biblemike wonders

Walk With Me Awhile

2005-09-22T17:15:00.000-07:00

I sometimes talk of my illness, but seldom in much detail because I want the emphasis to be on God’s mercy and grace not my difficulties. The fact is that among other things I am suffering some sort of neurological condition that includes symptoms of dementia and erratic body movement as well as frequent loss of emotional control without known cause. Dementia causes me to forget most of the negative events of my illness and in that way might be considered a blessing by some, but it is not. When I am myself I can see the hurt and grieving on the faces of those I love and I know I have done or said something so hurtful that they refuse to tell me about it. Despite the hurt I feel over hurting them they will not tell me what I have done as they believe my reaction would be so much more painful to me if I knew what I had done. Many are the days and nights that I weep in the arms of my God and know no hope except eternal life in Him for I cannot undo or prevent the things I have done and the things I will do that so hurt those around me.

Along with the dementia is something called aphasia. There are times that I do not understand what people are saying to me or what a word means or understand words written on paper. The worst part of this is that there are times that I cannot read my Bible or understand what is written there. This often occurs when I need the comfort of God’s word most. I most often find the strength to keep on by reading God’s word and seeing how He has interacted and continues to interact with us for our good and His glory. Without the comfort of God’s word the darkness of loneliness slips in and I am overwhelmed by my loss. I truly understand the dark night of the soul, but I cling tightly to my faith in God no matter how distant He may seem at times. Even as I cling to my faith, I am still worn down by my grief and loss.

Erratic body movement and neurological pain create physical limitations that mean I am bound to my home most of the time. I am unable to play with my children or spend much time with my wife. By the way if any one wants to know what it means to keep your wedding vows you need only look at my wife. She went from stay at home Mom to our seven children to primary provider, homemaker and caretaker. She has never considered leaving me or putting me in someone else’s care. The burden she bears seems to me to be greater than my own and I know she weeps over her loss of the love of her life as I do over my loss of the things we once shared so wondrously together.

My greatest loss has begun occurring recently and for this I ask your prayers. I have been having trouble praying. Prayer is my most important bulwark against the depression that lurks around the corner for every dementia sufferer. Without being able to talk to God I sense an aloneness that is so horrifying I cannot describe it. I cannot imagine spending all of time being unable to talk with God. Even as I struggle with this I find myself grieving for those destined for an eternity of such loneliness. I cannot imagine any greater suffering than being unable to talk to God for all eternity while knowing such was once available to you.

I am growing weaker again as I did this past year. We hoped that the lung sugary resolved that, but now know that part of my weakness was being caused by the neurological problems. My muscles have atrophied so much that recently I tore my right triceps and my right rotator cuff muscles by merely turning my arm. My calves and thighs are now smaller than my biceps once were large. Walking is very difficult again and I may have to go back to using my chair again. I am disappointed that I am not doing better, but I still trust in my God that He will use this experience of mine for His good and glory and that there is purpose here even if I do not understand it.

The last symptom I mentioned was emotional control. I now lose my temper over nothing at times, but far worse is that I find myself weeping uncontrollably for long periods of time even though I do not know what I am weeping about. I am told that this is another neurological symptom since the weeping is without purpose. If I were weeping over my conditions, which I have done at times, for an extended period that might be depression but I am not depressed in that way. As I weep I call out to God for comfort and understanding and I know someday He will answer, either here or there, but He will answer.

Despite all this negativism, I have something that is very positive to say here. I was just able to read 2 Samuel chapter 15 as David and his entourage flee Jerusalem because of the revolt by his own son Absolam. David passed over the trickling brook that sits at the bottom of the Kidron valley in despair and tears. This was truly the darkest hour of the great king’s life, yet in the midst of his sorrow he stopped to offer sacrifice to God and to send the Ark back into Jerusalem. Win or lose, He knew the Ark belonged in Jerusalem where the people could continue to worship God. “If I find favor in the Lord’s eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again.” 2 Samuel 15:25b

The Kidron valley is shallow and the brook that runs through it is dry much of the year. Mainly it was a pathway for the sewage of Jerusalem. Surely it must have seemed such a great distance to David that day and the trickle must have seemed to have been so foul to cross. Jesus also crossed that small valley many times going in and out of Jerusalem. Even that last night after supper he crossed over to the Mount of Olives to pray and weep tears of blood. All of us must cross the Kidron in our time. Neither David, God’s Anointed One nor Jesus, God’s Son, nor any of us is free from trouble and sorrow. If God’s Anointed and God’s Son cannot escape affliction, why then should we expect to escape it? At sorrow's gate, God’s most faithful have stood with ashes on their heads, why then should we complain as though some unfair thing had happened to us?

The King of kings Himself was not favored with a more cheerful or royal road. He passed over the bottom of the Kidron valley through which the filth of Jerusalem flowed and gave no complaint that one of His stature should have to walk there. What is your Kidron this day? Is it bereavement over the loss of one loved? Perhaps you have had a dream shattered? Whatever it is the King has passed over all of these. Bodily pain, persecution, poverty or contempt-- it does not matter what your Kidron is. You can cross it again and again just as He did because He has already done the same. In all of our afflictions He was afflicted. The idea of the unfairness of our trials must be banished forever for He who is the head of all saints has known our grief and suffering by experience even as He became sin for our sake.

Notwithstanding the abasement of David, he yet returned in triumph to his city and David’s awaited Lord arose from the grave on the third day victorious. Let us then be of good courage for we also will win the day. We shall yet with joy draw from the wells of salvation though we may now for a season walk in waters noxious and filled with sorrow. We must hold onto our faith and our courage as soldiers of the Cross. The King himself triumphed after going over Kidron and so shall we all!

As I struggle in this valley for a time, I ask for your prayers. Please help me be strong in faith and patient in hope. Pray for me as I pray for you all.

Finding Peace When Its All Going To Pieces

2005-09-08T15:32:00.000-07:00

John 14:25-31
“All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me, but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.
Come now, let us leave.”

There is much pain and uncertainty.. There are people who are suffering deeply. Beyond Katrina there are relationships that are strained. There are debts that feel like they will drown us. There are schedules, demands, deadlines hanging over our heads. There are suspicions that our government organizations have failed us and some may have done so deliberately because the people suffering most were poor or racial minorities. In Louisiana and Mississippi children are out of school and businesses are closed for no one knows how long. In Texas there are people wondering how they will live after the temporary housing gives out. In hospital corridors throughout the south families pace, hoping that the ones they saved from the floods will not now be taken by infection. Everywhere you turn there seems to be turmoil, heartache, and brokenness.

It has been a busy week around our country. It has been a terrifying week for many. Not long ago a survey was conducted in the United States by a leading polling agency. Questionnaires were distributed to people of various ages and occupations. The key question was this: What are you looking for most in life? When the results were compiled, the analysts were surprised. Most of them had expected answers that would suggest materialistic goals, but the top three things that people wanted in life were love, joy, and peace. Isn't it interesting that these are the very three things that are the first results the Spirit of Christ has sent for our lives.
Someone once said that if you speak to the pain in people's lives you will never lack for an audience. They were right and that's what Jesus does in this section of the Gospel of John.. He makes a statement that speaks directly to our aching hearts. He speaks to us about what we really want most. He tells us we don't have to see our lives fall to pieces He offers us the opportunity to enjoy His peace instead. Three questions I had to answer in order to find that peace, even if only part-time. 1) What is this peace?; 2) How is this peace manifested? 3) How can I get this peace?

What is this Peace?

It is something the world cannot give us

Do you remember the commercial where the woman was being bombarded on every side (by children, spouse, employer, the phone) and this woman looks into the camera and says "Calgon Take Me Away". In the next scene she is laying in a bathtub surrounded by bubbles. This is the world's answer to our cry for peace. Eliminate all distractions and enjoy a warm bubble bath. Actually, what the commercial does is extend that world view that says peace is all about me and the lack of peace in my life is all about others.

The world in which we live says to know peace we must either: go someplace (head to Tahiti or that bathtub), buy something (a luxury car which shuts out the harshness of the world or a plasma TV that allows us to hide in fantasy), or ingest something (get a prescription for a sedative or the perfect meal). The peace that Jesus offers is different from the world's peace. The world's peace is temporary and external. The peace we crave and Jesus offers is more than that.

It is something that only Jesus can give

Jesus tells us that it is HIS peace that He gives to us. He alone has the authority to extend this peace. It is unique to Him. It cannot be created by any means. It is part of Christ Himself. He extends it from Himself to us. It is not something we can grasp for. It is a gift of grace like everything else He gives us.

Christ's peace adds something to life rather than subtracts something

We are used to thinking of peace as the absence of conflict, or the absence of stress, or the absence of worry. The peace that Jesus talks about is the Jewish concept of peace. Peace, or "Shalom". It includes the absence of churning and distress but it also includes the presence of blessing. Jesus is offering a peace that is a settled sense of well-being and security. It is a peace that surrounds us in the midst of the turmoil and the havoc.

THE MANIFESTATIONS OF THIS PEACE

We have peace with God

In Romans 5:1 we read, "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand."

Paul tells us that we have peace with God because we have been justified by faith. Fancy words but what do they mean? When we are "justified" we are pronounced "not guilty", we are declared to be "good" or “holy” in God's eyes. Justification means we are declared to be unstained by sin. How is this possible? It's possible because Christ paid for our sin and credited His goodness to our account. This is His grace, His undeserved gift.

How do we become justified? We must have faith. What is faith? Faith is active belief . It is a trust that reveals itself in action. True faith believes in Christ's promise of eternal life enough to rest in Him for our eternal hope and follow Him in our daily living. Faith is hoping for things that we know to be true. It is not wishing for things that are not present, but accepting things as being present because God says so.

Do you understand what this means practically? Our past is dealt with. The sins of the past are forgiven. We are free from the stupidity and rebellion of the way we used to live. Our failures are overcome. We are set free from the failures of the past. Though the scars of the past may remain we are no longer held prisoner by the past.

Our future is certain. We don't have to fret about eternal life any more. Jesus says, "whoever believes in me WILL HAVE ETERNAL LIFE." Paul reminds us, "he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Phil 1:6). God makes it possible for us to know peace in the depth of our being; peace in our soul.

We have peace in difficult circumstances

Jesus tells us that He is superior to our circumstances. Later in this final discourse of our Savior, Jesus says: "I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John. 16:33)

Jesus tells us that even though life has its irritations, He is superior and victorious to our conflicts. The world does not overcome Him. He overcomes the world. Our Lord is not caught by surprise by the conflicts of our lives. He has authority and power over our circumstances. We may not understand why those circumstances need be, but we can know that they fit into God’s eternal plans or which we are only a miniscule part.

The Bible tells us that our trials and difficulties are purposeful

Continuing in the Romans 5:3 passage, Paul wrote: "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." Peter wrote something similar, "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith-of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." (1 Peter 1:6-7)
In both these passages one thing is clear, for the child of God there are no "accidents". The difficult things that come into our lives come for a reason, a good reason. We may not see that rhyme or reason but there is one. We are not promised that we will understand at this time what God’s reason or will may be, but we are promised that some day we will understand.
Spurgeon said, "the Christian is content to take just what his Father sends him, knowing that his Father understands him better than he understands himself. He gives up the helm of his ship to the hand of a gracious God;" [Treasury of the Bible, p. 549]

I cannot remember where I read this story and so I cannot tell you for a fact that it is true. I can tell you that I have had similar circumstances occur in my life as I have struggled with disability and disease. It is the story of an evangelistic meeting in Ireland. The speaker ended his sermon with the worlds “For this we have Jesus,” which he repeated several times. He then asked for testimonies from his audience. At that point the young women who had played piano for the evening stood up and said, “I have to leave shortly so I want to be first to give testimony. Before tonight’s meeting I received a telegram that my mother is ill and I must hurry home. At the same time I knew that tonight’s message was meant for me. For this we have Jesus. I will never more deny that.”

Some time later the evangelist heard from the woman that her mother had died shortly after her arrival home. God had been kind enough to let them pray together at the last. She wrote him, I know that for this I have Jesus. No matter what may occur Jesus is with me and with those I care about. I will never forget those words, for this we have Jesus.”

If you are struggling right now, I know this sounds trite. I know when things are falling apart it doesn't help for someone to say, "Don't worry, it's going to be alright." But please understand it is not me who is saying this, it is God! Your life is not hurtling aimlessly out of control. There is purpose in what is happening. You may not know the exactness of that purpose, but God does and He will show you just how important those events were to His greater plan someday. Trust in His will and your life will be calmer and happier.

I don't know why a teenager dies less than a week before their graduation. I can't imagine the pain of those parents. I don’t know why thousands must lose loved ones in a freak hurricane or an unpredictable tsunami. But what I do know is this, God will bring them through this time if they will let Him. He will see you through as well. Even in the midst of fierce trials you can know peace. For such difficult times as these we have Jesus.

We've heard the testimony time and time again. Someone was in a terrible time of trial and they asked for prayer. They then report that as people began to pray they sensed a peace and strength sweep over them. They were able to stop worrying and start resting. That's the peace Jesus offers. That’s the peace that I received last May as I lay, apparently dying, in the hospital. Yet as I lay there I was surrounded with God’s peace and my only sadness was that I might not be able to tell everyone I loved good-bye before I left. I knew I was in God’s loving hands and that no matter what happened I was in His blessed will. I knew His peace.

We have peace with each other

The peace of the Lord is a peace that restores relationships. All throughout the New Testament we see barriers lift between people: Jew and Gentile, slave and free, male and female. We are continually urged to maintain (not create) the peace with others. I think there is a logical reason why we know peace with each other through Christ.

First we understand that we are all in the same boat. We cannot save ourselves. We cannot overcome circumstances by our strength alone. We are all in need of grace and mercy. We are all beggars showing other beggars where to find a break. There are no race, gender or class barriers in Heaven or in suffering. There is only the hope we share in Jesus.

Second, We belong to the same family . We are made ONE body in Christ. We are brothers and sisters in the family of God. It is imperative that we work out our differences. It is necessary for us to forgive and to listen. We are family.

Thirdly, we are heading to the same goal. Each of us in the family of God is moving toward Heaven. We each are seeking to glorify Him in our lives. We are not competing with each other we are working with each other.

C.S. Lewis points out in several of his writings that we are all headed for glory. He suggests that this realization alone should change the way we relate to one another.

It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship it or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmares. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or another of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. You have talked to potential saints and to potential denizens of hell. Next to God Himself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses. If he is your Christian neighbor he is holy in almost the same way that Christ is holy, for in him also glory Himself is truly hidden

How Do We Get This Peace?

You must turn to the source of peace. This peace is not found in Meditation, Drugs, Achievements or Honors. The peace you yearn for is something that can only be found in Christ.
It may be that the very reason you are reading this is because you know that you need something for your life. Things are getting out of control. You know there is an emptiness, a missing something that you once knew. You know you need something.

Dear friend, what you need is not something it is SOMEONE. You are looking for Jesus, the Jesus who once put your hungry soul at rest, this same Jesus who came to earth in order to free you from sin. Will you believe Him for eternity and trust Him in the present? If so, peace is yours.

When you feel the churning as a believer one of several things is usually true.

You are being assaulted by one of the Devil's forces. Satan will work hard to disrupt our peace. There is nothing more powerful than a calm saint in trying times. Satan wants to keep you churning. He wants you to doubt God's promises. Child of the King, you must remember Satan can afflict you but He cannot defeat you! Claim the victory! Stand in Christ! Resist him faithfully. Your peace will return and it will increase.

Perhaps you are engaged in sin. There is nothing that will rob us of peace faster than turning our backs on the Giver of peace. Every time we do what is outside of God's will we turn our backs on our source of peace. Brother, sister, in all love let me warn you to turn from whatever sin is blocking you from God’s presence and come back to the Father.

Perhaps you have allowed a faulty view of God to develop in you.. This is where most of our churning comes from. We forget the nature of God. We forget or distort the truth. In the early years of school children are taught how to react if their clothes catch on fire. They are to STOP, DROP, AND ROLL. I have watched all seven of my children practice that maneuver. Maybe a similar thing needs to be applied to believers. When you find anxiety building and your peace is leaving you it is important that you STOP, RECALL AND REST. Remind yourself that God is Sovereign (He is in control). Remember that He Loves You (He has your best interest at heart). Remember that He never, ever makes a mistake. (And He is not going to make one with you.) Re-align your theology and rest in His arms.

You see, we don't have to live our lives constantly feeling like we are falling or being torn into little pieces. We don't have to escape to the bathroom or hide in some faraway place. What we need is to place our hand in the nail scarred hand of Jesus. We need to look to Him when the times are overwhelming, the future is uncertain, or we feel lost. If you look carefully you will see in His eyes: a love, understanding, confidence and strength that will set your anxious heart at rest.

Even as I write this I am just beginning to enjoy the return of God’s peace. My illness took another bad turn and in my grief I lost sight of the source of my peace. I cannot be what I want to be either for myself or for Him in this life, but I can be His and I can have His peace. For this we have Jesus.

Finding God's Will For Your Life

2005-09-01T14:51:00.000-07:00

Isaac and Rebekah

Ge 24:1 Abraham was now old and well advanced in years, and the LORD had blessed him in every way. Ge 24:2 He said to the chief servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh. Ge 24:3 I want you to swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, Ge 24:4 but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.”

Ge 24:5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?”

Ge 24:6 “Make sure that you do not take my son back there,” Abraham said.
Ge 24:7 “The LORD, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this land’—he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there. Ge 24:8 If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there.” Ge 24:9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.

Ge 24:10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and left, taking with him all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor. Ge 24:11 He had the camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water.

Ge 24:12 Then he prayed, “O LORD, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. Ge 24:13 See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. Ge 24:14 May it be that when I say to a girl, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’—let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.”

Ge 24:15 Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor. Ge 24:16 The girl was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever lain with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again.

Ge 24:17 The servant hurried to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water from your jar.”

Ge 24:18 “Drink, my lord,” she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.

Ge 24:19 After she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have finished drinking.” Ge 24:20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. Ge 24:21 Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the LORD had made his journey successful.

Ge 24:22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels. Ge 24:23 Then he asked, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?”

Ge 24:24 She answered him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milcah bore to Nahor.” Ge 24:25 And she added, “We have plenty of straw and fodder, as well as room for you to spend the night.”
Ge 24:26 Then the man bowed down and worshiped the LORD, Ge 24:27 saying, “Praise be to the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the LORD has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.”

Ge 24:28 The girl ran and told her mother’s household about these things. Ge 24:29 Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and he hurried out to the man at the spring. Ge 24:30 As soon as he had seen the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s arms, and had heard Rebekah tell what the man said to her, he went out to the man and found him standing by the camels near the spring. Ge 24:31 “Come, you who are blessed by the LORD,” he said. “Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.”

Ge 24:32 So the man went to the house, and the camels were unloaded. Straw and fodder were brought for the camels, and water for him and his men to wash their feet. Ge 24:33 Then food was set before him, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told you what I have to say.”

“Then tell us,” Laban said.

Ge 24:34 So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. Ge 24:35 The LORD has blessed my master abundantly, and he has become wealthy. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, menservants and maidservants, and camels and donkeys.
Ge 24:36 My master’s wife Sarah has borne him a son in her old age, and he has given him everything he owns. Ge 24:37 And my master made me swear an oath, and said, ‘You must not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live, Ge 24:38 but go to my father’s family and to my own clan, and get a wife for my son.’

Ge 24:39 “Then I asked my master, ‘What if the woman will not come back with me?’

Ge 24:40 “He replied, ‘The LORD, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and make your journey a success, so that you can get a wife for my son from my own clan and from my father’s family. Ge 24:41 Then, when you go to my clan, you will be released from my oath even if they refuse to give her to you—you will be released from my oath.’

Ge 24:42 “When I came to the spring today, I said, ‘O LORD, God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success to the journey on which I have come.
Ge 24:43 See, I am standing beside this spring; if a maiden comes out to draw water and I say to her, “Please let me drink a little water from your jar,”
Ge 24:44 and if she says to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too,” let her be the one the LORD has chosen for my master’s son.’

Ge 24:45 “Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out, with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water, and I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’

Ge 24:46 “She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too.’ So I drank, and she watered the camels also.

Ge 24:47 “I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’

“She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.’

“Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms,
Ge 24:48 and I bowed down and worshiped the LORD. I praised the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son. Ge 24:49 Now if you will show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so I may know which way to turn.”

Ge 24:50 Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the LORD? we can say nothing to you one way or the other. Ge 24:51 Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master’s son, as the LORD has directed.”

Ge 24:52 When Abraham’s servant heard what they said, he bowed down to the ground before the LORD. Ge 24:53 Then the servant brought out gold and silver jewelry and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave costly gifts to her brother and to her mother. Ge 24:54 Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night there.

When they got up the next morning, he said, “Send me on my way to my master.”

Ge 24:55 But her brother and her mother replied, “Let the girl remain with us ten days or so; then you may go.”

Ge 24:56 But he said to them, “Do not detain me, now that the LORD has granted success to my journey. Send me on my way so I may go to my master.”

Ge 24:57 Then they said, “Let’s call the girl and ask her about it.” Ge 24:58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?”

“I will go,” she said.

Ge 24:59 So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, along with her nurse and Abraham’s servant and his men. Ge 24:60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, “Our sister, may you increase
to thousands upon thousands;
may your offspring possess
the gates of their enemies.”

Ge 24:61 Then Rebekah and her maids got ready and mounted their camels and went back with the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left. Ge 24:62 Now Isaac had come from Beer Lahai Roi, for he was living in the Negev. Ge 24:63 He went out to the field one evening to meditate, and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching. Ge 24:64 Rebekah also looked up and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel Ge 24:65 and asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?”

“He is my master,” the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself.

Ge 24:66 Then the servant told Isaac all he had done.
Ge 24:67 Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. Genesis 24:1-67 NIV)

It is a shame that so many great books are no longer studied in school as they once were. The use of language and irony were so important to our growth and understanding as we approached life in general. One of the great examples of that is the story of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. It was one of my favorites until I would much later stumble upon C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia.

In Alice’s story she came to an icy fork in the road. Panic stung her as she stood frozen by indecision. She lifted her eyes toward heaven, looking for guidance. Her eyes did not find God, only the Cheshire cat leering at her from his perch in the tree above. "Which way should I go?" blurted Alice.

'That depends, . ."said the cat, fixing a strange smile on the confused girl.

"On what?" Alice managed to reply.

"On your destination. Where are you going?" queried the Cat.

"I don't know, . . . " stammered Alice.

"Then," said the cat, with a grin spreading wider, "it doesn't matter."

Many of us feel like Alice in Wonderland, we stand at some crossroads in our life and don't know which road to take. The difference between us and Alice however is that we DO know where we are going. We are children of the King and we are headed to eternal life in His presence. But, you see, that is part of the problem. It would be easier to look at the decisions of life and conclude that it didn't matter which way we choose. But because we belong to Him, it does matter. We know that when we live according to His will, we will know His blessing and experience His joy. Jesus says, "he who does the will of God is my brother and sister." (Matthew 12:50); Jesus also tells us to pray "Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven." (Matthew 6:10)

Some decisions in our life are major: where should we go to school? What job should we take? What home should we buy? Which person should we marry? What commitments should we accept and which should we decline? How does one discern God's will for our lives in these times?
In the scripture I quote at the beginning of this writing, we see a long story of the arranged marriage of Isaac and Rebekah. Abraham sends his trusted servant back to the homeland of his family in Haran to get a wife for Isaac. It is in this story that we find some principles for finding God's will for our lives.

CHECK GOD'S WORD

Abraham based his request on God's promise to Him. He knew that God intended to give this land to his children. He knew that it was God's intention to judge the Canaanites. Certainly there were many beautiful women in that area. But Abraham knew that God had called the Jews as His special people. Isaac could not marry a Canaanite woman because it would lead to a compromise of faith. So, right at the beginning this servant had certain parameters to work with. He knew that he was looking for a woman that was from Abraham's family and one that would return to Canaan with him. God's promise had given the servant a good start.
The Bible is where we get our good start when it comes to finding God's will for our lives. In the Bible we find commands to direct our lives and principles to guide us. If you were driving on a road and a sign said "Speed Limit 55" that would be a command. If it said "Use Caution" that would be a principle. The Bible has both kinds of directions in the Bible. God gives us certain commands:

(1 Thessalonians 4:3) "It is God's will that you should be sanctified and that you should avoid sexual immorality, that each of you should learn to control his own body."

(1 Thessalonians 5:18) "give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

(1 Peter 2:15) "It is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil, live as servants of God."

He tells us we shouldn't lie, we should respect our rulers, we should honor our parents, we should worship regularly, we should put God first. These commands and clear and are meant to be obeyed. They tell us specifically what to do in a given situation.

There are also principles that apply to all situations and circumstances such as: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength." We are told to be "kind, tenderhearted, forgiving, just as God in Christ has forgiven us." We are told that we are to honor the Lord with our lives.

The commands and principles of Scripture will point us toward God's will.

We find someone we are interested in but they are not believers and we fret over whether this could be the right person for us. But the Bible tells us that we should only get involved with believers. (1 Corinthians 7:39-40)

We wonder whether we should declare all our income on our tax forms. The Bible is clear, "give to Caesar what is Caesar's"

We question whether we should do what God says or whether we should obey our employer when we are asked to do something illegal or immoral. The Apostles answered that in the Book of Acts, "We must obey God rather than men."

Our marriage is struggling and we meet someone that "seems to care for us" and we feel drawn to that person and don't know whether it is right. It's not! The Bible says "do not commit adultery".

It is essential that we read the Bible in it's proper context and not make it say what it does not say. When God's Word speaks, we must follow that guidance. But what if the guidance we get is still not enough?

ASK FOR GUIDANCE

Sometimes the simple principles are the most profound. Look at the servant praying:
Then he prayed, “O LORD, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a girl, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’—let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.” [12-14]

If we want God's guidance we have to seek God's guidance. James tells us if "anyone lacks wisdom he should ask of God who gives to all men liberally". But we must be asking sincerely.
Let’s take a minute for some direct honesty. Most of the time when we ask God to show us what to do, we are really saying "let me know that what I want to do is O.K." If we truly want to find God's will we have to keep all options open. Before we can find God's will we have to trust that God's will is the best. We must understand that what God chooses (even if it is not the choice we would have made) is always the right choice. We must be willing for God to change our direction, or to say "no", or "not yet". We must trust that a closed door is not designed to defeat us or discourage us, it is meant to move us in a better direction. God will answer if we ask sincerely. It is certainly true that we will never be open to God's direction until we can pray with Jesus, "not my will, but yours be done."

WEIGH YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES

The servant watched what was happening. One of the best things that the servant did is found in verse 21, "Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the LORD had made his journey successful." Consider the circumstances that the servant watched:
would she offer to bring water for the camels ?
would she be a relative of Abraham ?
would she go with the servant ?

If any of these circumstances had gone a different direction, the servant would have concluded that he had not found the right woman.

Sometimes God directs us by a closed door. I remember when we were looking at several different churches to attend I asked God to close all the doors except the one that He wanted us to pursue. If none of the churches were His choice then He should close all the doors. Guess which door remained open? The one I found here at Sylvan Oaks Christian Church remained open because it’s Pastor, Mike Cook, refused to deviate from the Word in any way while we were talking. That he was the only one who found himself capable of that is both the saddest and most gratifying statement I can make about that journey.

Sometimes God directs by giving us a great opportunity (but we must always check it by the Word and prayer); Sometimes there is a sense of peace (again, check this out carefully. It is possible to have peace because your conscience has become deadened which isn’t really peace but rather insensitivity).

One of the best aides God gives to us is our Christian brothers and sisters. Sometimes what seems cloudy to us is crystal clear to the one we are talking to. But again there is a caution: you should check things out with someone you feel has the spirit of God in them. We want someone who is committed to Christ as we are, and who is also being objective. It is too easy to find people who agree with us. We're not looking for agreement but guidance.

This servant asked God for a specific sign. Is it appropriate to ask God for a sign? Throughout the Bible we see Biblical characters discerning God's way in many different fashions.
Some had God speak directly to them in a dream or vision
Others cast lots (even the disciples in Acts 1)
Some asked for other signs (Gideon and the fleece in Judges 6:37-40; Moses was given a special miracle (Ex. 4); Hezekiah and his shadow in 2 Kings 20:9)

But before we start demanding that God give us a sign we need to keep a couple of things straight, First, these Biblical Characters did not have the advantage of God's Word or God's Spirit to guide them. Today we can check God's Word for guidance and we have God's Spirit living within us to guide us into all truth. Asking for a sign when God has spoken clearly is an act of sin, not faith. That is like the young couple who ask God for a sign that it would be alright for them to “start early” on their marriage activity. That is simply asking God to make it alright for you to sin.

Second, we must beware of signs that are set up to get what we want. For example, we know that we should visit a person but we don't want to. So, we pray, "Lord, if you want me to talk to this person make me run into them as I walk to the Post Office." Sometimes we will ask for an extreme sign before we are willing to do what we believe God is calling us to do. This too is sin. You should also be ready for what you will say to that person at the Post Office!

Third, we must choose the sign carefully. Sometimes people will say, "Lord, if you want me to do this, have the light stay green until I get through the intersection" or something of that nature. That is superstition, not faith. Look at how carefully the servant chose his sign.

How could the servant determine quickly which of the girls that would soon be arriving would have the qualities necessary for Isaac? It would be necessary for him to make the first approach toward conversation, and the obvious thing would be for him to ask her for a drink of water from her pitcher. However, almost any girl, out of common courtesy, would agree to such a request as that, so that act alone would not be sufficient. If, however, she would then, on her own initiative, offer to help in some further way, going a second mile as it were, this would definitely be a good sign. Perhaps the most severe test would be whether she was willing not only to give him some water, and perhaps even his attendants, but also his ten camels. Surely, if she would do this, without grumbling, it would go far toward proving that she was the kind of wife Abraham was seeking for his son and that she was also the one God was providing for him.

Drawing enough water to satisfy the thirst of ten large and tired camels would be a hard and wearisome task, to say the least. Each camel could need as much as twenty to twenty-five gallons of water each to fill itself, depending on how long it had been since they had last been watered. He couldn't really ask a girl to do such a thing. Nevertheless, if she would do it voluntarily, it would be a strong indication that she was the right one.

There are other times when we "sense" God speaking to us. We have an "impression from God." When God gives an impression He almost always also gives some verification. All impressions must be evaluated carefully by the clear and authoritative teaching of Scripture. Like in the game rock, paper, scissors . . . paper wins over rock, scissors wins over paper, and rock wins over scissors. In this case -- Scripture wins over feelings. If Scripture does not speak to the issue we should check with godly friends.

WALK IN FAITH

When all is said and done we must walk by faith. The servant of Abraham went to Haran trusting that God would lead the way. He asked God for direction and when it was given, he acted. When he got to Rebekah's home he didn't even pause to have dinner. He wanted to find out if Rebekah was the one first. He continued to walk by the light God provided.
God generally guides one step at a time. Before we can see the second step we must take the first one. Let's not forget that God has given us His Spirit to guide us. He has given us minds to think and to weigh options. Sometimes we have to trust our "sanctified common sense". Sometimes we have to trust the brains and the Spirit God has given us and make the best decision possible. We must walk by faith that God will send his angels ahead of us just as He did Abraham's servant.

As a result of this servant's faithfulness, Isaac married Rebekah. Two children were born to that union and they named them "Jacob" and "Esau". Jacob's name was later changed to "Israel". This faithful servant played a key role in God's plan of redemption.

Our decisions won't affect the plan of redemption but they are significant. We should strive in our lives to implement these simple steps
check God's Word
seek God's Help
pay attention to your circumstances
walk faithfully each step God reveals

Two final issues that have pressed forward: I mentioned that God reveals things one step at a time. For some of you, the first step may be to take that initial step of faith. Maybe the reason you feel outside of God's will is because you are outside of His grace. God guarantees guidance to all those who are His children. You can be faithful in church attendance and still not be one of His children. You can be a leader in the church and community and still not be one of His children. You can be trying your very best in life, and still not be one of His children. I don’t often mention these things on the website and I think I should do so more often Too often I have developed relationships with people I assumed to be Christians only to discover that they had never made that most important step.

A person becomes a child of God when they have admitted that they have lived as enemies of God. They have disobeyed His commands, they have ignored His importance, they have only been concerned about themselves. In other words, you must first admit that you have sinned.

They acknowledge that there is nothing they can do to rectify this situation. All their good works, all their best actions are tainted with selfish motives. And even if we were able to do some things that are truly good . . . it would never be enough to "pay for" the sin.

They recognize that Jesus Christ is God become man who died as an innocent man, for our sin. He literally came back from the dead making it possible that anyone who really trusts Him to be forgiven and to live beyond the grave.

They make a commitment to trust what they have come to believe is true. Lot's of people see that Jesus is good. Many could tell you He died for sin. But it is only when we place our hope in Him, only when we are willing to bet our life on Him and orient our life toward Him that we can truly be said to be a child of God.

If you have never taken this first step. Stop right now. Close you eyes. Talk to God. Tell Him that you are willing to trust Jesus Christ to save you from your sin and from yourself. Tell Him that you believe and receive His promise. Ask Him to take control of your life. And then thank Him, because He has promised that anyone who comes to Him will NOT be rejected. Once you have settled this ultimate issue the others will come easier.

One final thing about finding God's will for your life. God loves us so much, that even if we make a wrong choice, He can get us back on course. He may have to shut a door, or place obstacles in our path, but He will lead us in the way that we should go. He promises to lead us home and He will do so even if He has to go and get us after we make a wrong turn. Live boldly and faithfully in the confidence that God will direct your paths,. just as He promised.

If you have made a decision to be Christ’s and to serve God with your whole heart, soul and mind – then let me know by leaving a comment here so I can get in touch with you. I will pray for you and provide you with some information that will help you get started on this new, life changing journey.

In the meantime, until we speak again, pray for me that I will always do as God wills in my life and that I will always make myself available to His use for His glorification. For we need always to remind ourselves that is not now nor has it ever been about me. It is now and always has been about God glorified and honored by His creations.

The Troubling Truth of Sodom and Gomorrah

2005-08-24T18:03:00.000-07:00

Any evening you can turn on your television set and see some crime solving drama that uses the latest technologies to resolve what appeared to be unsolvable crimes. Probably the most popular of these shows is “CSI”. The show’s theme is to go into one crime scene after another and to surprise us, the audience with the amazing bits of evidence they discover that solves the crime. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could really solve crimes that easily? Unfortunately, most of the magnificent equipment and skill used on CSI either does not exist or at least is not available in this time of tight government budgets.

Using the tools at our disposal let’s take a look at the remnants of this crime scene. What a minute! Was there even a crime committed here? Is there still ancient ash blowing back and forth in the desert wind? It leaves no permanent memorial just an occasional thought that passes by each man’s soul from time to time. If this ash is what is left then it is evidence in part that the patience of God can come to a close and when it does His judgment is swift and final. Just as swift and final as it was for those who mocked Noah. Just as instantaneous as it was at the tower of Babel.

Some objector’s will raise their voices and say, “Wait a second. Why should we be thinking of two cities that burned to the ground thousands of years ago? What has that got to do with us today? It is because God has chosen these cities as examples. As we lay our measuring rod alongside we can see how far we have come and how very far we have to go. Sodom is just a sign along the road. You see road signs all the time. US Interstate Highway 80, Junction Highway 60 ¼ Mile Ahead, Casino Ahead – Food – Lodging – Recreation. Just another sign on the road.

Sometimes signs indicate distances to the next area of rest or lodging. Sometimes signs warn of possible dangers on the roadway. “Slippery When Wet.” “Long Grade All Drivers Check Your Brakes.” “Beware of Black Ice.” What might some of the signs near Sodom have been like? “Beware Sexual Temptation.” “Avoid Sins of Pride.” “Caution do not trust anyone.”

