Love does win but not in the way many people in our society think and not by what they call love. The love that defines all love is Yahweh. Any other definition falls short of his glory and lacks the power to do anything but look good. The love accepted in this world goes no deeper than the flesh, is easily offended and quickly fades. The love of Yahweh is sacrificial at its core.
In a few of his letters to the Church Paul stated that he was praying for them to receive a deeper revelation of this love. To the Philippians he wrote:
This is my prayer: that your love might become even more and more rich with knowledge and all kinds of insight. (1:9)
Love is not something that is suppose to be quickly understood and allowed to grow stale. It is such a huge subject that it takes a lifetime or longer to even begin to comprehend. The little ugly thing we call love can't compare to the surpassing glory of Yahweh's love. We should be pressing in to him every day to step deeper in the revelation of this love.
Now, Paul didn't pray this just for the sake of poetry or looking good. There is purpose in discovering the depth of this love:
I pray this so that you will be able to decide what really matters and so you will be sincere and blameless on the day of Christ. (1:10)
So an increasing revelation of true love, Yahweh's love, sacrificial love, enables the discernment of what is really important in life. Isn't that what we want, to understand what is important to hold on to and what to let go of; of what we should put our energy into and what doesn't deserve our attention? Is it really about riches, fame and comfort or is there greater purpose? Could love really be the key to understanding? The Bible says yes but it also says it is important for more than just life on this earth.
Paul says that a growing revelation of Yahweh's love will help us be sincere and blameless on the day of Christ. He is not saying that works will save us but understanding this love will cause us to never doubt it. We will not fear the things of this world, we will not fall apart when things are removed from us and our priorities will keep us living as Jesus lived, for his glory, because of our increasing revelation of his love. Without a growing revelation of this love we will tend to drift back to what we want. And what we want will always be focused on us and will lead us right back into rebellion. We will do what we think is right instead of what Yahweh's love defines as being right.
So yes indeed, may our love become more and more rich with knowledge and all kinds of insight.
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Saturday, July 18, 2015
From The Heart Of Melodie-Joy
I can't stay silent anymore.
Miscarriage is hard.
Allow me to start with saying that God blessed us with 2
beautiful children; our gorgeously independent Amelia and socially adventurous
Jude. They bring so much joy to us and their 9 other half siblings.
Raising children is no easy task and you have to give it all
you got and more. Without allowing God's correction in us we will only continue
to fail as parents.
Each child is precious and a gift from God. Each little baby
has a purpose in this life. There is a reason they were put in our lives and we
can't allow ourselves to think otherwise.
This is why I am pro-life. Pro-life and we always leave it
open for God to decide when we should be blessed once again. With that decision
we don't work towards having more little ones, but we give God the control.
Many would disagree with this decision claiming we are selfish to allow so many
children into this world. Selfish because my husband is older and won't be
around for them. Even my own family has their own words they speak about us.
But the way I see the real selfishness is in not allowing those who were meant
to be born into this world because it is not convenient to our lives; not
enough money to support, not enough time to care for them, can't go on
vacation, and so on.
We have decided to give up all our wants in life to allow
God to use us to bring forth His people. Psalm 127:3-5 says, "Behold,
children are a heritage from the Lord, the
fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the
children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He
shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate."
I'm not writing this to condemn anyone. Only to try and help you as the reader understand our decision.
Bringing it back to the beginning, miscarriage is hard. I've
gone through 4.
Maybe you've never experienced one or maybe you've experienced
more. Let me tell you, it sucks. Plain and simple. I'd never wish that upon
even my worst enemy. I've actually had people, family even, tell us that well
maybe God knew that we just couldn't handle more. But my husband and I believe
that according to Scripture the Lord gives us the strength to walk through
everything.
I recently went through my 4th miscarriage. We didn't try
to get pregnant. We were blessed to find out we were. The hardest part was to
still praise Him as I laid in that bed in tremendous emotional and physical
pain; to stand up and declare that He is still my God, to announce He is good.
The pain is still there. Praising Him doesn't take the pain
away, but gives Him the opportunity to help us grow. To grow stronger in Him.
I mourn for those 4 precious babies that we never had the
chance to meet. I know without a doubt that one day we will, but all I wanted was to see them and hold
them; to show them how much joy they brought us even if it was for a short
while. I wanted to shower love on them. We were stripped of the chance.
As I sit here trying to write this, the tears just can't be
contained. It may sound silly, but I miss them. We never met but I carried them
in my womb. They grew there. For some reason they also died there. I can ask
why, but where would that get me?
I trust God. In all things I trust Him. I lift my hands and continue to give Him control because He knows best. Not man. I don't take
the pill. I don't leave the choice up to man, I leave it to our God. The pill
may take away the pain of miscarriage, but it also strips God of control to
bless us with those He wants us to have. He opens and closes the womb. We see
this all through Genesis.
Again, miscarriage is hard, but my God is in control.
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
The Normalization Of Sin
It may seem a bit strange to a younger generation being raised in this age but I remember a time when fornication and adultery were not allowed to be depicted on television. It was an age when people "living together" was not accepted and very scandalous. Today, people having casual sex or living together is anything but scandalous: it is the norm. So how does sin go from unacceptable to being accepted as the norm?
