We have many first loves in our lives. Our first girlfriend/boyfriend. Our children each special in their own right. Our best friends and of course our best pets. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention them. Maybe it's your first love that particular meal that set apart a particular restaurant? You may have a first love book that you could read over and over. The list is unending. Tragically, Christians have a difficult time remembering their first love: Jesus. I've been there and done that so I can speak on the subject. Mostly from points of humiliation when I chose to love something worldly when I should have kept my eyes on the One who loves me and died for me so that I could be saved. It's kind of like the frog that gets put into the pot of cold water. He sits there peacefully as the heat is turned up. He adjusts to the heat and doesn't move. Eventually he will be boiled to death. Thank God that he's never put me in a pot of cold water! Satan had many trap doors that have done that rather well. When tempted to give in what is it we stand up for? Is it our first love or is it something/someone else? I've caused God a lot of heartache as I've strayed over the years. Thank you God for loving me still! The journey of life will continually bring many times when we will be tempted to step away from what we know is our source of real life. What do we do?
When I'm on the computer I find myself reading articles of current events. Sometimes I have a warning come up to not open something because it possibly carries a virus. Maybe it's found in an email. Our cyber world is filled with traps. I recently received two emails from different financial establishments that were not valid. The first one was from a bank I've never done business with. The second was crudely done and didn't reflect my banks policy about communication. The Bible serves that purpose as does the Holy Spirit. If we read our Bible daily the word is fresh in our hearts and minds. If we pray and take time to listen to the Holy Spirit we can know that God has a plan that's better than anything we or the world can think up. Perhaps you listen to someone like Eve did with Satan? Maybe it's the gossiper in your church or church group. Perhaps it's the temptation presented by a friend or a co-worker. However the trap door or virus is launched we have the resources at hand to render those sources dead in their tracks. The blood of Jesus covers us, our sin, and our first love. Why, then, do we leave our first love?
I have always been fascinated and in love with the 1985-1990 Mercedes 569 SEL. So, when the chance came to pick up one in really good condition I did so. I had it towed home as the engine was toast. The car is incredible! Even the back seats are heated! So, when the means came about I had the car taken into the mechanic and it's in the end stage of repair so that I can have it actually running. If I take too much time in my day thinking about the car then it's become a first love before Jesus. It's then that the distraction needs evaluation and perhaps gotten rid of. I live, breath and eat Jesus. I don't do the same for the Mercedes in spite of the heated seats. It's just a car that I like, could afford, and drive occasionally. Maybe you have a major distraction called women/men, sex, drugs, smoking, TV, or whatever it is in your life. Do your family, friends and co-workers and enemies see the distraction or do they see Jesus? Remember it's always your choice.
The Gospel begins with a call to repentance. Repentance means that everything must be changed. What was up must go down, and what was down must come up. Everything must be seen as God sees it. Our whole being has to be renewed; all thinking of our own has to cease. God must become the center of our thinking and feeling. People dislikeJohn the Baptist’s call, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” because they do not understand what repentance means. Repentance does not mean self-torment; nor does it mean being judged by others. It means turning away from the corruption and mammonism of fallen humankind and letting our hearts be moved by the atmosphere of the kingdom of God. Anyone who has gone through true repentance knows that it makes the heart melt like wax, that it shocks us by showing us our sinfulness. But that should not be the central experience. God must be the center of a repentant heart—God, who was revealed at the cross as love, and who alone brings reconciliation. However strong our will to control ourselves, and however deceptive we are, God sees through everything into the depth of our hearts. Only the act of putting ourselves under his light gives us a chance for renewal. Everything is possible if we put ourselves willingly under the light of God. But if we refuse to do this, everything in our life is in danger. It is one of the most wonderful things when a person truly repents. God comes so close to a repentant soul! A heart of stone becomes a heart of flesh, and every emotion, thought, and feeling changes. A person’s entire outlook changes when the gift of repentance is given to him. We must receive a new life; we must be changed. But it is God who must change us. And he may change us in a different way from what we had wanted or imagined. Our own ideals—our own plans for inner growth or personal change—must come to an end. Every lofty position must be given up; every high human striving sacrificed. To be fit for God’s new future we must be changed by him. God’s love is like water:it seeks the lowest place. Yet we cannot make ourselves humble and lowly in our own strength. We can see ourselves for what we are only in the light of God’s omnipotence, love, purity, and truth. Stop thinking about yourself, your past, and your depression. You will only become more depressed. That is not repentance. Think of your inner being as a clear pond that mirrors the sun, the stars, and the moon. If you stir up the mud at the bottom, everything will become unclear and cloudy, and the more you stir it, the cloudier it will get. Become quiet and stand firm against the devil. Then the water will clear again, and you will see in its mirror Christ’s love to you and to the whole world.
A couple of months ago my wife brought home a cup of red worms that a friend had given her. So we bought a container which I wrecked by drilling holes into it's top and bottom. We then put scraps and recyclable paper products into the bin along with the worms. The worms are really going to work and may one day actually catch up with all she put in with them. In the meantime we have worms that are reproducing. So, I'm into this project a few bucks and the return? Nothing but more worms. What do I do with the worms that is productive more than an ant farm? Sure they do some compost work. But is that justification enough for my keeping them? Do I need to bring them in when the freezing weather comes? Just where am I going to put thousands of worms in a bin with holes in the bottom? Sometimes projects get started where the cost hasn't been reckoned with before taking that project on. I've got a few of them already! It's now another dilemma that needs to be taken care of. Maybe this is a lesson from God about all that he's stored up inside of me that seems to be unproductive at the time...maybe.
While serving as a police officer a long time ago I had a citizen shoot himself in the head in front of me. I hadn't been able to prevent him from doing this. It wrecked my life. A year later I resigned from the force and moved my family across the country. The PTSD is still with me today. Two years later I would find myself pastor of a church in northeast Minnesota. My church chairman had witnessed a woman hit by a car. She was thrown into the air and landed at his feet. Like the red worms in my bin, the shooting now came to be the vehicle by which I was able to comfort and help my church chairman move through this traumatic time in his life. Without the experience I don't know that my help would have had as much validity as with the experience. As I look back over my Christian years, I find many examples of situations where I was left asking God, "Why?" The impact was twofold. First, I was able to see the reason for whatever as I entered into situations where that incident was used to help someone else. Even if that lesson was years later. Secondly, the events of my life have been used by God to form who I am today. A counselor that knew me well said that I was a "wounded healer." Perhaps you are as well.
My second wife and I were excited beyond words when we learned that we had become pregnant. The days were filled with awe and hopes along with joy that we were going to have a baby. Three months later we were told our baby was dead. How could that be? No, this couldn't be true. Anguish replaced joy and we said goodbye to our baby. Why? Why God? Years later I would be counseling a young woman who was 8 months pregnant. She wasn't filled with joy or hope. She was in anguish because she had been told by her doctor that the baby she was carrying was dead and that they wanted her to go full term and deliver this dead baby. She needed comfort and an understanding heart. She prevailed on the doctors to induce labor so that she could go through the grief and have relief in spite of the pain. My "Why God?" had been answered. Sometimes we get focused on our own tragedies that we can't see the possibilities God has intended to bring good from what is on our plate. Don't get me wrong, lessons have the ability to spring up in good instances as well. Sometimes someone with great intentions gives you a cup of red worms. What happens to the gift then becomes a responsibility to not waste the gift. Remember, it's always your choice.
The last few days as I went to make coffee I noted that we had heavy fog. The clouded trees in the backyard testified that I wasn't seeing them clearly. The sun hadn't made it's appearance but the pre-dawn was there. As the sun rose, the fog began to burn away being replaced with light that allowed me an unobstructed view of the property, trees and even small details like the rabbits grazing in my backyard. The fog had secured their safety and as the sun came up they began to move towards the bushes and trees for a quick exit from the danger zone if they needed to hide. There are a whole book full of thoughts that come to mind regarding the fog, nature and the Christian life. We have the Son and shouldn't have the fog in our lives. I've come across many Christians who simply didn't understand the Christian faith. They hadn't read the story. I've read through the Bible many times and studied the books of the Bible individually. Every time I pick up the Bible for reading I find something new I hadn't read before. Similarly, as the fog lifts in my back yard I can see the newness of God's creation. There is something reassuring about the cycle that changes every day. The question is begged whether or not we are awake in Christ to see today?
