2 Chronicles 7:14

“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (NKJV).

It seemed appropriate, this last day of an old year, to look ahead to the new year and contemplate what my part in it might be. A month or so ago, I was having lunch with my daughter who is completing her doctorate in political science. We were talking about the various ills of the world and how intertwined things are. One can be concerned about the environment, but to restrict the deforestation of the rain forest greatly affects the financial growth of certain third world nations. One can be concerned about outsourcing, but to limit production only to those in America would significantly raise the price of goods. It’s not that there aren’t answers to the ills of the world, but the problems are so complex it boggles the mind.

The human mind. For the Christian, the problem is amazingly simple and it begins with the heart, soul, and habits of the believer. The Israelites were finally resting from a time of war during the reign of King David. It had been a tumultuous time beginning with the war with the mighty (and overwhelming) Philistines and ended with the implosion of David’s own family as his son, Absalom, sought to wrestle the throne from his father. Now Solomon was on the throne and great peace and wealth had come to the land. As Solomon was dedicating the new (and very opulent) Temple to the Lord, this word comes:

2 Chron. 7:12-13: “Then the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: ‘I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people . . .’”

The Lord was clearly saying that what the Israelites took as peace—the absence of conflict or hardship—wouldn’t last. (In fact, living in this sinful world, it can’t last). And so the Lord describes three major events which would terrify and upset any person with a grain of common sense: drought (a lack of resources), locusts (total destruction), and pestilence (pandemics). These are three situations which are global in nature (affecting everyone in the area) and scary beyond imagination.

A drought is a situation where there are no resources and no way to generate them. In an agrarian society, farming is utterly dependent upon the availability of water. No water, no crops. It is translated in our society, no job, no paycheck, and no hope in sight to get one. Without resources, one cannot buy what one needs: housing, clothing, food, the basic essentials of life.

Locusts are grasshopper-like insects which can swarm. The desert locust which exists in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, “a desert locust swarm can be 460 square miles (1,200 square kilometers) in size and pack between 40 and 80 million locusts into less than half a square mile (one square kilometer). Each locust can eat its weight in plants each day, so a swarm of such size would eat 423 million pounds (192 million kilograms) of plants every day” (http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/locust.html). In other words, locusts destroy everything in their path, leaving little or nothing left behind. In our society, such disasters as wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, and earthquakes are like the locusts. Even the recent financial crisis can be likened to a locust attack. These crises occur and nothing is left. The survivors sift through the rubble to find bits and pieces of their lives, but again are without the basic resources of life.

Pestilence is contagious illness without recourse, like the plague. “A pestilence is any virulent and highly infectious disease that can cause an epidemic or even a pandemic” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pestilence). We are well familiar with pandemics, but in the time of Solomon medical science was much more limited. So, a pandemic without recourse, without medicines, without medical help.

Does any of this sound familiar? The Lord already knew that these things would come upon the children of Israel, for He said to Solomon, “When.” Not if, but when. There is no way to live in this world and not experience the disasters that come with the effects of sin. Whether the consequences of our sinful choices or the attacks of Satan, these kinds of situations are going to occur. In America, it’s easy to turn to a multitude of resources to try to fix the problem. We turn to legislation. We turn to finances. We turn to the media. We turn to doctors and medicines. We turn to insurance. It’s time for believers to realize that none of this is truly going to work. There is an answer, but it won’t come from any earthly source.

We need to realize that, as Christians, we have a power beyond the circumstances which we can access! And that power is prayer. Not the kind of prayer that the New Agers claim has power within itself, but the prayer that comes to the Throne of the Almighty, seeking His face. And this prayer can only come from believers.

The scripture begins, “If My people who are called by My name.” Christians. We are called by Christ’s name. This verse is so much about us! Our politicians can’t help us. Our bankers can’t help us. Even our friends can’t help us. But we can help them because we are the one called by His name! We are His people, His children, His heirs. We have access to the Throne of the Father. But we can’t just stand on the fact that we have access; we must use the access. We must pray.

There are three things the scripture says we must do: (1) humble ourselves, (2) pray and seek His face, and (3) turn from our wicked ways.

I looked at a lot of dictionaries for the definition of “humble” and found this: “to make someone understand that they are not as important or special as they thought they were.” I’m not good at being humble. I really like to think that my opinions are educated, wise, and important. I tend to foist them on others rather than submitting to someone else’s opinion. Some words I found related to “humble” are meek, unassuming, modest, resigned, quiet, submissive. The interesting thing is that we, as believers, need to humble ourselves prior to praying. For me, that means most that I’m likely wrong in what I think and need to submit myself to the Lord’s will and His guidance. My way of getting myself out of a fix is likely to simply add to the problem, not solve it. Interestingly enough, the Lord’s way is often to submit to the person who’s harmed me and then trust Him to work all things for my good. I don’t understand how that works, but I know it does!

The second thing we must do is pray and, in doing so, seek His face. This isn’t an impersonal meeting where we send God our list of needs by memo. This is a personal time of worship and interaction where we get to know His character and submit ourselves to His will. We have the right to enter into the holy of holies, the very throne room of the Almighty God and there to interact with Him. To tell Him of our fears, our concerns, to confess our sins, and to listen to His wisdom and His love for us. This isn’t something we can do quickly or expediently. It is something that demands our time, our efforts, our very soul in the process.

The third thing we must do is to turn from our wicked ways. That means first admitting that we actually have wicked ways. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins.” When was the last time you confessed your sins, even just to yourself? In confessing our sins, we need to not only confess the sins of which we are aware, but to ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate those things to us that we thought weren’t sins. But it’s not enough simply to confess; we must turn from those sins. We must choose obedience over rebellion.

The wonderful thing is that if we do these three things, God Himself will not only forgive us, but He will heal our land. Notice that He didn’t tell us to change the laws or demonstrate against unrighteousness (though there’s nothing wrong with doing those things). He Himself will heal the land.

If this verse is true, then we are Christians are the problem with America. We have failed to humble ourselves, to pray and seek God’s face, and to turn from our wicked ways. We are so busy trying to change our neighbor that we forgot. The Holy Spirit calls on us to change ourselves! We, the believers in America, hold the key to the healing of our country. The question is, are we willing to trust God’s Word, to believe in His promise, and then to act on it?

© 2009 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 Peter 3:3-5, 8-9

“First of all you must understand this, that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and indulging their own lusts and saying, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since our ancestors died, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation!" . . . But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. 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.”

The Lord is not slow about His promise.

We live in a fast food society. There are many places now that have put time clocks at the order windows. If your food is there in less time than promised, you get a reward . . . a free meal, a coupon, something. We are not used to waiting.

The Lord wants us to learn how to wait, to wait on Him. There are some things about waiting that I need to learn. As I look at the many definitions of “wait” in the dictionary, I see these:

• to stay in place in expectation of
• to remain stationary in readiness or expectation
• to look forward expectantly

These are all things I need to learn.

First, when I wait, I learn to expect God to act. If He is going to act, then I am not going to act. I am going to wait on Him to act. That seems so simple, but the fact is, if God doesn’t do what I think He should do, then often I move ahead, doing it instead. And, of course, I only make a mess of things. In waiting for Him to act, I learn to live content in the situation itself (Phil. 4:11), trusting Him to make the changes He deems necessary at the time He deems right.