At some point the Church made assumptions and stopped doing what it was suppose to do; mainly making disciples. We preached, we held people accountable but we did not come alongside and demonstrate what life in Christ looked like. We didn't invite people to become part of our lives, teaching them as we lived. We did the same with our children, assuming they would grow up in the faith. We taught them the Bible but we didn't have them walk alongside us, demonstrating what the power of Jesus looked like. We taught theory and assumed people would live it.
Now, along with this, we had people outside of the Church, not wanting anything to do with Jesus, doing whatever they felt was best. They saw the Church as an instrument of control instead of an influence for God's righteousness because, in truth, leaders of the time had the wrong attitude. They lorded their "power" over people instead of serving them. These disillusioned people arrived in places of influence and used the media and education as excellent instruments to change people's thinking.
So we had a huge part of the Church made up of nominal believers, ready to be swayed by the changing wind and we had a changing media and educational system that became a conduit of the wind. The most effective way to change people's mind toward sin is to normalize it, depict it as a common part of life. Slowly we saw more and more adultery and fornication being depicted on TV soap operas and TV shows after 9 pm. The attitude of society began to change and soon most people knew someone who was cohabiting instead of getting married. "Family" shows like Happy Days alluded to teens experimenting with sex. We began being entertained by the things God had declared as offensive to him. And the educational system welcomed and encouraged the changing attitudes.
This change has continued so now we celebrate vigilantes who murder in the name of justice and we call them heroes. We can turn on the television at any time of the day and see depicted sex acts between people who are not married. According to television, parents are idiots. Homosexuality is now depicted in almost every show as a normal, common thing. Our children are being educated according to this changing wind so that they are encouraged by teachers to experiment with sex, in any way their imagination takes them, as long as they do it with safe methods. It is now okay for a boy to think he is a girl and for a girl to think he is a boy. These are becoming the new norms, regardless of what the Church tries to teach. And so we see the mind of our society changing with the wind, but what is worse is the change we find in those we have failed to root in Jesus.
So the question we ask ourselves today is what mind do we have, one that is changed with the changing wind or the mind of Jesus, which knows the will of our Father?
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. (Ephesians 4:11-14)
At some point the Church made assumptions and stopped doing what it was suppose to do; mainly making disciples. We preached, we held people accountable but we did not come alongside and demonstrate what life in Christ looked like. We didn't invite people to become part of our lives, teaching them as we lived. We did the same with our children, assuming they would grow up in the faith. We taught them the Bible but we didn't have them walk alongside us, demonstrating what the power of Jesus looked like. We taught theory and assumed people would live it.
Now, along with this, we had people outside of the Church, not wanting anything to do with Jesus, doing whatever they felt was best. They saw the Church as an instrument of control instead of an influence for God's righteousness because, in truth, leaders of the time had the wrong attitude. They lorded their "power" over people instead of serving them. These disillusioned people arrived in places of influence and used the media and education as excellent instruments to change people's thinking.
So we had a huge part of the Church made up of nominal believers, ready to be swayed by the changing wind and we had a changing media and educational system that became a conduit of the wind. The most effective way to change people's mind toward sin is to normalize it, depict it as a common part of life. Slowly we saw more and more adultery and fornication being depicted on TV soap operas and TV shows after 9 pm. The attitude of society began to change and soon most people knew someone who was cohabiting instead of getting married. "Family" shows like Happy Days alluded to teens experimenting with sex. We began being entertained by the things God had declared as offensive to him. And the educational system welcomed and encouraged the changing attitudes.
This change has continued so now we celebrate vigilantes who murder in the name of justice and we call them heroes. We can turn on the television at any time of the day and see depicted sex acts between people who are not married. According to television, parents are idiots. Homosexuality is now depicted in almost every show as a normal, common thing. Our children are being educated according to this changing wind so that they are encouraged by teachers to experiment with sex, in any way their imagination takes them, as long as they do it with safe methods. It is now okay for a boy to think he is a girl and for a girl to think he is a boy. These are becoming the new norms, regardless of what the Church tries to teach. And so we see the mind of our society changing with the wind, but what is worse is the change we find in those we have failed to root in Jesus.
So the question we ask ourselves today is what mind do we have, one that is changed with the changing wind or the mind of Jesus, which knows the will of our Father?
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. (Ephesians 4:11-14)
Monday, July 13, 2015
Understanding Our Weakness
Many of us in the Body of Christ desire to be used by the Lord for his glory, but few of us are willing to pay the price. We read the Word through the eyes of our flesh, defined by the principles of this world without understanding how far we are from the heart of our Father.
Many of us find it hard to accept that the Lord needs to form our hearts before he can trust us with his glory. He needs to take us through storms and deserts, valleys and mountains, all with the purpose of forming what he needs us to be.
Consider what he took Joseph through before moving him into his eternal purpose. He faced slavery, false accusations, imprisonment but all the while he was developing a heart's heart in Joseph. A servant's heart is a must to be a leader with eternal purpose.
Our Lord will never give us what will destroy us. We may be looking for a million dollars to glorify our Lord, but he knows that million dollars will drive us far from him. We may be looking for things that he has not yet finished preparing us to receive. Often he wants us in a place of complete humility and utter dependence before he will move us into position, like Joseph.