These aren’t what the warning signs were really like, but there were signs and they were so bright that they got God’s attention. Abraham and his cousin Lot had once traveled together, but they had a parting of the way. Abraham generously allowed Lot to choose the richest land for himself and Abraham to the more challenging property. Because of this separation Lot ends up being kidnapped as a prisoner of war whom Abraham must rescue. In the course of that rescue he also helps bring about the defeat of the enemy kings who had started the war. It is here that Abraham becomes known as Abraham the Hebrew, a man due great honor and respect. Yet when Abraham is offered riches by the king of Sodom, he politely refuses it explaining that he has been greatly blessed by his God already. He does take time to offer one tenth of his spoils to the king and prophet Melchizedek. He would not take the tainted goods from Sodom city of sinfulness, but he would certainly honor God by giving a tithe offering to this one king, Melchizedek, who worshiped the Lord God Jehovah with all his heart.

Finally a time comes when three come to Abraham and he serves them a meal. This is not just sharing food as it is in our society today. Serving food to a stranger was considered a duty and an opportunity to be blessed by God. Abraham wants to serve these men with the greatest respect and honor. Eventually Abraham suspects these visitors are from God and in fact one of them is God. Even God displays Himself as capable of having intimates with whom he shares his thoughts and desires. Abraham was one of those chosen to be God’s friend. God does not hesitate to share His concerns about Sodom with Abraham.

Abraham knows that his God, the Judge of all that is right would never judge wrongly. So he comes confidently before God arguing for the souls of any possible innocents that may be there. When God ends the conversation, Abraham breaks it off filled with the knowledge that God can be trusted completely. Abraham has interceded for the faithful and now God’s angels will do the same.

When the angels reach Sodom, they are greeted by foul invitations and suggestions that they participate in immoral behavior. These angels could have destroyed those who wanted to assault them, but first they were examining the populace in response to God’s conversations with Abraham. It is clear that at least part of the great sins of Sodom was sexual depravity in many extremes. Lot even offers to give his own daughters over to be raped by a mob in order to protect the guests in his house, the angels. The angels did not need Lot’s protection. They were looking for evidence of his faith. What did they find? Lot was to selfish to accept the rescue being offered and asks that they spare the town of Zoar so they won’t have to flee so far or give up so much. His daughter’s betrotheds refused to go with them and dishonored the daughters by breaking their engagements. Lot’s wife desired al the finery and excitement of Sodom that she turned back and became a pillar of salt. Finally even Lot’s own daughters tricked him into sexual activity with him so that he fathered his own grandsons. Sodom is one of many great warnings in scripture that tells us what may happen if we disobey God.

When Peter writes to those suffering for their faith under oppressive Roman rule, he warns them that some things may appear tempting to choose, but that they will lead to harm in the end.

“For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world, when He brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness and seven others; if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly and if he excused Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard.) – if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment. This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desires of the sinful nature and despise authority.” 2 Peter 2:4-10

“Though you already know all this, I wanted to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their positions or authority but abandoned their own home---these he has kept in great darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great day. In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.” Jude 5-7

Of course most of the people living in our world today would say the same as the people of those days said, “Well, that can’t happen to us!” However Peter is not done warning us about what could happen to us:

“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and Godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with His promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.” 2 Peter 3:10-14

So today Sodom is a flashing red light on the page of scripture to warn us of the impending judgment that is coming on this world. Some might ask if I enjoy being a prophet of doom. The answer is of course that I do not. However I have been called and you have been called to spread the good news of Christ’s salvation to warn of the impending wrath to come. It is not a matter of talking about one or the other. We are called to talk about all of it. If I knew a tornado was coming, how selfish and uncaring I would be not to warn people.

Five witnesses are recorded by name in the Bible as having seen Sodom or participating in its destruction in some way. Let’s see what we can learn from looking through their eyes.

“So Abraham said to Lot, ‘Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers. It not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left.’ Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, toward Zoar. (This was before The Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company. Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Jordan.” Genesis 13:9-12
What did Lot see at this new home? Did he see a city of sin? Well, he might have said something like, “Well, we do have certain lower element in or society.” But Lot saw a city not that very much different than some of the cities we see in America today. This was a major city for its day. There were probably public gardens, magnificent homes, private and specially decorated yards. There were schools and intellectuals, places of commerce, labor unions, well paying jobs. It was a vacation playground of its world. Maybe it was like Las Vegas in the Middle East. Lot became a powerful local figure, a judge and politician. His daughters were engaged to rich local young men with great financial futures ahead of them.

What did Lot gain by his association with this major city and powerful kingdom? Nothing! He lost everything. His family, his home, prestige, position, power, wealth, his happiness, his self-respect, his fellowship with God’s chosen one, Abraham and God’s people, but most of all he lost his fellowship with his Lord-God and Creator. He became so wrapped up in the comforts of this world that he forgot where his first loyalties belonged.

Lot’s wife saw Sodom with wide open desirous eyes. She did love Lot, but the lot she loved was a lot of Sodom. She was probably a social climber in the town. After all she had a responsibility to support her husband’s political career. She probably belonged to everything in town; they were members of the country club, the garden club and even the missionary club. They were probably well respected members of the Presby-Methodistic-Unitarian-Baptarian Church of Holiness. Her whole life was wrapped up in Sodom, her affections, her family, her friends, home, desires, aspirations, hopes and loves. When Lot told her that God was going to burn the whole thing to the ground, she wouldn’t accept it or believe it. God told her not to look back because he wanted her to be looking toward God and not at her past.

Lot’s wife looked back because she did not believe that God would do what He said He would do. Too many today will look back at a judged and burning world they have put al their hope and dreams into

Abraham saw a different Sodom. He saw a judged Sodom. “Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord. He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.” Genesis 19:27-28

Don’t get the wrong idea about Abraham. He was not a prude nor was he judgmental. He was a good business man and tribal leader. He was wealthy and God had blessed him in many ways. Christians do not have to hate themselves or live in poverty. There is no virtue in being poor for the sake of being poor. There is no virtue in depriving yourself of good things. It is not wrong to possess things, it is only wrong when things possess you. I pray everyday that I do not own anything that I would not readily hand over to God because it is His,

That is why some people have problems in their giving. They give from the viewpoint of “I’m giving away what belongs to me – my stuff – my money.” If we recognize that everything belongs to God in the first place and that it is His stuff and His money, it becomes far easier to give away something that belongs to someone else. That is why it is so easy for politicians to give away stuff. What their giving away is not their own.

God looked on Sodom. How grief stricken He must have been. “But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly” Genesis 13:13

“And the Lord said, ‘Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great and because their sin is very grievous;’” Genesis 18:20

We must remember that God does not see sin the way that we see sin. We may see some sins and be offended by them, but most of the sin we actually notice we are tempted toward. We examine it more closely in our minds. We give greater consideration to the possibilities we might make of that temptation. God’s heart aches for both the sinners and those upon whom they inflict their sins. Yes, His justice requires recompense for sins against God, but His great loving hear requires mercy and the opportunity to repent.

“Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroy them all.” Luke 17:28-29

It is most interesting to note what the Lord saw as the sin of Sodom. Jesus was perfectly placed to rage against sexual sin and homosexuality. Homosexuality is a sin against one’s self and against one’s creator, but that is not the sin that Jesus listed. He said they were eating, drinking, buying, settling, planting, building. The great sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was ungodliness. The great sin of America, the great sin of Sacramento, the greatest sin of anyplace is ungodliness. It is that basic rejection of God that brought about Sodom’s doom.

There is one more particularly stunning warning about Sodom. It is a view of Sodom that each of us must take. Let’s listen to what the Word of God of says.

“And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.” Matt. 11:23-24

Over and over we are warned throughout scripture to pay attention to all the miracles that are being performed around us; to see how God uses them for His glorification. As we become more and more adept at glorifying God and praising Him for all the wonderful things He does for us. God is without obligation to any of us, but He still pours His grace down upon us. He was wiling and able to that for Sodom, but Sodom and Gomorrah had God figured out. They decided that God was to serve man instead of man serving God. I have learned the hard way that serving God is the best way of living and for knowing the full intensity of His presence in your life.

One Nation Under God?

2005-08-19T13:17:00.000-07:00

I have written on the concept of one nation under God many times. Most of those times I have met with much disagreement because I do not believe that the United States is in fact one nation under God. At one time it may have been, but it no longer is and any hope that it may be again is remote .

It may be true that at one time this was a Christian Nation. It was founded on Christian principles. The church and state though separate, worked hand in hand. In fact, the church was the primary center for education. Most students learned to read the Bible as one of their first books. But that is no longer the case, except where it is being used as a text book for students learning English as a second language.

Now, if you asked your average school students to read the Bible you could be open for a lawsuit. The Bible's influence is carefully being removed from education. Increasingly Biblical values are being dismissed for personal preference. It would be much more accurate if our motto was: "You do your thing . . . and I'll do mine." We are living in days similar to the days of the Judges when God's indictment was this: "everyone did what was right in their own eyes."
But I am not writing today to whine about the problems we face. I want to be an agent of change. I have chosen to speak to you about a man who lived in a very similar time as ours. He lived at a time when it was said of the people, "every inclination of the thoughts of their heart was only evil all the time." (Genesis 6:5) I speak to you about a man by the name of Enoch.
There are three references to Enoch in the Bible. The first time we read about Enoch it is in Genesis 5:22

"And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away. (5:22-24) "

We don't read about Enoch again until we get to the book of Hebrews 11:5
by faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away for before he was taken he was commended as one who pleased God.

The most informative reference to Enoch is in the book of Jude verses 14-16

"Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him. These men are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage. "

From these references to Enoch let me draw some principles for what we need to do and remember as we seek to bring our country to that point of being one nation under God.

Enoch Believed Fully

Enoch lived at a time when the world was going the wrong direction. It was early in the life of earth. He was the seventh generation after Adam. So, everyone was related to him. (A lot like living in a small town!) It would have been easy for Enoch to adopt the party line. But instead he chose to be loyal to God rather than to the world he was living in. This probably did not win him many fans.

When God brought Enoch's son into the world He was named Methuselah. There is some debate as to the meaning of his name. It could mean, "Man of the Weapon." or "Man of the Javelin" but it also could mean, "he dies, a sending forth" or "When he is dead, it shall come."
I know what you are thinking. You are saying, "Who cares?" Let me give you the words of the commentator James Boice,

"Enoch had a revelation at the time of Methuselah's birth of the destruction to come on the earth by flood. God said that the flood was to come after the death of that son. So either at God's explicit direction or as an act of his own faith, Enoch named the child Methuselah- "when he is dead, it shall come." While Methuselah lived, the flood will be held back. But when he died, it would come. (Genesis p. 292) "

Now if you read Genesis carefully you will see that the flood which destroyed the entire earth came in the same year that the oldest man in the Bible died. Coincidence? Or fulfillment of prophecy?

My point is that Enoch began to walk with God after He was told about the coming judgment. He took the message to heart and spent the remainder of his days warning people of the judgment that was coming.

In the same way, you and I must begin to do more than believe in God. We must learn to BELIEVE GOD.
We must believe Him when He tells us,
that "He is the Lord our God and Him only shall we serve"

His definition of right and wrong is the only definition.

That there is coming a day when he will judge the world.

That all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ can and will be saved.

That God is at work in EVERY situation of our lives
That God will provide for all our needs

That this life is not all there is.

I still know what you are thinking. You think, "We do believe these things." But I have to ask, "Do we?"

Would we neglect the reading of His Word if we really believed these things?

Would we be so slow to pray if we really believed these things?

Would we be so reticent to share our faith if we really believed these things?

Would we be so prone to rely on our power and strength if we really believed these things?

Would we be trying so hard to merit salvation if we really believed in His grace?

Would we waste so much time worrying if we really believed God's promise?

You see, one of the things that makes Enoch such a good example for us is that he believed God.

He believed Him to the point that His life was irrevocably altered.

Enoch Spoke Clearly

Listen again to Enoch's message:

Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.These men are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.
As you can read, Enoch didn't mince words. No one wondered what the message was that Enoch was trying to get across. Four times he calls his world, "ungodly". He is warning of impending judgment and I suspect he also advised immediate repentance. Although these writings of Enoch no longer exist except in reference by Jude in his epistle, the importance of what they say still remain.

We must also speak clearly to a world that is ungodly

1. We must call sin, sin.
We call sin "failure," or we say we've made "a mistake". We call pride "self-esteem", selfishness "fulfillment," lust "an instinct." If we cheat in business, we call it "protecting our own interests." If we commit adultery, we call it "an attempt to save the marriage." We call murdering an unborn child "terminating a pregnancy." What hypocrites we are! How offensive we must be to God, who is obviously not taken in by our reinterpretations but who calls sin, sin and evil, evil.
I'm not advocating that we become obnoxious people who are always pointing our bony finger into someone's chest. I would suggest we start with ourselves. We need to be honest about the sin in our own lives and in our own churches.

Here are some questions for your personal lives:
Am I blaming others for my sin: my lust, my anger, my competitiveness, my gossip, my materialism, my neglect of my family? Am I saying it is because of genetics, or society, or circumstances? Take responsibility for your own behavior!
Am I rationalizing my lack of compassion or divisiveness by calling it "taking a stand?"
Am I talking about trusting the Lord while spending most of my time fretting about circumstances?
Do I talk about the need to love others for Christ's sake while at the same time writing some people off as "unreachable"?
Do I sidestep necessary tasks and issues by saying, "I'm waiting for the leading of the Spirit?" Have you ever thought the Spirit may be waiting for you to do what is obvious before He takes you further?

And here are some questions for our churches:
Have we confused "drawing a crowd" with successful ministry?
Are we guilty of putting on a show rather than entering the presence of God?
Are we trusting market research and "sure fire programs" more than the Word of God?
Are we proclaiming the tenets of psycology more than Scripture?
Those who have been broken by the realization of their own sin, are much more compassionate and loving when dealing with others about their sin. When the world knows that we are facing up to the rebellion and wrong in our own lives, they will be more open as well.

2. We must speak in a language people understand:
Do you think there was anyone who misunderstood what Enoch was saying? Just this week I heard a very encouraging comment but it saddened me at the same time. A young man said, after visiting our church for worship: "If there was someone nearby that spoke like that near where I live, I would gladly get up each week to worship there." What was it he found attractive? He said he appreciated the fact that we spoke in a way everyone could understand.
Let me be clear. I love words like: justification, righteousness, total depravity, millennium, rapture, tribulation, covenant, sanctification. I also appreciate and cherish phrases like: "born again", "spirit-filled", "anointed", "heard from God". But the world we are trying to reach does not understand those terms. Just because we close our eyes tight and really want to reach the non-Christian doesn't mean that we will reach them if we don't find ways to communicate with them.

If you don't know much about computers . . . let me ask you how you feel when you are listening to two people who love computers talk? All the talk about Megahertz, legs of lamb, floppies, hard drives, modems and the Internet mean almost nothing to you don't they? And ask one of those people to teach you how to run a computer. . . . forget it. You can't follow their directions because you don't know what they are saying and they are saying it way too fast.
Jesus told stories. He related spiritual truth to common events. He described God in human terms. He said the Kingdom of God was like a mustard seed. He said evangelism was like sowing seeds. He said Israel was like a tree that did not bear any fruit. Jesus spoke in a way that people could understand.

Do you enjoy reading Shakespeare? If you are like most people you don't enjoy it, because you don't understand it. If we don't understand Shakespeare, why do we present the gospel in the language and terms of Shakespeare?

Let me meddle a little more . . . let me suggest three possible reasons why we continue to use unfamiliar vocabulary when we talk of God.

It makes us feel superior. We like knowing the code words. It makes us feel more holy.

It gives us power. The only person that understands is us . . . people have to come to us to gain understanding . . . giving us power and influence

We don't understand the terms well enough to translate them. If all we have done is memorized certain code words and phrases and people don't know what they mean . . . we have not converted them, we have indoctrinated them!

Think through your testimony and your witness. Work to speak clearly so that the people you are seeking to reach will understand.

Enoch Walked Consistently

Finally, notice these wonderful words In Genesis, "Enoch walked with God" And if America will ever again be a nation that is under God . . . individuals like you and me will need to walk with God in our daily lives. This is different from visiting God on Sundays, or for the more spiritual, fifteen minutes every day. This is walking with God day by day and moment by moment.
Friends, let me tell you something as plainly as I know how. Our calling is not to go to more meetings . . . it is to know God and walk with Him! We can learn a hundred choruses and still not have a relationship with God. We can memorize whole books of the Bible and still not know God! We can attend seminars and have experiences and still not be walking with God! We can go to worship five nights a week and be a leader in the church . . . but still not be walking with God! We can be loyal to a church body and still not be walking with God.

At a recent Promise Keepers Revival Summit, it was reported that there has been NO increase in the proportion of adults who are born-again in 15 years --in spite of American churches devoting more than $500 billion to domestic ministry during that time! What's going on? We keep talking about "winning the lost" but we don't seem to be getting the job done. Let me tell you why I think that is. People are not looking for slogans or presentations. They are looking for people who are walking with God.

1) They are looking for evidence of a changed life. People stop smoking for several weeks. They give up drinking for a month. An abusive husband will be nice to his wife for a couple of months before the next explosion. Should we believe these people because they say they are changed? No. The proof of change is seen over the course of time. The world is looking for someone who not only has an experience;.they are looking for someone who has genuinely been turned around.

2) They are looking for consistency. Walking with God means allowing him to touch every element and aspect of our lives.

They want to see how our faith effects our business ethics and quality
They want to see how our faith affects the consideration and love we show to our family
They watch to see how we handle those who disagree with us.
They want to see what we are like with our friends.
They want to see how we handle the difficult times of life
They want to see how we react at a close ballgame
They want to see how we respond when someone wrongs us
In short, they want to know whether we are walking with God or whether we are just paying Him a visit now and again.

3) The are looking for people who show the compassion of Jesus:

“I was hungry
and you formed a humanities club and you discussed my hunger. Thank you.

I was imprisoned
and you crept off quietlyto your chapel in the cellarto pray for my release

I was naked
and in your mindyou debated the morality of my appearance

I was sick
and you knelt and thanked Godfor your health

I was homeless
and you preached to meof the spiritual shelter of thelove of God.

I was lonely
and you left me aloneto pray for me

You seem so holy;
so close to God.
But I'm still very hungry
and lonelyand cold.
So where have your prayers gone?
What have they done?What does it profit a man to page through hisbook of prayers when the rest of the world is crying for help? “
-M. Lunn, 1,500 Inspirational Quotes and Illustrations

Conclusions

I wanted to give you an example. An example of one man who stood faithfully in a corrupt world. Because, I believe this is what we are called to do as well. I hope you have seen that as Enoch believed fully, spoke clearly, and walked consistently so must we. If we really want to be one nation under God we must live under God's rule in our own lives first.
But one more thing . . . notice that Enoch, though faithful, did not save his people from destruction. His faithfulness and the fact that he "pleased God", was not contingent on his "success." And we must not measure our efforts by the worldly success or appearance either.
Enoch, who appeared to be a failure, so pleased God that God "took Him". Enoch didn't die . . . he went straight to Heaven! We can imagine that it happened this way as I borrow freely from the writings of Martin Luthor.

I believe one day God said to Enoch, "Enoch, tell you what . . . tonight let's go home to my house." The Bible doesn't say that Enoch died . . . it says God took him. And unless you believe that God took him by force, we need to realize that God gave Enoch a choice. Enoch chose Heaven even though he had never been there. His relationship with God was so strong that he chose to be with Him.

What would you choose if God gave you that choice today? Hold it! Don't give the correct answer . . . give the honest answer.

We should certainly work hard to bring renewal in our country. We should be the best citizens this country has ever known. But . . . we must always remember that our goal is not renewal in America. Our goal is to bring honor to the Lord and one day go home to the Father's house like Enoch did.

If we will believe God's Word and communicate it clearly to the world by our words and our lives, then we may find that there are those who would like to make the journey with us. And if enough people decide to place their trust in the one who died in their place . . . we might one day be able to declare that the United States of America is indeed, "one nation under God" and for the record . . . . I'd use an exclamation point!

THE GREAT MYSTERY OF MARRIAGE

2005-07-28T21:58:00.000-07:00

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When we talk about the mysteries of God, so many come to mind. There is the very mystery of God Himself. He is the only eternal being. He has always existed outside the boundary of time. In fact, He invented time when He created. The moment of creation was the beginning of time. Time will come to end, but some of us will not end with it. That leads us to the grace filled mystery of the Gospel. The sacrifice of Christ that opens the door for our relationship with God and our potential entry into eternal life with Him. There is one mystery of God’s that constantly amazes me and about which I am enlightened more each day. Paul calls it “the great mystery” in Ephesians. I prefer to see it as the great gift, marriage.

Those of you familiar with my website or my e-mails know that the road I have traveled and am traveling is filled with pits and valleys, but overwhelming covered with grace and joy. One of the most important sources of that joy is my wife. I wasn’t perfectly healthy when we married, but I was in pretty good shape. I was a hard worker and a loving spouse and father. It was not that difficult for either of us to promise to love and honor in sickness and health until death do us part. It should have been more difficult for my wife to keep that vow by the world’s standards, but by God’s grace it was not. Why not? Because we both discovered what the mystery was all about. The secret of marriage isn’t about what you get from it. In fact that is the least important thing about marriage.

Examples of this truth abound in my life with Rhonda. I remember discovering that I had dementia and feeling my wife’s hand slip into mine as the doctor spoke with us. Despite the tenderness of that moment, she turned to me and quietly said, “Don’t suppose that will excuse you forgetting my birthday.” Those weren’t her exact words, but hers were similar in tone. We both laughed as did my doctor. We have laughed together at this disease ever since. I remember awaking from a coma and seeing Rhonda looking me in the eye as she said, “You’re not going anywhere and neither am I!” As I awoke after surgery recently, she sat beside my bed holding my hand and said, “I still love you and I am still here.” She has expressed her vow to love until death do us part under the most strenuous of circumstances you can imagine and it has never been a strain for her, because the love she has for me is the same love she has received from God. She once said, “How could I leave him? Don’t you suppose God’s heart would break as much as mine would?”

GOD’S APPROACH TO MARRIAGE IS THE BEST APPROACH TO MARRIAGE

I don’t remember where I read this story, but it surely represents today’s society. A little girl was discussing the story of Cinderella with an adult friend of her mother. The friend said to the child, “I know what happens at the end.” “What?” asked the little girl. “They lived happily ever after,” the lady replied with a smile. “Oh, no they didn’t!” exclaimed the girl, “They got married!” Reality in this child’s world and the world of most children in America is that marriages do not go on happily ever after. What a sad statement on our world. What a sad statement about ourselves.

“Wives submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands love your wives and do not be harsh with them.” Colossians 3:18-19 NIV

“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing of water through the word, and present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the Church – for we are members of his body. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a profound mystery – but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you must also love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” Ephesians 5:21-33 NIV

God’s approach to marriage is largely dismissed in our culture today.

People say that sexual purity before marriage is “impractical”.

More and more couples are choosing to “live together” without benefit of any
commitment before they get married. After all, what difference does a piece of
paper make?

Any suggestion that marriage should be confined to one man and one woman is
met with cries that we are being “judgmental”. Of course we are not being
judgmental – those are God’s standards not ours.

You can watch television talk shows every day that parade experts telling people to do “what’s right for them”. These so called experts are offering wind instead of substance, useless theories instead of wisdom. The world is running faster and faster, but it is still only running in circles pursuing the same ideas and concepts that proved themselves failures in earlier civilizations.

One of the reasons for where people are today is the lack of intimacy. We buy products that focus on me and my needs and my self image. We are taught how to make others believe things about us that are not true. No one is teaching us to be honest about ourselves or to ourselves. We have not been through a sexual revolution. We haven’t! What we have been through is a desperate search for a substitute for the intimacy that we naturally crave. Most people do not want the physical aspect of sex. They have just been taught to substitute that for the caring they desire. They want someone who truly cares for them and they truly want to be able to care for someone else. They want intimacy. We have allowed our culture, our society to dictate to us that the only way you find intimacy is through the physical. That is just not true! Ask couples who have been married for a length of time and they will tell you that sex is an important part of their relationship, but it is not the most important part. The most important is found in the quiet times when hands reach out to each other and two people share with each other from the depths of their souls, often doing so without making any sound at all..

If you have a problem with your computer who would you rather talk to about it: a friend who owns a computer or the manufacturer of the computer you own? If you have a problem with a machine at work, where do you turn for help: to someone who has read a lot about machines in general, a person who has talked to lots of people who have these machines or the person who designed and built the machine you are using? If you want to talk about home runs do you talk to a TV commentator or Mark McGuire?

All these answers are obvious, but what about marriage. If you have a question about how to have a good marriage do you want to talk to a social scientist who has studied marriage, a friend who has been married previously, a counselor who has read books about marriage or the one who invented and designed marriage? Again the answer should be obvious.

The biggest problems in marriage stem from one thing and one thing only: disobedience to the one who has instructed us about marriage. We have ignored the designer and tried to remake marriage in our design. God has clearly told us the approach to take. When we ignore His counsel we are in rebellion against God. Perhaps if we were more attentive to the instructions from the designer we would find that marriage works much better. The best marriage is the one built on the foundation of God’s word.

PAUL’S PRINCIPALS ARE NOT CULTURAL

Whenever people start looking at biblical instruction about marriage someone is bound to say “these instructions are clearly the cultural preference of the day.” This is not even close to being true.

Under Jewish law a woman was a thing; she was a possession of her husband, just as much as his house or his flocks or his other material goods. She had no legal rights whatsoever. Under Jewish law, a husband could divorce his wife for any cause, while a wife had no rights to initiate a divorce of her own. Both under Jewish law and under Greek custom, all the privileges belonged to the husband and all the duties belonged to the wife. Roman culture was just as chaotic. The Jewish Historian Jerome wrote about a woman who had married her 22nd husband and she was his 21st wife!

These are the people Paul wrote to. To all these cultures Paul’s words were not the norm but were a radical departure from the norm. Paul was not talking about the contemporary view of marriage. He was confronting it with a Biblical alternative. He tells the Roman women they need to respect and encourage men in the area God has placed them. He tells the Jews and the Greeks that women are not mere objects but individuals who are to be cherished, nurtured and enjoyed. Paul was not denigrating women, but elevating them! This was a revolutionary concept then and continues to be so today.

If you want to start a revolution, tell someone that you are going to try things the Biblical way. That will start the gossip mill! There is nothing revolutionary about refusing to submit or refusing to love in a sacrificial way. In our self-absorbed society this is the prevailing public opinion. When you take a stand for Christ, you are bucking the trend for sure. Many people dismiss God’s teachings on marriage because they don’t think they like the teaching. I would contend that those who do not like what Paul teaches have not understood what he is teaching.

MARRIAGE IS MORE ABOUT GIVING THAN IT IS ABOUT GETTING

Whenever men and women look at these passages husbands and wives tend to focus on the wrong things. The husband hears Paul’s word to wives and says, “Alright! This is the way I like it. I am the Boss and she does what I say.” But that means he has never read beyond to the commands God has for him! The wives hear the teaching to them and say, “You don’t know my husband. Why should I submit to him. I am equal to him in every way and superior in most!” Then the wife points to the teaching for men and says, “If I had a husband like that, I would follow him anywhere. This kind of man does not exist.”

Rather than come into these passages with our boxing gloves on, we need to come seeking to understand what God is directing us to. Where is He leading us? Soon you see that marriage is not about women serving men, it is about men and women serving each other! If we focus on what the other is supposed to do for us we are missing Paul’s point by several football fields. The emphasis is on what we give to each other. When each of us focuses on what we should be bringing to the relationship, that is when the relationship really begins to work. As someone once said, marriage is not a fifty –fifty relationship; it is a one hundred – one hundred one instead.

Let’s take a look at Ephesians 5:21 and the following verses. Paul begins his instruction with the direction that summarizes what it is all about: “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” The context of these commands is mutual submission. The focus is on giving not getting. Contrary to the mistaken view of Biblical instruction, the Bible teaches that marriage is not one-sided. It is not about women being servants of men. It is about two people working hard to give of themselves to enrich and encourage each other.

In 1 Peter 3:1 we see similar instructions, “Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands.” Notice verse 7 “husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives.” What should be our key question here? The “same way” as what?

In 1 Peter 2 Peter tells us to submit to authorities (13), and show respect for everyone (17). He tells slaves to submit to their masters with all respect and then he tells us that our example of this attitude is Christ.

“When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” 1 Peter 2:23-25 NIV

After describing the sacrificial way Christ lives he says, “Wives, in the same way” and “husbands, in the same way…” Jesus did not live for what He could GET from others. He lived His life and GAVE His life so that we might KNOW Him and therefore we might know life.

The Biblical teaching about marriage urges us to put the other first. Our concern should be what we can give to the relationship. This is the same for men and for women. This is what made the teaching unique and revolutionary. The same is true today. We live in a time when everything is about self. What’s in it for me? What do I get? How does this make me feel? Jesus wants us to change that focus. When we do, we become more and more like Him and we experience what He was talking about when He said He wanted us to have life more abundantly.

Finally, let’s take some time here for self examination. Are you self-absorbed? Be careful here. I would contend that most of us are self-centered in our marriages for the most part. We are still sinners and still fall short of the glory of God. We all readily notice what we have been denied.

He should have helped me clean up
She should have been more receptive to my idea
He does not meet my needs for intimacy all he thinks about is physical
She never has my clothes ready when I need them

These are the common kinds of gripes we tend to voice in relationships. The truth is we tend to think of others as if they exist to make our lives complete. It’s not just men. It’s women too!

What would happen if everyone began to turn things around? What if the complaints were something like this:

I am having trouble finding more ways to demonstrate my love
I’m struggling looking for a way to be more encouraging to my mate
I am frustrated that I don’t do more for my spouse
I wish I could love him/her more completely

Spouses would be more responsive, attentive, appreciative and loving toward each other. They would walk around smiling and telling others how wonderful their spouses are.

Does all this sound too simple? Frankly, it is simple. Everything about Christ is simple if we will let it be so. On July 9, Rhonda and I were married eleven years. We celebrated eleven years of being gifted with a relationship we did not realize was possible. It is a relationship that would not have been possible without Christ and most importantly without us trying to imitate Christ to each other.

Before I depart this topic I want to be sure to clarify something. I know divorce happens. It happened to me. Sometimes one person is committed to giving everything they have and the other isn’t. Sometimes one person is committed to being faithful in marriage, but the other isn’t. Sometimes one person is living responsibly and the other is living recklessly and putting family members at risk. I truly understand that divorce happens.

I also know that divorce is painful. I don’t want to increase that pain by making anyone feel condemned or that they are failure. Such thoughts are not from God and it is not my intention to bring such thoughts to this discussion. As I write about marriage, I am less concerned about what has been done wrong in the past or what has been done wrong to anyone else than I am about where each of us is going from this day forward.

When I was married before, I did not live my married life the way Christ would have me do. Without Christ as master and king of my life, how could I have expected anything I did to succeed as it should? It was only in making Jesus the KING of all that I am and all that I do that I had any hope of getting the intimacy and love I so desperately desired.

God brought Rhonda into my life and when He did, we both realized that the other was a gift we should cherish for they were a gift from God. All I have wanted since the day I fell into her emerald eyes is to give her all the love I ever wanted for myself in this life and more, to give her all the love I knew I was receiving from God as well. I did not place her on a pedestal. God is on the pedestal and the throne. She is the gift He gave to me in my need and one that I return to Him each minute of every day as my necessary worship. Each time I give to her I gain. Each time I give her back to Him I gain even more. That is the simplicity and the secret of marriage - God’s way.

This coming week my wife and I will be apart physically as I go to spend a week with thirty teenagers from our church. Mostly I will cook and clean and pray for them all. Pastor Eric will lead Bible studies and worship. Others will supply worship music. My ministry on these trips is generally quiet and simple. I look for those who are hurt and see if I can help them find their source of healing. I respond to the ones who are hungry for more than food. I listen to those who need to be heard. I pray, all day, every day, constantly, that His Spirit will stir in all of us that which needs stirring. Pray for us during this time of growing and learning to be servants of the King.

As always, I am yours in Christ.

The Foolishness of Christian Self-esteem

2005-07-25T20:58:00.000-07:00

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Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30 NIV)

The world today seems burdened with a load that that the people of Jesus’ day would not recognize. It seems that one of the highest goals of daily experience is to feel good about one's self, to realize a positive self image. In America, the message pours from the television screens, screams from the billboards, fills every newspaper and magazine. These incantations for self-worth, self-acceptance and self-love ooze from every orifice of information surrounding us in hype. From birth to death, self promoters promise to cure all society’s troubles through doses of self-esteem, self-worth, self-acceptance and self-love. Everyone, or nearly everyone, seems to echo that refrain that we need only love and accept ourselves for the way we are and all else will be fine.

The religious rationale for this movement is usually taken from a statement made by Jesus, "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Mark 12:31) The gurus of self-love confidently interpret this to mean that before you can love others you have to love yourself. And to help us love ourselves, they advise, we should look in the mirror and say, "I love me so much; I love my face, I love my nose, I love my nostrils, I love me."

We should remember that Jesus also said, "Love one another; as I have loved you." (John 13:34) Just in case the disciples didn't get it the first time, Jesus repeated Himself in John 15:12, "My command is this: Love one another, as I have loved you."

When this is put together with the "second" commandment, "love your neighbor as yourself," it's clear that what Jesus had in mind was merely another way of expressing the Golden Rule - love others as you would like to be loved. Do you like the way Jesus loves you? Then love others in that same way, which of course is the way of self-sacrifice, a far opposite to self-love.

There are many problems with this emphasis on self-esteem. The call for self esteem leads to:

False praise;
An unwillingness to accept criticism or guidance;
Selfish and self-serving demands;
An attitude of entitlement;
Personal comparisons that lead to thinking less of others in order to improve my own self-view;
Focusing on external measurements of worth;
The misunderstanding that it's important for us to feel good all the time.

If we asked various individuals from the Bible about self esteem, how do you think they might respond? If we asked each of them how they felt about themselves, what might they say?
Obviously Adam lacked self-esteem when God called for him in the Garden of Eden. He said, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid." (Genesis 3:10)

On the other hand, Samson had a healthy dose of self-esteem - he felt good about what he could do. The only problem was, he was mistaken! ("…He awoke from his sleep and thought, ‘I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.’ But he did not know that the Lord had left him.” (Judges16:20b NIV).

Isaiah clearly didn't feel very good about himself, "’Woe to me!’ I cried, ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.’” (Isaiah 6:5 NIV)

Artaxerxes' right hand man, Haman, possessed self-esteem. When the king asked, "'What shall be done for the man the king delights to honor?' Now Haman thought to himself, 'Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?’” (Esther 6:6 NIV)

Jeremiah was short on self-esteem when he lamented, "Ah, Sovereign Lord, I do not know how to speak; I am only a child." (Jeremiah 1:6 NIV)

Of anyone, Daniel should have felt pretty good about himself when the angel said, "O man highly esteemed, peace! Be strong now, be strong." (Daniel 10:19 NIV) The angel understood that Daniel wasn't feeling very positive about himself. That's why he spoke to him this way.

Job clearly lacked self-esteem. He cried out, "Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes." (Job 42:6 NIV)

David understood that it would not be good to have self-love. "My heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.” (Psalm 131:1 NIV)

John the Baptist made a rather dramatic statement which sounds more like a self put-down than a self-affirmation. Speaking of Jesus, he said, "He must become greater; I must become less." (John 3:30 NIV)

Jesus understood that his own self-worth came from the Father. "If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me." (John 8:54 NIV) and again He says, "By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.” (John 5:30 NIV)

The Disciples were told that if anyone wanted to follow Jesus he should take up his cross, deny himself and follow Christ. Denying oneself doesn't sound like a promotion of self-esteem.