As I was growing in Christ a dear brother of mine suggested that I read the Bible with different focuses. One way was to read the Bible as a story. Another was to read the Bible as a historical document. Yet another ways was to read the Bible from the perspective of seeing Jesus from Genesis through to the end of Revelation. I've done so and come to conclusion that the more I know, the less I know. God's word lifts the spiritual fog from my life every day! Not a day has gone by when I haven't learned something new. Why? Because the Bible is alive and pertinent for today! Secondly to reading the Bible is prayer. How can anyone see clearly through the fog of problems and situations when they don't or won't pray? This isn't just a clever idea or a legalistic hoop that we jump through. Prayer opens up the heavens so that the blessings can fall upon us and those who actively worship the risen and living Jesus Christ. The fog of our world is intended to distract us from what's important to God. Seeking that importance with our heart open and eyes shut allows us to escape the world and seek the WORLD! God has so much planned for the Christian who escapes the fog.
The lesson learned here pertains to the Great Commission to go into all the world and share Christ and making disciples of the lost. The fog of the Christian restrains the vision of Christ of the work through you and me. BUT!! But there is more! I've always wanted to say that! But, we are to be the Son (light) to the world of believers and non-believers for Christ who wants all mankind to be saved from their destiny of hell without Him. We are to be the ones who lift the fog in other's lives. Without our being who and what Christ wants us to be, there is little hope of that happening in the lives of those we are to love as Christ loved us. Forsaking all that holds us back, we press forward with the Gospel knowing it's the only power available to save us from our sin. Forsaking TV to read the Bible. Forsaking that stop at the bar to go home to whomever is waiting for you to lead them in the way of life. Forsaking diversions in order to pray AND listen to the voice of God telling us what he wants to do through us for others. The fog needs to be lifted from first our life and then the lives of those around us. Remember, it's always your choice.
Received a message yesterday from a friend in St Petersburg, Russia. They were dealing with snow. You would expect that in Russia. This morning I received a photo and message from my son's family in St. Cloud, Minnesota. A bit odd for October but not as frequent as you might think. I also received a note from a friend in Michigan who was complaining that the cold and snow was making her arthritis act up. Finally, I received a message that there were some churches that were as cold as winter. That's the one that spurred my writing on winter. Cold churches are everywhere. There you don't find the warmth of fellowship and the gaiety of life living well. Rather, they are marked as a church you might visit but wouldn't want to live there. Legalism is one of the greatest elements that turn a church from on fire to out of fire. Throughout the Bible there are countless stories of such a phenomena. Nowhere greater than in the time of the first century church. Many times the apostles and disciples dusted off their feet and left such a cold hearted place. One thinks of life in a cycle of 4 seasons. Winter, spring, summer and fall. However, in our lives we are able to choose to not have winter in our lives.
I've been to some churches that were winterized. People guarded their parking space as well as their place in the row of pews. Some even have placards on the pews with their names on them. What's that all about? It's about being winterized. People winterize their souls when they turn from living for Jesus to living for self. You may give money to the church but be the biggest winterizer of all causing freezer burn to those around you. Things don't have to be that way. Hal Lindsey once coined a phrase that is fitting for the legalists amongst us. He said that churches today with their rules have turned them into "doctrines of demons." I know that sounds harsh but it's true. With winterized hearts there is little or no chance of Christians thawing any soul's heart much less their own. Maybe the salvation message didn't come to them in a way that freed them from the cold and relentless winter in their own souls. I remember growing up in North Dakota and especially the winters. COLD!!! Sometimes, with the wind chill, the temperatures dropped to 80 below zero. Walking into the wind was impossible as it took your breath away. When you walk into a church like that you immediately want to find a place with fire!
How do we prevent winter in our lives much less the Christian body? You can't. I can't. We can do something about our own winter. The Holy Spirit came on the disciples as a flame above their heads. Good metaphor for us today. Let's let the Holy Spirit light a fire on our heads and then let it move to our hearts. That means letting go of anything selfish. Selfishness robs all from that which is greatest amongst us: LOVE. Love in it's best form is unselfishness. We can choose to feel sorry for ourselves but there are always people who have less than we do in all realms. If we have a heart that is winterized then our house is as well. Children, spouses, and others learn and emulate the selfishness we exhibit. When we have squelched the Holy Spirit and are no longer on fire the Bible tells us that we have left our first love. Is that what we really want to give to our children, spouses, friends and others in our sphere of influence? Do we want Christian's lives to reflect the cold of winter? For many that is the norm. But wait, there's more! Thanks to Jesus we can have our joy and the warmth of the Holy Spirit indwell in our hearts, minds and souls by taking the step of repentance. Ask Christ to come and heal your heart, set you free and fill you with the Holy Spirit. Remember, it's always your choice.
The Christian world is made up of believers from those who have a form of godliness to those who are giants in the faith. People fall in between those extremes by choice. It's no accident that we are where we are. The Old and New Testament is full of those who fall somewhere on that spectrum as well. The difference? One extreme has little faith while the other extreme has great faith. One extreme doesn't do much, if anything, for Jesus while the other extreme does everything they can for Jesus. We all belong somewhere on this line. Where we are as an individual, group or even a church depends upon what we choose and do not choose to let God do with our lives. Christians don't want to see how much they fall short of being who they ought to be. I know that is a generalization. You and I have our own specific walks. They may be lesser or greater but they are all made by choice. How much does Jesus mean to you? Does the mean enough to deny yourself and to walk the walk he has before you? I'd like to say that from day one I've always walked the walk. That would be a lie. The battle remains the same in God's eyes. The battle for the souls of the lost. Christians don't want to see this battle as it would mean action and dedication on their part. "Someone else will do it." What a prevalent statement for many Christians in the church. Maybe the church is saying the same thing. In the end run, it's up to me to make the decision. It's up to you to make the decision.
Christians really don't (generally) want to know about the rapture. They may say they do but the proof is in the pudding. What is this focus on the rapture anyway? Why is it so important to the Christian anywhere on the extreme's line? We can appreciate the fact that God will take us home and many wish for the rapture where we are all taken home to be with Jesus. But, there's always a but, do we really want the implications of actually believing that the rapture does what it does? Believing in the rapture is something that Satan and his demons believe as well. Their assault on the world and in specific the Christian world is focused on keeping as many as possible from that moment. The Bible is clear that God has already won. What is also implied in the whole picture is that we play a part in the battle. We either are working for Satan or for Jesus. We are either reaching out to the lost bring them the saving grace of Jesus Christ or we are doing nothing because we don't care if they perish and suffer eternally in the Lake of Fire. Christians tend to shy away from thoughts where they may have to do something that is uncomfortable to them. Stepping outside of the world's comfort zone is just another means by which we serve the Lord Jesus. You may think this is extreme thinking. You are right. The souls of the lost are dependent upon whether or not we say we are a Christian or actually are a Christian. Tell that to those who we see going off to hell because we didn't say anything. I'm sure there will be many accusing eyes cast our way by those whom God doesn't find listed in the book of life.
Christians don't believe that they need to adhere to a Christian life. It's true that if we are a Christian we have asked for forgiveness of our sin and have turned from that sin. It's also true that many have uttered the words and gone on with life without every living those words. The distinction is very clear between the extremes. Who is living for God and who is living for self? Christians don't always tell people the cost when they tell them about Jesus. This is part of building the house on solid ground. It's not enough to help someone to see what they lack to know Jesus. It's quite another thing to lay out the whole picture to someone before they decide to give their lives to Jesus. "We don't want them to be uncomfortable." Really?! Tell them that when they are turned away because Jesus utters "I never knew you." Talking is easy. Allowing the Holy Spirit to have his way through Christ living through us is quite another. Living Jesus to the world is not for the faint of heart as many a martyr has discovered. Christians need to believe, see, and act. Without our sharing of the Lord Jesus many will perish just because we chose to do little or nothing. That's the truth. Own your own walk with Jesus. Remember it's always your choice.
No. That's the short answer for those of you who speak fluent world view. It's also a true answer for many Christians. Why is that? Do we really believe the Word or do we think only parts here and there are true? Living the life of faith means we have to accept the unknown and unseen. Hearing that still small voice of God instructing us to be faithful and press on towards that goal which is found in our salvation through Christ Jesus. The caveat in the title isn't "Christ Jesus" but rather the small two words "all things". You see, it's not "our" all things but rather God's all things. Make sure you see the distinction. There is no other name in all of creation we can be saved by except the name of Jesus. Likewise, we cannot look to the world to answer the question. The world is ready to tell you that you have to take the bull by the horns and do what you think is right. Being better in the world means worse for the Kingdom. The world lacks belief and faith that makes it possible to do all things through Christ Jesus. We meander on the fence between the two and see that there are times when we acknowledge God and other times when we acknowledge the world. Jesus told us that if we had the faith the size of a mustard seed (smallest of seeds) that we could move mountains rather than being unmovable mountains ourselves.
