Christian Women With Brains

Luke 9:23-25

2012-01-29T07:17:00.000-08:00

“Then He said to them all, ‘If any want to become My followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for My sake will save it. What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves?’” (NRSV)

Who are you? What does your life consist of? How do you define yourself? What do you hold important? All of these questions help us to determine what makes up “our life.” Particularly in Western culture, where there is an abundance of wealth, life is more than simply breathing. It is the satisfaction of fulfilling our wishes and desires. It is becoming who we want to be or doing what we want to do. Even if we spend a majority of our time earning money in ways that aren’t fulfilling or fun, we focus on those times when we can “enjoy” ourselves doing . . . whatever. Maybe you are the kind of person who wants to focus on health, on eating right and exercising. Maybe you are the kind of person who wants to experience new things, challenge yourself to new heights. Maybe you have a particular hobby or talent that is your “pride and joy.” It doesn’t matter what it is. That thing (or those things) which make you happy, for which you long, to which you gravitate, those things are at least part (if not the focus) of your life.

The question that the Lord Jesus presents here is this: Are we willing to give that up for the sake of the kingdom? If giving it up meant that someone would get saved, that someone would listen to the gospel message, would we be willing to give it up?

Dr. Sidney and Helen Correll were Foursquare pastors infused with a passion for missions. This same passion they taught their children. Their son, Sidney Robert, took up the passion and prepared as a medical doctor for the mission field in Africa. Imagine the years, dedication, and expense that were incurred to allow him to fulfill his dream. His parents were overjoyed beyond imagination, that one of their children would take up the dream and dedicate their life to bringing the gospel to a continent where many were nonbelievers. Helen Correll, in her book, quotes her husband:

“Can you imagine what it meant to me when my own son finished his long years of training as a doctor and surgeon, and sailed to the African continent as a medical missionary? I felt a tremendous responsibility to this boy, and to all the missionaries of United World Mission. I dreamed dreams of conquest, conquest of this whole western part of Africa. And then, the cruel message from the Western Union operator: ‘Sidney Robert went to be with the Lord October 15th, 4 am.’ In a blind flash of pain, my world caved in, and the awful question rushed in, ‘Why?’ All these years of preparation. The work was just begun, and there was not another missionary doctor in a thousand miles.”

Sidney Robert hadn’t been in Africa more than a few months, perhaps less, when the Lord took him home in a tragic accident. It seemed that Dr. Sidney and Helen had lost everything, but as mature Christians, they were willing to lose their lives, even their dreams if the Lord required it. Imagine their surprise when, because of their son’s death, more than a dozen people responded to the need for missionaries in Africa and answered the call. Father God was certainly aware of the need and had His own plan to provide for it! But it took the Corrells being willing to give up their “lives,” to give up their dream as they had dreamed it in order to allow God’s plan to take hold.

My husband and I are currently facing the possibility of having to give up a dream, a part of our lives that we thought was an important ministry. And as we have struggled with the thought of this loss, the Lord spoke to me yesterday: Are you willing to give this up for the sake of the Kingdom? If this means that people are drawn to me, is the loss of this part of your life worth it? Are you willing?

I believe that the Lord is asking each one of us this question. We need to be examining our lives and asking what thing is there that the Lord would have us give up. What are the things in our lives—even those things which seem so right and good—that are impeding the work that He has planned? In order to gain our lives with Him, we need to be readily willing to give up whatever He asks in order that the Kingdom might be advanced.

Are we willing?

© 2012 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Psalm 34:13-18

2012-01-28T07:36:00.000-08:00

“Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. The face of the Lord is against evildoers, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit” (NRSV).

Perspective is everything!

I can remember when I was learning to drive. (And, yes, it was a long time ago.) I would watch the curb and lines very near to the car and often find myself drifting perilously close to the curb or into the oncoming traffic. Only when I looked ahead, into the distance, was I able to correctly steer the car in a straight line.

I think that life for believers is very much like that. When we stare too intensely at the circumstances around us, focusing on them, we lose our perspective and begin to veer into all kinds of sin, including speaking evil and deceit. We forget that ahead—in the distance—is the promise of salvation, is the promise of God to take care of us. That He is working all things for our good, even perhaps the evil things that are currently surrounding us.

When we drive, the curb next to us is rarely our destination. It is simply that which we have to pass by in order to reach the place we are going. It is the same in life. This situation in which we find ourselves enmeshed isn’t our destination; it isn’t our “forever.” It is simply something we need to pass by on our way to our true and eternal home. It’s just a speck in the road.

This passage is clearly about a situation where someone was being persecuted. When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit. I’m currently in a situation where I am crying out for help, a situation where of trouble. I am very brokenhearted and crushed in spirit, and yet, I know that the Lord is with me and is going ahead of me to make the perfect way.

This passage isn’t alone in its admonition of how we should act when we are in the midst of trials. Throughout scripture—over and over again (probably the repetition is for those like me who are obtuse when it comes to learning how to respond in crises)—we are commanded to respond to evil with good. Paul wrote in Romans:

“Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ No, ‘if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (12:17-21 NRSV).

Paul’s passage is more powerful that I could imagine. The word translated “noble” in v. 17 is kalos. From Strong’s G2570 it means:

“1 beautiful, handsome, excellent, eminent, choice, surpassing, precious, useful, suitable, commendable, admirable. 1a beautiful to look at, shapely, magnificent. 1b good, excellent in its nature and characteristics, and therefore well adapted to its ends. 1b1 genuine, approved. 1b2 precious. 1b3 joined to names of men designated by their office, competent, able, such as one ought to be. 1b4 praiseworthy, noble. 1c beautiful by reason of purity of heart and life, and hence praiseworthy. 1c1 morally good, noble. 1d honourable, conferring honour. 1e affecting the mind agreeably, comforting and confirming.”

I know that the definition is long, but I read it again and again. And then I thought about all of this in light of the scripture: Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.

Take thought for what is . . . beautiful, excellent, surpassing, precious, commendable, magnificent, excellent in its nature and characteristics, genuine, praiseworthy, beautiful by reason of purity of heart and life, morally good, honorable, comforting . . . in the sight of all.

So, when I am in a hurtful or harmful situation, I am not to respond in kind, but instead to take thought of God, for what else or who else is beautiful by reason of purity of heart and life? Who else is excellent in nature and characteristics? When I hit a bump in the road, rather than focusing on the bump, I need to focus on the beauty of the Lord and His provision for me.

Paul also makes this passage very practical. He commands us to repay evil with good. Now, it might be easy to think that Paul didn’t know what he was talking about if he had never suffered persecution. But he did! He described his suffering in 2 Corinthians:

“Five times I have received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked; for a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from bandits, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers and sisters; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, hungry and thirsty, often without food, cold and naked” (11:24-27 NRSV).

And what’s amazing is that earlier, in chapter 4, Paul calls all these things “slight momentary afflictions” (v. 17). How could he do that? I think, perhaps, it’s because he was able to keep his eyes on the destination and not worry about the curbs or the bumps in the road. He understood the purpose of being a Christian: to minister to a world that, by its nature, would create pain and heartache and suffering. This world is filled to the brim with sin. People are out of control trying to hang onto their rights, trying to assuage their pain, and trying to justify their own hurtful actions. They don’t need to have any more pain added to their lives. Instead, they need to be ministered to. They need to be fed with the Bread of Life and satisfied with the Living Water. And, who can do that but the believers around them? Who can do that but me? Even if they are the ones who have harmed me, how can I deny them the opportunity to learn about God’s love and what the Lord Jesus has done for them? And if I make them my enemies, how can I share the gospel with them? The psalmist wrote:

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.

The Lord knows what I need. He sees and knows if evil has been done to me and because of His love, He is angry with the evil doers. But He is also ready and willing to offer them forgiveness and salvation if they will repent. I don’t need to stand up in defense of myself. I don’t need to try to find some kind of recompense. Only God can truly restore what I have lost and He will provide exactly what I need. Meanwhile, I need to keep my eyes on the goal at the end of the road, keep myself focused on what I should be doing, and continue to pray and minister to those around me.

Psalm 89:8

2012-01-25T04:57:00.000-08:00

“O Lord God Almighty! Where is there anyone as mighty as You, Lord? Faithfulness is Your very character” (NLT).

I teach in a public school and these days, there’s a lot of talk within educational circles about character education. The word “character” in that context is basically talking about morality, the ability to see the right and wrong in each situation and to choose the right, regardless of one’s initial impulses or desires. Basically, for me, character means that foundational part of a person that motivates his decisions, his behavior, and from which he cannot deviate without conscious choice or the empowering of the Holy Spirit. Character is who we are when no one else is looking.

A. W. Tozer wrote an entire book on God’s character, The Knowledge of the Holy. In an opening chapter, he wrote: “An attribute of God is whatever God has in any way revealed as being true of Himself.” In his Bible Handbook, Pastor Jack Hayford wrote: “God may be described in terms of His attributes, the inherent characteristics of His person or being.” I truly believe that when the translators of the NLT chose to translate Psalm 89:8 using the word “character,” they chose that word deliberately.

Faithfulness is Your very character.

That phrase is so powerful. Think about how it is different from these phrases:

You are a faithful person.
You are always (or usually) faithful.

Faithfulness—the act of being faithful all the time—is not only a way to describe God; it is God. The very essence of faithfulness, its very existence, is dependent upon God Himself existing. There is no faithfulness without God. Galatians 5 tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (v. 22-23). The thing is, these are not simply characteristics or attributes of God; these are God. Without Him, these would not exist. Without God, there is no love, for God is love. Without God, there is no joy, for God is joy. Without God, there is no peace or patience or kindness or generosity or faithfulness or gentleness or self-control. These things do not exist outside of Him and we simply describe Him using them. These things are God!

Faithfulness is Your very character.

It is so very easy to deceive ourselves into thinking that our lives and this world can exist, even for a moment, without God or outside of His influence. It’s easy to “make believe” that we can do something that He won’t see or that we can hide from Him. (It would be easier to hide from the oxygen that surrounds our planet than to hide something from God.) I can’t hide the fear or anger within my heart from Him. I can’t hide my frustration with a certain situation or my desire for vengeance. He sees it and He already knows about it. What He’s waiting for isn’t to discover it, but rather for me to honestly admit that I have sinned and to seek His willing and ready forgiveness. And He is willing and ready to forgive because He is faithful.

Genesis 50:10-20a

2012-01-24T04:04:00.000-08:00

“Joseph said to them, ‘Do not be afraid! Am I in the place of God? Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good’” (NRSV).

The story of Joseph is always amazing to me. I keep coming back, again and again, during different experiences in my life, to this particular verse and to the reality that was Joseph’s. You see, I’ve heard many preachers extol the honors that Joseph received, how he went from a slave to becoming Prime Minister of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. But that’s not quite the entire story.

Joseph, as a boy, I’m sure was convinced that he was destined by God to live within his family, within that safe known culture, and there to become the family patriarch. That he was destined to grow up and grow old surrounded by all he knew, lauded and respected by his brothers and their families. That he would have a comfortable and secure life.

None of that happened.

We all know the story. Because of his brothers’ jealousy, he was sold as a slave and taken to Egypt. There, he adapted himself to a life of servitude, but was able to prosper under the ownership of Potipher. He became second in power in that household, only his master was greater . . . when a lustful and vindictive wife falsely accused him of rape. He was summarily thrown into prison where he again became successful as the prison scribe (but still in prison). Then, through the interpretation of dreams—given to him by God—he was elevated to the position of Prime Minister of Egypt.

But here’s really where the “untold” story becomes so important. First, he was never vindicated of the rape. So, it’s is highly likely that the Egyptian court still looked upon him as a rapist. There was very likely much gossip and ostracizing. His only “acceptance” into that social circle came from Pharaoh’s power. Thus, outwardly he was accepted and respected, but that was probably all. Second, he came from a tribe that were shepherds, hated in Egypt (that’s why his family was “given” Goshen, a land distanced from Pharaoh’s palace). Pharaoh gave Joseph an Egyptian wife, clothed him in Egyptian clothes, and required him to shed every bit of his previous culture. In other words, Joseph was required outwardly to become an Egyptian. So, here he was, the Prime Minister, bereft of anything familiar and hated by all around him except his boss (who likely didn’t see him a lot). Even though he had the outward trappings of success, his life was certainly very different than what he had wanted or dreamed of.

And here’s where the story becomes so interesting. During his father’s life, Joseph made all appearances of embracing his family. But after Jacob died, Joseph’s brothers became frantic that he would finally take his vengeance upon them. They beg him to be merciful and he responded:

“Do not be afraid! Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good.”

Joseph had lost “everything” that we normally cherish. He had become, in essence, a stranger to his family. He regularly spoke a different language, wore different clothes, lived wholly in a different culture, had a foreign wife. And yet, in all of it, Joseph kept the one thing that mattered: his relationship with God. In that, despite all of his losses, he was able to understand the perspective of all our lives! You see, our lives are simply a dot in all of eternity. What matters is how much we trust God, how we live out His will, how we trust Him in the darkness. The losses don’t matter because He has promised to work all things for our good! Not some things, not only the good things, not just the fair things, but all things! Life wasn’t as Joseph had dreamed or expected. Life certainly wasn’t fair to him and things never evened out. But his life was what God had planned for a far greater purpose. Joseph was able to learn to take the long view of things and to trust God, regardless of what happened to him. Where he lived didn’t matter. His reputation with those around him didn’t matter. Where he ended up in life didn’t matter. All that mattered was doing the Father’s will . . . and Joseph did that.

I have to ask myself if I can be that obedient, that trusting. Everything was taken from Joseph and though there was an outward form of restoration, Joseph truly didn’t receive anything like he expected until he reached heaven. Am I willing to wait until then? Am I willing to live in a world that certainly isn’t fair, trusting God to take care of everything and being willing to wait for things to even out after I go Home?

Hebrews 11 teaches that many of the great saints of the Bible, both those named and those unnamed, didn’t receive the result of God’s promises to them in this life:

“All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them” (v. 13 NRSV).

These understood the great truth taught by our Lord:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21 NRSV).

Am I willing to simply walk the path He had outlined for me, shedding everything that He deems unnecessary and clinging only to Him? Is He my only treasure? I would hope that daily I come closer to that Truth in my life.

Psalm 89:17-18

2012-01-22T06:21:00.000-08:00

“You are their glorious strength. Our power is based on Your favor. Yes, our protection comes from the Lord, and He, the Holy One of Israel, has given us our king” (NLT).

How much should we defend ourselves? Perhaps the question should actually be, how much do we allow the Lord to defend us? Is our protection truly the Lord? Do we allow Him to work in situations and to take care of us? Do I?

I often wish that life would just stop for awhile and let me rest, that I could go through a few days without some kind of crisis. I would love to be able to get up, live the day, come home, go to bed, and simply breathe, rather than having to deal with the problems that come from living in a sinful world. I sure that many other believers have the same desire.

Life here—in this earth that is filled with sin—is simply not easy. It’s not uneventful and it’s not painless. Life here consists of my plans and my desires converging with the plans and desires of others and usually converging with a crash, rather than converging seamlessly. Like a gross of pinballs let loose in a pinball game all at the same time, we all tend to bump and bang off each other, creating more problems than we started with and many times leaving pain and heartache in our wake.

So when the pain, when the heartache, when the attacks come, where should I turn? Where do I turn? Do I truly believe that God is working everything out for my good or do I unceasingly spin my wheels looking for a way that I might successfully manipulate the situation around me? (As if that were possible.) This passage states that any power (or influence) that I might have in every situation is based solely on God’s favor. In other words, if He has gone before me, then I will have influence. If I go where He has not gone, I am helplessly left to my own defenses (which I know from experience are very much less than satisfactory).

My protection comes from the Lord. It doesn’t matter what manner of attack comes, God is working everything for my good (Romans 8:28). Not only that, but God Himself is the manner of my protection:

“You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield” (Psalm 115:11 NRSV).

Nothing can come upon me that the Lord Himself doesn’t allow. No “evil” can come to me, only that which He is working for my good.

“Because you have made the Lord your refuge, the Most High your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent” (Psalm 91:9-10 NRSV).

Because of this, there is no need to defend myself, but simply to trust Him. He will guide my steps, guide my words, and make a way for me . . . every time!

Philippians 4:6

2012-01-19T04:26:00.000-08:00

“Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (NRSV).

I have a wonderful adopted aunt. (My parents were both only children, so I didn’t have any aunts or uncles by blood). She has now gone Home, but while on earth, she was a girlie-girl if ever there was one. I can’t ever remember her wearing pants . . . ever! She was always in a dress, with heels (at least small ones), her hair done up in curls, beautiful jewelry. She was a minister of God, speaking and writing music, traveling all over the world telling others about God. Today, I read something she wrote and saw these words:

“I find myself praying, ‘Oh, God, let me be there when someone needs me!’”

I almost laughed. My wonderful aunt was marvelous at speaking and at music, but she was totally inept at cooking, cleaning, fixing, doing. Almost anything that required more than a piano or a pen. Who could she help? She couldn’t fix a meal, mend a dress, change a tire, even pick up a box to help someone move.

And then I read on.

She wrote: “There were heartaches to be shared . . . counsellings to be offered . . . prayers to be prayed.”

Prayers to be prayed.

I stopped short and thought of a conversation I had yesterday with a friend. His dad died suddenly last week. I saw my friend for the first time yesterday and he was still devastated in mourning and loss. Tears welled up in his eyes the moment I asked how he was. I offered to help (several times), but felt so helpless. What could I do to help in this situation? I told him that we were praying (which we are), but that alone seemed like so little!

Suddenly this morning I realized how backward my thinking has been! Oh, how short-sighted I’ve been, to think that my feeble hands are all that are needed to mend the problems of those around me, and how wrong I’ve been to think that praying for someone isn’t much. Praying for someone is everything! Praying releases the blessings of God into a situation, into someone’s life. And if that person isn’t a Christian, praying may be just what it takes to bring them to Christ.

The apostle Paul taught repeatedly the importance of prayer, insisting that we pray about everything and pray all the time:

“Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication” (Ephesians 6:18 NRSV).

“Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer” (Romans 12:12 NRSV).

I have shared this before, but I know it needs repeating in my own life. S. D. Gordon, a great saint of the Lord, said, “You can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray before you have prayed.” There is no greater gift that I can give to a friend than my prayers, no greater service that I can do, no greater sacrifice that I can make. As a Church, I think we have ignored or forgotten how powerful our prayers can be. Our votes may not change the course of a nation, but our prayers can. Our love may not change the course of a marriage, but our prayers can. Our protests may not change the course of a society, but our prayers can. Why? Because when we pray, we lay the problem at the throne of grace and our God is able to do whatever He wills in the lives and situations around us. We are lost because we haven’t prayed. We become mighty in the Lord when we learn how to, at all times and for all things, pray.

Psalm 89:5

2012-01-17T04:12:00.000-08:00

“Let the heavens praise Your wonders, O Lord, Your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones” (NRSV).

I work in a very small, rural community. Often, when my husband and I go to the grocery store, we see students from one of the two school in which we work. The younger students are often amazed that we are there, as if they believe (which I think some do) that we should live our lives only and always at school. That’s where they know us; that’s where we belong. In their eyes, we are simply teachers with no other roles (such as spouse, parent, or friend) and teachers belong at school. I’ve even had very young ones run to the nearest aisle and peer out at me, wonderingly, afraid to talk to me outside of my “regular” sphere of influence.

I think as Christians we often think of God similarly. We box Him into the areas in which our lives revolve. God is here on this earth, within the stars and sky we see, and within our lives. In a sense, within “the heavens” and within “the assembly.” And His doings are limited to the wonders and faithfulness that we know, at least in our minds. Doris Akers used to sing a song entitled “How Big Is God?”

“How big is God? How big and wide is His domain.
To try to tell these lips can only start,
He's big enough to rule His mighty universe,
Yet small enough to live within my heart.”

How big is God? Psalm 95 tells us that He holds everything in His hands:

“For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In His hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for He made it, and the dry land, which His hands have formed” (vs. 3-5 NRSV).

Now, I know that God doesn’t have hands in the sense that I do, but He made the earth. He is obviously much bigger, much more powerful than any force I can see or even imagine! His power goes beyond . . . beyond anything I can know of or learn about:

“He determines the number of the stars; He gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; His understanding is beyond measure” (Psalm 147:4-5 NRSV).

According to astronomers and scientists, there are approximately (because they can’t count them all) between 10 sextillion and 1 septillion stars in the universe. Now, to understand that (if you’re not a mathematician; I’m not!), a sextillion is the number 10 with 22 zeroes after it. And a septillion is the number 10 with 24 zeroes after it. There are at least that many stars and God has named every one of them! I have about 60-80 students in each of my two choirs and I can’t keep all their names straight or memorized. I can’t imagine not only remembering, but having the vocabulary possible to name 10 sextillion stars. And yet my God has done this! And the psalmist says that “the heavens” (that is, all these stars as well as their accompanying planets, the comets, the suns, and moons, and anything else out there) praise God’s wonders. They also praise His faithfulness to us who meet together in His assembly, the believers who are called by His name.

This universe is huge, but God’s focus is on earth, on the creation He made in His image (us!), and on the work of salvation that He has done to create a Bride for His Son. In other words, God’s focus is on me. And as His daughter, I have a direct line to Him, anytime, anywhere. He wants to hear from me, to talk with me, and to care for me. He is faithful to me. Oh, that I would learn from His Spirit how to be faithful to Him!

Psalm 89:3-4

2012-01-15T07:22:00.000-08:00

“I have sworn to my servant David: ‘I will establish your descendants forever, and build your throne for all generations.’ ” (NRSV).

In the movie Airforce One, the President of the United States has been giving a speech. When he returns to his plane, he intends to watch a football games that has already taken place. He admonishes his staff not to tell him the outcome. He wants to enjoy the game as if he is watching it live. His staff, of course, having already watched the game know the outcome. From the President’s perspective, his staff “know” the future because they know how the game will turn out.

No person control the future or anything about it, but Father God. He is in absolute control. I can’t begin to understand how He can control the future and yet allow us free will, but His promise to us is that He is working everything out for our good (Romans 8:28) and so there is this dichotomy. And while we cannot know what will necessarily happen in the next five minutes, throughout the day, or even tomorrow, we do know the end of the story, how things we work out. We know, in a sense, which “football” team wins because we know that God wins, every time and in every way.

God has promised that David’s descendants (both Jew and Gentile believers) will be established forever and that his throne—upon which sits our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ—is built for all generations.

There is a hymn by Ira Stanphill, “I Know Who Holds Tomorrow,” that talks about the future:

I don't worry o'er the future for I know what Jesus said,
And today I'll walk beside Him, for He knows what is ahead.
Many things about tomorrow I don't seem to understand;
But I know Who holds tomorrow, and I know Who holds my hand.

We don’t need to know what “fills in” the moments between now and then. Father God has each and every one of them in control and is working out everything for our God. We know the end of the story and that is enough.

Psalm 89:3a

2012-01-14T07:07:00.000-08:00

“I have made a covenant with my chosen one” (NRSV).

There is amazing power in this statement for three reasons. The first is that we—as God’s adopted children—were chosen by Him! Isn’t that wonderful? It’s beyond comprehension for me that, at the beginning of creation, even before time began, God looked down at all the souls and chose me! (He chose every person who would respond to His love and His call to salvation). Paul writes:

“Just as He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before Him in love. He destined us for adoption as His children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace that He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:4-6 NRSV).

I’m adopted. My birth mom, as I understand it, was an unwed pregnant teen and, with an amazing amount of courage, understood that she was ill prepared to care for a baby. So, my parents who couldn’t have children, chose to adopt me. They didn’t have to. They could have even come to the hospital, viewed my bald head and tiny feet, and rejected me. But they didn’t. Instead, my parents chose me and gave me a wonderful home and childhood.

Most of us spend an unbelievable amount of time and energy trying to belong to someone or something. We grab onto ethic titles or relationships, clubs or sports, professions or hobbies in an effort to find someone to whom we can belong, with whom we can relate. We want to belong to someone, feeling that belonging gives us an identity.

For those of us who are saved, we already belong! We belong to the King of kings and Lord of lords. He, who was once to us simply Creator, is now Father. And not simply because we want Him as Father. He has chosen us! He has adopted us as His children. And it isn’t because of anything within us. He called us because He wanted to. He wants us!

The second truth is this: God wants each person to become His chosen.

“The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9 NRSV).

The Lord Jesus died for the whole world (John 3:16). That person we hate, the one we’re afraid of, the one we disdain to speak to, the neighbor next door who irritates us, the ex-spouse who lives to anger us, the children who are rebelling, the boss who is demanding, the co-worker who is annoying . . . the Lord Jesus died for all of these and Father God’s wish is that each of them come to repentance!

The third truth is that not only are we chosen, but God has made a covenant with us. That means that what He has promised He will do. And He not only promised us many things, but He put those promises in writing (the Bible) so that we would know that what He says He means. “For in Him [the Lord Jesus] every one of God’s promises is a ‘Yes.’” (2 Corinthians 1:20a NRSV). There isn’t a promise given that He will not fulfill, not a promise written that He won’t complete. And perhaps the greatest of these promises is that He chose us!

1 Peter 1:13-16

2012-01-13T06:32:00.000-08:00

“Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when He is revealed. Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. Instead, as He who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’” (NRSV)

We have dogs. Currently, we have one dog, but often we have more than one. People know that we rescue poodles, and we are often called to see if we will give a poodle a home. In the past two years, the “yard” that our dogs have enjoyed has changed considerably. First, it was the portable yard that we use for our RV. We bought two units and attached them together, so it was about 6x4 feet. Not very big, but for small dogs, large enough to walk around. Last year, when we moved into the trailer, the yard was considerably larger. There was room to run and play a bit, certainly lots of room to nose around and smell (which the dogs loved to do). In this house, the yard is huge in comparison to anything we’ve had previously. It’s a big lot and the back yard goes from edge to edge. It’s possible not to be able to see our little poodle just looking out the back door; the yard is that big.

One thing every yard had in common was some kind of a fence. The fence is both a protection from at least some of the predators getting in (though there are still those, like snakes, that can get in under the fence) and a protection from the dogs getting out of the yard and being at risk of being hit by cars or stolen by thieves.

The fence is a protection.

As people, we also have a protection. It’s called a conscience. It’s both something we are born with and something we should have been taught as children. Unfortunately, many parents are not good at teaching their children right from wrong and so many children now don’t know that certain things (stealing, physical violence, emotional violence, bullying, etc.) are wrong.

When Peter talks about us preparing our minds for action (and then follows that up with a command for us to discipline ourselves), I believe he is talking, at least in part, about training our consciences how to respond. He is commanding us to learn what is right and what is wrong and to choose what is right.

There are two dynamics to this. First, when we finally have become disciplined—when our consciences are trained to distinguish right from wrong—it is a sign of spiritual maturity. And second, it is a process of training. “Solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish good from evil” (Hebrews 5:14 NRSV).

Why am I suddenly so concerned about this? It’s not a sudden concern, actually. Those of you who have followed my spiritual path for a number of years know that I wrote and conducted seminars called “Renovation Living” several years ago which dealt specifically with the idea that the morality of the American Church has deteriorated over the past century, that what we used to condemn is now simply ignored. And we have done it under the guise of “refusing to judge.” The scripture that refers to this has been so misused (Matthew 7:1, Luke 6:37). As usual, Satan has taken a godly truth and twisted it for his own purposes. And we, as a Church, are the weaker for it.

The fact is that the Bible isn’t tolerant and it does establish specific behavioral boundaries. We are told how to think, how to act, how to make choices and if we are believers, we are expected to stay within those boundaries, those fences. Just as I have fences to protect my dogs, the Bible establishes fences to protect us from sin. Even though my sins are forgiven by His grace, I am commanded not to sin: “Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it?” (Romans 6:1-2 NRSV).