Second, when I wait, I learn to prepare for what God’s going to do, to make myself ready. Perhaps the change for which I’m praying hasn’t come because I’m not spiritually ready to receive it. Matthew 25 tells the parable of the ten virgins. Five were wise and used the time waiting for the bridegroom to prepare. Five were foolish and didn’t. Psalm 25:5 tells us: “Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long.” The time of waiting is also a time of teaching, for us a time of learning. If we are so busy focusing on what God hasn’t done, we waste this precious gift of learning time and then may not be ready when the promise appears.

Third, when I wait, I need to remember that my focus needs to be on the future, but not the future of tomorrow, but the future of eternity. Peter wrote in his first letter: “By his great mercy He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3b-4 NRSV). Every promise of God leads but to that one encompassing promise, the promise of heaven. No other promise should deter us from that, no other promise is greater.

There is great wisdom in learning how to effectively wait on the Lord. There are also many promises about waiting:

• Genesis 49:18: I wait for your salvation, O Lord.
• Psalm 25:21: May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you.
• Psalm 27:13-14: I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
• Psalm 31:24: Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord.
• Psalm 37:7: Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices.

To refuse to respond or act, to pray and wait, to have the courage to stand in the midst of the storm, to not fret . . . these are all the gifts we gain when we learn how to wait.

© 2009 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 Peter 2:10-22

“--especially those who indulge their flesh in depraved lust, and who despise authority. Bold and willful, they are not afraid to slander the glorious ones, whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not bring against them a slanderous judgment from the Lord. These people, however, are like irrational animals, mere creatures of instinct, born to be caught and killed. They slander what they do not understand, and when those creatures are destroyed, they also will be destroyed, suffering the penalty for doing wrong. They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their dissipation while they feast with you. They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children! They have left the straight road and have gone astray, following the road of Balaam son of Bosor, who loved the wages of doing wrong, but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet's madness.
These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm; for them the deepest darkness has been reserved. For they speak bombastic nonsense, and with licentious desires of the flesh they entice people who have just escaped from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption; for people are slaves to whatever masters them. For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overpowered, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment that was passed on to them. It has happened to them according to the true proverb, "The dog turns back to its own vomit," and, “The sow is washed only to wallow in the mud." (NRSV)

There are several times in the New Testament where the Spirit writes a rather lengthy description about those who refuse to put their sin aside and instead embrace their sin as a lifestyle. Here Peter is obviously talking about those who once committed their lives and cause to that of Christ: “They have left the straight road and have gone astray” (v. 15). This means that this choice to turn my back on the Lord could be my choice! This is a warning for every believer. And it is not a warning of “but for the grace of God go I.” It is a warning about indulging one’s flesh.

Here are their characteristics:

• They indulge the flesh
• They despise authority
• They slander what they do not understand
• They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime. (This word “revel” means also to enfeeble the mind and body with indulgence.)
• They overindulge with pleasure (reveling in their dissipation)
• They train their hearts for greed.
• They speak bombastic nonsense
• They indulge their licentious desires of the flesh (adultery, fornication, and the like, focusing on the indulgences of sexual desire)
• They have known the commandments of God, but have ignored them

What is antithetical to these characteristics?

• To be disciplined in body and mind: 1 Cor. 9:27: “I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.” 2 Cor. 10:5: “we take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
• To be submissive to every authority: Romans 13:1-2: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.” 1 Peter 2:13-14: “For the Lord's sake accept the authority of every human institution, whether of the emperor as supreme, or of governors, as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right.” 1 Peter 2:18: “Slaves, accept the authority of your masters with all deference, not only those who are kind and gentle but also those who are harsh.”
• To control one’s tongue: James 1:19-20, 26: “You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God's righteousness. . . . If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless.”
• To discipline oneself with training: 1 Tim. 4:7b-8: “Train yourself in godliness, for, while physical training is of some value, godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”
• To not only know the commands of God, but to implement them in one’s life: James 1:22: “But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.”

Many churches teach that once we are saved, we are secure and need not worry about anything. Those churches teach that if someone “strays” from the path, that person was actually never really saved. Other churches teach that it is possible for a believer to backslide to such extent as to place salvation at great risk, even to lose it. Either way, there is risk for us who have chosen to put our fleshly desires ahead of our spiritual state! The choice of doctrine isn’t nearly as important as the fruit in our lives. Unfortunately, we live in a society that believes indulgence is normal, expected, even that we are entitled to it, that it is our right! As believers we must deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow the Lord Who denied even His rights at every turn. Rather than assert ourselves, we need to dig deeper everyday into God’s Word, submitting to Him in prayer every concern, and then learning where we can again deny ourselves in order to bring Him glory.

© 2009 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 Peter 2:4-10a

For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of deepest darkness to be kept until the judgment; and if he did not spare the ancient world, even though he saved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood on a world of the ungodly; and if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction and made them an example of what is coming to the ungodly; and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man greatly distressed by the licentiousness of the lawless (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by their lawless deeds that he saw and heard), then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment--especially those who indulge their flesh in depraved lust, and who despise authority. (NRSV)

Peter lists two specific incidents from the Old Testament:

• Noah and his family who were saved from the great flood that encompassed the entire world and killed everyone else.
• Lot and his family who were saved from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by fleeing a half day’s journey (by foot) to Zoar (http://www.bibleistrue.com/qna/pqna34.htm). The destruction was so immense that it destroyed both cities in one fell swoop. The salvation of Zoar (being also close) was a miraculous intervention.

Peter also lists the judgment against the evil angels as an assurance that God hasn’t forgotten His holy judgments. He will judge the ungodly!

So what does this mean for us as believers?

It means that God can protect us while, at the same time, judging those who are ungodly around us. Peter writes: “The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment” (v. 9).

For many of us who are married to either unbelievers or backsliders, our being “one flesh” with them means that often we live through their consequences, even those these are consequences we haven’t earned. These consequences are often very hard to bear, very painful. And it seems as if the Lord is punishing us along with them. It’s important to realize that while for them it is a punishment, for us it is a trial.

There is a difference.

The Bible assures the believer that we will go through trials.

Hebrews 12:7 (NRSV): “Endure trials for the sake of discipline. God is treating you as children; for what child is there whom a parent does not discipline?”

James 1:2-4 (NRSV): “My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.”

1 Peter 1:6-7 (NRSV): In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith--being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

What are the characteristics of trials?

• They are discipline, allowed by a loving Father, who wants to conform us to the image of His Son. (Romans 8:29)
• We should consider them “nothing but joy.” While trials are painful, there is joy in their purpose because it is maturing us as believers.
• Trials produce endurance.
• Trials prove that our faith is genuine.

What is amazing (and miraculous) is that the circumstance which is a trial for us is a punishment for the unrighteous (the unbeliever and the backslider still in rebellion). I think that is really important to understand for those of us who are suffering due to actions from someone in our families (parents, spouses, children). Because the situation is the same, it seems that we are being punished with them. No! That one circumstance which is punishment to that person is a blessed trial for us, a situation uniquely designed by our Father to mature us in the faith. While the circumstance is something the unbeliever will curse, it is something for which we should be very grateful for it refines us like gold to make us more like the Lord Jesus Christ.

© 2009 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 Peter 1:20-2:3

2 Peter 1:20-2:3

“First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive opinions. They will even deny the Master who bought them--bringing swift destruction on themselves. Even so, many will follow their licentious ways, and because of these teachers the way of truth will be maligned. And in their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. Their condemnation, pronounced against them long ago, has not been idle, and their destruction is not asleep” (NRSV).

Matthew 7:15-20 (NRSV): "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the 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. Thus you will know them by their fruits.”

