The Necessity of Trying Harder

In this faith life that we are living, it is obviously and absolutely imperative that we constantly depend upon our God and not upon ourselves.  After all, dependence upon Him is the very definition of “living by faith.”  Yet, when we are full of the Spirit, our dependence can sometimes closely resemble independence.  Our rest can look like work.  Our grace might appear to some to be genius; blessings may feel more like burdens.  What I’m saying is that from a certain angle, Christianity appears to me to be 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.  In fact, there are some verses in the Bible that are so incredibly practical that they could be elastically interpreted as borderline humanistic.

Here are a few of those verses:

“Endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” - Ephesians 4:3 

“If it be possible, as much as lies in you, live peaceably with all men.” - Romans 12:18

 “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.” - Luke 13:24

Now, there is no debating the fact that leaning on the everlasting arms – in everything – is a necessity.  He said, “Without Me you can’t do anything.”  John 15:5, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”  There is, however, something to be said for this word “abide” (in John’s gospel).  One of the synonyms for the word abide is the word “endure.”  Logically and biblically, the straightforward decision to simply trust Christ as my Savior is naturally and necessarily followed by many subsequent and much more difficult decisions to continually obey Him.

I’m not sure where we believers dreamed up the idea that faith must not involve any actions.  Jesus never called even one disciple with the statement, “I will drag you!”  No, instead he said, “Follow Me!”  The resulting syllogism is a simple one: “Jesus said that if we would follow Him that He would make us into such-and-such… hence, no followee; no receivee!”  Follow?  Follow!  Doesn’t following, abiding, endeavoring, striving (and so on)… doesn’t all of these include both deciding and acting?  There is an effort to be exerted.  There is an involvement required.  There is energy to be burned.  Truly, faith doesn’t replace good works, no; but it certainly precedes, incites and qualifies good works.  Indeed, saved by faith, service by faith… but I convinced that both salvation and service in the Spirit (interior realities) will normally produce intense labor (exterior evidence). 

Think I’m off base?  Well, consider this verse: “Jesus gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” - Titus 2:14.  And Paul’s example of that, “I will very gladly spend and be spent for you…” - 2 Corinthians 12:15a. 

(This sentence is long, but very important to my salient point – read carefully): when God says “stretch forth thy hand” that He might heal it and sanctify it for His own use, let us not piously rebuke Him by claiming that the choice to obey or the energy to lift the hand forth would somehow taint the glorious demonstration of His sufficient power and grace or that it could pollute the genuine expression of the invisible faith that we have been given.  Nay, let us simply obey.  (When combined with sincere humility) active obedience to God’s instruction is not only a permissible outgrowth of faith, it is the very visible motion of that faith itself.  No wonder Abel’s sacrifice was so important.  No surprise that Abraham’s offing was accepted.  And, God has similar works that He is attempting to accomplish through us.  When He gives us the energy, tools and opportunity to be a living sacrifice, we must staunchly avoid the temptation to expend those resources for our own self-gratification.  Equally, we must never slothfully bury our talent in the ground.

Question: are we endeavoring; striving; trying; pushing; pressing; exerting effort; exuding diligence?  While it is true that our fleshly “works” neither impress nor bless our Maker, it is also equally true that the great spiritual “WORK” to which He has called us (and in which He has empowered us) demands incredible commitment and literal sacrifice.

Honestly, when I fail in a moral or a ministerial area, I’m persuaded that it is generally because I simply wasn’t trying very hard to follow God’s leading.  Oh, the great and absent ingredient of spirituality – industry.  Is their a time for us to be still and quite in abject worship?  Of course!  But there are also times of task and of being about our Father’s business.  At one point Jesus commanded his followers saying, “…he that has no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one” - Luke 22:36b.  Why would faith in the Almighty require anyone to obtain a physical weapon… unless the Almighty commanded it of course?  At that point our philosophizations and contemplations quickly become moot. 

Perhaps we grow too exceedingly academic in our attempted definitions of biblical faith.  In the garden Eve was deceived, but Adam rebelliously doubted and disobeyed God – that’s the antithesis of faith… unbelief expressed through defiance.  Even so, repentance and a return to faith should be just as simply defined.  Do we take God at His Word and act accordingly?  Ah, we complain, “But, I can’t!”  Wrong!  You couldn’t!  But, you can.  You just aren’t trying.  Jesus enabled us when He entered our bodies as our parakletos.  Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.”  Second Corinthians 2:14, “Now thanks be unto God, which always causes us to triumph in Christ…” First Corinthians 15:57, “Thanks be to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

It’s not that I think that our trying produces anything at all.  I don’t for one moment imagine that it does.  However, our sincerity of faith (if we have it) will automatically drive us to effectual and fervent labors.  Our earnestness, humility and obedience frees the Spirit up to bless abundantly and to produce fruit.  “Quench not the Spirit.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:19.  Can you and I expect the Spirit to feed our weary souls if we’re too blasted lazy to turn off our TVs in order to spend vital hours laboring in prayer, studying in the Word and sharing the gospel.  Last time I checked we were saved “unto good works” (Ephesians 2:10).

Are you trying as hard as you can?  Am I?  Should I be asking God to do for me what He has clearly commanded me toward and empowered me in so that He might do it through me?

Is there a place in the kingdom for the free loader?  Well, sure, salvation is free!  But the opportunities that come with it make wise investment obligatory!  The love of Christ CONSTRAINS us! 

When I worked in secular jobs I had no respect for fellow employees who only worked hard at avoiding work; those who did just enough to get by and not a iota more.  How about in the Christian world of service for the King?  Is it OK for 90% of the church to let the other 10% to do 90% of the work?  I look around at the busiest believers who volunteer in the ministry of the local church and I shake my head.  I ask myself, “How do they find the time, strength or inspiration to do all of that?”  Yet, it is those ones that I see God blessing.  But the pew warmers… not so much.

We need more participators; fewer spectators!  Amen!?

Now, VBS ’09 is drawing to a close.  Some of the volunteers have expended themselves tirelessly to make sure everything came together.  For these servants of the Master, I’m intensely grateful.  I trust that their ministry has been a product of a genuine love for the Savior, for the truth, for souls and for the church.  Let not the diligent accuse the stragglers.  Let not the stragglers judge the diligent.  Galatians 6:4 & 9 deals with both perspectives, “Let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another… and let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”  When you’ve worked your fingers to the bone, get yourself some much needed rest (and don’t feel guilty about doing it), yet, at the same time, never forget the counsel of Jesus in Luke 17:10, “…You, when you shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.’”

Well, I’ve made my point I think.  Here are a few good verses in closing that echo the same message:

Romans 13:11, “Knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.”

Ephesians 5:15, “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”

Romans 12:11, “Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord…”

Ecclesiastes 9:10, “Whatsoever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, where you are going.”

John 9:4, “I must work the works of Him that sent Me, while it is day: the night comes, when no man can work.”

Proverbs 14:23, “In all labor there is profit…”

Well, with that… I’ll be taking a hiatus from blogging.  I’ll be back with you in about a month.  Bless you all!

 

Phases

Yesterday I stopped on the road to talk to a friend who I caught checking his mail.  I’m thinking, “I used to do that…”

Seriously, “I did check the mail in the past.”  When I was a child, going to mailbox was a big deal.  The first time I ever received mail with my own name on the envelope – WOW!  And, you know, I checked the mailbox many times a day when I was in college.  I remember checking it when I got home from work – when Tonya and I were in our first (and only) “own house” (even if it did and does actually belong to a bank).  I checked the post office box daily for the church and for myself when I moved to Maryland almost four years ago.  But, somewhere along the way I stopped checking the mail.  Tonya went to check the mail, and I didn’t.  I didn’t plan on quitting.  It just happened.  Now, I never check the mail.  She brings it to me presorted and usually opened (and, I like it this way).  I have entered a new phase.

Life is full of phases.  Back to my friend at the mailbox – our conversation drifted to a gentleman that he had recently visited in the hospital.  The man is now old, weak and frail.  He is shriveled up and (I got the impression) unresponsive.  Yet, Don (my friend at the mailbox) said that the fellow had spent his whole life as distinguished and devout military man.  Oh, but those days are long and forever gone…

Last night I had another confrontation with the reality of life’s phases.  Another friend of mine was describing how many people who are dying go through steps of losing interest in things that they have been very dedicated to all of their life… lifelong hobbies, habits, interests and even necessities can become totally irrelevant (now, I know what is happening to me – JUST KIDDING, take it easy :-).

You know, come to think of it… even Jesus had a life distinctly divided into geographical, occupational and directional phases.  Bethlehem, Egypt, Nazareth, Cana, Jerusalem, heaven; or… in Mary’s womb, infant, child, adolescent, adult, leader/teacher, savior, mediator, king (to come)… you get the point.

The Father who planned IT ALL also has seems bent toward utilizing phases.  He clearly divided the eras of history into distinct sections: (without getting to technical) innocence, conscience, government, promise, law, incarnation, grace, wrath, peace, eternity…

It’s no wonder God inspired His wisest follower ever to write these words:

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace…  He has made every thing beautiful in His time...” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 & 11)

My brief life has already seen many phases.  At this moment I would label those phases thusly: before I can remember, playing all the time, loving school, hating school, not fitting in, rebellion, driving, girls and sports, renewed interest in learning, knowing it all, knowing a little, knowing nothing, real love, real jobs, real bills, real kids, real devotion, real spirituality, a real call from God, great blessings, trials… each phase very different from the previous one.  One thing I have learned, no phase is even remotely close to what I anticipate.  One example: when I graduated from high school, I was honestly afraid that I wouldn’t make it in college (the old “not college material” thing); then when I got there, it wasn’t bad at all.  And, when I finished it seemed like I had been in a kind of paradise for 4 years.  Now, I realize that I had more free and discretionary time in college than I had ever had before or have ever had since.  It just wasn’t very similar to what I had expected. 

Well, what about tomorrow?  I don’t know?  I’m not even sure I care.  The only one who is there (in tomorrow already) is God.  What about having teenagers, having grandkids, old age, disease, change, losing what little mind I have, being alone and saying a final goodbye to friends and family… what about it?  I suspect that my expectations in these matters are equally misplaced and inadequate.  Oh, I know, at 34 I’m too young to be thinking these thoughts, but I am thinking them nonetheless.  I see young families growing up around me.  I see the definition of “young family” changing.  I see my volitional bald head (the one that is supposed to hide my actual and involuntary baldness).  I see my own daughter turning into a beautiful young lady (that I know will appeal to all the unworthy boys out there)…

Seasons change, the weather changes, people change; politics, philosophies, economies, styles, technologies… everything changes.  While I have a horrible memory overall, I can in fact be quite nostalgic at times.  However, I’m not so reflective that I foolishly wish for the past to become the future.  Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 7:10, “Don’t say, ‘What is the cause that the former days were better than these? For you do not inquire wisely concerning this.’”  He is saying that time has clouded our perception of past realities.  I once heard an elderly lady say that the “good old days” weren’t nearly so good as some people want to make them out to have been. 

Regardless, whether we like it or not… life is full of phases; phases that demand transitions, changes, adjustments.  Old things become obsolete and irrelevant; new things stretch our mind and heart, try our patience and test our level of tolerance.

This Sunday our church is experimenting with a possible new phase.  We are commencing (on a three month trial basis) an “early service” at 8:30 AM.  Two AM worship assemblies that will be basically the same… it’s not new for many people, but it is for us.  There are natural fears and excitements; suspicions and questions.  There is great potential in splitting the service; latent blessings from God… and yes, underlying damage from Satan himself.  But, we're trying it nonetheless… hoping for best, wondering how it will go.

In a world were so many things do indeed change, isn’t it wonderful to have a few things that don’t?

·         God’s Word never changes.

·         Our purpose for existing never changes.

·         Even the consistency in the laws of nature can be refreshing at times.

·         There are even a few people in my life that I have come to trust so deeply that it never crosses my mind that they would ever change (though I know in my mind that they really could). 

Ultimately though, the greatest concrete foundation that I have is my glorious and majestic God; THE ONE AND ONLY GOD.  God never changes.  He said so himself.  Malachi 3:6, “I am the LORD, I change not; therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed.”  He means His consistency to be a comfort to us.  The God of grace, mercy & love has guaranteed His presence and my sanctification… I hang my being thankfully upon His promise: “…God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise [including me] the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters into that within the veil…”  Aren’t you so glad that THAT will NEVER change?!  Faith will become sight, true!  In that sense, there is a transition and a phase in the future.  But, Hallelujah, the promise, the person and the prize – they are absolute.  Hallelujah!!!!  HALLELUJAH!!!!!!! 

I pray, “God (who doesn’t change), change me!  I know you have a new phase in mind for me.  I’m afraid, forgive me.  I’m willing though… at least, I want to be willing…”

 

Why does God get Angry?

Psalm 7:11b, ”God is angry with the wicked every day.”  Make no mistake about it – God’s wrath is not merely an anthropomorphism.  Let us never forget Who came first.  We are made in the image of God, not the other way around. 

Recently a Christian brother asked me a very legitimate question, “If God made us the way we are (and He could have made us differently), why does He get angry when we do what we shouldn’t do?”  My dear brother isn’t the first one to inquire about this, nor will he be the last.  The great man Job of ancient days said as much in the book bearing his name, “God, Your hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet You do destroy me…” (Job 10:8). 

Job felt (albeit erroneously) that he was suffering as a result of God’s anger against him.  While in Job’s case this wasn’t true (in fact he was suffering because God was so proud of him), in many instances it is precisely the case.  Example: Numbers 11:1, “When the people complained, it displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard it; and His anger was kindled; and the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp.”  Now, God made the Jews.  God chose the Jews.  God knew from the beginning that they were going to be miserable ingrates on that day.  So why get angry about something that You could have prevented Yourself?  As my friend put it, if one knows the precise result of combining certain chemicals together, why would one get upset when the expected outcome is produced by causing that actual combination to be mixed?

Did God make us so He would have someone to pick on?  Obviously not!  The cross proves that well enough!  The God who gave Himself to die for us has justly demonstrated His sincere love and compassion toward us; His care for humanity is not reasonably questionable.  So, what’s up with the anger thing?

We have a few options I suppose.  We can deny that He really get’s angry.  We can redefine anger.  Some deny that God is real.  Others deny that we are real.  We could run to the extremes of fatalism or deism.  Or, we can take a faith approach and remind ourselves of some Biblical facts that we as Christians are not willing to debate; presuppositions that are foundational to everything else we explore in the spiritual world of theology, hamartiology and anthropology. 

·         God is!

·         God has always been!

·         God is good, always!

·         God is a person!

·         God is absolutely autonomous!

·         God created us for His own enjoyment!

I, for one, am not willing to budge on any of these premises.  I’m not sure I could have an intelligent, coherent or civil discussion on other theological issues with any person who denies any of these things.  We could point out our differences I suppose, but this framework holds so much of my vocabulary and perspective that surrendering any point would be such a paradigm shift as to render me senseless.  So, if you disagree with those points, you might as well stop reading.  But, if those salient items are granted, then we can proceed cogently.  There are other relevant fundamentals that I could add, but I forebear.  I think these will serve us well enough.

Actually I think the question itself is flawed.  “If God made us the way we are…”  Stop right there!  Job said, “Your hands have made me and fashioned me together round about…”  But, is this true?  The wise man Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 7:29, “Lo, this only have I found, that God has made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.”  God did not make us “the way we are” – i.e. sinful.  He made everything good; and declared it to be so.  He didn’t make Adam or Eve with flaws.  He made them perfect, innocent, holy, blameless…  But… BUT… He did make us in His own image, after His own likeness.  Surely, surely we can assume that the autonomous, sovereign God; the Creator who does whatsoever He wants to do in accordance with His own transcendent purposes and prerogatives… surely He was big enough and powerful enough to endow the crowning creation (homo sapiens) with actual, not imagined, actual autonomy.  In other words, the choice that Adam made was actually his own choice.  Did God know that Adam would choose Eve, Satan and himself over his Maker?  Duh!  Of course God knew!  In fact, God had already outlined a plan for fixing the problem (Revelation 13:8).