Consider this Scripture:
The Lord said to Gideon: “You have too many people on your side. If I were to hand Midian over to them, the Israelites might claim credit for themselves rather than for me, thinking, We saved ourselves." (Judges 7:2)
Exactly. And if we are willing to be honest we would admit it is true of us as well. If our Lord does not do things in our weakness we will not give him the honour and glory. In our weakness he demonstrates his strength for the ultimate glory. Isn't that what we want?
Often we are children who just learned to ride a bicycle so think we are ready for a motorcycle. The most basic purpose of everything we go through is to learn humility and dependence on our Lord for all things. Until we learn, accept and walk in this truth, we will not move into our eternal purpose. We need to stop struggling in it, stop denying the Lord and begin to allow joy to permeate everything we experience.
We will continue to give him glory in all things but yet may not arrive at that place of maturity because the greatest glory is given in our weakness. Humility and dependence is the basic and yet pinnacle of everything in our service to the Lord.
Many of us find it hard to accept that the Lord needs to form our hearts before he can trust us with his glory. He needs to take us through storms and deserts, valleys and mountains, all with the purpose of forming what he needs us to be.
Consider what he took Joseph through before moving him into his eternal purpose. He faced slavery, false accusations, imprisonment but all the while he was developing a heart's heart in Joseph. A servant's heart is a must to be a leader with eternal purpose.
Our Lord will never give us what will destroy us. We may be looking for a million dollars to glorify our Lord, but he knows that million dollars will drive us far from him. We may be looking for things that he has not yet finished preparing us to receive. Often he wants us in a place of complete humility and utter dependence before he will move us into position, like Joseph.
Consider this Scripture:
The Lord said to Gideon: “You have too many people on your side. If I were to hand Midian over to them, the Israelites might claim credit for themselves rather than for me, thinking, We saved ourselves." (Judges 7:2)
Exactly. And if we are willing to be honest we would admit it is true of us as well. If our Lord does not do things in our weakness we will not give him the honour and glory. In our weakness he demonstrates his strength for the ultimate glory. Isn't that what we want?
Often we are children who just learned to ride a bicycle so think we are ready for a motorcycle. The most basic purpose of everything we go through is to learn humility and dependence on our Lord for all things. Until we learn, accept and walk in this truth, we will not move into our eternal purpose. We need to stop struggling in it, stop denying the Lord and begin to allow joy to permeate everything we experience.
We will continue to give him glory in all things but yet may not arrive at that place of maturity because the greatest glory is given in our weakness. Humility and dependence is the basic and yet pinnacle of everything in our service to the Lord.
Friday, July 10, 2015
The Power To Love
How much of Jesus do you want? That's what we need to decide. What we should decide is that we want 100% of him, that we will not be satisfied with anything less. What we settle for is sadly much less. It is sad because there is no need for it. We are like that seed which had very shallow roots, so when the day became hot and dry, it died. As soon as any trouble or challenge comes our way, our faith fails because our relationship is shallow.
Since the first time I read the Bible as a child, Paul's prayer for the church of Ephesus overwhelmed me, and still does to this day:
I ask that he will strengthen you in your inner selves from the riches of his glory through the Spirit. I ask that Christ will live in your hearts through faith. As a result of having strong roots in love, I ask that you’ll have the power to grasp love’s width and length, height and depth, together with all believers. I ask that you’ll know the love of Christ that is beyond knowledge so that you will be filled entirely with the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:16-19)
That we would find strength in the presence of Jesus in us; that our fellowship would be so real that we would be open to him strengthening us through the Spirit. Some of us imagine this sort of relationship but we don't understand how available it is to us, if we are willing to be in love with Jesus. We get caught up in all the trappings of the Church, of the religiously minded, of the law seekers, the circumcision group. We need to break free of this thinking and discover again the simplicity of the relationship.
We first have to accept and live the fact that Jesus is in us. We don't always live as if he is. If we did, we certainly would not want to join him to sin by allowing our bodies to enter into sin. If we were more conscious of his presence we would have greater strength to resist temptation. We would also be more in love with him as we understand intimacy with him. We are not praying to some distant god; we are living through the One who is in us, sharing every intimate detail of our lives with him.
Some of us want to grasp the greatness of God's love from a safe distance but this prayer reminds us that the starting point must be an intimate relationship of love with Jesus:
"As a result of having strong roots in love ..."
Paul prays that they will be lent the power to grasp the greatness of this love. If we would submit ourselves to this level of understanding, all selfishness would disappear and we would be provoked to love the loveless, to pray for those who persecute us and to befriend the sinners of this world, because they need to experience the love of Jesus.
Yes, go ahead and preach those powerful, anointed words, but also allow that power and anointing to but legs on what you teach in theory. The only way this world will know Jesus is when we grasp his love to the point of laying our lives down, giving up our rights and possessions, giving up our attachments, to show kindness, mercy and grace to the lost, even as they spit in our face, throw us in jail, destroy our reputations and put us to death. If we are to love like this in these extremes then should we not love with forgiveness in the little things as well?
This is what really stands out:
"...that you’ll know the love of Christ that is beyond knowledge so that you will be filled entirely with the fullness of God. "
Beyond knowledge. Beyond study. Beyond theory. Empowered by the Spirit to know in your heart, mind, soul, so that you can put that love into action through his strength and power. Christian extremism is not upholding the Law of the Old Testament, it is living the fulfilled law of love that the Spirit has written on our hearts. It is not ignoring the fact of God's justice, but it is holding out the hope of love, forgiveness, mercy, grace to a dying world.