This week between Christmas and New Years is an interesting one. It is the week of new resolutions, things that we resolve to do (or not do) during the coming new year. It is, unfortunately, often filled with well-intentioned but empty promises because if we chose to live our lives a certain way last year, it is likely that we will continue in that same behavior unless we confront the sin that motivates us.

We are inclined these days to tolerate easily and judge never and I fear we are not the better for it. There are scriptures that we use to justify our actions, using those scriptures wrongly, I believe, in an effort to escape that same judgment ourselves. In fact, rather than deny that we are a sinful people, we embrace our imperfections as if they are some kind of badge of honor that defends our inability to choose rightly. Rather than being ashamed, we often laud our sinfulness. Paul was adamant that we not do such a thing: “What then are we to say? 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).

The first step, I believe, in change is to choose whom we shall follow. There are literally thousands of leaders on our horizon claiming to be followers of Christ. Some have messages of hope, some messages of prosperity, some messages of comfort. We often choose to trust the message, rather than to look at the life of the messenger first. And we need to look instead at the life of the messenger before we choose to believe the message.

Both the apostle Peter and the Lord Jesus gave us warnings about false prophets. Within those warnings are the tell-tale signs of falsehood. We tell the truth of the message by looking at the life of the messenger. Within the life of the false prophet, we will see licentious ways, greed, and a lack of the fruit of the Spirit. Paul gives a list of the “things of the flesh” in Galatians 5 which acts as the inverse of the fruit of the Spirit:

Galatians 5:19-21 (NRSV): “Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” We need to look for these things in the lives of our leaders, comparing this list with the fruit of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).

Some of you laugh at me because I tend to read (and attend to) only “dead guys,” Christian authors such as Wesley, Tozer, Redpath, Gordon, and Bounds. These men (and godly women as well) have had their lives laid bare by the ravages of time. I know what their lives were like and I know that I can trust their words and their admonitions and will not be led astray. I will say that their advice for living is much harder to embrace, but I also know that it is true and trustworthy. I am willing to follow what they have written because I know they are true prophets of the Lord.

As we make our New Year’s resolutions this year, we need to determine whom we will follow. In 1 Cor. 11:1, Paul tells us: “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (NRSV). We all follow someone. This next year let’s make sure that we follow the true prophets of the Lord Jesus!

© 2009 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.

We Fight the Wrong Way

Ephesians 6:12, 18 (NRSV) “For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. . . . Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.”

Have you ever wished someone would change (or even tried to change them)? Have you despaired at how you were treated, complained about it to someone else? Have you, even once, thought, “I wish that they would be this way?” It is true that we fight against those who are difficult, who are unrighteous, unfair, uncaring, who refuse to love or forgive. It is our nature to defend ourselves against hurts and wrongs. It is our new nature to rebel against those who would rise up against the righteousness that is our God.

But we often fight the wrong way.

I have a saying printed out and put in a frame. Of all the things in our home that I packed, that I took with me to stay in our RV because I need it’s reminding over and over again. It says: “You can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray before you have prayed” (S. D. Gordon).

We forget to pray.

To be honest, it’s much easier to complain, to struggle against, to rebel, to rise up, to join causes, to send money, to be part of peaceful protests, to gossip. It’s much easier to fight on our feet, much more difficult to fight on our knees.

We often fight the wrong way.

Paul tells us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Why? Because our struggle isn’t against that poor creature whose behavior choices are pathetic or, at best, uninformed. Our struggle is against the powers of Satan who would, now that he has been thrown down, would do all he can to limit the power of the saints on this earth. When we first fail to access the power of the Throne (and the will of God in any matter), we walk right into Satan’s hands. Regardless the holiness of the cause, the actions we take must be those that God chooses. His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8) and our best course of action may actually be interfering with His plan!

We often fight the wrong way.

Soldiers in the battle field may be unhappy with the order from their generals because those orders seem contrary to winning the immediate battle. But generals see the overwhelming picture and know that a certain action here and there will bring about a greater victory. So it is with the Lord.

He has commanded us to pray. Before we do anything else, we need to do that.

© 2009 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 Peter 1:5-8

For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love. For if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

“For this very reason . . . “ What reason? Verse 3 tells me the reason: “His divine power has given us (me) everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him . . . .” I can know Him! That is an amazing thing, that the Creator of the universe would open up Himself for me to know Him. And not only can I know Him, but I need to know Him in order to grasp everything I need for life and godliness.

And it is because of this—because of this knowing Him—that now I have my part. Is this how I earn my salvation? No, because no one can earn her salvation. But this is how I work out my salvation. “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12b NRSV). Now that I am saved, I cannot be content merely with salvation. I need to press into the “knowing Him” part. Scripture says that I need to “make every effort to support my faith.”

The KJV translates “make every effort” as “giving all diligence.” The Greek word is spoude meaning speed. The implications are dispatch, eagerness, earnestness. It’s not something put off until tomorrow or even until this afternoon, but something that I must attend to this morning, right now. It must be the highest priority in my life.

The word “effort” (which is how the NRSV) translates it has an interesting meaning. One of the meanings is “effective force as distinguished from the possible resistance called into action by such a force.” Will my efforts by resisted? Yes! By Satan . . . and very possibly by my own flesh! But effort means that what I do will overcome that resistence. James 1:12 tells us that “blessed is anyone who endures temptation.” John wrote (in his first letter): “the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.” (2:14b NRSV). It is possible to overcome, to make the effort, to succeed in doing what the Spirit commands us to do.

I support my faith. The sense in the Greek seems to be nourish. While many translations use the word “add,” it doesn’t seem to mean so much “in addition to” as to nourish. And we have a hierarchy. Do this and then do this and then do this.

The first thing it says is to support my faith with goodness. The KJV uses “virtue.” Virtue is a conformity to a standard of right, morality. In other words, there is a standard of right and wrong, both stamped into our hearts by our consciences and written in the Bible, and we are to conform to that. It’s interesting that this is the first in the hierarchy, because, to be honest, I think we’d rather do a lot of other things first and sort of grow into doing what’s right. I know that I would. I usually know what is the right thing to do. But the right thing means that I have to have self-control, that I have to submit to others, that I have to forgive.

I’d rather not, to be honest. I’d rather have revenge. I’d rather demand my own way. I’d rather be self-indulgent. But this scripture clearly says that the way to support—to nourish my faith—is to first do what is right.

The second thing is knowledge. Romans 10:17 (NRSV) tells us that “faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.” I need to know the Word, and in doing so, know God (as much as a creature can know the Creator, as the saved can know the Savior). But this is more than intellectual knowledge, more that merely study. It is study for the purpose of application. I must study and then apply, practicing until I have perfected it.

After knowledge comes self-control. Self-control is difficult for me. We live in such a self-indulgent society and “stuff” is so accessible. We even talk about things like “comfort food.” We are surrounded by images that call to us to indulge ourselves. And, I have to wonder if even the idea of “our rights” is partially fed by indulgence. Philippians 2:3 (NRSV) tells us to “do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.” We live in a highly competitive society and yet, is perhaps even competition as form of self-indulgence? I mean think about what it feels like when we win! Our role as believers isn’t to win, but to be self-controlled and, in that, to think of others as better than ourselves. Tough thing to do.