This week, one of the men from our church called the pastor. He wanted pastor to know that he had been in a physical altercation (yes, a fist fight) with another man and was asking what he should do about it. Pastor told us that this man loved the Lord, but just couldn’t control his temper. I was appalled. How can you love the Lord and beat the stuffing out of another human being (for whom Christ died)? But then, I have gossiped this week and that’s just as bad. How can I hurt someone for whom Christ died if I truly love the Lord?

We need boundaries! We need fences!

I know that I need much more training in distinguishing good from evil, not only to learn where the fence is, but to train my heart to respond to the good and, if I slip, to feel guilt and shame about my sin so that I won’t do it again. Yes, I’m forgiven, but the guilt and shame works to my advantage, to teach me what is wrong and to train me in righteous living. And, probably more than anyone else, I need that!

Psalm 89:1-2

2012-01-10T05:44:00.000-08:00

“I will sing of Your steadfast love, O Lord, forever; with my mouth I will proclaim Your faithfulness to all generations. I declare that Your steadfast love is established forever; Your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.” (NRSV)

There is a great deal wrong with our society and within each person (since social ills begin within the individual heart). As a believer who lives in an extremely secular (and sinful) society (California), I could spend my days focused upon how much is wrong with all around me, bemoaning my fate and wondering what shoe will fall next. Or, I can choose with the psalmist to focus instead upon the Creator and Master of all, trusting that God is going to work out and win out in the long haul.

Father God’s love is steadfast. The Hebrew word translated thus is interesting. Vine’s expounded on its meaning:

“In general, one may identify three basic meanings of the word, which always interact: ‘strength,’ ‘steadfastness,’ and ‘love.’ Any understanding of the word that fails to suggest all three inevitably loses some of its richness. ‘Love’ by itself easily becomes sentimentalized or universalized apart from the covenant. Yet ‘strength’ or ‘steadfastness’ suggests only the fulfillment of a legal or other obligation.
The word refers primarily to mutual and reciprocal rights and obligations between the parties of a relationship (especially Yahweh and Israel). But checed is not only a matter of obligation; it is also of generosity. It is not only a matter of loyalty, but also of mercy. The weaker party seeks the protection and blessing of the patron and protector, but he may not lay absolute claim to it. The stronger party remains committed to his promise, but retains his freedom, especially with regard to the manner in which he will implement those promises. Checed implies personal involvement and commitment in a relationship beyond the rule of law.”

It is interesting, this steadfast love. It cannot exist outside of a relationship and yet it also is not dependent upon relationship to exist or to define it. God’s steadfast love exists because He has an object of His love—me. And yet, what I bring to this relationship doesn’t affect or define God’s love toward me. His love is generous and abounding, defined solely by God’s own holy character. It is a love that requires me to be in relationship with Him, but which isn’t restricted by how much or how little I actively participate in that relationship.

Why wouldn’t I sing about this?

God continues to love me through my foibles, through my sins and mistakes, and through my human weakness. He continues to meet me every morning with a new day and a love that cannot and will not fail me. As a Christian, the joy that I have should come from both His Spirit within me and the result of His love toward me. And this joy should result in song!

Deuteronomy 28:7

2012-01-09T06:57:00.000-08:00

Deuteronomy 28:7

“The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you; they shall come out against you one way, and flee before you seven ways.” (NRSV)

Every believer has enemies. In fact, every believer has three enemies: Satan and his hoards, sin, and our own mortal flesh. Notice that I didn’t mention other people . . . precisely because our warfare isn’t against other people (for whom Christ also died), but against principalities, powers, and spiritual wickedness (Ephesians 6:12). But we do have enemies and we should be doing battle everyday against those enemies. The wonderful thing is that those enemies are already defeated. In fact, they don’t simply skulk away from the direction they came. The Lord routes them in seven different directions! They fly pell mell, unable to even chart a course, due to their fear of the Lord’s armies.

As soldiers in the army of God, we have our orders and our method of fighting. Of course, since the enemy is already defeated, we only have to stand and resist.

“Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:13-17 NRSV).

We are fighting defeated foes, enemies that are already simply dust. One swing of the sword (one mention of scripture) and the enemy runs . . . if we stand firm. Of course, if we put an arm around the enemy and embrace him, we strengthen him and allow him into our lives. It is always our choice.

A noted Hollywood stunt man died last week. He was acclaimed for having been the man in the Darth Vader costume during the sword fighting scenes. But, as I read the article, he also had been teaching sword fighting to actors for many years.

Teaching . . . sword fighting.

We are not born knowing how to fight. We are not, even when we are born again, endowed with the knowledge and ability for spiritual fighting, for using the sword of the Spirit. It is something that must be studied and practiced. In order to use the sword of the Spirit, we can’t simply wave our printed Bibles around; we must know what’s in the word and be able to use God’s promises and His word at a moment’s notice. “I treasure Your word in my heart, so that I may not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11 NRSV). What is treasured in my heart? Is it sports stats? My children’s accomplishments? Quotes from a favorite movie? The plots of the newest TV shows? Or is it God’s word? If I want to become an accomplished spiritual fighter—the kind for whom God sends the enemies fleeing in seven different directions—then the treasure of my heart needs to be His word and nothing more.

Hebrews 7:21-25

2012-01-06T07:00:00.000-08:00

Hebrews 7:21-22, 24-25

“The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind,‘You are a priest forever’ ”—
accordingly Jesus has also become the guarantee of a better covenant. . . . He holds His priesthood permanently, because He continues forever. Consequently He is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. (NRSV).

Can Jesus save . . . that person, that situation, that problem, that illness, that sin? Can Jesus save? I think the answer (“yes”) is something I believe intellectually, but not always something I believe in faith. I do have the choice of trusting (having faith) or observing (looking at what I believe are the facts) and often I choose the “facts” over faith.

I like optical illusions. But I have to admit, sometimes I don’t get them. I look and look and just can’t see what it is I’m supposed to see. It’s the same with jokes. Often I listen to them and then . . . nothing. I just didn’t hear the humor (while my husband is bent over laughing). Both are, in a sense, illusions for a reason. They take “fact” and twist it for a purpose (to amuse). So, I think, facts are not static. Facts are not, then, the same as truth because facts can obviously be manipulated.

Another example is science. In my lifetime, a number of trusted “facts” have been changed. For example, Pluto—which used to be one of the nine planets whose names we had to memorize in school—is no longer a planet. And there have been other things where science has changed a “fact” to correspond to new knowledge or new definitions.

When I believe a fact—when I equate a fact with truth—I am saying (to myself) that this fact is something upon which I can base future decisions on. That means, at least for me, that the fact needs to be trustworthy; it needs to be able to support the reason for my decision over the long haul. It seems that facts can’t really do that. Facts, it seems, can change. So what can I base my decisions on? What can I trust?

Ruth Harms Calkin wrote:

Abraham and Sarah faced the FACT that Sarah was too old for childbearing. Nevertheless, because God promised a son, they gave PREFERENCE to the promise.

In other words, Abraham and Sarah chose faith over fact. Why?

Facts are based on conclusions that come from the observations of our five senses: sight, smell, touch, taste, hearing. However, I already know that my senses can deceive me. I can smell something and my brain will trigger that I’m hungry, even if I just ate. I can see an optical illusion and see something that isn’t really there. I can hear (overhear) a conversation and wrongly understand what was being said. Since facts are based on my senses, facts can lie.

So my other choice is faith . . . but faith in what? It’s obvious that many things don’t deserve my faith. Obviously science doesn’t. Scientists (from all different disciplines) change their minds, seeming to make up “truth” as they go. Even my own observations and conclusions are unreliable. So I need to have faith in something (or Someone) who can be trusted. The Lord Jesus is “able for all time to save.” The KJV uses the word “uttermost” which means completely, perfectly, and utterly. In other words, when the Lord Jesus does something, it is entirely trustworthy and complete. He doesn’t forgive it, doesn’t neglect it, and doesn’t do it halfway. When He does it, it’s done and we can depend upon it.

The Lord Jesus can be trusted. And like Abraham and Sarah, I would be wise to choose faith over fact. The Lord Jesus can save. I can trust Him to take care of my cares, my worries, my concerns, my problems, my illnesses, my hurts, and my sin. He is fully able to save . . . to the uttermost!

John 8:12

2012-01-05T08:33:00.000-08:00

“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.’” (NRSV)

I am by nature probably more like a chicken than any other animal on the planet. I like to wake up with the sun and go to sleep with the sun. In the winter, I like to sleep for long periods of time in the darkness and in the summer, I am up with the light and energetic until the darkness comes. For me, all this is is a quirk of physiology or training or something. It makes it difficult for me to entertain others long into the night because I begin to drop off after nine, but other than that, it is simply a personal eccentricity. We all have them.

However, as a believer, I should be drawn to the spiritual light and asleep (or dead) to the spiritual darkness. As a believer, this kind of eccentricity should be the norm for me; it should be what comes naturally. Unfortunately, we battle against our flesh nature, those sin patterns, temptations, and spiritual battles that assail the growth of spiritual light within our souls. And I am so often drawn to the darkness, rather than repulsed by it.

Charles Spurgeon wrote:

“Sons of light must not have fellowship with deeds, doctrines, or deceits of darkness. The children of the day must be sober, honest, and bold in their Lord’s work, leaving the works of darkness to those who shall dwell in it forever. Our Churches should by discipline divide the light from the darkness, and we should by our distinct separation from the world do the same. In judgment, in action, in hearing, in teaching, in association, we must discern between the precious and the vile, and maintain the great distinction which the Lord made . . .”

This is an amazing imperative. It seems so clear when I read it and so difficult to accomplish when I live it! The apostle John wrote about living in the light:

“Whoever says, ‘I am in the light,’ while hating a brother or sister,’ is still in the darkness. Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light, and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates another believer is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know the way to go, because the darkness has brought on blindness” (1 John 2:9-11 NRSV).

John uses strong words: love and hate. I’m sure that I don’t hate anyone, and yet . . . do I love everyone who is a believer? If there are only two alternatives—love or hate—then, if I don’t love, I surely hate! And what is love? What does it mean to love someone else? Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians that “love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (13:4-7 NRSV). I have to be honest. There are times when I’m not patient, I’m not kind, when I am arrogant or rude. There are times when I insist upon my own way with other Christians or when I’m resentful. And if this is love (and I’m convinced that it is), then at those times, I do hate those around me. Oh, blast! The truth of scripture is amazing in its ability to pierce through my rhetoric and get to the “heart” of the matter . . . to get to my heart and to convict me of my sin. For when I am resentful or arrogant, when I am unkind and ignore that needy person, when I am envious or boastful, then I am walking in the darkness, rather than in His light. And I want to walk in the light. I need to spend much more time in prayer, to give every concern, every anxiety, everything to Him and to allow Him to work in the lives of others while He and I work in my life. Learning to surrender to the Holy Spirit completely, that is enough work for me and will last a lifetime. I need not worry about others. Father God will take care of them. Instead, I need to pray about the light in my own life and to let that light shine before everyone so that they see God in heaven and rejoice!

2012-01-04T08:11:00.000-08:00

1 Peter 5:5-9

“And all of you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him, because He cares for you. Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.” (NRSV)

Humility is not something regularly taught these days. Preachers focus on salvation, on relationships, and some focus on integrity (though not many). But it’s been a long time since I heard someone teach on humility. Peter has an interesting take on humility. He states that it is the foundation of all relationships: “You must cloth yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another.” For me, there are three aspects to humility when I deal with those around me.

First, I need to put their needs and desires above my own. The apostle Paul wrote:

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4 NRSV).

This seems wrong in our society of self-focus that we should think of the needs of others before we think of our own needs. In fact, we have been taught—rather strongly—that we must love ourselves, that we must look to our own needs before we are able to look after others. However, in God’s kingdom, that is a wrong approach. We must first (and always) look to the needs of others, regarding their needs as more important than our own.

Second, we must trust God to take care of our needs. You see it can seem that if I fail to seek my own needs, I will be left wanting. Not at all! In fact, my looking after the needs of others, I then am allowing the Creator and Master of the universe to take care of looking after my needs. Paul writes:

“And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 NRSV).

The amazing thing is that God doesn’t just supply my needs, but every need and according to His riches in glory. And those needs are supplied through Christ Jesus who gave everything for me. If that is the case, won’t God supply everything I need when I need it? Then why should I worry about my needs? Peter wrote (in the passage above): “Cast all your anxiety on him, because He cares for you.” How much better is the Father at caring for me than I am at caring for myself. I can cast all of my anxiety on Him. I can tell Him of my worries, my concerns, my anxiety and then leave it all with Him, knowing—knowing—that He will take care of it in the absolutely best way.

Third, because this kind of lifestyle is against all of my natural inclinations, I need to discipline myself in it. I need to learn how to turn away from my own desires and to learn how to see the needs and desires of others. It won’t be easy, but it is possible. And it is something that I am going to start doing today.

Matthew 18:21-22

2012-01-02T07:22:00.001-08:00

Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?”
Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.” (NRSV)

For three years, thirteen men lived together. They lived together constantly, 24/7. The leader was, of course, the Lord Jesus who was perfect in every way. But the remainder were average men. These were men who would have, in any other normal course of life, not become friends, but who were now bound together by their agreement to become disciples of the Son of God. Men bound together for life by the three years of the teaching and experiences they would share.

Scripture doesn’t tell us much about the manner of their personalities, but we can glean something from the sparse accounts and perhaps infer not inaccurately about their personalities. There was Peter, a fisherman by trade. Likely he was more uneducated that the rest, though he probably could at least read the scriptures. He was bold and brash, unafraid to speak his mind. Very likely he spoke his mind (without thinking it through first) a lot.

Then there was Matthew, a former tax collector. Tax collectors were shunned by proper Jewish society because they were often crooks, taking more than they were supposed to. He may not have been trusted much by the others, at least as first. And it was from Matthew that we get the longest, most detailed gospel. Clearly Matthew was the kind of man who needed to have details explained and who attended to details daily.

There was Judas Iscariot who was trusted with the money of the group. By all accounts, his personality was more controlling. He wanted to have a say in every decision and to have his say seriously considered. He may have been greatly afraid of change and wanted the “Messiah” to be the Messiah of Jewish folklore, rather than the Savior that God had intended.

There was Thomas who refused to believe anything past his own nose. He demanded proof of things prior to throwing his support behind it. Likely he questioned many things and refused to be seen as gullible by anyone.

There was John, more likely a quiet thinker. John wrote the most esoteric of the gospels and was the disciple to whom the Lord Jesus entrusted His mother. He had strong emotions, committing himself fully to the Lord and eventually becoming the prophet God would entrust with the message of Revelation.

Just in these five, we see a widespread difference of personality, of likes and dislikes, of mannerisms and priorities. And it was twelve men—including these five—who lived with the Lord Jesus for three years. No vacations, not much time away. It’s no wonder that Peter asked how much he should forgive his brother. It was very likely that there were some heated arguments and disagreements among these twelve men as they jockeyed for position and tried to learn how to live together with one common goal, a goal that was far greater than any of their daily demands or needs.

Their experience, in fact, is very much like ours. We too need to learn how to live with those who daily offend us, even other Christians. In fact, it’s one thing to forgive the unbelievers around us. After all, they are simply acting according to their nature, being slaves to sin (Romans 6). It can be harder to forgive the Christians around us who are supposed to know how to behave, but who often don’t. (Isn’t it interesting how we want those around us to be kind, gentle, loving, and self-controlled when we don’t hold ourselves to the same standard?). But the Lord Jesus told Peter that he should forgive his brother (other Christians) seventy-seven times. (And actually, the KJV says seventy times seven which is 490!). It is a Jewish idiom that means continually or forever, a number without end. This kind of forgiveness is where being a Christian becomes very personal and practical. Our belief takes feet when we forgive. And it is where the world sees whether or not our belief has meaning.

A. W. Tozer talks about the romantic Christian: “The romantic habit of mind in religion is easy to identify. The romantic religionist thinks with his nerve ends, substitutes words for deeds, accepts the unreal with misty-eyed credulity, confuses wishing with believing and thinks that if a man feels virtuous he is so in fact” (Warfare of the Spirit, p. 74). This is, I believe, a good description of someone who reads, but fails to do. Who knows that she should forgive, but instead holds grudges because the pain of the offense hurts so.

And that’s it, isn’t it? When we are offended, it hurts! And we want the other person to hurt as we have. We don’t want to forgive, but rather to seek vengeance upon the offender. The problem is that we are the offender more than the offended and the Person we have most offended is the Lord. We have no ground to stand upon. The offense done to us—as much as it hurts us—is like a splinter in a finger compared to the offenses that we have done to the Lord of Lords! But we want to, as Tozer so adroitly stated, “think with our nerve ends” rather than to face the reality of our own deeds. We want to focus on the offense done to us rather than to understand how deadly an offender we are ourselves. We are only effective as Christians when we understand the necessity of forgiveness and learn to forgive quickly.

If we ever intend for the American Church to have power and influence in our society, we must begin by learning how to forgive. It is the key to everything!

Matthew 6:25-34

2012-01-01T07:09:00.000-08:00

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” (NRSV)

Today is traditionally a day of resolutions: I will eat more healthy. I will exercise more. I will spend more time with my family. To be honest, I’m just horrible with resolutions. Even if I make just one, I can do that one thing regularly . . . for a while . . . and then life comes crashing in and I find that my resolution (and all my good intentions) go right out the window. I just can’t handle looking at life over a long period of time. Too many things happen that make demands upon me . . . demands on my time, on my emotions, on my energy, on my focus.

Thankfully, the Lord understands. The Lord Jesus taught us to focus on today and not to worry about the future. Not to worry about that bill that has to be paid or whether or not we’ll have enough energy to face the next tragedy or whatever life throws at us. It’s not that these things aren’t important, but there is a way to face them that allows God to take care of what’s important and, by doing that, allows us to focus then on what’s important.

Our focus is to be on striving for the kingdom of God and His righteousness. And that’s a day-to-day effort. It can’t be an effort of tomorrow for we don’t know where we will be tomorrow. If we are in heaven tomorrow, then there is no effort, for all sin will be gone and serving Him will be the joy and delight of our hearts. If we are here on earth tomorrow, then His Spirit will supply what we need for that day. So our focus needs to be on today . . . serving Him today, praying today, sharing the gospel today, staying away from sin today.

That certainly changes the idea of resolutions in my mind and actually changes the way I feel about the first day of a new year. Today isn’t a new day because it is January 1st, but rather today is a new day because—like very other day—it is the first day of the rest of my life. In 1972, after hearing the phrase from my mom (who loved it and wrote many articles about it), my Aunt Audrey (Mieir) wrote a song about this:

Today is the first day of the rest of my life
Yesterday is gone with all its toil and its strife
I will entrust Him with all my tomorrows
I will accept all its joys and its sorrows
Now is the moment, the past all is done
The rest of my days have now already begun
I’ll make today the best of my life
For today is the first day of the rest of my life.
(© 1972 Manna Music. International copyright secured. All rights reserved.)

There is so much truth in this song. First, yesterday is gone. The only things left of yesterday are our deeds. If those deeds are sin and we are believers, then the sin is covered by the blood of the Lord Jesus. If those deeds glorify God, then we will receive rewards later in heaven. (Those are the only two options.)

Tomorrow, if it is here on earth, will bring joy and sorrow, but that’s already taken care of by the Lord. He has promised to make all things work for our good (Romans 8:28), so there’s really no need to concern ourselves with it.

That leaves today and today only. And there is so much for today!

First there is prayer. Our first thought in the day should be to look to heaven for our marching orders. Our loving Father has already mapped out the perfect day for us if we will but allow Him to direct our path. S. D. Gordon said, “You can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray before you have prayed.”

Second, we can become better than we think we can be because of the Holy Spirit. Our Lord’s Spirit wants to live inside us, to infill us, overwhelm us, take control of every aspect of our lives. We have the capacity and possibility of being loving, kind, gentle, joyful, self-controlled—not because of anything around us—but because He is living inside us and He is all these things!

Third, there is a world out there that needs Jesus and we may be the only Jesus someone ever sees. Those around us need our smiles, our sacrificial love, the joy that comes from His Spirit within us. Whatever God has given to us, we need to think of it as resources for today . . . not just for our own needs, but for the needs of those around us. He has given us much so that we, in turn, can give to everyone that comes into our path. More than anyone else in the world, we can afford to be generous because our Father in turn is generous to us.

So, on this first day of a new year, I want so much more than simply resolutions and a new year. I want to remember that today—each and every “today”—is the first day of the rest of my life! I want to pour into it all that the Lord has given me so that, on that day when my today is in heaven, He will look at me and say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord.”

Genesis 22:1-4

2011-12-29T06:49:00.000-08:00

“After these things God tested Abraham, and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here am I.’ He said, ‘Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.’ So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; and he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off” (Genesis 22:1-4 NRSV).

Have you ever said “no” to God?

As many of you know, my husband and I are in the process of moving into a beautiful house given to us by the Lord. Moving in and unpacking a container we packed up two years ago, discovering things we’d forgotten that we had. It’s like meeting old friends again, finding the things we’d lived with for a long time and then suddenly didn’t have for two years. In many ways, a warm reunion, finding a place to put each thing.

In the process of unpacking I found a series of books that I’d had . . . and missed. I’m an avid science fiction fan and this series of books has been very enjoyable for me to read. I keep my books and read them over and over; the characters are, in a real sense, old friends with whom I become reacquainted each time I pick up a book. Yesterday, the Lord told me to clean out this particular series, to get rid of it. While there is no obvious sin within the books, there are moral threads that don’t exactly line up with scripture. Still, the main story line is moral (the good guys win) with strong characters.

The Lord said get rid of the books.

Can you believe I have fought with the Lord for an entire day? That I would either think I could convince Him to change His mind, that I could convince myself that I hadn’t heard from Him, or that I would have the temerity to say “no” to God? Finally this morning, I got up, surrendered (albeit still a bit rebelliously) and put the books in the thrift store stack in the garage. (And, no, I won’t be bringing them back into the house.) Sometimes our “loves” get between us and God. It doesn’t mean that I was in any sense in danger of losing my salvation, but I was willing, at least for a time, to trade God’s next blessing for the comfort of what I knew.

Not today.

It made me think of Abraham and the story of God demanding that Abraham sacrifice his son. The biblical account is very flat; it doesn’t give us the details of what Abraham was thinking, of how he had to have struggled during the night with what God asked of him, or how he continually prayed, pleaded, and begged God during the three day journey. But you have to know that he went through all of these things. Isaac was the child of his old age and the child of promise. How could God bring about what He had told Abraham without Isaac growing to maturity, marrying, and having children? You have to know that Abraham argued and bargained, demanded and pleaded during those hours prior to finally climbing the heights of Mt. Moriah. And yet, how much would Abraham have missed if he had refused to obey God?

I know that there are other things in my life—beside a set of paperback books—that stand between me and obeying God fully. If I want God’s best blessings, if I want to become the woman that He envisions me to be, I need to be willing to set it all aside in order to seek Him and Him alone.

© 2011 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Romans 6:16-18

2011-12-28T07:42:00.000-08:00

“Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted, and that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.” (NRSV)

The Lord has been talking to me a lot lately about how I make decisions. There has been instilled within me a strong Puritan work ethic: God only helps those who help themselves. And while I do believe that Christians are commanded to work and to work hard (and often), I think that my own worldview has been corrupted with the idea of American self-determination.

Romans is an interesting book. Of all the books, this is the one that is the least personal. All of Paul’s other epistles are letters written to churches with whom he had personal relationships, but the letter to the church at Rome was written to people he had never met. Thus, Paul takes the time to outline the doctrines of Christianity. In essence, this—even more than the other epistles—is a book of the Bible written to us for this time, a church which Paul never meets and a church which desperately needs the anchor of correct Christian thought and practice.

Prior to his conversion, Paul had been trained as a rabbi, but even more than that, as a Pharisee. To understand what this means, we need to understand the concept of rabbi and talmidim, the Jewish concept of teacher and student. It was very different than our concepts of teacher/student today. In fact, in America, that concept is in the process of changing with the introduction of the learning concept of constructivism. To understand the difference in how Paul thought and how we thought, we need to understand where we are now.

Constructivism is the idea that knowledge isn’t a static entity which can either be known or learned. It isn’t a concrete set of truths or ideas which the student must learn from the teacher. Rather, constructivism teaches that each student constructs their own reality—their own truths—from the environment around them. The teacher, then, rather than being a sage that communicates truth to the student becomes a facilitator, helping the student find the resources that she needs to learn what she deems to be important. This is a drastic change in worldview from our previous beliefs that teachers were deposits of knowledge from which the students needed to learn. It is also a drastic change from the idea that there is one Truth which can be learned.

It may be that constructivism is actually the result of the idea of American self-determination. America is, I believe (though I’m not a historian), the first country to believe that every person has the inalienable right to determine what he will be, where he will live, what he will do, and what he will decide. And while it’s unlikely that our founders believed that this concept would take our nation far away from God, unfortunately it has.

Paul didn’t believe in self-determination. As a talmidim to the Pharisees, he lived by a strict code of conduct governed by the Jewish religious laws. Every decision was pre-determined by those laws, with no room for personal choice. And even though it had been his personal choice which launched him into this life, once there, all choice was taken away. What he wore, what he ate, where he could travel, whom he could marry . . . everything was predetermined by the Jewish religious laws.

It was within this worldview that Paul wrote what he did in Romans 6. There he teaches that human beings have no ability to self-determine at all! He teaches that we are all slaves . . . all the time! We are slaves either to sin or we are slaves to righteousness. He gives no third option. Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? (6:16). The Lord Jesus Himself confirmed this truth:

“Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, every one who commits sin is a slave to sin’” (John 8:34 NRSV).

In America, we have become accustomed to there being moral neutrality, so much so that our churches even have often bought into it. I’ve had pastors tell me that there are songs that are morally neutral (neither good nor bad), even though those songs promote immoral lifestyles! Paul is clear: everything we do is either as a slave to sin or as a slave to righteousness. No other options are given.

How does this affect me as a believer? I believe that it clarifies whether or not my choices are sinful or righteous and it gives me actually no choice at all! Either my choices are determined by God or they are determined by me. If they are determined by me, then I am asserting my independence from God. And independence from God is rebellion. I am either God’s slave or I am not. When I am God’s slave, I wait upon Him to tell me what to do and I do it without question. If I am not God’s slave, then I am a slave to sin, doing what I want, asserting my independence from Him and becoming a rebel.

Paul writes to the Ephesians:

“Follow God’s example in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love for others, following the example of Christ, who loved you and gave himself as a sacrifice to take away your sins. And God was pleased, because that sacrifice was like sweet perfume to him. Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God. You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is really an idolater who worships the things of this world. Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the terrible anger of God comes upon all those who disobey him. Don’t participate in the things these people do. For though your hearts were once full of darkness, now you are full of light from the Lord, and your behavior should show it! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, rebuke and expose them. . . . So be careful how you live, not as fools but as those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, let the Holy Spirit fill and control you. Then you will sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, making music to the Lord in your hearts. And you will always give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:1-11, 14-20 NLT).

This is an amazing passage and very convicting. I can see that there are still many areas in my life where I am rebellious, where I don’t want to give up my sin! Father God, please forgive me for my rebellion. Take hold of my hard heart and teach me to love You as I should, giving up what little I have in order to claim all that is Yours! I ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus, my Savior.

