see, this neighbor and her husband, though they live across the street from us, do not live in a house.

Instead, these friends live in their tarped, broken-down truck. It runs, but barely. They have been our neighbors for three years, parked on the curb across the street from our house (though we’ve only gotten to know them better in the past two years or so).

My husband and I love these dear people. They are good friends and good neighbors. They are part of the “homeless” population by today’s standards though they themselves consider their truck to be home. But they do long to have a real roof over their heads as soon as possible.

But back to the story. Knowing that Estelle (not her real name), needed to leave quickly to get to the store to relieve herself, I promptly invited her in to use our restroom. She was so grateful.

As we entered the front door of my house, I apologized that the house was a little messy. And this was Estelle's response, “Please don’t worry about how your house looks. I would give anything to be able to say that.”

Did you get that? Estelle was saying that she would give anything to be able to make such an apology - to have a house that was a little messy to invite guests into, apologizing as I was. I can’t tell you how her response has sobered me!

The Lord has been impressing this message on me heavily for well over a year now. So what Estelle said has been that same message personified by the Holy Spirit through my neighbor. I must not ignore this!

My home (dare I say “our homes” since we are commanded to be hospitable many times in the Bible) must be open to others. We are even commanded to be hospitable to strangers.

Our homes are not museums where a janitor is constantly cleaning to make sure that the antiquities there remain dust-free so they can be admired by the visitors. A museum is a place where non-living things - even dead things - reside and people stare at them, awestruck, in order to connect with the past. Those who visit, walk through the museum till they reach the exit, never having rested all the while because museums are not made for resting.

Instead, my home should be a place where living beings reside, a place that is not constantly being cleaned but rather where people are productive and fruitful and also where they can rest from the living that happens there. Our homes exist for those who are living, not for the dead and/or inanimate.

Our homes should be fruitful and restful, and not just for us. They should be open for others to come in, sit down and find rest from their weariness (even if that means finding rest in the most humble room in our home - our bathroom). 

Our homes should also be a place where others can partake of the home-based fruits of our labors. Perhaps this would be lived out by providing a meal. And that does not have to be hard. It could be a meal of leftover soup from the day before (don't we say that the soup is always better the next day anyway?). Or that shared fruit could be a simple cup of coffee and an encouraging truth, ie., a spiritual fruit, that the Lord impressed upon you earlier in the day as you communed with Him through His written word. 

But back to the museum analogy, do I mean to imply that it’s wrong to clean my home? Of course not! It would be wrong for me to let my house go. What is wrong, however, is to operate under the misconception that my house must be “museum-clean” in order to have “guests” in. It’s wrong to think that my home must be picture-perfect for those who enter so that they can gaze in awe at the well-dusted, cared for and cherished furnishings (exhibits?) therein. 

The account of Zaccheus in the gospel of Luke helps me think deeper about how available my home is and, more to the point how available I am personally to serve others. This short little man, with a name that was bigger than he was, climbed up into a tree so that he could see Jesus above the crowds that obscured Him as He passed by.

We read in Luke 19:5, "When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, 'Zaccheus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.'"

Oh my! In reading this, I can't help but wonder what Zaccheus’ house looked like when Jesus invited Himself over to stay there. My knee-jerk reaction would have been to panic, race home and try to get things in order. But what does the little tax collector do? Luke tells us, “So Zaccheus came down at once and welcomed Jesus gladly.” (Luke 19:6)

"So Zaccheus CAME DOWN..."! I would have been tempted to climb higher to get out of sight. But Zaccheus came down. In fact, the text continues to tell us, "So Zaccheus came down AT ONCE..."! He hurried down that tree. But that's not all, "So Zaccheus came down at once and WELCOMED JESUS..."! He didn't stress that Jesus was coming to stay at his home. It was quite the opposite. He welcomed Jesus and it wasn't just any halfhearted welcome. Not at all! Read his entire response to Jesus: "So Zaccheus came down at once and welcomed Jesus GLADLY"! Zaccheus was thrilled that Jesus had invited Himself to his house. Knowing that your house was a little messy, would you have responded so enthusiastically? Would I have?