After self-control (or with it) comes endurance. The KJV translates this word “patience.” The definition of patient is “bearing pains or trials calmly and without complaint.” I am not patient! Oh, I can bear the pains or trials calmly, but I love to complain. And I’m not sure why. I don’t really like the attention. I guess I think there’s some kind of honesty in saying how I feel. But the fact is, as a believer, I shouldn’t complain. In fact, I wonder if I’m somehow telling the Lord He doesn’t know what He’s doing when I do complain? Certainly, I’m fighting what is totally within His control. He has promised us that “all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28 NRSV). So, if I’m unhappy about something, it’s almost like I’m telling God He can’t make it for my good.

And, oh, I know what it’s like to fight against God. We’re losing our home (as are many in America). My husband’s been out of work for a year, his salary downsized by 75% the year before that. We ate up our savings and now the house is gone. God worked a miracle in getting the house sold for us, and not to an investor, but to a family that will love and enjoy it. And adding to the miracle, we have an RV in which we can live, a roof over our heads, which is much more than many others. And yet, I’ve spent my days—weeks actually—bemoaning my fate, the fact that we have to pack up many of our things for what may be a long time, that we have to sell many of our things, those for which there is no room in storage. Ungrateful creature that I am! Where I should be rejoicing and thanking, I’m grumbling and crying. And now, when I put it all on paper, I see the wretchedness of my life, the true lack of patience, of trust.

Because God adds to our patience, endurance. So, not only the ability to bear pains or trials calmly and without complaint, but to bear them over a period of time—perhaps a long period of time. Paul wrote:

“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” (Ephesians 6:11-13 NKJV).

“Having done all, to stand.” To endure. To simply stay put, trusting God to work it all out for our good, even when everything around looks horrible, looks impossible. But it’s about taking every effort to support our faith, to take up the whole armor of God. There is no part-time or halfway with the Lord. A. W. Tozer, in the first half of the last century, seeing the decline of the Church in America, wrote:

“Grace has become not free, but cheap. We are busy these days proving to the world that they can have all the benefits of the gospel without any inconvenience to their customary way of life. . . . We must return to New Testament Christianity, not in creed only but in complete manner of life as well. Separation, obedience, humility, simplicity, gravity, self-control, modesty, crossing bearing: these all must again be made a living part of the total Christian concept and be carried out in everyday conduct” (Keys to the Deeper Life, pp. 23, 25).

Are we the kind of people that can not only watch our wealth disappear without a whimper, but can actually put it away? Am I that kind of woman? Wealth is not just money. It is whatever we use to comfort ourselves, to protect ourselves, to reward ourselves. It is that which we have or cling to instead of running to the Lord in times of despair and terror.

What’s interesting is that Paul gives this list of things, one leading to another, and we haven’t even gotten to godliness or mutual affection or love. All these come after. Is it any wonder that we are mean to each other? That we are unforgiving, angry, and miserable? We can’t even decide to be good, to not sin when each small temptation is put into our way. We are truly still baby Christians, barely scraping into heaven by the skin of our teeth. We haven’t begun to experience the kind of lives that lead to godliness, to love. And yet, we struggle with our sinfulness. We are, as a people, habitually sinful. Maybe not outwardly for who wants to air their dirty laundry to the world. But we are sinful in those dark corners of our lives. We are gluttonous and greedy, clinging to the things of this world, taking up causes in an effort to balance out the sin that we ignore, causes that are good on the surface but have no real connection to the Kingdom of God.

If you long, as I do, for that life that is completely sold out to the Lord, then we must begin by aggressively rooting out the sin in our lives, to seek goodness at any cost. Think of that thing (or those things) that you cringe when you think you might lose them. Is it a relationship? Or a job? Possessions or station in life? What is it that clings to you like a dirty robe? (And, believe me, there are many of these tentacles clinging to all of us.) We need to cast off the dirt in favor of goodness, to repent of the sin in favor of righteousness. Whatever that thing is, those things are, that we hold onto, they have no currency in Heaven. They are worthless, useless. It’s time to dig in and go for that which matters—our relationship with the Lord. Nothing else has value; nothing else will last.

© 2009 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 Peter 1:1

“Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ” (NRSV).

Do I think that my faith is precious? That word just jumped out at me on the page when I read it. Did you know that the English word precious comes from the Latin word that means price. And that’s what our faith is: it was paid with a price, with the blood of our Savior. I think that sometimes, in the midst of the frenetic pace of our lives, we tend to take our salvation for granted. It’s been a part of us so long that we forget that there was a time when we didn’t have the hope of heaven.

What’s important to you? We cherish, protect, and spend time with the people (and the things) that are important to us. For all our protestations, where we put our efforts, our time, our energy is where we esteem and value. Think about it. We really do make time and effort for that which compels us. And it is that which compels us that is most important.

I also think about precious in the sense of protection. Now, I think as a society that we don’t protect nearly as much as we used to. So much of what is around us is throw-away and we are so wealthy. If something breaks, is lost or even stolen, we will simply get another. There are few things that are precious enough to keep, to value, to protect. Even our relationships are this way. In fact, it’s sad that in 2000, the Barna Group found that divorces among Christians was higher than divorces among non-Christians. Now, perhaps that’s because many nonChristians simply don’t marry, but the fact remains, that Christians should understand what is precious (e.g. family) and protect that. And we don’t. And if we don’t protect what we can see—what is around us—then it is likely that we also won’t protect that which we can’t see, our salvation, our faith.

I think that the New Testament Christians did not see salvation as a one-time event (as we often do), but rather as a lifelong experience to be lived out, to be practiced, to be cherished and protected. The author of Hebrews writes:

“For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. . . . But we are not among those who shrink back and so are lost, but among those who have faith and so are saved.” (10:36, 39 NRSV).

Hebrews 2:1, 3a (NRSV): “Therefore we must pay greater attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. . . . how can we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?”

If salvation was a one-time gift—given and done—then why would we need endurance? Notice that the writer says, “that when you have done the will of God.” It’s a future event, a conclusion of a life lived well and according to the tenets of scripture, a life that has protected and cherished a precious faith. It is possible to drift away from this faith, to neglect it? I think that, above all else, this might be why Peter wrote that faith was precious. It is a gift, but a gift not to be treated lightly. It is a gift that cost the life of the Son of God. Perhaps we need to think about that more often and to treat this gift in the manner that it should be treated.

© 2009 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 15:1-2, 5-7

“We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. . . . Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.” (NKJV).

I want people around me to be spiritually strong, particularly if they are in authority over me and even more particularly if they claim to be Christians. The fact is, God doesn’t place people in authority based on their spiritual maturity, but based simply upon His plan. And it’s my duty, my responsibility, to live not to please myself. (No one said this life would be easy.)

I like the NRSV translation of verse 1: “We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.” Not to put up with the FAILINGS. Well, those who are spiritually weak certainly having failings. I think it’s likely that many around me see as spiritually weak, as someone with a lot of failings. Personally, I like the idea of a hierarchy where those “above” me are spiritually stronger than I am, but I think that whole concept appeals to the lusts in my life. It’s much harder to submit to a superior who isn’t superior, someone who is over me but is less spiritually mature than I am. Submission takes on a whole new meaning when I’m working for someone who claims to be a Christian but who obviously doesn’t live like a Christian.

“We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.” I like pleasing myself. Life is much easier when things are going the way I think they should be going. It’s so hard to keep my mouth shut and submit. Much easier to blow forward like a tempest. (Often a tempest in a teapot, I’m thinking.)

“Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification.” Edification, to build up, to improve the moral stance. What’s interesting about the Bible is that while the idea of tough love is taught, much more we see our obligation to submit.

1 Peter 2:11-17 (NKJV): “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men--as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.”

