Paula, Author at Paula Wiseman

Two Ways to Deal with Sin

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9

Whether you’re a believer or not,
There are really only two ways to deal with sin.

The first way:
Deny it, minimize it, soften it, rename it, justify it …
“It’s just a weakness.”
“That’s the way I am.”
“I’m not as bad as THOSE people.”

That’s lying to ourselves.

The second way:
Confess it.
Agree with God that it is exactly what HE says it is.
It is rebelling against His rule, crossing His boundaries, violating His law, failing to meet His standards.
And it means we are hopeless without His intervention.

That’s vulnerable. That’s honest. That’s open.
But let’s admit it, it’s scary and uncomfortable.

God doesn’t require confession in order to humiliate us.
It is to forgive us, to cleanse us, and to restore us.

He is faithful to His word.
He is just in His actions.
He loves us far more than we comprehend.

The Debt

By Paula

Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. Matthew 18:27

It is the season when my daughter, like many others heading to college in the fall, is putting in a lot of time and effort arranging financing for her first year of school. It is a complicated process, figuring out our incomes and obligations against her expenses and choosing the best option for covering that gap. It’s not any easier for our third child than our first. Plus, college isn’t our only obligation. We have a couple of cars, retirement, property taxes, insurance, and so forth. I’m sure you can identify.

All those obligations — debts — are a result of choices we made. We chose to buy a house. We chose to provide cars for the kids to drive. We even chose to take vacations, buy things for our home, and have pets.

It is no accident that Scripture uses accounting language when it talks about our sin. It is often characterized as a debt charged, or imputed, to our account. And we are responsible for satisfying that debt.

Now, in the last few years, we’ve paid off our house. And the orthodontist, the seminary tuition, and the air conditioner. We can see on the horizon when we pay off the cars and the credit cards. That will be a great day, finally being out from under the burden of those debts and obligations. Imagine what it would be like if, on the first of September, the bank said the loans were forgiven. And there was no tuition bill or car payment due. What if we no longer had to work to pay those debts . . .

In the Old Testament, the word most often used for forgive is nasa, which means to remove a burden or to carry it for you.

That, my friends, is exactly what Jesus did for us. He removed the burden, the crushing debt load that our choices heaped on us. We chose to be rebellious, to go our own way, to ignore God and His precepts. Each time we did, that was charged to our account. God’s holiness is so perfect, that our violation of it can never be repaid through anything we could do.

But God, through Christ, was moved with compassion, released me, and forgave the debt, just like the master in the parable Jesus told. And it’s not a scammy, spammy, empty promise with ridiculous strings attached. It’s freely available to anyone who wants to take advantage of it. Don’t miss out.

More than a Great Commission

By Paula

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Matthew 28:18-20

Jesus made a great claim – All authority had been given to Him.

Because of His great authority, He gave us a great commission – Go and make disciples.

This is great news – The commission extends all the nations.

It includes a great responsibility – Teaching them to observe all the things He commanded.

But Jesus finished with a great promise – I am with you always.

The question is …

How great is our response?

How God kept His promises to Moab, Ammon, and Edom

By Paula

and why that matters to you

You must not fear them, for the LORD your God Himself fights for you. Deuteronomy 3:22

Deuteronomy. I love the book of Deuteronomy. Really. In Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, things are very formal and very didactic, but in Deuteronomy, Moses speaks from his heart to Israel. He’s candid, even blunt, but his genuine love for the people he has shepherded is evident in every passage. In chapter 2, he encourages Israel by recounting their journey. But there is a story under the story.

In v. 5, 12, and 22, God says I have given Mount Seir to Esau’s descendants. There were giants, but God drove them out.
In v. 9-11, God gave the land of Moab to the descendants of Lot. There were giants, but God drove them out.
In v. 19-22, God gave the land of Ammon to the descendants of Lot. There were giants, but God drove them out.

See the pattern? God made a promise of land and obligated Himself to deliver on that promise, even if it meant dealing with giants on the recipients’ behalf. But did you notice these were heathens? Edom, Ammon, and Moab didn’t follow God or His laws. In fact, later, God would say that a Moabite or an Ammonite could never enter the congregation of Israel. (Deut 27:3)

Think about that for a moment … God made and kept promises to heathens. Why would He do that? I think there are a few reasons.