Let us set our heart and mind on things above instead on this decaying earth, and let us love as Jesus has loved us, to the point of sacrificing everything to lay down our loves for those he loves.
Since the first time I read the Bible as a child, Paul's prayer for the church of Ephesus overwhelmed me, and still does to this day:
I ask that he will strengthen you in your inner selves from the riches of his glory through the Spirit. I ask that Christ will live in your hearts through faith. As a result of having strong roots in love, I ask that you’ll have the power to grasp love’s width and length, height and depth, together with all believers. I ask that you’ll know the love of Christ that is beyond knowledge so that you will be filled entirely with the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:16-19)
That we would find strength in the presence of Jesus in us; that our fellowship would be so real that we would be open to him strengthening us through the Spirit. Some of us imagine this sort of relationship but we don't understand how available it is to us, if we are willing to be in love with Jesus. We get caught up in all the trappings of the Church, of the religiously minded, of the law seekers, the circumcision group. We need to break free of this thinking and discover again the simplicity of the relationship.
We first have to accept and live the fact that Jesus is in us. We don't always live as if he is. If we did, we certainly would not want to join him to sin by allowing our bodies to enter into sin. If we were more conscious of his presence we would have greater strength to resist temptation. We would also be more in love with him as we understand intimacy with him. We are not praying to some distant god; we are living through the One who is in us, sharing every intimate detail of our lives with him.
Some of us want to grasp the greatness of God's love from a safe distance but this prayer reminds us that the starting point must be an intimate relationship of love with Jesus:
"As a result of having strong roots in love ..."
Paul prays that they will be lent the power to grasp the greatness of this love. If we would submit ourselves to this level of understanding, all selfishness would disappear and we would be provoked to love the loveless, to pray for those who persecute us and to befriend the sinners of this world, because they need to experience the love of Jesus.
Yes, go ahead and preach those powerful, anointed words, but also allow that power and anointing to but legs on what you teach in theory. The only way this world will know Jesus is when we grasp his love to the point of laying our lives down, giving up our rights and possessions, giving up our attachments, to show kindness, mercy and grace to the lost, even as they spit in our face, throw us in jail, destroy our reputations and put us to death. If we are to love like this in these extremes then should we not love with forgiveness in the little things as well?
This is what really stands out:
"...that you’ll know the love of Christ that is beyond knowledge so that you will be filled entirely with the fullness of God. "
Beyond knowledge. Beyond study. Beyond theory. Empowered by the Spirit to know in your heart, mind, soul, so that you can put that love into action through his strength and power. Christian extremism is not upholding the Law of the Old Testament, it is living the fulfilled law of love that the Spirit has written on our hearts. It is not ignoring the fact of God's justice, but it is holding out the hope of love, forgiveness, mercy, grace to a dying world.
Let us set our heart and mind on things above instead on this decaying earth, and let us love as Jesus has loved us, to the point of sacrificing everything to lay down our loves for those he loves.
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Expressing The Christian Life
So, you say you are Christian. What does that mean to you? There are a lot of people who say they are Christian but have no idea what they are claiming, and those who do understand don't necessarily know how it should be expressed. Most as satisfied with attending church and singing worship songs. For many this is about it when it comes to expressing their life as a Christian, but we have been saved for greater things.
I don't mean greater things for you. I don't mean a more comfortable life. Quite the opposite. The Christian life is meant to be lived uncomfortably. Even those who understand this life have not mastered it, but they are at least wrestling with it.
Now if you have studied Jesus at all you will know he taught some very uncomfortable things, like saying no to yourself, taking up your God-given calling and living as he lived; which means loving as he loved. But for the sake of brevity and simplicity today I want to make my point with one simple passage found in the powerful letter to the Ephesians:
You are saved by God’s grace because of your faith. This salvation is God’s gift. It’s not something you possessed. It’s not something you did that you can be proud of. Instead, we are God’s accomplishment, created in Christ Jesus to do good things. God planned for these good things to be the way that we live our lives. (Ephesians 2:8-10)
Now let's just focus on this for a moment, "created in Christ Jesus to do good things". To do good things. Our life is not about us because we have received everything we need through Jesus and he is always there for us to run to, to get strength from. He is our encourager and helper in all we are called to do. And what we have been called to do is breathe goodness into other people's lives.
Now look at this: "God planned for these good things to be the way that we live our lives". This is our Christian expression, the goodness we breathe into the lives of others, the little things and big things. Our life is about being good to others. Helpful, generous, encouraging, pleasant, polite, joyful are all words that should describe who we are to others.
We know we are getting it wrong when we are easily offended by people, when we are too busy for people, when we don't notice the people around us, when kind is not how people would describe us. When we are constantly taking from people instead of adding to them, when everything is about us, when people don't want to be around us, we know we are failing.
So I ask you today, how are you expressing your faith in Christ?
I don't mean greater things for you. I don't mean a more comfortable life. Quite the opposite. The Christian life is meant to be lived uncomfortably. Even those who understand this life have not mastered it, but they are at least wrestling with it.