God doesn't want us to move mountains but rather wants us to move people to his Son. How much faith does that take? Not much if you believe. Lots if you believe conditionally. Even less if you don't believe at all. Many look at the task of discipleship and throw up their hands as they see the task from the world's perspective. They see the job as someone else's job. They look at the job and feel overwhelmed so they do little or nothing. Ineffectual Christianity is the result of this lack of action. The Word carefully explains to us that all things are possible for those who know Jesus and do what he says. All things because Jesus is to be our all. We are to die to self and be consumed by Jesus who did all things. If we are consumed by Jesus we will spend our lives doing all things through Him who lives within us. If we don't give up our lives then we are god and he isn't. That's not good. Making the shift from being a believer who doesn't believe to a true believer means we let the Lord save our unworthy souls and see that nothing good resides in us except God's grace, love and mercy. Then and only then can Christ who lives within us do all things through us.
I was minding my own business the other day when I suddenly became aware that everything in my life is in front of me. There was nothing behind me that captivated my attention or actions. Looking forward is where we have success through Jesus. Looking back we give up on our faith in God and like the Israelites demand to go back to Egypt. Just how big is your enemy? Are they bigger than Jesus? They may be bigger than you but they aren't bigger than God. Living for Jesus means dying to self. Since it's no longer I who live but Christ who lives within me the answer to the question is a resounding "Yes!" As we look forward to this day and cease to live in yesterday, we exercise our faith in the One who saved our soul. Remember that it's always your choice.
We have some of the greatest examples in evangelical Christianity of people who didn't know how to mind their own business. I've been on both ends of the equation. Sometimes I've minded my business and other times I've minded other's business. You have too if you can look at yourself and be honest. Being able to differentiate when we should and should not mind our own businesses is invaluable. I can't do that on my own. Why? Because I'm involved in the process and often lose my objectivity. I know that I need to get out of the way so that Christ can be objective through me. That way no one gets hurt feelings, bruised ego's, and defensive. I haven't always been a fan of involving myself in other people's lives. Probably because I grew up with people who minded my business! So, it's not so much that we mind other's people's business but rather that we have a mind, heart and soul that is tempered by the Holy Spirit Without his guidance, we can't do what God wants in the lives of those he brings in our path. If my intentions are to make people like me, my minding their business is purely the sin of selfishness. If my intentions are to help people see Jesus and so hungry for Him, then God is working though me. He does this with all who call themselves Christian.
For example, God created in each of us free will. He is the God of all creation and has a plan for you and I to live loving others as he loves us. He ALWAYS has the best of intentions when he minds our business. The opposite, Satan doesn't want us free to be whom God created us to be. He wants us to mind other's business so that we can join in their sin. All of this is to push people away from God and the good he wants for us. I was once told the story of a wise old man who was with his grandson. The grandson had been having a difficult time with people. He asked his grandfather why he didn't have that problem. His grandfather told him that in each of us there are two wolves fighting for our possession of our life. His grandson asked him what happened between the two wolves and their fighting. His grandfather told him, "The one I feed is the one who wins." All of us have the two wolves within us. They are named "self" and "selfless". The one we feed is the one who wins. I know I've had many times in my life when I've fed the wrong wolf. My world and the people in my life have suffered because of that choice. I try to feed the right wolf as much as I can at this time in my life.
Christians have a commandment they are charged with. That commandment is three part. First, we are to love the widow caring for her as Christ cared for us. Second, we are to love the orphan and care for them as Christ cared for them. Third, we are commanded to go into all the world and make disciples of all mankind. Sounds so simple when we say that. However, it's not simple at all. The only way it can work is when we choose the selfless life that Christ gave as an example. That means he entered into your and my business with a motive. How about love? That's a great motive. Do you mind other's business out of love or out of selfishness? We need to assess our Christian calling and check out how God wants us to be minding other's business. It's the only way the Word can be given to the lost. We all have lost people in our sphere of influence. Be bold and walk in the truth. Mind someone's business today. It's always your choice.
Perhaps you took the wrong exit off of the expressway on which you were traveling and found yourself and your family in an unfamiliar neighborhood of a city with no clear directions as to how to get back on the expressway. There were people and businesses around, but the atmosphere wasn’t exactly friendly, so you didn’t feel like stopping and asking for some help. Or perhaps you failed to get back to your campsite before it got dark and you found yourself on a narrow path in the middle of a forest full of strange noises without a flashlight or a sleeping bag. Or perhaps you were home, but your family had become broken by your divorce, your job was no longer satisfying, none of your friends were helpful, and everything appeared to be somewhat strange and you didn’t know where to go to be comfortable and safe again.
Or this experience may be like that of realizing that the ticket (your plan) to paradise (place where you dreams would be fulfilled) that you had in your pocket (mind) was no longer valid (working) by the carrier jet (means of achieving your dreams) who had promised to take you to a place of great joy and pleasure, and the second carrier bus (your plan B) on which you had been placed to continue your journey had broken down (wasn’t working either) and left you in a strange place (of unfamiliar circumstance), and the family in which you belonged was no longer around you, and the friends with whom you had been traveling had all been seduced away by the pleasures of the different neighborhood (culture and environment) in which you found yourself, and you realized that you were all alone, far from home (where you felt safe), in a dangerous place, confused with no clear idea or plan as to how to get out of your situation, because you were really lost.
Becoming lost can be a frightening experience. You feel alone, confused, anxious, and depressed. You may turn to some familiar addictions like alcohol or drugs or sex to stimulate some good feelings. You may get a new religion or a new lover or a new wardrobe or some new friends or a new communication device or a new job to try to find some sanctuary from your feelings and your strange situation. Eventually you may realize that these efforts are not working, but now you are lost and unsure of what to do or where to go for help.
Jesus comments about some things and a person who was “lost”
At one point during his public ministry in Jerusalem where he was trying to explain to the crowds that followed him and some of the lawyers and Pharisees and scribes of the Jewish people who it was that he was seeking to reach in what he was doing and teaching, some of the Pharisees and scribes were critical of him because he associated with “sinners”. In response to their criticism, Jesus told three parables. The first one was about a “sheep” that became “lost”. (Luke 15:3-7) The second parable was about a silver “coin” that a woman “lost” in her “house”. (vss. 8- 10) And the third parable was about a “son” who left his home and became “lost”. (vss. 11-32) In each case what was “lost” was “found” with much “joy”, and even a big celebration was held for the “son” who returned home. Jesus used these parables as well as other comments to make the point that he came into this world “to seek and to save the lost”. (Luke 19:10) So Jesus recognizes the crisis of a person being “lost” and the importance of being “found or otherwise returning to one’s “home”.
The “lost” whom Jesus is seeking
The individuals that Jesus are seeking to lead back home are not those who have gotten lost in a strange neighborhood or a big forest or even in a house that was no longer a home. He is seeking those who are spiritually separated from God, the Father, who are spiritually living away from the family of God’s Son and God’s children, who are following a seductive leader who is known as “the devil”, and who are living in a confused attitude of personal sinful self indulgences and willing rebellion against God. Such individuals may be religious and accept various religious labels as part of their personal identifications. They may be familiar with Jesus and God, the Father, and even have read parts of the Bible and be active in some church or synagogue or mosque. They may consider themselves to be good, decent, law-abiding citizens of any established civil society anywhere in the world. They may be of any ethic and racial background that is part of humanity. But they are spiritually lost, separated from God, traveling through life on a wide road of self-indulgent pleasure and popular philosophy that will only take them to hell, a place of everlasting separation from God and personal suffering in their souls. Anyone who is not living in a personal spiritual relationship with God through the indwelling presence of Jesus and the transforming power of God’s Spirit is lost, unable to experience God’s grace and providential love and to share in the daily blessings of life in his family.
Jesus can lead you to your home with God
If you are willing to acknowledge that you are “lost” and willing to trust Jesus to lead you “home”, he will do that. You will need to give up trying to go through life in accord with your own self-serving desires and abilities in a rebellious attitude against God and humbly turn to Jesus, accepting his offer to save you and to become your Lord and master. If you are wondering why you must have Jesus do this for you, I invite you to read this statement “Why Jesus?” on this website. When you repent of your sinful attitude and efforts against God and accept and trust Jesus to save you, you will find yourself at “home” with God your Father and your Savior and Lord Jesus, his Son, and their Spirit will be with you and in you and will lead and guide you through the remaining days of your life on this earth until they welcome you into heaven where you will spend eternity in your personal relationship with them and your “saved” “brothers” and “sisters” in God’s family and a host of angels. You will find a plan for turning to Jesus in this statement “The Plan of Salvation” on this website.