2 Thessalonians 1:3-8

2011-12-27T04:25:00.000-08:00

We must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of everyone of you for one another is increasing. Therefore we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith during all your persecutions and the afflictions that you are enduring. This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, and is intended to make you worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering. For it is indeed just of God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to the afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. NRSV

It’s interesting that Paul doesn’t address the persecutions of the Thessalonians in the same way that we often address persecutions. If you think about it, most pastors tell us that our faith is exemplified when we take authority over Satan and believe that our trials will disappear based on God’s love. But Paul, rather than preaching that, says that faith is based on persevering through afflictions.

We need to ask ourselves what we believe.

I think that many American Christians live in a state of fear, in a state of doubt, because we have come to expect that Christians who have faith won’t have trials. To the contrary, there are at least three reasons why we do have trials, some of which we can avoid, some of which we can’t.

• We experience the trials that are the consequences of our bad choices.
• We experience the trials that are God’s discipline.
• We experience the trials that are a result of living in a sinful world.

We experience the trials that are the consequences of our bad choices.

When we sin—when we make unrighteous choices—we usually suffer because of it. Driving too fast in a car often brings a ticket. Demanding our own way at work can lead to getting fired. Spending too much money on our wants can results in our having too little for our needs. The problem with many believers today is that we have failed to understand that self-discipline is one of the foundations of the Christian faith. And this isn’t a self-discipline that is put on us, but rather a self-discipline that we embrace in order to bring glory to God Who has forgiven us all.

The apostle Peter encouraged believers not to bring suffering upon themselves that was a result of their own choices.

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. . . . But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, a criminal, or even as a mischief maker. Yet if any of you suffers as a Christian, do not consider it a disgrace, but glorify God because you bear this name” (1 Peter 4:12, 15-16 NRSV).

Suffering for our choices is suffering that is easily avoided by simply making better choices. Don’t overeat (or eat wrongly) and you won’t gain weight and will likely be more healthy. (You won’t suffer from bodily pains and illness). Don’t overspend (or spend wrongly) and you won’t suffer anxiety about not being able to pay for the necessities of life. Tend to the tasks of life set before you (rather than indulging in recreation) and you won’t be called to task when something important has been left undone. Live a life that always seeks to bring glory to God and we won’t have to suffer the consequences of bad choices.

We experience the trials that are God’s discipline.

David was king of all Israel. He could have any unmarried woman he wanted for a wife (and indeed had several already). But he took, instead, the wife of Uriah in an adulterous affair and got her pregnant. Then, to cover his sin, he had Uriah, a soldier, sent to the front lines of the battle where Uriah was killed. David thought that his problems were over, that his sins were hidden and thus gone. But Nathan the prophet exposed David’s sin to the entire Jewish royal court and then pronounced God’s judgment on him.

David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan said to David, “Now the Lord has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child that is born to you shall die.” (2 Samuel 12:13-14 NRSV).

God doesn’t hold believers accountable for their sin in the sense that we don’t have to suffer His holy judgment for sin (which is death). In 2 Samuel, Nathan assures David that his sin won’t be held against him: The Lord has put away your sin. However, God’s discipline included the fact that the child born to Bathsheba and David would die.

“Endure trials for the sake of discipline. God is treating you as children; for what child is there whom a parent does not discipline? If you do not have that discipline in which all children share, then you are illegitimate and not his children. Moreover, we had human parents to discipline us, and we respected them. Should we not be even more willing to be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share his holiness. Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:7-11 NRSV).

Father God disciplines us—His children—in order to teach us how to live in such a way that glorifies Him and avoids sin. As scripture teaches, discipline is painful, but it will yield the fruit of righteousness if we allow ourselves to be trained by it.

We experience the trials that are a result of living in a sinful world.

These trials are two-fold. Some are simply because we live here: physical death, the difficult interactions with each other, the toil of growing old, the loss of things. Sin is a destroyer; consequently, nothing here can be permanent due to the effect of sin upon it. Everything and everyone is in the process of decay. And as much as our society would like to ignore the death and dying process that surrounds it, sin has wrecked havoc on this world and will continue to do so. That is why God will destroy this world and replace it with a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21:1). Meanwhile, we live in a world where things (and people) wear out, break, and are destroyed. Even having the best, more careful habits, we can still get sick. We will (unless the Lord comes) still die. We often suffer consequences of the bad choices of those around us.

We live in a sinful, dying, hurting (and hurtful) world.

And so, what should be our response to the pain and suffering that we must bear? Scripture tells us that we should cast all of our cares on Him! (1 Peter 5:7). It is the Father’s responsibility to take care of us (Romans 8:28), to bring judgment and vengeance where He would and for us to simply continue to trust Him in the darkness. It pains the Lord Jesus when we are persecuted for His sake; He will bring judgment against those who deliberately harm us. And His judgment—and vengeance—is far greater (and more appropriate) than anything we could do. Meanwhile, it is our responsibility to forgive those who would hurt us and to trust Him to take care of us.

John 3:16-18

2011-12-25T07:23:00.000-08:00

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. Those who believe in Him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (NRSV)

Today is Christmas, the day traditionally that Christians celebrate the birth of our Lord. Surrounding this tradition are such things as nativities, Christmas pageants, Christmas carols, family celebrations, gift giving, and the like. But as a Christian, I believe that it’s very important that I not so focus on the Child in the manger that I fail to see either the Savior on the cross or the King returning in the clouds.

The Christmas story is one of amazement and wonder. Music and stories sometimes reduce to the story to actually less than it is (and was):

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head:
The stars in the sky looked down where He lay;
The little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.

Yes, the Lord Jesus had no crib when He was born. Yes, His mother laid Him as a baby in the hay trough used to feed the animals. But it is so much more than that. Father God—the Creator and Master of the universe—sent His Son, the very essence of Himself, to earth to exist within the frail form of a human for the purpose of bringing us salvation, a salvation that couldn’t be secured in any other manner. God Himself, both judge and savior, understanding that mankind was lost beyond hope because of our own sins, provided a Hope by becoming that which He had condemned, a human. He condemned us by necessity and His holy judgment. He saved us from that condemnation through His own sacrifice and His overwhelming love.

The Christmas story isn’t a story that exists in isolation. We cannot tell the Christmas story, even the story of the Child given to rule (Isaiah 9:6) and stop there. The story of Christmas is only the beginning. And, in fact, even the story of Easter is still yet only the beginning. The 33 years that Christ lived on the earth was the beginning . . . the beginning of a marvelous relationship that God, in His infinite love, wants to offer each and every person who has ever been born, who has ever lived on this earth. For God so loved the world, not part of the world, but the entire world, and gave His Son as the only possible sacrifice to reinstate a lost relationship, a relationship lost because of our sin.

The story of the life of the Lord Jesus—the life lived here on earth—is such a small part of the story. For God Himself will write the end to the story of this earth through a great judgment:

“Then I saw a great white throne and the one who sat on it; the earth and the heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works, as recorded in the books. And the sea gave up the dead that were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and all were judged according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire; and anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:11-15 NRSV).

The One who sits on this throne is indeed the same One who came as a baby and lay in a manger. God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit will sit in judgment over each person who has lived. This is the Christmas story, the guarantee to those who have had their names written in the Lamb’s book of life that there will be no more punishment for sin, but instead full forgiveness and salvation! There will be no more death, but life for those of us who have fully thrown ourselves upon His mercy and grace. And this isn’t an exclusive club or society where only some may enter. Anyone who wishes to come to the cross and accept this gift may come. All are invited:

“The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’
And let everyone who hears say, ‘Come.’
And let everyone who is thirsty come.
Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift” (Revelation 22:17 NRSV).

The KJV uses the phrase “whosoever will.” That whosoever will is God’s Christmas gift to the world. Any and all may come and accept the water of life as a gift. If you haven’t done so, today that gift is being offered to you. Will you accept it?

Philippians 4:19

2011-12-04T06:55:00.000-08:00

“And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (NRSV)

We just moved. God opened a way for us to finally own our own home again, but as you can imagine, regardless of how much preparation we did prior to closing the sale, as we walked into the house to become acquainted with it, there have been surprises. (It doesn’t matter how much you inspect a home, there are things that you discover once you live in it, even for a short time.)

One of the “surprises” was that the microwave/stove hood fan was missing. The brackets are there, but the unit is gone. It doesn’t matter the legal or ethical particulars of the issue; what we now have—instead of a beautiful black microwave—is a gaping hole.

For the past two days, as I’ve walked past the hole, I’ve thought a lot about it. As a Christian, I have the choice of two responses. The first is that I can be angry with the previous owners for taking something that was clearly a fixture, an attached appliance. I can refuse to forgive and insist—however ugly a situation that might result—that it is our right to have the microwave restored. Or, I can forgive, try to see the situation through their eyes (they had to sell their house in a short sale) and see that gaping hole as a future blessing.

I am choosing to see it as future blessing.

God has promised to fully satisfy my every need and not only in the limited way that I deserve, but according to His riches in glory. This gaping hole is an obvious need. Not only is there an appliance we lack (the stove hood fan), but there is this ugly hole in the wall, brackets glaring. And my Father God has promised that He will supply this need.

My obligation? To forgive and to pray for the family who felt compelled to try to mitigate their loss and sorrow through fraud and deception. Having had to sell our own home two years ago through a short sale, I am fully aware of how painful it is. I understand that they are hurting and are trying to appease that hurt by making their new place as much like this house as possible. I simply can’t be angry with them, but I am praying that the Holy Spirit will touch their hearts and continue to pursue them.

Meanwhile, I’m joyfully waiting to see the miracle that my Father is going to do to fill the gaping hole in the kitchen.

Hebrews 5:11b-6:1a

2011-11-25T07:19:00.000-08:00

“We have much to say that is hard to explain, since you have become dull in understanding. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic elements of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food; for everyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is unskilled in the word of righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish good from evil. Therefore let us go on toward perfection, leaving behind the basic teaching about Christ, and not laying again the foundation.” (NRSV)

How much do I want to grow, to mature in the Lord?

In listening to the litanies of thankfulness this past month from friends—from both believers and non—I have not heard once that someone was thankful for their pastor. I have heard thanks for family and friends, for colleagues and students, for homes and children. But not once have I heard someone be thankful for their pastor.

Now part of that might be because many folks either only attend church irregularly and see their pastor as simply part of the environment of that social situation. Some of it might be that they attend such a large church that they really have no relationship with their pastor except as a Sunday morning speaker. For the vast majority (perhaps for all?), certainly our pastors are no longer our rabbis with us as talmid. These pastors are no longer the ones who personally disciple us, who check on our spiritual growth, who hold our feet to a certain standard of living, who challenge us to be better than we want to be. Many pastors have become spaghetti throwers, throwing some spiritual rhetoric at the wall and seeing if anything sticks, rather than being deliberate, strategic spiritual leaders who demand that we “grow up.” If they made such demands, if our pastors became those who were intimately involved in our lives, pushing us kicking and screaming to the next spiritual level, I think they would be high on the list of those for whom we are grateful.

The author of Hebrews writes: We have much to say that is hard to explain, since you have become dull in understanding. This word actually means more than uninteresting or stupid. It means lazy, languid, slothful (Strong’s G3576). Thus, it is not about ability, but rather about motivation, choice. There is a real sense of becoming dull through a lack of use or participation. The writer goes on to compare this state of dullness with those who are not dulled: those whose faculties have been trained by practice. “Trained by practice.” Spiritual maturity is about exercise, repetition, strategic and deliberate attempts to grow more mature in the Lord.

The other day, I was working on a short medley with one of my more advanced singing groups. These girls, who work with me for more than two hours a week, simply couldn’t get a very brisk part of the medley. Every time we sang it, the majority of them glossed over the words. It was both pathetic and scary as we were facing a major concert in two weeks. When I asked how many actually knew that part only about one third raised their hands. So, in an effort to teach the others, I had the girls who didn’t know the words to align themselves in small groups with a girl who did. Around the room were a number of small circular groups, two or three girls standing very close to one other girl. I then picked up my mic (so everyone could hear) and began to sing the selection a capella. At first I sang it slowly so that all of the girls could more easily follow along with the printed music. But as we repeated that portion of the song over and over, I increased the tempo. We must have sung that selection at least thirty times if not more. Every three or four times, I would stop and ask if any needed more practice. If a hand went up, we sang it again. At the end of about 15 minutes of practice, every girl had the song down.

What principles did I use to move these girls from unskilled to proficient?
● I encouraged them to find someone else who was already proficient and align themselves with that person.
● I provided structured practice at a pace that allowed for learning.
● I increased the pace until they had all reached the required tempo for performance.
● I made them check their own proficiency level, to self-monitor their own progress.
● I didn’t allow them to stop until they “got it.”

Why did these principles work?
● I set a goal and refused to be satisfied until every participant had achieved the goal.
● I required the community (of, in this case, singers) to become responsible for the growth of all members.
● I outlined the reason for the growth so that everyone had buy in to the process.

When we finished with this part of the rehearsal, I brought the girls back together as a larger group and said, “That is how you practice.” For most of them, their idea of practice was to do something once or twice and go onto something else. To really practice was new to many; it was a revelation.

As believers, we can take these same principles—which are alluded to in Hebrews—and use them in our own lives, in our families, and in our churches to push us on to greater maturity in the Lord. Why don’t we? I think that many pastors don’t push their churches because they truly believe that their congregations either aren’t ready for greater spiritual maturity or aren’t interested in growing. Few in their congregations—if any—encourage them as pastors to push ahead into the uncharted areas of the harder things of God, to encourage us as believers to become more sacrificial in our living, more dedicated to the things of God, more committed to reaching past ourselves to minister to a dying world. The writer of Hebrews writes: We have much to say. Therefore, let us go on toward perfection. I’m convinced that these words are not about the perfection that comes in death, in heaven, when we see the Lord face to face, but the perfection about which John Wesley writes:

“The one thus born again not only does not commit sin, while he thus keeps himself, he cannot sin. By sin I here understand outward sin, according to the plain, common acceptation of the word: an actual, voluntary transgression of the law of God—the revealed, written law of God. Sin is the breaking of any commandment of God acknowledged to be such at the time it is transgressed. So long as he believes in God through Christ, and loves Him, and is pouring out his heart before Him, he cannot voluntarily transgress any command of God. Yet if he does not ‘keep himself,’ he may commit all manner of sin with greediness.”

Wesley was convinced that it was possible for believers to so keep themselves in the love and presence of God as to be able to not choose sin. Unfortunately, I think we have so little practice of keeping ourselves in the presence of God—of loving Him as we ought—that we find ourselves full of sin that we don’t even want to admit or face. So we live “as best we can” and refuse to go on toward perfection. We refuse to practice distinguishing good from evil and continually allow our teachers and pastors to re-lay the basic foundations of the faith, being content to stay as little children. If we want to grow up, we need to not only begin to take responsibility for our own faith, we need to encourage our pastors to become challenging teachers who push us further than we thought we could go. We need to give our pastors permission to dig into our lives, to hold us accountable for our actions, to become the Pauls, Peters, and Timothys that we so desperately need to lead us from babyhood to adulthood for the glory of God.

Colossians 3:12-17

2011-11-11T05:55:00.000-08:00

Colossians 3:12-17

“As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” (NRSV)

November, traditionally in America, is the month where we turn our thoughts toward being thankful. One of the things I’ve been enjoying on Facebook are the many who are daily listing the things for which they are thankful. In a cynical world, thankfulness silences the critics and raises one’s spirit.

Part of being thankful is being mindful of the blessings that God has given us. Sometimes, particularly in the midst of trials, that can be a very difficult task. But I’m coming to believe that thankfulness is the root of many other characteristics of believers, because when we become truly thankful it becomes easier to trust. And when it is easier to trust God, it becomes easier to allow His Holy Spirit to rule our hearts and minds.

We have the choice to focus on one of two things: we can focus on God and all that He has done and is doing for us, or we can focus on what we want (or think we want) and yet don’t have. James says:

“Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures.” (4:1-4 NRSV).

• You want something and do not have it.
• You covet something and cannot obtain it.
• You do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend on your lusts (or pleasures)

That is the description of looking at life with the glass half empty. That is, in essence, refusing to be thankful (or mindful of blessings). We want, we covet, we ask and do not receive. We often get frustrated or disgruntled and, in essence, become angry with God for ignoring us! And yet, at every turn, He has been providing, giving us His best. At what point did His best become what we didn’t want?

In Colossians, Paul sums up this passage with the words: And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him (v. 17). Thankfulness should begin and end everything we do. And if we are thankful, what should our lives look like?

• We should be clothed (in essence, to put on, to sink into) with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.

Compassion: sympathy, pity, and mercy for others
Kindness: consideration and generosity toward others
Humility: thinking of others as better than ourselves, tending to their needs first
Meekness: being quiet, gentle, and submissive
Patience: tolerating trouble or suffering without becoming angry or upset

All of these characteristics are the opposite of anger and frustration. These characteristics also give no room for despair or withdrawal. When we are compassionate, kind, humble, meek, and patient, we must also be actively engaged in the lives of others, concerned about them and ministering to them. “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4 NRSV).

• We are to bear with one another and forgive each other.

The fact is, as people, we are often simply awful toward each other. We get tired, self-centered, or angry and we ignore, lash out, and make demands upon others. We want what we want when we want and we can feel that if we don’t demand that others submit to our wishes, we will suffer an irreparable loss. Father God knew that we would stumble and fall—often—which is why He commands us to forgive each other. Even as we are forgiven, we must forgive. And this is part of being thankful. If we are thankful for God’s forgiveness, we will willingly forgive others.

• We must put on and sink into love, a love which strives for harmony not only with God but with those around us.

Love in the Western world has become in a distortion of the kind of love to which God calls us. This distorted love demands that perpetrators are victims, that emotions guide decisions, that sin be ignored in favor of personal choice. The love to which we are called as believers is far different for it is defined by God’s character and evidenced only through the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

“Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 4-7 NRSV).

When we love through the power of the Spirit, we love first and foremost God. We give Him our desires, our passions, our dreams, our wishes, our expectations—laying them at the foot of the Throne—and insist that He reformat our hearts so that we are in unison with His desires, His will, His plans. The perfect harmony must come first between us and Him for without it no harmony exists at all. Then, because we love God, we turn and love those around us: other believers, our neighbors, and the unsaved throughout the earth. We see them as God sees them, through the lense of the Cross, understanding that if Father God was willing to give His only begotten Son for them, there is nothing too great that we also cannot sacrifice if it brings them to accept the gospel message. If the Lord Jesus was willing to be tortured and unjustly executed because of His love for us, then we should be willing to endure what Paul calls “light afflictions” (2 Corinthians 4:17) in order to minister to those around us.

Matthew Henry eloquently writes:

“[Love] can endure evil, injury, and provocation, without being filled with resentment, indignation, or revenge. It makes the mind firm, gives it power over the angry passions, and furnishes it with a persevering patience, that shall rather wait and wish for the reformation of a brother than fly out in resentment of his conduct. It will put up with many slights and neglects from the person it loves, and wait long to see the kindly effects of such patience on him” (Henry, M. 1996, c1991. Matthew Henry's commentary on the whole Bible : Complete and unabridged in one volume (1 Co 13:4). Hendrickson: Peabody).

• We are to allow the peace of Christ rule our hearts. We are called to this peace. It is our purpose in life.

Peace, to the Jew, had nothing to do with the absence of conflict, but was focused solely on the relationship between him and God. The peace of which Paul talks here is the same concept: it is the peace that comes between us and Father God when we accept salvation and understand that now nothing can take us from His hand.

“My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand” (John 10:27-29 NRSV).

But the impact of that peace on our lives needs to go further than this. If we are kept forever in His hands and He is working all things for our good (Romans 8:28) then what is there to be angry or fearful or fretful about? Surrendering all of our daily worries, concerns, pains, and losses to Him, allowing Him to take care of us and sort it all out is what allowing the peace of Christ to rule our hearts is all about. Our heart attitudes—desires, passions, values, and expectations—determine how we face life. If those attitudes are ruled by the peace of Christ, then the Spirit is solely in control; our only responsibility is to minister to those around us through His leading. He will take care of everything else.

• We are to let God’s Word live in us in abundance so that we are able not only to live according to His will, but also to teach and admonish one another in His wisdom.

Unfortunately, most of us sin. John Wesley believed that it was possible for the believer to live and not sin. Sadly that kind of Christian living isn’t taught these days from our modern pulpits. Consequently, we sin. We expose our minds and thoughts to a myriad of sinful behaviors through television, movies, books, and the Internet. And those behaviors creep into (or are welcomed into) our lives. We are tempted and we succumb. And because we sin, rather than deal with our sin in a biblical manner, we tend to compare ourselves to each other, believing that because our sin isn’t the same in quantity or intensity as another’s, that we are somehow better or better off. The fact is, just as Daniel took responsibility for the sin of his nation (Daniel 9:3-5) and prayed for forgiveness, we need to begin to take responsibility for each other’s sin in the manner in which we are commanded by scripture:

“My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:1-2 NRSV).

Our responsibility isn’t to criticize, gossip about, or condemn, but rather to restore in a spirit of gentleness. If God’s word is living in us in abundance, we are equipped to teach and admonish and to restore in the manner in which the Lord Jesus Himself would. When the woman was brought to Him, found in an adulterous relationship, the Lord Jesus rescued her from stoning, but also admonished her to stop her sinning (John 8:11). Whether she was a lonely wife caught up in an adulterous affair or a single woman, trying to make a living through prostitution, the Lord Jesus was telling her that there was a better way, a life without sin by trusting Father God to care for her, physically and emotionally. As we begin to fill our minds and hearts with the Word of God (rather than the trash of this world), we will become equipped to reach out to the hurting sinners around us with the good news that God is willing to forgive them. We can learn how the Spirit wants us to minister so that we restore in gentleness and thus bear their burdens.

• Learning to live a life fully leaning on the Lord creates in us such a spirit of thanksgiving that we will sing constantly to and about Him. We will find ourselves focused solely on Him because in His light everything else fades to darkness.

There are two ways to live. One is to try to become firmly planted in this life. When one lives this way, the things of this life become all important, including success, rewards, comfort, recreation, and happiness. The other way to live is to understand that the only purpose of this life is to prepare us (and others) for eternity. When we live this way, we understand that to live is Christ and to die is gain, that it is better for others if we stay only because we are actively ministering to them to teach them about Christ.

“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you” (Philippians 1:21-24 NKJV).

Do we truly desire to be in Heaven with our Savior? If so, then we will be willing to stay here only as long as He determines, to do His way and to be His ambassadors. We will understand that our relationship with Him is all that matters and be so thankful that He died in order to give us that relationship.

As we begin to think about being thankful, we have many, many blessings. But the blessing that is far above all other blessings is the gift of the Savior for without it all other blessings disappear. Without it we cannot even begin to understand what blessings are. Without it, we really have nothing to be thankful for.

Job 42:7

2011-11-08T04:58:00.000-08:00

“After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite: ‘My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends; for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.’” (NRSV)

Job was a righteous man, a man who loved and served God with all his heart and might. He was a man who had prospered in an earthly sense, owning many flocks and having twelve children. He also was a man blessed with good health. All of this God allowed Satan to take from Job. Job’s life went, in a matter of days, from being comfortable and happy to being alone and miserable.

There is a saying: Bad things happen to good people.

To be honest, I don’t like that saying because it implies that there are things we should try to avoid, things that happen to us outside of God’s plan for our lives. Romans 8:28 promises believers that all things work together for our good. So while not everything is good, it becomes good for us because God is working in it. I think rather than saying “Bad things happen to good people,” I would more accurately say, “Painful things happen to good people.” That is certainly true.

When painful things happen to those around us, we often react with advice. Our advice can even be clothed as condolences or sympathy that our friend is going through this trial, but it is still advice. And why do we do that? I think for two reasons: (1) we are trying to make sense of what seems to be senseless: suffering, pain, loss; and (2) we are scared that a similar situation could happen to us. We want to justify our own fear and anger that there is pain and suffering in the world, pain and suffering that might come into our own lives someday.

When a friend loses a loved one (a spouse or a child), we realize that our own family could be taken. When a friend is taken desperately ill, we realize that our own health is fragile. When a friend loses their home or job, we realize that we are one step away from poverty. All of those things scare us because it means that our lives as we know them, that we are capable of having to suffer pain and loss that we cannot control.

So when painful things happen to our friends, we sometimes react with advice. And if not advice for our friends, then advice for those around them.

Job, after suffering his loss, sat with three friends who—with all seeming good intentions—began to offer him advice about his situation. They were, in fact, trying themselves to make sense out of what seemed senseless, to explain away what they feared might happen in their own lives. Job had been an example of them of a godly man, but if he perhaps could be shown not to be quite so godly, then that might explain the tragedies in his life. And if the tragedies could be explain, then they might be avoided. All this advice in, I think, an effort to try to control and to possibly avoid such pain in their own lives.

Sometimes we would do better to pray and not talk than to talk without praying. And if we prayed, we would probably know better not to talk!

The Psalms open with two verses about advice:

“Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, . . . But they delight in doing everything the Lord wants; day and night they think about His law” (Psalm 1:1a, 2 NRSV).

Often when we are presented with pain and suffering (either our own or that of others), we are tempted to try to control, to try to avoid, rather than focusing solely and only on God. Our pain and confusion can crowd out all other thoughts, consuming us. The psalmist tells us to rather think day and night on God and His Word. Only with God can we find peace and comfort.

Even the Lord Jesus rejected advice that was given outside of God’s will.

“Then He began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But turning and looking at His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, ‘Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things’” (Mark 8:31-33 NRSV).

“From that time on, Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to You.’ But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things’” (Matthew 16:21-23 NRSV).

The Lord Jesus was clearly embracing the pain, rejection, and suffering that was ahead of Him. He understood that God works all things for good, even for Him as God’s Son. He willingly set His mind to embrace the seeming tragedy that was the cross, the tragedy that was actually victory. Peter responded as he thought was appropriate for a friend and disciple; he immediately came to the defense of his friend, stating that God couldn’t possibly want this for Jesus. But the Lord immediately rebukes him by saying you are setting your mind on human things, not on divine things.

When we give advice, we are often setting our mind on human rather than divine things. And we need to be so careful! S. D. Gordon once wrote: “You can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray before you have prayed.” If we are tempted to give advice, to respond, to control, to try to justify, we need to first pray and very likely pray long. Otherwise we may be like Job’s two friends and kindle God’s anger against us or be like Peter and be rebuked by the Lord for failing to think of things from God’s perspective. God loves us so much that He is willing to take the long view of our lives, working all things for our good! When the waters rise and the darkness falls, we need to trust Him to work everything out. We need to pray. And often, we may need to close our mouths so that we learn rather than try to control.

Psalm 86:11

2011-11-07T04:33:00.000-08:00

dedicated to Pastor Keith Abolnik who has gone Home
November 6, 2011

“Teach me Your way, O Lord, that I may walk in Your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere Your name.” (NRSV)

What is the condition of my heart?

A dear friend of ours went Home to be with the Lord yesterday. He was younger than I and his illness was short and unexpectedness. The miracle of the Internet has allowed me to walk with his family and friends as he went (in July) from not feeling good to a diagnosis of cancer (in August) to going home (in November). It has been an interesting study of human nature as I have read the various reactions and actions of those surrounding him, reactions that varied from committing prayer to commanding friends to rise up in some kind of protest.

We all deal with the unexpected in different ways. The question is, should we? If we are truly born again, what does God’s truth say? And what does it mean to have an “undivided” heart?

When I read this verse yesterday, I read it in the NKJV. The version says, “Unite my heart to fear Your name.” But it doesn’t say unite with what. The NRSV is clearer: “give me an undivided heart.” The NAB says “single-hearted.”

James speaks about the double-minded in both chapters 1 and 4. In chapter 4, he writes:

“Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures. Adulterers! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you suppose that it is for nothing that the scripture says, ‘God yearns jealously for the spirit that He has made to dwell in us’? But He gives all the more grace; therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (v. 1-8 NRSV).