It’s interesting that the apostle Peter puts two concepts right next to each other, as if one flows from the other. Put aside fleshly lusts and submit to authority. I see that in my life. There is a desire to control, to be seen as right, to war against what someone over me says or does or demands. And Peter calls that a fleshly lust . . . as he should. He knew from personal experience. There was probably no apostle as determine to plot the course of the Master’s life as Peter. And again and again, the Lord Jesus, often with a soft word, stopped Peter in his tracks. By the time Peter wrote this epistle, he understand the importance of submitting, of letting go.

Paul goes on, in Romans 13, to tell us to be “likeminded toward one another.” The NRSV translates it “to live in harmony with one another.” Again, how are we in harmony? Certainly not by demanding (or expecting) that others come into agreement with us, but rather when we submit to others. “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself” (Philippians 2:3 NKJV). If we look at the Philippians verse, we see two concepts in opposition to each other: (1) doing things through selfish ambition or conceit, or (2) esteeming others better than ourselves.” The Greek word translated “better” also means “superior.” In other words, contrary to American culture, we Christians should consider ourselves as inferior to others and to consider them superior. When we do that, we put their issues, their desires, their ambitions before ours.

What’s wonderful about all this is that this kind of life brings glory to God. “Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God” (Romans 15:7). Christ received us by loving us while we were still sinners and in rebellion to Him (Romans 5:8). Can we love each other with that kind of love? Can we love while they are yet sinners? By doing so, we glorify God as He lives His love through us to them.

Sometimes the higher path takes us on the seemingly lower road of submission to those who don’t deserve either our respect or our love.

© 2009 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.

Proverbs 22:28

“Do not remove the ancient landmark that your ancestors set up.” NRSV

Matthew Henry: “We are here taught not to invade another man's right, though we can find ways of doing it ever so secretly and plausibly, clandestinely and by fraud, without any open force. Let not property in general be entrenched upon, by robbing men of their liberties and privileges, or of any just ways of maintaining them. Let not the property of particular persons be encroached upon. The land-marks, or meer-stones, are standing witnesses to every man's right; let not those be removed quite away, for thence come wars, and fightings, and endless disputes; let them not be removed so as to take from thy neighbour's lot to thy own, for that is downright robbing him and entailing the fraud upon posterity.”

There are many different kinds of boundaries in life. Physical boundaries, such as those which border property; social boundaries, such as those outlined by manner and courtesy; relationship boundaries, such as those in families; spiritual boundaries, such as those outlined in scripture. It is often the human tendency to test or even stretch boundaries. Think about our kids. As they were growing up, didn’t they (sometimes? often?) test the boundaries we set, seeing if they really couldn’t do this or that?

As adults, we also stretch boundaries, but I think we excuse that stretching for different reasons. We are busy or tired or stressed and so we stretch a boundary, excusing it with “I’ll only do it this once.” I’m in Virginia right now attending summer classes at Liberty University. Liberty is a staunch evangelical school and the vast majority (over 90% of the students) claim to be Christians. Add to that the fact that two thirds of the students attend the online school and are older adults (like me). Given all that, you would think that academic honesty would be the least of this institution’s worries. And yet, here (as in many colleges), there is a growing problem with plagiarism. Plagiarism is a kind of boundary stretching. It is taking someone else’s work and claiming it for yourself. Plain and simple, it’s stealing.

Now, having been here and met my fellow students, I can tell you that none of them would intentionally simply take another’s work for their own. But with overstressed, overburdened, overcommitted lives, I can see one or two (or more) taking work from another and justifying it by saying they now have more time for their kids or their spouses or their jobs. In other words, a “good” is supposed to justify the evil, the sin.

I had another friend, married with children, who collected “boyfriends” like some people collect stamps. She was an out and out flirt and told me that she wanted these men to like her and long after her. Because it never went past the early flirting stage (no physical intimacy), she justified it as good, clean fun. And yet, she was stretching (and overstepping) relationship boundaries, both in the relationship that she owed her husband and in the proper relationship she should have had with these other men, some of whom were married.

I find myself wanting to stretch boundaries. There are so many things that don’t please the Lord, but if I can justify it or only do it “this once,” the sin just doesn’t seem so bad. I can overeat if it’s “comfort food” and I’m in a stressful situation. I can gossip if the other person is just as willing to participate. I can curse if I’m really angry and the situation is untenable. Boundary stretching. Justification for choosing to sin. The apostle Paul writes, in Romans 6:

“What then are we to say? 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?” (NRSV).

God established ancient barriers of behavior. On one side of the barrier is righteous living; on the other side is sin. We are commanded not to move the barriers, a commandment not given capriciously, but given in love to protect us from the ravages of evil. When we stay within the boundaries, we harm no one and we protect ourselves. It’s the least we can do for a Father Who gave us His all to save us from our sins.

© 2009 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.

Proverbs 22:26-27

“Do not be one of those who give pledges, who become surety for debts. If you have nothing with which to pay, why should your bed be taken from under you?”

God is just as concerned (perhaps more so) about why we do something than about what we do. Behavior which appears righteous on the outside may be sinful if done for the wrong reasons. Paul wrote an interesting description to Timothy:

2 Tim. 3:1-5 NRSV: “You must understand this, that in the last days distressing times will come. For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, brutes, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the outward form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid them!”

Now if you read up to the last part of this passage, you would think that Paul was giving his rather “typical” description of the unsaved. But then notice that last phrase: “holding to the outward form of godliness but denying its power.” The power of God isn’t about changing our circumstances (as we would like to think) nearly as much as it is about changing our character. And it’s obvious from this passage that there are those whose lives appear to be Christian, who have an outward form of godliness. These are those of us who do things for the wrong reasons.

The Lord Jesus taught us this: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?' Then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers'” (Matthew 7:21-23 NRSV).

While it’s really painful for me to see these two passages together, it is another reminder that why I do something is as important as what I do. Do I do it to truly love sacrificially or do I do it to get attention, to get affection? Do I do something to honor God or do I do it to gain the praise of others? The passage in 2 Timothy begins with “people will be lovers of themselves.” It’s interesting that our churches have come to teach that we must love ourselves. I looked in many versions and the phrase was translated either “people will be lovers of themselves” or “people will be self-centered.”

Years ago, Jim Odens of PAGE Ministries came to our church to talk about theocentric Bible studies. The term “theocentric” means God-centered, for something to be centered around God and His character. When we are self-centered, we are concerned first and foremost about ourselves, our concerns, our future, our agenda. The Greek word is philautos. Strong’s translates it as “fond of self, selfish, lover of self.” The New Testament Greek Lexicon translates it as “too intent on one’s interest.” (The problem I have with that definition is that it’s so easy for us to excuse our behavior saying that we are not “too” intent, when, in fact, if we even say that, we likely are.)

What does all this have to do with the proverb? Well, it says not to cosign for someone else. There are several reasons for this including the fact that we aren’t supposed to get into debt in the first place. And if we’re not supposed to get into debt, then we shouldn’t help someone else get into debt either. But, more than that, we often cosign for others because we want to appear important, powerful, benevolent. We do it to inflate our appearance to that person, perhaps even to have them beholding to us. The fact is, in Luke 6:34-35, the Lord Jesus tells us to lend without hope of being paid back. If someone is in need, rather than helping them become more in debt, how much better would it be if we simply gave to them out of our stores? Then we are not cosigners and they are not in debt!

Lament. 3:40-41(NRSV) says: “Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord. Let us lift up our hearts as well as our hands to God in heaven.” Lifting our hearts (what we think) and our hands (what we do) to the Lord by testing and examining our ways and returning to Him by purifying our motives. I think that would be a good thing today.