Now if you have studied Jesus at all you will know he taught some very uncomfortable things, like saying no to yourself, taking up your God-given calling and living as he lived; which means loving as he loved. But for the sake of brevity and simplicity today I want to make my point with one simple passage found in the powerful letter to the Ephesians:
You are saved by God’s grace because of your faith. This salvation is God’s gift. It’s not something you possessed. It’s not something you did that you can be proud of. Instead, we are God’s accomplishment, created in Christ Jesus to do good things. God planned for these good things to be the way that we live our lives. (Ephesians 2:8-10)
Now let's just focus on this for a moment, "created in Christ Jesus to do good things". To do good things. Our life is not about us because we have received everything we need through Jesus and he is always there for us to run to, to get strength from. He is our encourager and helper in all we are called to do. And what we have been called to do is breathe goodness into other people's lives.
Now look at this: "God planned for these good things to be the way that we live our lives". This is our Christian expression, the goodness we breathe into the lives of others, the little things and big things. Our life is about being good to others. Helpful, generous, encouraging, pleasant, polite, joyful are all words that should describe who we are to others.
We know we are getting it wrong when we are easily offended by people, when we are too busy for people, when we don't notice the people around us, when kind is not how people would describe us. When we are constantly taking from people instead of adding to them, when everything is about us, when people don't want to be around us, we know we are failing.
So I ask you today, how are you expressing your faith in Christ?
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
True Encouragement In The Body
What is the greatest ministry gift that the Spirit can bestow on a person in our current age? Is it not the ministry of encouragement? Not the encouragement of the world but of the Body of Christ. The greatest thing you can do for a brother and sister in the Lord is to lift them up spiritually, to speak words of encouragement into their lives, words that would enable the Spirit to encourage them in the darkest moments. It is an anointed ministry. We can all encourage but the spiritual gift of encouragement is a supernaturally powerful thing.
Maybe we forget that part of the reason we are here is to lift each other up. Maybe spiritual leaders forget they are here to build up the Body of Christ; not for personal gain but to see people grow in the Lord. Sometimes that encouragement includes correction.
Too many of us see encouragement as cheer leading but for leaders in the Body it also includes positive correction that helps people come closer to the Lord. Apostle Paul was a great example of this because he clearly understood it:
This is why I’m writing these things while I’m away. I’m writing so that I won’t need to act harshly when I’m with you by using the authority that the Lord gave me. He gave it to me so that I could build you up, not tear you down. (2 Corinthians 13:10)
Jesus told his disciples that leadership in the Kingdom means servanthood. Leaders of the Church are not like leaders of the world, they are not lords but ones who lay down their lives in service to the Body. But this type of leadership also requires leaders to correct in the same sense of a parent. It is never pleasant but necessary to reach the goal. The goal is spiritual maturity.
Correction that is brought is not meant to lead to destruction but to build up. Correction in the world involves vengeful justice but in the Church we do not look for justice; we look for correction, restoration and growth. Leaders must constantly demonstrate the forgiveness, mercy, grace, and correction of our Lord, and it costs us a lot because taking correction requires a level of maturity that much of the Church is lacking. But, good, Christ-centered leaders understand that this is what we are to do with the authority that has been given to us.
Maybe we forget that part of the reason we are here is to lift each other up. Maybe spiritual leaders forget they are here to build up the Body of Christ; not for personal gain but to see people grow in the Lord. Sometimes that encouragement includes correction.
Too many of us see encouragement as cheer leading but for leaders in the Body it also includes positive correction that helps people come closer to the Lord. Apostle Paul was a great example of this because he clearly understood it:
This is why I’m writing these things while I’m away. I’m writing so that I won’t need to act harshly when I’m with you by using the authority that the Lord gave me. He gave it to me so that I could build you up, not tear you down. (2 Corinthians 13:10)
Jesus told his disciples that leadership in the Kingdom means servanthood. Leaders of the Church are not like leaders of the world, they are not lords but ones who lay down their lives in service to the Body. But this type of leadership also requires leaders to correct in the same sense of a parent. It is never pleasant but necessary to reach the goal. The goal is spiritual maturity.
Correction that is brought is not meant to lead to destruction but to build up. Correction in the world involves vengeful justice but in the Church we do not look for justice; we look for correction, restoration and growth. Leaders must constantly demonstrate the forgiveness, mercy, grace, and correction of our Lord, and it costs us a lot because taking correction requires a level of maturity that much of the Church is lacking. But, good, Christ-centered leaders understand that this is what we are to do with the authority that has been given to us.
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
A Pastor's Heart
The desire of every leader in the Body of Christ is for you to grow. It may seem like we are preaching the Law, lots of do's and don'ts but that is not our intention. We simply desire to help you avoid common pitfalls and to grow into the fullness of Jesus. There are so many traps, so many distractions, so many things the enemy uses to tear you away from Christ. Even leaders are vulnerable and need accountability.
Perhaps the words of the apostle Paul best describe how we see our desire for you:
But I’m afraid that your minds might be seduced in the same way as the snake deceived Eve with his devious tricks. You might be unable to focus completely on a genuine and innocent commitment to Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:3)
We see the relationship Jesus intended for you to have with him and the Father. It is the reason he sent us the Spirit so we could be joined with them, have rich fellowship and to enable the transformation process to continue. Everything that is contrary to the character of Jesus works like acid against this intended relationship.