James equates double-mindedness—or having a divided heart—with being a friend of the world. What does it mean to be a friend? To be a friend means to have a commitment to, to be loyal to, to give time and resources to. The Lord Jesus clearly said that we are His friends if we do what He has commanded us to do (John 15:14). Thus, when James calls us double-minded, he is stating that we claim to be Christians, but fail to obey the Lord. We have one foot in the world, cemented there by our desires and passions, and hope that we have one foot in heaven. Our loyalties are divided.

One of the posters for my friend who is gone said that he was gone too soon. Really? He is gone in the Lord’s time. And if he truly is my friend, what better outcome would I wish for him then to be in the presence of our Savior? How can any of us go Home too soon? Paul was anxious to go Home to see the Lord Jesus. He writes in Philippians:

“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you” (1:21-24 NKJV).

How many of us desire to be in heaven with Christ? I know that I do, but I also find myself caught up in the things of this world. I find myself being double-minded, being of a divided heart. How can I truly love the Lord if my heart is divided between those things which are at odds with Him and His commandments?

Lord, I ask You today to teach me Your way that I might walk in Your truth. I confess my divided heart and ask that You make my heart undivided so that I can reverence You, that my only desire would be to please You and to be with You. I ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus. Let it be so.

Psalm 119:74

2011-10-25T04:44:00.000-07:00

“Those who fear You shall see me and rejoice, because I have hoped in Your word.” (NRSV)

I want people to like me. I mean, I really want people to like me. I think many of us do. It’s a natural thing, to want to be liked and accepted. But more than that, whether consciously or unconsciously, we all work at trying to create a culture around us that’s comfortable. We want our friends and associates to share our morals, values, and habits. And it becomes uncomfortable when we find ourselves planted within a group of people with whom we have little of value in common.

America, once more Christian in practice (though not necessarily in nature), has become increasingly secular over the past century. And where there were pockets of geography where the social culture mimicked Christian values, those pockets are becoming smaller or disappearing altogether. Anti-Christian attitudes are showing themselves (to the surprise of some Christians) and many in the Church seem to be floundering around, not really sure what to do about all of this. In fact, many Christians, in an effort to be accepted and feel more comfortable, have become more and more like the world in their thoughts, values, and practices.

A half century ago, I attended a small church in Southern California. It had about 300 members and no one even considered talking about drinking. The one or two (yes, that few) who smoked, did so secretly away from church property and gatherings. Dress, speech, and manner was moderate, conservative, well-behaved. (For example, my own parents never attended any kind of a movie except those that were G-rated.) Things have changed greatly since those days, at least here in Southern California. Nowadays, it’s very common to have openly practicing Christians talk about drinking alcohol, go to R-rated movies, use foul language, and have multiple marriages due to divorce.

We look exactly like our unsaved neighbors. I don’t believe that this has come about simply because we all decided to be bad. We simply wanted to be accepted, to be part of the society around us, to feel more comfortable.

Is that who we should be?

A. W. Tozer wrote (in the 1940's or 50's):

“The world hated Jesus without a cause. In spite of their fantastic charges against Him, Christ’s contemporaries found nothing in either His doctrine or His deeds to rouse in them such unreasonable anger as they constantly displayed toward Him. They hated Him, not for anything He said or did, but for what He was” (The Warfare of the Spirit).

The fact is, if I expect the unsaved around me to like and approve of me, I’m looking in the wrong place for approval. The psalmist wrote: Those who fear You shall see me and rejoice. Who are those who fear God? What does that mean?

A person who fears God turns away from evil. “The Lord said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil’” (Job 1:8 NRSV).

A person who fears God keeps His commandments. “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God, and keep His commandments; for that is the whole duty of everyone. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 NRSV).

A person who fears God prays constantly and gives generously to others. “He was a devout man who feared God with all his household; he gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God” (Acts 10:2 NRSV).

A person who fears God is trustworthy. “Men who fear God, are trustworthy, and hate dishonest gain” (Exodus 18:21 NRSV).

A person who fears God gives Him glory. “Fear God and give Him glory” (Revelation 14:7 NRSV).

This is the kind of person I want and need to become and these are kind of people with whom I need to fellowship. Father God didn’t call the Church to fellowship simply so we would be able to go to potlucks or have a great time at church on Sunday. We are called to fellowship together so that we have a family of believers upon whom we can depend for prayer, support, and like-mindedness. This family should be people who we know will pray for us, will challenge us to right living, and will be there when we fall to admonish us and teach us how to avoid that trap of sin the next time. It should be a family of believers who fear God. And among that family should be me, a person who also fears God and who hopes in His Word.

Psalm 119:73

2011-10-23T06:17:00.000-07:00

Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments. (NRSV)

Where have I come from and where am I going?

America espouses self-determination. It is a part of who this nation is from its conception. From the Gale Encyclopedia of U. S. Foreign Policy: “the revolt of the British colonies in North America has been defined as the first assertion of the right of national and democratic self-determination in the history of the world” (http://www.answers.com/topic/self-determination#ixzz1bbl5hjsl). It is the fundamental assertion of the new “Occupy” movements: “We have principles of solidarity, and we are working together to make a better world - a world of inclusion, dignity, love and respect. #OWS has no space for racism, sexism, transphobia, anti-immigrant hatred, xenophobia, and hatred in general.” (http://occupywallst.org/)

In a nutshell, most people don’t want to be told . . . anything. Think about it. I often hear people say, “Well, I don’t learn from what others tell me. I learn from my own mistakes.” Or they might say, “I want to make my own way, do things the way I think is best.” And as a people living in a society that has fewer and fewer social constructs, those are choices we can make. We can choose to go our own way, to reject the morals or guidelines of our parents, to embrace new ideas. We can create our own society based on what we think is right.

The question is . . . should we? Should we take our lives into our own hands and experience it for ourselves, making our own mistakes, and making our own choices? Should we make our own determination about what is right and wrong?

As creatures with free will, we have always had that choice. The current governmental or social structure hasn’t created that for us. That ability to choose our own way has always been with us since the Garden of Eden. Because that spirit within us, that spirit that demands to create our own way, our own laws, our own purpose is the same spirit that whispered to Eve: “You will not surely die, but you will be like God knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4). It is the spirit that says we are not creatures created in God’s image for the purpose of worshiping Him, but rather separate creatures, made through the process of evolution (or the Big Bang or whatever other theory you wish to espouse) with the right to believe what we want, convinced that our believing it will make it so.

In fact, that is what so often amazes me. That there are so many people in this world who refuse to believe God and His Word and are convinced—simply because they believe it—that their way is right. And then they find all sorts of “evidences” to prove their point . . . when all along they are headed down a dangerous path of rebellion and sin.

Unfortunately, often that creature headed into rebellion . . . is me! For while outwardly I can easily appear as a submissive believer, I spend so many hours wrestling with God, trying to tell Him how to do His job. Oh, the folly of it! For ultimately it comes back to this: I am His creation, made by His hand. He breathed life into me when I was a single cell in my mother’s womb. He gave me an eternal soul and He numbered my days. I can make all the plans I want, but in the end, God wins because He is Creator, Master, Ruler, and He is in control.

There is no other story. There are no other valid beliefs. There is no other possible ending.

He fashioned me and He controls the destiny of this world. My choice is whether or not to be obedient to Him.

While, at age seven, I choose to be obedient to Him, I have discovered that it is not just a life choice, but also a daily choice. And it isn’t a choice without wisdom or discernment. The Psalmist prays here: “Give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.” Why do I need understanding? I could learn the commandments by rote and simply do them blindly. But instead, the scripture tells us that we learn the commandments through understanding. Because I am a creature of free will, the Lord wisely knows that I will see both sides and will lean toward my own understanding. Thus, He is willing to teach me, to convince me that obeying His commandments is best! He isn’t a god who coerces—though He could for He is fully able. He isn’t a god who demands—though as Creator He has the right. Rather, He is a God who loves me, who sacrificed for me, and who teaches me that I might learn how to be obedient, how to set down my rebellion and cling to Him.

Even in my rebellion, in my sin, He works His love for me. Romans 8:28 tells us that “all things work together for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.” The all things is so important because it means all things. Everything I do, everything I think, everything that happens to me. God loves me so much that is works all of that for my good! It is an amazing thing.

God is willing to teach me to obey Him. But I must first come to Him as a creation and as a student. I cannot stand unflinchingly and demand that He defend Himself. He won’t. Just as the Lord Jesus refused to defend Himself before Pilate, Father God refuses to defend Himself to a rebellious world. He won’t attend a debate. He won’t compare Himself with other choices as if life were a multiple choice test and He was one of the possible responses. But He will reveal Himself to the seeking heart.

• “The Lord is with you, while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you” (2 Chronicles 15:2 NRSV).
• “I love those who love Me, and those who seek Me diligently find Me” (Proverbs 8:17 NRSV).
• “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him” (Lamentations 3:25 NRSV).
• “The Lord searches every mind, and understands every plan and thought. If you seek Him, He will be found by you” (1 Chronicles 28:9 NRSV).
• “From there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search after Him with all your heart and soul” (Deuteronomy 4:29 NRSV).

Today, I choose. I pray for understanding in order to obey His commandments. I seek after Him with all my heart and soul.

Acts 8

2011-10-22T20:20:00.000-07:00

Acts 8:26-31, 35-39

“Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go over to this chariot and join it.’ So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ He replied, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. . . . Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?’s He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philipt baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.” (NRSV)

Many of us have family members who are not saved. I know that I do—some who are very dear to me and for whom I pray daily. Day after day prayers . . . after awhile it is sometimes difficult to know what to pray. So the other day I began to pray for those Christians around my family members, that the Christians would have the courage the wisdom to speak boldly to those I love.

And suddenly it hit me! I am “those Christians” around someone else’s family members. You know, I take the offices of the Church very seriously. Ephesians 4 talks about the five offices (some churches believe in four offices): “The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (v. 11-12 NRSV). And I know that I am clearly not an evangelist (someone who tells others about the Lord). If I lean in any direction, it may be as a prophet or teacher. But I also know that all of us are commanded to be witnesses to the gospel. And now I need to take that admonition even more seriously.

Paul told us, in Ephesians to “bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (6:2 NRSV). I believe that when we go out of our way to minister to the unsaved around us, we are bearing the burdens of the Christians who are praying for those people. We all know that those closest to us usually don’t listen to us. I never cease to be amazed at my husband in this regard. I can talk to him about something over and over again and he often ignores it. But let someone else tell him, and he thinks it’s the greatest idea in the world! I think there is some of that in all of us. And if that is true, then we likely have the least amount of influence on those for whom we care the most! Of course, we can—and should—pray for those dear ones daily. But it may be that anything we say will fall on deaf eyes. But we can pray that God will send other believers in their path and we can become those “other believers” to the unsaved that cross our paths each day.

Isaiah 43:10-13

2011-10-21T05:43:00.000-07:00

“But you are my witnesses, O Israel!” says the Lord. “And you are my servant. You have been chosen to know me, believe in me, and understand that I alone am God. There is no other God; there never has been and never will be. I am the Lord, and there is no other Savior. First I predicted your deliverance; I declared what I would do, and then I did it—I saved you. No foreign god has ever done this before. You are witnesses that I am the only God,” says the Lord. “From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can oppose what I do. No one can reverse my actions” (NLT).

I wish—I truly wish—that life were like a 60-minute TV show where the dramatic problem is presented, the villain is revealed, and all is wrapped up for the heroes to live happily ever after before the final commercial. But life isn’t like that. And the longer I live, the more I’m convinced that life is messy, sloppy, sometimes miserable, and usually unintelligible. There simply isn’t a way to make life neat because of sin. Every time I think I have every problem solved, every task organized, and every person content, a new set of difficulties emerge, sometimes more complicated than the first. And, of course, there are the problems that are simply out of our control.

I have a friend who is ill, very ill. It is an illness that was brought on suddenly and will likely have life-changing consequences for him and his family. Because of the instant interacting of people across long-distances through technology (like Facebook), I have been able to observe people’s reactions to his illness. One couple in particular have been interesting to observe. This couple (friends, not family) almost immediately set themselves up at experts on everything! They have done their best to control the doctors, the choice of hospital, how other friends respond . . . everyone! At first it was irritating until I realized that this was how they were trying to deal with their anger and grief. In an obviously uncontrollable situation, they are trying to bring about some order and control by trying to tell everyone what to do, what to say, and how to act. So while they are trying to present themselves as people who are hearing from God, the ones who are actually hearing from God may be the friends who are the most silent, spending their time in prayer.

I am the Lord, and there is no other Savior. From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can oppose what I do. No one can reverse my actions.

I can truly relate to that couple because I’m like that: I’m a controller. Oh, I’ve tried to tone down my interactions with others (I used to be so much worse), but I know that when I get stressed, when loss looms on the horizon, I want to control everyone and everything around me. The truth is, who I’m trying to control is God. I simply want my way and not His! Foolish woman that I am. I have to laugh. There is no other Savior, including me! How in the world do I think that I can control . . . anything? I suppose I control my own behavior and reactions, but that’s about the extent of it. Everything else is in His hands, including me. And any control—any self-discipline—that I have at all comes directly from and through His Holy Spirit.

So it comes down to this: Do I believe that God loves me and wants the best for me? Romans 8:28-30 (one of my favorite passages) tells me just that: “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them. For God knew His people in advance, and He chose them to become like his Son, so that His Son would be the firstborn, with many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, He called them to come to Him. And He gave them right standing with Himself, and He promised them His glory” (NLT). This is similar to a phrase in the Isaiah passage: You have been chosen to know me, believe in me, and understand that I alone am God. God chose me. He chose me. We are “God’s very own children, adopted into His family—calling Him ‘Father, dear Father.’ For His Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we are God’s children” (Romans 8:15b-16 NLT). Knowing this, how can I doubt that God loves me or that He is providing the very best for me?

When I try to control, I may in fact be messing things up in such a way that His best will be hindered. Certainly I’m not my own savior; I can’t save anyone, including myself! And the sooner I learn to let go and let God, the sooner I can rest in Him, knowing that He is working all things for my good!

1 Corinthians 9:19-23

2011-10-16T03:21:00.000-07:00

“For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) so that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings” (NRSV)

Who am I? I grew up in the free love/free spirit days when one of the overwhelming questions of life (and priorities) was to define ourselves. The consensus of my generation was that society had placed demands on our parents with social context defining them and my generation wanted the freedom to define itself. In a sense, Paul was very much like those of my generation. He had lived under the strict regiment of Jewish law. In fact, he had submitted himself to the very strictest code of the Pharisees. And now, as a believer, he found himself freed from that code. He could eat what he wanted, travel as far as he liked, socialize with whomever came his way.

Paul’s freedom, at the time of his conversion, was even more than this. As a Pharisee, he had the right to rule over Jews. The only Jewish rulers, in fact, were the religious leaders. Civilly, Israel was ruled by Rome. So, Paul, as a trained Pharisee, had the right to tell others what to do. As a citizen of Rome, Paul also had immense rights, rights not granted to non-citizens (many of which were his fellow Jews). So, Paul had dual civil rights. This made him both unique and uniquely powerful because it gave him a freedom to travel, to speak in the synogogues, and to teach scripture without rebuff. But Paul understood that this freedom—which wasn’t a license to sin, but was rather a return to the obedience of the Spirit—had only one purpose. It’s purpose was to share the gospel with everyone in his path and nothing in his personal culture was going to be allowed to interfere with that purpose.

Paul defined himself in 2 Corinthians 11:

“But whatever anyone dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. Are they ministers of Christ? I am talking like a madman—I am a better one: with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless floggings, and often near death” (v. 21-23 NRSV).

He had the right to place himself in both spiritual and civil authority over many, and yet he chose to be a slave to all. Slavery, while still practiced in some parts of the world today, isn’t something we like to think about because it connotes the giving up of one’s identity and rights completely to another. When people become slaves to another (whether willingly or by being forced by another), they no longer have any rights to any part of their lives. They literally become property with the owner being legally allowed to do what he wills with them. This is the image that Paul gives, an image of complete submission in order to share the gospel. Paul had the right to become ruler over most of the early Church and yet he gave up that right in order to achieve a greater purpose, sharing the gospel.

What am I willing to give up to share the gospel? If I have positions of influence or power—even the Church or in my family—am I willing to humble myself and submit to the wishes and will of others? If I have an opportunity for a promotion, am I willing to step aside for the sake of the gospel? If I have the power that money brings, am I willing to use that money for the Lord’s purposes and not my own, even allowing others to determine those purposes? There is a real sense of both specific purpose and of submission in Paul’s words that I often fail to grasp.

Paul, in a real sense, gave up his right to be angry when he was inconvenienced or put upon in order to witness to the purpose who had offended him. Even when people wronged him, he put aside that wrong in order to witness. In Acts 16, scripture tells about an incident when Paul, and his traveling companion Silas, were wrongly imprisoned and beaten for releasing a slave girl from demon possession. In the middle of the night, a great earthquake released them from their chains. Paul, who as a Roman citizen had been imprisoned and beaten illegally, wasn’t concerned about his ability—and right—to confront the guilty jailer, but instead used the opportunity to lead the jailer and his family to the Lord.

Paul used every opportunity to witness. He saw every circumstance in life as that open opportunity and he saw every person as potential believers.

What am I willing to lay aside my rights in order to share the gospel? It is a question I should be asking myself every minute of every day.

James 1:17

2011-10-13T05:39:00.000-07:00

“Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

I’d like to say that I hate to waste time. I mean, I can sit in meetings and fume at how slow everything goes and what inane questions others ask. I can be just as impatient with Father God Who is—according to my way of thinking—working much too slowly and holding me back from my life’s ambitions.

The fact is, I hate to wait. But, if I am truly honest, it’s more that I want to control my time and my efforts. I want to lallygag and waste time when I want to do it and I want to get moving and get things done on my own terms. What I’m beginning to realize is that God often gives us “down time” as a gift, as a time for us to turn from the busyness of our own lives (and our own agendas) to, instead, focus on Him (which is what we should have been doing in the first place) or to prepare us for the unseen times ahead. In fact, what I see as hindrances to my plans (and to what I think are His plans) may actually be His working in my life to refocus me on His priorities and His will, rather than my own.

I know that God works everything for my good according to His own will and His infinite resources (Romans 8:28). I also know that everything He gives to me is perfect according to His holy character. But in those times when I seem to be thwarted in my own designs, it’s difficult to give up my dreams and plans in order to understand that He is working His will in my life.

In a nutshell, it’s often hard to wait.

Over the past years, American society has seen enormous financial changes. People who were firmly on career tracks are unemployed. Many who were happily settled in their homes are now renting elsewhere. Retirement plans are adrift. There are those who are wondering if God forgot us? Or if this some kind of punishment for social sins? And yet, what if it is neither? What if this seeming upheaval is simply His perfect gift of time and refocus so that we can again look to Him instead of ourselves for our riches? A. W. Tozer wrote: “Earthly riches cannot procure human happiness.” And while all of us would heartily agree, likely many of our errant thoughts run to the idea of somehow getting “just enough” money to live worry-free. A better job. Winning the lottery. Receiving an inheritance. Watching the stock market soar. When, in fact, happiness cannot—cannot—be tied to happiness because happiness only come with shalom—peace with God. And money cannot buy that.

Unfortunately, so much of our contemporary doctrine focuses upon having a “perfect” life here and now: good health, prosperity, the American dream (our own home and a chicken in the pot on Sunday afternoon). And we can become so centered on asking God for these things that we forget our entire purpose in life: to go into the world and preach the gospel. Our job isn’t to provide for us; that’s God’s job. Our job is to tell others of His marvelous grace, mercy, and love. Our job is to warn others of their future while God takes care of our present. The fact is, every encounter that we have in life should have only one purpose: to look for that opportunity to share the gospel. We often pray in church for God to bring in those who would come to hear the message. We’ve got it all backwards. We need to go out and share, invite, love, and witness. If we do that, God will very perfectly take care to give us every gift that we need for everything else.

Ezekiel 11:19-20

2011-08-29T05:32:00.001-07:00

And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them; I will take the stony heart out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my ordinances and obey them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. (RSV)

I think we often are unaware of how entrenched our worldview is and how it influences who we are, how we think, and what we do. Our worldview is, in essence, our heart attitudes, those values, beliefs, expectations, and desires that form our thoughts and decisions. It is how we interpret what happens to us, what others do and say to us. It determines how we respond.

The New Century Bible, in one phrase of this passage, says: “I will put inside them a new way of thinking.”

I think that, as Christians, we are often (blissfully?) unaware of how much our secular, sinful society affects our thinking. We don’t realize that how much of what we accept as normal actually taints our relationship with the Lord. However, in this passage there are hints for us. If we take the idea of “a way of thinking” from the NCB and substitute that idea wherever it says “heart,” we can see what God is talking about. A new way of thinking—a way of thinking that lines up with God’s will—causes us to walk in His statutes, keep His ordinances, and obey them. This is an interesting trio. At first glance, it seemed to me to be a redundancy, but I believe that God put all three things there to teach us something.

• To walk in something is more than simply to give intellectual assent. It is to fully engage ourselves in that thing. Walking in a very involved activity. It requires your eyes to map out where you should go, your legs to take you there, and your arms to keep you balanced. To walk in God’s statutes, we must fully engage our entire selves. It isn’t enough to simply say that we believe God’s way is best; we must live it out in our decisions and behavior.

• In keeping ordinances, there is both a positive and negative side. It means both to do God’s will and to refrain from sinning. I think we sometimes act like our relationship with God is some kind of give-and-take. “I’ll do this for you, God, but then I need to do this for me.” But serving God isn’t like that. We don’t have rights in our relationship with Him. He is Master; we are slaves. That concept is very uncomfortable for many Americans who have completely bought into the idea of self-determination. No one owns us! But, that isn’t true. The Lord Jesus owns us twice! He owns us by the right of creation and He bought us back from sin with the price of His blood. And the fact is, if we want to have new thoughts, we need to totally surrender to God, trusting Him to take care of us. It isn’t as if we serve a hateful Master who abuses us. We serve a loving God who only wants the best for us: “those who seek the Lord lack no good thing” (Psalm 34:10).

• Finally God says that we are to obey His ordinances. The KJV actually says to do them. It has the sense of the ordinances actually becoming who and what we are. They occupy our thoughts, our times, our energy. When someone looks at us, they virtually see God’s laws in us. And what are God’s laws? They are His Word, in essence, His Spirit. When we surrender totally to the Holy Spirit, we easily obey His laws because His laws are the description of His character.

What’s interesting about all this is that these three things will—guaranteed—change our worldview forever. If we want to change how we think, we need to fully embrace the Holy Spirit in our lives. We need to fully walk in God’s statutes, totally surrender to God, trusting Him to take care of us and allow His Word to fully occupy our thoughts and energy. We need to be completely taken over by His will and His ways. The question always remains: Are we willing to do this?

1 John 2:29-3:3

2011-07-20T03:57:00.000-07:00

If you know that He is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who does right has been born of Him. See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when He is revealed, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is. And all who have this hope in Him purify themselves, just as He is pure. (NRSV)

It is well known that the epistle written by James is about what Christians should do. James writes: What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? (2:14 NRSV). But I rarely (if ever) hear that John also writes about what we should do, but rather more about who God is. But here, in the beginning of 1 John 3, John gives us a very strong admonition that we are to live pure lives: All who have this hope in Him purify themselves, just as He is pure.

Peter also writes about holy living when he talks about our hope in 1 Peter 1: Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed. Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. Instead, as He who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy” (v. 13-16 NRSV).

Thus, as Christians, there is a mandate between our behavior and who we are in Christ, not that we earn our salvation in any manner (for we know that we can’t), but rather that we must respond to our salvation in a specific manner. I go back to the example of a married couple. They get engaged, plan the wedding, attend the showers and parties, and show up at the church on the assigned day, she in her gown, he in his tux. They meet at the altar in front of many witnesses, say their vows, and then walk out of the church never to be together again. He goes back to his many girlfriends; she goes back to her many pursuits. They fail to consummate the relationship or in any other way to act “married.” Are they then actually married? In word only, but certainly not in deed.

It is the same with believers. We may walk down the aisle and say the “sinner’s prayer.” We may attend church and Bible studies, go to conferences and read books, sing songs and know the lingo. But if our behavior isn’t changed, if we continue to embrace those sinful behaviors that we know dishonor the Lord, are we truly saved? Are we truly a child of God?

Matthew Henry wrote:

“Those then who hope to live with him must study the utmost purity from the world, and flesh, and sin; they must grow in grace and holiness. Not only does their Lord command them to do so, but their new nature inclines them so to do; yea, their hope of heaven will dictate and constrain them so to do. They know that their high priest is holy, harmless, and undefiled. They know that their Go and Father is the high and holy one, that all the society is pure and holy, that their inheritance is an inheritance of saints in light. It is a contradiction to such hope to indulge sin and impurity. And therefore, as we are sanctified by faith, we must be sanctified by hope. That we may be saved by hope we must be purified by hope. It is the hope of hypocrites, and not of the sons of God, that makes an allowance for the gratification of impure desires and lusts” (emphasis mine).

Gratification is an important word in this process. Gratify has interesting connotations. It can mean to reward, to be the source or, to give satisfaction to, to indulge, and to satisfy. Paul talks about gratifying in Romans 13:

Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires (v. 12-14 NRSV).

He contrasts living “honorably” with reveling, drunkenness, debauchery, licentiousness, quarreling, and jealousy. He also contrasts putting on the Lord Jesus with making provision for the flesh. He tells us to make no provision. Matthew Henry told us not to make any allowance for the gratification of impure desires and lusts. John wrote: If you know that He is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who does right has been born of Him. . . . And all who have this hope in Him purify themselves, just as He is pure (2:29, 3:3, NRSV). We know if we are His because we do right. We do right (purify ourselves) because of the hope we have in Him. There is a strong sense that, while we are not saved because of our behavior, our behavior must and will change if we are truly saved . . . and if our behavior doesn’t change, then we have need to ask ourselves if we are truly saved.

We also need to be careful that we are using this judgment against ourselves and not in angry or hatred against the sins or behavior of others. Jude writes:

Show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. There are still others to whom you need to show mercy, but be careful that you aren’t contaminated by their sins (v. 22-23 NLT).

We are to be strong against our own sin, but to be merciful against the sins of others. If another Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself (Galatians 6:1 NLT).

It is so easy to look at the sins of others; not so easy to look at my own sin. And yet, the Holy Spirit wants very much to reveal to me those areas where I am not pure, to purge those sins from my life, and to make me holy in His sight. When I sin, I have an Advocate in the Lord Jesus. But my goal should be not to sin, to be so in tune with the Lord that I’m aware before I sin that my choice may lead me astray. My prayer is that I will not sin today . . . in His power.

Romans 6:1-2, 6

2011-07-16T14:27:00.000-07:00

Romans 6:1-2, 6

Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? . . . We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. (NSRV)

Forgiveness, grace, and sin. Huge topics in scripture. Not only are they discussed in great depth, but they are basically the focus of God’s Word to us. The entire Bible is dealing with the sin problem—that which separates us from God—and providing a solution, forgiveness through God’s grace. However, I think that, for many of us and at many times, we have become so used to hearing about it that we have forgotten that grace and forgiveness were (1) paid for with a great price, and (2) provided to us interactively.

It is said, sometimes, that what we get for free, we rarely value. We see that in a society where social entitlements are bankrupting our nation, where many expect to receive without working. But how are we any different? Grace and forgiveness came without a price for us! The price—the great price—was paid by God Himself through the body and blood of the Lord Jesus. Here it is that our Lord, the Master of the universe, was crucified—brutally killed—for us. Have we heard the story so much that it no longer pierces our hearts? That we no longer feel the guilt, but simply accept it as something we’re entitled to? Because we’re not! We are not entitled to grace and forgiveness. It is something that God extended to us only at great sacrifice to Himself. When did we become so self-centered that we stopped appreciating the sacrifice made for our salvation? When did grace stop truly being amazing?