Here is the thing.  If God could have made Adam differently, but didn’t…  then we MUST conclude that this was the very best plan God could contrive in accordance with His desired purpose of creating us for His own pleasure.  Could God get pleasure from the programmed love of automatons?  I think not!  So, God made us perfect… including the perfect and real ability to make up our own mind.  Now, when we sinned (in Adam), we lost (to a great extent) the ability to exercise our prerogative power.  We enslaved ourselves in an addiction to sinfulness; binding ourselves with a chain that only God’s grace is sufficiently able to break.

Still… if He saw it coming (if He knew how the formula would react), then why would He be actually upset when it comes to pass?

Well, I don’t know!  Do you?

Or, maybe we do… we just don’t realize it.  Let’s let the Bible speak here…

Genesis 1:3-4, “God said, Let there be light: and there was light.  And God saw the light, that it was good…”

Genesis 2:19, “Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them…”

Genesis 6:5-8, “GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  And it repented the LORD that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart.  And the LORD said, ‘I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repents Me that I have made them.  But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.”

Genesis 11:5, “The LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.”

Genesis 18: 20-21, “The LORD said,’ Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;  I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.”

Genesis 32:24-25, “Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a Man with him until the breaking of the day.  And when He saw that He prevailed not against him, He touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with Him.”

I would love to expound on every one of these passages and many more, (neither my time, nor your patience will allow for that).  Consider just the first passage then: “God said, Let there be light: and there was light.  And God saw the light, that it was good…”  Why does it say, “and God saw…”?  Is God in the business of discovering?  Learning?  Developing?  Expanding?  I would be hard pressed to make a case for that!  The immutable God of the Bible is changeless… in His essence, His attributes & His characteristics.  You and I can add nothing to His existence.  Yet, there it is still: “He saw!”  What is the purpose in God describing the occasion thusly… unless, UNLESS He is attempting to reveal something significant to us about His very nature.  The immeasurable significance of Genesis in presenting the person of the Godhead to us should be obvious.  So, what is He getting at?

Postulation: God relishes the experience; the event with all of its traits and characters. 

Had He ever made light before?  By revelation we can conclude that this was the first time light had ever existed in the chronology of eternity.  God made it; then He liked it!  Why do we (some of us, sometimes) think that because God is omniscient and eternal that He lacks emotion or chronological experiences?  Is it necessary for God to dwell outside of chronology in order for Him to be God?  Just because He knows something, does that mean it’s His fault; that He’s the instigator?  If there is Biblical doctrine to support such an idea, fine!  Bring it forward.  My soteriology will be unaffected either way.  But by jingo, if I can come into a more whole and worshipful view of my dear God though meditating upon this dilemma, then I full well intend to dwell here.  Leave me be!

Jeremiah 9:24 says, “‘Let him that glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight,’ says the LORD.”  I’m on an honest and humble inquiry into the exercises of God.  It sure appears to me that God delight’s in the experiencing of a thing, not just the knowledge or understanding of it.  Herein lies an adequate answer to why and how our truly omniscient God could and does get angry when His creatures act up.

It might be something like a hypothetical genius cinematographer.  What if he was also the script writer, studio owner, the director, the lead actor, the acting coach, the producer, the artistic consultant… etc. (you get the point).  Perhaps in His artistic brilliance he could see the finished product clearly in His mind from the very beginning… yet, would it be strange if he sits and cries through the premiere showing of the finished film?  Of course not!  It actually makes even more sense since he vested so much time and energy into it; so much of himself.  Though he may have known precisely how it would turn out, still it wasn’t done until it was done.  Maybe it was as good as accomplished in his mind… but, it was still in his mind; even so with God, though happening on a much grander scale.

Truly, this helps me out with so may other things as well: prayer, election, prophecy, forgiveness, judgment, God’s love, His jealousy, the incarnation, the doctrine of the trinity…  so many illusive and enigmatic issues that come up in one’s journey of fellowship with the Almighty.

Do you not live life one experience at a time; one after the other; richly swallowing up moment after moment of pain and pleasure as time marches on?  Should not the God from whom we derive our life not be expected to exist in a similar (though sanctified) form on a much higher plane?  Does it bring God down to a lower level to ascribe to Him an attribute that He unashamedly uses to describe Himself? 

God saw the light, that it was good.  He had never “seen” it before.  So what?  He’s still God!

He looked at it; He beheld it for the first time ever; He considered this thing that He had made; He perceived its actual beauty; He regarded it with interest; He enjoyed the scene… He paid close attention in that moment to this particular thing – light!  Was He surprised?  I would assume not!  Was He interested?  Absolutely!  Was He focusing on one specific thing at that juncture and allowing His natural emotional tendencies to have sway?  Why not?  Does that make Him any less God-like?  It shouldn’t.

So, when I ignore Him, the occurrence is real and it is also injurious; doing damage to His heart.  My experience today is important to Him today because He goes through this day with me… orchestrating it to the infinitesimally minute detail… yes!  But, make no mistake, this day has never existed before and it never will again… even in the “life of God” . . .  I don’t want to make Him upset today, do You?

So, am I a heretic?

If I am, maybe Job was too:

Job chapter 10, “I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; show me why You contend with me… Is it good that You should despise the work of Your hands… Do you have eyes of flesh?  Or do You see as man sees? Your hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet you destroy me.  Remember, I beg You, that You have made me as the clay… If I sin, then You mark me, and You will not acquit me from mine iniquity… I am full of confusion; therefore You see my affliction; for it increases. You hunt me as a fierce lion: and again You show Yourself marvelous upon me.  You renew your witnesses against me, and increase Your indignation upon me; changes and war are against me.  Why then have You brought me forth out of the womb?”

No, no heresy… just finite humanity grasping at the glorious Infinite One on whom we have fixed our reciprocating affection.  Mm… I can’t wait to meet Him!

 

(I have a funeral Friday, so I’m writing one day early this week).

Unanswered Prayer

Why don’t we pray more?  More often; more sincerely, more passionately; more diligently; more effectively; more precisely in agreement with God’s perfect will?  

The great men and women of faith just seemed to somehow sense (at times) exactly what God wanted to do, and, they would cry out for it… becoming an on/off switch (as it were) to the releasing of God’s willing and abundant power & blessings.  Oh, I know there were times when great saints would pray, only to encounter delay (Daniel), denial (Elijah) and even rebuke (Moses).  God is God and we are men…  I would fully expect that even the best and most pious among us might naturally be periodically misguided by personal perspectives and prejudices; thereby falling short of grasping at the elevated plans and purposes of the Almighty.  Yet there are many instances found readily in Holy Writ where men spoke boldly and seemingly spontaneously calling for mighty acts of God which came immediately to pass.  Elijah stopped the rain, Elisha blinded the enemy & Jesus fed the multitude… all after simple and straightforward prayers.  There are many other examples too. 

What was the secret?  The same God who did the mighty and miraculous deeds of old is still alive and He is still the same God today.  Has he changed His program so much, or have we just lost whatever it is that frees Him up to exercise His presence in more evident and undeniable fashions than we typically encounter today.

I’m not calling for a new era of signs and wonders.  The Antichrist will be the next one to step onto the world stage with miracles to validate his power.  But, must we only point to the “minor” blessings of divine intervention as indications that our prayers are being answered.  I hate to be a skeptic, but the Bible says plainly that God sends His rain on both the just and the unjust.  It seems possible and likely that we take the general kindnesses of God and attribute them to our “mighty praying power” when in reality they are only crumbs scattered to all the birds, grateful or not.

What separates me and my prayers from the mountain moving faith described by Christ?  The worldly men who opposed the early church were unable to resist the words which were spoken by the children of God.  Do we have that measure of the Spirit upon our lives?  The first century church was clearly a praying body, hence the power.  What lack we?

Examine & evaluate these sincere statements:

1.       God hasn’t changed.  His power is unaffected by culture and time.

2.       We are sure of His existence and of His ability.

3.       There is a certainty concerning God’s instruction for us to pray – we must do it!

So, if I pray and see no result… what is the problem?  Doubt can be a big one.  We are exhorted not to doubt when we pray.  Well, I (for one) don’t doubt God’s existence or power, that’s for sure.  But my flesh does accuse Him concerning His wisdom and heart sometimes.  It’s wrong; it’s wicked to question these, but it is there nonetheless.  I know in my mind and gut that God is perfectly wise and immeasurably compassionate, however my prayers, attitudes and actions sometimes scream otherwise.

Now, here are some more typical and infamous prayer blockers:

1.       Sin.  If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.

2.       Selfishness.  If I pray to God as if He is my genie in a bottle, I’ll get nothing.

3.       Sluggishness.  If I pray casually, flippantly, intermittently; my insincerity offends God and inhibits his work.

Ok, that’s enough I suppose.  I could spend the rest of my life getting those three things in order.  But, I must add one more.  

4.       Spirituality.  If I am not led by the Spirit, then my prayer is a totally un-obligatory wish cast like a set of dice before the throne of grace.  “Maybe God will grant my petition like he did for Hezekiah… and maybe He won’t.”  Unfortunately, I think honestly that that’s about the way I’ve always viewed prayer anyway… crying out against some kind of ridiculous blend of fatalism and chance.  I’m ashamed!  What a heathen concept of what in reality is such a precious opportunity.

 Spirit led prayer is no optimistic gamble (or pessimistic).  Spirit led prayers are sure to be answered.  It’s not like wishing upon a star; it’s like working out a math equation.  Let me prove it from the Bible:

“This is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He hears us: and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him” (First John 5:14-15).

Brother (or sister)!  If The Spirit of Jesus Christ on the throne in my heart is crying out to the Father in heaven through my prayer life – then the answer will come.  God is one.  Unity!  Can the Holy Ghost lead us against the will of the Godhead of which He is a part?  I think not!

I am convinced that this Spiritual domination is what I primarily lack in my prayer life.  Silent skies belie my misguided prayers.  First John 4:1 says, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God…”  Who led the prophet in First Kings 22 & Second Chronicles 18?  It was a lying spirit.  How long would I have to sit silently before the throne of grace in sincere humility awaiting the clear direction of the Spirit of God… if I was only willing to only pray Spirit led prayers; only petitions that I knew without a doubt were exactly what God was directing me to pray.

What is the prayer “batting average” of a man of God supposed to be anyway? 

Ouch!

Does every day have to be memorable?  Should each episode of your life & mine be a little more interesting, a little more intriguing, a little more inspiring than the last? 

It’s not my goal to celebrate mediocrity today, but really, do all aspects of our lives have to be filled with competition and one-upmanship?  Do we always need to be better than someone (even if it is our own past that we are pushing against)?

True, Ecclesiastes 9:10 still says, “Whatsoever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, where you are going.”  But, must every “thing” that our hand is put to be earth shattering, life changing, awe inspiring and magnificent.

I find myself trapped at times in a never ending cycle of trying to outperform my last performance.  It’s human nature I suppose.  Even this past Sunday, for example, I found myself guilty of lagging morosely in the doldrums after preaching on familiar topic, “The Armor of God.”  There was nothing “new” or mysterious, just straightforward instructions on how to win spiritually.  I’m sure it was exciting the first few times I heard it when I was a child, and even the first time I ever preached it (whenever that was)… but this time I feared boring the audience with a tedious review.  But, you know, sometimes “tedious reviews” are appropriate; necessary; beneficial.  Every Sunday sermon doesn’t have to be profoundly unique.  Sometimes the best lesson the body of Christ can possibly get is a lesson in the discipline of patiently reviewing the fundamentals of the Christian walk; reexamining self in an honest if repetitious critique.  It might not be hair raising, pulse intensifying, tear jerking or spine tingling… but it works.  Truth is power whether it is exciting or not.

Eugène Ionesco (whoever that is, eh?) wrote this, “Explanation separates us from astonishment, which is the only gateway to the incomprehensible.”  How strange that I hunger for astonishment and yet I also crave the explanations that frequently obliterate the astonishment and leave me searching for a new thrill.  But is astonishment always God’s avenue of choice in His program of constant “Dave” adjustments?  He has surely used it many times, but more frequently I find that if I am willing to pay attention, He is generally trying to use the simple and ordinary things from my daily routines to draw me to Himself.

Reminds me of Acts 17:21, “All the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.”  Of course, though they may have had many fresh and fascinating discussions, they had never met the artesian well of living newness that Paul intended to introduce to them on Mars hill that day.  There is logically a limit to the unencountered things under the sun, but there is truly no limit to the encounters we can expect in the Son.  And, truth be told, I get a little nostalgic treading the same plain garden path with my Lord that I joined Him on yesterday… even if there is no apparent new rare nugget of knowledge for me to glean.  The fellowship experience is indeed fresh even if it is identical or (heaven forbid I admit it) less stimulating than the former day’s.  Need every night by a honeymoon night?  Is there a spiritual malfunction if my walk is sometimes simple (I didn’t say dead) rather than extravagant?

Ravi Zacharias speaks of the human hunger for the sense of awe.  He has observed that our capacity for wonder expands with time and experience and that it is only adequately satisfied by the ultimate awe inspiring One – Jesus!  But what happens when we try to “out awe” ourselves or our fellowman from within?  Whether writing a blog, giving a present, delivering a speech, building a structure, preparing a meal, romancing a lover, growing a flower, buying a toy, playing a game or just simply talking… it is possible to exert energy in increasingly larger increments (trying to outdo another person or our own imagined reputation) until there is just no oomph left in us; no time to spare; no zeal remaining.  Maybe it’s the thing conventionally labeled as burn-out?  Perhaps it’s “loosing interest” or some more enigmatic modernly described phenomenon.  Regardless of what it’s called, it is to be avoided for sure.  We walk the tightrope of modern society striving to avoid irresponsibility and insanity; laziness and overachieving. 

Perhaps we do this; maybe we make this mistake because we lose sight of God’s perfect perspective.

Consider this passage:

Matthew 10:42,                “Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water [that’s small, eh?] only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.” 

It seems obvious to me that Jesus was straining to find one of the most minute, common and insignificant deeds imaginable (in man’s eyes) to illustrate the infinite eternal and spiritual value of one’s attitude or motive and the total irrelevance of so many of the great and admirable feats that we humans tend to exalt. 

I’m not saying that God despises the “great” accomplishments.  He doesn’t.  He empowered Moses to part the Red Sea, Joshua to stop the rotation of the earth and Elijah to call down fire from the sky… dramatic occasions indeed!  He truly received glory and honor in these and countless other circumstances as the magnificence of His supernatural power was on prominent display.  Think about this though, the same Moses that watched over the congealed walls of water at the eastern border of Egypt also spent the 40 previous years in a solitary wilderness life watching sheep – not nearly so dramatic by our standard.  Yet, truly God was pleased to work in his life through both experiences.

We live in a rather hedonistic culture.  Let it not seep into our habits.  Pleasure is one of the primary modern gods.  Edifices stand everywhere, monuments to its sovereign place in the hearts of contemporary men.  For many people, fresh thrills and new sensations are seemingly valued above anything and everything else.  Even in Christianity, we are more or less guilty of “new high” strategies as we “market” the gospel in this “consumer” culture. 

My heart cries out!  Where is the simplicity in Christ that was so valued by the early New Testament believers?  Where is the sacrifice, the service, the humility, the compassion, the holiness, the sincerity, the spontaneous joy, the natural peace?  Have we traded the real thing for substitutes?  Better buildings, newer technology, crisper literature, well oiled programs, satisfying systems, precisely planned schedules, careful budgets, trained staff… the list could get long.  Not that any of those things are intrinsically evil.  Indeed, God can use any or all of them if they are sanctified by faith and love and controlled by the Spirit.  However, if we would pause and meditate, we would readily admit that God can/could/did work without any of those things.  Are we focused on their use because we are convinced that God wants to use us that way… or because we actually think that their use leads conveniently in the upwardly mobile direction which our ambition (and perhaps religious pride) leans.

I once heard a radio personality grieving over the overstimulation of the present way of life.  Eyes, ears, nose, mouth and skin… never perceivably as busy (in history) as today; never as preoccupied as at the present.  My weak memory is telling me that it was Blaise Pascal who pointed out the following: men run to and fro their whole life long looking for “diversions” to keep themselves from having to deal with the BIG issues of life; the issues that revolve around our relationship with our Maker and the expectancies that He has when He looks at us.  Unfortunately we have so many diversions in our world today that it seems very likely that a man could live his whole life without ever having to really pause to consider the meaning of it all.  Music, art, money, food, beauty, new experiences, exotic places – the multiplicity of choices have become so incredibly varied and available that a man might well wake up in hell without having ever seriously reflected on the ramifications of living this life.  One of the Old Testament prophets once complained of this (even in his ancient day) concerning the rebel: “God is not in all his thoughts” (Psalm 10:4).