It is more than just understanding what pleases and displeases Yahweh, we have to desire to want to live to please him, to desire to reject everything he rejects and to lift up everything he considers important. It is the reason Scripture points out that even if everything were permitable not everything is beneficial. If activities in our lives are not moving us toward Jesus then we should be glad to get rid of them to make room for what does benefit us.
The enemy has been seducing the children of God for a long time and he is very good at it. He knows what works and what doesn't work. It is the reason the Scriptures tell us to stay alert because he is light a prowling lion looking for the weak to destroy them.
It is the reason Yahweh left no room for anything else when he told us to love him with our all, and Jesus told us that this one command is greater than anything else. That is what we should be spending our days learning to do. If we did we wouldn't be so concerned about a list of do's and don'ts because it is on the tender hearts that the Spirit is able to write the Law. Then we would never desire to do what is contrary to Jesus.
Love is not an abstract feeling, it is a concrete substance with tangible actions. Jesus said, if we loved him, truly loved him, our desire would not be to find loopholes to do what we want, but instead our desire would be to obey him, no matter the cost. This is the reason your pastor and elders spend their days keeping a watchful eye on you, desiring to train you in the way you should go. Next time you see them, thank them.
Perhaps the words of the apostle Paul best describe how we see our desire for you:
But I’m afraid that your minds might be seduced in the same way as the snake deceived Eve with his devious tricks. You might be unable to focus completely on a genuine and innocent commitment to Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:3)
We see the relationship Jesus intended for you to have with him and the Father. It is the reason he sent us the Spirit so we could be joined with them, have rich fellowship and to enable the transformation process to continue. Everything that is contrary to the character of Jesus works like acid against this intended relationship.
It is more than just understanding what pleases and displeases Yahweh, we have to desire to want to live to please him, to desire to reject everything he rejects and to lift up everything he considers important. It is the reason Scripture points out that even if everything were permitable not everything is beneficial. If activities in our lives are not moving us toward Jesus then we should be glad to get rid of them to make room for what does benefit us.
The enemy has been seducing the children of God for a long time and he is very good at it. He knows what works and what doesn't work. It is the reason the Scriptures tell us to stay alert because he is light a prowling lion looking for the weak to destroy them.
It is the reason Yahweh left no room for anything else when he told us to love him with our all, and Jesus told us that this one command is greater than anything else. That is what we should be spending our days learning to do. If we did we wouldn't be so concerned about a list of do's and don'ts because it is on the tender hearts that the Spirit is able to write the Law. Then we would never desire to do what is contrary to Jesus.
Love is not an abstract feeling, it is a concrete substance with tangible actions. Jesus said, if we loved him, truly loved him, our desire would not be to find loopholes to do what we want, but instead our desire would be to obey him, no matter the cost. This is the reason your pastor and elders spend their days keeping a watchful eye on you, desiring to train you in the way you should go. Next time you see them, thank them.
Monday, July 6, 2015
We Are Warriors
Not everything is as our society defines it. Not everything that exists can be seen. Just because we have yet to experience something does not mean it isn't real. If these things are true statements then we should not allow our society to define our reality but instead understand that our reality is defined by the Creator of heaven and earth.
We are warriors. Not warriors as our society defines them. We do not walk around with guns. We do not have mad martial art skills. We are not muscle bound freaks. Most of us aren't even much to look at. Our skills are limited. Our education is limited. Our finances are limited. Our circle of friends is limited. But we serve a King who is unlimited and he has called us into his service. We are his warriors. And our weapons are the most powerful weapons in all of creation, if only we would learn to use them:
Although we live in the world, we don’t fight our battles with human methods. Our weapons that we fight with aren’t human, but instead they are powered by God for the destruction of fortresses. They destroy arguments, and every defense that is raised up to oppose the knowledge of God. They capture every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)
Our problem is that we have been raised and educated in the system of this world. It feels familiar and comfortable to us. So when Jesus teaches us that there is a better way there is a lot of resistance on our part.
When Paul describes the Church as a body and explains that each of us are a part of it, as assigned by the Spirit and we are to work together for our common goal, we know that the only way this is possible is supernaturally because we don't get along very well. Then he tells us that there is one way that makes this possible. The enemy has tried to mimic this in the world but self-centeredness always exposes the truth of the matter. Paul describes this one way with great poetry:
Love is patient, love is kind, it isn’t jealous, it doesn’t brag, it isn’t arrogant, it isn’t rude, it doesn’t seek its own advantage, it isn’t irritable, it doesn’t keep a record of complaints, it isn’t happy with injustice, but it is happy with the truth. Love puts up with all things, trusts in all things, hopes for all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)
That is the supernatural love of Jesus worked out through us. The world can't live this because you need the Holy Spirit to do it. Your flesh will rise up against it and it is only in submission to Jesus that the Spirit is able to win over the flesh.
We are warriors of love, setting aside hate, fear, prejudice, revenge, rights, self. We are warriors who love those who hate us and pray for those who persecute us. We are warriors who pray in love against the dark fortresses that imprison the lost, the blind, the poor, the spiritual destitute. In love we are friends with the enemies of our Saviour for the sake of their salvation. We stand in the cesspools of our society, holding out the only hope that exists. We are warriors who fight against the dark principalities, praying for those who don't know enough to pray for themselves, be they friend or foe.