Amazing grace! how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.
‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed!

Amazing: to fill with wonder. Have I heard the “wondrous story” so often that it is no longer wondrous?

I will sing the wondrous story of the Christ who died for me.
How He left His home in glory for the cross of Calvary.

Either grace is amazing, wondrous, almost indescribable in its saving qualities . . . or it isn’t truly God’s grace. And when it ceases to be for us what it actually is, then it begins to be easier to ignore it, to belittle it, to forget . . . and then, perhaps, to not care. Paul writes: Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! What if I took some poetic license and wrote:

Should we continue in sin because grace abounds?

Paul says, “by no means” and ends it with an exclamation point. However, I think that many of us—were we to be completely honest—might say, “Well, perhaps. I mean, we are all sinners and Christ died for all of our sins. So it really doesn’t matter if we sin or not . . .”

And while we might not articulate it just that way, in truth, how we live this is probably close to what we think and wish to believe. We continue in sin specifically because of grace, because we are depending upon the fact that Christ will forgive all of our sins. And if it simply means a loss in our rewards in heaven, well, that is a small price to pay to enjoy the lustful pleasures of this life.

Perhaps we are not as “dead” to sin as we would like to be. Certainly the current state of our nation is evidence that the Church is refusing to confront her sin and turn from it. 2 Chronicles 7:14 states: “If my people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (NRSV).

If we truly understand grace as Paul understood it, we will know that grace requires that we humble ourselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways. There is actually no other hope for America other than that. We can protest, write letters, scream at politicians, sign petitions, design websites, join causes, support conservative groups, and any number of other things including voting. Nothing will change until the American Church changes, until we understand that grace isn’t a blank check to sin but the very reason that we should hunt out sin in our lives at every turn and spend every waking moment at the foot of the cross in confession and repentance.

1 John 2:26-28

2011-07-10T06:07:00.001-07:00

I write these things to you concerning those who would deceive you. As for you, the anointing that you received from Him abides in you, and so you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, abide in Him. And now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He is revealed we may have confidence and not be put to shame before Him at His coming. (NRSV)

It is possible to be deceived. To be honest, I think that it is very likely that many of Western societies are deceived for we live in cultures that deceive on a regular basis. Most of the focus of what we hear, read, and learn is for the purposes of deception.

Think about it.

We focus on looking and acting young in an effort to deceive ourselves that we are growing older and facing death.

We focus on entertainment (books, movies, TV, music, video games, the Internet), the vast majority of which is fiction, in order to forget our problems at least temporarily and believe that “someday” our lives might be like that.

And then there are those who actively deceive themselves: the men and women who pretend to be something they are not by falsifying their resumes, by cheating on tests, by presenting themselves as single on dating sites when they are actually married, by fantasizing and losing themselves in those fantasies rather than to face life as it actually is.

There are those who would deceive us and that deceit isn’t always going to be a frontal attack. It will come into the areas where we are weakest. (The enemy is smart!)

There is also deception within our churches, doctrine which is passed off as legitimate but is from the pits of hell. Some of this doctrine is obvious . . . and some is not!

We can be deceived.

Let me challenge you in one small area: church music. Music is the door to the soul. It can convict or it can debase. And music, unfortunately, seems to have taken over the church (and I am a musician and a worship leader). Churches, seminars, and retreats are advertising their musicians and music as if people will fail to come if the music isn’t up to a certain level. There are books, university courses, seminars, and websites claiming to be able to teach people how to be worship leaders. And yet, as I travel throughout the country, Christian music seems to be on a decline.

There are three aspects to Christian music: musicality, lyrics, and doctrine. Musicality is how well the song is written and, if it is to be sung by a congregation, how easily it can be learned and sung. Lyrics are, of course, the words which should easily fit into the melody and which should reflect our relationship with God. Doctrine is the spiritual lessons taught by the song.

Unfortunately, Christian composers (and publishers) have more sold out to “the hook” then anything else. And a hook is what makes a song catchy. If you find yourself singing it involuntarily, it may be because the song has a great hook. But is it truly a great song? Here are some questions to consider:

• What does the song say about God and our relationship to Him?
• Does the song properly honor and respect God?
• Do the music and lyrics show respect and honor or a more gross familiarity?
• When you sing the song, are you at the Throne of grace or simply feeling good about singing?
• What doctrine is the song teaching?
• When the song is sung in church is everyone singing and participating or has it become a performance? And if it is a performance, what is the purpose of the performance?

There are, of course, many other questions you can ask in order to evaluate whether or not a song is actually a Christian song or simply something the publisher is making money on.

Music isn’t the only place we can be deceived as Christians. We need to constantly be at the Throne asking the Spirit to reveal to us the areas in our lives where we need to turn away from deception.

1 John 2:15-17

2011-07-09T06:10:00.000-07:00

Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world; for all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches—comes not from the Father but from the world. And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever. (NRSV)

When I was growing up, there was a TV show that my family watched called “I Dream of Jeannie.” In this show, an astronaut (Tony) found a bottle and in it was a blond-haired genie named Jeannie. Tony would wish for something (or Jeannie thought he did), his wish would be granted, and then the problems began. Of course, like all Hollywood sitcoms, all came out well in 30 minutes (or less). But I wonder how many of us wish we had a genie’s three wishes . . . and if we did, what would we wish for?

John writes that we are not to love the world or the things in it. The word translated “love” is agapao. According to Strong’s, it means: “to welcome, to entertain, to be fond of, to love dearly; to be well pleased, to be contented at or with a thing.” In other words, nothing here should be pleasing to us. We shouldn’t believe that anything in this world would make us content.

What do we want? What do I want? I think that Americans are beginning to understand how fragile their happiness is when their happiness is based on material possessions. But even if we base our happiness on relationships or experiences, how permanent is that? People get mad and leave (or die). Experiences are often not nearly as good as the anticipation.

Solomon wrote, in Ecclesiastes:

Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. What profit has a man from all his labor in which he toils under the sun? . . . The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. (1:2b-3, 8 NKJV)

What we gain here on earth satisfies, but usually only for a moment. Only Father God is eternal and only in Him can we find eternal contentment. John describes this life with three characteristics: the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, and the pride in riches. When we choose to love the things that are here, we are choosing a second master. The Lord Jesus warned us that we cannot serve two masters:

No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. (Matthew 6:24 NRSV).

We cannot live with one foot in heaven and one in the world. We cannot serve God and yet long to be here with the things and people that surround us. If we ever hope to be a strong Church, we must decide whom we serve. If I ever hope to be a spiritually strong believer, I must place my hopes, my passions, my desires in heaven with the Father.

1 John 2:9-11

2011-07-07T05:18:00.000-07:00

Whoever says, “I am in the light,” while hating a brother or sister, is still in the darkness. Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light, and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates another believer is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know the way to go, because the darkness has brought on blindness. (NRSV)

John juxtaposes two pairs of concepts here: love and light; hate and darkness. Because he is using light as a metaphor for righteousness and darkness as a metaphor for sin, I can know that he is also stating that there is no middle ground. There is love and there is hate and there is nothing in between.

Why is that important?

Because, in our society, we have created moral and ethical neutrality, the gray that exists that is neither good nor bad, neither appropriate nor inappropriate, neither right nor wrong. But for the apostles—and for our Lord—there is no middle ground. There is only righteousness and sin. Thus, following this pattern, I can be assured that there is only love or hate.

That makes sense when I look at the definition of love from 1 Corinthians 13:

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (v. 4-7, NRSV).

In this definition of love, I do understand that love is more than a feeling, but it a set of actions that I choose as behaviors toward someone else. In this context, I act and the feelings may or may not follow. But I choose based on scripture and trust God to take care of everything else.

In the passage in John, the apostle John is careful to note that this hatred is about believer-to-believer relationships. And the hatred he is talking about is defined (by Vine’s) as “of malicious and unjustifiable feelings towards others, whether towards the innocent or by mutual animosity.” When I show malice toward someone, I want to bring them harm. Oh, I may not want to actually hit them or shoot them, but I could want less than success or God’s blessings for them. I can want vengeance by having them fail.

Have you ever known Christians who were mean and hateful? Who perhaps used their position to control, manipulate, or even bring harm to you? I have. I can think of at least three people in my life who were angry, spiteful people and who did their best to harm me, sometimes even after I was out of their lives. The thing is, my concern shouldn’t be about their harming me. Ultimately, they can’t harm me because Father God has promised in Romans 8:28 that He will work out all things to my good. Unfortunately, it is so easy in those situations to hate back, to want harm to come to them. It can be almost impossible to be patient and kind. But that is exactly what God is calling me to do.

The NLT translation says: Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged (1 Corinthians 13:5). Unfortunately, I have to admit that I have kept records of being wronged. And those records—those memories—have made me irritable.

The apostle Titus wrote:

For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, despicable, hating one another. (Titus 3:3 NRSV)

“Passing our days in malice and envy, despicable, hating one another.” People who are like this Titus calls foolish and disobedient, being led astray. That is me and I want it to be me no longer.

Have you ever wondered why Paul began his description of love with “patient?” I hadn’t really thought about it until today. You see, I think that—for most of us—our idea of patience is far different than the actual definition. The dictionary definition of patient is “bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint.”

Bearing pains or trial.

Calmly.

Without complaint.

To be honest—to be brutally honest—I’d simply rather not bear pains or trials at all, no less calmly and without complaining. And yet, if I love patiently, I am willing to bear pains, to go through trials, without being agitated, without fighting against it, without complaining.

Oh my!

When another believer brings pain or trials into my life, John is saying that I must greet such with love. I must refuse to become irritable and not keep a record of this wrong done to me. I must bear the pain or trial without complaining and without becoming agitated. I must forgive (70 times 7, mind you) and allow God to take care of me. I must love and not hate. If I don’t do this, John says that the darkness will overtake me in such a fashion that I will actually become spiritually blind.

Thankfully, John began this chapter with this verse:

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (v. 1).

The Lord is telling me that this is how I should live. But if I fail, then I have an advocate in Jesus Christ Who will forgive my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

I have a long way to go in learning how to live this way. I have to admit that my inclination is for spite and not for forgiveness, for self-protection and not for embracing pain with patience. But I’m learning to trust the Lord and I’m leaning on Him to help me learn to live quietly and lovingly with the believers around me, even the ones that are so hard to love.

1 John 2:4-6

2011-07-03T06:56:00.000-07:00

Whoever says, “I have come to know Him,” but does not obey His commandments, is a liar, and in such a person the truth does not exist; but whoever obeys His word, truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection. By this we may be sure that we are in Him: whoever says, “I abide in him,” ought to walk just as He walked. (NRSV)

Do you ever get tired of being sacrificial? Of feeling like you’re the only one who gives in, who ministers, who forgives? I do. I have even wondered why God refuses to take up my cause and make things happens the way that I want them to happen. Which, of course, is the problem. Because the Lord Jesus never demanded that things happen in His own way.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:3-8 NRSV).

When John talks about believers walking as the Lord Jesus walked, he is talking about this description in Philippians. The Lord Jesus did nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but regarded our need for salvation as being more important than life itself. He looked to our interests.

This is hard for me to do, particularly when someone has harmed me (usually again and again). The world tells us that we need to look out after ourselves, to mind for our own needs, to tend to ourselves. Scripture tells us something totally different. Scripture tells us that we are to be obedient to God, putting aside our own needs and looking to not only the needs but the interests of others. For what we might think is only an interest, rather than a need, might actually be a need for that person. And we are here to provide for others . . . and to trust God to provide for us.

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; (1 Corinthians 13:4-5 NRSV).

Love doesn’t insist on its own way, but rather is patient and kind. Love—God’s agape love—understands that it was necessary to provide salvation for us even when we were sinners. There was no other way. In a similar manner, God’s love in me must reach out to others while they are sinners and in need. There is no other way because there is no righteousness except in Christ. If I wait for people to “deserve” my love, that day will never come. And my love will be useless. God understood that and loved us even when we didn’t deserve it (and we will never deserve it!). And He calls on us to walk as He walks, to love as He loves, and to trust Him with everything else.

1 John 2:3

2011-07-01T06:42:00.000-07:00

Now by this we may be sure that we know Him, if we obey His commandments (NRSV).

I’m spending my summer in Clarksville, Tennessee, with my son and daughter-in-law (they’re expecting our first grandchild). Prior to coming, I spent some time looking at maps to acquaint myself with the general area. I also spent some time online learning a little about the town and the nearby Army base, Fort Campbell. But, I have to admit, that I didn’t know anything about Clarksville until I came here. And even now, I know very little (except how to get from home to the Wal-Mart). Why? Because I haven’t lived here; I haven’t become a citizen.

One can know of the Lord Jesus, even be an expert on the Bible and other historical documents that tell of Him, without knowing Him. There is knowledge and then there is knowledge. The apostle Paul taught that knowing Christ was essential for salvation:

I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the sharing of His sufferings by becoming like Him in His death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead (Philippians 3:8-11 NRSV).

The apostle John isn’t saying that we are saved by obedience, but that we can be sure of our salvation. In other words, while obeying the Lord’s commandments isn’t how we’re saved, it is the evidence of being saved.

Two people plan to get married. They schedule the wedding, arrange for a minister, hire a hall. They invite all of their friends. The bride purchases a beautiful gown. The groom rents a fine tux. The day comes. They walk down the aisle and, in front of all their friends, pledge their love for each other. The minister pronounces them husband and wife. Once they walk out the church, they both go their separate ways, never to be together again.

Are they really married? Even in the eyes of the law, a marriage that isn’t consummated may not be a real marriage. The evidence of a marriage is, once marital vows are taken, that the husband and wife live together, creating a home and family.

It is the same with being saved. We can “take the vows” of salvation, but the evidence of true salvation is whether or not we are obedient to Christ’s commandments. I think that we often make the evidence of salvation so esoteric: “the power of the Spirit” or “the evidence of the fruit.” And yet, really what are these things? They are simply obeying God’s Word in every way. Choosing to be obedient.

That first means that we learn what the commandments are! In order to obey them, we need to know what it is we should obey. Before getting our first driver’s licenses, it was important to study the driving laws and to know those laws by putting them into practice as we drove. We learned and then implemented what we knew. As Christians, we need to learn what the commandments are and then implement them in our lives. And the willingness to do this may be the first indication that the Spirit actually lives within us. We know that the Lord Jesus is the Word (John 1:1). We truly know Him when we are living out His will and wishes in our lives.

2 Chronicles 16:7-9

2011-06-29T04:34:00.000-07:00

At that time the seer Hanani came to King Asa of Judah, and said to him, “Because you relied on the king of Aram, and did not rely on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped you. Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with exceedingly many chariots and cavalry? Yet because you relied on the Lord, he gave them into your hand. For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the entire earth, to strengthen those whose heart is true to Him. You have done foolishly in this; for from now on you will have wars.” (NRSV)

Asa had been, for the most part, a good king for Judah. He turned the nation back to God and restored some of what needed to be restored. But not all! Even then, God saw his heart and gave him a great victory against the Ethiopians and Libyans. But later, Asa began to fail in his relationship with the Lord. He trusted in his own power and in the power of human effort, rather than in the Lord. And God withdrew His protection, allowing the nations around Judah to come against them in wars.

Two dynamics are revealed in this passage:
• Because you relied on the Lord
• Because you relied on the king of Aram and did not rely on the Lord

I am guilty of a great sin, of not relying on the Lord. It is a vicious circle and one of which I am not proud. I have prayed and when God failed to act as I thought He should or in the time I wanted, I began to believe that—while He was able—He might not be willing. And I saw no reason for my prayers. I stopped praying! I stopped relying on God and began to rely on my own efforts, on the answers that the world gives (which really aren’t answer at all).

Thankfully, God has forgiven me of my sin. And I have begun to pray again.

The Lord uses the most amazing things to get through to obtuse minds, such as mine. In this case, He used two Christian writers and a fictional story to share this passage from 2 Chronicles. Verse 9 is the most amazing part of the entire passage:

For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the entire earth, to strengthen those whose heart is true to Him.

The New Century version: The Lord searches all the earth for people who have given themselves completely to Him. He wants to make them strong.

The New American: The eyes of the Lord roam over the whole earth, to encourage those who are devoted to him wholeheartedly.

The New Living Translation: The eyes of the Lord searches the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.

The Lord wants to strengthen those who are wholeheartedly devoted, fully committed, and true to Him. He wants to make us strong! But He can only do it when we throw ourselves completely upon Him and trust Him to do! Our mission is to trust; His is to complete.

Matthew Henry writes:

“That those whose hearts are upright with him may be sure of his protection and have all the reason in the world to depend upon it. He is able to protect them in the way of their duty (for wisdom and might are his), and He actually intends their protection. A practical disbelief of this is at the bottom of all our departures from God and double-dealing with him. Asa could not trust God and therefore made court to Benhadad.” (Emphasis mine).

The Lord intends for my protection! It is an amazing thought. But this is another if-then promise. If I rely solely on the Lord, then He will make me strong! However, if I fail to rely on Him, then He cannot and will not protect me.

I know that I want to rely solely upon the Lord. I want my faith to be strong and pure so that no situation can disturb my trust in Him. I want my every response to be prayer first and action later.

1 John 1:10-2:2

2011-06-27T06:21:00.001-07:00

If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. (NRSV)

Whatever the Lord does, He does fully and completely. He is a great and mighty God Who is able to fully and completely do whatever is needed for our good, including providing forgiveness of all of our sins. John states clearly that Jesus is the atoning sacrifice not only for our sins, but for the sins of the whole world. And not only is Jesus the atoning sacrifice, but He is our advocate when we do sin.

The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). In other words, there is only one outcome when we sin. Death. Spiritual death which also results in physical death. But as our advocate, the Lord Jesus doesn’t just argue for our cause at the Father’s throne; He is able to set Himself in our place, stating that He has already suffered and died for that sin. The price (the wage) has already been paid. It doesn’t have to be paid again. And the Lord Jesus advocates for us even before we ask for forgiveness. He has already paid the price! “God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 NRSV).

J. Vernon McGee wrote:

“Notice that John does not say that if anyone repents, he has an Advocate nor if anyone confesses his sins, he has an Advocate. Neither does he say that if anyone goes through a ceremony to get rid of his sins, he has an Advocate. What he does say is that if any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father. Before we even repent of that cruel or brutal word we said, the very moment we had that evil thought, and the moment we did that wrong act, Jesus Christ was there at the throne of God to represent us as Satan was there accusing us.” (McGee, J. V. 1997, c1981. Thru the Bible commentary. Based on the Thru the Bible radio program. (electronic ed.). Thomas Nelson: Nashville).

I know that I often take my unbelievable relationship with the Lord Jesus for granted. In fact, my guilt often overwhelms me and I’m concerned about what I need to do to appropriate God’s forgiveness. Am I sorry enough? Have I said enough? Can I somehow make up for it enough? And yet, even before I was thinking about the sin I had done, the Lord Jesus has already been advocating for me before the Father. The sin I just committed is already forgiven!

And yet, John, like the apostle Paul, clearly writes that we should understand this relationship not so that we might freely sin, but so that we will not sin. We are free to obey our Advocate, our Lord, because of the power of the Holy Spirit residing within us. We have the power to walk in the Light because of what the Lord has done for us.

1 John 1:7-9

2011-06-25T07:21:00.000-07:00

If we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all 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 who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (NRSV)

Walking in the light is a choice. Have you ever gotten up in the middle of the night and bumped into something, usually with your shin or toe which is very painful? Of course! Almost all of us have. We don’t turn on the light because we either don’t want to disturb the others in the house or we don’t want to fully wake up so that we can return back to sleep. We choose to walk in the darkness.

Walking in spiritual light or spiritual darkness is also a choice. Spiritual darkness is unrighteousness. Conversely, spiritual light is righteousness. Righteousness is more than just what is considered to be morally acceptable. Righteousness is completely pleasing God with everything that we do. Righteousness means being right in His eyes. It is living His character in our behavior, our choices, and our actions.

John warns us that unrighteousness—behavior that is unacceptable to God (sin)—will not only bring separation between us and God, but will also break the relationships that we have with those around us. Even if our family and friends are unaware of our sin, sin changes us in such a way as to cause this separation. But Father God, in His infinite love, is willing and able to completely forgive if we choose to confess our sins.

Two things happen when we regularly confess our sins. The first is marvelous; the second is necessary.

The first thing that happens when we confess our sins is that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from those sins . . . all of them. And this is more than just forgiveness (because forgiveness is included); it is a complete cleansing. Psalm 103:12: As far as the east is from the west, so far He removes our transgressions from us. (NRSV). This is an interesting metaphor; God chose it specifically and well to show us how far our sins are away. Think of a world globe. Begin at any point and travel north. Once you reach the North Pole, you will no longer be able to travel north and will have to travel south. It is the same with traveling south; once you reach the South Pole, you will have to travel north. But begin again at any point and travel east. You never stop traveling east. When you travel east, you never reach the end and have to begin traveling west. It is the same with traveling west. East never meets west. It is the same with our sins. Father God removes them so far from us that our sins never touch us again. They are gone forever!

The second thing that happens when we confess our sins regularly is that the Holy Spirit begins to reveal to us the sins of which we were not aware. Psalm 19:12 (NRSV) states: Clear me from hidden faults. There are sins in our lives that we ignore, that we have hidden, or that we are even unaware are sins! We are forgiven of even these, but the Holy Spirit reveals them to us so that we can deal with them, confess them, and turn from them.

As a society, Americans are so enamored with self-esteem that little is often said from the pulpit about sin confession. And yet, this is an essential dynamic in our relationship with God and with those around us. By failing to understand the power of sin confession, we are leaving ourselves wide open to the delusions of the enemy who would try to convince us that we are fine and dandy without the Lord and His cleansing work at the cross. And because many Christians have believed this lie, we exist in ever-distanced relationships with those around us, feeling increasingly lonely and alone. We can restore those relationships and our relationship with the Lord by accessing sin confession and clinging to His promise of complete forgiveness and restoration.

2011-06-25T06:23:00.000-07:00

1 John 1:5-6

This is the message we have heard from Him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true (NRSV)

Honesty and lies. These aren’t topics much talked about these days. In fact, it may be that the American culture is on its way to being completely delusional, believing that lies are the truth simply because it’s what we believe.

Delusion is the state of being mislead, of misleading one’s mind or judgment. It can also mean to evade. When someone is delusional, they choose to believe that the truth doesn’t exist, but what they believe is the truth, regardless of the facts or evidence given to them.

The apostle John talks about delusion in these verses: “If we say that we have fellowship with Him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true.” This verse is specifically about Christians who claim they are Christians, but whose lives (habits, choices, practices) demonstrate that such a claim is a lie.

Is that me?

That is a question that I should ask myself everyday. I claim to be in fellowship with Him, but what does that actually mean: to be in fellowship? And once I understand that, is it true? Or am I lying to myself?

Delusional (another word for liar).

When I “fellowship” with God, the meaning is actually that I am closely joined with Him. In a sense, I am a talmid (disciple) to His rabbi. In this Jewish practice, the talmid imitated the rabbi as closely as possible in dress, eating, and other behaviors. The talmid was doing his best to become the rabbi. Over and over, the apostle Paul encouraged believers to imitate him. Why? Because he was imitating Christ! (This is the process of being a talmid). When the apostle John writes about fellowship, I believe it is this same process of which he speaks. When we fellowship with God, we are doing more than simply hanging out with Him. We are in His presence for the purpose of becoming more like the Lord Jesus every day.

Is that true about me?

John uses darkness and light as metaphors of sin and righteousness. He claims (rightly so) that in God there is no darkness; there is no sin. If I am fellowshiping with God—if I am imitating Him—then it logically goes that there is no sin in me.

Is that true?

I think that, in America, we now have the tendency to overestimate our abilities and our own value (both to society and to our families). A recent study (http://dailytrojan.com/2011/06/21/student-self-confidence-at-all-time-high-study-finds/) concluded that college students are actually over-confident, that their estimates of their own abilities and values is beyond what is actually true. Another study (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/10/college-students-prefer-s_n_806918.html) concluded that college students may be on the verge to being addicted to self-esteem. They like feeling good about themselves . . . whether or not they should!

Delusional?

In Philippians 2, Paul wrote:

Do nothing from self ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus (v. 3-5 NKJV).

I think it is very possible that we have become so egocentric as to believe that we must tend to our own needs, rather than trusting God for them, that we must have our desires fulfilled, rather than pouring our lives out in service . . . as Christ did for us. And I think that it is very possible that we are deluding ourselves into believing that God wants us to be happy rather than to be righteous.

The apostle John writes as if he were living in our society, on our streets today. Of course, he wasn’t, but the Holy Spirit Himself knew that we would need to hear these words, that I would need to hear that I am being delusional when I think I am in fellowship . . . and I am not! I want to learn how to be bluntly and totally honest, to learn to do what is truth!

1 Corinthians 13:1-8

2011-06-06T05:42:00.000-07:00

If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. (NRSV)

Four kinds of amazing people are described in the first verses of this chapter.

The first person is someone who has the gift of gab. This person can speak to anyone in their own language or culture, can communicate any number of ideas, and is always understood. This person is an amazing communicator.

I’m not . . . an amazing communicator. I’m way less than average, often putting my foot in my mouth and frequently (but unintentionally) offending those around me by what I say. My best own advice to myself would be simply to shut up. I think that communicating with others is an extremely difficult task.

Paul says, in this passage, that being the most skilled communicator is nothing. That person is simply a noisy gong or clanging cymbal. Now, I’m married to a drummer, so I’m intimately familiar with gongs and cymbals. Used sparingly, those sounds can add a little to a song; however, used incessantly, their noise is unbearable! The best communicator in the world—living without godly love—is simply a crashing cymbal. Words without love are just noise.

The second person is someone who is a scholar, but not just a scholar, a scholar of great knowledge, someone who truly knows everything. Being a teacher and a student, I do understand the value of learning. But notice that this person is more than just a learned person. This is someone who also has prophetic powers. This person knows everything that God is willing to impart. This person is the host of all the knowledge possible for a person to know. Amazing! To be able to know that much, to be able to shift through all the knowledge and use that knowledge prophetically, speaking into other people’s lives, to give others insight and wisdom.

Paul tells us that, without godly love, a person can know everything and have the skill to know how to use that knowledge and yet . . . that person is nothing!

The third person is a person of great faith. In fact, this person’s faith is so great, that they can actually move mountains from one place to another. This isn’t a metaphorical faith, but a true faith that believes God can do what we ask Him to do. A faith without wavering, without doubting. And yet, Paul says that without godly love, this person too is nothing!

The fourth person is a person who is willing to give sacrificially. This person will give their possessions, holding nothing back, and even their own life if it means benefitting someone else. And yet, Paul tells us that even those who are willing to sacrifice all gain nothing if they fail to have godly love.

The love spoken about in this passage is the love that is the heart, soul, and nature of God Himself. This is the love that is God and that is impossible to have without Him. When Paul describes the characteristics of agape (godly) love, he is actually describing the Father Himself. And when we are encouraged to love like this, we are being encouraged simply to allow the Holy Spirit to live through and in us, for without Him, loving like this is impossible.

For all of us who aspire to excellence in our lives—to be great communicators, great students, great in faith, and great in sacrifice—we need to remember that nothing that we do (or attempt to do) means anything if we do it outside of God’s will for our lives, if we do it outside of loving others as He loves us. If we fail to be patient, kind, humble, and courteous, if we insist on our own way or resent others (for whatever reason), we have lost before we began.