Here’s my point plain and simple.  There is nothing wrong with striving to improve; working toward expansion; reaching farther (personally or corporately).  But, in the name of all that is holy, be satisfied with tasks as plain as passing out bottles of water… if that is the task God has for you at the moment.  According to the revealed Word of God it is the weak, the simple, the foolish things that God as predominantly chosen to use in the reestablishing of His reign within the hearts of mankind; not necessarily crusades, revolutions, revivals, amazing presentations or charismatic leaders (though I cheer His very capable use of these as well).  I’m saying that God can (and does) bless the mundane, the familiar, the repetitive, the obscure, the unnoticed… yes even the boring tasks… when they are done for the genuine love of His name.  The next “thing” doesn’t have to be more spectacular than the last thing.

Push to do great things!  Fine!  Let’s do it!  But first, gauge if a thing is right… right in the timing, plan and purpose of God; right according to the infallible Bible we hold; right due to the calling of God upon our life; right in line with the leadership of the Holy Spirit. 

Great?  OK.  No reason to oppose “great” things.  Embrace them when God avails you of the opportunity.  Pray for enlarged coasts and even for present success. 

But…

Now, some random, closing thoughts along these lines:

German Christa Wolf once wrote, “Awe is composed of reverence and dread.  I often think that people today have nothing left but the dread.”  What if the proper components of awe are replaced with the placebos of modern entertainment and ambition?  Woe is man!  Ever aiming at a higher sense of awe, but obtaining it by artificial means.

Personally, I hail the intense.  Our faith sometimes is hollow and lacking in intensity.  God is certainly worthy of intense worship and passionate service.  But the simplest service in the unnoticed corner can and should be as intense as the extravagant accomplishment on the largest stage.  (I’m saying this, but can I live it?)

Substance!  That’s where it’s at!  And the small things and the same things can still have the highest degree of substance.  My wife kisses me three times every time we part even if our separation is to be only for a few minutes.  Sure, it’s repetitious.  No, I don’t imagine that she gets goose bumps every time.  Yet I treasure the ritual as much as I do our most precious love secrets.  If she were to cease or even skip the expected triplicate – I would be negatively affected.  It represents something very precious to me.  There is substance in it.  So too the Christian walk; substance, reality, sincerity, authenticity, depth – these can be found even in the supply of a cup of water for an “insignificant” child.  God is pleased!

I could ramble on and on, but I forebear.  As I was finishing this blog entry today (sitting with my laptop in the Salisbury Mall food court), I noticed a series of signs throughout the large hall with giant lettering: “Give the Ultimate Gift!”  Well, to me, when I hear of someone giving “the ultimate gift” (more precisely, making the ultimate sacrifice) it usually means dying for someone.  Christ is the ultimate gift of God.  But, no – turns out that the ultimate gift is “style” . . . style! style? more honestly, an American Express card.  Talk about an anticlimax.  Nothing against American Express, but their card (even if it is as “green” as advertised) in no way approaches “ultimate” – IMHO.  Neither is style in any way ultimate.  Yet, there it was.  Even today’s advertising slogans have to be more impressive, catchier, more convincing than the last one.  Where does it end? 

We must not fall prey to this mentality as believers.  Stick to the basics.  The gospel of Christ and a changed life are the tools that you and I need.  Reach the guy next to you whoever he is and you will be accomplishing your mission.  We don’t have to win everyone at once.  They don’t even have to weep and wail.  Just be real and be obedient.  God will use you.  He will use me.  Your calling may include things that are incredibly familiar and even blah, but sanctified by God’s presence and your humble love for the Master… what you are doing matters infinitely (present accolades or not).  Our vocation may not be earth shattering and sensational now, but eternity will be affected and all of the sensations we’ve ever craved will pale in comparison to the sensation we will experience if we get to hear, “Well done!  You are a good and faithful steward!”  Now, that’s the big peak that we SHOULD be focused on.

And, by the way, if you felt that this blog entry takes a rather blasé approach or is too trite – well, then I’m just living exactly what I’m preaching.  LOL!  It’s the simple things in life, you know…

I found the following ridiculous statement about motherhood on www.wikipedia.org Friday: “Because of the complexity and differences of the social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, it is challenging to define a mother in a universally accepted definition.”  Well, well, well… I suppose if the objective is “universal acceptation” then anything would be hard to define.  But, I, for one couldn’t care less about universal acceptance.  Truth is truth regardless of how widely or narrowly it is accepted.  (And, I’m getting accustomed to holding positions that are narrowly appreciated anyway).  Now really, motherhood is not so difficult to define.  A mother is a “female parent” – duh!  Personally, I’ve never wondered for even one moment about what a mother is, or who my mother is, or who the mother of my children is nor what the responsibilities of a mother are… Grrrr!  Of course with some of the modern dysfunctional and redefined perversions of the family unit that are given prominence and approval these days, it’d be no wonder if some are sincerely confused I suppose.  I can’t imagine having to wonder, “Who is my Mommy?” “Do I have a Mommy?” or worse, “What’s a Mommy?”  God give us wholesome and traditional homes with one Daddy, one Mommy, a quiver full of kiddies and an endless commitment to preserve this sacred prize that is under such vicious satanic attack in these last days.

Anyway…

Today, I want to honor the two grand ladies in my life; two mothers – my Momma and my wife.

There are no two people on the earth that I am as connected with physically or emotionally as I am to these two.  Having been born and reared by my Momma and having fathered five (one in heaven due to a miscarriage) children by my wife – the connection is obviously an intimate one in both cases.  Additionally, and fittingly too, there are no two people who have done more for me in this life than these two.  Tonya Marie Talley and Rebecca June Talley are two VERY special gifts from God, gifts that I’m deeply grateful for.

So, how do I honor them?

Naturally, I begin from the Bible.  In John 19:27, it is written, “Then He said to the disciple [John], ‘Behold your mother!’ And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.”  I assume that Jesus was being a wise and responsible son, watching out for His Mom as He looked death in the face.  He was making sure that she would be cared for when He was gone.  Yet, He was God.  God doesn’t need to ask anyone to watch out for the people that He cares for.  Truly, He does assign us to one another anyway – but it’s not due to any necessity.  Jesus loved the woman that birthed Him… on a human level, He loved her.  I know – He loves us all!  In fact, He said that any of us who will do His will is as close to Him as Mary was (Matthew 12:50 & Mark 3:35).  Yet, at that moment… while He hung on the cross, being so completely and incredibly human, He spoke to His mother and made provision for her (I believe) because she was simply so very precious to Him.  He never had an earthly father, wife or child… but He did have a human mother.  His heart yearned in her direction because of her plight.  Surely, as with every good mother’s normal offspring, His soul would have cared for her because of their uniquely shared experiences.  Perhaps his passion was elevated not only by His own impeccable holiness, but by the reality that she had been highly favored above all women, yet he undoubtedly thought upon the reality that “to whom much is given, much is required.”  How could Mary bare the weight of what she was witnessing?  Her sin was the cause of the death of her own son… and Him being perfect at that!

How many other dying men have longed to have a mother by their side at that moment?  When we are scared, alone or hurting… we long for that feminine compassion that only Moms can give.  Even God Himself took on this beautiful personage in describing himself as a being a mother to us in Isaiah 66:13.

Can there be anything more precious and comforting than motherly love.  I speak from experience… there is nothing like it!

Thanks ladies!  I love you both!  I pray that my daughters will follow your holy examples.

 

Some Musings about “Eternal Security”

As I said last week, I have been mulling or musing for (over) a month now about the nature of salvation as well as the timing of the transaction.  Not that I wonder about it on a personal level any more, but I frequently encounter questions about it.  People say things like: How do I know if I’m really still saved?  If I skip church, do I go to hell?  Do you think so-and-so is still a saved; there is no fruit in their life?  Why would any believer care to do right (after salvation) if they are “eternally secure” no matter what?  How does this passage or that passage of Scripture fit into this doctrinal position of eternal security?  What if a person commits suicide, does that condemn them even if they were a believer?  Are the Armenians right, or are the Calvinists right?  The questions are as varied as the individuals inquiring.  Doubtless every inquisitor has a specific situation that has prompted them toward considering the topic in the first place… but, I think a better and more pure question would be this: Is salvation a single event, a process or an eventual product?  Surprisingly, the answer is: YES!  Huh?

I think the easiest place to start on a controversial and vital topic such as this is in the place where Jesus always seemed to start, with stories.  No, I’m not going to tell any stories, I just want you to think about the Bible characters that most of us have read about for years.  If the return of humanity to peace with God is the objective of redemption, then surely the testimonies of those who have escaped their ostracized spiritual condition through faith should serve as examples for us to observe and to learn from.  While there are plenty of believers, make believers, opponents and apostates in the Scriptural record, I just have a difficult time personally seeing how any character in the Bible can be clearly described as once saved, justified, accepted, adopted, redeemed, born again (whichever etymological angle you prefer) and then thereafter lost, condemned, rejected and forever separated from the God that was once glad to be called their God (Hebrews 11:16).  Certainly I can’t find people moving in and out of God’s family in cycles of belief and unbelief (in some kind of saved-lost-saved-lost-saved pattern).

There are plenty of characters who followed God outwardly for a time (think: king Saul or the apostle Judas Iscariot), only to end their life in shame and evident unbelief.  There are even more who walked in wickedness with brief spurts of apparent humility (think: Esau or Pharaoh).  There are some who had a form of repentance, but lacked faith in God.  There are others who seemed pleased to believe, but balked at repentance.   Undoubtedly though, the problem with every case is that we can only view the works of these men.  Sometimes God tells us plainly what was in their heart, but at other times we are left to wonder (think: Simon the Sorcerer). 

There are some (Able, Enoch, Joseph, Daniel, Job, Elisha, the deacon Stephen & the apostle Paul) who escaped life with a virtually impeccable testimony of faith, presumably or obviously after a specific conversion experience.  Yet, we know that they were still sinners even in the midst of their walk with God (many of them plainly said as much).  But, the most common human player in the biblical drama is obviously the simple sinner; sinful sons of Satan… redeemed, and therefore amazingly… they were then sinful sons of God.  Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Gideon, Samson, David, Solomon, Hezekiah, Peter & others: all had distinct dips in their spiritual/moral walk.

I’m no expert or theologian; I’m aware of that.  I’m not even sure I’m a very good student.  I don’t claim to have all of the answers, or even many answers.  Certainly the critic will still have questions, maybe even more than before, after reading my meditations.  But, many people do indeed approach me about this and I kinda’ like to organize my answers in this manner (writing).  The purpose of this blog entry (from my point of view) is that my perspective might be precisely articulated… and that the genuine confidence of those who already hold this position might be somewhat strengthened. 

I have been reminded recently of a few passages that (according to some people) make our “once saved, always saved” dogma seem to be out of line.

This is so involved that I hardly know where to start.  So let’s just jump in here: the epistle to the Hebrews.

Hebrews 10:26-31 is one passage that was brought to me recently.  Let’s look at it.  Begining with verse 23…

“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised;) and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as you see the day approaching.  For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.  He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: of how much sorer punishment, suppose you, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and has done despite unto the Spirit of grace?  For we know Him that has said, ‘Vengeance belongs unto me, I will recompense, says the Lord.’  And again, ‘The Lord shall judge His people.’  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

And let’s not leave out the end of the chapter: verses 35-39,

“Cast not away therefore your confidence, which has great recompense of reward.  For you have need of patience, that, after you have done the will of God, you might receive the promise.  For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry.  Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, My soul shall have no pleasure in him.  But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.”

Those verses can’t be ignored any more than these powerfully disturbing verses of Hebrews 6:4-9:

“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame.  For the earth which drinks in the rain that comes oft upon it, and brings forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receives blessing from God: but that which bears thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.  But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.”

Well now, admittedly there are a number of phrases that could shake one up (as I believe was exactly one of the author’s intentions), yet let’s not lose sight of how both sections of instructed introspection are closed.  Read these two again…

“But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.” Hebrews 10:39

“But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.” Hebrews 6:9

Even though apostasy is the obvious topic in both chapters, there was that reassuring caveat at the end of both shots.  Assuming that Paul wrote this letter – notice that he was speaking with confidence about himself and his audience.  “We are real.  We are genuine.  We have got what it takes (or better, WHO it takes).”  He wasn’t just being optimistic.  He recognized that there is a difference in the saved/sealed genuine believer and the vacillating/professing believer.  Isn’t it likely that Paul was trying to reach out to the “Messianic Jews” in his audience that had followed after the apostolic movement and who had even been affected by the atmosphere of true spirituality, yet this tare had not taken that crucial step of faith, there had been no adoptive transaction whereby they had become a permanent abode of the Spirit of Christ.  In their case, there was no “salvation” possessed FOR them to lose.  Sure, there was an opportunity to squander, but no deed to burn.  There was a creed, an experience, a company – but not the mystical and mysterious effectual change that only God can bring to pass in the heart of a man (who is expressing both repentance and faith, as a result of the Spirit and the Word).  These people described as “falling away” and “drawing back” weren’t just insecure in their spiritual life… they didn’t have the life of God in them in the first place.  They didn’t have the Son.  First John 5:12, “He that has the Son has life; and he that has not the Son of God has not life (present tense).”  Not an experience, an adjustment, an association, a religion, a commitment… no, a person; Jesus.  He is obtained through “Epistle of James” faith; a faith that only God can produce in the heart of a man.  Hebrews 12:8 labels “Christians” who do not have the seal of the Spirit: “bastards.”  They are illegitimate.  God is not their Father.  They never had a salvation to lose.  They are lost.  They were always lost.  And, more still, when their actual condition is manifest in full apostasy… then their condition is absolutely hopeless.  There is no tool left with which to minister the gospel to them.  They’ve heard it all, and didn’t convert.  They’re lost forever.  It’s best described in First John 2:19, "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us."

Another passage brought to my attention by a dear saintly friend of mine is Matthew 5:13, “You are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted?  It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men” (as well as a companion text in Luke 14:33-35).  I’ll not commit much time to this one because it seems clear to me that the saltiness of a believer refers to their effectiveness as a witnessing disciple, not to the saved-or-lost condition of their soul.  Any real child of God can render himself useless on earth though fleshly living.  A branch must abide in the vine if fruit is to be produced, but I do not for one instance believe that the removal of a branch from the vine is equal to the hypothetical removal of the indwelling Holy Spirit who inhabits EVERY redeemed child of God in this New Testament church age.

It is my position that not all labeled "believers" are actually "born again". . .  James 2:19, "You believe that there is one God; you do well: the devils also believe, and tremble."  Are the demons saved by their brand of “belief”?  No!  Even though it is coupled with a brand of fear?  No!  Now, Paul preached "...both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21).  An unrepentant "faith" is an unproductive faith, which is what (I hold) MANY professors of Christ have.  But, a person who has been actually redeemed (saved) by grace, upon the conditions of repentance and faith, is "...sealed unto the day of redemption" by the indwelling Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). 

Who knows which man is the genuine article, except God and that sincere believer?  To make matters worse, some think they have it and really don’t.  Could others fear that they don’t, but they truly do?  No wonder Jesus is the only qualified judge.  Yet, though He alone can perfectly declare the status of a man’s soul, the Bible plainly pronounces the avenue and means of salvation.  So, abstractly, we speak with certainty even as Peter did in the early chapters of Acts. 

You have probably considered some of these pro-permanence verses before, but here they are again:

John 10:27-29, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.  My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand."

John 6:37, "All that the Father gives me shall come to me; and him that comes to me I will in no wise cast out."

Philippians 1:6, "Being confident of this very thing, that He which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ…"

There are many other passages that I could go to, but perhaps one of the strongest is this one concerning how the church was to handle the young "believer" involved in brazen incest: "Deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus" (1 Corinthians 5:5).  It seems clear enough that his eternal destiny was secure even if his sanctification was grossly lacking.

There are preachers who feel like the threat of damnation is needed to keep parishioners in line, but I find that the Scripture teaches otherwise in Romans 2:1-4, "Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whosoever you are that judges: for wherein you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you that judges do the same things.  But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.  And do you think this, O man, that judges them which do such things, and does the same, that you shall escape the judgment of God?  Or do you despise the riches of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?"  It is the guarantee of God’s grace that motivates me toward personal holiness, not a threat of Him retracting His word of grace.