What is Christianity’s answer when civilization is falling apart? As the conflagration that became World War I spread across Europe, a German theologian, Eberhard Arnold, gave his response in the form of a short book. He last reworked his text, from which these selections are taken, in the thirty-four months between Hitler’s rise to power in 1933 and his own death in 1935, titling the new book Innerland: A Guide into the Heart of the Gospel. German Christians’ shocking openness to Nazism resulted, he believed, from a loss of reverence for the life of the soul. The most effective way to resist evil, then, starts with becoming quiet before God. But it doesn’t stop there.
Do you wish to improve the world?
Good.
But first seek silence of soul. God wants to give our inward life an indestructible harmony that will work outward in mighty melodies of love. The power that comes from gathering our inner energy is a power for taking action. When our individual hearts are gathered in this way, we will join together as a gathered people – a people whose active work makes God’s reign manifest as justice, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17).
This is the life task to which Christ calls us. Yet today we must first rediscover the importance of deepening our inner life in stillness, otherwise our work will become empty and mechanical, leaving our strength for action sapped at the core. Our spiritual life is watered and made fertile by the holy wellsprings of the inward world, but these will dry up if the stillness within us is lost. Like people dying of thirst, today’s overburdened souls long for a quickening of their inner life, sensing that without it they will come to ruin (Ps. 42: 2–3). The inward power that wells up in the silent stillness in which God himself can speak and act brings us from downfall and death to resurrection and life – a life that pushes outward in streams of creative spirit yet never loses itself in the external world. This strength, which we may call “active stillness,” leads believers to a task in the world. It’s a task that does not allow them to be conformed to the world, but that also never lets them fall inactive.
The distress of our times makes it unthinkable to retreat from society, willfully blind to the urgent work that calls out for our help. Seeking spiritual detachment must not steer us toward inner and outer isolation from our fellow human beings. (In this respect the sayings of the medieval mystic Meister Eckhart, who wrote extensively on the great value of detachment and who in many ways understood the inner life better than anyone, can easily be misleading.) Thankfully, the rapid mechanization of today’s global economy no longer permits such pious selfishness. More than in earlier times, we are protected from deceiving ourselves.
All the same, in our outer activity we will feel a loss in vitality and effectiveness whenever the detachment we strive for has not penetrated to the inmost source of our creative energy. When this power, which springs from inner detachment, is at work in human beings, it will gather together a believing people as a living community. The common life of this people will be characterized both by complete surrender and (as a result) by the most dedicated activity. Their love to all humankind will then press outward from solitude to the very ends of the earth – without ever losing its focal point in the gathered fellowship that remains its source of strength. Our watchword is not “Retreat!” but rather “Gather for the attack!” To a responsible conscience, the only justification for fleeing the confused and hectic whirl of contemporary culture so as to withdraw into the inward self is if doing so will increase our fruitfulness. The goal must be to unite with eternal powers in order to gain a strength of character that is ready to be tested in the stream of the world and is equipped to meet the demands of our day. Our watchword is not “Retreat!” but rather “Gather for the attack!”
That is why we may never withdraw from the torrent of present-day life into a spiritual selfishness that chills our love in the face of suffering and guilt. Otherwise our inner detachment will have become far more cold-hearted and unjust than the injustice of the world. Unless we help bear the world’s distress and guilt, we will fall prey to a lifeless lie: to eternal and temporal death. Whoever tries to chop life in half, caring only for the inner needs of others but not for their outer distress, will soon find that he has lost his life’s inner half as well – the very part he thought he was securing. Such a one has forgotten Jesus Christ, who bore people’s outer and inner needs in equal measure, since in his eyes the two are an inseparable whole (Matt. 9: 4–7).
We must participate in the life of today’s world with an attitude of militant love. But we can do so only if we are ready to respond with every fiber of our being to the demands that will be made on our labor. With every drop of our hearts’ blood we are to share in suffering the world’s pain, and so join in struggling with all our vigor to overcome this pain (Gal. 6:2). We will discover how to do this in stillness and in silence.
Matthew J. Cutter, Meditation (detail). View full painting. Image from cutterandcutter.com. Used with permission of the artist.
The experience of God means strength for action. Love is always expressed in living deeds; to experience God is to experience his power as living love. Liberation from all unjust, loveless, and self-willed activity releases an abundance of powers that overflow in fruitful works of love. We experience the love of God inwardly, but it manifests itself outwardly. The more our faith increases in knowledge, experience, and strength, the more we will be compelled to do the works of love (Eph. 4:13). To experience God is to be overpowered by love.
Today, the aftereffects of the Great War and the current state of society call for the kind of dedication that lives only in Christ – in the heart of the powerful God of Jesus Christ. Only a heart filled with the superior power of God’s love will be able to confront the pain and suffering around it. Only in the strength of an omnipotent God will we be able to carry the burden of historical responsibility laid on us, a burden beyond all human strength. The reign of God and the gospel of Christ will penetrate our devastated world only through love, which is paramount over every other power or force.
In the midst of the increasing violence, injustice, cruelty, and cold-heartedness of our time, love must be revealed: a love that towers above all earth’s mountains, that shines more purely and brightly than all the stars in the sky, that is mightier than all earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, that is greater than all world powers and rulers, that works more powerfully in history than all catastrophes, wars, and revolutions, that is more alive than all life and natural forces in creation. Above everything in nature and within all history, love shows itself to be the ultimate power of the Almighty, the ultimate greatness of his heart, the ultimate revelation of his spirit.
The experience of God is love (1 John 4:8) – love that overcomes everything that opposes it. Love is the energy of the new creation, the spirit of God’s coming reign, the sole element in the new world he is building (1 Cor. 13:13), and the herald of a new era. It is the organic strength of unity, the shaping of a new humanity. This love becomes reality in the church of Jesus Christ, through its unity (Eph. 2:14–22). The church is built up through gathering people together; whoever does not gather with her scatters. Her life consists in uniting; whoever stands apart from this unity remains in death. Life comes through the spirit of Jesus Christ, who establishes the church’s task in the midst of this fallen age. In the church we may experience God through Christ. In this fellowship of perfect love, God’s spirit brings the perfect justice of Christ’s kingdom to this earth.
I've never wrestled anyone but one of my brothers while we were growing up. I've been to the wrestling pro shows. Still, I came away with a sense that it wasn't real for the most part. It's difficult to take seriously wrestlers who have SAG cards (Screen Actors Guild). Wrestling with my brother as kids was more believable. We usually wrestled after a meal on the kitchen floor. Neither of us really won everything. Wrestling was more of an intimacy of sorts. Christian wrestling is another story completely. The Bible tells us that "we wrestle not against flesh and blood but rather the powers, principalities and powers of the air". Who are they? What powers exist with which we wrestle? We wrestle for our soul. Satan would love to have our soul and Christ wants to preserve our soul. One if focused on an eternity in hell and the other is focused on an eternity in heaven. With this battle going on for your and my soul, it's no wonder that we seek a champion to fight for us. Christians fall into categories where they either have Jesus fighting for them or the enemy, Satan, fighting to keep us from Jesus. Where we are in our Christian life determines who is doing what in and through our lives. You may not believe there is a battle for your soul unless you read and believe the Bible.
Reading the Bible is a wonderful venue for wrestling. Reading gives us the power of God to live our lives. When we read the Bible we find that even Jesus quoted Scripture to Satan when he was being tempted. Spiritual wrestling doesn't usually involve rolling on the floor trying to physically overcome someone else. Spiritual wrestling is part and parcel of Christians who have an active and positive Christian life. Some of the wrestling is on a major front like opposing abortion. It's killing babies and no Christian should be ambivalent about this fight. Some wrestling is minor but no less important. For instance we have choices to make regarding Halloween. We either recognize that day for what it is (celebration of Satan and his demons) and oppose everything that has to do with the spiritual wresting going on or we spend our time engaging this as a "harmless time of trick or treating for little kids". There is no in between. You either stand for Jesus or you stand against Jesus. Your thoughts, words and actions are the evidence of the spiritual wrestling you either do or don't do in your daily life.