© 2011 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

2 Corinthians 1:9-10

2011-03-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

2 Corinthians 1:9-10

Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death so that we would rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He who rescued us from so deadly a peril will continue to rescue us; on him we have set our hope that he will rescue us again, (NRSV)

I’ve always believed in God, believed that He exists, that He gave us His Word, that He desires to be interactively involved with me.

I have not always trusted Him.

That’s an awful truth that’s even more awful when I write it. In print, it makes it more real, brings it out into the open. It’s a horrible thing because, when I refuse to trust Him, I greatly lessen His character, make Him someone He is obviously not. And, to be honest, I place myself on the throne when I refuse to utterly rely on Him.

Asaph, who wrote Psalm 73, had a similar experience. He looked around and saw the ease and pleasure of the sinful rich in his community.

Psalm 73:2-3 (NRSV): “But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant; I saw the prosperity of the wicked.”

Asaph, as I, looked at his circumstances and judged whether or not God was acting rightly based on the transient circumstances of the moment, rather than looking at the Word of God which cannot lie and at the character of God which is always good, merciful, trustworthy, and righteous. For me, I chose to cling to the self-centeredness of my old nature and wondered why God wouldn’t give me what I wanted. It was the wrong question. I should have wondered why I didn’t want what God wanted for me.

If God can and will deliver me from eternal death, why wouldn’t I trust Him to deliver me from anything else that comes my way? “He who rescued me from so deadly a peril will continue to rescue me” (v. 10 personalized).

Why wouldn’t He?

Romans 8:28, 31-32 (NRSV): We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. . . . What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?

As my children were growing, I had to often say no to them. In every instance, the no was to protect them, to train them, to give them the experiences that they needed to be strong, successful adults. My “no’s” were as loving as my “yes’s”.

God’s “no’s” are as loving as His “yes’s.” Whether He is protecting us from a bad decision, leading down a path that is closer to His will, or simply wanting something better for us, we can trust His answers because they are for our good. If He has rescued us from certain eternal death, He will continue to rescue us, even from ourselves, if we trust Him enough to say, “Yes, Lord, I will accept any answer You give for Your no’s are as loving as your yes’s.” More than my wants, I want His wants.

© 2011 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

What does it mean to be holy?

2011-02-28T05:06:00.000-08:00

1 Peter 1:13-16

Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy." (NKJV)

What does it mean to be holy?

Recently two churches came under criticism for allowing Muslims to worship in their buildings. No, I’m not talking about allowing Muslims to come in and participate in their Christian worship services. These churches allowed Muslims to come in and use their buildings for Muslims prayer services: Christian churches allowing Muslim prayer services in their church buildings (http://www.abc24.com/news/local/story/Memphis-Area-Muslims-Worshiping-At-Christian/F5CZgzul4EegYgk_L9evNg.cspx).

To be honest, when I first read the news articles, I was confused. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to act or feel. After all, the pastors who were involved were honest and sincere in their belief that what they were doing was not only okay, but was approved of by the Lord. Steve Stone, the pastor from Heartsong Church in Memphis (one of the two churches reported), wrote in his blog: “Jesus said that people would know we are his disciples by our love” (from http://stevestonesr.wordpress.com/, August 12). It sounded so good.

So I began to ask myself why I was so bothered by it all. And I began to search the scriptures.

First, it’s important to know that Pastor Stone quotes the scripture wrongly. He begins quoting John 13:35, but fails to quote it in its entirely: “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (NKJV). The “one another” refers to believers. The world will know that we are His disciples by our love for each other. The fact that he is wrongly quoting scripture is probably the first problem.

The second problem is to deal with how we are to witness. Many people think that we are given the liberty to become anything we need to be to compel people to the Lord. In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul talks about becoming “as without the law” (v. 21) in order to win those around him. However, again, it’s important to look at the passage in its entirety. Some people have used this phrase—be come anything---to justify sinning in order to witness. However, in verse 21, Paul says, as a parenthetical phrase: “though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law.” In other words, he remains under the law not to sin.

When we allow Muslims to use our churches are we sinning?

Well, first of all, a church is simply a building. It’s not the Church. We are the Church, believers coming together. So, a church building is simply a building. Are we sinning when we allow Muslims to worship in our buildings?

Let me expand the situation. If we feel okay with Muslims using our buildings for worship, how about Wiccans? Or Hindus (who worship idols)? Or Satanists? The fact is, opening our buildings to worship by other religions delivers a false message both to those worshipers and to the unbelievers around us. What it says that we approve of what happens in those services. I believe that every pastor—including these two pastors—would draw the line at allowing certain worship behaviors (e.g. sacrificing children on an altar) within a Christian church building. Thus, if they allow some religions to use the buildings and not others, they are tacitly approving of those religions. They are tacitly giving their approval of Islam when they allow Muslim prayer services in their churches. They are saying that Islamic worship is valid and that it deserves a place to happen.

Is that what we should say as Christians? No, of course not. And it becomes easy to criticize these pastors until we personalize this situation by examining our own attitudes and behavior. Of course, most of us don’t have the authority to allow Muslims to worship in our church buildings. But we do have the authority to allow “worship” in the Church of our hearts. After all, we are the Church. What are we allowing in our own lives? And what is that saying to the world around us about what we tacitly approve of?

Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). Paul tells us to shun fornication and adultery because of that. But we are also to shun any kind of sin, to live holy lives, to be holy as God is holy. And to be holy means to be without sin. What kind of sin do we welcome, embrace, enjoy? What idols do we allow in our lives and, as a consequence, tell those around us that these idols are okay? Do we embrace lewd pictures and language? Do we enjoy gossip and gluttony? Do we cling to our possessions and envy those who have more than we do? Do we wallow in anger and self-pity?

It’s easy to criticize the pastors of the churches who approve of Islam (and if you read the comments on Pastors Stone’s blog, you will see eventually that he does approve of Islam). But when I began to pray about this, I realized that I’m as guilty as he is of approving of sin within the Church when I fail to root out the sin in my own life. It’s just that my sin is more familiar, more personal. If I am going to be a true light to the world, it’s important that I allow the Holy Spirit to shine His light of revelation in my life, to reveal my sin, and then for me to confess and repent of it. The sin in my life doesn’t deserve a place to exist, doesn’t need to be protected. Rather, I need to choose to live a life that is holy, just as God is holy, and to shine that light to everyone around me.

Adoption

2011-02-22T04:51:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 1:3-5: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will” (NKJV)

Everyone wants to belong to someone or something. It’s why some people identify with their ethnicity or the country of their ancestors: “I’m Hispanic” or “I’m African-American” or “I’m Irish.” It’s why some people identify with a certain sports team: “I’m a 49ers fan” or “I’m a Yankees fan.” It’s why others identify with their generation: “I’m a Gen Xer” or “I’m a Boomer.”

Everyone wants to belong.

Another way to look at belonging is to look at one’s ancestry. Our first grandchild is due this summer and our daughter-in-law is building the baby’s family tree. She asked my help and I’m doing as much as I can, considering that much of what I know is still in storage (from when we lost our house). But as I was working on the family tree, I realized something.

I don’t know where I belong.

You see, I’m adopted. So I can do the family trees of my adopted parents, but because the adoption was closed, I can’t do the adoption of my blood parents.

I don’t know where I belong . . . as far as this life goes. But it doesn’t matter, because I know where I belong for eternity. You see, I’ve been adopted twice! And while my first adoption gave me a wonderful mom and dad, it’s that second adoption that really matters because it’s that second adoption that brought me into the family of God.

We often, mistakenly, talk in America about how everybody is our brother or sister, how we are all children of God. The Bible doesn’t teach that. What the Bible does teach is that each person is a creation of God, beloved to the point that He gave His Son for each one’s salvation (if only they accept Him). But only those who believe become His sons and daughters! Only those who believe are adopted according to His good pleasure.

So, it doesn’t matter that I can’t actually trace my ancestral roots. In a family tree, I actually exist without a mother or father . . . and it’s not important. Because the family that does matter, the Father Who matters above everyone else, has already adopted me and placed me in His family!

I’m adopted . . . and I know to Whom I belong!

Do I Love Well?

2011-01-11T04:52:00.000-08:00

“Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.” (Romans 12:9-11 NRS)

I’ve been reading The Colors of His Love by Dee Brestin and Kathy Troccoli. One theme repeats itself over and over again: Do I love well? The Lord Jesus, on that final night with His disciples, told them this:

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:34-35 NKJV).

I think that we often don’t love well. We argue well. We defend ourselves and our desires well. We sin well. But we don’t love well. I know that I don’t love as I ought.

There are a couple of ways to read this passage, particularly verse 9. The first way would be to understand “hate what is evil” as a command to look at others and hate the evil that we see in them, the sin in their lives. But what if we looked at this phrase as a couplet with the first phrase? “Let love be genuine; hate what is evil.” Hate what is evil in me . . . love that isn’t genuine. What if the point Paul was trying to make was that we are to so hate sin in our own lives that we learn to love well? And how would we do that? By holding fast to what is good (loving well). By loving one another (loving well). By outdoing one another in showing honor (loving well). By not lagging in zeal (energy) and being ardent in the Spirit (by loving well). Serving the Lord (by loving well).

How well do I love? How well do you love?

In Philippians, Paul writes:

“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others” (2:3-4 NKJV).

We are to esteem others as better than ourselves, to look out for their interests. We are to learn how to love well, to outdo each other in showing honor to them.

Do I love well?

I know that it’s past the first of the year, but I’ve put off setting New Year resolutions. I think that my resolution for this year will be to learn how to love well.

Galatians 1:3-4

2010-11-28T05:01:00.001-08:00

“Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father” (NKJV).

Every good story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Every life, though, has a beginning, a middle, an end, and an ever after, an eternity. Paul here talks about the end of the Christ’s life and the ever after of ours as believers.

Just after the Lord Jesus’ birth, the angels announced His birth to the some shepherds in the neighboring fields: "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10b-11 NKJV). The Lord Jesus suffered and died and that is the good tidings of great joy. He became the Savior that we needed and, in order to become that Savior, He had to give Himself completely which meant He had to die. More than dying even, He had to become sin, to have our sins laid upon Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). He not only died. He took our punishment so that He might deliver us.

I wonder how many of us actually want to be delivered? How many of us are looking for the “ever after?”

Phoebe Cary (1852) wrote:

One sweetly solemn thought
Comes to me o’er and o’er;
Near’r to my home today am I
Than e’er I’ve been before.

I wonder if being one day nearer to heaven is actually a sweet thought for me? The Lord Jesus suffered and died to deliver me from this present evil age. And even if I don’t go Home today, He has also delivered me from feeling tied to this world. In the words of the old hymn, “This world is not my home. I’m just a-passin’ through.”

I think I need to be more focused on passing, and less focused on homesteading.

© 2010 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Psalm 23:1-2

2010-11-27T08:27:00.000-08:00

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.” (NKJV)

He leads me. I wonder? Do I follow? Or do I expect the Lord Jesus to follow me and bless the things that I choose?

We got an opportunity to see a flock of sheep alongside the road the other day. The little ones were running after their mothers and all the sheep were quietly eating under the watchful eye of their shepherd. They had complete trust that they were fine and that the grass provided was good for them.

They trusted their shepherd. Do I?

There is something very simple and yet very difficult in the statement: The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. It is almost an if-then statement. If I allow the Lord to be my Shepherd, I shall not want. So, if I don’t allow the Lord to be my Shepherd, what then? I think about the many times that I’ve gotten myself into a bigger mess than I can deal with. Suddenly I find myself crying out for God to save me. Likely He’s shaking His head, wondering why I didn’t follow Him long ago. How many times has He bailed me out, only to find that I’m too stubborn to learn from my own mistakes and choosing my own way again?

He leads me beside the still waters.

There are so many times in my life that I’ve been attracted to that which is turbulent and frenetic, only to find that I’m unhappy and discontented. Then I long for the stillness, the quietness of peace. And I go back seeking for the Shepherd. How old will I be before I learn to simply seek His way rather than my own?

I shall not want.

So much of my discontent is about what I don’t have, much of which I likely don’t need. As my husband and I have—like many in America—learned to readjust our lives as a result of downsizing, outsourcing, and reduced lifestyles, I’m learning that there is so little that I really need: His love, His salvation, His presence. Everything else is so little and often so unnecessary. If only I could learn to be content with what is important and leave everything else behind.

This year, as I look toward Advent, I want to learn how to be content with the treasures in heaven that last.

1 Corinthians 3:16

2010-11-24T07:06:00.000-08:00

“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (NKJV)

Almighty God has many titles and descriptions. He is Creator of the universe which means, that while He can exist within our universe, He also exists outside of it and apart from it. We cannot, at least in these present forms, separate ourselves from the universe and its laws. We cannot ignore gravity and fly through the air or ignore time and travel to distant pasts. We cannot stop breathing and continue to live nor separate our atoms and continue to exist. But God is separate from all these things. He is God and as Creator is apart from creation.

He is Master of the universe. He controls all, rules all, oversees all.

By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us,
O God of our salvation,
You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth,
And of the far-off seas;
Who established the mountains by His strength,
Being clothed with power;
You who still the noise of the seas,
The noise of their waves,
And the tumult of the peoples.
They also who dwell in the farthest parts are afraid of Your signs;
You make the outgoings of the morning and evening rejoice. (Psalm 65:5-8 NKJV)

And yet, the God Who is Creator and Master has also deemed it not only possible but needful for His very Spirit to live within us who are believers. It’s an amazing thing to me, something that continues to confound and surprise me.

I know that I often become so preoccupied with the things around me that I forget that God Himself lives within me and has a plan for me that is far better than anything I could imagine. I’m so busy trying to fix things and organize things and simply “do” that I forget that He has already done it all, has already worked it all out, and as a seal of His love for me placed His very Spirit within me. I don’t have to rely on a priest in Jerusalem to go into the Holy of Holies to approach Him for me. I can drop to my knees—literally or figuratively—and meet Him at the Throne with any request, any need, any plea and He is there. God with men. God with me!

This Sunday will be the first Sunday of Advent. The day the Church celebrates the angel visiting Mary with the news that she would be the mother of the King, the One named Emmanuel, God with us. But today—and everyday—I can celebrate the fact that Emmanuel lives within me, desiring to change me into His image, saving me, keeping me, loving me. I am but a simple woman and often wrong in many of the things I decide and do. But God continues to love me and continues to pour His Spirit into me.

It’s simply amazing.

1 Timothy 1:2

2010-11-17T04:57:00.000-08:00

To Timothy, a true son in the faith (NKJV)

Paul talks about “a true son in the faith.” Timothy wasn’t his genetic son, but he was his spiritual son. How many spiritual children do we have?

We don’t talk much in churches these days about discipleship, though we should. And I think that’s the kind of “sonship” to which Paul was referring. Paul, previous to his conversion, had been trained as a rabbi. There was a unique relationship between rabbis and their followers (or disciples). The Hebrew word is talmid and carries with it the idea of completely imitating one’s rabbi. The rabbi lived in such a way that his life was worth imitating and the talmid lived in such a way to completely imitate the rabbi, even to the matters of what to eat and what to wear.

Twice in 1 Corinthians (4:16 and 11:1), Paul urged the Christians to imitate him (as he imitated Christ). This is a true sense of discipleship, much more than intellectual learning. And through this “imitation,” the disciple (or talmid) would become like Paul who himself was striving to become like Christ. In a very real sense, Paul was creating a spiritual genetic bond that mirrored the physical genetic bond of blood families.

How many spiritual children do we have? Are our lives such that another (younger) Christian would be safe to imitate us? Would they even want to?

The Lord Jesus described false teachers as ravenous wolves (Matthew 7:15) and told us that we could discern them by their fruits. These “fruits” are the fruit of the Spirit described in Galatians 5: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (v. 22-23). Paul confirms that those who have crucified the flesh and its desires will walk in the Spirit and manifest this fruit.

We need to strive to become mature believers who are worthy of being followed. That means crucifying the desires of the flesh, regardless of its enticement in order to manifest the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. The Church is, first and foremost, a family. We should be “birthing” new babes in the Lord and then raising them through discipleship as our spiritual sons and daughters. Do we get excited when new souls come into the Kingdom? I would hope that would be what we long for . . . more than anything else.

1 Timothy 1:1

2010-11-08T04:51:00.000-08:00

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope” (NKJV)

How much of me is me and how much is the Lord Jesus?

Paul writes two very interesting things in his introduction to this letter. First, he defines himself. He is first, foremost, and always an apostle of Jesus Christ. That is, there is nothing else in his life, no other priority, no other demand upon his time or efforts. It’s interesting because Paul was also a tentmaker, a traveler, a teacher. He was also a Roman citizen (which not everyone was in those days). He could have defined himself in any number of ways . . . but he doesn’t.

How do I define myself? Do I say first that I am a disciple of the Lord Jesus? Or do I first call myself a wife, a mother, a teacher, a woman? How we think is how we eventually act. Our thoughts drive our decisions. If we think of ourselves first as believers, as followers of the Lord Jesus, I would think that would color our decisions in a certain way.

However, Paul does something else that is also interesting. He says that he is thus (an apostle) by the commandment of God. In other words, what’s most important to Paul is whatever is important to God. What God wants (in Paul’s life), God gets. Can I say the same thing? In fact, being honest, throughout my day, do I even care about what God wants in my life? Do I stop to ask Him? Consult with Him? Or do I simply make the decisions I want and then ask Him to bless those decisions?

John the Baptist made an interesting comment about the Lord Jesus in John 3:30. He said, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (NKJV). While that was a different context, I think it has relevance for me. In my own life, in my own walk, I must decrease and He must increase in me. In Galatians, Paul writes:

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (2:20 NKJV)

It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. Can I really say that? Can I say that I have been crucified and now Christ controls me? An old hymn says

I’ll go where You want me to go, dear Lord
O’er mountain or plain or sea
I’ll say what You want me to say, dear Lord,
I’ll be what You want me to be.

Can I say that? Can I live that? I want to learn to surrender like Paul did, so that nothing else matters except for the Lord Jesus.

Joshua 1:8

2010-11-04T08:24:00.000-07:00

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (NKJV)

I was reading Tozer again this morning and got to thinking about how much I actually think about God. I know that I don’t think about God enough. Not at all enough. That phrase Tozer used in an earlier article – Always and always God – comes to mind. Is that my life? If I am honest, I have to say no.

My friends liken me to the Energizer Bunny. I’m not really a Type A personality, but I like to keep busy. And my definition of “busy” is being way more busy than most of my friends. I like to have lots of projects going at the same time; I’m comfortable being a multi-tasker. So, I work, go to school, volunteer, write.

I’m very busy. And very occupied.

And it occurred to me this morning that I’m so busy that I’m occupied with keeping my life organized rather than being occupied with the Lord. Is there any time, any space, for me to stop and meditate on Him?

“You shall meditate in it day and night.”

Do I even have a day and night in which to meditate? Tozer wrote:

“The best way to control our thoughts is to offer the mind to God in complete surrender. The Holy Spirit will accept it and take control of it immediately. Then it will be relatively easy to think on spiritual things, especially if we train our thoughts by long periods of daily prayer. Long practice in the art of mental prayer (that is, talking to God inwardly as we work or travel) will help to form the habit of holy thought.” (Born after Midnight).

I would like to think that I’m surrendered to God, but if I’m honest, I know that there are many parts of my life that I want to control, rather than to give control to Him. I have to ask myself honestly whether or not I use all of my activities to fill a silence so that I can’t hear His voice. I hope that isn’t true, but I need to spend more time with the Spirit, asking Him to reveal my heart to me so that I don’t end up deceiving myself. Is there anything in my life that I would refuse to give up if He were to ask? Have I even asked Him if I should be doing those things? Ours is a very self-absorbed society based on having what we want when we want it. I know that I often don’t ask God about the decisions I make. It’s time that I started doing that.

Genesis 37:5, 45:4-5

2010-10-27T05:07:00.000-07:00

“Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more.” and “And Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Please come near to me.’ So they came near. Then he said: ‘I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.’” (NKJV)

God isn’t in the business of fulfilling our dreams; rather, we should be in the business of fulfilling His will.

I recently read an article in a Christian magazine about a woman whose dream in life was finally fulfilled. She wrote:

“And one day, in His sovereign timing, we will give birth to the dreams He’s planted within us” (In Touch, October 2010).

She is both right . . . and wrong. God does give birth to the dreams He’s planted, but that fulfillment may be very different than what we envisioned. He may continue to say “No” to what we are asking, only to fulfill His will in an entirely different way . . . and for an entirely different reason.

Joseph was a young man of great promise. He was bright, learning to read and write a foreign language with ease. He was obedient and loving to his father He was willing to submit himself to the authority above him and he kept himself true to the moral laws of God. In Genesis 37, he had two dreams in which he saw, representively, his family bowing down to him. With the brashness of youth, he shared those dreams around the family fire and created such hatred in his brothers that they sold him into slavery. That slavery led to a false accusation of rape (from which he was never publicly vindicated as far as we know) and imprisonment. In other words, he went from believing that he would rule his family to being thrust into a foreign land and culture and becoming the worse kind of hated vermin there . . . a foreigner and a convicted rapist. Not exactly the fulfillment of a dream.

Many teachers then justify all this by saying that he then was elevated—and rewarded—by being made the equivalent of the prime minister of Egypt. But the problem is that he was still a foreigner and a convicted rapist. He was never allowed to return to living with his family (who were sent to live in a distant part of Egypt). He was given a position of great power, but it was a position with a price. He had to give up everything that was dear to him and become someone else. And the sole purpose of all that was to fulfill God’s will, not his own desires, not his own dreams.

Joseph was the favored son of his elderly father. Isaac, wrongly or rightly, demonstrated his favor by having a special cloak made for him, a cloak rich with embroidery. Then God gave the dreams and Joseph’s future seemed secure. He would rule the family clan with all of his envious brothers bowing to and serving him. His dreams.

But not God’s will.

Instead, it took many years of darkness, suffering, and turmoil for Joseph to realize that life wasn’t about having God fulfill his dreams, but rather having him fulfill God’s will. And in Genesis 45 he makes an amazing statement: “Do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life” (v. 5 NKJV). He says, in essence, to his brothers, “You threw me into a pit and then sold me into slavery where I was taken to Egypt. I was forced to work for a family where the bitter wife wrongly accused me of rape, a charge of which I have yet to be vindicated. And even now, I am working in a position of power, but am hated by most of the Egyptian court because I am a foreigner and a convicted felon. That is the life you have given me. But don’t give it another thought. Don’t be grieved or angry with yourselves, because all of this was God’s will. This is what He brought about as the fulfillment of my dreams.”

Not his dreams, but God’s will.

The writer of Hebrews tells us of similar experiences:

“Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented-- of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us” (Hebrews 11:35-40 NKJV).

The revealing phrase in this passage is “did not receive the promise.” These saints of God lived their entire lives and failed to receive what they believed was the fulfillment of their lives. Why? Because God had something better!

God had something better!

Not our dreams, but God’s will.

God doesn’t say no out of anger, vengeance, or even spite. He says no to us because He has something better. Beyond our dreams, there is God’s will and it is better than we can possibly imagine. Joseph didn’t receive the fulfillment of his dreams in the way he had imagined. He never lived with his family again. But he was revered by his people, with even his bones being carried back into the Promised Land. He became one of the great Patriarchs of the Judeo-Christian faith and he is a model for us to follow in our lives. By giving up his small dreams, he allowed God to create an enormous legacy.

God’s will is bigger than these few years we live on this earth and our influence can be far more lasting than what we see during those years. We have the potential to influence many for years to come. But the choice is ours. Do we want our dreams . . . or His will?

Mark 11:22

2010-10-25T04:54:00.000-07:00

“So Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Have faith in God.’” (NKJV)

Have faith.

You only have to stand in the grocery check-out line once or twice, reading the magazine headlines, to know that “having faith” is a big deal these days. Prayer and faith are popular topics for magazines. It can almost convince you that Christianity is on the rise in America. Here is a quote that I found from a website on the Internet:

“When you live in faith you not only have greater momentum toward your goal, you not only streamline your life and are relieved of many inner conflicts, but some amazing transformations in your daily life or career often happen.”

This sounds very similar to things I’ve read in a number of Christian books. The problem is, this quote come from TheMystic.org, a completely New Age website. It has absolutely nothing at all to do with Christianity. In fact, the Internet is full of websites that tout the power of faith, many of which even use scripture to support their position! The problem is, the Bible doesn’t teach the power of faith (or the power of prayer). The Bible teaches that power comes from God and God alone. The Lord Jesus taught us to have faith in God! The power, then, doesn’t come from either faith or prayer, but from God! He is the power, the only power.

The Lord Jesus taught us that false prophets would come with the express purpose of deceiving people (Matthew 24:11). The Greek word used here can mean “religious imposter” (Strong’s G5578). That goes back to Matthew 7:15 where the Lord Jesus also warned about false prophets, calling them wolves in sheep’s clothing. Now, there are many out there, particularly since the advent of the Internet, who would like to “identify” the false prophets due to doctrinal differences. But the Lord Jesus told us to identify them by their fruit (the same word used in fruit of the Spirit). One of the fruit of the Spirit is pistis which is translated in the KJV as “faith.” Strong’s tells us that it also means “reliance on Christ for salvation” (Strong’s G4102). In other words, pistis also points us, not to faith, but to Christ.

Always and always, God.

As Christians, the only power that we have comes from having faith in God, praying to God. Our faith, our prayers avail nothing without God.

Psalm 63

2010-10-22T04:52:00.000-07:00

Psalm 63:1-11

A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me. But those who seek my life, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth. They shall fall by the sword; they shall be a portion for jackals. But the king shall rejoice in God; everyone who swears by Him shall glory; but the mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped. (NKJV)

What do we do when we are in the wildernesses of life?

David had fled to the wilderness of Judah which runs along the eastern edge of the Judah mountains.

Of that wilderness, a Messianic teaching website writes: “Israel’s wilderness abounds with rocks, hills, and canyons. The climate is one of extremes—scorching hot temperatures by day turn to near-freezing temperatures at night. There is little water” (http://www.followtherabbi.com/Brix?pageID=1779).

It was from this kind of environment, away from his kingdom, his throne, his people, and all of his resources, that David wrote: “The king shall rejoice in God.” When there is nothing left, there is God and He is everything. When we have everything, there is nothing else but God, because He needs to be everything. It was a truth that David learned in those times of leanness.

David learned how to seek God in the beginning and at the end. He wrote:

“Early will I seek you. . . . I remember You on my bed; I meditate on You in the night watches.”

Early and late, David sought after the Lord. I’m an early riser, getting up as a child by 5:30 to have time for myself before demands were placed on me by my parents for chores and other family needs. As an adult, I began getting up at 4:00 when my son was born so that I would have time alone with the Lord before the demands of being a mother would begin each morning. I also go to bed early which prevents me from watching television. That discipline, instead, often allows me to read Christian books and scripture at night. Early and late. And I’ve found that doing this helps me to center my thoughts on the Lord.

When we find ourselves in those dry, lean times of life, we have two responses. We can get mad and demand from God why He would allow us to have these experiences or we can search after Him with even more effort, clinging to Him and knowing that He is everything; that nothing else matters. To be honest, dry, lean times may truly be gifts! When we are separated from distractions, we may finally understand that there is nothing else that matters except Him and His love for us.

Galatians 6:17

2010-10-19T05:05:00.000-07:00

“From now on, let no one make trouble for me; for I carry the marks of Jesus branded on my body” (NKJV).

What if I were to tell you that becoming a Christian would make your life harder, not easier? What if I were to explain that being a disciple of the Lord’s would bring pain possibly with no hope of relief until heaven? Would you still embrace the gospel? Would you be as excited about serving the Lord as you might be with promises of needs fulfilled and desires met?