Even Matthew 7:23, in talking about the damned, teaches the absolute certainty and permanence of redemption. "And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity."  He will not say, "I once knew you, but I don't any more."  You know, even looking at it in an overly simplistic way, it is the very nature of eternal/everlasting life that it would be a permanent possession.  That is the definition of eternal... not temporary or intermittent life.  If my relationship with God can be severed by sin or a lapse in my faith, then it is my own righteousness and maintaining fortitude that assures my eternal destiny, not Christ's righteousness nor His faithfulness to His own promise (Hebrews 10:23).  If the life can be lost, then can it be eternal/everlasting?  Check these proof texts out: 

Hebrews 5:9,"Being made perfect, He [Jesus] became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him…"

1 John 5:11, "God hath given to us eternal life..."

John 6:51, "I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever..."

John 5:24, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that hears my word, and believes on Him that sent Me [I’ve done this, have you], has [past tense] everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."

I’ve wearied some of you and lost other at this point, but I can’t resist adding a few more that must be reckoned with in my opinion:

John 6:39, "This is the Father's will which has sent Me, that of all which He has given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day."

1 Peter 4:19, "Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator."

1 John 3:20, "If our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things."

2 Timothy 1:12, "For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day."

2 Timothy 2:13, "If we believe not, yet He abides faithful: He cannot deny Himself."

2 Timothy 2:19, "Nevertheless the foundation of God stands sure, having this seal, The Lord knows them that are His."

Finally, I asked a question early on that I want to repeat here:  is salvation a single event, a process or an eventual product?  I said that the answer is: YES!  See, man is body, soul and spirit.  God said in Genesis to the first human, “The day that you sin, you will die” (Genesis 2:17).  Did Adam die that day?  Well, it depends on what part of man you are evaluating.  Man died in the spirit instantaneously.  Man began to die in his body, but the final breath wasn’t released for some 900 years.  If Adam did not return to God in faith (I don’t know if he did or not), then his soul is still dying in hell today.  QUESTION: Shouldn’t the form of salvation match the form of death?!?  I affirm that it does!  I was saved in spirit in an instant when the Holy Ghost moved into my heart on August, 13 1985.  God is working on the sanctification of my body and by degrees I am growing in grace in this physical world, becoming more close to the life He designed and desires for me.  Because I’m under the blood of Jesus, my soul will return to the God who gave it when this life is over. 

Whether you agree with my labeling of the salvation of the three parts of the individual or not, surely you can understand this simple outline…

1.       I am saved (past tense) from the penalty of sin.

2.       I am being saved (presently) from the power of sin.

3.       I will be saved (future tense) from the presence of sin.

My postulation, though, is that once this process has begun through the initial conversion of an individual, it is irreversible.  Just think of what the Word says in John 2:23-25, “Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, in the feast day, many believed in His name, when they saw the miracles which He did.  But Jesus did not commit Himself unto them, because He knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man: for He knew what was in man.”  I know I’m opening a can of worms, but I don’t care.  He didn’t commit Himself to them in the present because He knew of their future retraction.  He understood fully their insincerity.  Would God grant His eternal Spirit to a man that He knew He would have to withdraw from in the future?  I (for one), think not.

A Christian who lives without the knowledge of the complete liberty that we have in Christ is sure to be a defeated Christian and one without the confidence and assurance, which, I’m certain, God desires to give us. 

Oh friend, shout it from the highest mountain: “Once saved, always save!”  He is holding me, not the other way around.

Are there are many who CLAIM to be saved, but never have been?  Of course, hence many who will say "LORD" are not the children of righteousness… and they never have been.

I close with a quote from C. H. Spurgeon,

“What a cleansing power in His blood to take away sin such as ours! and what glory in His righteousness to make such unacceptable creatures to be accepted in the Beloved!  Mark, believer, how sure and unchanging must be our acceptance, since it is in Him! Take care that you never doubt your acceptance in Jesus.  You cannot be accepted without Christ; but, when you have received His merit, you cannot be unaccepted (emphasis added).  Notwithstanding all your doubts, and fears, and sins, Jehovah's gracious eye never looks upon you in anger; though He sees sin in you, in yourself, yet when He looks at you through Christ, He sees no sin.  You are always accepted in Christ, are always blessed and dear to the Father's heart. Therefore lift up a song…”

from Evening, March 28

 

(Thoughts for tonight’s SCA Jr./ Sr. Banquet)

First of all, my apologies (or congratulations as the case may be) on a month of silence…  I’ve had an “excuse” not to blog every Friday for a month now.  I won’t bore you with the details, but (I’m finally in the office on a Friday, and so) I do hope to return now to a regular routine again.  By my count this is blog entry # 167 (it was a daily thing for a while).  This little journey of writing began in April, 2 years ago, so… happy anniversary to us this month I guess.  The weekly (Hru-hrumm!) e-mail notification list now includes 75 recipients and I thank each and every one of you who read weekly (or… somewhat less often perhaps). 

I have been mulling or musing for a month now about the nature of salvation and the timing of the transaction.  In fact, I’ve been working on a different blog, but decided (having glanced at the clock) that this one might be better for today instead.  I’ll save the other one for later (God willing).  This is technically not a blog at all, it is the transcript of what I intend to say tonight at the Seaford Christian Academy prom (well… Jr./Sr. banquet actually, since evidently there will be no dancing – whew!) J  

The first time I spoke @ a Jr./Sr., I was told that I needed to be funny.  Well, I’m not naturally a funny guy (and I am aware of that reality) so I took a latex surgical glove with me and pulled it down over my head, only to then blow it up through my nose.  That was the best I could do… 

Sorry, I didn’t bring one tonight.

Seriously, I was told by a good friend from the deep south to tell you two things: 1) Don’t do drugs & 2) Take responsibility for yourself, don’t be a permanent mooch.  Good advice!  But, having said that for him (and for you), I want to go a different direction.

Tonight, since I don’t know you and you don’t know me… and you’re not exactly here to hear me, I want to keep it as simple, serious and straightforward as possible.

If you believe in God, then the most important thing in this world is this: knowing what it is that He is interested in; especially concerning you, in particular.  If you don’t believe in God (specifically in His son Jesus Christ), then nothing matters.  But, if you do truly care about fulfilling your purpose in existing; if you desire to please the God who gives you each breath that you take, then you need to know what catches His attention and what brings Him pleasure.  I want to tell you what that is.  But first, what it’s not.

God has very little interest in your resume.  He is not impressed by your level of cool (or my lack thereof), your intelligence, your athletic ability, your aesthetic qualities, your personality, your list of companions, your accomplishments… nor even your reputation, your religious or humanitarian service, your Bible knowledge, the personal sacrifices you’ve made or the level of morality that you’ve maintained (if you have). 

I’m not saying that those things are altogether irrelevant, but there is an overshadowing issue that supersedes all other matters… it is the DIRECTION of your heart.  If the aim of our soul is warped, then ultimately EVERYTHING else in our life is also skewed.

2 Chronicles 16:9 says, “The eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him.”  What an amazing thing, that a simple preposition could carry such weight!  TOWARD Him…  

Which way are you facing?  There are 360 degrees in a circle, right?  But only one specific linear direction leads to any given point.  Let me tell you something absolute.  God is at the end of only one narrow road, and that is the narrow road of faith in Christ; saving faith and continued daily faith.  Whether you are facing a few degrees away from Him or 180 degrees away from Him… either way, you are still distracted and you thereby stand in the way of the grace that God desires to pour out upon you. 

God has a plan for you and me.  It is a perfect plan.  It includes incredibly important & obvious crisis moments like 1) getting saved 2) joining a church 3) choosing a college 4) finding a mate of the opposite sex 5) discovering a career, a calling… as well as an endless number of less obvious yet equally significant forks in our roads.  In fact, there are so many crucial points of decision in our life that it is virtually impossible for us to be sufficiently “on guard” at all times.  We do not know the future and therefore even the most diligent and disciplined human on the planet is still subject to the very real possibility of their life becoming an absolute and complete catastrophe.  The only one that sees it all; that knows it all and cares enough to keep things right (by eternal standards) is God Himself.  And… the most germane thing that He asks of you and me is that we keep “looking unto Jesus” – this is a direction! 

Is God the focus of your attention?  I did not ask if you are giving him a piece of your pie.  Jesus doesn’t want 10% or a even a majority of your life… he wants you!  All of you!  Not “all you can DO” . . .  YOU!  He wants your heart.  He wants your undivided attention.  He wants your unadulterated devotion.  He wants YOU to be addicted to HIM, to HIS PRESENCE.  In short, He is in love with us, and He wants an equivalent response from us… forever.

Give yourself to Him and don’t look back.  In Luke 9:62, “Jesus said, ‘No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.’”

It’s all about the direction you’re going!  Is your heart drawn to Your Savior?  Or, is it drawn only to yourself… or perhaps to the world?  When Jesus and John the Baptist came preaching, their messages to humanity were identical: REPENT!  Repent; change your mind!  The natural bent of our passionate innermost metaphysical self is grossly anti-God.  Additionally, only God can entice the reigns of the will… like a magnet draws iron to itself. Hence, I close with Psalm 119:36a, where the Hebrew poet prayed to the Father, “Incline my heart unto Your testimonies…”  Make that verse your prayer. 

I too am easily distracted by evil; and even sometimes by good things. Here is my prayer, “Lord, don’t lead me into temptation!  I desire to see Your will done!  What is it that You want, God?  Make a wish!  God in heaven, You, make a wish!  ...Oh, I see, You want my undiluted love.  Ok, you’ve got it” 

I think sincere prayers like that are what God hungers to hear.  He may not need us (be assured, He doesn’t); yet He certainly wants us.  Is our heart perfect toward Him?  Or, are we demanding that He share us with something or somebody else.  Every decision we make should be affected and even dominated by the fact that we are constantly looking up.  That is precisely what He is looking for.

 

The Price of Righteousness…

This week I read the end of the book of Judges.  I was once again miserably amazed by some of the notable events that occurred during those centuries after Joshua’s death and prior to the rise of Samuel the prophet.  I have no doubt that similar occurrences could be pulled from most any other culture, geographical location or historical era, yet this story is told by GOD Himself about HIS OWN PEOPLE and is evidently presented as a representation of the immoral condition of the nation of Israel as a whole at that time. 

In chapter nineteen a horror story of violence and perversion is told.  Read it for yourself, but allow me to point out the two pinnacles of debauchery. 

First, in verse twenty-five, the Scripture says that the wicked Jewish men of Gibeah (sodomite Benjamites) accepted as a consolation prize the loose concubine of a certain Ephraimite and “…they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go.”  Quite literally she was gang raped all night; violated so violently that (according to the following verses) it killed her. 

There were many horrors which proceeded and which also followed that tragic night, but the second unbelievably staggering event that I must point out centers on how the Ephraimite man responded to this situation.  He hacked his dead woman into twelve pieces and sent the parts all over the nation as an advertisement of how cruel the men of Gibeah had been to his concubine and as a call for retribution!

Well, thankfully…. the response of the people of Israel was certainly commendable.  They gathered under the leadership of the mighty and fearless Phinehas and declared war on Benjamin.  Now consider what happened next:

1.       The nation was unified against this sin – Judges 20:11.

2.       The nation demanded (unsuccessfully) that only the perpetrators be delivered up for justice – Judges 20:13.

3.       The nation went to the house for God for council from their God – Judges 20:18a.

4.       God told them to send the tribe of Judah out FIRST into the war – Judges 20:18b.

5.       The nation lost the first battle and 22,000 soldiers of righteousness died in the battle; killed by the hands of those wicked Benjamite warriors – Judges 20:21.

6.       The nation wept before the Lord, asked HIM if they should continue and at HIS word went out again to fight the rebels - Judges 20:23.

7.       The nation lost again in this second battle and another 18,000 soldiers of righteousness died in the battle – Judges 20:25.

8.       The people of God wept, fasted, sacrificed, prayed and enquired of God again – Judges 20:28.

9.       At God’s command they went to fight the third time.  After the loss of “about thirty men of Israel” God finally gave them the victory and they utterly annihilated the evil tribe of Benjamin.  Only 600 men of that tribe escaped.  Every man, woman, boy, girl, infant and animal was killed and every city of the tribe of Benjamin was burned to the ground.  Righteousness at last prevailed! – Judges 20:39-48.

Here was what struck me when I read this story again.  Why did God take three days and allow 40,030 of the “good guys” to die before he blessed the nation with victory?  Sure, it’s His prerogative to do whatever He pleases… I’m not debating that.  He’s isn’t required to answer to you or to me for anything that He causes or allows.  On the other hand, perhaps we can detect a pattern and precedent that is being established and therefore a lesson that is being taught. 

Conceivably we’ve discovered one of many precepts here.  When we chose to follow after righteousness there is frequently (if not always) a great price to be paid; a sacrifice that is required!  The evil sodomites and their equally evil defenders won a few battles; their prosperity was initial and frightening.  The holy defenders of righteousness walked in faith and yet they were initially cut down to the ground, embarrassed, humiliated, defeated and even confused… yet they persisted faithfully.  Their cause was a cause worth killing for and worth dying for.  A nation that allowed such profuse amoral rottenness to continue would shortly be no nation at all.  The Benjamites HAD to be wiped out because they would not submit to righteousness.  Their sin was base and inhumane; contrary even to the natural hungers of the human soul. 

What about us?  How dedicated are we to the cause of Christ?  Would the God of grace and glory require any of us to be a Deacon like Stephen, a preacher like John Baptist or a missionary like Nate Saint?  These men died in their quest to proclaim the truth of Christ.  They died because of their call.  God sent them, as it were, into the teeth of Satan’s unholy machine gun of resistance… God knowing that they would have to give up the ghost for their faith. 

What is the price of righteousness?  Can we yet find a man today who will meekly lie down on the altar even as the patriarch Isaac did and be offered as a sacrifice for the sake of the kingdom of God?

Paul said in Hebrews 12:4, “You have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.”  Notice the word “yet…”

Christ truly died for us.  Sufficient and finished; those words describe what He has done for our salvation.  Yet, what must now be done to bring down God’s holy and purifying Spirit of power to empower His holy church and to purge this world of the ever encroaching flames of Satanism.  Abortion, homosexuality, violence, materialism, sensuality, ambition, etc… these things dominate this world and are seeping into the church.  Pride, coldness, selfishness, self-righteousness, hedonism, etc… these words characterize the body of Christ on the whole.  We indeed think that we are rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing; yet we are actually poor, wretched, miserable, blind and naked spiritually… not walking in the faith, love and power which were beneficently granted to us at salvation.   

The blood of martyrs could still be the seed of the church.  Second Timothy 2:12,              “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him…”  I’m not saying the nation of Israel eagerly played kamikaze with smiles of blissful imbecility; just thrilled to be able to die for the cause of removing sodomy from Israel.  No, they wept when they were defeated.  There was anguish and spiritual wrestling.  Yet, when the sun arose, they again ventured their lives with abandon in order to promote justice.

As a child of God, would God use me as kindling to start a revival in His church?

As a husband and father, would God consider me expendable in this world in order for the spiritual growth of those that I love to be accomplished most perfectly?

As citizens of this great country, would God accept the sacrifice of some of us who fear Him before He rids this land of the blights that stare and glare defiantly at everything that is called sacred?

What is the price of righteousness today?  Could it be that we don’t seem to be stemming the tide of unrighteousness because God knows that we aren’t willing to stand the heat that is required to prove our sincerity.  Salvation can indeed come in a moment.  However, don’t forget that it was John the baptizer who said, “Make straight the path for our God!  Prepare the way!”

“Let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream” – Amos 5:24.

“Thy kingdom come!  Thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven!”

This sober meditation which I have written today is no self-righteous diatribe; neither is it bravado.  I’m simply wondering if we are really ready to do REAL battle with Satan.  “Resist the devil” – James 4:7.  But, just be forewarned… God never promised that there wouldn’t be any casualties.

The options are plain… comfortable cowardice… or… contented courage…  

I need grace….

“Find That Golden Mean”

Philippians 4:5 says plainly, “Let your moderation be known unto all men.”  Be balanced.  Find that golden medium.  There are ditches on both sides of the road.  Don’t go off the deep end!