There is the old joke where you go to a fight match and a hockey game breaks out. It's funny but it's also a great metaphor for our lives. When we see the fight we see disorganized wrestling with little or no focus. In the hockey game there are rules to be abided by in order for it to not turn into a wrestling match. I've watched quite a number of sports where this active aggression and determination to win takes over the focus of the person. So, why don't Christians order and participation in the Christian life so that wrestling matches don't break out? Because disbelief and apathy are an inherent part of the Christian's life. Only the strong and the brave will fight the fight and win the race (match). Paul is quite the example of doing just that. He brought his wrestling everywhere he went. Sometimes this caused him to be stoned and other times his words, thoughts and actions brought about riots with non-believers. God, in the man Jesus, came to earth, fought the good fight to his death, rose from the dead with the only thought of saving those who were losing the fight and perishing. It's a difficult task if we try to do it on our own. But with the power of God living through us the task isn't ours but rather God's as it is Christ who is living through us. It's all about choice and it's always your choice.
IF you call yourself a Christian you know that you don't have your life under, in or around control even in the best part of your imagination. How do I know that? Because I used to tell myself the same thing. Lied to myself and everyone around me. Even to God! (hear the big inhale of those around me?) I can manage. It's not the worst thing that could happen. It doesn't really matter. No, I don't need that need met. Admit it, you have done the same thing. Maybe even worse than I, but I doubt it. The Bible says it this way: "believing themselves to be wise they proved themselves to be fools." So, my life wasn't in control then and sometimes even now. It's not that I want it out of control but life happens. Right? None of us have our lives under control and we shouldn't. We should be dead to our lives and having Christ living through us. Thus, God is in control of our lives. The problem is we don't want God to be in control of some of the areas of our lives. Have a secret sin? An addiction that you think no one knows about? Maybe you're tired of people saying things about you so you isolate, don't get together with other Christians, and generally disappear. Wait, that's what some people did in the 60's.
Imagine your life is a garden. Go with this with me. You are totally in charge of your garden. Only problem is you've never had a green thumb. So, you read what someone else wrote that you later found out lived in Alaska which is so different from your rural Kansas. You've chosen your soil, fertilizer, seeds and planting spaces. You've rototilled the ground and mixed in all of that which will give you a good garden. So, you plant the seeds that your author from Alaska has recommended not knowing how they will grow in Kansas. What happens from there seems to be out of your hands to some point. Like, watering. Many people water their gardens while others depend upon the rain. Some grow drought resistant vegetables and others plant seeds that will tolerate the rain. You finally have the garden set and you sit back and tell yourself what a good job you've done. Fatal move! One morning you go to your garden and find in several boxes of plants mounds from your friendly mole. No one told him to stay away. Now you have to either eat or kill one of God's creation. Then the bugs come followed by leaf diseases. It seems all of creation is trying to prevent you from having a garden where you are in control. The frost comes early and you lose some of what remains of your garden. The moles have moved onto areas where there are more worms. The frost has sent the worms and bugs deep inside of your cabbage and other vegetable. Good thing you have your garden (life) in control.
The first thing we need to acknowledge is that our lives are not in control. Nor will they ever be if we are behind the gas pedal. Control is not possible for a human being. Nor is it possible for those around you. We are imperfect and seem to shy away from the answer. "What is that?" you may be asking. The answer is simple. To simple some would say. All Christians need to do is to step aside and let Christ live through them. Now there is someone who knows how to till a garden and see it produce. He looks for volunteers because he can't force any of us to follow him and let him live through us. All the volunteers I have come up in the form of weeds in my garden (metaphorically speaking). The question of what we allow to be planted in our lives is tricky. It shouldn't be but we live in the world where Satan takes every spot of clear soil and plants weeds. Don't think so? Look at your life. Do people see Jesus or do they see weeds? Are you and I living in His garden or the devils garden? It's all before you and I. Weeds or fruit? Remember that this takes only one choice. It's always your choice.
While pastoring a church earlier in my life I preached a sermon entitled "My Resignation". This threw the congregation into a panic as they thought I was resigning as pastor! I didn't learn of this until after the sermon but found it quite funny. I preached on resigning myself to be the Christian Christ wanted me to be. Simple things like praying, serving, witnessing were all within the context of my sermon. Christians then and now have two different takes on resignation. The one group looks at resignation as giving up while the others live their lives with Christ rising up in their lives to proclaim the Gospel in any way God sees fit. But, what are Christians today resigned to be and do? Let's look at some of the ends of the Christian spectrum. Keep in mind that for every action there is an equal reaction. If we do little, little will get done. If we don't speak, nothing is said. If we don't live for Jesus, we don't live at all. Being a resigned Christian means we resign ourselves to no live but have Christ living through us. I wish this were true of all Christians but it's not. There are those who are resigned to doing nothing, saying nothing, and thinking even less. Their input into the world God has put them in is little or nothing. We may claim to be Christian but the Word tells us that when we are before Jesus he could say "Well done, good and faithful servant." or he could say, "Away from me. I never knew you. Both choices are before us every day. You and I are left with our free will to make that choice.
Many times the Christian life lived well leaves people feeling uncomfortable and shaken. The Christian life should do that to those around them as the Holy Spirit convicts people of who and where they are not. Being a Christian who has resigned to do and say nothing people's attitude is to just ignore them. Satan ignores the do nothings as well. Why? Because their testimony has no power given through the Holy Spirit. Only those resigned to die in order to have Christ live through them are able to shake up the world around them. When those resigned to be the best example of Christ extend themselves to others, the world is changed. Sometimes one person at a time and like Jesus feeding the 5000, sometimes it's lots of people. those who are resigned to do and say nothing have little or nothing in their lives that make people hungry for what they have. Should you have the power to do so, through examination of all of the days of my life and the interactions I've had with people, there would be lots of times when I resigned myself to do and say nothing. There would also be lots of times when I not in that space. During the times where I did and said nothing for Jesus, there was no fruit on the tree. Who would want what I had during those times?
We get caught up in what the world wants from Christians instead of what Christ wants from Christians. One wants us to mind our own business and the other wants to be the business through us. I imagine many of you have made a major purchase in your life and had to listen to a salesperson tell you why you can and should be and do what they want you to be and do. You know the pressure as they tell you how this car is going to be the perfect perfection for your wife and children causing no little amount of pressure to protect your family. That house or major appliance you are buying is no different. In the midst of this world of pressure to do what the worlds wants versus what God wants, there is a need to check out what people around us are resigned to do and say. Should we examine the church we find the same dilemma. Pastors and other church leaders focused on membership and tithing have resigned them to ignore the power of the Gospel to save the lost. While resigning yourself in words but not words that present the Gospel, you are resigned to what the world wants you to do in the world. Priorities are paramount in the Christian's life. The first resignation the Christian should have is to be resigned to die and let Christ live through us regardless of the cost. You have two choices before you today. You can resign yourself to live for the world or you can resign yourself to die to self and live for Christ. It's always your choice.
The first commandment is for us to love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, soul and mind. The second commandment is for us to love each other as we love ourselves. The world has a huge part in determining how you love yourself. Mostly it comes down to not denying yourself anything you see as good or great! God says we need to not be of the world even though we are in the world. Somewhere along the line we come to the question of what loving ourselves looks like from God's perspective. Definitions are many and varied as you travel from culture to culture, experience individuals versus groups, and go from church to church. Christians have a problem of not knowing what loving ourselves is to look like. Yet, it's commanded we do so. Here is where we come to the core is the issue. In the greatest selfish and selfless ways possible we come to Christ for his love, acceptance and approval (something we don't deserve) and then we are to be Christ to the world by our unselfish giving of Christ's love. In the midst of this we have the world pulling at us, sabotaging our walk and even ridiculing our actions towards those who can't even recognize the love of God. Yet, we need to be someone you love.
While yet a sinner Christ came to earth (an act of unselfish love) to live, die and rise from the dead for your and my salvation (an unselfish act of love) so that we can spend eternity with him. Wait. There is no selfishness there for Christ. Yet, we are a selfish people who seek to take everything they can get to consume it upon themselves. In James we learn that this is the behavior going on in the church! What does it look like in the world?! We, the church, do not live our lives to the degree that we remain unselfish with the love that Christ has bestowed upon us. What would it like if those who say they have given their lives to Christ actually did just that? Would we be able to live like Jesus did denying himself for the salvation of others? I'd like to say that's what I've been doing for the time I've known Jesus. That would be a lie. The core of every being on earth is self centered. Abandonment of self is what Jesus asks for so that others may see his love in you and I. Thus we are shackled with a responsibility to die to self so that Christ can live within us, through us and the world hear and believe the Good News!