At this point, I am thoroughly in awe of the dramatic, comprehensive and instantaneous heart change that the Spirit of God makes within this one who has been so enamored with and enslaved by money. Neither the Lord nor his fellow man was on Zaccheus’ radar until Jesus transformed him. Now he was all about Jesus instead, with his enthusiastic, joyful welcome to the Savior.

Should not this be my response, your response as well? If we are each a child of God, has He not transformed our hearts also? And when we welcome weary ones into our home, do we not likewise welcome the Lord Jesus in? 

At this point, there are so many challenging thoughts swirling through my mind. There is so much to explore and my heart needs a constant transforming tuneup. I want to explore this further so that I do not forget and so that I do practice the art and heart of hospitality in my place of fruitfulness and rest - in my home. 

In the next few weeks (God willing), I will be posting more about hospitality as it is practiced and commanded in the Bible. But for now, I have been so blessed to have shared with my neighbor the smallest, most humble room in my home, a room where she found rest in her weariness. Thank You, dear Savior, for this unforgettable opportunity! And thank You that when Estelle came for this short visit, You came with her and spoke to my heart.

Posted by Sharon Kaufman

The Art and Heart of Hospitality

on June 28, 2020 0 comments

God's Grace for My Messy Heart

So, I am beginning to understand (after much perplexity), why I just cannot seem to get this Christian life together. After all, I’ve been a Christian now for 39 years. By now, I should have figured it out - you know, “practice makes perfect”, right? WRONG!!!

Camping in the Dirt 

Before I go any further, you must know about a camping trip I went on with my entire family 31 years ago. This story will help both of us (you and I) sort out the spiritual truths I’ll be referring to later in this post.

First, let me set the scene for the camping trip. Our youngest child was 2 years old at the time. My husband and I had four children in tow. Also, camping with us were both of my siblings - my sister, Kate, her husband and their three children and my brother, Richard, his wife and their three children. Our parents also joined us. As an added point of interest, all three of us siblings had daughters born in 1980 who were, all three of them now two years old (or very close to being 2).

We camped up in the mountains, surrounded by beauty. You know the scene - an infinity of pungent pine trees in countless shades of green, a beautiful glassy indigo lake, big billowy white cotton-like clouds. You’ve been there, right? But there was more dirt, more fine brown powdery, yet clingy earth than there was anything else. Dirt was absolutely everywhere - on the ground, in our tents, in the trees hanging over our heads, in our shoes, on our picnic tables, and all too often on us as well.

The three two-year-olds had a blast! Laura, my brother’s daughter, was the oldest. Next in line was our daughter, Bethany, and youngest was my sister’s daughter, Stephanie.

Can you imagine three toddler girls, all dressed in pretty pastels, looking so cute, hanging close to their mommies in this new, unfamiliar and strange place? Well, imagine again. Two of the toddlers did just that. Two of the three barely took a single step away from Mom. Two of the three stayed clean because they didn’t venture out.

But one of the three decided she just had to take in more of the campsite and the mud puddles and, well, more of the dirt. Can you guess which toddler? Of course, it was my munchkin! Bethany was all over the place. As a result, dirt followed her everywhere. Cute, demure little thing - blond hair, blue eyes, button nose, sweet smile, dressed in pink - covered in dirt!

So I gave her a bath, as difficult as that was in a place that had no showers. But scrubbing the dirt off only gave her new opportunity to refashion herself with fresh muck all over again. Off she’d go, tumbling to the ground, and of course, that meant the front and back of her clean clothes, her hands, face and other surrounding body parts were once again gritty and grimy. She reminded me of “Pig Pen”, the Peanuts character that has the “air” of dirt always floating about him whenever he walks. Dirt followed my toddler. It hung like a dark cloud above her. But she had fun, and she also had so many baths!

Bethany and I got to know each other more on that camping trip than in the previous two years since her birth. She was continually in my arms as I scrubbed her clean all over again. She loved to explore and discover and I wanted that for her as well. But I also wanted to her to be clean, though I knew a little dirt wasn’t going to hurt her. After all, we were camping and dirt happens when you camp. It is just so very prolific.

Living Below in This Old Sinful World  

Now that you have that picture of my toddler daughter, you’ll also have a picture of me, here below in this sinful world. Not only am I surrounded by sin (dirt), but I still have a remnant of sin within me - a propensity to sin, buried deep in the recesses of my heart that is inextricable. Though Christ has delivered me from a lifestyle of sin, which I loved, I do still sin. And I sin everyday.
 