Recently I discovered the RFD channel on my TV.  Say what you want to, it’s my new favorite channel.  Yesterday, during lunch, I watched a couple of rodeo cowboys practicing their calf roping skills and training their horses to do exactly what they were supposed to do.  It was incredibly interesting.  The younger cowboy was having problems keeping his horse from overrunning the calf.  My untrained eye couldn’t see any difference in the horse before or after their session of training.  Yet, according to the cowboy, the exercises which they were repeating were helping to “soften” the horse up enough that he had more control of the horse and therefore a better shot at the calf. 

The way they got the horse to stop pushing so hard was like this: several times out of the gate the rider would suddenly stop the horse at the point where he would usually have thrown his rope instead.  Evidently this keeps the horse from knowing exactly what’s about to happen; so he doesn’t run quite so hard that way.  If he never has to stop, then he gets accustomed to running full speed with no reservations and is therefore not adjustable – not good.

This reminded me of a struggle that I face weekly in the ministry… balance. 

Imbalance is one of the easiest pitfalls for me to fall into.  How do we prioritize our activities, interests, responsibilities and (hardest of all) our doctrine?  Devotion, marriage, parenting, pastoring, preaching, family, friendship, education, household chores, citizenship, neighboring, sanity… when are we to be focused on which, or must we endlessly multitask?  How can anyone do their very best (Ecclesiastes 9:10) at anything when there are more directions to go than we have appendages to send?  Hence, we have the need for wisdom to discern proper prioritization; to live a balanced life. 

I can vividly recall Mike Allison stating once that, (borrowing another cowboy analogy) it is possible to have so many irons in the fire that we put the fire out.  We can be so zealous to get the branding done that our vigor becomes counter productive and we destroy that which we are trying to build.  We smother the energy source.  I suppose this is a rather common dilemma in 21^st century American life, particularly for a Christian.

The balance problem I’ve been frustrated by most recently, though, is a bit more impractical than deciding whether to answer the phone or to kiss my wife (I’ll hear it for that one).  In preaching the truth of God’s eternal Word, one can “go to seed” as “they” say on any one truth and neglect or even eclipse other equally vital concepts.  Oh, how we need the Spirit’s guidance.

In preaching through the book of Galatians, I have recently emphasized without apology (still today) the liberty which we have in Christ.  I am free indeed.  I’m forgiven, redeemed, owned, accepted, beloved by the Creator.  Not by works of righteous which I have done, but according to His mercy… He saved me (adaptation of Titus 3:5)!  God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved me, (loved me even while I was still dead in sins), has brought me back to life with Christ, (by grace I am saved;) and has raised me up, and made me sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (loose adaptation of Ephesians 2:4-6)!  I choose not to frustrate the grace of God (adaptation of Galatians 2:21)!  By attempting to trudge up an avenue of self-improvement or by proclaiming a gospel of self-righteousness I would be spitting in the face of the sufficient Savior.  I dare not go that route.

Yet, in all my justifiable vim and vigor to destroy my own sense of self-worth and self-sufficiency, I may have overstated the case (as I have a habit of doing).  In decrying “rule keeping” and the “standards” of religion and tradition as a means of access to the Father, I hope I haven’t made anyone comfortable in the middle of their own iniquity.  While we as believers are FREE INDEED, we are not free TO sin; rather we are free FROM sin. 

I know we will get to Galatians 5 in a couple of weeks (Lord willing) and I will be able to adjust the tone of this series with verse 13, “Brethren, you have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”  If anyone liked my sermons (putting the law back in its proper place) because they felt less condemnation and more peace while still embracing evil – then may God have mercy on me and my foolishly unclean lips.  Let it be heard loud and clear, “God judges the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day” (Psalm 7:11).  Someone might retort, “Oh, that’s Old Testament dispensational theology; not applicable today.”  Really… well, you might try to tell that to Ananias and Sapphira.  I tell you that the propitiation of God’s wrath only applies to those who are under the blood.  Our Holy Lord still hates sin with a great passion, and He ALWAYS will.  He has 6000 years of pent up anger which He will soon unleash without dilution upon the unregenerate human race in the great and terrible Day of the Lord; which IS still to come.  When King Jesus comes stomping on the winepress full of sinners and executes their bloody sentence, then you might try to explain to me again how our God is all nice love and cuddly mush… Oh, ‘tis true, He desires to extend that kind of generosity to everyone, but it is found ONLY under the blood and ONLY in faith in Christ. 

So, moving past the lost sinner and on to the wayward saint: Hebrews 12:6 says clearly, “Whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.”  God EXPECTS obedience from His young’ns.  In faith, sure!  Dependence on Him, absolutely!  Led by the Spirit, always!  Embraced in God’s liberal and condescending grace, Amen!  Answering to our Master and NOT subject to human judgment, Whew, Hallelujah!  Free to worship in spirit and in truth regardless of circumcision, race, gender, culture, intelligence, clothing style, health or socioeconomic standard, yes! 

But, BUT… free to choose our own route and live as we please, hardly!  God didn’t save me so that I could do as I please; He saved me so I could do as He pleases.  Salvation is enablement.  Prior to redemption I had no capacity for pleasing the Father.  My most moral efforts were far too insufficient.  However, now, the least little service or desire which I am involved in (if clothed in love for Christ, faith in Him and sincere humility of mind), IS INDEED accepted as an eternal investment and raises a balance of fine gold in the spiritual treasury vault in heaven.  Faith is the victory!   YEEEEEEHAW!!!  

So… balance, eh?  Let’s try it this way…

1.       Since even the very perfect law of God wasn’t meant to save us, only to condemn us, neither can any man-made system save us (nor can it sanctify or perfect the saved).  Moral codes can only bring us to the realization of our own wretched guilt and our own feeble inadequacies.  As such, we need to be very careful not to construct religious systems (outwardly attainable by our disciples) that can detract from the image of the permeating power of the grace of Christ.   If we make a list and say, “Do these things and you are acceptable; fail and you are rejected,” then we are distracting people from the encompassing gift of God’s compassion and the natural holiness which only He is capable of imputing into the life of a believer.

2.       On the other hand, clearly God has never issued even one “license” to sin.  Believer to believer… do right brother!  Do right till the stars fall.  Romans 13:14 commands us, “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.”  God hates lying, cheating, stealing, killing, coveting, selfishness, pride, fornicating, backbiting, gossip, laziness, bitterness, grudges, violence, filthy minds and filthy mouths.  If anything, these vices and others bother Him more in His children than they do in the Devil’s children.  We have no excuse.  He has GIVEN us the victory if we will but live in it.  

Back to # 1 though, if we avoid lying, cheating, stealing, killing, coveting, selfishness, pride, fornicating, backbiting, gossip, laziness, bitterness, grudges, violence, filthy minds and filthy mouths and assume that our “saintliness” impresses God and makes us acceptable, we are deceived (whether saved or lost).  Luke 15:7, “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repents, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.”

Now, if we (for example) skip church to do something of lesser significance, God knows our heart.  I don’t condemn people for missing church services.  They answer to God, NOT to me.  Yet, I say without apology that if a person is pushed by the Spirit toward faithfulness to the assembly of the body, and he or she resists – it is sin.  Be not deceived, God is not mocked.  Whatever a man sows, that he also will reap (that’s from Galatians 6:7; we’ll get there soon enough too).  

Obviously, if my high attendance record makes me feel acceptable or superior then I need to return to point # one and restudy liberty vs. legalism.  I need a reminder of my absolute worthlessness apart from God’s grace.  God is not impressed with, nor does he need, my righteous record.  It’s supposed to be a result of my walk with Him anyway (not the basis of my walk with Him).  Of course, faithful attendance can certainly be conducive to growth and faith, depending on the attitude of the heart.  Remember, the same sun that melts wax also hardens clay; so this is very subjective.  Yet, faith does come by hearing… and faithfulness is indeed required of a steward… 

Still, if I, on the other hand, focus primarily on my eternal security and allow myself to become lax in my fellowship with and service for the Savior, then the law should reasonably raise its hard browed head and shake a fist at me, reminding me of the holiness of my God and of the high expectations that condemn millions who behave no differently than I do.  Not that there is any power within the law any more to actually damn me, but a reminder might be healthy and helpful anyway.  

Again… the dilemma remains; how to achieve an appropriate balance in emphasis?  I’m called to comfort the simple sinner by magnifying God’s abundant grace and the power of the blood to wipe all sin and guilt away.  Yet, I’m also called to proclaim God’s righteous call for diligent and faithful service... to the growing believer.  Lastly, I must warn the mature saint who struggles with keeping their wholesome distaste for the sins of the flesh from expanding into self-righteousness and meddling judgmentalism.  Balance, balance, balance…

Where is that golden mean?

Even as I study the teachings of Jesus, Paul and James, I find there certain lectures that are all “wrath” or, sometimes conversely, all “mercy.”  Maybe it just depends on the circumstance and the audience.  Just like whether the cowboy stops his horse or pushes it harder depends on many things, even so the emphases required on the various characteristics of the gospel might logically be diverse, depending on whom God is trying to adjust on any given Sunday.

Is this blog an apologetic effort?  Maybe…  But mostly, I’m just working through (albeit somewhat publicly) some troubling wrestling matches that are in my mind.

Tender-footed babes who have been so reassured by three weeks of “all grace” preaching – beware.

Mature leaders who have become shifty and uneasy, wondering where in the world preaching on holy living has gone – be comforted.

These two truths are in no way contrary to one another – at least they shouldn’t be presented that way.  It’s just that I (for one) struggle at times with communicating the one (grace) without doing damage to the other (holiness).

True, Ecclesiastes 12:14 says, “God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”  But, then again, my evil work was nailed to the cross.  Having been judged in Christ, I say with 100% confidence that I will not ever answer for my pre-salvation vices.  Now, the backslidings of the present, well, that’s a different story. 

Where’s the balance?

I can’t even quite satisfy myself that I have found it, even when that is the very foundation of my thesis.

I think I’ll quit typing and go see if I can find a well balanced lunch… less of a challenge.  Or, should I wait for Tonya?  Decisions, decisions…  Where’s the golden mean? J

 

 

“Old Practice, Current Need”

I can’t imagine fasting for 40 days like Jesus and Moses did.  What must it have been like?

Plain and simple, a spiritual or religious fast involves abstaining from something, typically food.  (Usually by choice) to not do something pleasurable and physical in order to do something else of more eternal and spiritual significance should be accepted as a more precise description.

One thing fasting is not; it is not a hocus-pocus leverage tool by which we force God to do for us what we want done.

One of the reasons why I unequivocally prefer a more general definition for fasting; broader than just skipping a meal (or three), is because the Bible clearly paints more broadly and inclusively than does tradition.  For example, in First Corinthians 7:5, Paul mentions how married couples can “fast“ from sexual intimacy in order to focus on prayer: “Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.” (See also Exodus 19:15 where God’s men were commanded, “Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives.”  It was apparently in preparation for the worship expected at the giving of the Decalogue.)

Why am I even interested in the topic of fasting right now anyway?  Well, it’s simple really.  I’ve asked for and received seven volunteers to secretly fast and pray once a week every week until our Youth Pastor’s wife has her baby.  She’s pregnant – Hallelujah!  The fruit of the womb is God’s reward!  Yet, she has received dire warnings from medical professionals concerning the dangers to her life associated with her being pregnant.  So, in obedience to James 5, we are praying for God’s merciful and powerful hand of gracious intervention on her behalf; that she might retain her health and strength, and also that she will deliver this child without serious problems for her or the baby.  In praying, we want to proceed intelligently and biblically.  I write this meditation today for the seven secret fasting saints; glean from it too, if you can.

The core of my advice comes from Isaiah 57:20-59:2.  (Notice the intentional negligence with respect to the typical chapter divisions.)  We don’t want to fast in vain as these Jews did.  We want god to hear, not ignore, us.  Please read this section carefully…

“The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.  ‘There is no peace,’ says my God, ‘to the wicked.’”

“Cry aloud, spare not, lift up your voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.  Yet they seek Me daily, and delight to know My ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of Me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.  ‘Wherefore have we fasted,’ say they, ‘and You see not? Wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and You take no knowledge?’“

“Behold, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, and exact all your labors.  Behold, you fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: you shall not fast as you do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.  Is it such a fast that I have chosen?  A day for a man to afflict his soul?  Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?  Will you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?”  

“Is not this the fast that I have chosen?  To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?   Is it not to deal your bread to the hungry, and that you bring the poor that are cast out to your house? When you see the naked, that you cover him; and that you hide not yourself from your own flesh?”

“Then shall your light break forth as the morning, and your health shall spring forth speedily: and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rearward.  Then shall you call, and the LORD shall answer; you shall cry, and He shall say, ‘Here I am.’  If you take away from the midst of you the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; and if you draw out your soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall your light rise in obscurity, and your darkness be as the noonday: and the LORD shall guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and make fat your bones: and you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.  And they that shall be of you shall build the old waste places: you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called, ‘The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.’”

“If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honorable; and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding you own pleasure, nor speaking your own words: then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; and I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth, and to feed with the heritage of Jacob your father: for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it.”

“Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that He will not hear.”

Now, I’m not using this passage as a rebuke and reproof (as it was originally intended), but instead as a warning and instruction to us today.  Allow me to pick out a few simple salient points based upon that Scripture… and a few others (noted).

1.       Not all fasting impresses (pleases) God or get’s results from Him.

2.       Fasting is still legitimate today. (Luke 5:35)

3.       The motive behind the fast matters immensely.

4.       Fasting should be kept as secret as possible. (Matthew 6:16-18)

5.       Fasting to prove piety is strictly forbidden.

6.       Fasting in order to obtain vengeful or covetous ends is forbidden.

7.       Fasting (abstaining) should extend beyond food.  We should also abstain from other comforts and pleasures that could distract us from our holy purpose; things that consume valuable time… time which we could be spending in prayer.  This is equally important to restraining from food consumption, whether in part or absolutely.  (Some of us might consider a “technology fast”).

8.       Fasting fits specifically with particularly serious dilemmas. (Matthew 17:21)

9.       Fasting is senseless if the devotee has known and unconfessed sins in his or her life.

10.   Fasting for the purpose of blessing others is principally emphasized in the Scripture.

11.   There are joyful times of celebration during which fasting is entirely inappropriate. (Mark 2:19)

12.   Attempt to spend the money you would have spent on yourself (for food, etc., if you hadn’t fasted) on someone else who is in need.

I suppose I could drone on and on explaining and “proof texting” every principle I’ve laid out there, but I refrain.  If you are curious about the source of any of these… well, let me know and I’ll gladly flesh it out.

In short, fasting allows me as an individual to have the time and focus to accomplish more in prayer than I would have otherwise.  I perceive that it also magnifies the seriousness of the matter at hand which has driven us to our knees.  When we change up the most basic aspects of our daily routines and proceed by skipping food, sleep, sex, comfortable clothing, aesthetic hygiene, TV, cell phones, computers, sports, hobbies or whatever else God may lay on our mind… the gravity of the issue for which we intercede is greatly enhanced.

Fast and pray that you enter not into temptation…

This kind comes forth only by prayer and fasting…

When the bridegroom leaves, then you shall fast…

In the case we are dealing with at GBC… the very life of a wife, mother, daughter, sister, leader and friend depends upon the grace which we may obtain from the throne of our God through bold, faith filled fasting and prayer.

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much!

We say it.  Do we believe it?  Will we prove it?

 

 

No Coincidences

Remember those combination pad locks on your high school locker?  I can still remember my first one.  Woo, thought I was big stuff when I had a locked locker J  (10-20-31, I think that was my first combination.  Right 2 times, then left past the 2^nd #, then on left to the 2^nd #, then right to the last one… or something like that).  The combination was preset and absolute.  When I did it right, the lock opened… every time.  I wonder what the likelihood was of someone accidentally entering the right combination?  Something like 1 in 125,000 I think.  I’m no statistician.   

When it comes to the Bible, there are certain combinations that just don’t work and some that fit like hand in glove; that open up great mysteries to the believer.

I guess the oldest bad combination in the book is Matthew 27:5, “He… went and hanged himself” and Luke 10:37, “Go, and do thou likewise.”  That makes for a mildly good anecdote I guess, yet there are other combinations of verses that are legitimately full of truth and power. 