Jesus had many who came to him to serve him. He knew their hearts and knew that they weren't in the space where they would give up their lives for his life in them. He knows your and my heart and knows where we have surrendered and where we have not. Because of this, the Holy Spirit was sent to all who believe to aid us in staying focused on Jesus and not ourselves. We've become a group of Christians who are looking to have our wants met while neglecting the needs of those who are all around us. The top need is for Christ. The second need is to be loved, accepted and approved by you and I just as Christ did for us. It's no secret that we are commanded to love the sinner but hate the sin. Making that choice is only possible if we look at what Christ did for us. He looked past the sin (I'll get to that in a bit) and saw the creation God had made. He was there when we were created. He knows us intimately. The Bible tells us that God throws our sins into the sea of forgetfulness and remembers them no more. He also says that he throws our sins from him (and us) as far as east is to west. He didn't say north to south as they both have an end. Not so with east to west. What has this to do with our Christian life and loving yourself? Should you take into practice Christ's life you would see the soul and not the sinner. Loving ourselves is only as good as the amount of love we receive from Christ. We, Christians, need to live as we have been loved and love as we have been loved. You can either love yourself as the world loves you (selfishly) or you can love yourself as Christ does (unselfishly). Both choices are yours. The world sees with what love you love them. Do they see Jesus or Satan. We are unable to serve two masters. Remember that it's always your choice.
I've searched for keys, tools, paperwork, and so many other things in my life that I'm convinced it's part of who I am as a person. It's not that the items ceased to exist (though many haven't been found); rather it's that their existence isn't with me. Jesus talks about us being lost and like the sheep who has wandered away he comes to find us and bring us back to where we belong. Our existence hasn't changed but we have changed. The sheep who wandered away still remained a sheep. My tools, paperwork and keys remained keys. With the Christian the metaphor is the same. We can and do wander away for a myriad of reasons and when we return we are still a fallen creation of a loving God who died to save us from eternally being lost. Unlike my tools, keys and paperwork! Today in this crazy world we are living in there is the almost constant desire to find out who we are rather than who's we are. It's funny that we search for that which leads us away from God rather than to Him. We seek who we are with those around us, the larger world and even in the church longing to find ourselves. Since we are lost it makes no sense to seek ourselves. All we will find is a lost soul in need of a loving Savior.
This search ongoing in the Christian's life is driven by a need for definition. We seek to have a defined idea of what we are supposed to be. Rather than understanding that we are God's creation created for his purpose, we seek to understand how we fit in with social media, peers, and the world around us. In order to use this process we are required to disregard what God says. When we do this we remain just as lost as we were when we first began searching. Insanity has been defined as "doing the same thing expecting a different result. Getting the cart before the horse doesn't do us any good. Putting the equation in reverse perspective helps us to move away from self and back to seeing us as God sees us. When we've returned to that place of perfect peace where we are defined by God we are home. It doesn't take much effort to say, I am His and that's all I need to know. It takes away every part of us to try and find ourselves. "I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see." Do you believe that? We can only believe that if we've been changed from searching to find ourselves to being content to be His child.
The Bible tells us that we who are Christian have been made a new creation. Just what is that? What does it mean to be a new creation and why is that important to God. I like to read the 139th Psalm where God tells me that he knew me before I was conceived in my mother's womb. Then I fast forward to Revelation where God tells me that when I overcome the world and enter into his presence I will be given a white robe and a new name! Wow! I like to think that my new name is the same name that he had for me before I was in my mother's womb. Just what it is remains unknown to me while I am here on earth. My identity began in God and ends in God. Yours does as well. We have a beginning and an end both of which lead us to the loving God who created us. The Psalm also says that he knew (past tense) everything that we would think, say and do every day of our lives. Wow! My soul yearns to be with Jesus and one day will be with him. My soul knows Jesus and he knows me now in spite of who I tried to be before knowing Him. There is a search deep inside of every one of us to find out who we are. The answer comes when we hear that knock on the door, open the door and invite Jesus in. It's in Him that we have our identity. Why search any longer. Don't give in to the pressure of the world. Choose Whom you know and you'll have all you need. Remember that it's always your choice.
The Gospel begins with a call to repentance. Repentance means that everything must be changed. What was up must go down, and what was down must come up. Everything must be seen as God sees it. Our whole being has to be renewed; all thinking of our own has to cease. God must become the center of our thinking and feeling. People dislikeJohn the Baptist’s call, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” because they do not understand what repentance means. Repentance does not mean self-torment; nor does it mean being judged by others. It means turning away from the corruption and mammonism of fallen humankind and letting our hearts be moved by the atmosphere of the kingdom of God. Anyone who has gone through true repentance knows that it makes the heart melt like wax, that it shocks us by showing us our sinfulness. But that should not be the central experience. God must be the center of a repentant heart—God, who was revealed at the cross as love, and who alone brings reconciliation. However strong our will to control ourselves, and however deceptive we are, God sees through everything into the depth of our hearts. Only the act of putting ourselves under his light gives us a chance for renewal. Everything is possible if we put ourselves willingly under the light of God. But if we refuse to do this, everything in our life is in danger. It is one of the most wonderful things when a person truly repents. God comes so close to a repentant soul! A heart of stone becomes a heart of flesh, and every emotion, thought, and feeling changes. A person’s entire outlook changes when the gift of repentance is given to him. We must receive a new life; we must be changed. But it is God who must change us. And he may change us in a different way from what we had wanted or imagined. Our own ideals—our own plans for inner growth or personal change—must come to an end. Every lofty position must be given up; every high human striving sacrificed. To be fit for God’s new future we must be changed by him. God’s love is like water:it seeks the lowest place. Yet we cannot make ourselves humble and lowly in our own strength. We can see ourselves for what we are only in the light of God’s omnipotence, love, purity, and truth. Stop thinking about yourself, your past, and your depression. You will only become more depressed. That is not repentance. Think of your inner being as a clear pond that mirrors the sun, the stars, and the moon. If you stir up the mud at the bottom, everything will become unclear and cloudy, and the more you stir it, the cloudier it will get. Become quiet and stand firm against the devil. Then the water will clear again, and you will see in its mirror Christ’s love to you and to the whole world.
The world is largely made up of givers and takers. There are some in between but when we really examine ourselves we fall into one of the two former categories. Part of the question that faces us is whether or not God wants us to be this way. It's not that simple. In order to be saved we need to be takers. We don't deserve the grace and mercy of God. Yet, he lived among us, died for us and raised from the day so we too can be raised from the dead as well. Once our "taking" has been completed we are commanded by Scripture to be givers. Imagine that. Jesus said that we need to love others and to take care of the widow and orphan. He also told us that we are to go into the world and bring the Gospel to all. Giving away that which we received. It may seem complicated but hear me out. In order for us to give away the love of God, we must take that love from God in the first place. We don't deserve that love but are in the spot where we have to do so in order to give that love to others who are perishing. The whole basis of our existence is found in the first commandment of "Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul and mind." The second commandment is like unto the first saying: "Love your neighbor as you love yourself." Until we have the love of God, we have no love for self. Without love for self, we are unable to love others. If we are unable to love because we haven't received love, others aren't able to see the love of Jesus through you.
Christians are able to do more than what we do and yet, don't. Why is that? When we have very little if the love of God in us, we aren't able to love ourselves like Jesus loves us. Thus we are only able to love others little. Like babies we grow and replace the things of the world for the things of God. Be that attitudes, beliefs, or ambitions. As we draw near to God the things of the world grow distant...at least for some. Some decide to keep that one foot in the world where death, hate and evil ruin lives. Just a little bit of Jesus is good. But what we want to be able to have is all of the love of God. Just where do we put this love of God when our vessel is full of the world and there is no room for that love? We need to be more like Jesus and less like the world. In this way, the world can see what and whom we love and recognize the change Jesus brings into our lives. In Matthew 6:33 Jesus says that we need to be perfect even as our Father in Heaven is perfect. There is only one way to accomplish this...we must die to self. When we are full of God there is nothing left of us. When we are full of the world, there is no love of God to be found. If you were to be arrested and sentenced to die for your faith; would there be enough evidence to find you guilty and executed for your faith? If you can't answer "Yes." you need to reassess the status of your life in Christ.
It's not a life of works we will be judged by but rather the love of God found in us that will be the standard by which we are judged. Believing is good. Doing is good. Being is good. Dying to self and God living through us is great! I don't want people to know that I claim to be Christian. I want people to see in my life the love of God and KNOW that I am a Christian. The demons are fearful of anyone who has Jesus in their lives. Satan is furious if the love of God is reflected to the world because it resides in you and I. Because this is a war where Satan is trying to keep as many as possible from knowing the love of God, God sends you and I to the people within our realm of influence to be the love of God to others. Your life given from God is essential for the salvation of the world. Your being set apart isn't for you and I to sit on our butts and go about as a business as normal choice. Christians need to do more to be a reflection of Jesus. But then you already knew this. All that is left is for you to determine to have nothing in you that reflects a love of the world and to be fully filled with the Love of God. Remember, it's always your choice.