My Sin is Different Now That I Know Christ 

My sin is different now, however. No longer am I running after sin and embracing it. I now run after Christ and embrace Him. No longer do I love my sin. I now hate it and I adore my Savior. I want so much to bring Him glory. I want so much to do His will and be used of Him. I want so much for His love through me to impact others so that they too can know Him and His extravagant grace. And how I long to worship Him!

My sin is different now. My sin is much more inward now rather than outward. (Of course, lest you get the wrong idea, I also sin outwardly. Just ask Robert. No don’t, on second thought!) Now my sin consists mostly of grumbling about some silly thing that has annoyed me; or an attitude toward my husband that is disrespectful (there, I said it); I am ungrateful; and pride rears it’s hideous head every day in my heart. When I am obedient, I congratulate myself - pride. When I worship in song with the saints, my thoughts are elsewhere, not on the Lord. Or, worse, I am thinking how others, hearing me sing, must be so blessed. (Oh! I said that too - so prideful and blasphemous!). Oh, how I hate that! So even my obedience is tainted with sin.

My sin is different now. It seems so much worse than ever before. Shouldn’t I be sinning less and less? I always thought so, but my experience tells me otherwise. So am I not a Christian? These kinds of thoughts can even become sinful when I choose to focus on me, instead of on my redeeming Savior.

My sin Is different now. Though it seems like I sin more than ever, I also confess more than ever and quicker. Quick to sin, quick to confess and be cleansed from all my unrighteousness. Then, clean, like my two-year-old munchkin camper, I go and get dirty again. Ugh!!! It seems like the cleansing I experience is just a new opportunity to get dirty all over again. Oh, may it never be!

But my sin is different now. I no longer make so much of my sin, though I take it seriously. My sin never has the last word. My Savior and his matchless grace always have the last word to my heart. Where sin abounds, God’s grace much more abounds! How that gladdens my soul! I make much over His grace, not over my sin. My sin simply points me all the more to God’s love, patience, mercy, forgiveness, grace and compassion for me. And my love for Him increases daily because of His greater grace.

Sinless Perfection - Not God's Will for His Child

When He saved me, my Heavenly Father could have transformed me in an instant to be sinlessly perfect. But He did not. He allowed that remnant of sin to remain deep down in my heart, never to be extricated by me in this life (or by Him). But why? Because God uses our sin to demonstrate His superfluous grace to us sinners. I keep on discovering how deep and dark my sinful tendencies are, how depraved I really am and how I need the Savior. And that is exactly what God wants so that I can continually be rediscovering His grace toward me - so much more encompassing than my sin, so much more startling than my sin, so much more abounding than my sin. In continuing to come to grips with these two opposing realities - my sin and His grace - God has made it clear that all glory rightfully goes to Him. Without Christ, I literally can do nothing of any eternal value! There will be no bragamonies in heaven.

So What Hope Do I Have of Freedom From Sin?

Oh, I am just a camper here below. God continues to bathe me, clean me, and show His glorious, compassionate face to me in those cleansings. And then I get dirty again. And again my Savior cleanses me. He is so precious. He is so close.

Like Paul said in Romans 7:24–25a: “I am absolutely miserable! Is there anyone who can free me from this body where sin and death reign so supremely? I am thankful to God for the freedom that comes through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One!”

Freedom comes through our Lord Jesus Christ! Freedom from the guilt of sin. How I used to beat myself up over my sin, so depressed because I could not change. But each time I sin, His grace for forgiveness shines and I see Him more clearly. I do not sin because of that, but when I do sin and confess my need for Him, He becomes even more precious to me. Seeing Him in that way, I apprehend more grace and strength by His Spirit to combat my sin. In that “depending” process of leaning on the Everlasting Arms, I am becoming more like Him. He is my hope alone! And He is working my sin together for my good (Christ in me) and for His glory.

2 Corinthians 3:18 says it so well: “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” 

Humility, Dependence and Gratitude

So, obedience or the “victorious Christian life” is not what I am focusing on now, or more importantly, that is not what God is focusing on for my sanctification. How proud I would be if, setting my mind to be obedient, I actually was (fat chance!). No, God’s broader desire for me is humility, and a greater and greater sense of my dependence upon Him, and a heart of gratitude. That comes by me beholding my Savior.