Paul told the Christians of his day, we are not "...competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.” (II Corinthians 3:5 NIV)

To the Romans, when he wrote "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.” (Romans 12:10 NIV), Paul was suggesting that "other-esteem" would be more Christian than "self-esteem".

Earlier in that same chapter Paul had written , “…Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” (Romans 12:3 NIV)

There are several ways to think about this matter of self esteem. First, there's the obvious superficial worldly way of striving to feel good just for the sake of feeling good. Is my feeling good sufficient motivation for the cost it might cause to others? For that matter, what makes any of us think that we should feel good all the time? Most of what I have learned, I have learned from those experiences that did not make me feel good about myself or anything else. Burned fingers, stubbed toes and broken hearts teach us more than we might realize at times and they certainly do not make us feel good at the time that they occur.

Those still very much of this world see self esteem as evidence of their competence. They point out that self-esteem comes with the awareness of one's own gifts and abilities, and is built on truth and reality, revelation, experience, and fruitfulness. These people are not content to merely brag about what they accomplish, they feel best when they are actually doing well. We all recognize the value of positive evaluation when it is truly deserved. If I brag about what I am not or do not yet have, aren’t I basing my esteem on a false image?

But we must also recognize that whether our self-esteem is based on praising ourselves or receiving praise from others, these are still built on the humanistic philosophy that says, "At the core, you are good, only waiting to be recognized as such." But Jesus' response to a questioner who called Him good was, "Why do you call me good? No one is good – except God alone.” (Mark 10:18 NIV)

Over against these humanistic ideas is the religious idea that self-esteem comes by recognizing one's position in Christ. Aren’t we, after all, God’s children, redeemed by love's blood, destined to rule with Christ? Isn’t that sufficient self esteem for anyone?

The Christian basis for self-esteem goes something like this. You are a special creation of a good and powerful God. You are the climax of His creation, the masterpiece of the greatest artist in the universe. You are created in His image with capacities like His own such as the abilities to think, feel and worship that set you above al other life forms. You are one distinct being unlike any other. You are as different from other persons as one snowflake is from another. As a Christian you are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. He has given you special gifts that set you apart from those who do not know Him. Your destiny is to live forever in a magnificent kingdom, to reign with Christ forever. Now, how does that make you feel? How is that for self-esteem?

My, doesn't this sound good? But with all of these ways of viewing self-esteem, we still have missed the point, we're barking up the wrong tree. Even with that last paragraph, we find ourselves at the top of the mountain, but it isn’t the mountain we need to climb after all. Imagine getting to the highest peak. You are exhausted and can barely breathe. The man who meets you at the top says, “Everest? No, no. That’s Everest over there!" Now how’s your self-esteem?

About fifteen years ago California created a "Task Force to Promote Self-Esteem and Personal and Social Responsibility." The legislature put up a total of $735,000 for a group of professors to "Seek to determine whether self-esteem, and personal and social responsibility are the keys to unlocking the secrets of healthy human development so that we can get to the roots of and develop effective solutions for major social problems and to develop and provide for every Californian the latest knowledge and practices regarding the significance of self-esteem, and personal and social responsibility." (California Task Force to Promote Self-Esteem and Personal and Social Responsibility. "1987 Annual Report to the Governor and the Legislature," p. V.)
Eight professors from the University of California were hired to look at the research on self-esteem as it related to six areas:

1. Crime, violence and recidivism.
2. Alcohol and drug abuse.
3. Welfare dependency.
4. Teenage pregnancy.
5. Child and spousal abuse.
6. Children failing to learn in school.

These professors researched, summarized the results, and published a book titled "The Social Importance of Self-Esteem." Did they establish a relationship between self-esteem and social problems? Save yourself the $40 cost of the book. The conclusion of all that research was that there is precious little evidence that self-esteem is the cause of our social ills.

While this scholarly study found no cause and effect link between low self-esteem and problematic behavior, more recent studies have indicated the very opposite; there's a definite relationship between violent behavior and high self-esteem. That’s right, violent people tend to think they are doing just fine!

Now let's go back to the first verse: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." The message as it relates to our subject is simply this, "Let's stop striving to feel good about ourselves." The quest for self-esteem only places on us one more burden too heavy to bear. Give it up and give in to Jesus. It's not my relationship with myself that is of utmost importance, it's my relationship with God that counts. I am not just talking about “accepting Jesus Christ as your savior.” The issue isn’t whether I am saved. The issue is who is in charge of my life.

What I think about myself will always be prone to self-deception. What God thinks about me is all important truth. Is it good to encourage one another by providing words of affirmation? Of course. Such edification is one of the primary goals of our fellowship. Is it good to praise our children when they have done well? Of course. As long as we are also willing to correct them when they have done wrong. But when it comes to ourselves, we praise not ourselves the creatures, but we praise Him the Creator.

When we recognize God as KING of our lives, then we are prepared to deal with whatever comes our way. We have nothing to fear for God is greater than anything that may threaten us. We have nothing to be prideful about, because all we have is God’s. It comes from God and belongs to God. When we truly recognize our position in Christ, we find that self-esteem is a false image. God-esteem is all we need concern ourselves with. Honoring Him, loving Him and serving Him fills our hearts, minds and spirits so that there is no need for any of the self nonsense at all. True joy comes when we lose ourselves in Him.

Choosing Our Attitude

2005-07-08T21:18:00.000-07:00

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One of my favorite psalms is the One Hundredth Psalm. I love to listen to it, meditate on it, soak in it. I want David’s attitude to affect my own attitude. I need to be renewed by this psalm and its encouraging display.

“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before Him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is He who made us, and we are His;
We are His people, the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving
and His courts with praise;
give thanks to Him and praise His name.
For the Lord is good and His love endures forever;
His faithfulness continues through all generations.”
(Psalm 100 NIV)

Theses Psalms were the original hymnbook of worship for the Lord. This is truly traditional music. All else is, by mere turn of time, contemporary. When we want to know what worship is or what it should look like, we need only turn to the Psalms. Here the Lord’s relationship to man is made clear and our necessary relationship to Him is also made clear. He is our King, our Creator, our salvation and our only hope and refuge. He is the tower to whom we run for protection. We on the other hand are His servants. We are called to worship Him for who He is not for what He does.

The psalmist begins “Shout for joy to the Lord.” But what if I don’t feel joyful? What if I have a cold or I was up too late last night or do not really want to be here? What if I don’t care for the people around me? What if my day is filled with trial or sorrow? What if I am overwhelmed with grief? But this isn’t about you and what is happening to you. This is about the Lord and what you should be doing for Him. The instruction is clear, shout for joy to the Lord! You are to look inside and outside and where ever else you think you must for your source of joy and you are to lift that joy to the Lord.

It is true that we cannot always choose our emotions. Life does some wonderful and some terrible things to us and our emotions respond with what seems to be a will of their own. There are day when sadness will prevail because we are struggling with painful losses and other days we will be happy because something good has happened. Our emotions almost seem to choose us. But out attitude is something we choose. Our attitude is the way we respond to events in life and we have some measure of freedom in choosing those attitudes. This Psalm instructs us to choose joy!

During the past two months I have received some wonderful compliments regarding my faithful practice of obedience to God and making Him the first priority in my life. I would be a liar if I said that did not mean something special to me. It brings me great joy to know that the way I have been living my life lately has had a positive affect on others. It brings me great joy to know that what I have said or done causes other to think on the Lord. However, it was also during this time that I found out that my sister had died in a car accident. She was involved in a car accident on July 5 and died on July 6. I have prayed for her every day for years, but I have no idea if my prayers were answered. When I received the news of her death and the great grief of her children, I felt empty. It was as if all my strength had been suddenly removed from me.

Now this is my testimony. The happiness was really nice and the sadness was and is painful, but through it all there is a kind of joy in the promises of God and the love of my brothers and sisters in Christ that was present in every circumstance. As I thought of my sister, my brother called me to share his sense of grief and to let me know that he was now attending a primitive Baptist church n Virginia. Gods let me know that He had heard and answered that prayer. I was overcome by the realization that we are truly surrounded by a cloud of witnesses, all those saints who have lived before and live still. As I think of them all there are tears, but beneath those tears is an unspeakable joy in the Love of God. Then and always it is possible and necessary to choose joy.

“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.” To the Lord: We are instructed to give our full attention to the Lord. Give your joy to the Lord. And like a friend who sees a friend across the way, we are instructed to “shout for joy.” We are invited to let our exuberance, our joy and our hope show. We are called to worship God in joy, because He is God. If I were preaching in one of the small churches I knew thirty years ago, I would expect to hear an “Amen.” Today’s church is more muted and that is alright, but hopefully there is great joy in our hearts when we come together to worship. We are to worship in joy, no matter what our circumstances.

As I read this Psalm, I am forced to recognize that even if my lips do not shout, my heart should burst with joy in anticipation of worshiping the Lord, the one and true living God. Notice this: the whole world is invited to participate. How inclusive do you want to be? Everybody and everything is invited to shout with joy before the Lord. Put away your pouting. Silence all your whines. Choose joy as you meet the Lord in worship, whether alone or together in corporate worship. Join me in saying, “I love you, God.” This is the beginning of worship. Worship is the act of saying to God, You are the One that I love most and the One who is more important to me than anything else.

“Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.” Worship the Lord! Worship with joy! Worship is giving your full attention to the presence and Spirit of God. It is praying, “God, you promised to be here and I am listening for the sound of your still, quiet voice.” You are inviting God to speak to your soul and to inform your soul with God’s wisdom and love. “Here I am, Lord. Make of me the person you would have me be.”

Worship is standing in awe before the author of the universe. There have been times when I have been so struck by God’s creation that I could only whisper, “My God!” I have listened to the sound of the ocean or watched the sun rise above the Sierra mountains and could only whisper to the One who created all these things. That is worship.

“Know the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.” The apostle Paul sometimes began his letter by saying something like, “Paul, a slave of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul, a slave—that is saying that he has invited Jesus to be his master. He belongs to God. I am reminded of the day that my son, Alex, realized he was adopted. He was overwhelmed that we had chosen him for our son. He was a choice not an accident. He was here because we wanted him. None of us caused our own birth. Our existence is totally dependent upon the act of someone else! Ultimately we are only here because of the generous creativity of God. Our stay here is short. While we may improve our chances for staying here longer, the fact is that our time is temporary.. The reality is we do not decide to enter this world and we are not in charge of when we leave it. Our lives are entirely dependent upon another. “We are His people.” Good news. The one to whom we belong is none other than God. We belong to God! Hallelujah.

“Enter His gates with thanksgiving and praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name.” Thanksgiving and praise. Choose your attitude. Look for the blessings and life and give thanks. Look for the wonderful things He has done and praise God for them. Choose your attitude! Our instruction is simply this: begin your day with thanksgiving and praise, worshiping the One who created you. Find something good to talk about. Find that joy that is your gift through Christ Jesus and give to our God and Father as His due. The bad will find you on its own. Look for the good and say thank you.

Walk around your neighborhood and look at all there is to see and say thank you. I sit on my porch and watch the barn swallows build their muddy nests and I say thank you.. My children play in a wading pool laughing and squealing their delight and I say thank you.. My wife’s arms encircle me in the night and I say thank you.

“For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.” God’s love endures forever. As Paul wrote, nothing can separate us from the love of God. The psalmist knew it long before Jesus came, but Jesus made it even clearer. The one word that summarizes God’s character better than any other is love. More than anything in this world, God wants us to be whole. More than anything else, God wants for us to have the things we need for a strong and fruitful life.

God showed His love for us in that while we were still sinners He sent His Son to die for us. There are no limits to God’s love. He will give us all the resources we need to fulfill our destiny; the destiny for which we were created, to worship Him. His love endures forever and our love should be a reflection of that love. Thus we can choose joy. We must choose joy, praise and thanksgiving. In doing so we express the love God has already given to us by His grace. We return the love He first gave to us. We give Him the worship that is His due and our responsibility.

God loves you. Let Him love you today. Give Him the joy He first gave to you. Whether in time of joy or in time of grief, we can find the joy that is God’s gift to us and return to Him in worship. Come, let us worship the Lord together.

From Never Pray To No Display

2005-06-29T20:15:00.000-07:00

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It is with great sadness, but no surprise, that I have read about the recent Supreme Court decisions regarding public displays of the Ten Commandments. These decisions would apply to any public display using religious symbolism of any kind. Many in the news media have written that the two decisions seem to contradict each other, but they do not. In fact they lay a clear track for the future while preventing an economic debacle.

The decision regarding the display of the Ten Commandments on public land in Texas seems on its surface to involve the same reasoning as Kansas. That is that the Texas display was “intended” for the purposes of showing the history of the law, but the Kansas display was “intended” for religious purposes. The court seems to be saying that the symbol was not the issue, but the intent of those who display the symbol is. In the Texas decision it is assumed that the display was intended for historical documentation of the history of law as are the majority of older displays of the Ten Commandments on government buildings, etcetera. Because the assumption is that “older” displays were intended for a non-religious purpose there is no reason to take any of those displays down. Thus our governmental buildings, such as the ones in Washington D.C., including the one housing our Supreme Court, need not be desecrated or destroyed. Unfortunately, more recent displays such as the one in Kansas can be assumed to be religious based on current social conditions and public temperament.

Any future display, though not illegal outright, is subject to a court test regarding intent and the sole determiners of intent are the adjudicators of the law, the very justices who gave us the two recent court decisions on the Ten Commandment displays. Intent is subjective and will be subjectively determined by the courts in all future cases. Thus any public entity creating any display containing even the most minor religious symbolism will be subject to litigation, expensive litigation, regarding the intent of the displayers. In order to avoid those expenses, no one will risk displaying anything that might be construed as having religious symbolism. The goal of the secularist judiciary in this country is and always has been the eradication of all reference to Christian religion as it relate to the United States of America. They are well on their way to achieving that goal. They began by banning prayer in school and have evolved into the sanctioned murder of the unborn and the partially born. They have removed the Bible as a source for moral reference or a basis for social structure and law. Now they would remove Christianity from the public view.

I don’t generally discuss political issues in the context of my personal, deeply held beliefs in the Deity and reality of Jesus Christ. Usually I prefer to discuss the individual’s relationship with God through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. I believe the world is best changed one person at a time. However, today I feel compelled to make these comments. Too many Christians in the United States seem to think that God favors one particular political party over another. Because they do, they tend to support the actions of members of that party without taking time to balance that activity in light of what Christ would have us do as individuals in given situations. Both major parties from time to time have claimed to be the party of Christian Americans. Neither of them is. This is not now nor has it ever been a Christian country. Many countries have claimed to be Christian countries throughout history and those same institutions have done horrible things in the name of Jesus Christ that proved they were not acting as disciples of that same Jesus Christ. It took those who claimed to be conservative and those who claimed to be liberal to make these court decisions. These judges were appointed by both conservative and liberal presidents and were approved by both conservative and liberal Congresses.

The American church has been playing by society’s rules and living by society’s values for too long. It is time for us, Christians in America, to recognize who we are and who we serve. We need to stop putting our hopes on men and women we elect according to society's rules and go back to relying on God for everything. We have socialized Christianity instead of Christianizing society. How can we hope to bring others to reliance on God through Jesus Christ when we aren’t relying on Him ourselves? At least we aren’t relying on Him in a way that others can see. They see us doing things the same way they do and failing. What would attract them to a set of values that aren’t even followed by those who profess them?

Okay, I am done ranting for today. I hope my main point wasn’t lost in the ire I displayed in the last paragraph. The world does not want Jesus or those who follow Him. It never has. American society is doing its level best to remove the very concept of Christ’s existence from its sight, hearing and history. We need to stop trying to make this a Christian country and just focus on bringing Christ to our neighborhoods.

As always I am yours in Christ,

biblemike

When Is Healing A Miracle?

2005-06-09T11:15:00.000-07:00

Clearly many of you have noticed that I have not posted for awhile. The reason is simple. I was too ill to breathe on my own much less write for my blog. I started getting ill last November with a somewhat mild case of pneumonia. After I got out of the hospital, I just couldn't seem to get my strength back. Month after month I got weaker and weaker. None of us could figure out what was going on. If you have read my testimony (I recommend you do), you know I am prone to unusual illnesses. Well, here I was again baffling doctors and frustrating medical providers. My prayer warrriors never slacked off and my faith was only made stronger by the unknown.

Shortly after my last posting, I began having acute pain in my back behind my right shoulder blade. Eventually the pain became so severe I had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital. Unfortunately, this was not my regular hospital. They did not have my medical records. Statements by my wife and I about my medical history fell on deaf ears. They felt we had to be mistaken or simply making things up when we shared my bizarre history. Because I lost my prescription coverage last year (something for another posting), I had eliminated all the medications we could not afford and was only taking two pain medications. Unfortunately, the medicine combination my doctor had found most effective in dealling with the neurological and muscle pain was of a type that raises the hackles of self proclaimed drug warriors. I was taking a combination of Oxycodone and Methadone. These affect different areas of the brain, but can also be highly addictive if misused. Immediately I was branded as a probable alcoholic and recovering heroin addict. As punishment for my denials, the care I received was less than kind. This was unfortunate because the hospital was supposed to be a Catholic run non-profit. I did not find the love of Christ from my care providers.

It was determined that I had pneumonia again and that my right lung was so full of fluid as to nearly be unusable. It was also determined that I was severely anemic. Over 600 cc of fluid was removed from my right lung using a very long needle. I was also given two units of blood for the anemia. After giving me a prescription for oral antibiotics, they released me from the hospital. Needless to say, I was still feeling very ill. I was so weak that I went from the hospital bed to my own bed via the incredible physical and emotional strength of my wife.

As soon as we could we went to see my regular doctor. She was very upset by our tale. Like us, however, she leaves the past in the past and immediately went to work trying to discover what was wrong. The antibiotics were not working. I was getting weaker and she could hear nothing in the way of air or movement from my right lung. She immediately had me admitted to my regular hospital, Sutter Memorial Hospital in Sacramento. Dr. Li-Han Chang began to do what she has done so many times before, to prolong my life or improve the quality of my life.

Let's take a break here lest we forget what this blog is all about. During this entire time of weakness, fatigue, nausea, pain and fevers; neither Rhonda nor I ever despaired or felt things were hopeless. We always knew we were in God's hands. Time after time in the last five years I have been at the brink of death. Sometimes I have even welcomed the opportunity to die such was my physical state at the time. Each and every time I have been brought back from the brink by the skilled work of Dr. Chang and her associates. In some of those cases, one might say my recovery was impossible. Did Dr. Chang's efforts save me? Yes. Was I saved by God's intervention? Yes. God worked through Dr. Chang and He also intervened when her abilities fell short. Each and every time has been miraculous. This time was no exception. I write about it because I want to give God the glory for my recovery and share with you all just how miraculous it got this time.

Within hours of being admitted I received another blood transfusion. I had now received four units of blood in less than ten days. I was placed on powerful antibiotics intravenously and strapped to more equipment than I can describe. I had x-rays, CT scans, blood tests and a variety of other tests to see if I was bleeding internally. It was decided to drain my lung again. This time there was a problem, a big problem. The fluid was so thick that it could not be drained out using a needle. It was very like geletin. I needed surgery, but they weren't yet sure what type of surgery and I was still too anemic. I was to receive another six units of blood before I was discharged.

Whatever was attacking my lung was so harsh that my body was simply using all it had to fight this strange infection. In the process my red cells which carry oxygen were being pushed aside by my white cells which fight infection, or something like that. Additionally, my body had developed another way of trying to force out the attacker. It walled off the portion of my lung containing the apparently infectious fluid to keep it from the rest of my body. Good concept, but poor execution. This new growth was filing the thoracic cavity not leaving my lung room enough to expand. This type of growth is not generally very large and can be removed easily.

The surgery would require a very small incision, about three inches. This "wall" actually is on the outside of the lung. It would be "peeled" off and removed through the incision. The entire area would be washed and drained to remove any infection. I would have a small drain tube for a few days to be certain all fluid was drained off and the lung could expand fully. Simple. Two hours and the surgery would all be done. I put myself in God's hands, said good night to the anesthesiologist and went to sleep.

Time for another break in the action. Remember the other hospital, the Catholic one? It is sad to say that just because someone or someplace proclaims themselves as followers of Christ, they will not necessarily show that in practice. Sutter Memorial Hospital is a non-profit entity as well, but they are not a religious institution. However as soon as it became known I was a Christian, Christian nurses and nursing assistants and other staff made a point of coming by to see me. I prayed with and for dozens of people. We shared the word. We shared testimonies. We shared the wonder and joy of walking with a Christ filled heart. The weaker I got, the more God surrounded me and my family with prayer warriors and fellowship. How can you feel hopeless when God surrounds you with hope and the impact of His Holy Spirit? God even saw to it that one of the most respected thoracic surgeons in California should perform my surgery.

So, eight hours after my two hour surgery began it was over. My three inch incision had become eight inches and one small drain tube became three. Did I mention the pain? It seems my surgery was not so simple. Big surprise. The growth on the outside of my lung had apparently been growing there secretly for months. It covered the entire backside of my lung and was the largest such growth my surgeon had ever seen. The surgery took so long because they were trying to preserve my lung. One wrong move and I would lose my right lung. The pain was horrible. Even with morphine and anesthetic pumped into the chest cavity I was in for several days of agony. Still the prayer warriors came. They prayed for me. They wept for me. They encouraged me. Most of all, they helped me keep my focus on God and not be distracted from that by the pain.

Just an aside: why didn't the anti-biotics work? Because my pneumonia was caused by a rare fungus! Just another bizarre illness for the biblemike record book. God used this strange disease so that His glory could be displayed.

I am home now, although still very weak. It has taken days to compose this posting. I am getting stronger every day. I walked downstairs by myself today and dressed myself without any help. That may not seem like much to some, but it is tremendous to me. So when is healing a miracle?

The easy answer is that healing is always a miracle. Healing most often arises from the body's amazing ability to restore itself after injury. That ability was put there by our Divine Creator. The means by which it works is a wonder to behold and complicated beyond imagining. Created by God this mechanism is a miracle at work at all times.

I have another answer. Healing is always a miracle when it comes with prayer. I would like to believe my faith was strong enough to get me thorugh this last ordeal, but I am wise enough to know that I needed the prayers and support I received from my fellow saints. People who did not know me went out of their way to come to me and pray for me. They were all different denominations, some conservative, some liberal. "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:35)

My miracle was found in each and every prayer, every tear, every touch, every smile and every thought that came from these my brethren. Therein was the power of God made manifest and the presence of His Holy Spirit made known. I glorify God for my healing and ask His blessings on my brethren for obeying His Son's command, "A new command I give you; Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." (John 13:34)

May God's blessings and His saints find you wherever you are and whatever your trial in the name of our living Saviour, Jesus Christ, amen.

Making Sense of the Message

2005-04-20T19:42:00.000-07:00

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There is nothing more important for the Christian than to have a sound foundational understanding about what Christianity is and what being a Christian should mean. Most of those who have been going to church for awhile know a few things: God loves us. Jesus forgives your sins. Unless you believe in Jesus you are going to hell. We can have some kind of relationship with God. We have these little scattered bits of theology, but we don't have an understanding of how it all fits together. At least that is how it generally appears.

After hearing a terrific sermon on being imitators of God and imitators of Christ, I found myself wondering if I had opportunity to give a message to the Church what would it be? If I could have my way, if I could think of certain important consequences for the body of Christ, if I could speak one true thing into existence, what would it be? I would want the body of Christ, the Church in this day and age, to simply have a clear understanding of what Christianity is about and how to communicate that to others. We have been called to spread the Gospel but what gospel are we spreading?

I recently heard about a young woman in our church who was having difficulty with her boyfriend. The young lady is a Christian, but her boyfriend is not. You can imagine what the primary problem is can't you? What is this committed Christian doing with a non-Christian in a very close relationship? Second Corinthians 6:14 - 18 instructs us:

"Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and
wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?
What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in
common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God
and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: 'I will live with
them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.'
'Therefore come out from them and be sepreate,' says the Lord.
'Touch no unclean thing and I will receive you. I will be Father to you
and you will be my sons and daughters,' says the Lord Almighty."

This simply means do not be tied together with an unbeliever in a vital way because when you have two oxen pulling the same plow in different directions, the stronger will pull the weaker away from the furrow. Paul's concern here is that the Christian will be pulled off by the non-Christian, so he says don't even get on the same plow with an unbeliever, most importantly not in a personal, intimate relationship. Boyfriend and girlfriend is an example of that. The intimate temptations alone are too often stronger than the will of the Christian. Each step taken away from the furrow makes the next one easier to take.

There's a practical consideration here as well. If you are serious about your Christianity and the other person is serious about their unbelief, then the two of you are going to drive each other nuts! They are two completely different world views, two very distinct ways of looking at reality. As might be expected, in this relationship there was conflict. The young lady was trying to make sense of her relatioship with Christ to her boyfriend and is unable to do so because the substance of that relatioship is a feeling about God and Jesus. When we talk about relationships in this modern world we don't talk about commitments or contracts. We talk about things in personal, subjective, emotional terms.

When we attend seminars or read books or listen to teachings about improving our relatioship with God, it is never about knowing something about God that we don't already know. It's always abot some trick that will make us FEEL differently. Get closer to God. Have this deep, personal, warm experience of God's presence. I am not against having an emotional closeness to God. I just think that most times it is the tail waggin the dog. The emphasis is in the wrong places. My concern is that sometimes the modern church has the tail wagging the dog so hard that dog often disappears altogether. The dog is the truth of Christianity, the substance of what it is all about. The Christian is the tail not the dog. The feelings are the tail not the dog. The relationship, if you are couching it in terms of feelings, is the tail, not the dog.

This young woman had a relatioship with God in primarily subjective terms. What is the problem? She cannot communicate the ineffable attributes of her relationship to anyone else mutch less her boyfriend. Who can on those terms? I love my wife. My wife loves me. I can explain that in terms of our commitment to each other but I cannot express in words the intense feelings associated, secondarily mind you, with that love we share. Once you feel it you know it and sometimes that's how we relate our relationship with God. You want to become a Christian? You have got to have the faith, then you feel it, then you know it. When you really connect with God, then you really know what it is.

The best she could do was tell her boyfriend about this deep affection she had for God and it was not enough to sway him or even give him a hint of what she was talking about. Therein lay her frustration. Her boyfriend really wanted to make sense of her point of view. She wanted him to become a Christian. "What does that mean?" "Well, I want you to believe in Jesus. Then your sins will be forgiven. and you can go to heaven. But if you don't believe, you are in big trouble." And he says, "That's all Greek to me. It makes no sense. I don't even know how to comprehend the meaning of those words."

When we take pieces out of the big picture, how can we expect people to understand what Christianity is? It like giving someone a carburetor in response to request that you explain how a car runs. Even if you could understand somethings about the carburetor, you would still be unsure about how it fits into the entire machine. When you understand the system, then you understand what we are saying. He is trying to get it, but he doesn't have the big picture to work with. The biggest problem is that the young lady does not appear to have all the parts in place either. She has a piece, but she doesn't understand the system it belongs in. If she understood the system, she would be able to communicate it.

We have two significant problems here. First of all, the young woman is living in disobedience to God's word. It doesn't matter what modern society says about diversity and tollerance and political correctness. Paul tells us not to be unequally yoked for good reason. It is esy to understand how someone can see religious truth in terms of experience and then can move easily from one experience ot another. She experiences a love relatioship with God and she has a love relationship with her boyfriend. They are both love relationships if it is the experience alone that makes it valid. But it is truth that drives someone to a relationship with God, not experience.

The core issue is a basic understanding of Christianity. The boyfriend has an hoest question about Christianity, trying to figure out if it fits in his life. He is sincere, but feeling alone is not going to work for him. He wants to know what makes it truth. Think about it for a minute. When a nonbeliever asks "Why is Jesus the only way?" he is asking you to make your view of reality coherent to him. He is asking you to tell the Christian story such that the idea that Christ is the only way becomes a sensible concept to him. He isn't even asking you to prove that such a thing is actually true. That's a seperate question. He is just trying to understand what you believe. I can be very sympathetic to a nonbeliever wanting to know why Jesus is the only way, but I am astounded when a supposed Christian asks the same question. The nonbeliever does not have the whole picture, the Christian is supposed to.

The concept of Christianity can be explained by breaking it up into four parts. Where did we come from. What's wrong with us? How do you solve the problem? How do you put everything else right that has beeen hurt by the problem? Every world view has to answer these questions. How you start will determine how you move from there. How you understand the nature of the problem determines how you characterize the solution. If the problem is just ignorance, then the solution is education. If the problem is genetic error, then the solution is genetic manipulation. If the problem is sin, then the answer is forgiveness.

In the Christian world view, God created the world. He is in charge and He created human beings to have a fellowship, companionship and involvement with Him. Human beings are special in that regard, they are a higher order of creation. They have a capability that no other creature has: moral choice. They use this capacity that was meant for good for something evil and have become rebels in God's in God's kingdom. As rebels in God's kingdom, they become guilty of crimes against God kingdom. As rebels in God's kingdom, they become guilty of crimes against God and liable for punishment. That's our problem. That's how it needs to be explained, not in terms of how good you will feel after saying a certain prayer.

What about the Jewish man who says, "I don't get it. Why do I have to believe in your Jesus? I've got my Judaism, I've got my belief in God. I try to lead a good life." To him it just makes sense. He has his picture of reality. His picture says that God exists and demands moral conduct. He is basically a good person so he's in on that view, but he doesn't understand why he has to add some theological notion about Jesus to equation. His view seems adequate. What the Christian has to do in answering his question is to go back to the foundation and show what is wrong with his foundation. I believe that most people already know what is wrong with their foundation, they just haven't thought it through yet. I had opportunity to think it through in a powerful way and I changed. If you are a Christian the same thing happened to you in curcumstances unique to you.

The best approach here is to ask two simple questions. Do you believe that people who commit moral crimes ought to be punished? Everyone except the most obtuse would agree that moral crimes require punishment. When the person sys yes, it is important to agree with him. Yes, I believe that too. It has already been established that this Jewish person agrees with the ten commandments, but it could be important to see if the person you are speakning with will agree with the commandments or at least what they say.

The second question is similar to the first, but much more personal. Do you, Have you ever committed any moral crimes no matter how minor? Most people will reply that yes they had committed some moral crimes. At that point I agree that I as well have committed moral crimes. I am a murderer. I am a thief. I am an adulterer. Now we both have agreed that moral crimes shoud be punished and that we both have committed moral crimes. Where does that leave us? In big trouble.

This is where the big wake up call happens or it doesn't. Even by his own standards he is not a good person, he is not good enough. This is where the cross comes in. We identify the problem and we offer a solution that is adequate to resolve the problem. Jesus is the only way because he is the one who has solved the problem. He is the one who died for our sins. Bhudda didn't do that. Mhammed didn't do that. No other religious leader or world leader has done what Jesus has done. He is the medicine that cures the sickness. There are many medicines that claim to do a lot, but He is the only one that works.

This is the point that Christians have to be able to communicate to the rest of the world. We have got to make coherent sens of our message, even before we demonstrate that our message is true. We must begin by living lives in obedience and by growing in our faith and understand of that faith. This is what I pray for the Church, what I desire most for the Church. We should have at least a basic foundational understanding of why Jesus is necessary or we must wonder if we have really made the commitment required for salvation. Believing something in your head is not the same thing as living it through your heart. Feeling something is not the same as understanding it. We need at least an adequate understanding to be able to say clearly what Christianity is and what it's about before we can even think about defending it to someone else.

Now before I go, some personal notes. First I have not been posting as often lately because of weakness associated with my illness. I am not abandoning the website and will post as frequently as I can. This posting had to be done from elsewhere as my computer is also temporarily down. Those if you who send me e-mails need to know that I cannot access them presently, but will be able to in a few days.

The situation I wrote about regarding a young lady making difficult choices between God and what the world is telling her is appropriate for a Christian is ongoing. Please keep her in your prayers.

My senior pastor and several young people I have had the honor of ministering to are currently in Indonesia. They are providing aide that is still desperately needed. There are tensions with Muslim militants not happy about Christian aide workers. They must be very circumspect about their faith or risk harm not necessarily to themselves but to others. Please keep them in your prayers as well.

When Did My Prayer Life Change?

2005-04-12T12:01:00.000-07:00

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I woke up this morning and lay in my bed talking to God. It wasn’t anything special. There was no major tragedy in my life requiring immediate and anxious contact with the Creator of the universe. I just woke up and felt like praising God, telling Him how important He is to me. I poured out all the worship in my heart to the One Who made all that is good in my life better and made all that was bad in my life less. I didn’t worship Him and praise Him because of anything specific He had done or for anything He had done at all. I was honoring Him for being the only eternal being, the only eternally holy being, the One who never was or will be but always is. Unbound by time He exists outside of time. Yesterday, today and tomorrow are all now to God. Because of Who He is, I worshiped Him.

When did this happen? When did I realize this truth about God to the extent that my first thought in the morning is to worship Him? When did prayer become such a natural expression of who I am? I’m not sure I can answer those questions fully. I have talked to others about it. The ones who really understood what I was talking about felt that it just sneaks up on you. Little by little, as you come to know God better and better, the desire to simply worship Him becomes second nature and prayer becomes automatic, but I am not so sure that really describes it. I think it is subtle, but it is specific. It doesn’t just happen as you go. If it did, I would have been praying this way thirty years ago. There has to have been a very specific process involved, but what was it?

First we need to start at the beginning by answering the question, “What is a Christian?” I know nearly everyone reading this is certain they know the answer to that question, because this is being posted on my Christian website or it is being read by those I have directly e-mailed it to. Therefore most of you are or believe yourselves to be Christian. Since you believe yourselves to be Christians, you define Christianity based on your beliefs. Let’s all be sure we are on the same page and take a very short look at what constitutes a Christian before addressing how we get from there to the kind of prayer life I am describing.

Many people in the United States believe they are Christians because their parents were Christians, they grew up going to church on Sunday or they’re simply not Jewish so they must be Christian. I don’t believe that is the case with any of you. If it is – you’re wrong! You also are not a Christina just because you went to a church and went up front in response to an alter call. Something had to have happened inside you during that alter call, the same something that can happen without an alter call. Let’s look at a few passages from the Bible that might more clearly define things for us.

Jesus said that people are Christians if they believe in Him. (John 6:29) Jesus also indicated that those who believed would hear His voice and follow Him only. (John 10:27-28) Part of the process of following Jesus is to repent, that is regret your ways and change them. (Luke 13:5) Repentance is a fancy word that simply means recognizing the wrongness of what you have done or are doing and changing direction, doing the opposite. It means to turn from your sins and go in the opposite direction toward righteousness. Jesus also indicated what kind of commitment one must make to be considered His disciple:

“Then He said to them all: ‘If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?’” (Luke 9:23-25)

So Jesus made it clear that a casual confession of “faith” isn’t going to cut it. People who really believe in Jesus will follow Him and seek to imitate Him as their ultimate purpose in life. They may slip and they may fail, but they will keep on going; striving to change and be more like Christ each day of their lives. Now that we have a clear understanding of what is meant by being a Christian we can logically pursue the original question.

My very first prayer was most like the prayers I pray today. It was very informal without any verbal signs of respect or honor. However, it was straight from my heart. “God, I don’t know if You are real. These people say You are and they say that Jesus is Your Son. If You are real, please help me.” No fancy accouterments just simple, straight and direct from heart pleading is how you must describe such a prayer. To me the most important part about that prayer is that He heard me and He did help me. Once I experienced His healing touch upon my spirit, I was motivated to honor this incredible and indefinable being we call God. My prayer life reflected that.