Consider Hebrews 1:5-13: the writer quotes phrases from Psalms 2, 45, 89, 97, 102, 104 & 110 to emphasize the superlative position of Christ.  Such a pattern of combining passages from many places to make a doctrinal point is common in Scripture.  Elsewhere in Hebrews, Acts, the gospels and Paul’s letters, it is a common practice.  If being led by the Spirit, great blessings can be had by following suit.

Here are a few that come to my mind and bless my heart:

“No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him” (John 6:44). 

“If I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me” (John 12:32).   

"Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely" (Revelation 22:17).

Wow!  Putting those passages together makes the evangelist’s gospel very broad and encompassing indeed.  Hallelujah!

How about these confirming the divinity of Christ clearly?

"I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no savior" (Isaiah 43:11).  "There is no God else beside me; a just God and a Savior; there is none beside me" (Isaiah 45:21).   "I am the LORD your God from the land of Egypt, and you shall know no god but me: for there is no savior beside me" (Hosea 13:4).

“Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11).  [See also Acts 5:31; 13:23 & II Peter 1:1].

Oh Emmanuel!  God, with us!  God, manifest in the flesh!  Philip said, “Show us the Father.”  Jesus responded, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.”  Amazing!

Perhaps the most familiar and useful of all is this combination:

"All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

"The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23).

"But God commends [demonstrates, shows, presents, exhibits] his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

"Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13).

As believers we should be practicing this hermeneutic constantly.  Of course we should study in context and consider the overall picture of what God is attempting to communicate to us in His revelation, but each testament, author, book, chapter, verse, phrase, word, root, prefix, suffix and number have significance.  We should always be asking God to connect the dots for us.  He is the only one who has a complete knowledge of how the infinite truths of the Scripture all fit together in a doctrinal network.  Let’s always consider the transcendent author of this great book from which our faith grows.  We can be sure that we will never discover any proper combination of verses that wasn’t originally intended to be viewed together by the Spirit who inspired them.

2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

The working combinations are endless… and they are never coincidental.

Psalm 119:140, “Your word is very pure: therefore your servant loves it.”

Amen!

“Who needs it?”

DUI, DWI… whatever.  It’s deadly, right?  We all know that.  We see it in commercials; the news; various places. 

I saw a Crown Royal commercial recently that had the standard “Drink Responsibly” disclaimer at the bottom of the screen.  I had to chuckle.  In my neck of the woods, drinking “responsibly” equals not drinking at all.  Amen!  (Thanks, Daddy and Momma…. seriously).

The word “sober” means various things to various people.  To the alcoholic, maybe it means he’s not as drunk now as he will be later.  To the traffic cop, well I suppose he is guided by a specific blood alcohol limit standard set by men superior to him in jurisdiction and authority.  To the wife or child of an abusive drunk, perhaps it just it means temporary peace and hollow apologies.

But, for the student of the Bible, what is the point of God’s injunction in favor of sobriety?

Paul said, "We be sober… for your cause" (2 Corinthians 5:13).  OK?  So, what did he mean?  In fact, what did he mean there and elsewhere?  Was he saying that he was on the same side as MADD or the prohibitionist crowd; “VOTE DRY” as the slogan was in our county when I was growing up?  As much as I’m opposed to drunkenness, Paul used this word “sober” several times in his writings, but I don’t think he was talking about liquor consumption per se:

"Let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober" (1 Thessalonians 5:6).

"But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation" (1 Thessalonians 5:8).

"A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach….  Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things" (1 Timothy 3:2 & 11).

"You speak the things which become sound doctrine: that the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience…  Teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children… Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded" (Titus 2:1, 2, 4 & 6).

"Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ….  The end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer" (1 Peter 1:13 & 4:7).

And, the most familiar passage…

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour…" (1 Peter 5:8).

Be sober!  Be sober!  Be sober!  Be sober!  Be sober!  Be sober!  Be sober!  Be sober!  Be sober!  Be sober!  OK already!  I hear you!  But… what do you mean?  Let’s list some apparent qualities about this sobriety:

1.       It’s the opposite of spiritual lethargy; apathy; complacency.

2.       Being spiritually sober includes preparing for spiritual warfare by exercising faith, hope and love.

3.       A preacher is required specifically to be known for practicing this sobriety – whatever it is.

4.       Deacons’ wives also particularly need it.

5.       Men and women both old and young must strive to live in it.

6.       The fact that the end is near demands sobriety.

7.       Being sober will help us avoid being destroyed by Satan.

Well, indeed those points are helpful.  But, I, for one, still have questions.  Let’s have some definitions, please:

One of the words translated as “sober” in our KJV is the word “sōphroneō;” meaning: “to be of sound mind, to be in one's right mind, to exercise self control, to put a moderate estimate upon one's self, think of one's self soberly & to curb one's passions.”

Another word, a different word is also translated “sober” in some of these passages, “nēphō;” meaning: “to be calm and collected in spirit; to be temperate, dispassionate, circumspect.” [www.blueletterbible.org]

Both carry enough of the same meaning to make the picture clear in my head now.  As believers, we must think clearly, accurately, rightly, realistically, logically & carefully.  Additionally, we have to act in a subdued, controlled, careful, right & humble manner. 

Read those two statements again…

As believers, we MUST think clearly, accurately, rightly, realistically, logically & carefully. 

As believers, we MUST behave in a subdued, controlled, careful, right & humble manner. 

Sober, inside and out!  Thinking with a clear head and acting in a precise and intentional way for the glory of God.  The battle which we are in is far too important; the precarious ditches are way too close; the cost of defeat is just too great for us to proceed with clouded minds or uncertain steps.

The Christian life is no joke.  We only have one life and it will soon be past.  We must redeem the time!  Do we really have time for the frivolous, risky, destructive ways of the flesh?  No!  No!  1,000 times No!

We must take ourselves our God and our neighbor very seriously.  We live in the daylight.  We see the approaching of the end of this age!  It’s no time for piddling spiritual tiddlywinks.

Does this mean there can be no joy in our life?  Of course not!  Weddings (for example) are grand and joyous occasions, but they are also sober events; not to be entered into lightly or unadvisedly, but seriously.  There are an abundance of trivial behaviors that are simply inappropriate during a wedding, due, of course, to the grave and unique nature of the occasion.  This doesn’t mean that all fun is outlawed.  We have some rather light-hearted traditions that are associated with weddings in America, yet there is still a tremendous seriousness that is appropriate and rightfully demanded in respect for the couple being wed.  Even so, the Christian life deserves tremendous attention to celebration, worship, joy, fellowship and praise… but don’t ever forget the infinite and significance of how we live our lives; whether for God’s pleasure or for our own.

No wonder the great Apostle said these words:

“Awake you that sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.  See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.  Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.  And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God” (Ephesians 5:14-21).

A drunk thinks and acts without inhibition; on base whims and passions; insanely, foolishly, and destructively.  As God’s children, we must guard against those traits.  We must be monitored and controlled, yes even dominated by the Spirit of the Living God Who is in us.  We must submit to the benevolent and wise rule of the Master.  The destiny of the eternal souls of the people around us is bound to be affected by our influence.  We can’t afford to get it wrong.  Therefore we absolutely can not ever live casually.  Every day demands renewed spiritual vigor.  If that seems to be too much to ask… well, consider the alternatives.  I see plainly that every option short of Spirit filled sobriety is totally unacceptable…

As God’s firemen on the scene of THE worst fire in existence, we have no business goofing off in a stupor of spiritual flippancy while that fire is consuming lives around us ever moment that we lay idle.

If God Almighty were to give you and me a spiritual sobriety test every day, would we pass?  Or, would our breath betray how intoxicated with sin and self we really and truly are?

Be sober!  Be vigilant! 

…from this moment on; until we draw our last breath.

“A Discipline, a Desire, a Dispensation (privilege)”

I received the following e-mail today (which got me to thinking about the mysteries of prayer):

Pastor, I wanted to share this with you.  It is a 'simple thing' but yet, to me it is huge!

I have believed in the power of prayer since I was a very small child.  I was raised believing that God was able to do anything.  I truly don't remember ever doubting what God could do. 

But then I grew up…

It wasn't that I stopped believing, but I did 'limit' Him.  I prayed for others, believed for others, trusted that their needs would be met; their sickness would be cured; they would be healed...

…and hoped for the best in everything.

Last year when I was attacked by the pit bull, I prayed!  I knew what fear was, and I cried out to Jesus asking Him to lift me up.

Yet, for three years I have had a cyst on my finger.  I have watched it grow and get a little more ugly each day.  But did I pray for it?  Nope.

About a month ago sitting in church the minister was speaking about the walls of Jericho...

Meanwhile, one night, as I waited to fall asleep, a memory came to mind.  I was about 6 years old, and I had a very sore, nasty ingrown toenail. I had a father that would 'cut that thing out' if he knew I had it!  Afraid?  You betcha!  In my child's mind, if my Dad found out that that toe was so bad, he would get his trusty pen knife out and take care of the toenail right away!  (We didn't run to the doctor for much back then!)

So, in my child's mind, I had no alternative but to pray.  I would kneel by my bed each night and talk to Jesus.  I would ask Him to please heal my toe, and, “Please... Jesus, before my Daddy finds out that it is so bad!” 

Each night I would pray, and I believed.  I had faith...I KNEW He would heal it!

Days went by (I don't remember now how long it took), but each day I prayed, and each day I feared my Dad discovering my toe...BEFORE Jesus would heal it!

But one morning I woke up, and, as I threw back those covers and looked down at my toe (as I had every single morning), I saw that it was healed!!!!  It wasn't green anymore! 

As that memory came back to me the other night I was gently reminded to pray not just for the big things that happen in my life, but also the very small... even a cyst. 

I began to pray, and, 4 times so far it has drained on its own.  (I am reminded of the sermon of Jericho...marching 7 times).  Instead of growing larger, the cyst is becoming smaller! 

I don't know when it will go away...but because Jesus reminded me of my 'child like' faith from so many years ago....in His timing...His way....I believe that my finger will be clear of this cyst totally!

God is a powerful, mighty God!  There is nothing too large...and surely there is nothing too small for Him. 

I had forgotten my childhood faith....as children we go to Jesus for everything....nothing is put on a shelf...it 'all' matters. 

In this world we are living in now....we who believe need to remember that as children we had great [simple] faith in God.  We didn't doubt.  We didn't fear.  We just simply believed. 

I just felt lead to share this ...not sure why! 

Isn't He wonderful!!!!

Well, truthfully, when I read this e-mail message this morning, I took notice.  Why?  Well, I struggle with the matter of prayer as much as with anything else in the spiritual realm. 

When I hear (or read, in this case) of a modern situation like this, I immediately try to find an event in Scripture to compare it to.  While there are several stories in the Bible that this lady’s story could be compared to, the one that sticks out the most in my mind is the one about the three Hebrew children and the burning fiery furnace.  Read on…

Daniel 3:16-18

“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer you in this matter.  If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.  But if not, be it known unto you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up.’”

Their faith was steady, sure, confident, steadfast, bold, courageous, accurate and exact.  Yet, notice the “but if not” at the beginning of verse 18.  Their faith in God allowed for the prerogative of God to dominate, even if they were indeed still certain in their own mind of what God was going to do.  They made purposeful provision for God’s sovereign will, knowing that God is not a slave to our human understandings.

My friend wrote, “I believe that my finger will be clear of this cyst totally!”  I love that!  Confidence!  We need more of that in our prayers.  Faith, not just that God can, but that He will!  That’s the natural way that children approach matters too, eh?  So sure that they will get what they are asking for.  This is why Jesus said we must become as a little child if we hope to come to Him.  But consider this now, what if the cyst on this lady’s finger is not ever healed?  Is her faith insufficient then?  Possibly!  Or does it mean that God doesn’t answer prayers after all?  An unbeliever might conclude that, but for us believers, that’s no option! 

How about this?  Maybe God has other plans.  Let’s never forget just such a possibility when we pray.  Even Jesus prayed, “Nevertheless Father, don’t give me what I want, but what You want for me.”  Paul prayed in sincere faith (3 times) that God would remove his “thorn in the flesh” – but God said, “No, my grace is all you need.  My strength is made perfect in your weakness.”

Unless God has already instructed us otherwise (i.e., we don’t have to pray and ask God if He wants us to go to church or not; where maybe; but not if), we should take every matter in our lives to God, every day.  But we need to remember that despite our most sincere and humble supplications; God has the right and rightfully reserves the right to do things His own way.  Yet, consider these great passages about prayer:

John 14:13-14               

Jesus said, “Whatsoever you shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you shall ask any thing in My name, I will do it.”

 

First John 5:14b-16a

“…believe on the name of the Son of God.  And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, he hears us: and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.  If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and He shall give him life for them that sin not unto death.”

 

James 4:2b-3 

“…you have not, because you ask not.  You ask, and receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your lusts.”

 

Ephesians 6:16-18       

“Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints…”

 

First Thessalonians 5:17            

“Pray without ceasing.”

 

First Timothy 2:8          

“I will therefore that men pray every where…”

 

Hebrews 4:15-16

“We have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

 

Romans 8:26-27

“Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.  And He that searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”

 

James 5:16     

“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that you may be healed.  The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

 

I’m sure the list of Scriptures could continue for many pages.  God’s commands, promises, invitations, instructions and illustrations on this matter of communication with Him are manifold.  I think these are sufficient for now though…  The point is made. 

 

We should pray.  We must pray.  It is our privilege to pray.  Prayer is necessary, productive, essential, rewarding, spiritual, basic, practical… 

 

We can and should trust Him with the mammoth, gargantuan, humongous, insurmountable difficulties of life… and also with the minute, infinitesimally tiny, little matters which we might be embarrassed to even share with one another as needs.   It’s not so much the size of the need that is significant, nor even the size of the prayer itself; it is the size of the one and only true God to whom we pray – that’s what matters most.

 

One more verse:

 

First Peter 5:6-7

“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon Him; for He cares for you.”

 

Prayer is a discipline – it is required labor for the Christian.

Prayer is a natural desire – our heart cries out to our heavenly Father because the Spirit within us is drawn in that direction.

Prayer is a dispensation (privilege) – God wouldn’t have to listen to us, yet He does.  Let’s not neglect such an honor…

Thankfully, I don’t have to fully understand everything about prayer for it to work. 

 

Need I say more?

 

Let’s pray…

 

Fruit from the Bus, Revival and Camp…

 

Here is a slightly edited version of our current Youth Pastor’s testimony.  Be blessed…

 

“I can clearly remember the time, when I was a child (at the age of 6 or maybe 7 years old), a couple of young ladies stopped in at our house.   My father had been stationed at F.E. Warren A.F.B. in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and it was to our house on that base that the young ladies came.  They asked my parents if we could join them in going to church on Sunday mornings.  My mother was all about it; wanting us to go.  Looking back at it now, I think it was a time for her to let her hair down once a week; to have peace and quite in the house.  Anyway, I just remember getting on a bus early the next morning and picking up a lot of other kids that were going to the same church. When we arrived at the church, I remember that there were many other buses that had many other kids on them.  During the services, we had great times learning about God in all the Bible stories.  Not knowing any better, I had just gone to get a chance at all the games and prizes that I knew would come with the events.  In other words, I went for the candy and the toys.

 

Well, Dad received orders to leave Wyoming.  But, we were on hold to leave for Holland… or was it England?  It was one of those two places.  While we were waiting to leave, we moved to Maine.  There my mother and father began attending Shiloh Baptist Church in East Millinocket.  The first summer we were there, we were invited to a tent revival that the church was putting on.  It was a week long event with great preaching, singing, testimonies… and great food.  The night of the tent revivals that stuck out to me was the very last night.  After the preacher preached a sermon (I do not even remember the topic; let alone the title), I knew (at the age of 8) beyond a shadow of doubt that when the invitation was given I needed to go forward and to invite Jesus into my heart.  It was strange to me.  As I left my seat, my two younger twin sisters followed right behind me to invite Jesus into their hearts.  All I remember is that after asking Jesus to save me, there was such a burden of guilt and sin lifted off of my heart.  I know, since I was at the age of 8, you might ask, “How much sin could a young boy possibly have in his life?”  But to me it felt so real.  Another thing that I vividly remember was that I was just bawling like a baby the whole time afterward.  Our family began attending church faithfully after that revival and continued for years afterward.  