Obedience isn’t my focus for when it is, I simply find that it evades me. And if I do somehow manage to obey Him outwardly, I will have a heart full of pride. When, instead, I focus on God’s grace and mercy because I so desperately need it, I see more and more of Jesus and, by His Spirit, I will be more and more transformed into His likeness. Obedience then becomes a byproduct, not something I accomplish because I set my mind on it.

Set Free to Worship Without Disturbance  

One day, when I see Him face to face, His glory will permanently cleanse me from all remaining sin. He will wash me whiter - inside and out - than any garment can be bleached in my washing machine. Oh, oh, oh, what a glorious day that will be! No more will the hindrance of sin interrupt worship! No longer will obedience be a struggle. No longer will I sing, “I long to worship Thee”. I will worship without any disturbance to my soul. Never again something I long for, worship will be realized - effortless and glorious when I behold His precious face. What a Savior!!!

But for now I am camping here below, keeping my eyes up, off the dirt and on the beautiful scene of my Savior’s love, grace, mercy, compassion and forgiveness for me at the cross. And oh, what a magnificent view it is!

Posted by Sharon Kaufman

God's Grace for My Messy Heart

on October 29, 2013 1 comments

Mother's Day and Other Days

Though this poem really should have been posted for Mother's Day, I figure that for those of us who are mothers, we're mothers every day of the year and so we need encouragement every day of the year as well as on our special day in May.


I found this poem in a little book about mothers when Robert and I went away for our anniversary last December and stayed in a very nice vacation house located in the midst of grape vineyards and cow pastures. We had a wonderful time. Finding this poem was just one of the little jewels that made the trip so special.

The one thing that stands out to me about the author of this poem, is that he obviously had a mother who prayed for him.

Here is Mothers and Others by Amos R. Wells:

Mothers and Others

Others weary of the noise,

Mothers play with girls and boys.

Others scold because we fell,

Mothers "kiss and make it well".

Other work with patient will,

Mothers labor later still.

Others' love is more or less,

Mothers love with steadiness.

Others pardon, hating yet,

Mothers pardon and forget.

Others keep the ancient score,

Mothers never close the door.

Others grow incredulous,

Mothers still believe in us.

Others throw their faith away,

Mothers pray and pray and pray. 

Posted by Sharon Kaufman

Mother's Day and Other Days

on May 24, 2011 0 comments

Only Jesus Satisfies

Tim Challies had this video posted on his a la carte article today. I enjoyed it so much that I just had to post it here on my blog. This testimony, given by a young man named Tom Martin, is really precious. God is in the business of changing lives and sometimes we see His sense of humor woven into the story. Be encouraged...

Tom Martin Testimony from Covenant Life Church.

Posted by Sharon Kaufman

Only Jesus Satisfies

on February 20, 2011 0 comments

Our Unfathomably Happy, Rejoicing God!

Zephaniah 3:17 says, "The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by his love; He will exult over you with loud singing."

Can you even begin to imagine this scene in heaven with the God of the universe rejoicing over rebels He has redeemed by His Son's shed blood? WOW!!! Unbelievable!

When we are satisfied in Him, when we are joyful in Him, when we love Jesus, when we rejoice over His steadfast love to us...in other words, when He is our utmost treasure and foremost LOVE, He exults over us with singing. LOUD singing! He quiets us with His love and rejoices over us with gladness.

The closest I can get to imagining this panorama in heaven is a scene from the movie Babe, where Farmer Hogget is nursing Babe back to health and just can't help getting up and...well just watch this video and jump for joy for God is doing this very thing when you treasure Him and His Son.

And the following video will be our response, as God's children, to His wonderful rejoicing and care for us! Oh, I love this. My heart just soars to think about how our amazing God rejoices over His satisfied, joyful children. And what does His rejoicing over us do but serve to create more endless joy in our hearts, lives and service to Him.

Don't miss what this little guy is doing while he is sitting on the couch. Notice what he has in his hands and watch his every move in relation to the video he is watching (the same one of Farmer Hogget above). Think about how we should respond to God's tender care for us in the lives of others. This little child so aptly illustrates how we should pass along the love and rejoicing God has poured out on us, becoming like Him in all respects.