As I came to know God better, my respect for Him and my desire to honor Him grew. My prayers were filled with complimentary and honorific phrases like, “O, powerful and almighty God,” “master of my life,” Holy Father God,” “My Lord almighty,” “Creator of all that is,” and “My King, my Lord, my God.” I was truly humbled before His magnificence and wanted Him to hear how much I respected and honored Him. My prayers became very formal. I would open by giving grandiose praise to the Being who is alone worthy of praise. I formally and specifically requested forgiveness for those sins I could remember. I thanked Him for answering my prayers of the past. Finally, I made requests. My requests were the shortest part of my prayers because I was almost ashamed to ask anything of God as I did not believe I deserved His help.

In the beginning my prayer life was sporadic. I had no specific times to pray and sometimes I think I did not pray at all. I know I went through a period when the only time I prayed was when I needed something or thought I did, from God. I had my “God is my butler” period. I am still very ashamed of that time. As long as things were going well there was no need for prayer, except perhaps grace over meals and even that might not occur in a restaurant. In fact, the less I prayed it seemed the less I would pray in the future. Even as my demands on God grew, my worship of Him decreased, although I would not have described it that way. My prayer life eventually became all about me instead of all about Him.

I cannot point to some sudden transformation that changed all that. At some point I began to mourn. My heart was grieving over the loss of intimacy with my Savior. Little by little I began coming to God just to come to Him. I simply wanted to spend time with Him. I am not sure if I understood that was what I was doing at the time. I only knew there was a longing in me that could not be satisfied any other way. It is important for those of you who know me to understand that this was happening before I became disabled. I wasn’t being drawn to God because of something I needed physically. This wasn’t an offshoot of God the butler turning into God the doctor, although in a sense I was looking for healing without knowing that. This was so much more important than that and yet, so much more subtle.

This is why it was important to establish what Christian means. I was truly a Christian. I had made God the ultimate purpose in my life. When I began to shortchange God, I was shortchanging myself as well. When I began abusing God’s grace, I also began starving myself of the very spiritual food I needed and had begun to eat with that first simple prayer I had prayed so long ago. As I drew closer to God my life changed in ways that worldly fiction and prosperity gospel evangelists would not expect. It was more like this simple, anonymous poem:

He was a Christian and he prayed,
He asked for strength that he might do great things,
But he was given infirmity to do better things.
He asked for riches that he might be happy;
He was given poverty to make him wise.
He asked for power that he might have the praise of men;
He was given weakness that he might feel the power of God.
He asked for all things that he might enjoy life;
He was given new life that he might enjoy all things.
He received nothing he asked for;
But all that he hoped for.
His prayers were answered.
You may call him blessed.

When I stopped being concerned about the answers to my prayers, it seems the answers I received drew me closer to Him. I became confident in God’s willingness and generosity to care for all my needs. You would think that this where my prayer life changed to what it is today, but that is not so. I still had one more impediment to my constant discourse with God. You see I was confident in God’s caring for my needs, but for some surely stupid reason I did not have the same confidence when it came to my family.

As I grew ill and it became apparent that I would have to stop working, I began to worry about how my family would be cared for. I had been the sole bread winner and my wife, Rhonda, had been the stay at home mom. I could not be the stay at home dad because there were times when I needed more care than the kids did. I was struggling with my own loss of identity as husband, father and bread winner. I was anxious about how this would affect my children and their very special needs. It was not long before God let me know in very clear terms that He had matters under control and I should trust Him to care for my family as much as I trusted Him to care for me. That’s when He really started teaching me how to pray.

What is prayer? Is it formal adoration of our great and distant God? After all, God is untouchable and unknowable. He is greater than we could ever comprehend. Doesn’t it make sense that those characteristics alone create the distance between us and God. Although Christ’s sacrifice opens the door for communication with God, there must be a great formality between the servants and the King, mustn’t there?

I can understand why this argument makes sense and there are times when it does seem appropriate for me to honor God with formality. He is my king and deserves even greater obeisance than any earthly king. As such, there are times when I truly “eat the carpet” as I humble myself before the great and only God and King. There are times when I pray that I can imagine myself bowing before my Lord as Hi sits upon a pure golden throne in the midst of a great and magnificent reception chamber and throne room. I can hear the trumpets blare and the chorus of angels crying “Hosanna to the King!” Yes, there are truly times for such formality, but not all prayer needs to be so.

God the King is the God I must have because it is true that He is King. I do not mean I must have Him that way as meaning that it is a requirement of some kind. I mean that without God as King in my life there would be something missing. When I was king of my life, or so I thought, I screwed everything up. I was really making Satan my king although he disguised himself as the world or even as me at times. I must have a king to control my life. I choose the One Who will control my life for the good. The reality is that He is King and in the end all will bow to Him. I would rather bow now in hope than bow later in dejection and shame. Having said all that, let me say one more thing. The God I need most is my Father.

It is my Father with whom I converse most often. When I was growing up my earthly father and I did not get along at all. In fact, he had no choice but to throw me out of his house when I was just shy of my eighteenth birthday. Interestingly enough as I got older our relationship changed. As men my Dad and I had a more intimate and powerful relationship than we ever did as father and son alone. I am not denigrating the need for a good father son relationship by any means. As a father myself, I have improved upon the father role in that relationship and hopefully given my children opportunity to avoid the role I played as selfish and recalcitrant son. In fact the importance of that relationship is best expressed by our relationship that can be with God.

God as Father is guide, adviser, prophet, comforter, encourager, confidant and most important of all – loving parent. We all need that loving parent. Some have a loving parent in this world who provides a foretaste of the Loving Parent that is God. Some do not have that representative and their need for God the Father is even greater because they likely don’t recognize the need as much. We all need God as Father. He knows that and in His great love He lets us know that His love through Christ Jesus means we are adopted as His children, brothers and sisters of the first born Jesus as well as sons and daughters of the great King. As children of the King, formality is the smallest portion of our relationship to Him. To fully comprehend our relationship with God as a result of the work of Christ Jesus we must go beyond the formality and spend some time with Dad.

The time I spend with Dad is the most productive. It is there where my spirit soars and my knowledge grows. Whenever I share what I am doing with the Father, whatever it is becomes a time of spiritual learning as well. He enables me to see beyond the mundane actions of this world into the spiritual effects on my life and the lives of others. I become astounded at what God shows me happening in my life and in the lives of others. My faith becomes more sure. My confidence in Him more secure. My hope for tomorrow becomes more eternal. My awareness of His presence be comes more consistent and my interaction with Him more constant.

“Good morning, Lord. Thank you for letting me awake to this new day and I hop I will spend it honoring You and glorifying You and ways that are pleasing to You. By the way, thanks for last night. Letting Rhonda and I have time together to just talk and share what is going on with our family was a greater blessing than either of us could have imagined. Wow! You really have quite the relationship with her. Hearing her talk about what it is like for her to talk with You fills me with such joy I can’t describe. The simplicity of her faith and prayers teaches me more and more what You have been trying to get me to see for decades. You are not far away. You are right here. I don’t need to shout or put on my fancy dress up clothing. I just need to say hello to begin a conversation that can last all day if I choose. Well, it’s time to get up and get going. You know the best part about brushing my teeth? I don’t have to stop talking to You while I do it. I can tell already this is going to be a great day…”

That is a little stiffer than my conversations go. I talk to God these days in much the same way I might talk to any of you, except the part where I know He’s always right. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says we should pray continually, without ceasing in some translations. If He is always with me doesn’t it make sense that I should always be talking to Him and acknowledging His presence. If I went anywhere with one of you and spent the day in silence, wouldn’t you be offended or hurt? Why wouldn’t God feel the same way. Talking to Him all the time is just showing Him the same respect I would show a stranger. Once you start, it becomes a habit you cannot break.

I never intentionally began to pray unceasingly. As I have drawn closer to God over the years, it just made sense to talk to Him about what was on my mind while it was on my mind. Instead of praying for people on my prayer list only a certain time every day, I began to pray for them every time I thought about them. That’s about when I began praying about strangers I would see on the street. Then I began talking to God about what was going on around me and what I should do about it if anything. Before I knew it I was talking to God all the time. Even as I write this, there is a part of me talking to Him about what I am writing.

I don’t know if I have clearly answered the question I set out to answer. I hope I at least got part way there. I don’t mean that I have given up formal prayer entirely. I still set time aside for prayer and study. I pray with the men’s prayer group at church when I can. I pray with anyone anytime they want to if it’s possible. Of course I pray at church services. The key thing I guess I am trying to point out is that it is not only possible, it is easy, to pray unceasingly if by prayer you simply mean talking to God. I have come to enjoy talking to God so much that I can’t not talk to Him about anything and everything. How about you? This isn’t a contest. Where are you on your journey of discovery? How is your prayer life? Is there anything specifically I can pray about for you? Just let me know and I’ll take it right to my Dad. He always listens and He always has the best answers.

Say a Little Prayer and Your Done, Right?

2005-04-03T19:40:00.000-07:00

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All you need to do is say one little prayer and your salvation is assured, right? If we are Christians simply by believing that Jesus died for our sins, then that is al it takes to have sins forgiven and go to heaven when we die. Why then do some people insist that it takes more than that? Why do they get hung up on terms like “lordship”, “discipleship”, “spiritual formation” and “justification”? By faith are we saved, right? I believe therefore I am saved, right? What more could one want than to be assured of their eternal salvation and enjoying life among others who profess the same faith that they do? Of course everyone wants to be a good person, but it isn’t as if we become perfect when we get saved. It isn’t as if we have to do everything Jesus did or said. After all, Christians aren’t perfect, they’re just forgiven.

Lately, there have been some events in my life or the lives of those I care about that have drawn me into a spiritual review of what salvation is. Salvation is simple. That is true. However, it is not easy. That is something entirely different. Salvation is a gift that we could not purchase for our selves and is given to us by the grace of our loving God. Nothing we do can earn that salvation or assure it. Only God, by grace, through the work of Jesus the Christ is able to do that. So where am I going with this?

Someone I know has made some discoveries about her life and her desires in this life that have a profound affect upon her relationship with God through Jesus. This person has “accepted” Christ as her Savior and been a baptized member of a Bible based church. Now she is torn between her love of Christ and her desire to live her life a certain way that would not be accepted by most Christians. The question arose, “Can someone who lives that way truly be considered to be saved?” I would like to say that I am entirely comfortable with the answers I found through prayer and scripture, but I am not. Let’s look at some of the things I found or actually re-ascertained through prayer and study.

There is absolutely nothing in what Jesus Himself taught or that was taught by His early followers or even in the early church that suggest you can decide just to enjoy the forgiveness you can receive at Jesus’ expense and have nothing more to do with Him. It is not a matter of “I believe. I am saved. Now I’ll do what I want.” We have used the term acceptance so long in teaching the message of salvation, that we have disabused the words of their original meanings. We don’t accept Christ. We commit ourselves to Christ. That commitment is a direct result of our realization of what Christ has done for us. We become aware of Christ’s gift. We recognize we don’t deserve it. We regret and repent the things we have done and likely will do that caused the need for His sacrifice. We confess our sinfulness and humbly receive the gift He is giving to us. As a result we change our way of doing things to His way of doing things. We trade our lives for His. We exchange our authority over how we live for His authority over how we should live. We exchange eternal death for eternal life.

I think it was A. W. Tozer who said that a notable heresy has arisen in the evangelical Christian community – the widely accepted concept that we humans can choose to accept salvation from Jesus because we need it, but we can postpone obedience to Him until we are ready on some future date. The fact is that there can be no salvation without a resulting obedience. If your commitment is to an idea of Jesus, you need not obey. If your commitment is to the person of Jesus you do not wish to disobey. This “heresy” has created the impression that it is quite reasonable to be a vampire of Christ without being His servant. I’ll take some of Your blood please because I need it, but I do not want to be Your student or have Your character. Then we just get on living our lives any way we want and tell Jesus we will see Him later in heaven.

How could anyone actually trust Him for forgiveness of sins while not trusting Him for so much more than that. You can’t trust Him without believing He was right about everything and that He alone has the key to every aspect of our lives here on earth. If you truly believe and trust Him then you want to stay as close to Him as you can in every aspect of your life. The less committed you are to Him, the harder the choices are.

If we do not become His apprentices in living as we should in the kingdom of God we will remain locked in defeat so far as our moral desires and intentions are concerned. This is where many professing Christians find themselves today. The fact is that people generally choose to sin. Anything we do for any reason that does not include doing it for God is sin. Anything we do for ourselves at the expense of what God has asked of us is sin. As one old time preacher put it, “Anything that does not glorify God is sin.” People are filled with explanations of why they chose to sin or why they chose to disobey so that, everything considered, it would seem reasonable to make the choices they are making. Reasonable by the world’s standards, but not by God’s. Even then, people will still deny that they actually sinned. How many people will admit to telling a lie, but refuse to call themselves a liar?

We want to good, but we are prepared to do evil should circumstances require it. Of course circumstances do require it with deadening regularity. As Jesus said, those who practice sin are actually slaves to it. Ordinary life confirms that. How consistently do you find most people able to do good and avoid evil as they intend. It is amazing how we Christians will justify our sins by saying, “At least I am not as bad as I once was.” Or “At least I am not as bad as he/she is.” The truth of course is that there are no degrees of bad. There is bad and not bad period. There are no small sins in God’s eyes.

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:34-36

When we practice Jesus’ word as His apprentices, we begin to better understand our lives and to see how we can interact with God’s redemptive resources. This gives us a greater freedom from failed intentions as we learn from Him how to simply do what we know is right. By a practiced abiding in His words we come to know the truth more fully and that knowledge gives us wisdom and strength to do what we should rather than what we would. Learning and living His truth does indeed set us free.

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.” Matthew 23:25-26

“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.” Matthew 12:33

“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Matthew 6:6

Only discipleship to Christ through the Spirit brings the real inward transformation of thought, feeling and character that cleans the inside of the cup and makes the tree good. As we study under Jesus, we increasingly become on the inside exactly what we are on the outside, where all that motivates us inwardly plays across the landscape of our lives in social context. An amazing simplicity can take over our lives. A simplicity that is really just transparency. Then what people see is really what people get and what they see entices them to want what you have, which is Christ Jesus. It takes long and careful learning to really remove all of the natural duplicity in our lives, which has become second nature to us. We live in a world where we are supposed to control our relations with those about us by hiding what we really think, feel, and would like to do if only we could do so without being seen.

The Pharisees were in the eyes of most, the “best” people in Jesus’ day. Unfortunately, they based goodness on behavior and tried to secure themselves with absolute obedience in nit picking rules and regulations. They thought that by controlling their outward behavior they could achieve perfection with God. Problem was that God doesn’t care about the outside. He is interested in our most inward thoughts and feelings and desires. That is who we are and most often what defines our outward behavior. Because human behavior is always driven by what is hidden inside us, they constantly failed to achieve their goal of righteosness.

By contrast the fruit of the Spirit does not consist of actions, but rather the fruit is described by attitudes or settled personality traits that make up the substance of the hidden you, the inner man. Love captures this fruit in one word, but in a very concentrated form. Galatians 5:22 spells it out, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Against such things there is no law.” These do not come about by our wrestling with ourselves, but they arise from a deepening relationship with Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit and by the grace of God.

We are called to be increasingly possessed and permeated by such fruits so that we walk in the easy yoke of discipleship with Jesus our teacher and hope. From the inward changes that occur, the deeper deeds of love will naturally flow without the effort required of wrestling with our behavior. There will always be room for improvement, but like our brother, Paul, we must press toward the mark that we might know Him. (Philippians 3).

However we may understand the details, there can be no doubt that we were meant to be inhabited by God and live by a power beyond ourselves. Human problems cannot be solved by human means. Human life cannot flourish unless it is filed with the “exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe.” (Ephesians 1:19) But only constant student of Jesus will be given adequate power to fulfill their calling to be God’s person for their time and their place in this world.

Some might say cannot there be salvation without all this? Cannot one get to heaven without growing as you describe? Perhaps. I know God to be a loving God and if there is some way He could do that for you without violating any the principles of Who He is, then He would do so. Isn’t it better to think about what your life amounts to before you die? What about the kind of person you are or who you are becoming? Would you be comfortable spending eternity in the presence of One whose company you have not found especially desirable for the few hours and days of earthly existence? He is, after all, the One who says to you, “Follow Me!”

I said I wasn’t comfortable with all the answers I found and some of you may now be wondering what I am uncomfortable about. I am not uncomfortable about the truth. I am uncomfortable for a person. She has choices to make and I am not confident that she is going to make the right choices. I pray daily for her and those like her who have been convinced by the world that they can be Christians and have life any way they want it at the same time. There are so-called Christian churches that now say what Jesus taught or what Paul said no longer applies in the 21st century. You can’t walk closely with Christ and believe that to be true, but such teaching brings comfort to those who should make choices about how they live. Instead they think they can have what they want and God too. I am uncomfortable for them. My heart and my spirit weep for those who are lost and will remain so because of such teaching. I also weep for those in whom the seed has not taken deep enough root.

As I pray, God keeps telling me that I will understand. I know with certainty that is true. There will be no tears in heaven, because even though some might not be there I would look for, God says I will understand. I will. Sometimes now it’s hard.

HOW REAL IS YOUR CHRISTIANITY?

2005-03-10T23:25:00.000-08:00

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How Real Is Your Christianity? Don't hesitate. Come on in. Feel the refreshing and restoring power of God's words to us in Paul's message to the Colossian Church in Chapter 1, verses 1-8.-8

The people in Colosse were hearing about all the ideas and experiences of the people around them and were wondering if maybe they were missing something. Maybe they needed more than their faith in Christ. These questions were among those Epaphras shared with Paul while Paul was imprisoned. It should not surprise us then that Paul begins his letter quickly affirming the genuineness of Colossian faith.

Col 1:3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, Col 1:4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints— Col 1:5 the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel. (Colossians 1:3-5)

Paul focuses on the characteristics of a follower of Christ in this opening statement. A genuine follower of Christ is characterized by faith in Jesus Christ, love for the brethren and hope of eternal life. Paul, Peter, James and John all use this same simple shorthand to describe the new nature of those in Jesus. As I tried to read through Colossians, I found myself stuck on this passage. Look again at how we are described. Do you always feel these things as Paul describes them?

Faith in Christ Jesus

We hear lots of people today who tell us they have faith. Others tell us that faith is very important in their lives. We are living in a day when faith is quite popular. However, we can’t assume that everyone is using the term the same way we are.
First, we must always ask, "What is the object of your faith?" Faith in and of itself has no intrinsic value. Faith has no power. It is the object of your faith that is significant. You see, many people have faith, but the object of their faith is: experience, reincarnation, theology or philosophical systems, their own goodness, the free market system, the goodness of men or even religion or the church. The true believer has faith in Christ Jesus not in the things of this world. How quick we are to forget this at times. We are prone to quickly revert to our old approach to faith, to trust in our own efforts. Christian confidence and faith is not in anything we have done or can do. Our confidence is in Jesus Christ: in His sacrificial death, victorious resurrection and His present intercession on our behalf.

This leads us to a second question: What does it mean to have "faith"? Some would say that having faith is to feel good about something. But when the Bible talks about faith in Christ, it means to believe Him, depend on Him, follow Him. It means to believe what He says about God, about salvation, about us. To have faith in Christ is to "bet our life on Him.” Having faith in Christ means believing that His death really was the payment for our sin, just as He said it as. It means believing that He loves us even when we feel unlovable.

The third question follows, where does this faith come from? Notice something interesting from this text. The faith Paul talks of here is not the means to salvation; it is the result of our salvation. Paul tells us that this faith "springs from the hope that is stored up for you in Heaven." Faith doesn't produce the hope it comes from the hope. Now this is different from the way we usually talk. We usually make it seem that we have to come up with faith in order to be saved. Paul says this faith is evidence that we are saved. Paul wrote the Ephesians:

Eph 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— Eph 2:9 not by works, so that no one can boast. Eph 2:10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Faith is something God creates in us. He produces faith in us. Now, why is this important? Because so many try to will themselves to believe. We try to create faith. What we need to understand is that faith does not come from looking inward. It comes from looking at God. Faith is the fruit of seeking Him. So if you want to have more faith, don't read more books on faith, spend more time looking at and seeking God.

This is a good time to make this very practical. We simply need to ask ourselves: "Where are we placing our faith?" Many people talk religion. But the crucial question is this: Who or What do you really trust? Be honest with yourself. Are you confident because you are talented? Decent? Competent? Well-respected? Are you trusting your financial acumen or your determined spirit to get you ahead in life? When we do these things we have gone back to building our houses on the sand.

Love for all the brethren

We must always look out for those who talk Christianity but don't walk it. A loveless goodness, apologetics without passion, a profession without practice, all make for a questionable faith.
The Apostle John wrote:

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. (1 John. 3:16-18)

James wrote, "faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." (2:17) James is not arguing that we have to be good in order to get into heaven; he is arguing that anyone who has truly been reborn by God's Spirit acts differently. Faith is not passive, but active. The Colossians showed the reality of their faith because they not only professed faith, they reflected love.

But what does it mean to love each other? Christian love is unique. It is characterized by,

1. a sense of family. It is certainly true that we should never refer to the church as they it should always be we. Our love is anchored in the fact that we are related to each other in Christ.

2. seeing another person not for who they are . . . but for who they can be by God's Spirit. We understand how radically God can change a life. We should never write another off as one who "will never change" because we ought to know better. We know what God can do because He has begun that process in us.

3. by a desire for the good and spiritual happiness of the other. This is different from the way of the world. In the world we "love others" because we think they can be good for us or because they make us happy. I know it sounds harsh, but I still believe it is true. I see remnants of this attitude in my own life. We use people. We see people in terms of what they can do for us. We love them if they do what we want. We discard them if they don't. Christian love desires the benefit of the other person. It is concerned with building up the other not ourselves.

4. a genuine delight from being with each other. Christian love means we enjoy being together. That's why it is so delightful to come into a church and hear laughter. Worship should not be drudgery, onerous prayers and false piety. It is a time to do something special (exalt God) with our friends. When a group of friends get together there is talking, laughter and joy.

5. an overlooking of faults and infirmities. It's not that we minimize these things. Christian love understands that we are all sinners in the process of being transformed. So, we do not focus on the sin and failure. We focus on the progress and growth. People who love each other dwell on the admirable and praiseworthy not the blemishes and struggles. Unfortunately, in many churches the members are much less patient with each other than they are with their friends who are not Christians. This is because they have become focused on the outward appearance and on making certain behaviors more important than others. They have lost sight of their original goal.

6. a love that is without barrier. Our love for each other is based in something much deeper than our economic class, gender, race, age or any other category of men. Our love is anchored in our common experience of grace and our common destiny of eternity worshiping God.
Obviously we realize that we are a long way from achieving this goal perfectly. We are still prone to pettiness and competition. But the true believer is moving toward this goal of Christ-like love. They want to love this way. They are learning to love this way. They delight when they love this way. Every morning I try to begin my day with a conversation with God. The first thing I ask is that God help me love deeper and more fully today than yesterday. When I pray for others and when I act in love toward others, my physical symptoms recede and at least for a while I have freedom from this thorn in my flesh.

Hope is the true source of all God's power in us

Once again, we see that this "faith and love spring from hope". In Paul's letter to Titus he writes about "a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time and at his appointed season he brought his word to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior." (Titus 1:2)

Peter also talks about the significance of hope, "In his great mercy he had given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade - kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter 3b – 5)

We hear the word "hope" used frequently. We "hope" for a good report. We "hope" to be able to reach some goal. We "hope" for the best. Most of the time we seem to use "hope" like making wishes. It's a "pie-in-the-sky" optimism. But that is not what this hope is about. The hope that Peter and Paul point to is different.

It's a hope based in fact. We are not engaging in mere positive thinking. Our hope is grounded in the promises of a real man, Jesus. We believe He went to the cross willingly and rose from the dead victoriously. We base our hope on God's testimony and revelation over the years.
It is a hope that is undiminished by difficulties. The Bible tells us the truth about life. It doesn't promise things will be easy. In fact, it tells us that this world and everything in it is going to pass away. It tells us that the world in which we live is infected with a cancer that is more deadly than the most devastating cancer we know. It's a cancer called sin. Our hope is not anchored in present circumstances but in a promise for the future. It is this hope of eternity that keeps us going through the rough times of our lives. Our hope is one that changes the way we face the trials and tragedies of life.

It is a hope that alters the way we live. Our hope is for the day when we will stand before the Lord and hear those wonderful words, "Welcome Home." We look for the day when this world will be cast aside. And because our sights are set on heaven our response to the annoyances, obstacles and disappointments of this world is changed.

A child of God is called to look beyond this world to the next. It is natural to care for our body. It is appropriate to be concerned for our families. We are right to want to live this life to the fullest. But if our primary concern is with this life we have our priorities confused. Why give so much priority to that which is temporary and give so little attention to our soul, which is eternal? Shouldn't it be the other way around?

And what about in the times of difficulty? Many of you have let me into your lives. I know some of the struggles and the difficulties you wrestle with and you certainly know mine. This life is not easy. Sometimes it's not even all that enjoyable. But here's the question you and I have to ask: in these times, do we dwell on the difficulties or do we dwell on the One who will someday wipe our tears, heal our wounds and put our weary hearts to rest? Do we dwell on the struggle or the sure victory? Do we dwell on the trial or on the promise that God will use the trial? A true hope changes our perspective on everything.

It is certainly possible that some of you may feel at the "end of your rope" as you read this. My church has certainly seen the efforts of Satan to destroy the promise of Sylvan Oaks’ future ministries, as well as the ministries of today. You may be exhausted, worn out, tired of the battle. Perhaps you can't sleep because you can't stop your mind and your racing heart. You examine all the possibilities. You've considered all the "what ifs?" The uncertainty of the future overwhelms you. To those in this state I urge you to change your focus. Look up. Look into His face. Replay His promises. Know that the future is in His hands. Remind yourself over and over and over again that He is sufficient for whatever comes your way. His promise is sure. This life is just an imitation leather jaket for the life that is to come and made of the most special materials and custome fit for you personally by God.. Turn your eyes to His sufficiency and grace rather than the obstacles of the Devil. Make hope your anchor and it will hold you steady in even the most troublesome waters.

So, there you have it. The simple definition of a genuine follower of Christ. It's not who holds a certain theological position or has had a certain experience. It has nothing to do with the amount of water that is used in baptism or even it's timing. It is not about the frequency of the Lord's Supper. It is not a matter of style or worship or version of the Bible you read. The issue is really much more basic than that. A genuine believer is one who trusts God rather than himself; and shows faith by the way they treat those around them. And they do all this because of the hope that burns in their soul. It is a hope that is anchored in the promises of God. And when faith, hope, and love are at work in a follower's life ----the other things will take care of themselves

HAVE WE NO TEARS? HAVE WE NO SHAME? HAVE WE NO GRIEF?

2005-02-27T15:24:00.000-08:00

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Those who sow in seeds of tears will reap with songs of joy. (Psalm 126:5)

This is more than preaching in joy. This is more than preaching with zeal. This is more than emotion or passion in the crowd. This is the divine edict of God. We are called to reap the seeds of the Gospel with a passion born of our grief for those who do not yet know their redeemer or have not found the hope of their salvation. This is not scholarly exposition or exegetical exactness or homiletically perfect pronouncements.

The writer of this psalm understood that the authority of the temple (Church) was waning in a cruelty filled and apathy drenched world. He cringes with sorrow that men turn a deaf ear to the truth of God’s word just as they listen not to the Gospel of the living Christ today. They selfishly risk eternal damnation in the process of glorifying themselves. The speaker grieves and his broken hearted tears pour forth at the lack of hope for those who reject the truth.. His broken heart cannot be hid as he grieves at the worldliness of the church, its toleration of sin and acceptance of the world’s values over Christ’s. He is embarrassed that the corporate prayer of the church no longer pulls down the strong holds of the devil and grieves that we longer cry out in our despair before this devil made crime arid sin mad society, “Why can we not cast out these demons as of old?” “And the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, ‘Why couldn’t we drive it out?’ He replied, ‘Because you have so little faith, I tell you the truth, if you have the faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, “move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible or you.” Matthew 17:19-20

Many of us have no memory for the great revivals of the church, because we have never seen what true revival is. We walk calmly with the status quo as our generation marches inexorably toward hell. We sleep peacefully at night because our church is saved and those outside have to face the problem for themselves. It’s not our responsibility after all. Jesus whipped the money changers out of the temple, but first He wept over them. He grieved for their souls. Shame on us. Everlasting Shame on us for we do not weep a single tear for those misguided souls.

The Apostle Paul sent a tear stained letter to the Philippians saying, I have told you often and now tell you even weeping that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ.” (Philippians 3:18). Notice that he does not say that they are the enemies of Christ, but that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ. They are the enemies of the salvation that comes with the sacrifices of Christ Jesus. They deny or diminish the redemptive values of the cross. Many are those today who do the same. They polish their thirty inch section of pew, but leave just as dumb or worse than they did before, The Church of Rome does not stand against the Holy Name of Christ, but by saying that Mary is a co-absolver with Christ, they deny the cross by saying she is co-redemptive and she did not suffer crucifixion. The Mormons use the name of Christ but they stray from the atonement and make Him brother of Satan! The Jehovah Witnesses deny the physical resurrection and thus the proof of His Godhead. Have we no tears for them?. Shall we face their accusations without a blush when they accuse us of standing by when they were our neighbors and yet insufficient of a burden to cause us to act? Did we decide their fate in advance and so make them unworthy of any effort to save them?

The evangelicals can scarcely read their history of revivals and mass salvations without tears. Has the glory of the evangelical revival under Wesley ever gripped the hearts of the Methodists today or have they become so enraptured with the social issues and political standards that they have forgotten the fire baptized men like Walsh and Nelson and the host of others who were beaten in the streets for the glory of the Gospel? Yet as their blood flowed from their wounds, their tears flowed from their eyes. Tears for the ones who had beaten them. Have the Holiness people set a guard at the door of the beauty parlors lest any sister should enter to get her hair curled, while a block away there is a string of prostitutes trying to sell their sin-wracked bodies with none to tell them of eternal love? Do the Pentecostals look back with shame as they remember when they dwelt across the theological tracks, but with the glory of the Lord in their midst? When they had a normal church life, which meant nights of prayers, followed by signs and wonders, and diverse miracles, and genuine gifts of the Holy Ghost? When they were not clock watchers, and their meetings lasted for hours, saturated with holy power? Have we no tears for these memories, or shame that our children know nothing of such power? Other denominations had their Glory Days of revival. Think of the mighty visitations to the Presbyterians in Korea. Remember the earth-shaking revival in Shantung. Are those days gone forever? Have we no tears for revival? Jesus wept for He new how near their judgment was and He loved them still. Where is our love? Where is our grief? Where is our shame?

I used to dream of the evangelists of the past. Now I dream of Christians hidden inside their private communities unwilling to invite others in or to go where others are that they might share the glory of Christ with them. Christ still weeps for the souls of the lost as well as the souls of the saved who won’t make time for the seekers of hope. I know I have been guilty of this sin and cannot describe the shame I feel for my failure to serve my Lord and my King. Would this sin were the exception rather than the rule in this country, but sadly it is not. Somehow we have confused liberal and conservative Christianity with liberal and conservative politics. Neither their goals nor their hopes nor their means are the same. When we confuse the world with the spirit and the spirit with the world, the world will win and division will reign.

What are your thoughts on this dillema?

A Truly Loving God Wouldn’t Send People to Hell, Would He?

2005-02-21T01:23:00.000-08:00

Wanna Bet?

Atheists often claim that Christianity could not be true because a truly loving God would not send billions of people to hell. Although this seems somewhat sensible at first hearing, it makes assumptions about the God of the Bible that are not true. Many claim that those who have never heard of Jesus Christ should not be forced to go to hell.

“But I trust in Your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in Your salvation.” Psalm 13:5

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16

First, we must note that the Bible says that God will judge all the people righteously.

“And He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity.” Psalm 9.8

Before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth; He will judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with equity.” Psalm 98.9

It also seems that God will judge those more strictly who have rejected the Gospel of Jesus Christ than those who have never heard.

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on Him.” John 3.36

“There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; That very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.” John 12:48

Paul speaks on this issue specifically so that there can be no doubt as the teaching on the matter of God’s judgment. Paul tells us that those who have never heard of the law are not imputed sin under the law. He also says that those who follow the law (Jews) will be judged by the law. People who have never heard the law will be judged by God’s.

“For the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, neither is there violation.” Romans 5:13

“For there is no partiality with God. For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law; and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law.” Romans 2:11-12

“For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Laws, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness, and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Jesus Christ.” Romans 2:14-16

A further indication that the judgment of God is based upon what we know what we have been given can be seen in warning by James:

“Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.” James 3:1

Those who know the Gospel, study and teach it will be under stricter judgment, since they have the ability to guide others or lead them astray. Jesus, in the parable of the master and the slaves (Luke 12:41-48) talked about the difference between those who do not know the law and those who know God’s Law and His will.

“And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, shall receive many lashes, but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few. And from everyone who has been given much shall much be required; and to whom they entrusted much, much, of him they will ask all the more.” Luke 12:47-48

There are many Christians who say that all those who die without faith in Christ will be relegated to hell, even if they have never heard of the Gospel. However, I think Scripture takes a slightly different approach. This is not any sort of ecumenical gospel, God forbid my name should be coupled with any such nonsense. Those who have heard of Jesus and His Gospel but have refused to believe have rejected Him. As such, they will fall under the condemnation of God, because they have rejected His provision for repairing the damage caused by their own disobedience. Therefore the atheist is still without excuse in rejecting God. Those who perpetrate evil, even without knowledge of the Gospel, will likewise be condemned, since they have violated their God given conscience. In the same way those who play “Church Roulette” by going to church on Sunday and living apart from God the rest of the time will be condemned.

“And we have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abided in him. 1 John 4:16

The first inaccuracy is the concept that love allows the object of that love to do whatever they want. This permissive kind of “love” isn’t really love at all. Any parent will recognize that allowing your children to do whatever they want is not loving at all. If you did this, your children would grow up to be selfish brats, much like the people who brought us our current cultural problems. They would be incapable of truly loving other people. Pagan gods were caught up in their own intrigues and so allowed humans to do whatever they wanted. However, the God of the Bible wants us to love Him and other people above everything we care about or do. When Jesus was asked about the most important rules, He replied they were about relationships.

“’Teacher, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?’ And He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul’ and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these commandments depend the whole law and the prophets” Matthew 22:36-40.

The Creator God of the universe is obviously a God of order. The laws that govern the physical universe are so precise that we can calculate the future positions of planets, stars and galaxies thousands to millions of years into the future. Would a God of such precision create a moral law that was random or frequently changing, for that matter, changing at all? It does not seem likely or consistent with the character of the God, who we know from the reality of creation. Thus it appears that unchanging moral laws are the more likely expression of the Creator God. The Bible claims that the unchanging moral laws are absolutely the work and expression of God’s character. Therefore the purpose of the moral laws are to show us and teach us about what is required in order to enter into God’s kingdom. They also allow us to live with each other on earth without causing injury to one another. If we all perfectly fulfilled the moral laws of God, we would all be living in perfect harmony with each other. Our failure to fulfill the purpose of God’s law is why we seek Him as the source of our salvation for we have condemned ourselves.