Madam Guyon, a great saint of the Lord, wrote:

“To bear all the marks of Jesus Christ is much greater than merely meditating on them. Paul said, ‘I bear in my body the mark of the Lord Jesus’ (Galatians 6:17). He did not say he merely thought about them; he said he bore them” (Experiencing God through Prayer).

Paul talked about his light afflictions (2 Corinthians 4:17). The Greek word elaphros means easy. Easy afflictions. It would be one thing to embrace this if Paul’s experiences seemed like easy afflictions. But aside from being burdened with “a thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:8) which may have been some kind of chronic illness or disability, Paul also lists the troubles he experienced as a Christian missionary:

“in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness” (2 Corinthians 11:23b-27 NKJV).

These are Paul’s light afflictions. Because of these (and possibly other) experiences, Paul could truly say that his body bore the mark of the Lord Jesus . . . scars, possibly even resulting and continuing pain and disabilities.

David Wilkerson, in a letter attached to one of his Pulpit Series sermons, recently wrote:

“As I look back over the years—years of great trials, suffering, temptation, and affliction—I can testify that God’s grace has been enough. I know what it is to question God, as my wife endured cancer over and over, and then both our daughters were also stricken. I also know what it is to be buffeted by a messenger of Satan. I’ve been grievously tempted and enticed, and I’ve had enemies stirred up against me on all sides. I’ve been slandered by rumors, falsely accused and rejected by friends. . . . We may still ask why—yet it all remains a mystery. I’m prepared to accept this until Jesus comes for me. I see no end to my trials and afflictions. I’ve had them for over fifty years of ministry now and counting” (emphasis mine; August 30, 2010).

I know that I personally would want my trials and afflictions to end. I have often called out to God in the middle of the night, asking Him to end them, often telling Him what I think the solution would be, only to hear Him say, “My grace is sufficient” (2 Corinthians 12:9). I think He would be more pleased if I were more willing to surrender, rather than to complain or fight. And that is perhaps something that He is teaching me through this trial. Not that the trials will end, but that He walks with me through the darkness as well as walking with me in the light.

This life is a hiccup when compared to eternity. In the still of the night when the physical or emotional pain seems too hard to bear, it doesn’t seem like a hiccup, but it is. This life is short compared to what we will experience when we see Him face to face . . . forever! Many saints have gone on before us and are experiencing even now that eternal presence of the Lord Jesus. It is a hope to which we must cling if we are to persevere through what lies ahead.

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23 NKJV).

Matthew 7:15-23

2010-10-18T04:38:00.000-07:00

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them. Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'” (NKJV)

Who do we trust? Do whom do we listen?

There is an application on Facebook called “God wants you to know.” It is wildly popular among Christians. Some of the comments users wrote:

“I truly believe God is using this app to speak to people.”

“I truly believe that God is using this app to speak to me.”

“I love this God messages . . . It feels like He is talking to me.”

“They really know me.”

“I look forward to these everyday.”

“These are truly a blessing, each and everyday!”

The question isn’t whether or not these are encouraging, whether or not they make the readers feel good, or whether or not they confirm the readers’ hopes or feelings. The question, of course, is whether or not what is written is biblical.

That is true for everything we read, we hear, we apply to our lives as Christians.

The Lord Jesus told us to beware of false prophets who would appear as sheep. That means that they will sound, look, and smell like Christians! We will think that they are believers because what they say and what they do resonates within our hearts. They will even prophesy, cast out demons, and do other miracles in His name.

And yet . . . they are not Christians! They are false prophets.

How then do we decide to whom we listen? The Lord gives one criteria . . . to know them by their fruits. The word is karpos and it is the same word used in Galatians 5 to describe the fruit of the Spirit. While these two words come from two different books of the New Testament, I don’t think it is coincidence that the Spirit-inspiration was to use the same word because it greatly clarifies for us the “fruit” that the Lord Jesus is talking about. It’s obvious that He’s not talking about the success of outward ministry (as some would claim), otherwise He wouldn’t talk about the acts of the false prophets: prophesying, casting out demons, and other miracles. No, He is talking about bearing fruit.

What is the fruit of the Spirit? It is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). We should be able to see these things in the prophet’s life and in what he teaches. Do we see longsuffering lived and taught? Do we see self-control? Or do we see self-indulgence and the things of the world?

I wouldn’t presume to tell anything who the false prophets are, but I know that personally I’m reluctant to allow anyone (or anything) to discipline me as a believer if I don’t first apply this one rule. It’s one of the reasons that I study “dead guys” (Christian authors who have died), so that their lives are exposed and I can see who they really are. (There are a few—very few—living Christian authors that I trust, but their lives are transparent and exposed.)

Before we start attributing what someone says to God, we should first find out that person’s own agenda, doctrinal stance, but more importantly, their life and the fruit of the Spirit within it. Would we rather believe God’s prophets or ravenous wolves? Personally, I choose God.

John 13:35

2010-10-17T05:33:00.000-07:00

“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (NKJV)

Back in the 60's, when worship choruses first began to become widely popular, a certain chorus made the rounds in the churches, “They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love” (common tune, lyrics by Peter Scholtes). The words go like this:

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
And we pray that all unity may one day be restored
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love

There is a love for each other that we seldom exercise, and yet, an expression of love that is well needed in the Church.

"Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.' And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.” (Matthew 18:15-17 NKJV).

We actually don’t much like to deal with sin these days. We talk about addictions, syndromes, character traits, trials, even satanic attack. But we don’t much talk about sin, at least in any kind of specific way. And yet sin should be a serious business for the Church.

I’ve been reading Wesley who, at least in the book I’m reading, begins the topic of confronting sin with condemnation of the sin of gossip, a practice with which most Christians are extremely familiar. Whether justified as topics of prayer, public discussions, or simply efforts of concern, the vast majority of Christians, even across the ages, have been involved in gossip. Wesley wrote:

“How common is the sin of evil-speaking among high and low, rich and poor, wise and foolish, learned and unlearned! How few can testify before God that they are clear in this matter! The very commonness of this sin makes it difficult to be avoided. We are encompassed with it on every side. Almost all humanity seems in conspiracy against us! Their example steals upon us, so that we insensibly slide into the imitation of it.

“Besides, it is recommended from within as well as from without. There is scarcely a wrong temper in the minds of men and women which may not occasionally be gratified by evil-speaking and thus incline us to it. It gratifies our pride to relate faults of others whereof we think ourselves not guilty. Anger, resentment, and all unkind tempers are indulged by speaking against those with whom we are displeased. By reciting the sins of others, people often indulge their own foolish and hurtful desires.” (Renew My Heart).

Wesley goes on to teach on the Matthew passage which not only encourages us, as believers, but commands us in the way in which we are to treat the sins of other Christians. Wesley is insistent that if we are aware of sin in another believer’s life, it is our duty to approach them privately and expose the sin. We are to do it humbly, gently, but personally, without involving any others until that person refuses to acknowledge and repent of the sin.

I don’t know that I’ve ever done that. If I have, it isn’t common practice for me, at least not outside of my own immediate family. But I do know that I have “gossiped” about others in the context of sharing prayer concerns or discussing doctrinal issues. I’ve done that a lot. In plain biblical language, I have become adept at evil-speaking about others. And that is a sin in itself. James contended that there is great value in the kind of love and submission that allows believers to rebuke sin that they see. But then, as believers, we would have to acknowledge that sin is a problem.

“Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:19-20 NKJV).

There are several important things within the James passage. First, James is speaking only to believers. Second, he states that believers can wander from the truth. Third, he concludes that believers who wander from the truth can experience death. I’m convinced that this is spiritual death. It is possible to so reject the truth and the Lord as to reject one’s salvation. And if this is not James’ conclusion, then we must at least admit that James considered the penalty for wandering away from the truth to be severe. If we truly love each other, we will be willing to submit to others who are concerned about the sins in our lives and we will be courageous and loving enough to confront them about the sins that we see. Beloved, we need each other so desperately and we need each other in an intimate way. We need to learn how to have the kind of fellowship that allows people into our hearts and our minds, to share our struggles. And that begins with having the personal courage to look at ourselves honestly and to go before the Throne daily, allowing the Spirit to reveal the sin in our lives.

“Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16 NKJV).

We name many sins illness. Well, if they are, the way to healing is confession, but not just confession to the Lord, but to each other. And then to have prayer from each other. The kind of unity that we need as Christians, the kind of love that we need, is that kind that will trust God’s Word enough to step out in faith and walk in this kind of transparency. We need to begin to confront our sin actively and to seek forgiveness rather than tolerance, to seek healing rather than treatment. Our churches are filled with people who need the Lord. But they also need us to actively be brothers and sisters to them. We need to learn how to live as the Lord Jesus commands us to live. Only then can we begin to know full forgiveness and full healing.

1 Kings 19:11-12

2010-10-16T05:43:00.000-07:00

Then He said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord." And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. (NKJV)

Humans are, it seems, by nature beings of excess. Whatever we want, we seem to want it in abundance. Pentecostals, of which I’m one, believe firmly in the power, workings, and gifts of the Holy Spirit. But I think we often (too often) seek the power without seeking the One from whom the power flows. Many evangelicals, of which I’m also one, believe firmly in knowledge, wanting to study and learn about the things of God. But I think we often (too often) seek the knowledge without seeking the One from whom the knowledge flows. Many American Christians, of which I am certainly also one, stress the relationship, wanting the experience of relating with Christ and yet, often failing to understand that such a relationship is interactive, where God Himself should be allowed to determine the direction and goals of such a relationship.

Power, knowledge, experience. All of these can and often are part and parcel of our relationship with the Lord. But they are not in and of themselves the Lord. And that is perhaps where we fail and at the point at which we stumble and become less than what we should be as believers. God showed Elijah (in 1 Kings) that while He initiated the wind, earthquake, and fire—while He was indeed in those things—He was not those things. God is the beginning and the ending, the First and the Last. But He is more than a sum of parts because He cannot be divided into parts. He is God, always and always.

The psalmist wrote:

Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth;
Oh, sing praises to the Lord,
Selah
To Him who rides on the heaven of heavens, which were of old!
Indeed, He sends out His voice, a mighty voice.
Ascribe strength to God;
His excellence is over Israel,
And His strength is in the clouds.
O God, You are more awesome than Your holy places.
The God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people.
Blessed be God! (Psalm 68:32-35 NKJV)

God is more awesome that His holy places. It is He who gives strength and power to His people. Whenever we doubt, rather than seeking power or knowledge or experience, if we would instead seek God and Him alone, there I think we would find the answers that we need.

The prophet Isaiah wrote:

“Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. ‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, ao are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it’” (Isaiah 55:6-11 NKJV).

The Lord’s thoughts, His ways, His will are far higher and better than ours. I wonder if we do not settle for that which is far less because we are willing to seek the product rather than the Producer, the creation rather than the Creator. What good would miracles and the gifts of the Spirit do us if eventually we lose the Spirit? What good would knowing about God be if we failed to know Him? What good would it be to call Jesus our Friend if He failed to call us friend? When we seek, I think we should be careful of what we are seeking. We need to seek God always and always and allow Him to send the power or knowledge or experience when and where He deems best, rather than demanding our rights as we see them and ultimately losing the point of it all.

Matthew 22:37-40

2010-10-14T06:29:00.000-07:00

Matthew 22:37-40

Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." (NKJV)

You shall the Lord your God with all . . ., with all . . ., with all!

I have the privilege to work part time as a university instructor teaching a course for student teachers. One of the things I ask them is their criteria for “passing.” Every teacher, every school administrator must determine what the criteria is for passing a student onto new material, onto the next grade. Most of the time the class comes up with sixty or seventy percent as passing. Then I ask, “You memorize 70% of your phone number. How’s that working for you? Or you go to McDonald’s and they get 70% of your order correct. How’s that working for you? Or the contractor who built your house builds 70% of it correct . . .” Well, you get the idea. The fact is that “passing” with 70 or any percent other than 100 only works in school; it doesn’t work in real life. In real life, employees are expected to do their jobs 100% correctly or it’s simply not satisfactory to their supervisors.

Sadly, we don’t use this same kind of mentality as Christians. Instead, we want to surrender to the Lord, to love the Lord, to serve the Lord with less than 100% and rely upon His mercy to simply accept that. A. W. Tozer wrote:

“Always and always God must be first” (Born after Midnight).

I love how he writes “always and always.” It’s not simply enough to “always put God first” because we sometimes and somehow miss that message. He wrote “always and always” I think to emphasize the importance of this. Always God must be first . . . always!

Is He?

The Lord Jesus taught, “You shall love the Lord your God will all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” It’s not enough to love with part; we are commanded to love with all.

Do we? Do I?

This is the first commandment. Not simply first sequentially, but first in importance, first in application, first in understanding. Without putting this commandment into place in our lives it may be simply impossible to carry out any of the others. And if we carry it out incompletely, how complete will be our obedience of any of the others?

Think about a child who learns only 70% of what she should learn in kindergarten. How much can she learn in first grade? Not 100% because she doesn’t have the skills necessary. If she continues at the same percentage of learning, she will learn only 70% of the 70% she is capable of learning. Assuming that no one ever tutors her or tries to remediate her lack of skills, by sixth grade she will be significantly behind and only able to learn about 11% of what is presented. By twelfth grade (if she doesn’t drop out), she will be able to learn only 1.3%. Now, this obviously is an exaggeration. Usually along the way perceptive teachers seek the lack of skills and provide tutoring and remedial instruction to make up the lack. But the point for theological purposes is this: If we only obey a percentage of the first commandment, how able will we be to obey the third, the sixth, or the tenth? Most Christians have never committed murder, but the Lord Jesus Himself tied anger at a brother without cause to murder. How many times have I been angry without a just and biblical cause? Or justified my anger when I should have instead forgiven? How much is my ability to honor the Lord through my behavior, my decisions, and my words tied to the fact that I have yet to love Him with all of my heart, soul, and mind?

“Always and always God must be first!”

When the Lord is first, always and always, then sin will be second and more easily conquered, I think.

Matthew 22:37-40

2010-10-13T05:52:00.000-07:00

Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." (NKJV)

In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul admonishes us to seek love over all things, even over faith:

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (v. 1-2 NKJV).

Unfortunately, the English language fails to grasp the extent of what Paul is saying. In the Greek, there are three words for love. One means the love between a man and a woman. One means the love between friends, and one means the love that God has toward us. This kind of love is agape. It is the word used in John 3:16 to express God’s love that sent the Lord Jesus to die for our sins. It is the word that Jesus used in Matthew 22 as our response to God. We are to agape the Lord our God.

This kind of love toward God is pervasive, all-encompassing. The Lord Jesus tells us that we are to love God with all of our hearts, with all of our souls, and with all of our minds.

The word translated here heart is kardia. Strong’s defines it as our thoughts or feelings. Paul talked, in 2 Corinthians 10:5, about taking every thought captive unto Christ. But this is even more. It is also involves our feelings. Feelings, particularly how we view them in America, are an interesting phenomenon. If one were to believe some psychologists, feelings actually exist with a life of their own and must be acknowledged, even obeyed, because they simply come; we cannot control them.

Darrell Yardley, a licensed professional counselor, wrote:

“Our feelings are just our feelings. Not good, not bad, just feelings. We have little affect on how we feel about something” ( http://www.horses-helping-troubled-teens.com/psychobiology-of-emotions.html).

Steve Pavlina, a self-development guru, wrote in his blog:

Our feelings are a natural response to our thoughts and intentions. We don’t really choose our feelings directly. Our feelings are a feedback mechanism. They indicate whether we’re moving into alignment with our true desires (positive feelings) or out of alignment (negative feelings). Simply put… we feel good when we’re moving towards what we want, and we feel bad when were moving away from what we want. (http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2007/09/feelings/).

Obviously secular thought has made feelings neutral. The Lord Jesus Himself, however, taught that there were evil feelings which came from the kardia and which produced sin:

“But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart (kardia), and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (Matthew 15:18-19 NKJV).

That is actually good news for the Christian because it means that we can take authority over our thoughts and feelings. When we want to learn to truly love God, we can focus our thoughts on Him, on loving Him, on serving Him, on pleasing Him, on worshiping Him. John Wesley wrote:

“When, in every motion of our heart, in every word of our tongue, in every work of our hands, we pursue nothing but in relation to Him and in subordination to His pleasure, then, and not till then, is that mind in us which was also in Christ Jesus” (Renew My Heart).

As with Paul, we can take our thoughts captive, refusing to dwell on those things which are not pleasing to God, and focusing instead our thoughts on Him. And if our thoughts are focused on God, our feelings will follow!

Now, if we simply loved God with all of our heart, we could stop there and it would permeate our being. But the Lord Jesus goes on. The command is to also love God with all of our soul. The Greek word used here is psuche. Strong’s defines it as the very breath within us. With each breath—with that which sustains us—we are to love God. For me, this is almost like purpose, focus, appointments, tasks, goals. In everything that I do, the ultimate purpose should be to show my love for God by doing what pleases Him. Even when I take a breath (which we, as humans, do automatically), I should be breathing in praise to Him, in worship of Him, in love for Him. It becomes like 1 Thessalonians 5:17, a prayer without ceasing.

The Lord Jesus also tells us to love God with our mind, our dianoia. Strong’s defines this as imagination and understanding. When we dream, do we dream of God? When our thoughts wander, do they wander to Him? Does He overwhelm our focus to the point that every thought winds its way to Him? Is everything that we learn and understand filtered through our love of Him, our devotion to Him?

The Lord Jesus explained that if we seek to love God as this, the natural outpouring will be love for others. I’m not sure but that there is no other way to learn to love those around us but to first focus our love and adoration on the Holy Trinity. To be honest, loving Him should be natural to us because He so first loved us. But we are bombarded with the demands of so many other things in our lives. We need to consciously devote our thoughts and feelings, our very breath, and our imagination and understanding solely to loving Him. If we can learn to do that, then I’m convinced that the rest will take care of itself.

1 Timothy 1:18-20

2010-10-11T06:39:00.000-07:00

“I am giving you these instructions, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies made earlier about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, having faith and a good conscience. By rejecting conscience, certain persons have suffered shipwreck in the faith; among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have turned over to Satan, so that they may learn not to blaspheme.” (NRSV)

When I was growing up, my mom used to talk to me all the time about my conscience. She used to stress to me that every time I did something bad, I was damaging my conscience which God had placed within me to identify right from wrong. Paul talks to Timothy about having a “good conscience.” The Greek for this word, suneidesis, literally means co-perception (Strong’s G4893). There is a sense of corporateness in this word. The New Testament Greek Lexicon implies that it is something that we and others see and agree upon. The definition given is “the consciousness of anything the soul as distinguishing between what is morally good and bad, prompting to do the former and shun the latter, commending one, condemning the other” (http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?q=conscience&s=References&rc=LEX&rc2=LEX+GRK).

Paul insists that one is only able to “fight the good fight” by having both faith and a good conscience. In other words, in order to fight against temptations, against sin, against Satan, we need two things. We need to completely and fully trust God (faith) and we need to be able to distinguish between what is morally good and what is morally bad and have that distinguishing guide our behavior, thoughts, and decisions.

The writer of Hebrews talks about the mature who are able to discern good from evil:

“But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (5:14 NKJV).

How is one able to discern good and evil? By having a good conscience. The writer of Hebrews tells us that this conscience comes “by reason of use.” The NASB translates it “because of practice.” The NRSV states “whose faculties have been trained by practice.”

We don’t practice the discerning of good and evil by doing evil, but rather by imitating the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus taught us "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23 NKJV). There are three conditions to following Him:

• deny ourselves
• take up our cross daily
• follow Him

The New Testament Lexicon defines deny as “to affirm that one has no acquaintance or connection with someone; to forget one’s self, lose sight of one’s self and one’s own interests” (http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?q=deny&rc=LEX&rc2=LEX+GRK&ps=10&s=References). The dictionary defines deny as “to restrain oneself from gratification of desires.”

Our problem is that we make our desires needs and then convince ourselves that we should have whatever it is. Most of us are completely and totally unpracticed in telling ourselves no. If we can afford it and we want it, we get it. Oh, we might deny ourselves if we are on a diet or trying to eat healthily. We might deny ourselves if we are on a financial austerity program to save for retirement. Our denials are actually saying no to one thing that we might have something else we cherish more. We rarely, if ever, deny ourselves simply for the practice.

Let them deny themselves daily. Let them forget sight of themselves, of their own interests daily.

How often do we say no to ourselves simply for the practice of denying ourselves? In fact, if I might go a step further, how many of how deny our own needs, trusting instead for God to provide them in His own way and in His own time? Denying ourselves everything that we think we need in order to trust Him to provide?

We are saturated by a society that insists that it is not only our right but our obligation to make sure that our own needs are met. The problem is that the definition of needs continues to expand to meet the lusts of our flesh. How much do we actually need? Paul tells Timothy (in 1 Timothy 6:6), that all we need is food and clothing. And, if you remember, Paul only had one coat which he asked a disciple to bring to him. Clothing to cover us modestly and food. The Lord Jesus taught to not even seek after the food to sustain us:

“And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things” (Luke 12:29-30 NKJV).

Our needs, really, are small, our true needs. Everything else is a desire. And the Father wants us to desire Him above everything else. He wants us to deny ourselves the encumbrances of this life and to store our treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21). Is having things wrong? No. But failing to deny ourselves on a daily basis means that we are failing to imitate the Lord Jesus and losing out on multiple opportunities to be blessed by trusting God to provide for us.

Matthew 10:37-39

2010-10-10T08:17:00.000-07:00

“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” (NKJV)

There is only one vocation, one occupation, for the Christian and that is to follow the Lord Jesus. Unfortunately, the way of our Lord wasn’t a way to palaces or riches; it wasn’t a way to success and popularity. It was the way to the cross. A painful, heartbreaking cross full of sacrifice and rejection. For our Lord Jesus truly lost His life to find it, but more than that, lost His life that we might find life and find it more abundantly.

What is it to follow Christ? John Wesley wrote:

“‘He that followeth me, walketh not in darkness, saith the Lord.’ These are the words of Christ, by which we are admonished, that we ought to imitate his life and manners, if we would be truly enlightened and delivered from all blindness of heart. Let therefore our chief endeavor be to meditate upon the life of Jesus Christ.” (The Christian Pattern).

We ought to imitate His life and manners. The life of the Lord Jesus, recorded in the gospels, accounts His birth, a short account of Him as a child, and three years of His adult life, but it is all-encompassing. It is sufficient to give us an example of how to live in order to imitate Him. The Apostle Paul knew the life of Christ sufficiently that he could admonish us to imitate his life just as he was imitating the Lord Jesus. But the way, I think, is far more difficult than we would like to openly admit, so we content ourselves with less in order not to face what it is we likely should do.

Wesley also wrote:

“Extreme are those who hope to fulfill the commands of God without taking any pains at all. Vain hope! that a child of Adam should expect to see the kingdom of Christ and of God without striving, without agonizing, first to enter in at the small, narrow gate. Vain hope that one who was conceived and born in sin, whose inward parts are wickedness, should entertain a thought of being purified as his Lord is pure unless he tread in Christ’s steps and take up his cross daily. Vain hope that he should ever dream of shaking off his old opinions, passions, tempers, of being sanctified throughout, in spirit, soul, and body, without a constant and continued course of general self-denial!” (Renew My Heart).

When we study the life of the Lord Jesus, we can see that each step of His three years of ministry was not a series of journeys, but one journey with one end, the cross. Each step, each word, each miracle, each sermon was for the purpose of pointing toward the cross, toward that ultimate sacrificial act. All of His teachings, His miraculous deeds, His gentle touches have no meaning without the cross. Without the cross, the Lord Jesus is reduced simply to another teacher of morality, and even of less, for without the cross, He becomes a liar, a charlatan, and we should turn away. The focus of His entire life was the cross. And the Lord Jesus did more than die. He was willing to trust the Father enough to suffer rejection . . . and continue to trust. He was only able to pay the price for our sins by being willing to be made sin.

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV).

And in being made sin, the Lord Jesus suffered the rejection of the Father. He was rejected by people and rejected by God, suffered and died, that we might become “the righteousness of God in Him.”

How much do we want to actually follow Him? A. W. Tozer claimed that many Christians walk to the edge of path . . . and stop, rather than to fully and truly follow the Savior:

“It may be said without qualification that every man is as holy and as full of the Spirit as he wants to be. He may not be as full as he wishes he were, but he is most certainly as full as he wants to be. The problem is not to persuade God to fill us, but to want God sufficiently to permit Him to do so. For all God’s good will toward us He is unable to grant us our heart’s desires till all our desires have been reduced to one. It is easy to learn the doctrine of personal revival and victorious living; it is quite another thing to take our cross and plod on to the dark and bitter hill of self-renunciation.” (Born after Midnight).

Our lives are full to overflowing with the things we have embraced. We fill our eyes, ears, and minds with sights, sounds, suggestions, platitudes, and models of behavior through relationships, media, and the like. Our heart attitudes are formed and molded by that which we want and seek after, including television, movies, books, and magazines. We now are bombarded with even more information through the Internet as we interact with social networks, blogs, newsgroups, webpages, videos, and more.

How much do we want the Lord? How much do we pray, study and meditate on the Word? How much do we model our lives after the Lord Jesus? While this kind of frantic interaction is more readily available now than 2000 years ago, it was also available then. One could go to the market place and interact with any number of people and ideas. There were places of great learning and discourse to which our Lord could have gravitated. Instead, He often took Himself off alone to pray, to seek the Father, and to reaffirm His purpose . . . the way of the cross. If we are determined to follow the Lord Jesus, that might be a good place to start, to learn to sequester ourselves away from the influences of the world in order to seek Him through prayer and Bible study.

The scripture said: “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.”

What if it said “He who loves television or movies more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves Facebook or MySpace, Youtube or email, musical groups or movie stars more than Me is not worthy of Me”? We demonstrate our love by where we put our resources of time, money, and effort. Where is your time, money, and effort placed? Have we truly taken up our crosses or would we prefer a Christianity that promises prosperity, success, and ease of life? If we follow the Lord Jesus, the way may truly be as Wesley described, a way of striving and agonizing to enter the narrow gate.

Hebrews 11:4

2010-08-16T05:12:00.000-07:00

Hebrews 11:4

“By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.” (NKJV)

Have you ever given God your best or all that you had, wondering how you would go on from there? The story of Cain and Abel is interesting because it deals with giving God something and giving God everything.

Genesis 4:3-5 NKJV: “And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.”

At first glance, it seems that God was playing favorites. I mean, after all, Cain brought what he did and Abel brought what he did. But a closer inspection of the passage reveals that Cain brought “an offering” and Abel brought “the firstborn.” What is the difference?

There may be a variety of significance attached to being the firstborn. Of those, one might include being stronger or more healthy. Certainly, the firstborn was likely to be the best, the biggest, the animal that might be reserved for breeding and improving the herd. But there is also another issue. A firstborn animal would naturally grow up sooner and be ready more quickly for breeding or slaughter. In other words, by giving up a firstborn, Abel risked his livelihood and needed to trust God to reward him for his love and faith.

Cain, on the other hand, didn’t give even the best of his crops, but rather just gave some. In other words, its unlikely that Cain risked his future through his offering. Rather he gave what he could spare, while Abel gave sacrificially, trusting God to provide.

Always God wants us to give all and then to trust Him to provide. Paul talks about this kind of giving:

2 Cor. 8:1-5 NKJV: “Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.”

This church gave beyond their ability and, in fact, pressed the gift upon Paul, insisting that he take it. Why? Because they trusted God to provide. They were willing to give, understanding that every gift is actually a gift to the Lord, and then trusted God’s promise to provide for their needs. That is, I think, the kind of faith that the writer to Hebrews talks about when he talks about Abel’s faith. The willingness to give, rather than to hoard, to share, rather than to save, and to trust God with all of it.