Perhaps we have been confused by the system of this world to think we are fighting for our rights. We are mistaken to defend ourselves in fear and hatred, with bitter and angry words, using insults and slurs. We have all the rights of the Kingdom of which we are citizens, something of much greater worth than rights on this earth. We aren't here to defend ourselves but to fight for those who would silence us, behead us, make us less than themselves, who perceive us as their enemy. We are hear to fight with a love that desires everyone to be saved from the judgement close at hand. Let us fight with the methods of our Lord.
We are warriors. Not warriors as our society defines them. We do not walk around with guns. We do not have mad martial art skills. We are not muscle bound freaks. Most of us aren't even much to look at. Our skills are limited. Our education is limited. Our finances are limited. Our circle of friends is limited. But we serve a King who is unlimited and he has called us into his service. We are his warriors. And our weapons are the most powerful weapons in all of creation, if only we would learn to use them:
Although we live in the world, we don’t fight our battles with human methods. Our weapons that we fight with aren’t human, but instead they are powered by God for the destruction of fortresses. They destroy arguments, and every defense that is raised up to oppose the knowledge of God. They capture every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)
Our problem is that we have been raised and educated in the system of this world. It feels familiar and comfortable to us. So when Jesus teaches us that there is a better way there is a lot of resistance on our part.
When Paul describes the Church as a body and explains that each of us are a part of it, as assigned by the Spirit and we are to work together for our common goal, we know that the only way this is possible is supernaturally because we don't get along very well. Then he tells us that there is one way that makes this possible. The enemy has tried to mimic this in the world but self-centeredness always exposes the truth of the matter. Paul describes this one way with great poetry:
Love is patient, love is kind, it isn’t jealous, it doesn’t brag, it isn’t arrogant, it isn’t rude, it doesn’t seek its own advantage, it isn’t irritable, it doesn’t keep a record of complaints, it isn’t happy with injustice, but it is happy with the truth. Love puts up with all things, trusts in all things, hopes for all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)
That is the supernatural love of Jesus worked out through us. The world can't live this because you need the Holy Spirit to do it. Your flesh will rise up against it and it is only in submission to Jesus that the Spirit is able to win over the flesh.
We are warriors of love, setting aside hate, fear, prejudice, revenge, rights, self. We are warriors who love those who hate us and pray for those who persecute us. We are warriors who pray in love against the dark fortresses that imprison the lost, the blind, the poor, the spiritual destitute. In love we are friends with the enemies of our Saviour for the sake of their salvation. We stand in the cesspools of our society, holding out the only hope that exists. We are warriors who fight against the dark principalities, praying for those who don't know enough to pray for themselves, be they friend or foe.
Perhaps we have been confused by the system of this world to think we are fighting for our rights. We are mistaken to defend ourselves in fear and hatred, with bitter and angry words, using insults and slurs. We have all the rights of the Kingdom of which we are citizens, something of much greater worth than rights on this earth. We aren't here to defend ourselves but to fight for those who would silence us, behead us, make us less than themselves, who perceive us as their enemy. We are hear to fight with a love that desires everyone to be saved from the judgement close at hand. Let us fight with the methods of our Lord.
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Three Things To Do Now That Homosexual Marriage Is Legal
It is obvious that the Christian community in the United States is trying to figure out how to respond to the fact that the law has changed to permit homosexual marriage. Here in Canada that change was made a number of years ago. Can we say that the "horse has left the barn" on homosexual marriage? In fact, it left the barn a long time ago.
Without doubt marriage is a spiritual act, uniting a man and woman to become one flesh. It was created by God for our benefit on this earth (it does not exist in heaven).We choose to make this union in front of family and friends, calling them witnesses of this union that is made in the sight of God. It should have always remained us such but the Church dropped the ball when it allowed the State to take authority over it. As soon as we allowed governments to start issuing license for something that was a spiritual matter we lost. Now it is the State who gets to define marriage any way they want. We can continue to proclaim the truth but the world doesn't care.
Now we are left with some tough decisions. In some ways this could be a good thing as it gives clear distinction between believers and non-believers. Certainly the enemy will do everything he can to discredit our argument and failing that will try to discredit the Bible itself but that is nothing new to us. From the very beginning he has been questioning and trying to throw into confusion the commands of Yahweh. Check out the conversation with Eve in the garden. There are a few things I think the Church needs to do:
1. Return in all permits to perform State marriages. What do we have to do with a world system that cuts our God out of what he created. Do we allow them to license baptisms or communions? So why do they get to license marriages, or for that matter, pastors? We know we are in the end times and hearts are growing harder so there will be no going back now, so cut them loose.
2. Start drawing the distinction between the State marriage and the Church marriage. Allow people to have two ceremonies, one before God, and, if they want all the State benefits to marriage, one before the government. Let the State perform marriage as they see fit and we will continue with marriage as God defined it. It is not up to the government to legislate our beliefs.
3. Stop taking government money for the Church. That's a hard one isn't it. Stop looking for tax exemption. As long as we are taking their money they are going to feel they have authority over us. We are a spiritual body not an NGO or corporation. We should never place ourselves in a position of dependence on anything other than Jesus. That should separate some sheep and goats.