“Vindicate me in your righteousness, my God and Lord; do not let them gloat over me.” Psalm 35:24

“And the heavens declare His righteousness, for God Himself is judge. Selah” Psalms 50:6

“Your righteousness reaches to the stars, O God, You who have done great things. Who, O God, is like You?” Psalm 71:19

God created spiritual beings for the purpose of expressing His love, those beings must have complete free will in order to express that love. Of course, that same free will allows for those beings to disobey and even challenge God. The fact is that most people don’t like God’s rules and don’t want to live by them or even by the concept of trying to live by them. The vast majority of people want to run their own lives without submitting to God or anyone else. Somehow they reason that despite this attitude God should let them into heaven because they have been as good or better than most people. The problem with this is that God does not grade on a curve. He grades on a pass/fail system where passing is 100%. All who enter God’s kingdom must be holy as He is holy and that means without sin, that is with no violations of God’s Law. They must also be willing to have God prevent them from ever sinning again as there can be no sin in heaven. This means that people must be willing to submit themselves fully to God’s will. All humans fall short of God’s moral requirements. However, God has made a provision to erase all sins we have committed in this life so that we can gain entry into heaven. That same provision makes us perfect so that we will never sin again. It is only found in the sacrifice of Jesus the Christ, God’s only begotten Son. Jesus took the punishment and gives us what we do not deserve – eternal life. In accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, all our sins are erased, and Jesus works to change us into His image, if we will allow Him to do so.

So why doesn’t God change everyone into perfect beings incapable of sin and let them into heaven? Actually, the question is asking God to be cruel not kind? Many people prefer hell to the alternative of submitting to God. All people who end up going to hell will do so because they chose to go there rather than spend eternity submitting to God. People like to savor their favorite sins and answer to no one about that. They know if they accept Jesus Christ as their Savior, He will expect submission and change and they will have to give up some of their autonomy, so they deny Him either with rationalizations or outright refusal.

At this time in history there is more evidence demonstrating the existence of God than at any time in the past. There are many traveling throughout the world and proclaiming the “free gift” of salvation in Jesus Christ. The gift is free, but you will end up having to give up your pet sins, your selfishness and your pride. Since none of these character traits are allowed in heaven, holding on to any of them guarantees you will be bared from entering heaven by your own choices and will be eternally separated from God in the place we call hell. Therefore those who go to hell do so voluntarily, preferring hell to complete submission to a holy and just God.

More Conversations About the Rightness of God

2005-02-12T13:50:00.000-08:00

I recently recieved a response from the gentleman who provided the concerns I posted and answered last Monday. You may want to read Monday's posting and the various comments. It makes good reading.

My correspondent sent me the following:

Regarding my response to point 1

Hi, thanks for responding. If sin is saying to God 'I don't like you, I don't want to be in your society' then obviously as a punishment for that attitude, outer darkness is just as the judgment for it was made by the human. However how can what is essentially an attitude be comprised in an act?
If I act out a sin, then it is an evil attitude that propels me, but within the sin act itself there is no attitude. If my attitude is punished then I have no problem with that, as no one is good enough to enter heaven, but the impression I got was that it is the past legal crime of sin that God punishes me for. If it is only an attitude issue then what is the purpose of Jesus sacrifice?

Regarding my response to point 2

Some comments: But if I don't repent? Then God should punish me for the sin to the full extent of the law. If my outer darkness is a punishment, then it cannot, ethically, last beyond perhaps 40 years for all but the worst sinners, if God's justice is like ours. After that then my debt to God is paid, so it is no longer an issue of forgiveness. I have fulfilled the full extent of the law and can walk free.

Regarding my response to point 3

But since God can make anything in any quantity that he chooses, his being harmed can only come through the harm suffered by the victims of the drunk driving. So how is it primarily a sin against God and not primarily a sin against the humans?

Regarding my response to point 4

So on one hand sin harms the relationship between man and man, on the other hand, sin breaks/harms the relationship with God? And without that restored relationship, man cannot go to heaven/god's presence and automatically ends up in exile? Yes but doesn't the bible teach that man is thrown into hell, and God deliberately destroys body and souls in hell? It seems as though God is doing a lot more than simply letting hell happen to people.

I sent him the following today:

Dear Mr. Anonymous,

Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding to you. I am somewhat limited in how much I can do in a single day which prevents me from doing as much as I would like. I see by your answer that your problem remains one of not defining sin in accordance with how God defines it rather than doing so in a manner that fits nicely into our limited physical world,

You say that if you act out a sin then it is an evil attitude that propels, but within the sin act itself there is no attitude. That is not how Jesus spoke of sin:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘do not commit adultery.’ But I tell
you that any one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed
adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:27-28

“But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment
for every careless word they have spoken. For your words you will be acquitted
and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:36-37

Our attitude is our sin. An act may result from our attitude that is also sin, but the very attitude or state of our heart that causes us to act wrongly is itself a sin in its own right. Sin is not just a deliberate act of wrong. It is also any careless act, that although not done to commit wrong, was done without regard to causing right. Sin is not simply a matter of a penal wrong, a violation of some rule or law, although it can be so. It is also any act or attitude that denies God’s sovereignty. It has been said that anything that does not glorify God is sin and that also is true. For sin is anything that separates us from God.

If we do not repent the sin and rid ourselves of that sin nature then we hold on to the very thing that keeps us out of heaven. God tells us to put it down, let it go, do away with it. Yet, we cannot do so on our own power, by our own means. We cling tightly, though we may not want to, to the very thing that keeps us from God.

If a true sociopath murders a man, what is the right punishment for that murderer? He has killed one man, but in his heart he would like to kill more should they get in the way of what he desires. What punishment shall teach him his lesson? What punishment will be sufficient to make him not kill again? The answer of course is that thee is no punishment that will do that. The question is not how do we punish him, but rather how do we protect ourselves from him? We have but two choices. We can kill him or we can lock him away for the rest of his natural life. What we cannot do is punish him.

The purpose of Jesus’ sacrifice was to repair us as well as pay the penalty for our sins. In some evangelist’s efforts to make sin more understandable and Christ’s sacrifice more comprehensible they have unfortunately limited most people’s understanding to that of crime and punishment, but that is not the case. Sin is not only a violation of the law; it is also the desire to violate the law. Sin is the desire to do it my way instead of God’s way. Unless the broken place in man is repaired the desire for sin remains. As long as one desires to do things one’s own way instead of God’s way then one cannot be with God. Thus God provided a means by which our punishment, death, can be paid and a means by which our state, sin, can be cured. For sin is both an act and a condition. As long as you treat it as an act alone you cannot fix it. No matter how much you are punished you will not stop sinning. That which makes you sin must be repaired. That psychosis that causes you to do what you know is wrong must be cured. You know the difference between right and wrong, but you cannot stop doing wrong no matter how much you are punished. What a conundrum!

“Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the lord
been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like
a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us
to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was
despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised, and we
esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we
considered him stricken by God, smitten by him and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our
iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:1-5 NIV

In your point two you make a telling comment, “…if God’s justice is like ours.” Why do you presume that His justice is anything like our imperfect justice? Remember, God by definition is Himself, perfect. Therefore His justice is perfect. But you continue to define justice as a one dimensional event, i.e. crime and punishment. God defines His justice differently. His justice does not entail simply punishment fitting the crime. It is also involves treatment of others that is more than they deserve. Justice involves all facets of God’s relationship with and desired relationship with humanity. You arbitrarily pick forty years as what is the “ethical” limit of punishment for not repenting and arbitrarily decide that is sufficient for all of your sins. Where are you getting these numbers? You don’t seem to be trying to find out what God wants or requires, but rather what is the maximum you have to deal with.

I am reminded of the time I grounded one of my sons for something he had done wrong, again. I grounded him for three weeks. He told me that he thought that two weeks would be more reasonable. I responded that it clearly would not since he was willing to do that punishment. When we speak of punishment for a crime we are not just talking about paying a penalty for what has been done wrong. We are also talking about making the penalty sufficient that people will avoid risking it. One of the reasons why we have a death penalty is to deter murder, kidnapping and rape. Even with a punishment that severe, there are those who will risk it.

However, you say that your forty years covers your failure to repent. But, if you don’t repent, you don’t change. If you don’t change, you can’t stand in the presence of God. The very definition of God is perfection and only perfection can coexist with perfection. If you refuse to repent, that isn’t a one time crime; it is an ongoing event. It is you saying to God, I am doing it my way like it or not. You are daring God to tolerate your insolence. Is that a risk you want to take with an all powerful being?

As to point three, the sin is against God because it is a sin of disobedience. Though we have already addressed this with the previous points, we will do it one more time. Sin is not an act committed against another human. That is crime. Sin is an attitude, a desire, a passion, if you will, that results in harmful acts. It is a disease we choose to contract and we refuse to cure. Repentance is the first step to healing and acceptance of the great gift God has given in His Son’s sacrifice is the completion of that healing..

Finally, point four brings you back to the issue of God deliberately throwing man into hell. My eight year old is watching a movie called The Day After Tomorrow. My son is developmentally disabled and does not understand the complicated plot twists and people conflicts, but he does love the special effects. In one scene a group of people must make a choice to walk out of a frozen Manhattan and head south before even the highest high rise is covered with snow or to stay and wait the storm out because they have been warned the storm will get worse and if they are outside they will freeze to death.. Some people decide to risk the weather and leave. A smaller group decides to follow the advice of the experts and wait out the storm in the top of a library burning books for heat. Those who chose to leave didn’t make it. Those who stayed were rescued after the storm was over. The group that froze to death had the same information that group that survived had. Whose fault was it that they died?

God has made it very simple for us. So simple in fact that most of us will refuse to accept the choices. It is very black and white. He has made the options so extreme as to make it obvious which to choose and still we refuse. If He won’t do it my way, I won’t believe in His way. I won’t humble myself and bow to His will unless he changes the rules and the nature of existence to suit my opinion.

If I tell my son that I will spank him if he throws his toy at his sister and he looks straight at me as he does so. Whose fault is it that he got spanked? If God says I will throw you into hell if you don’t do as I say and I will take you into heaven if you do. Whose fault is it really that you go to hell? There are things in this earthly life that we don’t like to do but we must. Jobs we don’t want to perform but which must be done. We do those things because we recognize that we have no options except to do them. Why is it that we refuse to accept the same situation when it comes to the spiritual world?

In Matthew Chapter 22, Jesus tells the story of a great wedding feast that a king throws for his son. He sends out invitations to those who have known him longest but they do not come because they have things they believe are more important than honoring the king’s son. Some even kill his servants for bothering them. Finally, the king extends invitations to all who are on the streets to come to his son’s wedding and they do. This would seem to be the end of the tale but it is not.

This first part of the tale represents the invitation to the Jews to honor their Messiah. They did not recognize the honor they were being given and even murdered the messengers, the prophets. So God opened his invitation to all those who had previously been called unclean and they were invited into the wedding feast. To understand the end of the parable, you must understand how such a feast worked.

When you were invited to a wedding, you were expected to wear white garments. Because the people invited were from the street and not wealthy it is not likely they would have wedding garments, yet all in the story did except one. At such celebrations, the parents would often supply white cloaks for the guests to wear over their own garments representing the honor they intended for the bride and groom. Thus when the king found this man without a wedding garment, it could only mean that he refused to wear it. He wanted the benefits of the party without humbling himself enough to show respect. Because he disrespected the king and his son, he was thrown out of the party and into the darkness.

Thus it is with those who want God to change to meet their demands instead of changing to meet His. In monetary terms He asks a ten cent investment on your part for a guaranteed ten billion dollars or more return. Yet most won’t even spend the ten cents because they didn’t get to make the rules. That, by the way, is also sin.

We can humble ourselves before God and obtain eternal life in the midst of eternal perfection or we can insist on having things our way now and get the result promised to us later. If I tell you that you will get burned if you touch that pipe and you go ahead and tough the pipe, how is it my fault that you didn’t believe me? God is giving you tremendous amount of warning concerning the results of certain actions or decisions on your part. You know, if you read His word, that He will give everyone at some point the opportunity to choose Grace. You also know that even then people will refuse, perhaps believing somehow that they can beat the roll of the dice or get a last minute hallelujah in just in time to make it under the wire. In any case many will pay a terrible price for refusing to listen.

If you are so insistent on applying human rules to a God problem, try this. How many kings in human history did what the people wanted just because they wanted it? How many kings simply said, “I am the king. Do it my way or die.” God calls himself King not because he compares equitably with those human kings, but because He want us to understand that His power is absolute. We have no power when it comes to facing God. None. We can reason all we want. We can philosophize until the freeze that isn’t going to happen takes place in hell. It won’t change a thing. God is God and acts according to His absolute power and His absolute wishes whether we agree or not.

I am yours in Christ and still praying for you,

biblemike

Quieting Another Man's Doubts

2005-02-07T17:43:00.000-08:00

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Recently an associate of mine had an online discussion with someone on the issues of God’s judgment and the subsequent result. The person he was talking to was having difficulties with his own faith. He had four particular points that he wanted a response to. My associate asked for help in responding to him. These were the man’s issues and my responses. Tell me what you think.

His Point:

1.One should judge the severity of an offense by the harm it does to the victims and to the society in which it was committed.

My Response:

Fair enough, but if those are your basic assumptions then we must decide who has been harmed by your sin and exactly in which society or societies it has been committed. However, what if there is a fault with your assumption? I would put forward that God is the one harmed by your sin and it is the eternal society over which He has total rule in which your sin has occurred. I would go further and guess that you are not defining sin the same way God does either.

God created man to glorify Him and anything man does that he does not do for that purpose is sin. If man marries for the purpose of filling the earth or fulfilling his (or her) role in representing Christ and His church, no matter how many additional reasons he (or she) may have for doing so, he/she is in effect glorifying God by that act. If a person deliberately leaves God out of the equation, then their reason are a result of their own desires alone and are thus sin in the eyes of God. He made you and in exchange for your creation He has asked only one thing, your undivided worship. When you deny Him that worship you sin.

What is the appropriate punishment for doing harm to the emotion of the only perfect, eternal being there is? God says if you don’t want me in this life, then you don’t get me in the next one. You give me a place in your life now and I will give you a place in My life for eternity. If you don’t even choose to taste My perfection now, why should I provide it to you in eternity? You have denied Me and all I want to do for you and you want to bring that kind of selfishness into the selfless eternal home I am building. I am not punishing you by denying you eternal life. I am giving you what you asked for.

His Point:

2.If the society in which the harmful act was committed judges an appropriate punishment, it should be their right, as the society that was injured, to dictate a punishment that they feel is necessary and God shouldn’t add/take away from that.

My Response

Now you are saying it is society that is injured by sin and, in a way, you may be correct. You also say it the given society’s “right” to dictate the punishment. You want God to stay out of it. How can God stay out of it? It is His society. He is the creator, the maker of all things. It is His very breath that gives life to all things. Everything owes the initialization of its existence and the continuation of its existence to God. If God lets go of anything that anything ceases to exist.

If I commit a crime in the United States, I will be judged under the law by a jury of my peers and punished according to the nature of my crime as previously determined by a majority of the citizens. If I commit a crime in Saudi Arabia, I will be considered guilty by the mere fact I have been charged. In some cases I will be allowed to prove my innocence. In others I will not. I can be charged with anything the rulers consider a crime, even if that crime is not written yet or published in any way so that I might avoid it. In fact in some circumstances, I can be arrested, charged and executed without leaving my home. In God’s eternal society, it is true that nearly anything we decide to do for our own benefit is a crime or sin. However, in this eternal kingdom, pardon is available for any and all crimes up until the last moment. All you have to do is admit the wrong, desire to change and accept the pardon. Actually it is a little more than that, but not much. For our purposes here that is a good description.

God will not interfere with the judgments we make about each other in our small societies. Even China is small to God. However, He would like to point out that His kingdom is a monarchy and any crime committed against Him, a member of His kingdom or against His kingdom itself will be met with the King’s exile. You either get eternal life or eternal death. There is no middle ground. God doesn’t kill you. He asks you to choose. He can’t help you if you choose to follow anyone, anything or even yourself instead of Him.

His Point:

3.If a criminal’s society therefore considers the criminals debt to itself for some dastardly deed payed,(sic) God should also consider it payed (sic), as the society encompasses all those who are hurt.

My Response:

You are talking about man’s sins against man. What about man’s sins against God? If you drive drunk and hit me in my car, killing me. Society will punish you for the crimes of vehicular manslaughter while under the influence. However, you are not done. Your crime against society is taken care of, but what about the crime against my family? My family will sue you in civil court for wrongful death and deprivation of personal relationship and take your current earnings and any future earnings to make up for what I cannot now give them. The society of my family has punished you and the society of the state I live in has punished you, but perhaps you are not done yet. Suppose I were black and the reason for running me off the road was that you hate black people and you were just drink enough to act on those feelings. You didn’t intend to kill me. You just wanted to scare me. It wouldn’t matter, you would still be charged with denial of my civil rights in a Federal Court. Now you have to pay a punishment to the next greater society and God does not interfere.

There is still one more society, bigger than the family, bigger than the state, bigger than the federal government. God’s eternal society has a charge or several charges to make against you for that same event. You destroyed property created by and belonging to God. Because He is the Creator, He has certain rights as to the disposition of or treatment of His art. What is the appropriate punishment? According to your assumptions, it is up to the one harmed to determine that. God is the one harmed.

His Point:

4.If a penal debt is left unpaid then God should institute the appropriate punishment which would be set by the human community in which the sin was committed as payment for the debt because that is what the community that was injured would consider was just.

My Response:

The problem continues to be the issue of the community in which the sin is committed or the community or society which is harmed by the sin/crime. Using your assumption that only the party harmed can determine the appropriate punishment we come back to the fact that God is the party harmed by sin. Sin is the failure to maintain the state necessary to be able to stand in God’s presence. God is holy. He is perfect. To stand in His presence you too must be holy and perfect. If you are not the glory of His Being would destroy you. Anything, no matter how small, that makes you less than perfect, prevents you from standing in God’s presence. You need to be pardoned and made holy in order to be with God for eternity.

Your simile of crime and punishment is inadequate to explain the factors involved with our sin and our failure to be holy. Our sin is not just a crime like stealing a car, although stealing a car would be a sin. It is more than that and different than that at the same time. Sin isn’t just about the harm we do to our fellow man. It is also about the harm we do to our relationship with God.

God wants to have a relationship with us, but such a relationship is impossible because we sin. We are not holy and perfect. When Jesus gave the example of a man lusting in his heart just by looking at a woman, He was showing us that sin isn’t just about the harm we do to others. It’s also about the harm we do to ourselves. We don’t hurt the woman by lusting after her. We do make ourselves impure and thus imperfect and unable to fellowship with God. We make ourselves unclean and to try to stand in God’s presence in that state would result in our destruction, Not because He is punishing us, but because His nature is such that we cannot exist in His presence unless we become similar to him. No punishment temporal or eternal can do that.

God wants us to have the opportunity for fellowship with Him. He wants us to be with each other and to love each other. Because of that He paid the price of our perfection by sacrificing Himself in the form of His Son, Jesus. It wasn’t the cross that killed Jesus. It was the inability of the perfectness of Christ to be in the same presence as the imperfectness of all the sin of the world Jesus truly died of a broken heart. Our choice is eternal life in perfection or eternal death and separation from God in imperfection. If we go it only our own, we will never be holy and perfect so that we can be with God. If we accept the wondrous trade Christ made for us, His life for ours, then we stand wearing the wedding garment that is Christ’s perfection and can enter into the presence of the perfect, eternal God.

Hell isn’t a punishment as much as it is a destination. We can choose what train we take and what the last stop will be. We can use the ticket we were born with or we can use the ticket Christ punched for us at Calvary.

By the way, John had a vision on Patmos that he did not fully understand. He tried to describe it the best way he could, but he did not have the language with which to name and describe eternal things. So he did the best he could. Some we can figure out and some we can’t. When John was shown the final place for Satan and those who follow him, he saw the most awful and spiritually painful thing beyond his imagination. I think all he could do was compare it to the most horrible physical experience of his own life. Before he was exiled to Patmos, they threw him into a kettle of boiling oil and he did not die. Others throw into the kettles of oil on the huge fires died, but John didn’t. He watched other Christians die in a variety of ways, including boiling in oil, but John didn’t. He gave the most horrible physical description for the spiritual thing he had seen. I can’t imagine what it must be. The worst thing I can imagine is finally knowing who God is, the enormity of His Being, what He is in and through us; and then spending eternity knowing you will never have Him.

What Do You Think?:

What answers would you have given? Were mine helpful or do they fall too short? My answers have been sent to this unnamed gentleman and he has joined my daily prayer list. Please put him on yours. So many people are put off by a judgmental God because they do not understand the nature of sin. Most of the time we don’t understand the nature of sin, because we don’t understand the nature of God, Creator and King. Even when we do understand, doubts still arise, because we don’t want to believe that we will be eternally separated from people we know and love. I have no answer for how we will deal with that grief, except to say that heaven is supposed to be a place where sorrow is no more. I don’t know how that healing will take place, but I know it will.

Yours in Christ,

biblemike

Finding The Rest God Has For Us

2005-02-01T18:27:00.000-08:00

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Please accept my regrets for not posting in so long. I have been distracted by other things that I should not have let distract me. Isn’t that the most common problem we all have in following Christ? Why is it that despite all God has done for us individually, as revealed through our personal experience as well as Scripture leading us to salvation, that we are so resistant to accepting and enjoying the benefits of our relationship with Him now in our daily existence? A primary example of that is in the hurried way we approach our lives in both the physical and spiritual aspects. Jesus made numerous references to His rest and His peace, but we Christians, for the most part, live our lives as if those are promises for some future time rather than guarantees of the life we can now have in Jesus Christ. Do we not believe what Jesus said? Perhaps it is just too hard to believe something we can’t see, touch or hear?

“Come to me, all you are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 NIV

First notice Jesus says we must come to Him. He is the source of all comfort and rest. “I am the door,” Jesus said, “if any man enters through me, he will be saved.” (John 10:9 NIV) Jesus is the door through which God’s rest is obtained. So often we seek rest from the rush and difficulties of daily living through means other than Christ. Some seek release in exercise which can be helpful physically and mentally, but spiritual rest must come through spiritual means only available in Jesus Christ. “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” (1 Timothy 4:8 NIV) Some Christians even make the mistake of substituting church for Christ as the source of peace. Therein lies a path that leads to idolatry.

The second characteristic of this rest is that it is offered to everyone without regard to race, gender, social status or any other manmade criteria. Jesus offers this rest to all who are weighted down by the burdens of life. Jewish life in the time of Jesus’ physical ministry on Earth was a thing of burdens. There were endless rules to which they were supposed to adhere. Rules not made by God, but nit picking extrapolations derived from God’s law but whose purpose was more a matter of control for one group over others.

For the orthodox Jews religion was a thing of burdens and second guessing of every act, every gesture, every thought. Thus Jesus said of the scribes and Pharisees: “They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders.” (Matthew 23:4 NIV) For the Jews with whom Jesus spoke rules were endless. A man lived his life in a forest of regulations which dictated every minute action of his life. He listened constantly to a voice that never stopped whispering, “Thou shalt not.” How grateful they must have been for the mere promise of rest!

The third aspect of this promise is easier for the people of Jesus’ time or agricultural people to understand. A yoke was a device attached to an animal’s shoulders to which could be connected the means of pulling a cart, a sled, a plow or some other load. The construction of the yoke was very important. A poorly made yoke or one that did not fit properly would cause sores o the animals back and shoulders. The animal would pull improperly and off balance damaging muscles and ligaments. No farmer wanted to destroy a valuable animal! In Palestine, for instance, the oxen yokes were made out of wood and made to fit the specific ox, although a poor farmer may be forced to use a yoke designed for oxen in general. The better the fit, the more amenable the animal was to doing its work. Obviously, the ox would struggle against a poor fitting and uncomfortable yoke. Jesus says His yoke is easy, but make no mistake – it is designed like all yokes for one purpose – work. He has work for us to do, work that He comes along side of us to help and share with us. It is the work of His love.

“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, or he who loves his fellow man has fulfilled the law.” (Romans 13:8 NIV)

“This is love for God: to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome.” (Galatians 5:3 NIV)

In The Message, Eugene Peterson paraphrases Jesus’ words, “walk with me and work with me – watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.” (Peterson, Eugene H., The Message: New Testament In Contemporary English, Colorado Springs, CO, Nav Press 1993 p. 31.)

Jesus borrows the phrase, “you will find rest for your souls” from a passage in the sixth chapter of the book of Jeremiah.

“This is what the Lord says: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.’ But you said we will not walk in it.” Jeremiah 6:16

Our rest in Jeremiah’s words comes from returning to God and faithfulness to the will of God – which in Jesus’ words is the same as taking His yoke and learning to be gentle and humble like Him. How is it that Jesus gives us God’s rest? Certainly His divinity gives Him the power, but specifically what does scripture tell us about the means and qualifications of Jesus to provide this peace and rest to us? We find the best explanation in the prayer Christ offers just before offering this invitation to rest:

“I praise You, Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well pleasing in your sight. All things have been handed over to Me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” Matthew 11:25-27 NIV

The Father has handed all things over to the Son – the knowledge of the Father, His eternal plans and the empowerment to reveal that knowledge in any amount Jesus wants to whomever Jesus wants. Jesus knows and discloses to us the entire truth about the Father’s redeeming love. From the God of love through the Son comes all knowledge including the knowledge of rest. Jesus’ closing words in the passage parallel His gentleness and humility: “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” The Greek word for easy is chrestos, meaning good or kind and points to the divine kindness inherent in God’s merciful and patient Grace. Combining this sense of kindness with the image of the yoke and we get the idea of a kindness that is “well fitting,” or which comes spontaneously and naturally. Jesus’ yoke is not ill fitting, but rather it is well made and pleasant to work in. Likewise, His burden is not something that drags us down or saps our strength, but it is something that is easy to bear, easy to perform when wearing the right equipment, the right yoke. Jesus is telling us that that our participation in His life should be a joy and not a chore. We find rest for our souls because we are using the right tools: Jesus’ yoke, not one we have made ourselves or have obtained on the basis of church membership, but rather one made specifically for us by the master carpenter. We find rest because the chores we perform are those for which we have been designed and trained by the master teacher, not tasks we have taken upon ourselves to “do for God” or tasks assigned to us by religious tradition or legalism.

When we first came to Christ, we knew all this. Yet, as time passes, we begin to lose that sense of peace and rest. What has happened to us and how can we fix it? The answer to that can be found in learning from the missteps of the ancient Israelites. On the brink of the promised land, the grumbling, doubting people of Israel grumbled and doubted one time too many for God. Standing on the very brink of the Jordan river, their toes actually touching that flowing stream which is all that barred them from entering this glorious land, the became filled with fear. They lost all confidence in the God who had divided the Red Sea, provide food to eat, clothing that did not wear out and made His physical presence known to them. They did this all because of a few giants, who they certainly could not have beaten on their own, but with God they could conquer anything and anyone. As a result their unbelief and fear kept them from crossing the river and doomed them to become part of the very desert in which they had wandered. The letter to the Hebrews summarizes this sad chapter in the history of Israel.

“Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.” Hebrews 6: 12-14

“Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses had led out of Egypt? And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not those who had sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter His rest if not those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter because of their unbelief.” Hebrews 6: 16-19

“So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear His voice do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried Me and for forty years saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and so they have not chosen my ways.’ So I declared on oath in My anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’” Hebrews 6:7-11

“Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried Me, though they had seen what I did. For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways.’ So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter My rest.’” Psalm 95:7b-11

With this graphic picture of Israel’s foolishness in mind, the author of Hebrews (who I believe to be Paul as the majority of conservative commentators do) issues a stern warning: “Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.” (Hebrews 4:1 NIV) Just as the golden land of promise stretched across the horizon in front the camps of Israel, so God’s rest stretches before us as a golden opportunity, but our entering in to that rest is not automatic.

Before we go any further, I should define what I am referring to when I use the term rest in this context. The Greek word is katapausis and it refers “to the rest or resting place that God gives His people.” (Gerhard Kittel and Gerhard Friedrich, editors, Theological Dictionary o the New Testament, translated and abridged by Geoffrey Bromiley, 1985). Rather than a physical place like the Promised Land, the rest offered to us is spiritual and will be fully realized when Christ puts things right at the end of all time, but we certainly can taste of it now in significant proportions as promised by Christ in Matthew chapter eleven.

An explanation of this specially provided resting place can be found in Hebrews 4:2-8. The explanation breaks down to three main points. First, entering God’s rest takes the right recipe.

“For we also have had the Gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God said, ‘So I declared an oath in my anger, they shall never enter my rest.’ And yet His work has been finished since the beginning of the world.” Hebrews 4:2-3 NIV

Contained in these two verses is the simple recipe: mix one part hearing with one part believing and you will have rest. If we ignore that formula, we’ll have no rest. Preaching the Word is essential to obtaining rest, but unless faith in Jesus Christ follows the hearing or it, there will be no rest here or hereafter. Merely attending a church that preaches the Bible isn’t enough. Relying on tradition or the Nicene Creed isn’t enough. The hearts must be fertile and receptive to the seed that is sown, just as Jesus explained to His disciples in Matthew 13:1-23, particularly verse 23: “But the one who received the seed that felon good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

Second, we must recognize that entering God’s rest takes the right attitude.

“For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: ‘And on the seventh day God rested from all his work.’ And again in the passage above he says, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience.” Hebrews 4:4-6

In this section, Paul (remember I am assuming Paul is the author) goes all the way back to Creation quoting from chapter 2, verse 2 of Genesis. God Himself established the pattern of rest when He worked six days and rested on the seventh. (Keep reading this isn’t going where you think.) The first six days of Creation are marked by the phrase “and there was evening and there was morning” (Genesis 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31). However, when we come to the seventh day, there are no time boundaries.

“Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.” Genesis 2:1-2

You will note there is no mention of evening and morning. There is not mention of the eighth day. There is no mention of subsequent days at all. Meaning what? Meaning for the purposes of His Sabbath rest that rest continues on through today. And God never intended to enjoy the repast of those special green pastures and quiet fields of rest for Himself alone. He opened the gate for all who would soften their hearts and believe.

The Israelites of Moses’ generation failed to enter God’s physical rest in the Promised Land because of disobedience. Their history after that time into future generations shows that many continued to miss out in His spiritual rest because of disobedience and faithlessness. The lesson to us is to take God at His word and to trust Him, because when we do we live in the foretaste of that great heavenly banquet to He Himself has invited us.

“Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! Or the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.” Revelation 19:7

Finally, entering into God’s rest takes the right time.

“Therefore, God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.’ For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day.” Hebrews 4:7-8 NIV

Twice Paul emphasizes the urgency of entering in to God’s rest today. The time is now and he urges us not to put God off or delay our opportunity to enjoy God’s rest. Every day, as morning light begins to chase away the shadow of night; our feet should hit the floor with our hearts already overflowing with the presence of God!

“There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.” Hebrews 4:9-10 NIV

The same rest that God entered into after creation remains for us to enter in and partake of. Paul coins an entirely new word in Greek to express the concept of this rest, sabbatismos, “Sabbath-rest.” Thus is it true here and now for those who put their trust in Jesus and His finished work do get to rest from their own work. For those there is no striving to achieve salvation through their own efforts, that work is over. There is now and always will be only the resting in what God has done. And it is also true o the future, for in the world to come, the New Heaven and the New Earth, all who are in Christ have eternal rest from the strivings of this world and a rest from all their work. In both cases, it is correct to say that we are resting from our work just as God has from His.

Verse eleven gives direct counsel to those who have a difficult time entering into a lifestyle of rest. (Raise your hands everybody! Come on, come on. Get those hands up!)

“Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall to following their example of disobedience.” Hebrews 4:11 NIV

At first glance the command to be diligent to rest sounds like he is saying work hard at sleeping, but that is not the case at all. The effort here referred to is the effort of faith. It is hard to believe the promises of God. Why? Because they appear to be too good to be true. For instance, it is hard for us to forgive ourselves, much less accept the fact that a perfect God would forgive us of our sins and do so by sacrificing His own Son! God says we are to seek His kingdom and he will take care of the rest of our needs. (Matthew 6:33) It is hard for us to believe that God will meet our daily needs, that those needs don’t have to be our number one priority. We have to work at believing God.

This is exactly what the Israelites did not do. Through their disobedience and doubt they lost out on God’s rest, although they remained His chosen people. We also can miss out on that taste of God’s eternal rest He has for us, though we still belong to Jesus. Let us learn from the Israelites and cultivate our faith and full enter into the joyful rest God has for us.

There are three primary barriers to rest. They are presumption, panic and pride. We become presumptuous when we think we have it all figured out, when we think we can second guess God and how He should solve our problems. When we take upon ourselves to institute that solution on behalf of God instead of waiting on Him to do it His way. We become panicked when we begin to see ourselves as grasshoppers and our problems as giants. (“And the spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, ‘the land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there [the descendents of Anak come from the Nephilim]. We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” Numbers 13:31-33) We become prideful when we feel we can life’s problems without Jesus’ or anyone else’s help and try to pull ourselves up instead of reaching up to God’s ever present hand.

What can we do to overcome these common, constant, ever present barriers to our rest? Very little, because it takes very little. Just because it is hard for us to believe things are simple, doesn’t mean they aren’t. Here is some very simple, easy to follow advice that comes from the Scriptures, not from me.

Resist presumption by making David’s prayer your own, “Keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins.” (Psalm 19:13) Constantly turn to God and recognize you will never get it right without Him. You will be tempted to think so as you learn more and more about the Bible and struggle successfully with sins in your life. It is that very success that Satan will use to cause to think you have God all figured out and you know just what He wants so why bother to ask. Think for a few minutes about where that takes you.

Refuse to panic. Panic is a choice we make. Take a minute. Take a deep breath and then turn to God and ask Him to give you His eyes or seeing the problem as it is. If for reasons He chooses not to share with you at this time, He doesn’t do so, then look to the past. Has He ever failed to keep His promises to you? Has He ever deserted you? Is there any problem too big for God? There you go. Simple isn’t it? “Nothing is impossible for God.” Luke 1:37 NIV

Get rid of your pride. God does not help those who help themselves. Those folks get to fall flat on their faces just like alcoholic Benjamin Franklin, who made that saying up. God helps those who cry out to Him.

“The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemy before you, saying ‘Destroy him!’” Deuteronomy 33:27 NIV

“Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them – the Lord, who remains faithful forever.” Psalm 146:5-6

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

It is time to surrender to God, not just for your salvation, but for your daily peace and rest as well. Let go and let God the bumper sticker says. Sometime bumper stickers are right on point.

OOPS.....

2005-01-24T20:27:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know. Theologically is spelled with two "L"s. I hope my apologetics are better than my spelling.

Is Homosexuality Theologicaly Logical

2005-01-24T20:21:00.000-08:00

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I recently stumbled on a website where well meaning Christians were arguing whether homosexuality was genetic or not if that should make a difference in how we view homosexuals. The minute we sidetrack ourselves with these kinds of arguments we depart from the essence of God’s word and open the doors for liberalized theology which contradicts the teachings in God’s word. My first comment was based on the number of people who were veering into near hatred of homosexuals as people rather than seeing their actions as sinful.

Why do we Christians try to complicate God's word so? It is irrelevant whether homosexuals are born that way or come to that behavior as a result of environment or simply as a faulty expression of the "natural" man. The reality is that Christians in their attempts to show homosexuals are not born that way contribute to more hatred of the homosexual than of the homosexual act. God calls us to love all sinners and to hate all sin. It is not a sin to be a homosexual nor is it a sin to be a heterosexual. It is a sin for either of them to have sex outside the bonds of matrimony as defined by God between a man and a woman. Fornication is the sin whether homosexual or heterosexual. If we would limit the argument to that point we would certainly reduce the harm caused by our inordinate desire to be correct about genetics.

biblemike

Later there was this comment from a woman who had fallen into the trap of “I can’t help myself” argument. I believed her to be sincere in her comments.. I felt burdened for her sufficient to stop what I was doing and pray. Here she was looking for a parallel between alcoholism, a genetic predisposition that is harmful to society, and homosexuality, a genetic predisposition that is not harmful to society in her eyes. This is where the whole genetic argument leads us.