In this age of fake news, exaggerated emotional reactions and contrary thinking the facts have been conveniently laid aside so that we can all feel anything from rage to happiness over events ongoing in our world. This just didn't start with any particular generation unless you consider Adam and Eve as the first generation. Satan was there because he was cast to the earth for trying to make himself equal with God. He brought the rationalization and justification we see so much of into the human race with a question: "Did he say you would really die?" Because of the desire of Eve and her weakness to persuasion the entire history of mankind has been marked with events where facts have been conveniently omitted. I could spend the length of a good long book providing examples of this from Adam and Eve through the book of Revelation. However, for the sake of this blog, I won't. Instead I was to concentrate on why we prefer lies to facts. Half truths, by the way, are lies. There are no harmless lies and no necessary lies that I can find justified within Scripture. We in the Christian community have been just as duped as the rest of the world. Why? Because we want that instead of facts. Facts are messy.
James 4:17 states: "If we know what is right to do and do not do it, we sin." That's a fact. Everyone will have a second chance after death to get into heaven. Not a fact. The Bible is clear several times in the New Testament when we are told "there is no other name in heaven and on earth by which mankind may be saved." That's a fact. His name is Jesus. The Bible doesn't tell us to be wealthy or to believe that pure faith will heal us. Those are lies. Why lie about life? Because it's the effect of our desires circumventing the desires of God. Where God wants to bless beyond measure, Satan wants us to desire the lies instead. One leads to eternal life while the other leads to disappointment and perhaps eternity in hell. Yes, there is a hell. It's a fact. Believing there isn't is a lie. Some facts are easier to swallow than others. When we get closer to the truth and engage Christ, we find the facts get in the way. In order to have peace with the facts that Satan spews, we need to anesthetized those facts that Christ provides to us for life. Hence, by accepting Satan's "facts" we deny the love of God the permission to live in and through us. Facts can be so messy!
It's a fact that there is no Santa Claus as we contrive that character to be. It's a fact there is no Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, or any other such entity we thrill our children and some adults with. It's a fact that there are consequences, positive and negative, for every choice we make in our thoughts, words and deeds. It's a fact that we will answer to the Father for "every idle thought we have". It's a fact that you and I will have to account for why we haven't helped our children to come to know and love Jesus. For others as well. "Why didn't you tell me?" isn't something I want to hear from those I allegedly care about much less my enemies. The facts are that nothing we have is our possession if we call ourselves Christian. All of our being belongs to God. That's why it says we give our life to Jesus. While it may be convenient to think we have made our own way and done our own thing to bring us to where we are in life, it's not a fact. It's a lie. Without the grace of God there is no way any of us could even take in a breath. Without the love of God there would have been no way for us to be saved. Without the blessings of God we would no have our needs taken care of. So, what happens when you consider the facts? You need to make a decision. Simple. Remember it's always your choice.
Simple question...maybe. Simple answer...maybe. Simple living...nope! Christian living is an active movement in the Christians life on all dimensions. In fact we can look at Christian living and know whether or not we have Christian life. If we are found to NOT have Christian living then the love of Jesus doesn't reside within us. Should we find ourselves in this conundrum we need to assess whether we are really able to call ourselves Christian. You know by now that I am a believer and have been for many years. I haven't always been an example of Christian living much less Christian life even though I claimed to be a Christian. The result of those times in my life is I wasn't living the Christian life. Yet, in spite of myself, God used me in many ways. Kinda confusing but then we look at ourselves and are harder on ourselves because Satan wants us to be distracted from the love of God. Christian living, in it's simplest form, is Christ living through us. Not me living through me. Yes, you and I will fall down and yes, we will have regrets. As Paul stated we are to put the past away and move forward with Christian living.
I've come to not like family reunions, class reunions and other reunions. Why? Because they tie me to the past. People have preconceived notions of who you and I are and reunions are there to remind us of our place within a group setting. While it may be nice to see people we know and love, it's not nice to stay anchored in the past. To do so isn't Christian living. In high school I was known as the failure and the stupid one. Teachers and classmates told me this. I was voted most likely to fail in my senior year of high school. I left the small town where I grew up and did 10 years in the US Army, 8 years as a police officer and was a minister in a Midwest town when there was a reunion in my home town. I went with my teenage son. We arrived and sat down in the diner to have some lunch. A father of one of my classmates came in, walked up to me, and said: "What jail are you out of now?" He was dead serious. Since I knew that small information like what I had been doing with my life was public knowledge in the small town (in any small town) I took affront to what he said. He said what he did to "put me in my place." Didn't work. I'm not tied to my past. Yet, he didn't change and probably won't. He, and his family, considered themselves Christians. You be the judge. Did they have Christian life and were they living Christian living?
While growing up I was told that I was German, Norwegian and maybe some Irish. Several months ago I had my DNA tested and found out that I am Irish, English and somewhere down the line German and French. As I've searched for my identity I've learned that a lot of my family history told to me isn't true at all. I've learned a lot but know that my real identity is in Christ. Sometimes we are told what isn't true with such believability that we think the lie is the truth. Churches do this all the time. Pastors stand in the pulpit espousing lies and people believe them. The church today isn't reflecting Christian life or Christian living. The Bible tells us they have a form of godliness but not from God. We live in a fallen world. I get that. But we don't have to live as fallen people. We have the choice whether we take what others say or live what Jesus lived. The two are not compatible. Remember that it's always your choice.
God answers our prayers in one of three ways: Yes, No, and Wait. We love the first choice, tolerate the second choice but really have a difficult time dealing with WAIT. Yet, God calls us to do his will and not our own will. So, waiting when God tells us to wait is an action all it's own. The Bible is full of stories of men and women of God who were told to wait by God. The obvious point of waiting is being obedient to God's will and not messing up what he has planned. For those of you who don't like to wait, wait anyway. We can be sure of this; God's plan presented to us will always come with a promise. We are promised so much and yet by our lack of waiting ability we end up missing the blessings of God. When we make choices outside of God's will, it's called sin. Can you believe it?! When we don't do what God wants we sin. So when we are told to wait, we need to wait and see what God's wanting to accomplish through us. I'll be the first to tell you that I am an impatient man. Chomping at the bit like some race horse trying to get on with the race. That's me. God loves our excitement and enthusiasm and can use this for his will...if we will only wait.
Being able to make choices is a good thing. It's how we can come to Jesus and ask for the forgiveness and grace we need to be saved and have eternal life. Waiting for someone to be ready or open to receive the Gospel isn't something many do. Many Christians don't do anything with their faith which amounts to nothing. Many cults are advancing their kingdom by force and intimidation. There is more action being taken by non-Christians than Christians taking action. The influence of the Christian is not to be kept as a lit candle under a bushel basket. That light is supposed to be exposed where it gain oxygen and becomes all the brighter. The only way to do that is to be able to wait. Paul, after his conversion and blindness, stayed at the place God led him to for 3 years before God told him to move forward. One only needs to read the book of Acts to know what his life turned out to be like! Here was a man on fire who had waited on the direction and instruction of the Holy Spirit. But when God told him to go, Paul never stopped and never slowed down. His witness of God's grace and mercy led many to Jesus and the Bible tells us that many people were converted. Why? Because God told Paul to wait.
Solomon has written about at time for everything. It's this timing we need to be paying attention to. When we go forth with God he is already working in the lives of those we are going to be coming into contact with. God knows when a soul is ready to be saved. He knew when you and I were ready. Sometimes God has someone come into our lives that has been waiting for the green light. Those points of time coincide with each other and there you have it. Someone gets saved...like me. God's been planning so much to be accomplished through you and I. By not waiting on Him, we miss the point of the plan. There is an end point in any plan. There are steps to that end point. If we interfere with those steps we sabotage the plan with our plan. All because we couldn't wait. I've been guilty of that over my lifetime and you probably have been as well. God's will should reign in our lives day and night 24/7. Not so that our will can be done but that His will be done. But then you know that and so do I. It's always your choice.
Engine oil is vital for the smooth running of an engine. It is designed to keep a vehicle moving under great pressure and heat. We will all at some point in our life suffer, situations will arise that appear to hot for us to handle. But with God in our lives he can keep us moving forward.
1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:...If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you:
Each one of us must be prepared to stick it out when hard times come, we must rest in the knowledge that God has better things planned for us. Every time we suffer wrongly it leads to a greater release of God’s glory in our lives. It could be the glory of being able to relate to others who suffer how God has helped you endure hardship and bought you out to a greater blessing, or it could be an increase in the presence of God. Regardless of what hard situations you face God will find a way to increase you. Remember the story of Job in the bible, Satan took everything from him, his family, his dignity, and his health, yet in the end God restored many times more blessing to Job than he had in the beginning. Are you having a trial, or experiencing hardship, greater glory will come.