Why are we following the patterns of this world? Why are we depending on flesh over Spirit? Why are we so flustered when the world goes in its natural course of rebellion to God? The reason is because we are more married to the world than we are to Jesus. It is time to change that. We can't have two husbands. We can't have two masters. We need to make a distinction. We need to decide.
Without doubt marriage is a spiritual act, uniting a man and woman to become one flesh. It was created by God for our benefit on this earth (it does not exist in heaven).We choose to make this union in front of family and friends, calling them witnesses of this union that is made in the sight of God. It should have always remained us such but the Church dropped the ball when it allowed the State to take authority over it. As soon as we allowed governments to start issuing license for something that was a spiritual matter we lost. Now it is the State who gets to define marriage any way they want. We can continue to proclaim the truth but the world doesn't care.
Now we are left with some tough decisions. In some ways this could be a good thing as it gives clear distinction between believers and non-believers. Certainly the enemy will do everything he can to discredit our argument and failing that will try to discredit the Bible itself but that is nothing new to us. From the very beginning he has been questioning and trying to throw into confusion the commands of Yahweh. Check out the conversation with Eve in the garden. There are a few things I think the Church needs to do:
1. Return in all permits to perform State marriages. What do we have to do with a world system that cuts our God out of what he created. Do we allow them to license baptisms or communions? So why do they get to license marriages, or for that matter, pastors? We know we are in the end times and hearts are growing harder so there will be no going back now, so cut them loose.
2. Start drawing the distinction between the State marriage and the Church marriage. Allow people to have two ceremonies, one before God, and, if they want all the State benefits to marriage, one before the government. Let the State perform marriage as they see fit and we will continue with marriage as God defined it. It is not up to the government to legislate our beliefs.
3. Stop taking government money for the Church. That's a hard one isn't it. Stop looking for tax exemption. As long as we are taking their money they are going to feel they have authority over us. We are a spiritual body not an NGO or corporation. We should never place ourselves in a position of dependence on anything other than Jesus. That should separate some sheep and goats.
Why are we following the patterns of this world? Why are we depending on flesh over Spirit? Why are we so flustered when the world goes in its natural course of rebellion to God? The reason is because we are more married to the world than we are to Jesus. It is time to change that. We can't have two husbands. We can't have two masters. We need to make a distinction. We need to decide.
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Contamination
If we are busy trying to build our own kingdom or looking for loopholes in the Word of God to justify doing what we want to do, we need to question the genuineness of our relationship with Jesus. There is one underlying truth that wipes out our selfish desire to get what we want:
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. And the life that I now live in my body, I live by faith, indeed, by the faithfulness of God’s Son, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
"I no longer live" should bring clarity to our life in this world. It should also be clear that we have died to everything we were, everything we laid claim to, and everything we aspired to be. Now our desire is only Jesus, and obedience to the Father's will. This should be clear to us by now:
My dear friends, since we have these promises, let’s cleanse ourselves from anything that contaminates our body or spirit so that we make our holiness complete in the fear of God. (2 Corinthians 7:1)
The Holy Spirit convicts us of what needs to go and what needs to change after we come to Jesus, but it is up to us to offer it up. It is part of the process and takes the rest of our life, but as the Spirit makes us aware of what needs to go we need to surrender it. This is important at this moment of time because there are people calling themselves Christians who are advocating things of the flesh over the Spirit. They are trying to redefine Christianity to satisfy the demands of the flesh. God cannot be mocked.
The simple question each of us must ask ourselves is if we love Jesus more than anything else, even more than our deepest longings. The Word says to rid ourselves of anything that contaminates. The flesh wants to define this for our own advantage but the Spirit defines it according to the holiness of God. Jesus said, to qualify as his disciples, we have to deny our flesh, take up our spiritual mission and follow his example.
The time has come for us to become serious about our decision, to decide for Jesus and allowed him to be glorified through us no matter the cost. It is time to rise up in the holiness with which he has clothed us. Cleanse yourself from anything that contaminates.
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. And the life that I now live in my body, I live by faith, indeed, by the faithfulness of God’s Son, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
"I no longer live" should bring clarity to our life in this world. It should also be clear that we have died to everything we were, everything we laid claim to, and everything we aspired to be. Now our desire is only Jesus, and obedience to the Father's will. This should be clear to us by now:
My dear friends, since we have these promises, let’s cleanse ourselves from anything that contaminates our body or spirit so that we make our holiness complete in the fear of God. (2 Corinthians 7:1)
The Holy Spirit convicts us of what needs to go and what needs to change after we come to Jesus, but it is up to us to offer it up. It is part of the process and takes the rest of our life, but as the Spirit makes us aware of what needs to go we need to surrender it. This is important at this moment of time because there are people calling themselves Christians who are advocating things of the flesh over the Spirit. They are trying to redefine Christianity to satisfy the demands of the flesh. God cannot be mocked.
The simple question each of us must ask ourselves is if we love Jesus more than anything else, even more than our deepest longings. The Word says to rid ourselves of anything that contaminates. The flesh wants to define this for our own advantage but the Spirit defines it according to the holiness of God. Jesus said, to qualify as his disciples, we have to deny our flesh, take up our spiritual mission and follow his example.
The time has come for us to become serious about our decision, to decide for Jesus and allowed him to be glorified through us no matter the cost. It is time to rise up in the holiness with which he has clothed us. Cleanse yourself from anything that contaminates.
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