Uh, I'm both an alcoholic, in recover, and a gay woman. I'm also a Christian. BTW, alcoholism is totally destructive of the human personality, and of life itself, eventually. Where's the parallel with homosexuality?But in fact I think you're going to have re-think this issue entirely, really, since the Bible contains no condemnation of Lesbianism. The only verse thought to contain such a condemnation has been Romans I, in a very ambiguous reference - which, BTW, Augustine himself thought referred to something quite different. The other verses (all 5 of them, out of tens of thousands of verses, many of which are concerned with helping the poor and oppressed) are addressed, specifically, to men.So please tell me why I should turn my entire life upside down in order to obey a non-existent rule. Just to make you folks happy, you think?

Not again!

P.S.: Heterosexuals view homosexuality with disdain because they are grossed out by the idea of gay sex. It seems "unnatural" to them because it is unnatural to them. Just as heterosexual sex is unnatural to us. That's the long and short of it, I'm afraid. No one knows why there are gay people. There just are. If what you're saying is that we can't be Christians because of it, at least look that fact in the face. You are employing here, the reverse of the Great Commission, and you should acknowledge it openly
.Not again!

I was moved to write to Not Again! and explain what I believe to be the true position of scripture as well as assure her that she is not being condemned as a person for what she believes is a predisposition that she cannot control.. I also wanted to address the fallacies that lead her to believe she can worship God as a Christian while practicing homosexuality and denying the sinfulness of her actions. I want to see her come to know God as He is not as she wants Him to be.

Dear Not Again!,

I detect your frustration in the name you have chosen. We all want to be validated and none of us wants to be condemned. I hope you saw nothing in my early post that would indicate condemnation, because I surely do not condemn anyone who finds themselves convinced of their own homosexuality. Neither do I condemn anyone who finds themselves in a situation of genetic predisposition, perceived or otherwise.

"Because of this , God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for each other." Romans 1:26-27a

As you can see the Bible does refer to lesbianism one time and compares it to male homosexuality, "in the same way," and defines it as unnatural, whether you argue the minority view regarding pagan worship by heterosexuals or not the scripture is clear that such relations are unnatural in the eyes of God.. God's law is that sexual relations are to be used both for procreation and for the expression of the oneness that occurs in marriage between a man and a woman. We need not like God's laws or His design, but He is the Creator and we are the created. He is the King and we are the subjects of His rule, like it or not.

We can spend our lives opposing what God's word states, and if we listen to our hearts we will know He has written His word there as well, or we can capitulate to His rule and obtain the benefits of doing so.

It isn't about my way or the highway. It is about His way or no way at all.

If you want to live your life as a lesbian, then by all means do so, but have the honesty not to bend God to fit your requirements. If you won't bend for Him, then at least have the self respect necessary to walk away. I prefer that you seek God's loving arms and change in the way He requests and He will give you the power to do, but if you are not going to do that, then go ahead and live the rest of this life as happily as you can.

In the mean time, I will pray for you and hope you will contact me so that we can talk together without invective or argument.

Yours in Christ,

biblemike

I know of no logical arguments that would condemn homosexuality as immoral outside o the existence of a Creator God who declares homosexual behavior to be immoral. Of course I also acknowledge that there are no logical arguments to declare any behavior as immoral, even murder and child molestation. These are socially dependant. Only relativistic philosophy or a belief in a higher standard or code can be used to determine morality.

Man can only give his unsupported opinion that any given action is “moral” or “immoral”. Morality is relative and fluctuates in accordance with the social rules and beliefs of cultures throughout time, at least in the eyes the “objective” historian. One culture finds it morally acceptable to sacrifice children to idols. Another more modern culture merely sacrifices children to their personal convenience. One sees nothing wrong with eating the meat of an animal. Another finds the eating of his neighbor acceptable. Morality without God is a mater of subjective opinion.

Secular Humanism teaches that any action which involves the voluntary assent of two or more individuals should be accepted as long as it does not directly violate the rights of any other individuals. However this definition fails to discuss the indirect affect of such actions on society as a whole. As long as the action only involves those individuals all is well, but as often occurs without specific prohibitions against behaviors, what is acceptable to two can develop into a demand for acceptance by all and now others who have never previously accepted such behavior are required to accept that which they never believed. However, this still begs the question, “Is the acceptance and practice of homosexuality by society, harmful to that society?” Let’s note that we are drifting from morality into sociology.

Now there is some evidence, although not absolutely conclusive due to the small sub groups involved, that where homosexuality is embraced by a society, sexuality tends to be more violent and the society tends to be more violent as well. This is based on historical groups that have accepted homosexuality as well as modern studied of crime statistics in areas where homosexual behavior has been openly accepted such as in areas of San Francisco or parts of other major metropolitan cities where a sub culture of homosexuality exists and is accepted. There are also indications that women and children in an openly homosexual society may not be treated as well as in a heterosexual social group. Studies also show that homosexual social groups are far more promiscuous than heterosexual groups. It would also appear on the surface that children learn to relate better to both genders if they are raised by both genders. But for now this is all speculation, the truth is that we don’t know how widespread acceptance and practice of homosexuality would affect or influence larger society, because that has never been the case.

A common pro-homosexual argument is that because homosexuality may be genetic and therefore occurs naturally, then we should accept it as moral. However, there is more evidence that the criminal mind is genetic or that child molestation is genetic, do we want to argue that those behaviors should also be accepted as moral? Likewise gluttony and alcoholism are attributed to physiological needs in some persons, yet we don’t seem to be arguing that drunkenness or over eating should be accepted as moral. All of us are born with the propensity to sin. Using this argument for the acceptance of homosexuality we are therefore saying that all things now considered sin should be accepted in society. That argument is chillingly extreme but follows logically from the original argument for accepting homosexuality as moral.

There is an overwhelming evidence that homosexuality is due more to the influence of environment and society than anything else. Historians have estimated that almost all of the men in Sparta engaged in homosexual relationships, compared to estimates of les than 10% in cultures that consider the activity taboo. Percentages of homosexuals in any geographical location varies widely from culture to culture. This is not what we would expect to see based on genetic predisposition. Therein we would see relatively constant percentages. Even in the lives of individuals, sexual attraction makes itself known as a choice rather than as a preprogrammed instinct. A person can alternate between same sex and opposite sex relations. Sexual preferences tend to be more liquid that the activist homosexual community would seem to want the rest of society to believe. As societies promote same sex unions there seem to be more people opting for them, more indicative of liquidity than consistency.

What about those practicing homosexual that we know or suspect have drifted into those relationships as a result of not connecting with their fathers? When this happens, and no psychologist denies that it happens, the man is attempting to get a connection with their father that they always craved. The man’s actions are futile of course. So surrogate lover can take the place of a missing or abusive father. This homosexual man finds himself unfulfilled, still craving a connection that no one can establish. If this is an underlying cause of some, if not all, homosexuality, then we do these individuals a great injustice when we declare that homosexuality is normal behavior for which no treatment should be sought. By doing so we are sentencing that person to a life of dissatisfaction and woe.

The only legitimate question about homosexuality may be to ask why God condemns it. The difficulty therein is that He has told us that we must accept Him as Lord and King of our lives. That means for some things there are reasons we can understand and for others there are not. The scripture tells us that now we see through a glass darkly, but then we shall see face to face. Some day we will get answers to many of the questions that trouble us today, but there is no guarantee of that.. In a King servant relationship, there are many things for which the only answer is “Yes, Your Holiness.”

To be at war with one’s sin is to be at peace with God. To be at peace with one’s sin is to be at war with God. We cannot claim that that which God calls sin is not sin simply because we prefer it. When we do so we deny God’s sovereignty and only fool ourselves into thinking were His. I have no advice on how to win anyone’s personal war on homosexual behavior. I am not a homosexual. I know that I have fought and still fight wars against my own sinfulness and the only hope I have found for success is in Jesus. First, I must regret my sin – even when it is something I very much enjoy doing. Second, I must recognize that He is God and I am not and seek His forgiveness for trying to change that relationship. Third, I turn to Him for the source of my strength in overcoming anything that separates me from a perfect relationship with Him. When you worship a God of self-sacrifice, eventually you will learn the art for yourself.

Some Biblical comments regarding homosexuality and “homosexual theology”

Leviticus 18:22 “Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.”

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 “Do you not know that the wicked will to inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy or drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”

Romans 1:21 “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

Romans 1:24-27 “Therefore God gave them over to the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator – who is forever praised, Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts, Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for each other. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.”

1 Corinthians 3:19a “For the wisdom of men is foolishness in God’s sight.”

THINKING OF ECCLESIASTES

2005-01-22T21:05:00.000-08:00

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Time barely touches these solitary places
Of hide and seek living,
Crossed fingers,
Home bases.
A moment spent idly wondering at traces
Of memory,
Poetry rhythms,
Lost faces.
Communing now with wise men of the ages,
I ponder the written thoughts of lost sages.
Though the ashes are sifted to fine powder,
No single thought can ring out louder
Than this, the oft repeated one,
Which decries the lack of newness
Beneath the beating rays
Of a seemingly everlating sun.
Searching through the shelves of life's general store,
I find that everyone else has been here before
And all those philosophers continue unaware -
The Cornerstone of Creation soon will be here

Michael McLarney revised 2002

Racial Harmony and Intermarrriage in Christian Churches

2005-01-22T15:17:00.000-08:00

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John Piper’s website contains the most powerful argument for interracial marriage and God’s blessing of it I have ever seen. You can see it here (http://www.desiringgod.org/library/sermons/05/011605.html).

I grew up part of my life in the south and I know the bitter and hateful agony of racism. Young people today cannot imagine how horrible it was. I remember my mother being ostracized from the local women’s group for paying her black maid too much. My mother learned that she could give old clothing and left over food to her maid and her maid’s family, but she could not give the money to buy those things for themselves. She learned her lesson. She would buy clothes at discount stores and wash them several times then place small stains on them in inconspicuous places. These she would then “donate” to her black workers as they were no longer good enough for her white children to wear. Similarly, she would throw lavish parties twice a month preparing far more food than she needed. Often Louise, our maid, and her friends would take home turkeys, whole hams and other foods that may not have even gotten prepared as mother did not have the means of storing all that food until her next party. In this way she was able to help, but she was always ashamed that she merely sidestepped the problem instead of standing against it.

Louise lived in a four room shack with her eight children and sharecropped some acreage to make ends meet. That house was burned down because she had audacity to feed my sister and I there.

I share the above only as an example of the atmosphere As John Piper points out it was not until 1967 that the Supreme Court ruling in Loving v. Virginia outlawed prohibitions against interracial marriage which still existed at that time in 16 states. The south was a shameful place for Christianity as a whole at the time when white churches would not serve blacks and black churches were made uncomfortable by the presence of whites based on their experience that the only whites that came to their churches came to burn them down.

This is the only sermon I have read that points out the truth about Moses marriage to the Cushite woman. Cushites were dark skinned Africans living in the region of Ethiopia. Miriam and Aaron were upset with Moses for marrying a Cushite woman. God let them know in a very clear way that He approved of the marriage and disapproved of their disapproval. As one writer puts it, “God in essence said to Miriam that if she wanted to be white then He would give her a gift of whiteness she would not forget.”

The timeliness of this sermon so near Martin Luthor King’s birthday celebration is wonderful, but even more wonderful is the scriptural evidence of God’s blessing of interracial marriage laid before all. This is the sermon that should have been preached in the 1950’s and 1960’s in our churches. Now is the time to examine our current prejudices and determine what we should be preaching today.

Recognizing A Blessing

2005-01-22T13:53:00.000-08:00

Michael Paul

He came as a gift disguised as a broken toy.

Skin hung from him that didn't fit this blessed little boy.

Don't take him home. He'll never walk or talk or sit.

But this was the child God gave to us. He was the perfect fit.

Yesterday he strolled across the room to lean against my side.

I asked him what he wanted and his eyes lit bright and wide.

"God sent me to give you some love," he said. And then he walked away.

I've entertained angels unaware and one of them chose to stay.

This child is more than they said he could be.

His spirit is stirred by God's grace.

Everything he does and all he says to me

Constantly turns my heart to God's face.

And as I kneel on hard wooden floor

Elbows resting on the bottom stairs,

I thank God for this wonderful child

Both a source for and an answer to prayers.

Michael McLarney October 4, 2003

The Marks Of Spiritual Maturity

2005-01-22T13:49:00.000-08:00

Before I begin, I would like to ask you to praise God with me for His goodness. For a couple of weeks I could not write and I was having trouble reading. I really believed that this time it was permanent. It was worse than ever before. All I could do is pray and tell God that whatever His will was I would accept it. However I also asked Him to please let me have my Bible reading back and keep me from behaving awfully toward Rhonda during these periods when my mind is not my own anymore. God heard my prayer and then some! By the amount of writing I have sent out these past two weeks you should be able to tell the great thing God has done. Rejoice with me and praise Him for answering prayer.

Join me in this latest document and you will find words of comfort, encouragement and growth. I don’t write typical short remarks like many blogs. I generally write longer passages that deal in the details of spiritual walking. There are many things I learn from my Lord on a daily basis and I try to share what I discover in a humble way. I am not brilliant because I have learned these things. I am blessed because He has taught them.

Back when I was working as an insurance fraud investigator, I was great at doing interviews of witnesses and suspects. One day I was supposed to meet an insured at a tow yard off of highway 80 in the Sierra. I left the office in a company car and had driven about two miles when I realized I did not have my map book with me. I thought that I could remember how to get there so I didn’t turn back. Well, I never did find that tow yard and our insured was very unhappy about it. He was a lot more unhappy when we proved he had torched his own car for the insurance.

This trip down memory lane is to make a point: if you want to get to the proper destination, it helps to know where you are going. This is true in everything we do. The person who goes into training needs to know what they are training for. It makes a difference in how they approach their training. The person who is getting ready to bake cookies needs to know what kind of cookies they are planning to cook to determine what ingredients they need. And the church cannot be effective unless it knows where it is headed. If we want to be what God has called us to be, we need to know His vision for us. If we want to become a spiritually mature body of believers, much less a spiritually mature individual, we have to know what maturity means.

Col 2:1 I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. Col 2:2 My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, Col 2:3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Col 2:4 I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. Col 2:5 For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.
Col 2:6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, Col 2:7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. Col 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. Col 2:9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, Col 2:10 and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. (Colossians 2:1-10)

Notice What Paul Does Not Include

The first thing we should notice about Paul's purpose for the church is what is not on his list. If we were trying to describe a strong, mature and vital church we might include such things as:

Diverse Programs
Spacious Buildings with plenty of parking
Large Attendance in Worship
Dramatic Experiences
A certain Style of Worship

These are the things that we are told are the keys to vibrant congregations. These are the things the church growth "experts" point to as leading to successful ministry. But Paul doesn't include any of these things! So either Paul was mistaken or we are. More times than not our focus is almost exclusively external. Paul's is internal. So, at the very beginning of our discussion we are alerted to the fact that we must change our thinking. We must change the way we define "success" when it comes to the church.

Notice that Paul has committed his life to achieving these goals. He says, "I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea (a neighboring town), and for all who have not met me personally." The word Paul uses for struggle is the word "agon" the same word that is the source of our word agony. It is a reference to the place where the Greeks assembled for their Olympic games. It was a place where they strove to win.

Paul agonized for the maturity of those new believers. We have already been told that he remembered them constantly in prayer. He was so focused on the goal of the church that he was constantly lifting up these people in prayer. He agonized by suffering with them and for them. The whole reason Paul was in jail was to be a faithful witness in Christ. And in 2 Corinthians 11:29 Paul talks about his tireless labor for the church. Paul was committed to these goals for the church. We would do well to strive in a like manner.

2Co 11:28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 2Co 11:29 Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? 2Co 11:30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. (2 Corinthians 11:28-30)

A Spiritually Mature Church has a Strong Faith Even in Difficult Times

Paul says, "My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart. "(v. 2) The word Paul uses for the word translated "encouraged" is the word "parakalein". Sometimes this word means to comfort, sometimes to exhort but it is always used in the sense of enabling someone to meet a difficult situation with confidence and strength. One of the indications of mature faith then is strength even when the times are tough.

Listen to these words of the prophet Habakkuk,

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights." (Habakkuk 3:17-19)

Habakkuk determined to hang on because of his confidence in God! He knew God's character. He knew that He is sufficient for every need. He knew that God loved him. He knew God was faithful. So, no matter what the outward circumstances, Habakkuk trusted what he knew to be true. That's the kind of faith Paul wants from the church, a group of people who see by faith and not by sight.

I know there are many in our churches who are going through agony. They face physical, relational, professional, financial, and spiritual struggles. Some of you, I'm sure, are not sure how much longer you can hang on at times. You just get exhausted. You try to be faithful and you succeed much of the time, but you have nothing left to give. If this is your experience then you are on the verge of a great discovery! Your strength for the difficult times does not reside in your ability, but His! You may be weary, but He is strong. The Lord knows what He is doing. Trust Him. This is a lesson I am learning on a weekly basis. I don’t have it down pat, but I am getting better.

A Spiritually Mature Church is United in Love

Even a casual reading of Scripture will quickly convince you that one of the hallmarks of the church is to be a love that is uncommon in the world. Paul tells us that he prays we might be "united in love". The church should be the last place with problems regarding diversity, but churches, not just in this country, have a long history of bringing societies prejudices into the house of worship. When I was a boy, blacks could not go into a white church and whites would never consider visiting a black church. The Irish and the English wouldn’t worship together neither would the Poles and the Czechs. Diversity can strengthen a church, but only if love first unites that body in the unwavering love of Christ. Without Christ’s love for each other, diversity will tear any group apart during tough times and churches are no exception. The Apostle John would tell us to get rid of our pet theologies and our worship traditions and all of our societal baggage. He would tell us that until we truly love each other, we could not understand the love of Christ.

Love within a church is a magnetic power. All of us are longing to find a place where we are loved not for what we can contribute but for who we are. This is what the church is to be. In order to "get the picture in my head" I made a list of what I think true love in the body of Christ means,

We treasure each other
We spotlight gifts and abilities rather than faults and failures
We truly celebrate the gifts and blessings of others without feeling resentment
We rally around each other in times of sadness and loss
We allow people to have "bad days"
We are quick to forgive
We act in kindness toward each other
We defend each other
We are willing to do things differently than we would necessarily choose for the honor of Christ.
And we listen to a list like this and wonder how we could love better rather than moaning because we are not better loved.

There is a story I have heard used several times about six young men that were to run a hundred-yard dash. They lined up, waited for the starting gun and then they were off running. About halfway down the track, the young man in front stumbled and fell. Almost immediately, the other five men stopped and helped him up. When they had dusted him off and decided that he was all right, they then decided to finish the race. None of the judges could tell who won the blue ribbon for none of them could see through their tears of joy. No one in the stands that day would ever forget this incident or how proud they for each of the persons that participated in these Special Olympics. Yes, these young men who cared more about their fallen friend than winning a race, were people that some have the nerve to call retarded. Maybe they understand things better than we do. I know that my son, Michael Paul does. They give us a parable of what God wants from the church.

A Spiritually Mature Church is Characterized by Knowledge and Understanding

Notice, that Paul says our faithfulness and our love for each other will lead to: "the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." In other words, the mature church (and believer) is growing in their knowledge and understanding as a direct result of our love for each other.

Paul told the church at Rome that the way to resist the push of the world to conform was to "renew your mind." We must continue to grow in our knowledge and understanding of the gospel. The two words "knowledge" and "understanding" denote that what is needed is more than an increase in factual information. We need to not only learn more facts but we need to know why those facts are important and how they relate to our lives. And notice that it is not just any facts that we should be seeking. We should be seeking a deeper knowledge of Christ!
What happens to a vast number of Christians is this: They make a decision for Christ. They become active and involved in the church. They learn the language. They learn how to do some things. These things may be spectacular (which is even more dangerous) or ordinary. But they make it to the "mainstream". Now they talk like a believer. They act like a believer. They are respected and admired. They know enough to fit in. So once they fit in, they sit down! They are content. Unless someone tells them we aren’t called to sit by the river, they will remain there content in their salvation. They should be getting up and heading out into the desert, because it is there that we really come to know Christ.

Every team that gets too self-satisfied loses its edge and is set up for defeat. Our opponent has not lost his fire. He is as enthusiastic and diligent as ever. To withstand his attacks we must continue to grow in knowledge and understanding. We have to get moving forward if we want to grow.
With that thought in mind, I must add a caution. Paul warns Timothy that in the last days, the unsaved will be "always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth." (2 Timothy 3:7). We live in a world where information is readily available. We can learn as much as we want to learn. However, it is not enough to grow in information. We must seek out the truth and then acknowledge it and commit ourselves to it.

So, are you sitting or still moving forward in your faith? Are you remaining fresh in the faith or are you beginning to stagnate?

A Spiritually Mature Church is Discerning in Confusing Times

I used to be a sucker for a good advertising campaign. Everyone who called for a donation got one. Every time I received one of those post cards that told me that I had won something, I would call them. I was willing to pay the $2.00 a minute to claim my prize (little knowing I would be on hold for 20 minutes!) Every time Ed McMahon sent me mail I would send him some back. Those late night TV Infomercials advertised some of the best products ever made! A slick presentation always worked with me. However, I came to realize that not everything that sounds good is good. And that truth does not change even though times do.

The Bible warns us to beware of false teachers. Listen to these warnings from Paul:

(1 Timothy 4:1, 2 NLT) "Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from what we believe; they will follow lying spirits and teachings that come from demons. These teachers are hypocrites and liars. They pretend to be religious, but their consciences are dead."

[2 Timothy 4:3,4] "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."

The best defense, of course, is a good offense. But there are some other things we can do. We can remember some simple principles:

Not everyone who sounds like an expert is an expert. What makes an actor or actress an authority on anything but acting? These people are constantly being called upon to testify on all kinds of issues. But why? There will always be people who talk authoritatively about God's will but have no idea what the Bible says. Many people engage their mouth well before they engage their brain. Many (most?) people merely parrot what they have heard others say. Some have never considered the implications of their words.

Something that sounds good is not necessarily something that is good. Most deception comes in brightly colored packages. We must see beyond the polished words and slick presentation.
Most deception minimizes or seeks to eliminate any talk of sin and responsibility.

Deceivers will diminish the character and person of Christ. They may talk about how much they love Jesus, but if you ask them to describe Jesus you will get a different picture. Sure, at first they will say, He is the Son of God and Savior. But if you continue to probe, you will find that when they talk about Jesus being the Son of God they believe He is the Son of God much the same way you and I are sons of God. They believe he saved us in the sense that He showed us a way to overcome.

Deceivers will draw deep meaning from obscure passages of the Bible. If it is not taught clearly throughout Scripture beware! There are no secret codes or hidden meaning in God’s word.
Deceivers seldom have a lifestyle that matches their profession. Most missionaries don’t fly first class or own muti-million dollar homes.

Let’s just take a quick assessment at where we are in regards to Paul’s comments to this point. These are questions we might consider asking ourselves in those moments when we are preparing to talk with God or, sometimes, right after we have had time in the word or in prayer. I pick those times because they are the times when we are most ready to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to us.

Do you need to train yourself to trust God more than your own abilities?
Do you need to work on being more loving?
Do you need to get out of neutral and start learning and understanding more? Is it time to read more Christian literature? Time to dust off your Bible and sharpen your pencil?
Do you need to be more discerning? Maybe you need to start asking questions and interacting with those who would have you follow them.

I must admit, I find that I am working on all those areas. I don't know whether you ever "arrive". I feel I am such a long way from the goal. It still seems all a little "fuzzy" to me. But the picture of what I shall be is clear in His head and that's all that matters. I'll just try to keep focused and enjoy the journey. In the meantime, Paul still has more characteristics of a mature Christian for us examine.

DISCIPLINED IN OUR DISCIPLESHIP (2:5)

Paul writes, "For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is." In this passage we see the affection the apostle has for the Colossians. He wants them to know that even though he is not with them in person, his heart is bound up with them. He tells them he is proud of them. He is delighted to see "how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is." One thing is certain about Paul. He really loved the body of believers with his whole heart. Even here you can hear the tone of concern rather than anger as he redirects from the path the false teachers have been leading them down. He is doing it because he cares about them, not because he wants to be sure they do things his way.

The terms Paul uses here are military terms. They picture a disciplined military unit. We can picture a parade ground with soldiers marching in formation. The message is clear: this group has become a disciplined group of soldiers. In the battle, the group is organized, everyone does their job, and they remain solid in the face of opposition. This is a result of careful, rigorous and constant training. Paul sees the Colossians like this. They have arrived at a measure of maturity because of their attention to godly discipline and training.

Sometimes it is helpful to understand a concept by stating things in opposites. The opposite of being orderly and firm in our faith would be to be haphazard, undependable, impulsive and flabby. Which terms best describe your Christian walk: disciplined or haphazard, firm or flabby?
The best illustration I can think of is exercise. (I tried to find one less convicting but failed.) If you want to be in your best physical condition; if you want to be firm and not flabby, you must have a certain amount of discipline in your life. It means at least somewhat regular exercise, eating right, practicing good habits. One of the biggest problems I have is keeping my weight up. I have to make myself eat regular meals as much as possible or my weight will drop rapidly. I realize that some people imagine they would rather have that problem than be overweight, but trust me on this, you don’t want to be this way. Anyway, I must be disciplined if I am going to control my weight. I must take my medicines at the right times and be sure I get sufficient rest as well or I will become ill. The point is that in my case self-discipline keeps me healthy longer and more often. Your areas of focus are different than mine, but the principle is the same.

Do you see that this is similar to our spiritual walk? We may be very intense for a period of time and feel the wonderful sense of the Lord's presence. Then we coast. Our spiritual life begins to dry up. Some people conclude that it wasn't real to begin with. Others go back to work. The mature believer avoids the periods of coasting and drifting by being disciplined in their Christian life.

But what do we mean when we talk about having a disciplined faith? Here are some things a disciplined believer will do:

Read the Book The best place to begin is to read the Bible. The Bible is God talking to us. We all know that it is rude to ignore someone who is talking. It is equally rude (and foolish) to ignore God's communication to us. Here are some of the ways I make sure I get my Bible reading in:

Read the Bible instead of the magazines at Doctor's offices
Keep a Bible in my car and read it when I’m waiting for the kids at school
I make time every morning to read for at least fifteen minutes
Read small sections several times during the day instead of reading for a longer period in one sitting
Another good way is to get involved in a small group Bible study. There is an accountability there as well as the enjoyment of sharing the word with fellow believers. Even you pastors could gain insights and a special sense of fellowship in a group study with non-pastors. I recommend a study with non-pastors because if you are studying with pastors there might be a tendency to intellectualize what should really be a heart experience. The key of course is not just to read, but also to meditate on the Word. Ponder it in your heart and mind. Ask, "What is it God wants me to learn?" Write notes, or as in my case papers on what you have discovered.

Talk to the Author We need to visit more with God. We are so formal in our praying. We have a list we want to get through and that becomes the focus of our prayers. What I am suggesting is that we learn to focus on talking with God. Share your ideas, your thoughts, your frustrations, your dreams. He already knows them, but He would like to hear about them from you. On occasion, talk to Him as your best friend. And of course, give Him time to respond. My wife, Rhonda, has the best prayer life of anyone I know because she is so comfortable when she talks just to Him. I even wrote a poem about it.

Her Prayers

I’ve heard her voice in firm resolve question and oppose
What she has seen as God’s ongoing plan
But then I’ve heard her close
With humble tone and soft spoken request.
She always seems so sure that He will not reject her words
Nor turn His back on her,
But with His Grace pour blessings out
On those found in her care.
Her faith is based on something present here and real.
She does not seek the Face of One high in heaven’s peaks,
But rather touches hands with the Christ found in her heart
So strong in power and soft in Grace.
He listens to her every call
And because she holds Him close
His blessings shower us all.

Make time for Quiet Our lives are so active we seldom get the chance to stop in the quiet and listen to the whisper of God's Spirit. We need time to "be still and know that He is God." This is probably hardest for moms to do. I know that Rhonda very seldom has a moment to herself. As she cares for the needs of our children, who because of special needs take more care than the average child, and she deals with my illness and physical or medical need; there is little time for quiet moments. Each day I pray for God to provide such time for her and then seek ways of helping her find that time.

Serve We should always be looking for opportunities where we can give of ourselves to others. It may be at a shelter or in the church. Or it may be in the every day tasks of life. Look for ways you can practice being a servant: clean up the dinner table, take out the garbage, pick up trash in the street, hold a door for someone else. Jesus humbled himself and took the form of a servant. We should follow His example every chance we get.

Other disciplines to try: fasting, giving, keep a spiritual journal. Whatever you do, do something. Eliminate haphazard faith. Strive for more self-discipline. The longer I know Christ, despite the improvements over time, the more I realize how far I still have to go to be the kind of disciple I am called to be. It is that realization that sometimes causes people to give up or give in or simply stop where they are and sit in their pew on Sunday. Sometimes that realization can be discouraging, but I prefer to see it as the finish line of the race and Christ is waiting there to give me the prize. That thought makes me want to run all the harder.

CONSISTENT IN OUR DAILY LIVING (2:6,7)

I think verse 6 is one of the most challenging verses in the Bible. The Amplified Bible does a wonderful thing with this text, "As you have therefore received the Christ, [even] Jesus the Lord, -- [so] regulate your lives and conduct yourself - in union and conformity to Him."
Notice the sequence. First, Paul assumes that we have a relationship with Christ. Paul says, "Just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord". Things must be done in a certain order. You cannot live a victorious and mature Christian life until you have first come to Christ as the only one who can cleanse you from sin and infuse you with life.

But, once you have received Christ as Savior, you must follow Him as Lord. It's a "package deal". Paul says we received Christ as Lord and now we should show Him to be Lord in our living. This means that we live by His example and follow His commands. It means we change. The true test of the genuineness of a person's confession of faith is the life they live. It also goes back to one of my favorite expressions: We are the only Bible most people will ever read. If we live our lives under the Lordship of Jesus, people will see Him in what we do and be drawn to Him.

I'm not saying we are to be perfect. That's the standard and the goal but it is not something that we will ultimately achieve until we get to Heaven. However, we must be working toward that goal. We should not say we follow Christ with our mouth, yet deny Him in our living. It's not enough to know a lot about Christ . . . we must apply what we know to how we live!

GRATEFUL IN OUR HEART (2:7)

Paul says there are two results from being "rooted and built up". The first is that you will be "strengthened in the faith". When we begin to walk with Jesus in our daily living we become increasingly sure of the truths we committed our life to. As we become more acquainted with Him, we become personally aware of His great faithfulness. This strengthens our faith.
The second result of this consistent walk with Christ is an overwhelming sense of gratitude. As you mature in the faith something surprising happens. You become even more grateful than you were at first. Two things happen. First, you see how awesome and great God is. The longer I know Him the more overwhelmed I am by who He is. You begin to understand His holiness, His power, His Purity. You understand that He needs nothing to be complete. Second, you realize how deeply sin has infected our lives. When we come to Christ we have little idea how pervasive sin is in our hearts and lives. As we grow it sometimes seems that we are more full of sin than when we first began. It actually is that we become more aware of other areas of sin in our lives as we get rid of the more obvious stuff.

It’s sort of like the Marines hitting one the islands in the Pacific during the battles of World War II. The first thing they did was establish a small beachhead, just a tiny part of the island. Once that was established they brought in more troops and equipment. Once they were better fortified, they moved out to capture another section of the island. Again they brought in more troops and equipment now that there was room for them and moved out to absorb more of the island. They kept doing this until the island was theirs. When Christ first came into us, He established His beachhead. By the power of His Holy Spirit we were strengthened. As we became more mature, we began to see more of what was still left to conquer. The sin we discover in our lives was always there, but we weren’t ready to deal with it yet. We needed the power of the Holy Spirit and a more intimate relationship with Christ to prepare us for that task. When you put the strengthening and the consistency together you realize what an undeserved grace we have received. You can't help but ask, "Why me, Lord?"

The mature Christian does not become rigid, arrogant or snooty. The mature believer is becoming softer, more humble and much more grateful. How do you measure up? Does this list sound like you?

faithfulness in difficult times (2a)
love in our relationships (2b)
growth in knowledge and understanding (2c)
discernment in confusing times (4)
disciplined in discipleship (5)
consistent in daily living (6)
overflowing with gratitude (7)

This list is not concerned with how much we know, but rather how well we follow. It's about our character not our I.Q. We're not asking what others are looking for. We are talking about what God is looking for.

The time of revival is coming in America. I believe that this current generation will see that revival. In that time many wonderful things will happen and many will come to the Lord and be saved. Unfortunately persecution of one type or another often accompanies revival. Those of us who know the Lord already must be prepared and must be mature when that time comes. Our maturity will enable us to lead others to Christ. It will also enable us to stand up under the threat of persecution. When the early church was persecuted, many were overcome and denied their faith rather than die or suffer abuse. They weren’t mature enough or committed enough to handle their fear. Like Peter before Pentecost, they denied their Lord. Today Christians all over the world are standing up in the face of persecution and paying with their lives or their children’s lives. Are you going to be ready?

Recognizing A Blessing

2005-01-22T13:42:00.001-08:00

Michael Paul

He came as a gift disguised as a broken toy.

Skin hung from him that didn't fit this blessed little boy.

Don't take him home. He'll never walk or talk or sit.

But this was the child God gave to us. He was the perfect fit.

Yesterday he strolled across the room to lean against my side.

I asked him what he wanted and his eyes lit bright and wide.

"God sent me to give you love," he said. And then he walked away.

I've entertained angels unaware and one of them chose to stay.

This child is more than they said he could be.

His spirit is stirred by God's grace.

Everything he does and all he says to me

Constantly turns my heart to God's face.

And as I kneel on hard wooden floor

Elbows resting on the bottom stairs,

I thank God for this wonderful child

Both a source for and an answer to prayers.

Michael McLarney October 4, 2003

Recognizing A Blessing

2005-01-22T13:42:00.000-08:00

Michael Paul

He came as a gift disguised as a broken toy.

Skin hung from him that didn't fit this blessed little boy.

Don't take him home. He'll never walk or talk or sit.

But this was the child God gave to us. He was the perfect fit.

Yesterday he strolled across the room to lean against my side.

I asked him what he wanted and his eyes lit bright and wide.

"God sent me to give you love," he said. And then he walked away.

I've entertained angels unaware and one of them chose to stay.

This child is more than they said he could be.

His spirit is stirred by God's grace.

Everything he does and all he says to me

Constantly turns my heart to God's face.

And as I kneel on hard wooden floor

Elbows resting on the bottom stairs,

I thank God for this wonderful child

Both a source for and an answer to prayers.

Michael McLarney October 4, 2003

Progressive Church or Progressive Hate

2005-01-21T06:59:00.000-08:00

My heart breaks each time I read of yet another person using God’s word to support ungodly positions. I recently read an article by Dr. Albert Pennybacker of the Church and Laity Network, whatever that is, in which he protests the inauguration festivities for President Bush. I don’t object to those who disagree with how those private citizens choose to spend their money when they base their objections on logical and principled positions. I am grief stricken when they use Holy Scripture to inject hateful and venomous remarks into their argument. They use scripture to judge the hearts of those they do not know and to attack some for upholding God’s word!

The article and a subsequent follow-up occur on the website Democracy.org. I don’t want to send anyone to that website, so I am including portions of the article and my responsive comments that I left at the website.

“ Dr. Albert Pennybacker, of the Church and Laity Network
VIGILS PROTEST INAUGURATION EXCESSES
Interfaith vigils protesting the excessive expenses and the numerous celebrations of President George W. Bush’s second inauguration are occurring on Inauguration Eve, January 19, in numerous communities across America. CLN urges your participation.
This is a time of war, military deaths and grieving families as every pastor knows. Ravaged Pacific coast communities, overflowing rivers and growing poverty are present in our midst. Overseas millions suffer in homelessness in the wake of the unprecedented Southeast Asia disaster, and millions more grieve the loss of parents, children, loved ones and friends.
It is a time when wounded and maimed US service personnel lie in hospital beds or work in painful therapy programs. Yet they struggle in unexpected numbers (which we have not been told) with inadequate provisions for their healing.
The gross insensitivity of the inauguration plans must be named and challenged! America’s priorities at this time are not authentically voiced through these inauguration frivolities.”