God is incredibly gracious. Even those who have no use for Him experience a measure of His grace.
God is working out His larger plan on behalf of the people He favors. He raises up and brings down kings and kingdoms.
God is teaching Israel about His character.

Israel had just spent 40 years in the desert because they refused to believe God’s promise to them. They needed reassurance and reaffirmation before possessing the land. So, God gently explains how things work.

If God will keep His word to unbelievers, if He went before the Ammonites and the Moabites and the Edomites to ensure they received what He has promised, how much more will He act on behalf of His own people, the people He called out, and redeemed?

As followers of Christ, we are a people God has called out and redeemed. He will keep His promises to us. He will go before us. He will act on our behalf. Let’s resolve not to be like Israel by refusing to believe Him.

Are there promises of God you have trouble believing?

The LORD Is My

By Paula

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. Psalm 23:1

The LORD is my light. I shall not stumble in darkness.

The LORD is my strength. I shall not succumb to weakness.

The LORD is my rock. I shall not waver.

The LORD is my teacher. I shall not be ignorant and immature.

The LORD is my judge. I shall receive grace and mercy.

The LORD is my way. I shall have access to the Father’s presence.

The LORD is my chief cornerstone. I shall align the rest of my life to Him.

The LORD is my King. I shall not serve another.

The LORD is Immanuel. I shall never be alone.

Who is He to you?

However you answer, know that He is even more.

What we can learn from a demon-possessed girl in Philippi

By Paula

What we can learn about spreading the gospel from Paul's encounter with a demon-possessed girl in Philippi

In Acts 16, Paul arrives in the city of Philippi. Not long after his initial contact with Lydia, he and his companions were on their way to prayer when they were confronted by a slave girl who was demon-possessed. Unlike the demon possessions in the gospels where the victims were unfit for society or stricken with physical ailments, this girl had the ability to foretell the future … kind of. But she was able to bring in a handsome profit for her owners. In verse 17, she loudly proclaimed, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.”

She was one hundred percent correct.

Paul and his friends were absolutely servants of the Most High God. Most High God was a regularly used Old Testament name for God. And the whole reason that they were in Philippi was to preach the gospel, the way of salvation. She nailed them. So why was Paul so irritated with her?

It was the demon talking, not the girl.

But the demon was telling the truth. Isn’t that a good thing?

Actually, it presents several problems which may give us some insight as we carry out the gospel.

Since the demon was saying the same kinds of things Paul was saying, the hearers would have a hard time seeing the difference between the occultism the girl and her masters were promoting and the life-transforming gospel Paul preached. The logical conclusion then is if the words were the same, then it really didn’t matter which one you followed, right? It’s the “all religions are the same” argument that we still hear today. That argument is patently false. Christ alone saves us by His atoning death as a result of His great grace, mercy, and love.

Second, Paul refused to accept the “help” of demons when it came to spreading the message of Christ. Granted, Romans and Greeks put a lot of stock in divination and having their message “certified” might have opened doors for Paul and his team. However, he was determined to seize the opportunities God presented him and to walk through the doors the Holy Spirit opened. He had enough discernment and faith NOT to partner with those who would ultimately undermine the gospel, no matter what kind of promotional advantage they offered. Even when it resulted in a riot, arrest, and jail. We, too, have to be wise and discerning as we carry out the Commission Jesus gave us.

Finally, no matter what the girl was saying, the reality was that she was in bondage, not to her owners, but to the demon that controlled her. Her “testimony” was empty and meaningless. Paul knew that until she was free of the demon and her heart changed, it didn’t matter that her words were true. We encounter people all the time who can use all the right “church-y” words but their hearts and lives show no evidence of transformation. We like Paul need to recognize what the root problem is. While we may not be able to command the chains to fall away, we can pray to the One who can.

So what can we learn from Paul’s encounter with a demon-possessed girl in Philippi?

The gospel stands alone among all other religious systems and messages.
In carrying out the gospel, make sure the only spirit helping is the Holy Spirit.
What’s in the heart matters, not the words.