If you have ever seen the original King Kong video game you will notice it is all about avoiding the deadly barrels that are rolling in your direction. In life there are situations that come at us from time to time that have the ability to unsettle us to knock us off the pathway of life. If you seek Godly wisdom at these times you will safely avoid the negative outcome.
Pro 13:14 What the wise have to teach is a fountain of life and causes someone to avoid the snares of death.
Mat 5:4-5 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
I used to think God was saying blessed are those who have a low opinion of themselves. But that is not what God is saying. He is saying blessed are those who are weak in character for God will empower them with strength to take on the world. The meek don’t stay meek they take on strength of character. In the same way blessed are those who mourn, not because they are sorrowful, but because they will be comforted, sorrow will be removed from their life. God has come to abide in your life and when he abides there heaven comes with him. Expect something good in your life.
Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us
Gal 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Running can wear you out. The longer you run the tireder you get. The same thing can occur in life, we may start out with expectations, but if our goals are not met quickly we can tire and loose hope. The bible says to run with patience, patience is the ability to wait. If we do not grow weary, but patiently trust God, we will eventually reap a harvest of good things. God wants us blessed, don’t doubt that, but it may take time. The time you have to wait helps you learn what it feels like to go without, many people go without, and they need some one who can sympathise with them. You will not have to wait for everything, but if you do trust things will get better. But even as a harvest is many times greater than what is sown in the earth, so too will God’s blessing be many times greater than what you have had to give up while waiting.
When I was a teenager I had a rather large blunt saw, my father showed me how to sharpen it. I started to sharpen the saw but when I saw how many teeth I had to file down to finish it I gave up half way through the process and the saw was never sharpened. In life things are not always instant, and that includes the things of God. Often times God will get us to wait some time, even years to fulfill our prayers or plans. The temptation is to get what we want now, to take the easy road. Sin is a quick fix it temporarily fulfills our immediate need but ends up leaving us empty. If we persist in faith believing God we will end up with something better than we began with.
Heb 11:24-26 Then after Moses grew up, his faith made him refuse to be called Pharaoh's grandson. He chose to be mistreated with God's people instead of having the good time that sin could bring for a little while. Moses knew that the treasures of Egypt were not as wonderful as what he would receive from suffering for the Messiah, and he looked forward to his reward.
Does any body remember Mister Squiggle, he was a puppet with a pencil for a nose that would take a drawing with incomprehensible shapes, and squiggles, and turn them into amazing drawings. Like with any puppet he has a master, some one who controls his actions and does the hard work of creating the artwork. Sometimes our lives are like Mister Squiggle we are confronted by situations that appear incomprehensible, difficulties in life, hardships and challenges. Yet if we allow God to control our destiny he will take every difficulty we face and turn it around for our good. He takes the incomprehensible shapes in our life and tuns them into a work of wonder.
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
This morning I was awake while it was still dark enjoying my solitude and God's creation. I have a seat facing my backyard through a sliding glass door. I watched as the pre-dawn began. It's been a memorizing time for me ever since I was a teenager. I would go out to hunt ducks making my way quietly to their hideout. When the pre-dawn began I knew that soon it would be dawn and I could hopefully bring home some dinner. Over the years I've been camping a lot and watched the pre-dawn with anticipation of the rising of the sun. Some are ordinary and others are spectacular with fire rising in the sky. All of it was and is God's creation. I'd like to think he created this time just for me but I know others enjoy the pre-dawn and sunrise as well. For those of you who are not morning people, the sunset and it's progression to setting will serve the same purpose. I'm a big fan of sunsets as well. God wants us to take time to enjoy his creation and to meditate on Him. This doesn't have to be in a formal setting. I do so in my jammies with coffee in my hand. The ability to stop and enjoy God's creation and his fellowship are given to us for our good. Christians who do not take the time to be quiet and know that he is God are missing out on sweet fellowship with our Creator.
It's not a vaccination to keep us from the world. We end up moving forward instead of staying stuck in the moment. It's not about the early bird getting the worm either. It's preparation and focus on what's important and putting aside that which isn't as important. I know all to many Christians who's lives are harried and out of whack. Maybe that's you today? It's been me in the past. No one is excluded from life here on earth and immune to it's many challenges. No one. I've been building a shop for about 9 months now. I have gathered much of my materials free from Craigslist and then other materials from auctions because I don't have a lot of excess money laying around. Being able to see the finished project doesn't mean it's finished. That's true about our lives as well. We are a project...in motion hopefully. Just like the pre-dawn comes upon us and then the dawn so is the movement in our lives when we allow the Holy Spirit to infuse us with wisdom, grace and love. Should we allow that infusion, we can then infuse others with God's wisdom, grace and love. You can't give away what you don't have.
With my enjoyment of the pre-dawn comes the realization that you and I cannot hold onto the night and will it to not end. Nor can we with the sunset. There is motion in time just as there is motion in your and my lives. What speed that motion takes place is dependent upon our letting Christ have our lives to do as he wills. I know that the sunrise will be there just as I know the pre-dawn will be there after the night. You know that too. When we are aware of who made those times, we become aware that we need the same flow in our lives. I can't always say that I practice what I preach (imagine a long intake of breath). The truth, God's truth, will set you free from your and the world's truth. With God all things become possible as we are set free. Through us the pre-dawn can come to many should we be set free. When we are in that space where God has freedom to be love to the world around us things happen with others. We, by living the Christian life, can make people hungry for what we have. But, in order for that to happen you need to make one move. Remember, it's always your choice.
Within the Christian life there we find the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Together they comprise the one true God. We often mention, talk about the Father and the Son. We don't do so much with the Holy Spirit. Just why is that? Are we like children wishing to avoid doing chores and go into hiding? Are we full of justification and rationalization so much that we don't have room for the Holy Spirit's voice to be heard? In the 13th chapter of Acts we find the apostles together praying and worshipping. The Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit talked with them and told them to set Paul and Barnabas apart and send them out to bring the Word to others. That in and of itself should tell us that if we are in communion with God that he will speak with us also. The clincher comes when we come to the part where the Holy Spirit told them to set apart and send out two of their group. Where we've become a world where we have all kinds of elders, pastors, church leaders, and steps to get to where we can go out and minister it's no wonder that we don't listen to the Holy Spirit. Nothing hinders the Spirit like people who have decided to do other than listen to the Spirit.
About a week ago I was in a restaurant with some friends when the Holy Spirit drew my attention to a couple in a booth across the room from me. They were praying over their meal. It was something I had done just moments before with my friends. I though that was really good of them to do. As I sat there eating the Spirit kept telling me to go over and encourage them. Finally I relented and did so. I told them I was impressed at their public display of their faith while praying for their meal. They thanked me and told me that they wouldn't have it any other way. When I returned to the table no one asked me what I was doing. Why? Because it's what God has me do regularly in my walk with him. If I hadn't been in a place of worship in my heart and if I hadn't been listening to the Holy Spirit, whatever God needed to be done in that moment wouldn't have happened with me. I may have, instead, been replaced with another servant of God. It's that way in all of our lives. Being led by the Spirit means we are NOT living our lives. Paul and Barnabas continued on after being prayed over and went on to change their world for Jesus. No questions, no arguments, no excuses.
Pretending to be wise and making our way on our own is not wisdom living. We can have the best of intentions and still miss the mark. When we listen to the Holy Spirit we cannot be full of ourselves. Being full of ourselves we become unable to let God have his way. We need to be emptied of self so that we aren't distracted by the cares of this world. So, if you decide you want to be led by God, give him room to sit behind the wheel instead of riding in the trunk. Get out of the way! If you choose to not give him that leadership role in your life, remain in the way obstructing what God wants to do through the soul he died for. When we become a Christian we must weigh out the cost according to what God wants versus what we want. The cost of giving up our lives for God to live through will render a harvest that we cannot even imagine. The cost of staying in control will succeed in doing little or nothing for God. I'm not saying everyone needs to become a missionary. Nor am I saying you are to remain in a place of comfort knowing you don't upset the apple cart of life. I'm simply saying you have two choices. Live for God by dying to self or to live for self and do nothing for God. Don't be so wrapped up in your life that you are unable to show Jesus to the world around you. Remember that it's always your choice.
Matthew J. Cutter, Meditation (detail). View full painting. Image from cutterandcutter.com. Used with permission of the artist.