© 2009 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 Timothy 4:2-5

“Proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.” NRSV

Somewhere in the last 50 years, the Church in America embraced a practice called “relationship evangelism.” The point of this practice is biblical: to love people, allow them to see Christ in us, and then share the gospel. Somewhere, pieces of that got lost. First, we lost the “share the gospel” part and were just satisfied with loving people and allowing them to see Christ in us. Then, it became too much of a burden to live Christly, so we just loved people. And finally, we stopped loving altogether.

Penn Jillette, of Penn and Teller (a comedian/magic team), recently posted a video on youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JHS8adO3hM). In it, he talked about a man who came to watch the show and then bought tickets for a second night simply to wait in line after the show to give him a New Testament. This man didn’t wait to try to establish a relationship, but rather went up to a stranger on that stranger’s own turf, knowing there was the possibility he could be ridiculed or even evicted, to witness to this entertainer.

“Whether the time is favorable or unfavorable.” Paul knew that there would be times that people would not want to hear the gospel, where the message would be rejected, where there would be taunting and even cursing at the one who was proclaiming it. It’s interesting that the word translated “proclaim” here means: preach, proclaim, publish. Potentially that covers everything: preaching in the church, proclaiming in the streets, publishing by text. And while the letter to Timothy is addressed to a young preacher, the Holy Spirit includes no qualifiers. It would seem that this passage is addressed to us all.

In the last verse notice “endure suffering.” (I know that’s the phrase we don’t like to see.) Paul doesn’t qualify that phrase (“If you suffer, endure it.”). He knows that Timothy will suffer. The Holy Spirit knows that we will suffer. We are in a world entrenched with sin. We will suffer simply because of that. If we are witnessing, we will suffer as people deride and reject the message. Paul encourages us to endure through the suffering. Don’t stop, but endure. It’s interesting the progression: be sober. Endure suffering. Evangelize. Carry out the ministry fully. As if enduring suffering sets the ground for evangelizing. (I’m not saying it does, but it’s an interesting thought.)

But that gets to the meat of this passage: “For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths.” I think that we need to be extremely mindful of this passage because there is a strong tendency in America to lean toward teachers who satisfy our lust and toward churches where we can get lost (and hide our sins). In a 2005 article on megachurches, I read:

"These churches can do a ton of things that smaller churches can't," said Nancy Ammerman, professor of the sociology of religion at the Boston University School of Theology. "They have the resources to produce a professional-quality production every weekend, with music (often specially composed for the occasion and backed by a professional ensemble) and video and lighting and computer graphics and a preacher who knows how to work a crowd.” (http://www.christianpost.com/article/20051126/megachurches-attract-crowds-link-individuals/index.html)

Now, I’m not bagging on megachurches, but if you attend one, you need to ask yourself why. In fact, we should be asking ourselves why we attend wherever we are. Do we attend because the activities are fun and we really like the music and the preacher? Or do we attend because we come away convicted and repenting? Are we in a place where the Holy Spirit convicts over and over again? Or are we attending a place where we are simply confirmed in our lifestyle? While I think there is a place for comforting the hurting, we need to realize that we like our comfort . . . a lot! And there is comfort in conviction! There is comfort in repenting! And as a people we like need a lot more repentance than comfort.

What kind of preaching attracts me? I have to be honest and say that depends on where I am in my spiritual life. If I am closely walking with the Lord, then I want a preacher who will preach the Word with boldness, where the Holy Spirit convicts where I have strayed away from the Way. If I am away from the Lord, then I like a good encouraging message because it allows me to continue in my wandering. Those convicting messages, well, sometimes they hit too close to home. And then I have to get to the point where I realize that I’m looking for a message to tickle my ears, that I’m not following sound doctrine.

Can we even discern between sound and unsound doctrine? That’s one thing that scares me. I think that many of our “good” preachers have attended schools and seminaries where sound doctrine isn’t emphasized. Instead, they’re taught about business management and evangelism techniques and how to script an interesting sermon. Many young pastors I’ve met have never read Tozer or Redpath (or even Schaeffer). It scares me that, as Christians, we are becoming more and more illiterate. Are we comfortable in that? (I think there is a modicum of comfortableness in ignorance.)

I’m not sure where all of this leads. I know that, as a believer, I have a strong desire to learn sound doctrine, to not give into the lusts of my life that can turn me away from the truth of the Word. And this passage challenges me to step out even more. I need to learn how to become more deliberate in my witnessing. And I need to make sure that I am living godly so that the Spirit can work through me at any moment.

© 2009 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.

Proverbs 22:24-25

Proverbs 22:24-25

“Make no friends with those given to anger, and do not associate with hotheads, or you may learn their ways and entangle yourself in a snare.”

A number of years ago, I had the privilege to hear Jim Odens (of PAGE Ministries) talk about evangelism. He told us about a couple who wanted to evangelize several of their neighbors. The problem was that the neighbors all worked many hours and the only time available (when they were all together) for fellowship was from ten to midnight on Friday nights when they all went bowling. (They all belonged to the same bowling league). So this couple, who had small children, hired a baby sitter and went bowling. Oh, not because they liked to bowl. But because they wanted an opportunity to evangelize.

Pastor Odens went on to explain that this couple had absolutely no assumption that these neighbors would ever become “friends” (in the sense that one depends upon a friend). Instead, this couple went to “be” friends, to demonstrate God’s love without the expectation of getting anything in return. In fact, they purposely chose not to depend upon these neighbors for anything (including acceptance or even simple courtesy).

There is a real truth in this that I need to understand. I shouldn’t embrace everyone as a friend. A friend is more than an acquaintance, and regardless of how much I know about someone, I can choose whether or not I trust this person, whether or not I have expectations of accepting anything from them (including loyalty, trust, kindness, etc.). But I can be a friend without expecting friendship in return. I can be a friend while still protecting myself from their influence. And I think that might be the sense of this proverb.

The word translated “friend” has many meanings including a sense of shepherding a flock of sheep. There is an intimacy, a dependency, in the word. In Psalms, we can see friend in the sense of “a bosom friend,” “a friend and a brother,” “my familiar friend,” “intimate friend.” The Hebrew words used here and in Proverbs are the same root. There seems to be the sense of an intimacy, a trust that is in a friend.

We should definitely be in a relationship that gives without taking back in order to witness. But we should trust our hearts only to those who are trustworthy. Why is that? Because, unless we have a guard around our heart, we will become like those with whom we associate. Haven’t you found that to be true? I have. If the people around me are sarcastic, I tend more toward sarcasm. If they are complainers, I will complain and grouse. If they are angry, I tend to take up the cause. This proverb tells us not to be friends with those who are angry or we will become like them. Anger is destructive and the opposite of the fruit of the Spirit. We cannot be angry and kind or gentle or forgiving. And we need to be aware of those around us make us feel and act and talk, so that we are more like Jesus than anything else.

© 2009 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.

Proverbs 22:16, 22-23

“Oppressing the poor in order to enrich oneself, and giving to the rich, will lead only to loss. Do not rob the poor because they are poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate; for the Lord pleads their cause and despoils of life those who despoil them.” NRSV

Francis Schaeffer was a theologian in the mid 1900's. In one of the books he wrote, How Then Shall We Live, he talks about the legacies of the Reformation. While the Reformers brought great freedom to the Church, they also, unfortunately, left us with the idea of accumulating wealth without considering those around us.