Posted by Sharon Kaufman

Our Unfathomably Happy, Rejoicing God!

on January 27, 2011 0 comments

An Open Door for the New Year

A Prayer

A. W. Tozer wrote the following prayer in his book, The Pursuit of God. This is my heart's cry also. I know that I am in great need of God's work of ongoing grace. Otherwise, my heart immediately begins to grow cold and unmoved by the Cross of Christ. It's just our natural inclination as we live on this low plain.

"O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need for further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, so that I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, 'Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away.' Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long."

A Challenge

As we begin this year of our LORD, 2011, may I encourage you to simply take Christ's promise to heart each day, beginning today, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and eat with him, and he with me" (Rev 3:20).

Invite Him in to sup with you, sit at His feet and taste again His incomparable goodness. It will never grow old and you will not regret taking this challenge to heart. And I can assure you that though you may face many difficulties in 2011 (or in any other year), this year will be the most glorious year thus far of your pilgrimage in this misty lowland.

Posted by Sharon Kaufman

An Open Door for the New Year

on January 01, 2011 2 comments

Love Never Fails, even When Divorce Looms

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." 

This is the story of how Shauna Shanks saved her marriage by loving her husband the way 1 Corinthians 13:1-8 prescribes, even after becoming aware of his infidelity in their marriage. Renewing her mind through God's word, she was able to resist focusing on her personal anguish. Keeping her eyes on Jesus and her identity in Him, she was empowered by the Spirit of God to exhibit a compassionate, Biblical perspective toward her husband. Shauna testifies that God is able to redeem relationships that seem as good as dead.

Posted by Sharon Kaufman

Love Never Fails, even When Divorce Looms

on November 05, 2010 0 comments

He is Able to Keep You From Falling

Reading Spurgeon this morning greatly encouraged me. This past week has been brutal and I have found it difficult to keep my head above water. I keep running back to the throne of grace for mercy and forgiveness.

Take a few moments to be lifted by God's gracious word and Spurgeon's imparting of it:

"Able to keep you from falling."

Jude 24

In some sense the path to heaven is very safe, but in other respects there is no road so dangerous. It is beset with difficulties. One false step (and how easy it is to take that if grace be absent), and down we go. What a slippery path is that which some of us have to tread!

How many times have we to exclaim with the Psalmist, "My feet were almost gone, my steps had well nigh slipped." If we were strong, sure-footed mountaineers, this would not matter so much; but in ourselves, how weak we are! In the best roads we soon falter, in the smoothest paths we quickly stumble. These feeble knees of ours can scarcely support our tottering weight. A straw may throw us, and a pebble can wound us; we are mere children tremblingly taking our first steps in the walk of faith, our heavenly Father holds us by the arms or we should soon be down.

Oh, if we are kept from falling, how must we bless the patient power which watches over us day by day! Think, how prone we are to sin, how apt to choose danger, how strong our tendency to cast ourselves down, and these reflections will make us sing more sweetly than we have ever done, "Glory be to Him, who is able to keep us from falling."

We have many foes who try to push us down. The road is rough and we are weak, but in addition to this, enemies lurk in ambush, who rush out when we least expect them, and labor to trip us up, or hurl us down the nearest precipice. Only an Almighty arm can preserve us from these unseen foes, who are seeking to destroy us. Such an arm is engaged for our defense.

He is faithful that hath promised, and He is able to keep us from falling, so that with a deep sense of our utter weakness, we may cherish a firm belief in our perfect safety, and say, with joyful confidence,

Against me earth and hell combine,

But on my side is power divine;

Jesus is all, and He is mine!

Posted by Sharon Kaufman

He is Able to Keep You From Falling

on October 09, 2010 0 comments

"Let Them Come Home" - Encouragement for the Parents of Prodigals

Abraham Piper has written a great article about loving and winning your prodigal to Christ. Let Them Come Home is a stunning piece by John Piper's son which includes the younger Piper's own experience of being away from "the father's house" and his return home. Take time to be encouraged, especially if you have a prodigal daughter or son or simply want to minister to a friend or loved one that is out in the "far country".

Find the article here.

Posted by Sharon Kaufman

"Let Them Come Home" - Encouragement for the Parents of Prodigals

on June 17, 2010 0 comments