 

Later on we learned that dad was not going to receive orders to move to Europe, so my family moved about a half hour or so south to Lincoln, Maine.  In Lincoln my siblings and I entered into a Christian school and learned much more about godly morals.  We began attending a church that preached strong godly principals.  It was at that church, Enfield Baptist Church, that, at the age of 12 or 13, I attended River of Life Bible Camp for a week of summer fun and Biblical lessons.  The lessons were from a great man of God, Pastor Vondel Allen. God used this man in my life that week to show me that being a Christian could be full of excitement and adventure for a teenage boy.  Prior to coming to camp, I had been struggling with a choice between two possible directions in my life.  I wanted to be in the crowd of cool kids, but I also wanted to stay on the right path being faithful to God.  As the week progressed we obviously came closer and closer to having to go home on Saturday morning.  But, before that, the camp had a special service around a campfire on Friday night.  We sang camp songs and gave testimonies of how God had blessed us during that week.  As all the campers that were the labeled "Jesus Freaks" gave their testimonies around the campfire, all the “cool” kids just sat there on their logs, stumps and on the ground picking at the grass.  I sat there and observed all the different types of people in my little world at the camp that week.  I sat there knowing that in my heart I wanted to be one of the cool kids… AND I wanted to be a Jesus freak!  Battling over which direction to choose for my life was like God showing me two roads that took sharp turns just ahead.  I couldn't see what was around the bends, yet I had to make a decision.  At that time Pastor Allen stood up to give a devotional.  It felt like it took a total of about 30 seconds to for him to deliver it.  At the end of his devotional he gave a challenge to all the teens; to the "Jesus Freaks" and the "Joe Cools" who were there.  He challenged all of us with the decision that I was already contemplating: to follow God or to follow the crowds.  He pointed out that we as teens did not really know where either road would end up, but the decision had to be ours anyway.  There is one thing that I remember that took place at that moment that I will certainly never forget.  As I sat there on my log by the campfire and beside the peaceful sounding river which was there also, it was as if nobody was around.  It was just God and me.  It seemed to me like he asked me face to face, “What will it be?  Me, or the Crowd?”  Even though I could not see what was around the bend, at that moment, I chose to follow God; to surrender my life over to Him; to let Him take me and use me in His work (whatever that was going to be).

 

The year after that, my cousins, siblings, and I took a trip to Downingtown, Pennsylvania.  There was a youth conference there for teens who wanted to serve God with any part of their being.  At that time I so wanted to do the right thing.  Whenever there was a revival, conference, or Bible study around anywhere… I wanted to be there.  While we were at the youth conference the youth pastor preached a message about giving our bodies as a living sacrifice to God.  I thought to myself that I had already done this with my life.  He then asked a question.  He asked if we would take one step further to let God show us what He wanted for our lives.  At the time I had no idea what God might want for me.  Then, on the ride home from Pennsylvania to Maine God began tugging on my heart to become a youth pastor; to touch the lives of our youth in America today.  In my version of the burden, I realized that not only do adults need to hear about the gospel and why we believe it, but the youth of our country need to hear it as well.  

 

When I got home I knew that I had to get started on my calling to be a youth pastor.  I asked our pastor at the time if I could preach for some services.  Well, sure enough, he let me.  I was so excited to do so.  Also, I was in contact with an old pastor who was a friend to me who told me to try working at a camp for the summer.  So, I took his advice.  Ironically the camp that I worked at was the same camp that I had attended myself; the one where I had made an agreement with God to serve in whatever ministry He would have for me.  I got a counselor position at River of Life Bible Camp!  

 

In the years from then till now I have helped out in youth groups at different churches, preached in many adult services, directed a camp ministry, got married to a beautiful young lady, became a father, and now, finally, I serve God in the role of a youth pastor in a ministry that is growing and that loves the Lord… here, at Grace Baptist Church.

I get really excited about how God has used me… “Looking Unto Jesus THE AUTHOR and FINISHER of our FAITH!!!!!!!" (Hebrews 12:2)

 

Pastor Derrick Grant

Aftershock Youth

GBC, Hurlock

 

To contact Pastor Grant, send your correspondence to: pastorbigd@gmail.com

 

And, once again… send your own testimony my way: pastorbigred@aol.com

“…out of the mouths of babes…”

Building a fire on the hearth always involves scrounging around for some scrap paper (at least, when I’m the pyroengineer it does).  Recently I was snatching papers from various locations around the house, with which to build one of my barn-burning blazes, when I almost disposed of one of my eldest daughter's Language C papers.  It had been graded (93%), so I thought I had better read it before I turned it into kindling.  Here is what I read:

“My First Play”

My first play was a Christmas play.  The week before the play I got sick.  My director gave me a script to memorize.  I knew everything except for the prayer.  My Dad came back from Maryland just to see me perform.  I was the main character in the play, so if I messed up I would be noticed.  Opening night came and I was nervous, but didn’t feel sick.  I did perfectly until the prayer.  I forgot it so we had to improvise.  I pretended not to know how to pray so I asked the person who was listening to me.  But the play turned out great. (Kayla 11-24-08)

Needless to say, I didn’t end up burning the paper.  I folded it up instead and put it on the head of my bed with other important things that I generally keep there. 

I was touched.  Why?  Was it the quality of the paragraph?  No.  It was indeed good for a 6^th grader (in my unbiased fatherly estimation), but there was a different thing that brought tears to my eyes.  Can you guess what it was?  Read the paragraph again and see if you can pick it out.   

My first play was a Christmas play.  The week before the play I got sick.  My director gave me a script to memorize.  I knew everything except for the prayer.  My Dad came back from Maryland just to see me perform.  I was the main character in the play, so if I messed up I would be noticed.  Opening night came and I was nervous, but didn’t feel sick.  I did perfectly until the prayer.  I forgot it so we had to improvise.  I pretended not to know how to pray so I asked the person who was listening to me.  But the play turned out great.

The sentence that caused me to keep the page wasn’t even necessarily salient to the storyline, except to me.  She had written, “My Dad came back from Maryland just to see me perform.”  She was right of course.  I remember going back specifically in time to see the Christmas play in which my baby was the star.  J  I remember her doing really well and making me cry.  Yep, I was squalling and blubbering with emotion that night when it was over… being so happy for her and touched by the significance of the message which she had helped to communicate.  However, it wasn’t the memory of that occasion that touched me, it was the fact that she had noticed, cared and remembered that I had been there “for her” at a moment that was important to her.  She had written this paragraph for someone else without my knowledge and had voluntarily included me in it.  She signified her appreciation of me even without me being around to know or notice.

We parents do many things out of love and duty without even giving one thought to whether or not it will be noticed or appreciated.  Now that I’m thinking about it I see a multitude of examples.  My wife, for example, works full time just to put our kids in a Christian school.  I’ve never heard her say one word about it to the children.  I wouldn’t expect her to.  She feels that motherly responsibility that makes such a thing a labor of love.  She pours herself into the task as if the remuneration is large… though it is actually entirely intangible.  The education of her kids is the focus of her thoughts to the exclusion of any consideration of whether or not they understand or appreciate what she is doing.

On a much smaller scale, I pack everyone a lunch everyday and send them off to school.  I don’t do it to be thanked or admired.  I do it naturally.  I do it because I love my family and they need me.  However, when one morning Seth came in and volunteered without prompting to pack the lunches for everyone so that I could do something else, I felt that same twinge of pleasure as when I read Kayla’s paragraph.

Maybe I’m misinterpreting why these “small” things meant so much, but here is my take on it anyway. 

I do love.  I love intensely and deeply.  Truly, my very perception of self-worth and happiness hinges on my relationships with my Jesus, my wife and my kids.  Today I’m specifically talking about # 3, my children.  When I realize that they know (and acknowledge) that I love them, my heart swells with feelings of relief, gratitude and satisfaction.  “My daughter thinks of me even when I’m not around.”  “My son is concerned that I have too much to do this morning.” 

Even though I shooed Seth out of the kitchen and made the lunches myself, I was impressed on the inside.  I was happy.

I’m going somewhere with all of this mush. 

I have to wonder how comparable our relationship with our heavenly Father is with this example.  When we awake on a morning and think of Him before anything else; when we look at the stars and wonder at the power of a God who could speak such magnificence into existence; when we resist a temptation that might go unnoticed by everyone else just because we care that He would know; when we shed a tear while watching a sunrise because God has given us another Day to serve Him; when we tell another member of this cursed human race what Jesus did for us and what He can do for them… mustn’t the pleasure-meter under His halo spike with relish?

“For His pleasure we are and were created…”  So, what about us pleases Him? Answer: FAITH!  Faith, that’s what brings Him pleasure; faith, with all of its shades and hues.  When we just believe Him; take Him at His word; trust Him; depend on Him; acknowledge Him; receive Him; worship Him; think about Him voluntarily; notice His attention; when we care what He thinks; when we honor Him instead of ignoring Him… He is touched.  If He weren’t omniscient I would say He is probably surprised and touched.  We know He is never surprised, but He does marvel when genuine spirituality shines through in the face of His otherwise generally impudent children.

Of course, it’s not as if God is some kind of weak and lonely animal starving for attention, approval and acceptance.  That wouldn’t even be an accurate portrayal of me and my wife in our relationships with our children, much less our transcendent, almighty, self-sufficient Creator.  We love our kids and (usually) enjoy loving them, even when they are ungrateful and naughty.  But, when our “investment” suddenly returns in kind, obviously the thrill can be very deep.  Is it unjust or sacrilegious to say that God likewise enjoys our relatively minute responses to His tireless efforts which are constantly directed toward us?  Right, God doesn’t NEED you, me or anyone else… BUT, He does WANT us…  His desire toward us is/was so intense that He gave His own Son to pay for our redemption.  Don’t tell me He doesn’t sincerely celebrate when He sees the fruit of His sacrifice.  He delights in our humble responses to His wooing Spirit.

My Dad came back from Maryland just to see me perform.

Mmmhmm… that’s kind of like us telling our neighbor that our Father came all the way from heaven just to save us from sin.  When God “overhears” such talk from us, voluntary and sincere… I think He cries, smiles and stores that moment away for later reference…

Amidst the great host of people and things that God will someday burn in the most horrifying pyrotechnic display in history (otherwise known as the vengeance of eternal fire), I hope my life is rich with precious “paragraphs” that he deems worth saving because they include reflections of His own work of love on me.  I recently preached about how the lost and the saved will all face the consuming fire of God one way or another.  The unbeliever will have his very soul tormented in the flames.  As believers, our work will be tried in the flames.  Oh, how wonderful if we have service that is not consumed.

Testimony # 2

Some believers travel an awfully rough road on their way to Christ.  Such was the case in the life of this reader’s testimony.  Now, you and I know that no two testimonies of salvation are exactly the same.  Many saints find Him while they are still a child; others on their very deathbed.  Some (like me) are frightened away from the gates hell by an old-fashioned, leather-lunged, hell-fire-and-brimstone preacher; others are simply drawn by the beautiful and intense love of the Savior manifested in the generosity of some quiet witness.  God’s tools are truly diverse and, yes, sometimes even strange.  Here is the life-story of a faithful Christian woman whose confidence in Christ is readily evident. Admittedly, to some readers it will appear that her faith came in a rather unconventional setting and accompanied by some peculiar circumstances, yet the transaction of grace was still transforming.  Read on.  She has entitled her journey to the foot of the cross simply, “My Testimony.”  Here it is now with some editing to fit the typical style of these blogs… 

 

“MY TESTIMONY”

 

My mother married at 15 to get away from an abusive father… only to end up with an abusive husband.  By the time she was 19, she had had 3 children and a miscarriage.  When I was about 3½ she left my brother, sister and me in South Carolina with her mother and just simply ran away.  She ended up in Baltimore, MD where she found a job working in a bar.  When she had saved enough money, she came back to South Carolina to get her children.  My grandfather and father would not let her take us; even threatening her with a gun.  So, she went back to Baltimore where she saved even more money and then made a second trip to come and get us.  This time Mom went to the sheriff's office and got an escort.  As you would expect, she was able to leave with us that time.

Because Mom worked nights and slept days, she put us in a boarding house where she paid someone else to keep us.  She visited every weekend.  Not an ideal arrangement.  Life was very uncertain.  We never knew from one day till the next if and when we might be whisked away to a new “home.”  By the time I was fifteen I had been in 8 “homes” and 9 different schools.  Life, for me, was very insecure.  All I wanted was a home to call my own; a place where I would be loved.

None of the places where I stayed were Christian.  I do remember visiting a Catholic Church once, and I also went to VBS one summer.  We lived with my aunt in South Carolina for a while.  During that time my grandmother would take us to church… sometimes.  That’s about all the exposure I received to “spiritual” things.  Obviously, God and Christ were not taught to me much in my early years.

One day Mom told us we would be moving again.  We had lived with her for a little over two years at that time and had started to play hooky from school.  She was concerned about us getting into more and bigger trouble in Baltimore.  She had heard about a family who would take care of us across the Chesapeake Bay on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.  Naturally, when we found out about this we were very angry.  We all cried and accused her of “not loving us” and “not wanting us anymore.”  All we could think of was that she was always just sending us away.

Well, we came to the new place for an "interview" with our prospective "foster parents" …to be evaluated.  If we didn’t measure, then up they wouldn’t take us.  We must have passed inspection, because I ended up staying with them until I got married.  I must say that it was a good place to live, but again, we still didn’t go to church.

On my first day of school on the Easter Shore, I had met the boy who is now my husband.  He told me later that he had fallen in love with me “at first sight” …as they say.  We dated for six months, but were then told by my foster parents that we were getting “too serious” …as they say.  We had to stop seeing each other.  We were told that “We didn’t even know what love was."

Well, I entered a new relationship after that.  Like all people, I made some very poor choices.  Unlike many people, my bad choice was not easily hidden.  We dated for a year and a half… I got pregnant, and we got married. 

My young husband went off to Vietnam before our son was even six months old.  He came back an alcoholic.  We did have a beautiful daughter after he returned, yet life was definitely not easy.  He continued to drink, had numerous jobs and eventually went back into the service only a few years after his first discharge.  He left for overseas duty once again and, sad to say, I realized how nice it was that I did not have to deal with an alcoholic in my life every day.  So, when he returned I told him that the children and I would not move with him to his next duty station, unless he would stop drinking.  He could not, or would not… so I asked for a divorce.  He went off to North Carolina and I stayed on The Shore.

When my first love found out that I was separated, he asked me out.  He was also in the process of getting a divorce.  A year and a half later we married.  Neither one of us had Christ in our life.

Soon after we got married we were introduced to Amway.  I was exposed to the gospel more in Amway than I had been in my entire life previously.  At each meeting God was praised and at each seminar there were testimonies given.  At one such seminar (in Norfolk, Virginia) I heard testimonies given by a number of people.  I began to wonder if God really wanted me in His family after all.  I remember a “Miss Blackwell” was on stage at one of these meetings.  She started speaking to people in the audience and asking them to give their souls over to Christ.  She began describing certain people in the crowd with specifics; “a lady in a blue dress,” or “a man who was worried about his job” should ask the Lord into their lives, etc.  I remember that I sat there in my seat and began to pray.  I asked God, “Do you really want me, as bad as I have been and as much as I have sinned in my life?  You could not possibly forgive me!” 

It may seem odd to you, but I asked Him for a sign… so that I would know that He was talking to me.  As she kept pointing out people I started searching for something specific in my life that she could say for me to know that I should respond to her invitation.  Well, my daughter had a planter's wart on her big toe that we had not been able to get rid of, so I began concentrating on that as my sign.  It did not take long for her to say, there is a lady in the balcony who is thinking of a pain in her foot.  Then she changed it to the toe on the right foot.  I could not remember which foot it was on but that was close enough for me!!  As simple, small, insignificant and unorthodox as it may seem, it was through that wart that God pushed me over the edge.  I knew God wanted me and that I could be forgiven!!  I left my seat without saying a word to my husband and began making my way to the floor.  I cried and prayed all the way there.  What I did not realize was that my husband was behind me all the way.  God had spoken to his heart as well.  We both held each other and cried as we prayed and asked God into our lives and accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior.

Two weeks after that seminar, I was thinking about my daughter's foot and asked her to show me the wart on her right foot.  The toe was clear.  So, I asked her to let me see her left foot.  That toe was clear as well.  I began to get chills and to cry.  I had not asked God to heal her, but He completely took away the wart anyway.  And, it has never returned.  Typically, the doctors had no explanation.