The United States has a long history of believing that people should earn their own living. And, on one hand, that is a biblical principle. The apostle Paul taught: “For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat” (2 Thess. 3:10 NRSV). But, I think that we have embraced this idea without the balancing understanding that we are also to help the poor and not to accumulate wealth at their expense.

Currently, in the United States, housing foreclosures are at a new high. Many Christians are having to leave their homes because they’ve lost their jobs. And yet, I think there’s at least a small sense in the Church that these Christians are losing their homes due to their own fault. In fact, some studies should that churches have increased their demands for tithes and giving, even in a time when some of the congregation members are looking at the possibility of being homeless.

When times get tough and there is the possibility of loss, it is human nature to pull in and begin to guard what one has. Giving does go down; so does generosity. Even where we can, we may reach out less feeling that perhaps that person in need isn’t quite as deserving of our generosity.

Giving needs to be wise, but it doesn’t need to be judgmental. What do I mean by that? Well, it’s probably not wise to give a homeless person money, because they may use it to feed their habit. But there’s nothing wrong with buying them a meal or groceries or giving them a lift to the local shelter. However, I’m thinking that it would be better to err on the side of generosity than on the side of judgment. If we give, and the person uses it unwisely, wouldn’t that be better than not giving when they might have used it wisely? Should gifts be given with the idea that the recipient must use the gift in the way it was intended?

Romans 5:8 tells that “God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us” (NRSV). I wonder how we prove our love to others?

© 2009 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.

Proverbs 22:15

“Folly is bound up in the heart of a boy, but the rod of discipline drives it far away.”

I just read a book that talked about this verse. The author—with whom I agreed about a great many things—insisted that this verse spoke of corporal punishment (spanking) and that every child (until a certain age) needs spanking to “get rid of the foolishness.”

I’m not so sure I agree.

Oh, that isn’t to say that I’m necessarily against spanking. There were times that I spanked my children. It worked for our daughter. (It worked for me!) It didn’t work for our son . . . and it didn’t work for my sister. Some children respond to pain (and the threat of pain). Some children aren’t moved in the slightest from their rebellion by the thought of a spanking. And for many adults, it’s difficult to separate spanking from anger. I know that there were times that I spanked in anger. Fortunately, it was through layers of cloth diapers and likely hurt my hand more than their bottom. But what if I couldn’t control myself? What if I moved from diapered bottom to unprotected face . . . or arms . . . or back?

The NASB Dictionary gives a number of definitions for the word translated here as “rod.” Only one of those definitions is “rod.” One definition is correction. In other words, one possible translation is something like “the correction of punishment” or “the correction of chastening.”

It’s difficult for me to believe that God has commanded us to beat our children into submission. However, it’s not difficult to believe that God wants us to discipline our children and to so discipline them that it drives the foolishness of sin from them. Proverbs uses the terms “fool” or “folly” frequently in opposition to “wisdom” or “the wise” to contrast those who obey the Lord and those who are rebellious. The point of parenting is to bring our children to the point of serving the Lord with gladness, rather than rejecting Him and His Word. The fact is, if we parented more (trained up our children), we might have to correct less.

Most Christian parents today don’t know that our worldviews have been corrupted by the influences of evolution. We believe that children should have a say, a choice, in what they do and want because they are separate individuals from us. That belief is a product of social evolution and it isn’t biblical. Christian parents have the mandate to raise their children as unto the Lord. In such a way that the children, as adults, embrace salvation and the mercy of God. And until they are old enough to make wise choices, we are commanded to use correction and discipline to move them into the path of life. (They don’t get a vote!)

I used spanking as did my own parents. If one spanks a toddler through a diaper (and doesn’t spank in anger), it doesn’t damage children. But if we, as adults, are unsure whether we can control our anger or not, we do better not to spank. Perhaps if we parented better, the need to spank would never arise.

© 2009 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.

Proverbs 22:10-14

“Drive out a scoffer, and strife goes out; quarreling and abuse will cease. Those who love a pure heart and are gracious in speech will have the king as a friend. The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge, but he overthrows the words of the faithless. The lazy person says, ‘There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!’ The mouth of a loose woman is a deep pit; he with whom the Lord is angry falls into it.” (NRSV)

We live in a culture surrounded by words, spoken words, printed words, filmed words, televised words, words broadcasted by the Internet. Prior to the Internet, there were gatekeepers (editors and producers) who, while they may or may not have done their job well, had the responsibility to making sure that the words that reached the public were approved and had value. Now, with the Internet, anyone can say anything and feel important and authoritative.

Now, I’m not bagging on the Internet for, like any media, it is a neutral device that can be used for good or evil. As Christians, it is our responsibility to make sure that our words—whether in our homes or neighborhoods or on the Internet—are words that are pure and gracious and glorify the Lord. Lately, one of the things I’ve been doing in my life is trying to focus on the fruit of the Spirit. What’s interesting is that entire passage:

Galatians 5:22-26 (NRSV): “By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.”

Notice the final verse: “Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.” The NAB translates it this way: “Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.” Unfortunately, even for believers, rather than a place of edification, the Internet has become a place of war. Many, many websites are put up for the specific purpose of tearing down someone else. And while it’s important to teach correct doctrine, it’s also important to remember that the person with whom we disagree may simply be more spiritually immature than we are. Perhaps our fighting is actually damaging to her spiritual growth. Paul talks about this in 1 Corinthians:

“‘All things are lawful,’ but not all things are beneficial. ‘All things are lawful,’ but not all things build up. Do not seek your own advantage, but that of the other. . . . out of consideration for the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience--I mean the other's conscience, not your own. For why should my liberty be subject to the judgment of someone else's conscience? . . . just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, so that they may be saved.” (1 Corinthians 10:23-24, 28b-29, 33 NRSV).

I know that I chopped up this passage a bit, but it was to bring out specific points. Notice here:

• Not all things are beneficial
• Not all things build up
• Do not seek your own advantage, but that of the other
• Consider the conscience of the other person
• Not seeking my own advantage

One of the things I think we do is fight rather than pray. And it seems ironic that we think we can change the heart of someone when the Holy Spirit Himself has been unable to. That isn’t to say that we can’t sit down and share the scripture with someone who disagrees with us. We can. But there is a point when, if that person refuses to listen, that we need to stop talking and start praying. (We should be praying first, too.) Words that lead to war—even emotional war—shouldn’t be the way of the believer.

The fruit of the Spirit is “ love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” These are things that should be at the forefront of our hearts and mind constantly. Are we patient (willing to suffer without complaining)? Are we kind? Are we generous (willing to give in where it doesn’t matter that much)? Are we gentle and are we self-controlled? The fruit is the mark of the believer and it should be what we are thinking about and doing all the time. It is also how we should judge everything we do, for if what we do isn’t seasoned with this, then we have likely stepped out of God’s will.

The passage in Proverbs says to “drive out the scoffer.” A scoffer is someone who is sarcastic, who makes fun of others in a hurtful way. Are we the scoffer? I think rather than looking for the scoffer in others, we need to drive out the scoffer that lives within us and replace her with a person who is living the fruit of the Spirit. When the scoffer is gone, strife, quarreling, and abuse will cease. If there is a quarrel, let it not be started nor fueled by me. Proverbs 15:1 tells us that “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (NRSV). Today, I want to be a soft answer.

© 2009 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.

Proverbs 22:9

“Those who are generous are blessed, for they share their bread with the poor.” (NRSV)

Robert Fulghum wrote, in his book, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, “share everything.” For the Christian, sharing should be second nature. We should never fail to reach out our hand to someone, even when we think they are undeserving.