If this was the only tone, then I would have no problem with the comments, but things change as you continue.

“For those progressive religious communities that wish to join in Inauguration Eve prayer vigils, CLN urges that you first scan the Internet for existing vigil plans. CLN recommends the following: info@NCCCUSA.org, UU.org, interfaithalliance.org, and local and state interfaith councils and councils of churches. For further information you may use CLN’s website.”
“The following is offered as a brief template, or model, for your consideration as you plan your prayer vigil. Feel free to use all, some or none of it â€“ whatever is most helpful. Thank you for your willingness to join with others to pray and witness for the well-being of all Godâ€™s creation. If the Clergy and Laity Network can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Welcome and Explanation[The appointed spokesperson says the following or something similar…]
As much as any time in the history of the United States, we need to come together to pray for the health and well-being of Godâ€™s entire creation. For the courage to beat swords into plowshares, to study war no more, to take a chance on peace, we need to pray. For policies that reflect the conviction that every life truly is precious, we need to pray. For leaders who will lead us to virtue without imposing our virtue on the virtue of others, we need to pray. For the wisdom to know the difference between arrogance and faith, the difference between charity and greed, the difference between confidence and delusion, we need to pray.So, welcome to this vigil of prayer on eve of the presidential inauguration. It is good to be together. [If the attendees do not have a printed program, a few words of explanation about the program might be helpful.]
Call to Prayer[The bold print is intended for the attendees to read. If programs are not printed, perhaps this can be used as a two person Call to Prayer with each person alternating parts.]We gather tonight as people of various faith traditionsTo witness and pray together, talk and listen to each otherWe gather to affirm our commitment to building a societyIn which diversity is a source of strength and not of painWe gather at a time when the greed of a few is trumping the needs of manyWhen more live in the grip of poverty than in the lap of luxuryWe need to hear again a calling to our better selvesThat we may have courage to speak truth to power, to shine light amidst darkness
Viewpoints from Various Faith Traditions[Ask a representative of each faith tradition to read a brief passage from their tradition that speaks to justice, peace, unity or a related issue. The ones below are possibilities.]IslamicAl-Husraat The prophet said: He who amongst you sees something abominable should modify it with the help of his hand, and if he has not strength enough to do it, then he should do it with his tongue; and if he has not strength enough to do it, (even) then he should (abhor it) from his heart and that is the least of faith. â€” Sahih Muslim, Hadith Number 79BuddhistThe thought manifests as the word; The word manifests as the deed; The deed develops into habit; The habit hardens into character. So watch the thought and its ways with care, And let it spring from love, Born of concern for all beings. â€” The BuddhaHinduMay Brahma protect us, may he guide us, may he give us strength and right understanding. May love and harmony be with us all. â€” Peace Invocation, Katha UpanishadChristian
He looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; he also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. He said, â€˜Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.â€™â€“ Luke 21:1-4JewishIf you banish the yoke from your midst, the menacing hand, and evil speech; and you offer your compassion to the hungry and satisfy the famished creatureâ€”then your light shall shine in darkness. â€” Isaiah 59:10”

There is more to part one, but you can see that there is plentiful use of quotes from various religions alongside of quotes from the Bible. They then use an inordinately long list of Bible quotes to attack the inaugural festivities, those who donated to pay for them and any who supported President Bush at all. This is where the judgment of others comes in and the misuse of Scripture out of context.

“Some Scripture relevant to the inaugural
Deuteronomy 24:14-15
You shall not withhold the wages of poor and needy labourers, whether other Israelites or aliens who reside in your land in one of your towns.You shall pay them their wages daily before sunset, because they are poor and their livelihood depends on them; otherwise they might cry to the LORD against you, and you would incur guilt.
Amos 4:1Hear this word, you cows of Bashanwho are on Mount Samaria,who oppress the poor, who crush the needy,who say to their husbands, ‘Bring something to drink!’
Psalm 3:13-15The LORD rises to argue his case;he stands to judge the peoples.The LORD enters into judgementwith the elders and princes of his people:It is you who have devoured the vineyard;the spoil of the poor is in your houses.What do you mean by crushing my people,by grinding the face of the poor? says the Lord GOD of hosts.
Isaiah 10Ah, you who make iniquitous decrees,who write oppressive statutes,to turn aside the needy from justiceand to rob the poor of my people of their right,that widows may be your spoil,and that you may make the orphans your prey!What will you do on the day of punishment,in the calamity that will come from far away?To whom will you flee for help,and where will you leave your wealth,so as not to crouch among the prisonersor fall among the slain?For all this, his anger has not turned away;his hand is stretched out still.
Psalm 9:18For the needy shall not always be forgotten,nor the hope of the poor perish for ever.
Proverbs 14:31Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker,but those who are kind to the needy honour him.
Proverbs 21:13If you close your ear to the cry of the poor,you will cry out and not be heard.
Proverbs 22:8-16Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity,and the rod of anger will fail.Those who are generous are blessed,for they share their bread with the poor.Drive out a scoffer, and strife goes out;quarrelling and abuse will cease.Those who love a pure heart and are gracious in speechwill have the king as a friend.The eyes of the LORD keep watch over knowledge,but he overthrows the words of the faithless.The lazy person says, ‘There is a lion outside!I shall be killed in the streets!’The mouth of a loose woman is a deep pit;he with whom the LORD is angry falls into it.Folly is bound up in the heart of a boy,but the rod of discipline drives it far away.Oppressing the poor in order to enrich oneself,and giving to the rich, will lead only to loss.
Luke 21:1-4He looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury;he also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins.He said, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them;for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.’
2 Corinthians 8:9For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.
1 Timothy 6:10-17 (especially verses 10 and 17)For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.
But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness.Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge youto keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will bring about at the right time - he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords.It is he alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see; to him be honour and eternal dominion. Amen.
As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share,thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.”

To this they have added comments such as the following:

1. Thanks for your great site and your great effort.
Comment by Guiseppe Caluri — 1/19/2005 @ 10:54 am
2. I forgot to mention our website–which has much in common with your own: http://www.10000jesuses.org. We’re looking for a few good Jesuses to dress as Jesus (Or New Testament figure) and carry signs indicating Jesus’ disapproval : “Who would I bomb?", “Who would I torture?” etc. Come join us at the inauguration.
Comment by Guiseppe Caluri — 1/19/2005 @ 10:57 am
3. The “Word” of God most precious to me.Honey to some but will cause hypocrites to “puke".Bush and those who voted for him ought to be ashamed of themselves. I can’t imagine a Christian voting for Bush or the rich corrupt that gave him his horns. May they read this and weap. It is the wonderful truth that we all love! Jesus hears us!
Comment by P.A. Crone — 1/19/2005 @ 10:02 pm “

To these I added my own comment at the end of Part one:

4. How it breaks my heart and how it must grieve our Lord to hear those who profess to follow His Son use His word as a mask for hateful invective. Distorting God’s word and making hateful assumptions about people you don’t know is more hypocritical and shameful than rich men and women spending their own money how they see fit. You don’t know what any of those people may be giving to charities and churches through out our nation. One thing is certainly true and that is that George Bush gave more to charity than any of the Democratic candidates. No matter how much I disagree with him about the war in Iraq, I also know he is trying to follow God’s word as it applies to the murder of unborn children and sexual morality. I know he does not hate homosexuals as most misguided Democrats believe, but that he believes that sex. homosexual or heterosexual, outside the bonds of matrimony is sin in the eyes of God. The Democratic candidates propose continuing to deny the rights of unborn children formed in the womb by the hand of God. They continue to support sexual behavior called an abomination by the word of God. More people were murdered by abortion and AIDs than have died in all the wars fought by this country. When will we stop that killing?

I know I will be sprayed with the same hateful vindective as others, but still I will pray for God’s Holy Spirit to bring peace to the war on Him in this country. Those of you who claim Christ as Savior should be ashamed of the way things have been said here. Jesus said we are to make Him Lord of our lives. That means we put what He said and He taught ahead of any political belief or commentary. Those who have misused these scriptures and taken them out of context have put Christ and God’s truth behind themselves instead of in front.

Comment by biblemike — 1/21/2005 @ 8:39 am

And again at the end of part two:

How can you provide a template that calls every life precious while supporting a political party that has murdered more children that have been killed in any war undertaken by the United States? You are no better than Manasseh, Anon, Jehoahaz, Jeholachin, Zedekiah and the other kings of Judah who put altars to false gods inside the Temple to the one living God. You cannot have it both ways. You cannot serve God and then serve those who oppose God’s law. You cannot claim God as Lord and then misuse His word to attack those you disagree with. Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s. Render unto God that which is God’s. Stop choosing the parts of God you like and rejecting the parts that make you uncomfortable. Stop manipulating God and His servants to your purposes and opinions. It is time to bow before God. His kingdom is a monarchy for a reason. He is the only One with all the right answers.

Comment by biblemike — 1/21/2005 @ 8:58 am

I do not hold anything against those Christians who voted Democratic or those who voted Republican. This is a democracy and each person should exercise their right to vote for that per son or party they believe most represents their views and there are arguments that can be made for a Christian to support either party. What I object to is using Scripture to support positions that are not of God. This group would have us believe that all faiths worship the same God. Not true. That God does not object to homosexual activity. Not true. That heaven is open to all no matter how they worship. Not true. That those who support the war in Iraq are going against God, but those who support abortion are not. Not true. This organization’s spokespersons call themselves “Progressive Church” leaders. I ask then, how can the Progressive Church be Christian?

I stumbled on this website after my morning prayer time and just I began reading my morning e-news. Perhaps I am overreacting to what I saw there. Perhaps the offense I feel is personal rather than spiritual. I don’t think so, but what do you think? If you think me wrong come to me in love and pray for me. If you think I’m right come to me in love and pray for me.

Yours in Christ,

biblemike

How Real Is Your Christianity?

2005-01-17T17:46:00.000-08:00

Colossians 1:1-8

The people in Colosse were hearing about all the ideas and experiences of the people around them and were wondering if maybe they were missing something. Maybe they needed more than their faith in Christ. These questions were among those Epaphras shared with Paul while Paul was imprisoned. It should not surprise us then that Paul begins his letter quickly affirming the genuineness of Colossian faith,

Col 1:3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, Col 1:4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints— Col 1:5 the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel. (Colossians 1:3-5)

Paul focuses on the characteristics of a follower of Christ in this opening statement. A genuine follower of Christ is characterized by faith in Jesus Christ, love for the brethren and hope of eternal life. Paul, Peter, James and John all use this same simple shorthand to describe the new nature of those in Jesus. As I tried to read through Colossians, I found myself stuck on this passage. Look again at how we are described.

Faith in Christ Jesus

We hear lots of people today who tell us they have faith. Others tell us that faith is very important in their lives. We are living in a day when faith is quite popular. However, we can’t assume that everyone is using the term the same way we are.
First, we must always ask, "What is the object of your faith?" Faith in and of itself has no intrinsic value. Faith has no power. It is the object of your faith that is significant. You see, many people have faith, but the object of their faith is: experience, reincarnation, theology or philosophical systems, their own goodness, the free market system, the goodness of men or even religion or the church. The true believer has faith in Christ Jesus not in the things of this world. How quick we are to forget this at times. We are prone to quickly revert to our old approach to faith, to trust in our own efforts. Christian confidence and faith is not in anything we have done or can do. Our confidence is in Jesus Christ: in His sacrificial death, victorious resurrection and His present intercession on our behalf.

This leads us to a second question: What does it mean to have "faith"? Some would say that having faith is to feel good about something. But when the Bible talks about faith in Christ, it means to believe Him, depend on Him, follow Him. It means to believe what He says about God, about salvation, about us. To have faith in Christ is to "bet our life on Him." Having faith in Christ means believing that His death really was the payment for our sin just as He said. It means believing that He loves us even when we feel unlovable.

The third question follows, where does this faith come from? Notice something interesting from this text. The faith Paul talks of here is not the means to salvation; it is the result of our salvation. Paul tells us that this faith "springs from the hope that is stored up for you in Heaven." Faith doesn't produce the hope it comes from the hope.
Now this is different from the way we usually talk. We usually make it seem that we have to come up with faith in order to be saved. Paul says this faith is evidence that we are saved. Paul wrote the Ephesians:

Eph 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— Eph 2:9 not by works, so that no one can boast. Eph 2:10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Faith is something God creates in us. He produces faith in us. Now, why is this important? Because so many try to will themselves to believe. We try to create faith. What we need to understand is that faith does not come from looking inward. It comes from looking at God. Faith is the fruit of seeking Him. So if you want to have more faith, don't read more books on faith, spend more time looking at and seeking God.

This is a good time to make this very practical. We simply need to ask ourselves: "Where are we placing our faith?" Many people talk religion. But the crucial question is this: Who or What do you really trust? Be honest with yourself. Are you confident because you are talented? Decent? Competent? Well-respected? Are you trusting your financial acumen or your determined spirit to get you ahead in life? When we do these things we have gone back to building our houses on the sand.

Love for all the saints

We must always look out for those who talk Christianity but don't walk it. A loveless goodness, apologetics without passion, a profession without practice, all make for a questionable faith.
The Apostle John wrote,

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. (1 John. 3:16-18)

James wrote, "faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." (2:17) James is not arguing that we have to be good in order to get into heaven, he is arguing that anyone who has truly been reborn by God's Spirit acts differently. Faith is not passive, but active. The Colossians showed the reality of their faith because they not only professed faith, they reflected love.
But what does it mean to love each other? Christian love is unique. It is characterized by,

1. a sense of family. It is certainly true that we should never refer to the church as they it should always be we. Our love is anchored in the fact that we are related to each other in Christ.

2. seeing another person not for who they are . . . but for who they can be by God's Spirit. We understand how radically God can change a life. We should never write another off as one who "will never change" because we ought to know better. We know what God can do because He has begun that process in us.

3. by a desire for the good and spiritual happiness of the other. This is different from the way of the world. In the world we "love others" because we think they can be good for us or because they make us happy. I know it sounds harsh, but I still believe it is true. I see remnants of this attitude in my own life. We use people. We see people in terms of what they can do for us. We love them if they do what we want. We discard them if they don't. Christian love desires the benefit of the other person. It is concerned with building up the other not ourselves.

4. a genuine delight from being with each other. Christian love means we enjoy being together. That's why it is so delightful to come into a church and hear laughter. Worship should not be drudgery, onerous prayers and false piety. It is a time to do something special (exalt God) with our friends. When a group of friends get together there is talking, laughter and joy.

5. an overlooking of faults and infirmities. It's not that we minimize these things. Christian love understands that we are all sinners in the process of being transformed. So, we do not focus on the sin and failure. We focus on the progress and growth. People who love each other dwell on the admirable and praiseworthy not the blemishes and struggles. Unfortunately, in many churches the members are much less patient with each other than they are with their friends who are not Christians. This is because they have become focused on the outward appearance and on making certain behaviors more important than others. They have lost sight of their original goal.

6. a love that is without barrier. Our love for each other is based in something much deeper than our economic class, gender, race, age or any other category of men. Our love is anchored in our common experience of grace and our common destiny of eternity worshiping God.
Obviously we realize that we are a long way from achieving this goal perfectly. We are still prone to pettiness and competition. But the true believer is moving toward this goal of Christ-like love. They want to love this way. They are learning to love this way. They delight when they love this way. Every morning I try to begin my day with a conversation with God. The first thing I ask is that God help me love deeper and more fully today than yesterday. When I pray for others and when I act in love toward others, my physical symptoms recede and at least for a while I have freedom from this thorn in my flesh.

Hope Is The Springboard

Once again, we see that this "faith and love spring from hope". In Paul's letter to Titus he writes about "a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time and at his appointed season he brought his word to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior." (Titus 1:2)

Peter also talks about the significance of hope, "In his great mercy he had given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade - kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time."
(1 Peter 3b – 5)

We hear the word "hope" used frequently. We "hope" for a good report. We "hope" to be able to reach some goal. We "hope" for the best. Most of the time we seem to use "hope" as wishful thinking. It's a "pie-in-the-sky" optimism. But that is not what this hope is about. The hope that Peter and Paul point to is different. It's a hope based in fact. We are not engaging in mere positive thinking. Our hope is grounded in the promises of a real man, Jesus. We believe He went to the cross willingly and rose from the dead victoriously. We base our hope on God's testimony and revelation over the years.

It is a hope that is undiminished by difficulties. The Bible tells us the truth about life. It doesn't promise things will be easy. In fact, it tells us that this world and everything in it is going to pass away. It tells us that the world in which we live is infected with a cancer that is more deadly than the most devastating cancer we know. It's a cancer called sin. Our hope is not anchored in present circumstances but in a promise for the future. It is this hope of eternity that keeps us going through the rough times of our lives. Our hope is one that changes the way we face the trials and tragedies of life.

It is a hope that alters the way we live. Our hope is for the day when we will stand before the Lord and hear those wonderful words, "Welcome Home." We look for the day when this world will be cast aside. And because our sights are set on heaven our response to the annoyances, obstacles and disappointments of this world is changed.

We must ask ourselves: Is Our Focus Clear? A child of God is called to look beyond this world to the next. It is natural to care for our body. It is appropriate to be concerned for our families. We are right to want to live this life to the fullest. But if our primary concern is with this life we have our priorities confused. Why give so much priority to that which is temporary and give so little attention to our soul, which is eternal? Shouldn't it be the other way around?

And what about in the times of difficulty? Many of you have let me into your lives. I know some of the struggles and the difficulties you wrestle with and you certainly know mine. This life is not easy. Sometimes it's not even all that enjoyable. But here's the question you and I have to ask: in these times, do we dwell on the difficulties or do we dwell on the One who will someday wipe our tears, heal our wounds and put our weary hearts to rest? Do we dwell on the struggle or the sure victory? Do we dwell on the trial or on the promise that God will use the trial? A true hope changes our perspective on everything.

It is certainly possible that some of you may feel at the "end of your rope" as you read this. You may be exhausted, worn out, tired of the battle. Perhaps you can't sleep because you can't stop your mind and your racing heart. You examine all the possibilities. You've considered all the "what ifs?" The uncertainty of the future overwhelms you. To those in this state I urge you to change your focus. Look up. Look into His face. Replay his promises. Know that the future is in His hands. Remind yourself over and over and over again that He is sufficient for whatever comes your way. His promise is sure. This life is only the title page of the life that is to come. Turn your eyes to His sufficiency and grace rather than the obstacles of the Devil. Make hope your anchor and it will hold you steady in even the most tumultuous waters.

So, there you have it. The simple definition of a genuine follower of Christ. It's not who holds a certain theological position or has had a certain experience. It has nothing to do with the amount of water that is used in baptism or even it's timing. It is not about the frequency of the Lord's Supper. It is not a matter of style or worship or version of the Bible you read. The issue is really much more basic than that. A genuine believer is one who trusts God rather than Himself; and shows faith by the way they treat those around them. And they do all this because of the hope that burns in their soul. It is a hope that is anchored in the promises of God. And when faith, hope, and love are at work in a follower's life ----the other things will take care of themselves

Important Words to Remember for Those Who Suffer or Love Those Who Suffer

2005-01-17T14:39:00.000-08:00

The Lord is like a father to His children, tender and compassionate to those who fear Him. For He understands how weak we are; He knows we are only dust. Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die. The wind blows and we are gone – as though we had never been here. Psalm 103:13-16 NLT

Boy! That is kind of a bleak picture isn’t it? It would seem so, but this is why you need to keep reading when the message seems particularly hard or the answer you are looking for does not seem to offer the help that you want. I read this section of Psalm 103 at night, alone and feeling unwell. As I prayed for an answer to the matters troubling me, God kept sending me here to Psalm 103. As I contemplated the words I was struck by the wonder of God’s love. The first verses talk about how God has forgiven David’s sins and ransomed him from death. David is filled with the same wonder I felt. ”He has not punished us for all our sins nor has He dealt with us as we deserve.” When we finally slow down in our reading, we are embraced and filled with hope and a covenant that God is making with each of us as an individual parent. The question is whether we will do our minor part to win the major blessing for our children and our children’s children.

But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children -- with those who keep his covenant and obey his precepts. The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all. Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts, you his servents who do his will.Praise the Lord, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the Lord, O my soul.
Psalm 103:17-22

God has given a father’s promise that fathers immediately understand. God’s promises don’t very often fit in packaging or a framework that we easily understand until many years of walking in light and dark and in good and ill weather. God speaks in terms of generations, of thousands of years. He sent the Jews into captivity for seventy years, but made it sound like a gift because it was. Jeremiah was forced to prophesy the terrible things that would happen to the Jewish people and end these terrible sayings with words of great plans or designs God had in store for these people. None of the people listening were going to survive the seventy years of starvations, slavery and cannibalism to see those designs begin to come to pass. Many of us have the words of that promise written on a wall or picture in our home, but we conveniently leave out the part that is hard to hear, but absolutely necessary to experience if the rest is to come to pass.

Yes, this is what the Lord Almight, the God of Israel says: "Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do no listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them, " declares the Lord.
This is what the Lord says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious pomise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, " says the Lord, "plans to proser you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jermiah 29:8-11

Imagine the heaviness of Jeremiah’s heart as he had to say the things of trial and suffering that the Jews ust face in the next seventy years, but the wise Jews put their hope on a promise. They put their faith in God’s statement that He had an extremely intricate design that man could not understand, but which carried the promise of generations of hope. God did exactly the same thing through David as the great king humbled himself to worship and praise the God who had preserved him. His salvation extends to the children’s children. There are many better-educated men than I who will tell you that the promise in Psalm 138 applies to a single event involving David. I respectfully disagree and with Jeremiah and David announce that my God is bigger than that. The love of the Lord endures forever!!!

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch our your hand against the anger of my foes, with your right hand you save me. The Lord will fulfill [his purpose] for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever -- do not abandon the works of your hands. Psalm 138:7- 8

As David praised God, the Holy Spirit spoke through him as He had done before and would again. God understands our suffering. He recognizes we are but gnats whose life spans are less than God’s blink. Praise God like His angels praise Him. Stand before Him like His armies of angels stand before Him. Serve Him and do His will. Obey His commandments, a task made easier now by the presence of the Holy Spirit in those who have given Him their allegiance. Serve Him. Do His Will as servant to warrior King. Your life, your goods, your very soul is His to command. He has promised that if you do that which is required of you, if you have truly given your allegiance to Him as Old Testament obeisance required, then the promise of God’s blessing on your children and your children’s children is absolute. David knew that and that is why he rejoiced. We know it in our hearts and it is supported in the scripture. God is consistent and unchanging though men will continue to try to change His words and His promises in perversions of the truth.

There is no promise of riches or perfect health. I am living proof that terrible illnesses are contracted just by living in this world. My faith is greater now than it has ever been in my lifetime, but I have a potentially terminal illness. My illness is not caused by a failure of my faith. It is caused by living in a sin infected world that is a thriving greenhouse of disease. I praise God for the opportunity to get to know Him better and to better understand doing His will. The world is at fault for many things and everything in the world not produced to praise God is sin according to the scriptures. One thing is certainly true if you suffer and you pray about it with the Lord, you can’t help giving praise to God for all the good He is doing in your life and you can’t stop telling everyone else about all the good stuff God does. It operates on the same principle of all that God has created. If you touch something hot, it burns you. It you stand in the rain, you will get wet. If you pray about hardship or suffering, God will give you much to rejoice about. It may not be what you expect. In fact, it usually isn’t, but your heart will be filled with a gladness and thanksgiving. You will be drawn closer to God and He will put His hand on your children and your children’s children.

Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim His greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. Sing to Him, yes, sing His praises. Tell everyone about His miracles. Exult in His Holy Name; O, worshippers of the Lord, rejoice. Search for the Lord and for His strength, and keep on searching. Think of the wonderful works He has done, the miracles and the judgments He has handed down, O children of Abraham, God’s servant, O descendants of Jacob God’s chosen one. He is the Lord our God. Psalm 105:1-7 NLT

A Message For Revisionist Christians

2005-01-16T22:22:00.000-08:00

Holocaust Tears

There are those who say it never happened.
They will deny it all their days.
But within another single breath
They claim it would be justified today.
We look in horror at the proof.
The evidence is plain.
Hitler had a master plain
Based upon what is evil and insane.
When you look upon the pictures
And say it couldn’t happen again
Try using words like euthanasia,
Abortion, suicide assistance, human sin
It is all the same you see
No matter what you say.
Pregnancy is not a disease
And I should stay if I want to stay.
The laws are already written
And some have been upheld.
It’s moral if it’s legal
That’s the story they all tell.
But the Germans called it legal
And destroyed those unlike them.
Words and laws are only paper
And can’t change what is human.
Morality should make the law
Not the other way around.
What law will you be quoting
When that last trumpet sounds.

Michael McLarney January 27, 2003

There He Goes Again

2005-01-15T21:51:00.000-08:00

"As the body without spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." James 2:24

James clearly tells us that faith without works is dead. Nothing in that can be interpreted to mean that without works we are dead. James’ epistle is inspired by the same Holy Spirit that inspired Paul to write that we are saved by grace and that not of ourselves lest any man should boast. The two writers cannot contradict each other. Just as Jesus said that His followers would be known by their fruits, so is James saying the same thing. If we don’t have the fruit of a relationship with Christ then we don’t have a relationship with Christ.

I had a friend once who was a terrible gardener. He would often forget to water or feed his plants, but he was ever hopeful that this time the plant would survive. When you would looked at the poor, disheveled clumps of brittle and brown vegetation, he would say, “O, that one’s doing better and the other just got too much sun.” He was totally oblivious to the fact that he wasn’t doing what was necessary for the health of his plants. That is the way many people are about Christ. They have an intellectual understanding of who He is and what He did for us, but they have not discovered what is to have a real relationship with Him. It isn’t saying some special words or a particular prayer that initiates salvation; it is accepting Christ for the living being who He is and making Him the Lord of your life.

The old idea of salvation was that we must obey to be saved, but James is telling us that if we are saved we will obey. There is an absolute difference there. A person who has truly accepted Christ as savior and invited Jesus to be an integral part of his life is changed by that experience. His desire is to obey all that God asks of us and to do all he can to reflect Christ’s love to the rest of the world. We won’t be perfect at this to be sure, but as imitators of Christ we will be profoundly different than we were. If others don’t sense that a change has taken place in you over time and you don’t sense a change in your desires or behavior, then maybe you need to assess whether you are merely acknowledging the truth about Christ (as even the demons do) or whether you are developing a closer relationship with Christ and desire to express your gratitude for God’s gracious gift in all that you do.

Some Day

2005-01-15T17:22:00.000-08:00

Some day people will discover this blog and then they will say, " Wow! That guy sure talks a lot!" As long as what I write causes them to think about something I said, then all is well. In the meantime I have a place to spew all the rambling thoughts that permeate my brain. What about you? Does anything on this page cause you to wonder?

What's So Important About Christmas?

2005-01-14T18:46:00.000-08:00

The Beginning of Forever

There are those who say Christmas was first a pagan holiday.
I say it doesn’t matter if that’s true.
What matters is that everything that came before Christ’s birth
Points to that night, a date for which none has ever been proved.
A Roman ruler made a day upon which he could celebrate the night.
He didn’t worship any god or idol except his own appetite,
Much like those today who want the holiday without Christ.
They want the party without reason.
They want the gifts without the season.
We who follow Christ must recognize this intersection
Between what came before and the beginning of forever.

For time was without end before that night,
But that birth put the end of time in sight.
The covenant was not yet made new.
Blood was spilled, yet the spilling was not through.
She bled for us in obedient belief
So that His bleeding later would bring relief.
The Roman trees adopted from the winter’s start
Are a just substitute for the tree that broke God’s Heart.
The gifts we give should be the Gospel’s light
To a world that still remains frightened by the night.
Those who believe and would ignore this day
Miss God’s point in stealing it away.
Thus we blend the birth of the One who died
With His empty tomb and life that still abides.
Because of that one true Friend
Who gave His life and rose again
At the intersection of the end of never
And the beginning of forever.

Michael McLarney Christmas 2003

What is Worship?

2005-01-14T16:35:00.000-08:00

Just read a number of blogs discussing the idea of what constitutes worship in the postmodern church? I don't care what music is used or what language is spoken or what order of presentation is used in the liturgical expression. Most of it amounts to form over substance anyway. As God said through Isaiah: He doesn't care about our words, our works, our sacrifices or how diligently we follow some format of worship. All He cares about is what is in our hearts. This Sunday, instead of looking around you, look into your heart and see what God sees there.

We Have Come To Offer Praise

There is nothing we can offer as we gather in this place
To express our thankfulness for Your Redeeming Grace.
That blood that blessed us when sin was still our shame
Now opens all our hearts as we praise your Holy Name.

We have come to offer praise. We have come here to worship,
We have come to offer praise for the holiness of your name.
We have come to offer praise for You Alone are Worthy.
We have come to offer praise for the holiness of Your Name.

Death was our only future. We were conquered by our sin.
We poured our hearts out for you and repented what we’d been.
You washed us clean forever and changed us in all ways.
Now we come before you and Your Church offers You its praise.

We have come to offer praise. We have come here to worship.
We have come to offer praise for the holiness of Your Name.
We have come to offer praise for You Alone are Worthy.
We have come to offer praise for the holiness of Your Name.

Michael McLarney May 7, 2003

Good News That Isn't

2005-01-13T14:58:00.000-08:00

Each year over ten thousand Christians are killed for their faith. According to statistics from Voice of the Martyrs, that is a minimum number. That does not include the thousands who are sold into slavery and die there. These figures are incredible to our minds. Why were they killed? They died because their faith was seen as a threat to the status quo. Christians have always been killed because they were perceived as a threat or because they lived lives that showed they were different in a way that reflected badly on how others were living. If one person in this country were murdered for the faith, it would produce outrage from coast to coast. It would shake up the people of God. Within weeks someone would be making a movie about it.

What’s the difference between America and Iran (where converts can be executed on the spot) or between our country and Sudan (where slavery of Christians is common) or Albania (where Christians have been sealed in barrels and cast into the sea)? Why is there virtually no persecution here? There are those who would point to the constitution and its assurance of religious liberty as the reason, but that is insufficient to explain why individuals don’t act on their own as they do in other areas where there is legal protection such as racial, gender and sexual preference discrimination. When people disagree or feel threatened it doesn’t matter what the law says, they will generally take matters into their own hands. Remember it is not so much communism or Islam that stands against the Gospel, but the world and America is part of the world! We can evangelize and preach as much as we want. We have some Godly people in our government, but is the United States a “Christian” nation? Well it is closer than any other, but its values and the rules of law prove that it is not.

We have the highest incidence of drug abuse of any industrialized nation. We are the world’s largest producer and consumer of alcoholic beverages. “Christian” America has the most liberal abortion laws in the world. We have murdered more than thirty million babies since 1973. There is no prayer in our schools and the teachers are predominately liberal thinking humanists who use text books which honor Buddha and Mohammed but deny Christ. Magazines that were hard to find just a few years ago are now found on supermarket shelves where children can see them. We are not a “Christian” nation! We should thank God for America where we have more freedom to preach the Gospel than any other country in the world, but America is still part of the world.

Why is it God’s people suffer virtually no persecution here? Because our Gospel has no teeth! There is no threat to the ways of the world. We’re buying tickets to the same movies, wearing the same clothes (or not wearing them), voting for the same politicians and denying by our actions that we or anyone else needs Jesus in their lives. We offer nothing new or different and we tolerate instead of rebuke. We hardly expose sin in the body, much less in the world. How are we shining the light? How are we confronting the world with the righteousness of God or His justice? How are we shaking up society? Why don’t we make anyone uncomfortable any more? Maybe it’s because we’re too comfortable with ourselves. Maybe it’s because we have become too comfortable with the world.

Satan isn’t worried about the church in America, because the church in America isn’t worried about him anymore. As Christians in America we have spent millions of dollars on our own edification, on comfortable churches. Foreign workers could have evangelized millions of their own unreached countrymen with the crumbs from our tables. To make matters worse, despite all our efforts, our ministry to ourselves has left the church inactive, passive and incredibly uncomfortable with sharing Christ in our dying society.

If Peter and Paul were alive today would they be persecuted? Of course they would. They would be a threat to the devil’s work. They would be disturbing to the ungodly who enjoy living in sin. Look at the book of Acts. They were beaten, stoned and imprisoned. Eventually they were killed. Their message had an adverse affect on the devil’s business and they had to be stopped at all costs. The church in America is simply not enough of a threat to cause Satan to act out against us.

The word is perfectly clear:

Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. (2 Timothy 3:12)

If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: “No servant is greater than his master.” If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also. (John 15:18-20)

There is no denying it. If we were living godly lives in the biblical sense of the word, we would be persecuted. The people of the world today are still rejecting Christ. Why aren’t they rejecting us as well?

In times past, the church went out into the world and converted the lost to the Lord. Today, the world has entered the church and diluted the word of God. Two thousand years ago the world was amazed by the courage of the Christians. Today the world is amused by our carnality. Once we evangelized the lost. Today we entertain them. We have more of a soap opera gospel than a sold out gospel. And here is the greatest tragedy of all. We have adjusted our standards to the declining standards of our society for so long that we do not even realize how far we have fallen. We dress like the world. We watch the same movies and television shows. Too often we tell the same jokes.

Listen to the standard of God:

But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. (Ephesians 5:3-4)

Religion that God our Father accepts is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:27)

Since we have these promises [of being sons and daughters of God], let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. (2 Corinthians 7:1)

Paul wrote to the Philippians to “do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God, without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life (Philippians 2:14-16). That must be our goal, to put no stumbling block before the world by our foolish actions, to shine forth and stand out because of our purity and holiness, and to clearly, boldly and uncompromisingly proclaim the word of God. As long as we try to win the world by conforming to its ways, our only battle will be for our own spiritual survival.

It is time for the church in America to change its ways. We must reorder our lives. We must begin on our knees with open Bibles and broken hearts. Before we can rebuke the sin that is in our land, we must rebuke the sin that is in our own lives. Before we can call for truth and justice, we must disavow untruth and injustice of all types. We must look carefully at ourselves in full light of the Word and ask God to open our hearts. We must not close our eyes and live in complacency. We need to feel the shame of our failure to follow Him, as we should, our failure to keep separate from the world while wandering in it, our failure to be a beacon of light for the lost. We need revival in the church to have revival in the land.

We have been like the proverbial frog being boiled alive in water. As the temperature rose the frog’s temperature rose right along with it. By the time he realizes what is happening it is too late. The water is hot, but it is not too late for us to get out of it and to call from the shore to the others who are still out there. How can we lead the world to a place of safety, when we are swimming in the same pool they are? What are we showing them that is different than what they already have? Unless we are different, we offer nothing for them to desire. It is not the words we say that will lead them to their Savior, but the lives we lead that will light the way.

America needs revival. America needs another great awakening. If revival does not come, if the churches continue to adjust to the desires of the world, America will reap the whirlwind. God’s judgment of this nation is on the horizon. We can prevent it from occurring. Revival begins on our knees. Revival begins within the church. We must return to being a holy and separate people. We must return to following God. We must stop adjusting to the ways of the world. We must stop trying to give the world something they want and show them something they need. If we don’t look different or act differently, then we give the lost nothing to desire and we offer them no place to turn. We don’t need to be perfect, but we do need to be seeking perfection. If we aren’t striving to live Christ-like lives, how will they see Christ in our lives? Like someone once said, if Christianity were outlawed to day, would there be enough evidence to convict you?