It has been many years now since Christ came into my life.  It took a while to find a church that I could call home, but I am now a very active member of a local Bible believing church; so also are my husband and most of my family.  God not only forgave me but He has also helped me to grow in faith as a Christian.  I want to continue growing in grace, and, I want to reach out to as many others as I possibly can.

There is no peace in this world like the peace that I received when I came to know Jesus Christ.

 

 

What a blessing! 

Now, here is what I want you to do.  Just as I requested before, write out your testimony.  Tell me how you received Christ as your Savior.  Send it to me (along with permission for me to edit it and to include it in a blog entry).  I would love to publish more testimonies of salvation on this blog. 

 

 

 

“A 35 year Old Note”

The following is a transcript of a testimony and a song which was shared with us this past Sunday morning at GBC.  I give you my best attempt at a transcription of it (with very slight editing to adjust its form for smoother reading).

“Before I sing this morning, I’ve got a little story to tell you.  When I was looking for this song that I’m going to sing, I was reading the words to it, and it reminded me of something.  When I got home, I ran upstairs and went in the closet.  I was rummaging through some boxes that I had not opened since I moved into this house (and I’ve been here for about three years now).  In the top of this first box I opened, was this wallet.  Now, this was a wallet that I carried with me when I was about 19 years old; going to a college (it was going to a community college up in Pennsylvania).  It was used rather well.  

But, the story is not about this wallet, it’s about a note that I wrote to myself.  I wrote the note 2 months short of about 35 years ago.  This note is right here, and I want to read it to you this morning.  The interesting thing about it is that I have never read it to anyone.  No one has ever seen this note but me.  I don’t know what made me write it, but I wrote it… and I folded it up… and I put it in this wallet.  And it’s been there ever since.  Of course I’ve had other wallets since, but it has still stayed in this wallet. 

This was at a time in my life (I was about 19 years old) and my family did not go to church, and they still don’t.  None of them are saved.  We never talked about Jesus; never talked about God at home.  But, to me, for some reason, I felt like God was always calling me, but I didn’t really know it was Him.  There was this void in my soul.  I just felt empty at the time.  I remember, I was sitting at my desk, up at school in this (what they called a) dormitory.  Actually, it looked like a haunted house to me.  My bedroom floor was slanted and I had a bed; it was a plywood bed with a mattress on it.  But, it was ok.  It worked out pretty good.  It was kind of like camping out for 2 years.  But, it only cost me $10.oo a week, so couldn’t complain too much. 

But, I was sitting at that desk and was feeling kind of bad about myself; and feeling sorry for myself… and I was alone.  Things just didn’t seem right with me, so I began to write this note. 

I’ll read it to you.  This is the first time anybody has ever heard this note, now.  After I read it here a couple of days ago, it seems a little dramatic, so…  But, it’s folded up right here and it’s got a nasty spot on it.  The letters are kind of faded on it.  You can hardly see them now.  It’s older than Pastor Talley.  But, here it is (if I can still see the letters), it says:

Somehow I feel like my life is headed in the direction of mental destruction.  However, I hold no key to my real future.  And for me, each day I carry a thought, and that thought usually turns into a worry.  And that worry is, for the most part, the same one.  Who am I?  And, what is my purpose on this world?  And, what will become of me?  I try to think of the simpler things in life, but they usually end up back at that same one.  I try to overcome it, but it’s hard to do, and I don’t know if I ever will.  I know if I don’t, I will never find my goal in life, whatever it may be.  I’m very depressed and unhappy, and something in my life is missing.  I hope I find it.

Now, I wrote that note.  I know it was 35 years ago because I signed it, March 28, 1974, 4:30 p.m.  Down at the bottom, there’s some black letters here.  I saved that note and a few years later I got it out again and the little black letters say, “I found Jesus” . . .  And, I signed that; dated it November, 22 1983.  That was at 9:00 p.m. at night.  There was a pastor; (I was going to a church at that time) he came over to my house, and was talking to me, and I accepted Jesus then.  So, I don’t know, I just felt kind of compelled to read this to you today.  I thought somebody ought to hear it after 35 years. 

But, I want to sing this song to you and see if these words don’t sound like this note when you listen to it.  I hope I can sing it…

‘Here I am’

 

There was a time when I thought I would not make it.

All I could do was to fall down and pray.

Through the problems and through the fears,

I’m glad Jesus was so near;

And by His grace here I am today.

 

Here I am; though battle scared.

Here I am; I’ve come so far,

And my faith is even stronger than before.

Here I am. I made it through.

Here I am, thanks to You.

I’ll never doubt Your love for me any more.

 

There was a time when I did not know You Lord;

When I didn’t handle things the way I should.

But as I look back… I didn’t understand.

Now I see God’s mighty hand,

And how You took something bad and made it good.

 

And here I am without a fear,

Here I am, oh through the tears,

My faith is even stronger than before.

Here I am. I made it through.

Here I am, Lord, thanks to You.

I’ll never doubt Your love for me any more.

I’ll never doubt Your love for me any more.

And, here I am…”

 

Wasn’t that a blessing!?  True story too. 

Now, here is what I want you to do.  Write your testimony out.  Tell me how you received Christ as your Savior.  Send it to me (along with permission for me to edit it and to include it in a blog entry).  I would love to publish more testimonies of salvation on this blog throughout this year. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Build; don't break! 

 

A Theology of Contradictions

Today, an elderly acquaintance of mine attended the funeral of a relative who took his own life.  Few things are more tragic than suicide.  Obviously there is a mixture of anger, frustration, sadness, love, compassion, regret, bewilderment and shock that accompanies the loss of a loved one in this manner.  Death is hard enough to grapple with when it is expected or accidental - but when it is intentionally self-inflicted it becomes an unbearable monster.

Please forgive me for attempting to quote my friend, but I feel that I must.  She said something like this: “My only hope is that he lost his mind and did this to himself without premeditation, or that he was able to ask for forgiveness in the last moment before he died.  I know he was a Christian!”  Though she didn’t say it, she was clearly inferring that she feared that as a result of his suicide he would not get into heaven.  This (all too common) perspective troubles me deeply. 

May we examine suicide today from a Biblical perspective?

Before we go exploring in the sacred text, grant me the leeway to speculate about the origination of the idea that suicide is an “unpardonable” sin.  It seems logical that someone somewhere used such an argument to scare people away from suicide (i.e., with a threat of resulting eternal damnation).  While suicide may indeed be an evidence of an unregenerate soul, it is never the underlying cause of condemnation.

Bear with me…

Seeing that basically murder = kill, the most difficult passage that comes to my mind while wrestling with this issue is either First John 3:15b, “You know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him” or maybe Revelation 21:8, “The fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”  Better yet, look at Galatians 5:19-21 “The works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”  If killers don’t have eternal life and they burn in the lake of fire, then we’ve got a rather bleak hope for our loved ones who have been driven by something to take their own life.  But is it really that simple?

I’ve no agenda (other than a search for revealed truth).  I’m not trying to excuse any sin or paint a picture of rosy theology whereby we all suppose that everybody (or most people, at least) make it in.  Neither is it my desire to declare with pride that those who endure life’s hardships are somehow more worthy of heaven that those who give up.  I want a verdict that is authoritative and issued from a divine perspective. 

Unquestionably, suicide is wrong.  It is wrong for many reasons.  First, we have no right to take a human life unless God commands it.  Man was made by God and reflects His image.  We are His possession.  An attack on His property is an attack on Him.  Surely… capital punishment, self defense, national defense & home protection are defensible exceptions to the “Thou shalt not kill” commandment (though these are not my subjects today).  However, exceptions should never destroy clear rules.  God reacted negatively to the first killing (by Cain), and he will react negatively to every killing in history – down to the very last one.  Every sin is judged. 

And now, here intrudes the answer before I’m ready for it.  Every sin is judged!  No sin is left unpunished.  There are a few different ways that sins are punished, but there are only two ways ultimately.  Every single sin, from “acceptable” little infractions like stealing an apple, file sharing or speeding… all the way to big dark ones like rape, suicide or homosexuality, every sin must find its final end (1) at the cross with Christ or (2) in eternal fiery damnation with Satan himself.  This clear distinction is also true for the sin of suicide, right?  Absolutely yes!  When a person becomes a child of God, his or her sin is pardoned because of the propitiation of Christ’s blood on Calvary.  No longer do we stand in jeopardy.  He said, “I will NEVER leave you, nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5b).   He said, “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.  My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand” (John 10:28-29).   He said, “All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.  For I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me.  And this is the Father's will which hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.  And this is the will of Him that sent me, that every one which sees the Son, and believes on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise Him up at the last day” (John 6:37-40). 

Need more?

Ephesians 4:30, “Grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”

Psalm 12:7, “Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, Thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.”

Consider this extreme statement concerning God’s children in 2 Timothy 2:13, “If we believe not, yet He abides faithful: He cannot deny Himself.”  My post-conversion doubts can’t even cause me to be “lost” again!  My security is based upon His promise, not my perseverance.

How about this unexpected source of reassurance: “Not every one that says unto me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven.  Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works?’  And then will I profess unto them, ‘I NEVER knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity.’” (Matthew 7:21-23).  Notice that God will not say, “I once knew you, but now I don’t!”  No, the response of God to these unregenerate unbelievers will be, “I never knew you!”  This is eternal security at its best.  Once saved, always saved – no matter what!  There is no sin vile enough to get me expelled from the family of God.  God has never and will never divorce Himself from His redeemed remnant.  I’m born from above.  I’m saved, justified, sanctified, forgiven and adopted.  I’m an everlasting possession of the Great God of this universe.  It is not possible for me to be removed from Him, nor Him from me.  My access to salvation didn’t depend upon my excellent behavior and likewise the retention of this same salvation doesn’t depend upon excellent behavior.  If any sin could condemn me, then every sin would condemn me.  I’m in Christ Jesus and there is NO condemnation on my life.  He disciplines His children, but He never returns us to our former father (the Devil) to suffer his eternal fate.  (By the way – such freedom doesn’t permit me to live wickedly, it motivates me to live righteously). 

Now, where do people get the idea that we can make our own list of unpardonable sins?  No church; no cleric; no synod; no culture has the wisdom or authority to declare an individual either acceptable or unacceptable before the Awesome throne of God.  There is one Lawgiver – and it ain’t you or me, friend.  He has laid out the terms of eternal blessedness very plainly.  Here it is again: First John 5:12, “He that has the Son has life; and he that has not the Son of God has not life.”  That’s plain enough!  Here it is yet one more time from the mouth of the Savior,imself… “He that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36). 

The fact is this.  Every person alive today has either made the decision to trust Christ or they haven’t made that decision.  Our eternal destiny rests solely on that one decision.  It is not a religion, a lifestyle, an opinion, a perspective, a habit, a culture, a bloodline, a list of rules or an accident.  It is a decision.  Jesus died for you.  Will you trust him or not?  If a person has made that decision in the affirmative, then there is no force tangible or metaphysical that can damn his (or her) soul.  There is no following decision that can undo the regeneration of that elect saint. 

Read this passage carefully:

Romans 8:33-39 “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect?  It is God that justifies.  Who is he that condemns?  It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  As it is written, ‘For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

I’m not promoting suicide.  It’s a horrible, awful thing.  It hurts people.  It effectively demonstrates a lack of faith, patience and humility.  It set’s a wicked example for others who are impressionable.  It’s incredibly selfish.  It violates God’s law.  It is not a product of the Spirit’s leading.  It offends our loving God.  It indicates Satan’s influence.  It brings doubts to people’s minds concerning the sincerity of the guilty one’s testimony.  It leaves family and friends with permanently unanswered questions.  It is unfair at best and cruel at worst.  But!  But!  But!  I said, but, it does NOT keep a person from going to heaven.  Suicide only sends a person to hell if that is where they were going anyway due to never being born again.  Can I say it any more plainly?

Admittedly, there may be some questions remaining (then) for some people (concerning John 3:15b, Revelation 21:8 & Galatians 5:21 specifically).

I think the easiest passage to tie these into the equation might be First Corinthians 6:9-11, “Know you not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.  And such were some of you: but you are washed, but you are sanctified, but you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”  We are all unrighteous (yes, even murders) outside of the blood of Christ; “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies… (Matthew 15:19); “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders…” (Mark 7:21).

The final problem is not that we are killers (though that is indeed A problem), the final problem is seen when we refuse to repent of our killing.  With every infraction, each human consents to the murder of the Messiah.  Is nobody saved then?  We know that this is not the case (Jude 14).  Revelation 9:21 speaks of the lost in the Tribulation who are condemned because of their unwillingness to be changed.  These “neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.”

Remember Galatians 5:19-21.  If “the works of the flesh are manifest [made obvious and revealed]” including not only killing but also “adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envying… drunkenness, revellings, and such like,” then I’m afraid whatever “unforgivable” status someone applies to killing (including suicide) is going to have to be applied much more broadly to some other very common habits.  Not to marginalize or belittle the flagrance of those sins, but drawing that larger circle makes the heterodoxy that much more obviously suspect.  

Romans 1:28-32 says this:

“As they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.”

As I’ve said, I’m not debating this in order to paint suicide in a better light.  Suicide is wrong, but it can only be an evidence of a spiritual problem, it can’t be the problem itself.  Unrepentant unbelief is the only thing that can condemn a soul.  Every sin; every variety imaginable, regardless of the level of intensity, makes us worthy of hell, HOWEVER only persistent and final rejection of Christ is unpardonable.  This is why the life that is in Christ is called “eternal” life; never temporary life or (as my Dad would say) sporadic life.

There are a few accounts of suicides in the Bible.  Ahithophel (Second Samuel 17:23) hanged himself because he had lost his influence.  Saul (First Chronicles 10:3-5) fell on his own sword to escape the shame and torture that was sure to befall him after a battle injury.  It seems that Judas (Matthew 27:4-5) killed himself out of the sheer weight of guilt.  Regardless of the excuses they had, each one of these men were definitely in direct opposition with their Maker and ended up taking their life because they practiced some form of apostasy.  Even Jonah and Samson might be included in this discussion.  Jonah must have been attempting suicide when he told the sailors to throw him into the sea (whether cowardly or humbly).  He failed…  A blind and humiliated Samson, perhaps somewhat more honorably, killed himself along with many of God’s enemies when he pulled the temple over on himself (thereby dying a pitiful hero’s death, but taking his own life nonetheless).  Both of these men were in their predicaments due to disobedience to God.  Still, none of these men entered Paradise or Hades as a result of their participation in some form of attempted or fulfilled self-destruction.  There behavior was a result of their attitude toward God.  Judas, most obviously, would have been better off dying in his mother’s womb (according to Christ), not because he hung himself, but because He rejected the Redeemer.

Have you accepted the Redeemer?  Then you have a reason to live!  Live your life until the last moment that He gives you for His glory.

Have you refused the Redeemer?  Then your life is not worth living!  Unless you change direction and trust the Savior, you are damned… regardless of whether you die naturally or purposefully.

Suicide is not an unpardonable sin.

Dying without Jesus is an unpardonable sin.

To preach the gospel and yet to also state that suicide can determinately send people to hell would be a theological contradiction.

Conclusion: It is my conviction that any believer is capable of committing any sin that any unbeliever is capable of committing – including suicide.  The difference is this: the believer will be handled under the umbrella of grace while the unbeliever remains under the rigid and immovable hammer of the law.  Admittedly, my faith should (and will) affect my choices.  Any man who is in Christ is a new creature… out with the old ways and in with the new.  Hallelujah!  Yet, that sanctification of the mind and body is not completed in this life, hence the potential to backslide, to behave carnally, to rebel, to fall, to fail... and yes, even to commit suicide.  It’s not normal.  It’s not natural.  It’s not a sensible action in the life of a saint.  Clearly, it’s not a product of the Spirit.  Yet, because the flesh is still present, suicide can and does happen.  When it happens, it makes us wonder about the condition of the soul of the individual who made the foolish decision to end his or her own life.  Yet we should never forget that the suicide did not determine the individual’s destiny.  It ought not to ever happen.  It does.  It shouldn’t.  It has.  It will. 

I’ve a personal hero in the faith and ministry who took his own life.  I look forward to seeing him whole and forgiven in heaven.