We are often so busy accumulating that we forget that all of this is going to burn anyway! Years ago, I preached a sermon about not hanging onto stuff. I mean, everything we own will someday either end up in the dump, a thrift store, or a yard sale! We are holding onto yard sale junk! The Lord Jesus admonished us to stop hanging onto that which had no value and instead grasp onto that which has eternal value: "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” (Matthew 6:19-20 NRSV). We gain eternal value when we learn to share.

We have so many things that we can share: our stuff, our time, our emotions, our support, our wisdom, our experience, our physical strength, our finances. Instead of spending useless time trying to figure out why we shouldn’t share with someone, perhaps we should just begin to share liberally and often! Imagine, this economy, what it would appear like to those who are unsaved if the Christians began to give and give and give some more. (Even more than we already do.) Unfortunately, we tend to become more and more like the world around us, hanging onto stuff that doesn’t matter, when we should have our eyes on the eternal prize and begin to let go!

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life . . .” (Matthew 6:25 NRSV). I like the KJV because it says “give no thought about your life.” Don’t even think about what you might need (or want or desire or lust after). If we are giving no thought to the things that are temporal, but instead trusting God to provide, then we are fully able to freely share without thought about tomorrow.

Unfortunately, the model of “having” is all around us, even within the Church. Congregation after congregation (unfortunately usually led by their pastors) have built huge physical plants, filled with expensive electronics and other such things. It becomes almost a cultural “keeping up with the Joneses” from within our own church culture! And while it’s chic now to dress down for church, I rarely see pastors wearing thrift store casual. It’s more like Macy’s casual. (Have you priced a pair of really nice flip-flops lately?)

As people, as churches, we are commanded not to store up treasures on earth, but to share. It’s a blessing to share what we have with others. If God replenishes it, then we needed it. If He doesn’t, then we didn’t need it to begin with. The thing is this: God can’t work the miraculous in our lives if we already have everything we need, we want, and could possibly ever even think about having! If we want the miraculous, then we need to begin to give so that God can have room to bless!

© 2009 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.

Proverbs 22:8

“He who sows wickedness reaps trouble, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.” (NKJV)

“Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity, and the rod of anger will fail.” (NRSV)

Anger rarely works. There are places for righteous anger, but as sinners, we need to be careful about why we are angry. Righteous anger can quickly move into selfish or self-centered anger. And then we are in trouble.

Injustice is an interesting word. I think that, as Americans, we often see it in a narrow view, as someone’s rights being violated. And that’s a true meaning. But I think there is another view and that is as God’s rights being violated . . . as in sin.

Anger is rarely a good thing. We look to the Lord Jesus in the Temple, chasing out the money-changers. But we rarely look at the Lord Jesus, in agony hanging on the cross, and forgiving His executioners. There are few instances of approved anger in scripture, many instances of forgiveness.

What good does anger do? Usually it raises our blood pressure, restricts our focus, limits our effectiveness in other aspects of our lives. And, most often, it rarely affects the object of our anger. In fact, in so many cases, that person doesn’t care at all whether or not we are angry at them. Certainly anger rarely, very rarely, motivates that person to change their behavior.

Paul talked about how we are to interact with our enemies:

“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. 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” (Romans 12:14-21 NRSV).

Have we ever thought to ask God for permission to be angry? If it is indeed a righteous anger, we will still be able to prayer, to love, to forgive. If it is a sinful anger, we need to repent, to walk away from it and to bless our enemies instead of trying to manipulate or hurt them.

© 2009 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.

Proverbs 22:7

“The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” (NKJV)

Somehow, somewhere the United States decided that being in debt was good business. I’m not a historian, sociologist, or anthropologist, so I’m not sure when or why. But it’s clear as we face national debt into the trillions and corporate and personal debt not far behind that we have decided living beyond our means is productive.

Perhaps it’s because we do believe the first part of this proverb: “the rich rules over the poor.” If we have more—or appear to have more—than it seems that we are in control, that we decide, that we rule. However, if how we became “rich” is through debt, than it shouldn’t be very long before we are servant to those to whom we owe.

Paul often wrote a sort of stream of consciousness, from this topic to that one to that one. In Romans 13, he begins talking about our obligation for obeying civil law. And then he digresses to this:

“Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:7-8 NKJV).

“Owe no one anything . . . “ It seems that, as a Church, we have turned our backs on so many things, including obeying this. I’m one of those. Our family was, except for our mortgage, debt free a few years ago only to place ourselves in debt again. We are trying to struggle out, but it is much harder now due to the serious problems with the economy. And yet, when we are in debt to another, we are their servant. There is no two ways about it. My husband and I do not have control over our money; we must use it to pay our debts, rather than to use it to bless others.

There are commandments in the Bible that are obviously eternity-shattering. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.” “Go into the world and preach the gospel.” But our Father is not just concerned about the big picture. He is also concerned about the details, about how we live our lives moment by moment, day by day. He knows that we are freest to serve Him when we are only under obligation to love others. When we live beyond our means (which is what debt is), so many things happen in our spiritual selves. We become less dependent upon Him. We focus more on our lusts and less on self-discipline. We often are looking for the approval of others and not for His approval.

Being in debt may not keep me out of heaven, but it certainly constricts what I can do here as a believer. And, for me, at least, getting out of debt has become a priority so that I can be free to serve God and Him alone.

© 2009 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.

Proverbs 21:9

“It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a contentious wife” (NRSV).

“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).

“Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:21 NRSV).

This proverb was written by a man, so to understand the perspective: wife. But the fact is, this goes both ways. It is impossible to live in a home where one spouse is contentious. The word can also be translated “brawling.”

“Contentious” is defined as “exhibiting an often perverse and wearisome tendency to quarrels and disputes” (Merriam-Webster 11th Collegiate Dictionary). Think of it. First of all, the person has the tendency to quarrels and disputes. Well, likely that person has two characteristics: (1) they usually (or always) believe they are right, and (2) they are likely angry most of the time. They need to control every situation so their viewpoint, their perspective is the only one possible. And they tend to jump all over anyone who disagrees with them. Secondly, this person is this way most (or all) of the time. So much so that people soon tire of being around them. Friends disappear; invitations dry up. Life becomes lonelier and lonelier.

Basically, the person this proverb is describing is a self-centered immature person who wants her way all of the time. And the proverb continues that it would be better to live in a corner of a roofless place (no protection from the elements of nature) rather than to live in a house where anger rules.

As believers, we are commanded to set aside our own concerns, agendas, opinions, and even needs in order to serve those around us. Paul taught that we are to do NOTHING from selfish ambition or conceit. It’s interesting that Merriam-Webster’s lists, as one of the definitions of conceit, “individual opinion.” And the Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon lists as one of the definitions “self-esteem.” As Americans, we have embraced the idea that we should like ourselves, that we should look out after ourselves first and foremost, and that we have every right to our own opinions.

The Bible never talks about self-esteem or rights except in a negative way. As believers, we are to set down any desire for esteem (by ourselves or others) and our rights in exchange for trust in God and service to His will. We are to “regard others as better than ourselves” and to look after their interests. We are to “be subject to one another.” This is a very different picture than what we see even in many sermons today where preachers seem to be more concerned that we are happy, adjusted, and defending our rights. Have we become the “contentious wife” in our society because we want only what we want? Perhaps today is the day to ask forgiveness for our anger, to set aside our demands, and to look to the needs of those around us.

© 2009 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.