O.K. that’s my rant for today. I have been reading some good stuff about the failure of the church in America and I find that it is right on. Only in America would one of the largest Christian denominations ordain a practicing homosexual as bishop. God says sex outside the bonds of matrimony is sin. In Corinthians Paul had one answer for those who would sin openly and call it good - cast them out! While thousands of Christians are being tortured, imprisoned or killed around the world every day, American Christians are being ignored. We are seen as foolish and harmless. We are no threat to the status quo. I love Jesus and it breaks my heart to see that we are behaving more like Israel in the time of Isaiah than the apostles in the days after Christ’s ascension into heaven. It doesn’t have to be that way. Pray with me for the next great awakening. Let us glorify God with our hearts, our minds and our lives.

I am adding a postscript because of something I just heard on the radio. France has passed a series of laws which outlaw any form of “religious indoctrination.” The definition of indoctrination includes classroom teaching of any kind focused on a specific group, especially children or senior citizens. Any and all religious teaching that excludes other views from the teaching may be considered indoctrination. If such teaching is geared toward children, it is considered child abuse. If it is geared toward seniors, it is considered fraud. Names included in the definition are Sunday School, Bible study, Discipleship training and others all focused on evangelical Christianity. Other countries in Europe are talking of following suit. How long before this idea reaches America? Will we be ready to stand up and be counted? Will we be willing to face prison or worse for our faith? It looks like some of us may live to find out.

Intelligent Hand

2005-01-12T12:06:00.000-08:00

They are building homes on Stock Ranch Road
Where once I wandered silent among the rows of trees.
Their untrimmed, tangled branches had an order of their own
And as I walked I sometimes found a place where I had to put my knees.

Someone planted all those stanchions one by one in regimented rows.
Someone understood that time would pass before the harvest would come.
Someone looked to years ahead when their goal would be fulfilled.
Someone made me think of prophets pointing to the coming of God’s Son.

I would pray my way through the paths winding around those guardians.
The way that each was planted showed the working of some man.
Each was behind or beside another like itself equal distances apart.
No atheist would deny the intelligence of that planting hand.

Homes for single families will soon cover all those fields.
It shouldn’t matter so much now that I can’t walk as once I used to do.
Yet as I watched huge machines tear down each and every tree,
I pondered on that future time when workers will come for me and you.

Will we be torn from this place and time and tossed in a wasted pile
Or will we be taken to a luscious grove with other fruitful trees?
This simile is wearing out so I ask you to think on it a while.
I’ll leave these simple thoughts for you while I get back upon my knees.

Michael McLarney February 20, 2004

Where Do You Get Your Coping Skills?

2005-01-12T11:47:00.000-08:00

biblemike wonders

People often ask my wife and I where we get our coping skills. That question has always seemed strange to us. We really didn’t understand what everyone was talking about at first. Our view of life was simply that you do what you have to do. It never really occurred to us that there was any skill involved. Our response was the same when people would speak about our emotional or even spiritual strength. We had never really given it any thought. We understood that we had to deal with difficulties that many others did not deal with, but we simply, there’s that word again, assumed that others had other difficulties to deal with that were just different than our own. To some extent, I think that last statement still carries a great deal of truth. However, we have finally come to realize that all of our friends were right. We are dealing with a great deal that is more than many people seem able to handle and that many people give up or are emotionally crushed beneath the burden of lesser loads. What do we have that these others don’t seem to have themselves?

Before I answer that question let me give a condensed version of what our friends are referring to as the heavy burdens that we carry. I am not going to give much detail for a few very good reasons. One reason is that we are not looking to be admired in any way for the life we live because we recognize that it isn’t about us at all. For those of you who don’t immediately recognize what I mean by that, I will address it in more detail in a few more sentences. A second reason is that our children deserve their privacy and too much detail might get embarrassing for them at this point in their life journey. A third reason is that my wife and I don’t want anyone’s pity. We struggle with that battle on our own often enough and do not require any help in that area. Compassion is supportive and encouraging. Pity is diminishing and, frankly, insulting.

We have seven children. Each of them has scars of an emotional, physical or spiritual nature or in some cases all three. All of them have had complex problems arising from a variety of causes. Jacqueline was only five when Rhonda and I met and has grown into a loving and compassionate teenager. It is hard to watch someone that young battle with arthritis while dealing with the normal emotional roller coaster of teenage life. Even in the face of those struggles of physical pain and social discomfort, her caring nature has made her a bit of a mother hen to her younger siblings.

The first child we adopted together was in such a physical state at birth that all the professionals tried to tell us not to adopt him. Their suggestions all involved institutionalizing him. What they did not understand was that we had asked God for a baby and told God we would take the first baby He sent. Michael Paul was first. We were told he would never sit up, walk or talk. His heart stopped at birth and after he recovered from that it was discovered that many of his muscles and organs were not fully developed. His blood tested positive for narcotics and marijuana. Finally, it was determined that he suffered from fetal alcohol affects and would be severely developmentally disabled. He didn’t talk until he was five years old, but he runs and plays and is a great blessing in our lives. The intensity of his needs can be overwhelming sometimes, but he is truly a miracle of God.

After that experience we decided to foster parent children with special needs, because they seemed to be the kids no one wanted. Foster care is supposed to involve caring for kids for a temporary period we believed when we started. None of our foster children seemed to leave. Two of our children were victims of Munchausen by proxy a disorder in which a parent or caregiver causes a child to be ill so they will look heroic. Both of these children continue to experience emotional difficulties arising from their early life experiences.

Our other three children, two boys and a girl, have difficult histories as well. One son was abused in ways I won’t discuss during the first year of his life and neglected drastically during that time as well. He suffers learning problems as a result of being born positive for methamphetamines in addition to everything else. Our youngest daughter was born positive for cocaine and had to withdraw from that gift from her biological mother. While she was doing that she was physically abused in the foster home where she had been placed. She has ongoing health problems and will likely require special medications to help her deal with chemically based emotional problems later in life. Our youngest child appears to be unharmed by his birth and early childhood experiences, but we watch for any signs so that we might deal with them immediately.

I have a variety of medical problems dealing with my kidneys, my lungs, my heart and my joints. Additionally, a disease that has been objectively determined to be both progressive and destructive affects me. Specialists recognize that my brain is atrophying resulting in intense neurological symptoms, not the least of which are pain and dementia. No one has been able to determine what is causing this literal shrinking of my brain or how to effectively provide relief from the symptoms that range from Parkinson’s like body movement to Alzheimer’s like memory loss and character changes. I no longer work and can no longer help with household duties nor can I safely care for any of the children. My wife works to help with our income needs and also cares for the individual needs of myself and the children. There is more, but that should give you a picture of a life in need of coping skills.

Some years ago, when things were much easier than they are now, a non-Christian friend asked my wife this questions, “Doesn’t your Bible say that God won’t give you more than you can handle?” My wife smiled at the Bible ownership issue, but replied that there was indeed scripture that said words to that effect. “Well,” our friend responded, ”He must think a lot of you!” Well I am certain that God thinks very highly of my wife. I know how deeply and intensely I love and respect her and I know that God loves her far more than is possible for me to even understand much less achieve. After all these years of getting responses like that from those who observe our life, it was time for me to do the research necessary to give an answer for the strength and hope that exists within us.

The first thing we came to understand is that we didn’t need to be experts in theology nor did we need to have memorized scripture to reap the benefits of God’s promises throughout scripture to those who love Him, those who seek to do His will and those who have a personal relationship with Him through His only begotten Son, the living Messiah, Jesus Christ. God promises to care for and provide for those who are His children. I am not talking about providing for you financially, though He may do that. I am not talking about a life without troubles, though some may think they have that. I am talking about a Father who listens to His children’s cries and reaches out to ease their difficulty in some cases and in others He allows the difficulty to continue while He provides comfort, encouragement, strength and hope.

Just how do we cope when the pain becomes overwhelming?

Ps 145:14 The LORD upholds all those who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down. (Psalm 145:14)

2Co 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 2Co 1:4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
(2 Corinthians 1:3)

Isa 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. (Isaiah 43:2)

The Lord is a term used in scripture to describe any name given to God. Here in Psalm 145 the word is the most important name by which God is known. The word used here is yhwh yhwh or yehwih yehwih. This is the same name that is translated as “I am who I am” in Exodus 3:14. This is the creator God, the Being who existed before all things and created all things. To use His name is to say that there is a covenant between the speaker and the Lord, that there is a contract or agreement that applies here. Thus the psalmist is saying there is an agreement by which God, the Creator, has agreed to help the fallen and lift up those bent beneath their loads. The Amplified Bible expands on this concept:

“The Lord upholds all those [of His own] who are falling and raises up all those who are bowed down.”
Here the implication is that one is falling down under the weight of their burdens and the Lord wraps His arms around them and holds them back from falling. If they have already fallen He will use those same arms that built all that is to lift them back up. Most importantly, the Amplified Bible points out the covenant relationship and says “all those [of His own]. That is to say that only those who belong to Him receive the benefit of this promise. Rhonda and I have benefited from this promise time and again because of our intimate relationship with God through His only begotten Son, Jesus the Christ. The benefit of having our papa hold us up with his strong arms is available to all who are His own.

Truly God, the Father, is the source of every mercy and comfort and has continually strengthened us to bear up under the burdens and trials of life because we are His own. The Greek word translated comfort in 2 Corinthians is paraklesis, a word meaning comfort but also translated as encouragement or to encourage. Surely the comfort spoken of here is a sense of reassurance that we will make it or handle it or survive it or stand up to it. Pick your phrase. God stands beside us not only holding us up but speaking in our ear words to cheer us and convince us that with Him we shall conquer whatever must be conquered, carry whatever load is upon us and face without fear whatever stands in our way. Why do I say His words of comfort do that? I say it because paraklesis also means preach or preaching and that is what good preaching does. Good preaching does not just teach what the word of God says, but it also speaks with the fire of the Holy Spirit about what the word of God does in each and every life that has been purchased by the blood of Christ.

There is no water deep enough to drown us unless it serve God’s will and greater purpose for such to happen. There is no trouble big enough that it cannot be handled with God beside you! The scripture say the rivers of difficulty will not drown us. Surely Rhonda and I have seen difficulty, but we are God’s children by adoption and we will not be drowned by the difficulties of this life. No matter what oppresses us, it cannot harm us if we are walking beside the God who made the universe and raised His Son from the dead.

Rhonda and I do not go on because we are strong, but rather we are carried on by the strong arms of the living God and Creator of all that is. We may stumble, but our God catches us before we fall and helps us on our way. We may be wearied by the hours of pushing one thing and pulling another, but God pours mercy upon us and brings us comfort to encourage us and help us continue on our journey as we place each foot one step at a time on the path He has laid before us. It is not our strength, our will that conquers here. It is now and always will be the power of the living God given to us and pouring through us that makes it all possible. When we are overwhelmed, God is there with power to help us.

Ps 69:16 Answer me, O LORD, out of the goodness of your love; in your great mercy turn to me. (Psalm 69:16 NIV)

Hear and answer me, O Lord, for your loving kindness is sweet and comforting; according to Your plenteous tender mercy and steadfast love turn to me. (Psalm 69:16 AMP)

Ps 61:1 Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer Ps 61:2 From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. (Psalm 61:1-2 NIV)

Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed and fainting; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. [yes, a rock that is too high for me.] (Psalm 61:1-2 AMP)

No matter how overwhelmed we may feel God is always available to us in prayer. We can go to Him anytime and anywhere. That is perhaps the greatest lesson each of us, Rhonda and I, have learned about prayer. It isn’t where you pray, when you pray or even how you pray that matters. What matters is that prayer is a calling to God from the very depths of your heart. Whether you are praying a prayer of worship, thanksgiving, confession or request God hears what you pray from your heart. Rhonda often prays best when she is cleaning or driving the car. I find that my best prayers come in the quiet late night or early morning hours when everyone else is asleep and I am awake twitching with pain or dripping with sweat or even gasping for air. Rather than think about my discomfort, I pray about the needs of everyone other than myself that I can think of and I find that God blesses those prayers by answering them and by also answering the prayer I did not pray by easing the outburst of symptoms that often come in the night.

You know how consistently you are walking with God by the way you pray. If you find yourself having conversations with God while walking in the aisle at the grocery store, you know that you are walking closer to Him every day. In the night I sometimes find myself saying the name of Jesus over and over very slowly as I contemplate His great love for me and all the rest of mankind. I am not talking about chanting which is repetitious foolishness more befitting pagan ritual than Christian prayer. As I say the name of Jesus I am thinking of Him and putting all the love I feel for Him in my voice. It is a time of total worship as I place myself at my master’s feet and experience the wonder that is His love. It is in times like that when I understand what it means to be taken to the rock that is too high for me.

Trust in, lean on, rely on and have confidence in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is a refuge for us (a fortress and a high tower) Selah (pause and calmly think of that) (Psalm 62:8 AMP)

Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you; He will never allow the [consistently] righteous to be moved (made to slip, fall, or fail)
(Psalm 56:22 AMP)

1Pe 5:6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 1Pe 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:6-7 NIV)

We have learned over time to trust God. I would have to say that I have grudgingly learned to trust God. I find it is easy for me to trust God when it comes to my own needs. He has always taken care of me even when I was walking in directions contrary to His will. In truth, I have taken God’s presence for granted more often than not and have had to go to Him and ask His forgiveness for not acknowledging His presence. Despite all that He has been there for me. My greatest struggle of faith is in trusting Him to be there for my family. As I became less and less able to do for my family myself, I became more and more fearful that their needs would not be met. Where will we find income to cover the mortgage and groceries? How will we pay for doctor bills and medicine? Through it all God has provided – abundantly. I know now that He will always be there for my family, because we are there for Him.

The psalmist says He will never allow the “consistently” righteous to be made to slip, fall or fail in the Amplified version of that passage. Before I read that in the Amplified Bible I had already made the determination that was the meaning of God’s promise. We are all sinners still even after accepting Christ as our Savior and experiencing the new birth. We continue to wear the flesh of this world although we are now empowered to overcome the ways of the world. We still sin every day. God is saying that those who love Him and seek to follow His will are more often righteous than they are not righteous. As we grow closer to our God and make Him more and more master of all we think and say and do we become more and more righteous. Perfect righteousness will come in the place where time does not exist, but until that day I will seek to grow ever closer to the One who makes me more beautiful inside that I could ever be outside.

We are not now nor will we ever be strong enough to deal with the troubles of this world. We are incapable of success when fighting the battles that we fight on behalf of our seven children and ourselves. No secret plan or special diet will return the brilliant light that once shined from behind my eyes nor will it keep me from getting lost inside my own house. But there is a power that can do those things or at a minimum make them bearable and fill hearts that should be fearful with an eternal hope.

Mt 19:26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
(Matthew 19:26 NIV)

Phil 4:13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13 NIV)

Lk 1:37 For nothing is impossible with God.”(Luke 1:37 NIV)

Ps 39:7 “But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.
(Psalm 39:7 NIV)

Ps 31:24 Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.
(Psalm 31:24 NIV)

Pr 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; Pr 3:6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
(Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV)

Finally, there it is as clearly as I can write it. We put our trust in God to do that which we cannot, to take that which we can do and clear the way so we can do it and to let us know the things that can’t be done or should not be done so that we don’t try to do them. It is now and has always been solely about Him. It has never been about us. If you really admire what we do, then give the praise for it to the One fully responsible for any success. We know we could not do what we have done without the power that comes from God. We could not deal with the emotional storms but for the grace of God. I would be curled up in a corner feeling sorry for myself and totally overcome by self pity but for the peace that passes understanding and the joy of the Lord that is only found in the palace of suffering. We know who is ultimately responsible for all the good things in our lives.

Do you know the song “There Is None Like You” by Lenny LeBlanc?

There is none like you.
No one else can touch my heart like you do.
I could search for all eternity long
And find there is none like you.

This is a man who truly is totally in love with Christ. You can sense the intensity of his longing to be with Jesus. Such a relationship doesn’t happen quickly no matter how powerful your testimony is, no matter how many miracles you may have seen. It takes place and develops over time. That is time spent together. Time specifically set aside to speak with and listen to each other. How much time do you spend listening to God? There it is. We mostly pray by doing all the talking and none of the listening. Prayer should be a conversation. Sometimes it can even be an argument if you really are listening for what God might say. The measure you use will be used to measure back to you. If you want Jesus to be your everything, then you must make Him more important than anything. When you give Him time, not just occasionally or leftovers, but real time in which you speak and listen for responses; you will find that He gives you His time, His power and His mercy. By making Him first, we became able to do what we must.

There you have it. Where do we get our coping skills? We don’t. We don’t have coping skills. We have leaning skills. We lean on the everlasting arms. We place our faith in God, our hope in Christ and our reliance on the power of the Holy Spirit. It is what we are all called to do. We give all credit to God for any success and blame Satan for all the evil that he does. You may do what you will, but as for me and my house, we will follow the Lord.

When we are in Christ, we are where we need to be.

biblemike

My Testimony Or How God Finally Got My Attention and Made Me Whole

2005-01-11T15:34:00.000-08:00

Whenever I am asked to give my testimony about how I came to the Lord I become anxious. It isn’t that I am nervous about speaking or writing, I have never had a problem in those areas except as produced by the disease I now have and which is slowly erasing me. I get anxious because my testimony should be about the wondrous power of God and His unrelenting effort to save this lost sheep. Unfortunately, by the time I am done telling my tale, people have already begun to make the story about me. It isn’t about me. It’s about Jesus. As a young Christian I eventually listened to those who made it about me and I became swollen with pride and my subsequent fall from grace was significant and extended over a long period of time. So as you listen to my tale remember who the hero is here. It’s all about Jesus. It’s always been about Jesus, from the day God formed man from the dust of the earth until the day He returns in glory and power. If it weren’t about Jesus, I would have no story to tell.

I was born nine months after my Dad came home from World War II. I grew up on military bases in the fifties. In those days the first thing you asked someone who came in your front door was "What will you have?" Alcohol was common in most homes as were cigarettes. I grew up fixing drinks for high-ranking military personnel and politicians and other important people. My Dad was a military officer in the Navy and a doctor responsible for the administration of several large military hospitals before he retired in 1964. I used to pick up the half empty glasses scattered about the room and take them to the kitchen. On the way I would taste the various concoctions and eventually I began fixing drinks in secret for my self. By the time I was fourteen I had a drinking problem in a society that didn’t admit adults had drinking problems.

The high school I attended was off base and located in the poor part of town in Bremerton, Washington. West Bremerton High was not a bad school if you belonged to the right class structure in the community. Shipyard workers and military personnel were not considered part of the right class structure. My Dad did all right because he was commanding officer of the Naval Hospital second only to the Admiral in charge of the shipyard. Unfortunately, his social status did not extend to his children. My first few weeks at the high school involved various humiliations I won’t describe and regular beatings from the rougher element in the student body. I was small for my age and that made me an even more appealing target. Being a drunk already at age fourteen made me a little more willing to express my frustrations than I would have if I had been sober. One day I brought a piece of wood or it might have been a length of pipe, I don’t remember which. In any case I used it to hit the first person to threaten me that day. All of his buddies jumped on me and pulled me to the ground, but a teacher came by and broke up the free for all. The fellow I hit told me he would be waiting for me after school and I had better show up.

One of the wilder kids on campus came up to me afterwards and expressed admiration for what I had done. He said he would go with me to meet this other guy after school to be sure things were handled fairly. His name was, well I’ll just call him Pat, and he would be come my best and only close friend for the next four years. After school Pat met me in the hallway and walked with me to the vacant lot down the street where all the big fights took place. By the time we got to the field, there were about 40 boys walking behind us. Pat said they were friends of his coming along to help out. The fight took place and it remained between the two of us because of Pat and his friends. I even found out I could fight pretty well and I actually won the battle. That day I became known as "Crazy Mike" and the name stuck for nearly ten years.

Pat and his friends made up a sort of disorganized gang with no name, but with quite a reputation. We drank. We smoked cigarettes. We skipped classes whenever we felt like it and we robbed warehouses and liquor stores. We rolled sailors along the downtown strip where all the bars were. We got into fights, wars really, with other groups from both of the high schools. We even staged major battles with shiploads of sailors on liberty while their ships were in dry dock. People got seriously hurt. A sailor died. None of it seemed to matter. I was so afraid of people finding out that I was afraid that I stayed drunk most of the time.

In January of 1964 I was "allowed" to graduate early to avoid expulsion. My father was humiliated by my 1.0 grade point average and my familiarity with the local police. The only reason I never got arrested like the other guys was because of who my dad was and all his politically connected friends. Dad retired and we moved to San Luis Obispo, California. Pat followed us because he had no family. His mother was dead and his father was an alcoholic fisherman without a home. Pat and I continued to get into trouble in California and when I was seventeen, my Dad threw me out of the house. Pat ended up in the army and disappeared from my life. I bounced around until I ended up in Hawaii in 1968.

Everything I owned was stolen from me in Hawaii. I got a job tending bar at an illegal gambling joint at night and running a jackhammer during the day. I needed more money to get on my feet and when one of the gangsters at the bar offered me a job running errands I took it. I was picking up packages and delivering them to various locations around the island. Most of what I delivered was drugs. I was making good money and since I was always getting fired from my legitimate jobs, I started doing drug runs full time. I lived my life in a fog of marijuana, LSD and alcohol. I didn’t know it, but I was on a collision course with God.

One night I saw a Chinese man talking to a bunch of street kids on the Boulevard in Waikiki. Out of curiosity I wandered over to see what was going on. It turned out the Chinese guy was an evangelist from Tai Wan. He was telling these kids all about Jesus. I suddenly became angry and began arguing with him. I know now it was Satan working through me. I began quoting scriptures I had never read trying to prove the Bible was filed with contradictions and attempting to confuse him and make him look bad. There was no good reason for me to do this. I had no vested interest in those kids, but Satan did and he had a major interest in keeping me.

I never learned the Chinese man’s name, but he never missed a beat. He countered everything I said in a calm voice and y quoting the word of God. He finally looked me in the eye and said that he had a message for me. He said that for the next two weeks a lot of people were going to bring messages to me from God and that I had better listen, because God wanted me to make a decision and I had to make it soon. I laughed at him and spit at his feet, but inside I was shaken by his confidence and puzzled by my own behavior toward him.

For the next two weeks every time I rode a bus someone sat next to me and told me about Jesus. If I hitched a ride I got picked up by a Christian who started were the last person left off. It didn’t matter where I went, there was always at least one, and sometimes more Christians, waiting to talk to me. I became terrified to go out of my crummy studio apartment. I smoked pot and hashish all day. I drank anything available and I took acid and mescaline in an attempt to drown out the voices. They wouldn’t go away.

Finally, one night I was out getting loaded with a soldier on leave from Vietnam. His name was Vince and he was from Chicago. That’s all I remember about him. We were walking down the street when we ran into the Chinese man. He looked at me and said very quietly, " You’ve had a busy time. Tonight you must decide." He walked away and I never saw him again. Vince asked me who he was and for some reason I began telling Vince everything that had been happening. I repeated everything that all those people had been saying to me. I was witnessing to Vince and I wasn’t even a Christian! Vince began to tell me how afraid he was to go back to Vietnam. He even started to cry. He said if God were real maybe God would help him. I suddenly began confessing to Vince how I had been afraid all my life and that I covered my fear with violence and anger. We sat in the sand on Waikiki Beach and we both became quiet.

I don’t know what Vince was thinking at the time, but I imagine it wasn’t much different from what I was thinking. I realized I was alone and that I had been alone all my life. I didn’t want to be alone anymore. I didn’t want to be afraid anymore. I didn’t want to hurt people anymore. Finally, I said very quietly, "God, I don’t know if You are real. I don’t know if Jesus is Your Son. These people say You are real and that Jesus died for me. I don’t know if any of this is true, but if You are real, please help me." When I opened my eyes Vince was looking at me smiling with tears running down his face. We began laughing so hard we could hardly breath. When we finally stopped we realized we were both sober and that the filthy clothes we had been wearing were as clean as if they had just been washed. That was just the beginning of the wonders God had in store.

I bought a Bible the next day and sat down to read it. I had no spiritual father to guide me, no brothers and sisters in Christ yet to help me. I only knew that God inspired the men who wrote the Bible to tell the world about Him and so I wanted to read it all. I barely ate for the next few days as I read the Bible from cover to cover three times. The first time I just read it. The second time I underlined important points or at least what I thought were important points. The third time I was writing notes and cross-referencing. By the time I was done my first Bible was almost done in as well. I began to go out on the street to talk to the hookers, drug dealers, hippies and bums who were the people with whom I had been most intimate for the previous years. I told them all what had happened to me. I told them it could happen to them too. I shared what I was learning in my reading. Little by little I began to reach some of them.

One morning as I returned to the broken down dump I called home I found a huge sign attached to my door. In red block letters on a blue background someone had written "Bible Mike." I was no longer Crazy Mike. This was meant as sign of respect. Street people would direct people who were hurting emotionally, physically and yes, spiritually, to the rundown one room house with the blue sign that said Bible Mike. I held drug addicts as they came down and went through withdrawal. I helped hookers escape their pimps and get on planes back to their families. I held Bible studies and depended on God to give me the answers to everyone’s questions.

Every night I would pray and then I would hit the streets. I never knew where I was going. I went wherever the Holy Spirit seemed to be leading me to go. And every time I found someone who needed to hear that Jesus loved them and valued them more than they valued themselves. The Holy Spirit spoke words through me that kept people from committing suicide and even stopped one probable murder. My reputation was spreading and this was not good news to the people who used to employ me.

One night a young Vietnamese boy told me there was a contract out on me and he intended to collect it as he pressed the barrel of a 9mm pistol against my forehead. I looked him in the eye and said the first words that came to me. "I forgive you. I know where I am going when I die, do you?" He asked me what I was talking about, so I told him. Eventually he handed me the gun and said "I’m probably a dead man now., then he walked away. Some of the street people raised enough money for a plane ticket to Los Angeles and I left Hawaii in the middle of the night in a pair of shorts, a Hawaiian shirt and sandals. It was 54 degrees in Los Angeles when I arrived.
A radio minister from Whittier met me at the airport and took me to his home. He interviewed me on his radio show for two days and then gave me a bus ticket to my family’s home. When I got there some of the churches had heard about me and I was asked to give my testimony everywhere.

I began helping out in a Christian coffeehouse and volunteering with a youth group at a local church. The pastor arranged for a correspondence course in Bible, Theology and Church History which I passed and I was subsequently ordained by a small denomination out of Fort Bragg, Carolina call Christian Congregation, Inc. I had a head full of knowledge, but I wasn’t being fed spiritually. I was being used to bring in people and to lead them to the Lord, but I wasn’t growing in the Lord myself. I became the youth pastor about a year after I married a young woman the pastor introduced me to. It was almost an arranged marriage. I was feeling more and more like I was in way over my head. Then my wife introduced me to the man she had been having an affair with as they left with our two children. I wouldn’t see my kids again for eleven years.
Because of the divorce I lost my job as youth pastor, which was really the best thing for the kids. It also gave me someone to be mad at. I was angry with my ex-wife, the church, the elders, and God. The next few years weren’t pretty. I backslid terribly. I was using cocaine and committing all sorts of sexual sins. God was calling me, but I wasn’t listening. Eventually I sobered up and went back to college and got my degree in business. I wasn’t right with God, but I wasn’t overtly fighting him anymore.

I got married again, but it wasn’t about love or God or anything else. It was about convenience. She and I agreed that we didn’t love each other, but we were tired of chasing around for sex so we got married for convenience. When I started getting the first signs of sickness, she packed her bags and split. I had eight surgical procedures on both kidneys. They were beginning to partially fail a condition know as chronic renal insufficiency. The good news was I met and fell in love with my doctor’s nurse, Rhonda. This time I knew I had to do it right. Each step we took, we took in prayer.

Rhonda had a daughter who I eventually adopted. We wanted another child but could not make one so we adopted the first available child. They told us he would never walk, talk or even sit up, but we said that we had prayed for a baby and this was the baby God sent. Michael Paul runs and talks and plays today. Then we took in foster children. Mandi and Andrew were the first followed by Alex and Michelle; the last to arrive was Makana and all of them stayed. They are all ours now. The closest I can come to describing the feeling in having these children become ours is to jump back to the days in Hawaii and the first early days after my return to California.

Those first early days were like the days of the early church as described in the Book of Acts. God directed me where to go and what to pray for. As our numbers grew the incidents of miraculous healings grew more frequent and more phenomenal. At first it was simple things like God easing withdrawal from an addictive drug or healing infected cuts or scratches. But then I remember one night when we received a telephone call from Phoenix, Arizona asking us to come pick up Ginger a young girl we had helped in the past. She had fallen away and gone on a methamphetamine run. Now she was repentant and wanted to come back to the Christian family who had saved her. I tried to talk to her on the telephone, but the reception was terrible and her voice kept cutting in and out. We just kept telling her that Jesus loved her and he wasn’t going to leave her and neither were we.

We drove twelve hours straight, four of us in a 1964 Ford Mustang square back. When we first arrived at the address she gave us they wouldn’t let us in. Speed freaks are notoriously paranoid. Finally one of them recognized me and let us in. Ginger saw us and came running down the stairs until the carpet tangled and she went down with her leg twisted in the carpet. When she hit the bottom of the stairs there was no doubt the bone was broken, part of it was sticking out through the skin. People were screaming to call an ambulance, but she grabbed my friend Dick and my hands and begged us to pray for her first. We prayed that God would heal her in Jesus name and that he would also heal her unrepentant heart. When we looked at the leg again there was blood on her clothing but the skin was intact and the bone was in place. She kept saying over and over, "Jesus, I am so sorry. I am ashamed to speak with you. Please forgive me." Both prayers were clearly answered that night.

We saw healings like that and deliverance from what can only be described as demonic possession. I am not claiming that I am or was in any way holy or special. God chose to intercede for a reason. I don’t know what it was, but I am certain that it was the power of God made manifest by His Holy Spirit. Many people were saved because of what they saw and heard. All honor and glory belongs to God for what He did while we stood by and prayed to Him in Jesus’ name.

After I turned away, I discovered how alone a man can really become. I had known God with a familiarity that cannot be described and when I turned my back on Him, the emptiness was like a festering sore that could not heal. For several years I managed to pretend that it wasn’t God that was making me feel so torn apart inside, but it was. Once you have known God with the closeness that I had know Him with, you cannot survive without Him anymore. Finally, I fell to my knees and asked Him to forgive my selfishness and foolishness and He did. It was really that easy. God’s love is so pure that there is no room for complexity. If you give Him love He pours out His love and mercy full measure, pressed down, and flowing over.

Because of my fall, I am no longer Bible Mike, but I will treasure the memory of God’s blessing for eternity. No one who knows me now ever knew me as Bible Mike and that is a good thing. I am just another Christian struggling daily to work out my relationship with God and to become more like Christ. Once it was certain that I had returned to God to stay, He blessed me with ministry opportunities. I don’t have to work at finding answers to their questions, I just get to enjoy the fresh way of life thirteen years brings to the table. I have watched kids grow from frightened, tenuous speakers into self-assured confident followers of Christ. God is blessing me every day. He has allowed me to share His word with youngsters and more mature individuals as well. I praise His name for His mercy in giving me the opportunity to serve Him again. I hope the rest of my days are spent glorifying Him and sharing the wonder of Who He is with anyone who will listen.

I have a disease which has stolen my ability to read except in special circumstances, I have a form of dementia that takes away my ability to understand or remember what I have read, except in one glorious exception. I can read scripture and books that deal directly with scripture. Books that follow the latest fad and add Jesus’ name as an after thought make me ill. The word of God is a living and vibrant experience for me. It is not just reading God’s word, it is conversing with the One who made me and loves me more than I can describe. When I am in pain, I turn to God’s word for strength and support. When I cannot remember what day it is, I turn to God’s word for guidance and comfort. I have learned to praise God on my bad days and to serve Him on my good ones. That is miracle enough for me.

Every day is a new opportunity to show God how much I love Him. Everyday is a new opportunity to experience His power, His comfort, His joy and His peace. Every day is new. Every day is precious. Like Paul, I have learned to rejoice in all circumstances and to find joy in the midst of any trial or tribulation. In all things and in all ways, I seek to praise the Lord.
Don’t get me wrong. I am just a normal guy struggling daily in his walk with Christ. I don’t do healings or bless holy cloths. I am far from perfect. Dementia causes you to say and do things that are hurtful to those who love you and this disease has been an ever-increasing burden on my family. The stress it causes is unbelievable, but we are making it. Some days we hang on by our fingernails, but we are making it.. The good days are all God’s doing and the bad ones belong to me.. Pray for me and I will pray for you.. Someday we may meet around the throne.

Now a new journey begins. I have for sometime been sending e-mails to various folks I have met here and there. My e-mails contain poetry, Bible studies or just commentary on what I am learning through Christ. The list grew so big that someone said I should start a blog instead. So here I go. Bible Mike is no more, but mabe biblemike still has something to share.

I am always yours in Christ,

biblemike

2005-01-11T15:06:00.000-08:00

biblemike is the name given me by others (see my testimony). I am a Christian with dementia and various CNS failures still growing and glowing in Christ. I am married with seven children and simply enjoy sharing my journey.

2005-01-11T13:56:00.000-08:00

biblemike

About not begging people to follow Jesus

2005-01-11T13:26:00.000-08:00

How quickly we miss the point of why we are called to what we are called. It isn’t about what I know. It is about who I know and how well I know Him. It isn’t about me. It’s about Him. It is not about what I believe (what a shallow and transitory expression), but rather who I believe and obey. That’s right – OBEY. The word most modernists want to through out of Christendom and the word that is the basis of our relationship with God. God’s statements, declarations and plans are not open to discussion. In our modern societies we change our leaders, our masters, our governing agents the way we change our coats based more on style and popularity than depth or commitment. It is how we live, not what we say that fulfills the great command. A disciple learns by watching his teacher, not just listening to him. As a preacher I once knew told me, “We are the only Bible that most people will ever read.” People know how I feel about my wife by the way I treat her and the way I speak about her in my most uninhibited moments and that is how they can learn about what a relationship with Jesus is all about.

When I first met my wife she was living with her grandfather. “Pappy” was one of the finest men I have ever known, but he was also one of the most intransigent. The first day he met me he let me know in absolute terms that I was not good enough for his granddaughter and I had best not speak about Jesus or church to him ever. Rhonda and I eventually married with his approval, but Jesus and church were still topics verboten. I didn’t force religious or philosophical concepts into our conversations, but I did not change the way I lived either. When Pappy became too ill to care for himself, we all moved in together. Pappy’s cancer was very painful and he used to wake me in the middle of the night to sit up and talk with him to help distract him from the pain. Even then I kept my word and never spoke of Jesus, but I prayed for him daily and loved him with all my heart.

One night Pappy said to me, “You know I have been watching you. I’ve been watching the way you treat Rhonda and the way you treat me. When you’re wrong you admit it and ask for forgiveness. You try to do the right thing most of the time. And you seem to have a great deal of peace about everything. How did you get that way? Can I be that comfortable too?” That night we talked about how I came to know Jesus and how it affected the way I relate to people and the world around me. We talked about eternal hope and, most importantly, eternal relationship. Pappy prayed with me that night and was baptized two weeks later. Shortly after that he went home where he waits just inside the eastern gate for the rest of us.

We have a small church, but we are outgrowing our current building and building a new structure to use along with it. This new structure is not to house members recruited from other churches. It is intended to house members arriving as a result of our outreach ministries into the communities of non-Christians who surround us. We help our friends and neighbors and when they ask why we tell them. That is the kind of evangelism and growth we are called to do. As we truly become more and more like Christ, poor imitations to be sure, others will want to know what makes us so and we can share that without confrontation or misplaced zeal. The Holy Spirit draws. The Holy Spirit convicts. The Holy Spirit even provides the faith needed to believe. If we are obedient in what we do and let the Holy Spirit do what He does, the body of Christ will grow.

Yours in Christ,

biblemike