For any of us, we could be called home today. In the twinkling of an eye we could be in the presence of the Savior. What opportunities for ministry have we avoided because of our fear of the future? Where have we said “no” to others because we wanted to make sure we had enough to face tomorrow? Trusting God as Abel did is a hard thing. It goes beyond all common sense, all logic. It is truly a sacrifice because it means that we might actually hurt, actually do without. But in the end, what matters is trusting God and understanding that life itself is a hiccup. Only what we do in Christ’s name will last.

Philippians 2:5-8

2010-08-11T05:03:00.001-07:00

Philippians 2:5-8

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (NKJ)

I have the fortune to have grown up in what we would nowadays call a functional home. My parents both stayed married until my mom passed (more than 40 years); we attended church every Sunday; my sister and I were raised with good, moral values. There’s no doubt in my mind that my precious mother was a believer and is now Home with our Savior. My dad . . . well, if you had asked me about my dad prior to my mom’s passing, I would have vehemently insisted that he too was a believer. But after my mom died, my dad’s behavior took a very different turn. An old friend who had known my dad since his teenage years even questioned whether or not he was saved.

Death came to my dad a number of years ago. And it was a fairly typical death, real, not staged like we see in movies or television. He took ill with what we all believed was the flu, became worse and was placed in ICU and within a week fell into a coma. There was no time for him to prepare for his death, no time to reflect on his life, no energy to deal with his past decisions. The time for any decisions came long before his death loomed within reach.

I would like for my dad to be in heaven with my mom and with me when I go. I love my dad dearly; he was a really good dad. But more than having him there, I want what the Lord wants, for I love the Lord much more than I love my dad. I love the Lord with as much of my heart, soul, and mind that I am capable of. Certainly not as much as I ought, but much more than I love any living thing on earth. And I want what the Lord wants.

2 Peter 3:9 tells us that “the Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (NKJ). The Lord wants everyone to come to repentance. That is what He wants. But there is also a “day of salvation” (2 Co. 6:1) that comes . . . and passes. And once it is passed, the only day awaiting us is the day of judgment when the books of heaven are opened and each of us is judged by what is in the books (Rev. 20:12). If our name isn’t found in the Book of Life, we are condemned for all eternity.

Do we truly love the Lord? Do we truly understand that loving Him means understanding that His justice is equally His character as is His love? Because of His love, Father God gave the ultimate sacrifice to demonstrate His desires for us. He sent His only Son to take our punishment of death for sins. In that He has shown how much He wants each one to repent. But, because of His justice, after the day of salvation, there will be a day of judgment. And that day of judgment is as fair, as much a reflection of His holy character, as the day of salvation.

Within this past week, three deaths touched my life. Two were a mother and son. She was a Christian professor and he was a young Christian athlete. I know that they are in the presence of the Savior. The third death was another young man, one from our community. I do not know whether or not this young man was saved, but the day of salvation is gone for him. Any opportunity that the believers around him had to witness to him is gone. As believers, we are more aware than anyone else around us of the urgency of life. There are only so many days—the number only known by the Father—and then the judgment. I know that I need to learn to live with more urgency for those around me, to take every opportunity to pray for their souls and, if even the smallest opportunity arises, to share the gospel with them. And if I can’t share with words, I can share with my life by taking on the mind of Christ and living as righteously as possible. God didn’t command us to live righteously to take all of our fun away; He commanded it because He knows better than anyone else the urgency of life. We need to walk, to talk, to live differently so that the world around us will see the salt and light that we bring and be attracted enough to us to listen to the message of life we can bring. I know that I need to start doing that. Today.

Hebrews 11:1-3

2010-08-10T04:59:00.001-07:00

Hebrews 11:1-3

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” (NKJ)

It amazes me to see things that are made, particularly things immense. I remember visiting the Spruce Goose when it was in Long Beach. It’s an airplane built by Howard Hughes entirely out of wood. When I walked into the hanger, my mind just couldn’t get around the huge dimensions. I saw it, but it was so unbelievable! It was the same when we visited St. Louis and saw the Arch. I can’t imagine how it was conceived or built. Or Mt. Rushmore with the images of the presidents. All this to say, everything here on earth was built using materials: wood, rock, steel. And everything was built with some kind of tools, even if those tools were human hands.

But God, the Father, created the entire universe and everything in it without materials. He simply spoke them into existence. “God said, ‘Let there be light"; and there was light.’” (Genesis 1:3 NKJ). Imagine! He spoke . . . and it was, whatever it is. The writer of Hebrews understood how totally un-understandable that kind of concept is because he said that we understand it by faith. We believe it because God said it.

The thing is, if God can create the universe out of nothing, but simply by speaking it, how much more is He able to take care of our daily needs which are small by comparison? The Lord Jesus taught us:

"Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” (Matthew 6:25-32 NKJ)

We are living in uncertain times. Some of the uncertainty may be the result of our own sinful decisions and yet, Father God is still ready and willing to take care of those needs if we will only trust Him. He knows what we need and is ready to supply it. Do we have material needs? He will provide. Do we have emotional needs? He is wanting to provide if we will trust Him. But first comes faith and then provision. And faith is trusting in that which we don’t yet see because we trust in the character of the One will is going to provide.

The question comes down to whether or not we believe that God will do what He says He will do. The Lord Jesus equates “little faith” with worry and He challenges us to trust the Father to provide for us. He created the universe. Surely He can take care of the small needs that we have today.

Luke 12:16-21

2010-08-09T05:07:00.001-07:00

Luke 12:16-21

Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?' So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry." ' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?' So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." (NKJV)

About three weeks ago, I returned from Virginia. I went there to take the last course of my doctorate program at Liberty University. During the week, part of the course was taught by Dr. Jill Jones, an education professor. A passionate Christian, Dr. Jones also reiterated over and over to us that our doctorate program would open many doors. She, well, bragged about how she had just published a woman’s devotional and was a speaker at many women’s retreats. It struck me oddly, actually, that she felt that God would reward her work on a secular degree with these accomplishments. There was basically a sense of arrogance with her passion.

I can relate. I have struggled with arrogance and a sense of superiority for many years and work hard to esteem others. However, putting aside arrogance and embracing humility is something very important to the Lord and thus, needs to be important to me. I need to listen more and talk less. Much less.

Yesterday morning early, Dr. Jones went Home to be with the Lord in a terrible auto accident. She was also joined in death by one of her teen sons. It made me think of this passage, not because I think she was the rich man accumulating for herself, but because we can never put stock into accomplishments in this life. What does it matter now that she did (or didn’t) write a book? In fact, I’m absolutely convinced that Dr. Jones herself doesn’t care at all this moment about her book or her doctorate, but instead is totally focused on sitting at the feet of the Savior she dearly loves!

Coincidentally (or perhaps not so much coincidence), the devotion in my Wesley book today spoke about focusing on today (rather than on the future) and laying hold of the grace God has provided for this day:

“Give all diligence today to add to your faith courage, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness and the fear of God, till you attain that pure and perfect love. Let these things be now in you and abound. In steadfast faith, in calm tranquility of spirit, in full assurance of hope, rejoicing evermore for what God has done, run the race set before you till, through perfect love, you enter into His glory!”

Yesterday, between times of dealing with the shock that one of my professors (yes, I am still enrolled in that class and she was still my current professor) is gone, I was also so struck with the fact that Jill is now in the presence of the Lord Jesus! What glory to close one’s eyes here, opening them in Heaven, in the presence of the Father. That is what we, as believers, should be focused on, should be living for, should be shouting from the mountaintops! We have a Hope and that Hope is the living Savior Who is, absolutely is, waiting for us in our eternal home. What is this here that we should fret about it? Simply living for today to minister to those around us, trusting the Lord to provide, is all we need to give our energy to. Tomorrow is taken care of by our blessed Lord and Savior. And someday, Jill, I’m going to join you at Home in Heaven. Until then, dear sister, enjoy your time face to face with our Savior!

Galatians 5:22-23

2010-08-02T06:32:00.000-07:00

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” (NKJ)

I’ve been thinking about kindness and gentleness a lot lately. Probably because being kind and gentle isn’t natural to me like it is to other people. I’ve known a number of people who were constantly kind and gentle. For example, I think about one couple we know, Tom and Linda Marshall. Both of them have always been so soft spoken but willing to step up and help anyone in need. Both so kind and gentle. They always come to my mind as examples of how I should be around everyone else.

Several times in the New Testament, both Paul and Peter talk about believers being kind:

2 Cor. 6:4-10 (NKJ): “But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.”

In 2 Cor. Paul makes this list of things which he says prove believers as ministers of God. Among a very impressive list that includes all kinds of persecution, he includes kindness. Being kind to others.

Col. 3:12-13 (NKJ): “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.”

In his letter to the Colossian church, Paul tells us that, as the elect of God—as believers—we are to put on kindness. That means, we are to choose to be kind. It isn’t something that will somehow just happen to us. We need to consciously choose to be kind to those around us.

2 Peter 1:5-7 (NKJ): “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.”

Peter includes kindness in his hierarchy of Christian maturity. It’s interesting, too, that Peter places kindness near the end of the hierarchy. Perhaps for Peter kindness was difficult. I do believe that, at least for most of us, without the power of the Spirit in our lives, we couldn’t be kind. I know that it’s very difficult for me.

In looking at definitions of being kind, one phrase stuck out at me: “a willingness to do good.” How often do I choose what I’m going to do based on whether it is good for someone else? Do I think about what I’m doing and either the evil or good it will cause? Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:15 (NKJ): “See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.” I know that I need to be kinder to those around me. I need to consciously think about being kind and then do that kind and good thing, rather than what comes naturally. What comes naturally is often awful! So I need to make a conscious effort to think about what I do, whether or not it’s kind.

John 20:24-29

2010-07-30T05:31:00.000-07:00

"Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ So he said to them, ‘Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.’ And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, ‘Peace to you!’ Then He said to Thomas, ‘Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.’ And Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’” NKJ.

Thomas has the ignoble reputation of being “Doubting Thomas.” I wonder who first gave him that epithet. Certainly, it’s not in scripture, and yet it may not be without merit. It’s obvious that the Lord rebuked, however gently, Thomas for failing to believe even though he didn’t see. For doubting.

What’s interesting is that Thomas hadn’t dropped to a level of faith any lower than any of the other disciples. In fact, all he lacked was their same experience. The Lord had already appeared to them! So, the expectation wasn’t that all of the disciples were required to believe without seeing. There must be something else, then, in this account. Perhaps Jesus’ seeming admonition wasn’t an admonition at all, but rather a teaching lesson, one aimed more at those of us who would follow.

“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

The word “blessed” means happy or fortunate. To me, that doesn’t make sense? How can not seeing Jesus make someone happy or fortunate? How is it fortunate not to actually see Him, to actually touch Him?

What does it mean to not see and yet believe? Hebrews 11:1 may give us the answer and the Living version, while still a paraphrase, says it very plainly:

“What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead.”

Also 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NKJ): “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

Even though we cannot see it, it is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. We walk by faith, not by sight.

To not see and yet believe is to have faith, to trust. And there is so much in the Bible on faith! It must be very important to God.

• The just live by faith (Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17)
• Our sins will be forgiven because of our faith (Matthew 9:2; Luke 5:20)
• We will be healed because of our faith (Matthew 9:22, 29, 15:28; Mark 2:5, 5:34, 10:52; Luke 7:50, 8:48, 17:19, 18:42; Acts 14:9)
• We can move mountains with faith (Matthew 17:20, 21:21)
• What matters to God is faith (Matthew 23:23)
• Fear will be gone; faith is the opposite of fear (Mark 4:40)
• God will take care of our needs because of our faith (Luke 12:28)
• We can move trees with faith (Luke 17:5)
• We can pray for others and they will be healed because of our faith (Acts 3:16)
• We can do wonders and signs because of our faith (Acts 6:8)
• Salvation comes only through faith (Romans 1:5, 3:22, 25; Eph. 2:8)
• We are justified by faith (Romans 3:28, 30; 5:1; Galatians 2:6, 3:11)
• Our faith is accounted for righteousness (it takes place of having to be fully righteous within ourselves) (Romans 4:5, 9)
• Salvation was offered to us, as the Gentiles, because of faith (Romans 4:16)
• We are strengthened because of faith (Romans 4:20)
• We have peace with God because of faith (Romans 5:1)
• We have access to God because of faith (Romans 5:2; Eph. 3:12)
• We can use our gifts (of the Spirit) because of faith (Romans 12:6)
• We stand (persevere) because of our faith (2 Cor. 1:24)
• We are supplied the Spirit by faith (Galatians 3:5, 14)
• We are blessed because of faith (Galatians 3:9)
• We are sons of God through faith (Galatians 3:26)
• Christ dwells in our hearts through faith (Eph. 3:17)
• We are unified, brought together, through faith (Eph. 4:13)
• We can quench Satan’s darts with faith (Eph. 6:16)
• We are righteous through faith (Phil. 3:9)
• We are raised with Christ through faith (Col. 2:12)

This is an amazing list! And it’s certainly not meant to be complete, but it does illustrate the importance of faith. It also shows us why we are blessed when we have faith, for without faith, we would have none of this. This all comes when we are willing to trust God without seeing! Unfortunately, we are people who like to see, who like to have things proven to us and even then we sometimes don’t believe. And when we demand that God prove Himself or His love to us, I think we place ourselves in the position of losing out on these many, many blessings.
When we are content to trust and not to demand evidence, when we are content to believe and not to doubt, we have access to all of this. And faith, like love, isn’t a feeling, but a choice. We choose to trust; we choose to believe. Or we choose to doubt.

We always believe something. When we doubt the Lord, it is because we are believing something else, usually either our own emotions or thoughts, or the circumstances around us. And yet we know that our senses can lie to us. They aren’t trustworthy.

Have you ever just eaten and you know you’re full? But then you go buy a hamburger joint and things smell so good and you have this craving?? Your sense of smell is lying to you. You aren’t hungry, but your sense of smell is so strong that it makes your brain say: Eat! Eat! Eat!

Or have you ever looked at an optical illusion? You just know that the picture is one thing, only to discover that your eyes lied to you and the picture is actually something else.

Our senses–and our brain interpreting those impulses–can lie to us. We can think that something is one way only to discover that the truth is quite different. So when we trust, believe, have faith in our circumstances as being the truth of God, we can actually be believing a lie. God calls us to trust Him because He’s trustworthy. He calls us to have faith because it is through faith that the conduit to believing Him and allowing Him is opened. The Spirit is freed to work in our lives when we have faith.

Now does that mean that He will necessarily change our circumstances? No. Hebrews 11:39 tells us that even those great ones in the Old Testament who had faith didn’t receive the promise. Why? Because God had something even better planned! When He leaves our circumstances alone, it is because He is doing even a greater thing. We need to trust that His plan is far better than anything we can imagine.

I think that Jesus admonished Thomas, not to rebuke him, but rather to teach us about faith, to give us that promise! Rather than being Doubting Thomas, perhaps he is rather Thomas the Example. Thomas is like us, wanting to see, rather than to believe, because seeing is easier. But Jesus calls on us to believe because having faith is far better than seeing . . . at least in this life.

Daniel 3:15-18

2010-07-28T06:40:00.000-07:00

Daniel 3:15-18

[Nebuchadnezzar said], “Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?"
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up." (NKJ)

Living: “If we are thrown into the flaming furnace, our God is able to deliver us; and he will deliver us out of your hand, Your Majesty. But if he doesn't, please understand, sir, that even then we will never under any circumstance serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have erected."

God is able to deliver, but even if He doesn’t, we will continue to serve Him and not sin.

How often do we place the strength of our faith on our circumstances? On what we think or expect God to do, rather than on His character? How often do we put our faith aside when hard times come, thinking that by being believers we should be excused?

There isn’t much said about these three men in scripture. They are mentioned earlier in Daniel as being with him in refusing to sin by eating foods forbidden by the Law and they are three of the ones Daniel set up as governors. But other than that, there is no mention. In other words, they weren’t great preachers. They simply worked in a foreign place, kept themselves clean of the sin of that society, and were willing to give up their lives for God. Actually, that’s a lot! Think just about living in a foreign place. No familiar foods. Away from your family. Strange language, strange customs, always wondering what the next “impossible” demand might be. These young men had very little security in their lives aside from their faith.

When the Israelites were first taken into captivity, King Nebuchadnezzar decided to take the best and the brightest and train them for his court. Daniel and these three young men were among those chosen. The king, believing that giving them the best of life would produce the best in them, sent all kinds of delicacies for them to eat. But Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego felt that these things would defile him and so declined, preferring to eat simply vegetables and drink water. They could have eaten the same delicious food as the king, but knowing that the king didn’t have a kosher kitchen, remained eating plain simple foods. In other words, from the beginning, they were giving up, living sacrificially.

You might think that simply having to live in a different country as a slave might be enough sacrifice in one’s life to satisfy God. But God is, I think, much more concerned with our character than our circumstances. His purpose is never to reward us here in this life, but to prepare us for the next. And a far greater sacrifice faced the three young men when they were faced with being thrown into the furnace.

The fire was so hot that the men who threw them in perished. And while the three young men were saved, miraculously, without even a singe on their hair, they had no idea that God would work a miracle. They were simply willing to serve Him, even if it meant dying for Him. Are we? Are we willing to serve God to the point of dying for Him? Are we willing to give up all creature comforts in order to remain pure for Him? These accounts were given to us in scripture in order to be examples for us (1 Cor. 10:11). The question is . . . will we heed the example, step up the pace, and learn to live one hundred percent for the Lord?

2 Peter 1:3-8

2010-07-17T03:33:00.000-07:00

2 Peter 1:3-8

“Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. [4] For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. [5] Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge; [6] and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness; [7] and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. [8] For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (NAS)

I was reading my Wesley devotional this morning and it focused on this passage. I was intrigued by two sentences ending the short devotional: “Our diligence is to follow the gift of God. And diligence is followed by an increase of all His gifts.” Earlier Wesley explains the significance of the word translated here as applying:

“Giving all diligence—a very uncommon word which we render giving. It signifies bringing in over and above; implying that God works the work, yet not unless we are diligent.”

I looked at Strong’s and it gave, as the definition of pareisphero: to bear alongside, i.e. introduce simultaneously. (Strong’s G3923). The NASB Greek & Hebrew Dictionary gave, as the definition: To bring in, to supply besides (NASB Greek 3923).

This passage intrigues me because I think it is an excellent concise description of the process of maturing as a believer. So I’m going to pull the passage apart in order to understand it.

For by these (v 4) looks back to His own glory and excellence. So by His glory and excellent come His precious and magnificent promises.

Why?

So that (still v 4) we might become partakes of the divine nature, having escape the corruption of the world. The corruption of the world is sin. The divine nature is both perfect and eternal. Thus, the promise is that we are partakers of that which is perfect (without sin) and eternal (everlasting) because He promised it so. That is the result of salvation.

Now for this reason (v 5) refers back to the promises that we have received: being made without sin and eternal. Because of that, and applying all diligence. I agree with Wesley that this phrase—applying all diligence—is the center of this entire passage. Without it, the entire dynamic falls apart because it separates us, as believers, from the first part. God does the first—giving us the promises of being partakers of the divine nature and escaping the corruption of the world—and we do the second.

In a second, this is similar to If-Then promise, only grammatically set about opposite. It’s actually more of a Because He did-We should do kind of structure. The ending of the structure is also different. In an If-Then promise, if we do something, then God has promised that He will respond in a certain way. In this passage, God has already done His part, but if we fail to respond as we should, then a certain result takes place.

God has granted to us His promises: (1) partakers of the divine nature and (2) escape from the corruption in the world (sin)
If we apply all diligence (v 5) in doing a set of things, then we will end up being neither useless nor unfruitful. In other words, we will end up being useful and fruitful.

What are the things we are to apply with all diligence?

• v 5: moral excellence, and then . . .
• v 5: knowledge, and then . . .
• v 6: self-control, and then . . .
• v 6: perseverance, and then . . .
• v 6: godliness, and then . . .
• v 7: brotherly kindness, and then . . .
• v 7: love

This sequence begins in v 5 with the Greek word epichoregeo (Strong’s G2023). The meaning is “to furnish besides, to aid or contribute, to nourish.” The NASB dictionary fully defines it as “to supply.” The English dictionary (Merriam-Webster Online) gives three main emphases for the word supply: to add as a supplement, to provide, to substitute. I think that definitely the first two apply: to supplement and to provide. So, then we look at the sequence. Now, this is a very interesting sequence, particularly when you think about the focus in contemporary churches where we often stress that we are to love each other, but we seldom talk about personal moral excellence. We seem to think that if we begin with love, that all other things will follow. But, it seems that Peter is telling us that there is a long journey prior to learning to love and the first step of that journey is moral excellence followed by knowledge, then self-control, then perseverance, then godliness, then brotherly kindness, and then, finally, love.

Love is very difficult. I think most of us would admit that. To love our neighbor (who is awful), to love our enemy (who harms us). These kinds of love are very difficult. But to have moral excellence? That is easier, just not as comfortable discussing, because it means that there are things in our lives that we need to toss out. And some of those are near and dear to our hearts. I won’t make a list because it may be that my list will be different from yours. But what are the things that draw me into the world? That distract me from prayer, from confession, from study? What are the things that promote my pride, my hard-heartedness? It’s very likely that we easily can identify these things (though we would rather not). In our walk toward love, these are the things that we should begin with, supplying this portion with all diligence. When we give up these things completely, then we are ready to move onto the next step which is knowledge of our Savior and His heart for the world.

Are you ready? I want to be. That is my prayer for today.

Hebrews 11:1

2010-07-12T02:04:00.001-07:00

Hebrews 11:1

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

God isn’t McDonald’s.

I’m gone from home for a week, living out of suitcases, hotels, and, unfortunately, fast food restaurants (if you can put “fast food” and “restaurant” in the same sentence). Unlike children who usually clamor for their favorite junk food, most of us know that after a day or two your body rebels at eating fast food. I’m grateful for the microwave and small fridge in my hotel room and a super Wal-Mart that sells salads!

But the point is this: Most fast food joints are now promising your meal within so many minutes or it’s free. And you get it: all the sawdust, processed sugar, and dirt (yes, dirt!) you can eat and within five minutes, no less. And I think we’ve become so accustomed to having what we want when we want it that we’ve forgotten: God isn’t McDonald’s. (Thank goodness.) The really good things in life most often don’t come in five minutes.

Wisdom . . . patience . . . knowledge . . . love. None of those things develop within us in five minutes or even five days. Some not even within five years! The really good things in life take time. Thankfully, for our God, time is never an issue. He never runs out of time because He created it. Father God can change anything, fix anything, and heal anything because He has enough time to do it. He always has enough time. And He encourages us to trust Him with that time to do what He has already promised He will do.

The Bible is full of promises about waiting on God. And what does it mean to wait on God? It means giving Him enough time to do what He already wants to do in our lives.

Psalm 27:14 (NKJ): Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!

Psalm 37:7a (NKJ): Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;

Psalm 37:9 (NKJ): For evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.

Psalm 37:34a (NKJ): Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land;

Proverbs 20:22 (NKJ): Do not say, "I will recompense evil"; wait for the Lord, and He will save you.

Isaiah 30:18b (NKJ): Blessed are all those who wait for Him.

Isaiah 40:31 (NKJ): But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 49:23 (NKJ): You will know that I am the Lord, for they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me.

Here are all the things these verses promise that God will do when we agree to wait for Him:

• Strengthen our hearts
• Inherit the earth
• Exalt us to inherit the land
• Save us
• Bless us
• Renew our strength
• Not be ashamed

There are blessings waiting for us if we wait on the Lord. Now waiting on the Lord is hard because it means we wait. We don’t plan, we don’t do; we simply wait. We pray, we trust, we wait. In this culture of making “to do” lists, planners, and go-go-go, it’s hard to wait. Those around us may think we are crazy for waiting. But when we wait, God works miracles!

2010-07-09T09:04:00.000-07:00

Colossians 3:22-23

“You slaves must always obey your earthly masters, not only trying to please them when they are watching you but all the time; obey them willingly because of your love for the Lord and because you want to please Him. Work hard and cheerfully at all you do, just as though you were working for the Lord and not merely for your masters” (Liv)

I suppose many in America have been watching the news reports about a certain actress who has been sentenced to jail for her failure to obey previous court judgements. What’s stood out to me is her protests that she is doing what she was supposed to do. Obviously the judge disagreed. But it made me think of many of my students who will do what they think is the minimum required and then protest when they find that the minimum (what they thought was the minimum) was simply not enough.

We have created a society where we think that doing the minimum is enough, in fact, more than enough. Rather than strive to do our best, we seem to want to reserve our resources for other endeavors and, instead, are only willing to give the minimum to others. This certainly isn’t the will of the Lord for the Lord wants us to give our best—even more than our best—to others as if we were giving to Him. Paul admonishes us to “obey [our masters] willingly because of our love for the Lord and because we want to please Him” (v. 22). The fact is, even though very few exist as true slaves these days, we are partial slaves. When we are at work or at school, we are not our own; we are, in a sense, slaves to those who rule over us, our masters whether those masters are our bosses or our teachers.

What Paul says is interesting in its completeness. He says: “You must always obey your earthly masters.” The sense isn’t that we are to do those things that are illegal (if they are asked of us), but rather, as the verse concludes, that we are to obey them even when they aren’t looking. So, even when our bosses don’t expect our best, we are still suppose to give it. We are to “work hard and cheerfully at all we do.”

The NKJV has an interesting translation: “obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart.” Not with eyeservice. In other words, not just for what others might see (and then commend us to), but as unto the One Who sees all we do. We are to work hard, to do our best, because ultimately we serve God.

The Lord Jesus always asks us to go the extra mile:

“If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away” (Matthew 5:40-42 NKJV)

The hardest workers, the most cheerful, the most committed . . . that should describe each of us all the time. We serve the King of Kings! There isn’t a better boss than He!

Psalm 34:1

2010-07-08T06:43:00.000-07:00

“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”

Life is crazy right now, simply crazy.

I’ve been doing a lot of retrospection lately. I’m 56 years old. Both of my moms—my real mom and my biological mom—died at 63. That doesn’t mean that I will because my days are in the Lord’s hands, but it has given me pause. What if I only have about five years left? What legacy do I have?

Usually we think about legacies as to what we will leave here on earth: our children, some contribution that improved humanity, some impact on the future. But any of those legacies assume that this world will keep on keepin’ on. It won’t. The apostle John, in his vision, saw the earth destroyed and replaced by a new creation:

Rev. 21:1 NKJ: “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.”

So, any legacy that I might think of leaving here is a mote issue. Who knows how long it will be before the Lord returns and changes everything? Even if it’s thousands of years, anything that I leave here will eventually be destroyed. No, the legacy that I need to leave needs to be in heavenly terms, needs to effect the relationship that I have with the Lord.

The apostle Paul talked about the futility of what we do and how we need to put our treasure—our legacy, as it were—in heaven:

1 Cor. 3:10b-15 NKJ: “But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”

There is a legacy that we each are building, but it isn’t a legacy here. It isn’t with our children, our churches, our jobs, or anything else in our lives, but rather what we are doing for Christ. Now, we can say that something is done for Christ, but if it is done with the wrong motives, it will burn and not last. And yet, we can also do something that seems so inconsequential, and yet that will be the thing that last because we do it to please the Lord.

How can we bless the Lord? With praise, with thanksgiving, with trust. I’m convinced that the Lord is much less concerned with changing our circumstances than He is with changing our character. Why? Because it is through our character that we build those things that will last. When we focus on the Lord by blessing Him, by praising Him, regardless of what’s happening around us, we are building those things that will last.