There Has To Be More To It

 Not many of us have faced a lot of “valley of the shadow of death” seasons in our life and yet I dare say we have all faced “valley” moments. I have had my share of these and I have to admit some of them felt like the shadow of death. Life is not always easy or fair.

As followers of Jesus there is an expectation that we will keep these moments to ourselves or just pretend they don't exist. I think this is because too many of us believers don’t want to consider the hard questions about our faith. It’s supposed to be all butterflies and daffodils, isn’t it?

It’s not often a lack of faith that finds us in those valleys. What we have to consider is that life is found in the valleys. The mountain top seasons are fantastic and have a breathtaking view that gives us perspective and breathes new life into these old bones, but growth, real growth is found in the challenges of those valleys. Not that Father has planned those valleys but he has planned for them and he never misses an opportunity to help us grow.

Valleys with road maps are great but most don’t have them. Most of them include loss in one form or another. Some of them are so dark you don’t know which way is up any more. These are those moments that you cling to the Lord and make declarations based on the promises you have experienced in the past. Psalm 91 comes to mind:

“I say to the Lord, ‘You are my refuge, my stronghold! You are my God - the one I trust!” (2)

These are the moments you try to climb into the Word, you surround yourself with worship, you write out your prayers, have long discussions with the Lord or whatever “you are my God - the one I trust” looks like to you. For many of us it is the “moment by moment” clinging to Jesus because everything else is shifting and he is the only thing solid in our life. But that is only the beginning place of the valley. Father has more than this in mind for us.

I was in conversation with Spirit the other day and he was pointing out a few things to me about the valley experience and one of them was that quality of trust matters here. This desperation clinging is an okay beginning point but he has called us to a greater relationship than clinched-eyes clinging. Through another preacher he reminded me of  1 Thessalonians 5:

“Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in every situation because this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (16-18)

Those three activities are not mere valley activities but are relationship growth activities for all seasons. These are what we do because they are the fruit of who we are, and after entering the valley and regaining our senses we can act on who we are.

Rejoice. Not just on the mountaintops but in the valleys as well. We rejoice because of who Jesus is and who we are in him. We rejoice because he has never failed us. We rejoice because he is good and that goodness never changes. It is the reason Paul told the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord always. It was so important that he repeated himself, Rejoice. After the desperate “cling and declaration”, rejoicing is the next step and demonstrates that you are living what you are declaring. We do not rejoice in our circumstances but in the One who has promised never to forsake us in those circumstances and who has said he is the solution. 

Pray continually. This is the ongoing reminder that you are in Jesus and Jesus is in you. It is a reminder that he is involved in every detail of your life. It is great to discuss every detail of your life with him, your opinions, your dreams and desires. It is an open and honest conversation with the one who knows your heart and mind, the one is for you and not against you. It is a conversation throughout the day, a continual conversation.

Give thanks in every situation. That is powerful. That means in everything, always find the reason why you maintain a life of thanksgiving. This is a powerful weapon against the enemy in that valley because he is there to destroy you by discouraging you, to separate you from Father. But when you set your mind on things above, thanksgiving is a natural expression in dark times, Consider what Paul said to the Colossians.

First he told them to look, seek out, the things that are above:

“... look for the things that are above where Christ is sitting at God’s right side.”

And then he tells them, once they can “see” these things to set theirr thoughts on these things:

“Think about the things above and not things on earth.”

The enemy will try to keep our eyes fixed on the things of this earth because they are death to us, depressing, filled with false hope, and promising to give us what we already possess in Jesus. 

Rejoice always, Pray continually, Give thanks in every situation.

Because I can say he is my God and that I trust him in this valley, I can also move past desperation into fruitful relationship. This is very fertile ground, even if it is uncomfortable at times. How much better to go through it laughing, dancing, shouting with joy in the presence of my King.

Is It Possible To Grow Up In The Church?

 “Go and make disciples”, Jesus said. “Teach them everything I have taught you.” I think sometimes we get a little confused about this. Sometimes it appears that we are more interested in enforcing a law than to teach Father’s love. There is a pretty big difference between the two considering that love, not law, is what empowers us to obey Jesus. We teach simply to help people understand what the Spirit is doing in them with what the Father implanted in them the moment they said “I believe”.

I know we want to explain about repenting and throwing off sin and all the rest of it but sometimes we move past teaching into manipulation. It’s like we forget that the job of conviction belongs to the Spirit. Yes, in our enthusiasm we forget we are the witnesses of who Jesus is and we try to take on the role of the enforcers. But Jesus has no interest in forcing anybody into anything. He offers an invitation.

So, we are the witnesses and when someone expresses a desire for more of what we are demonstrating, then we disciple them by teaching them what Jesus has taught us. This means we better be constantly growing and learning ourselves. You know, you can disciple someone before they believe and hopefully as you demonstrate the Kingdom to them they will encounter the reality of Jesus and move from curiosity to belief. Of course we continue to walk with them, discipling them so they can understand the lifelong transformation that is happening to them. This is that mustard seed that is growing in them so a day will arrive when they will be able to offer fruit and shelter to others.

That’s the messy part, the journey toward maturity. This is where most of us mess up, where the Church fails and we move from life to law. It is so much easier and less messy to teach a list of rules then to allow for maturing in relationship. This journey is not a light switch. We don’t shed the old and put on the new overnight. We do it step by step, as the Spirit convicts and we respond. It is a whole lot of learning, growth and transformation. What we do not want it to be is conformity to a bunch of rules that will leave us with a lifetime of guilt and failure.

I have a friend who made an observation about his university experience. He told me that there are a lot of good teachers who are good at teaching the beginning stuff. There are also a lot of good teachers great at teaching the end stuff. But there are not a lot of teachers who are great at the in-between stuff. 

In the Church we have a lot of people who are great at the beginning stuff and they are getting even better at it. Helping people discover Jesus is a very exciting thing. We also have a lot of people who are very good at teaching what a mature life in Christ looks like. A lot of the epistles have sections that give us lists of what this looks like. What we seem to be lacking are those with the patience and longevity to walk with a person from the after birth stage to the mature stage. In fact, a lot of churches don’t even make allowances for this very trying and messy stage.

The Body has not been good at building a thick skin for the many failures in the journey to maturity. Some Spiritual Parents are all too ready to kick that spiritual infant out of the house because he keeps making messes. But messes are what we are all about. The Strong are to bear with the Weak, because the Weak are on a journey to become one of the Strong. The Spirit is responsible for conviction and we are responsible for modeling relationship. We who journey with those on the road to maturity model what relationship looks like, both with our King but also with each other. This, after all, is Father’s purpose for the Body, that we would work out our salvation daily as we encourage and build up one another.

We need those who introduce people to Jesus, to see that come into this relationship through belief. We need those who can teach what maturity looks like, what we are moving towards and why. But we are also desperate for the spiritual mothers and fathers who will commit to years of patience and suffering to fulfill the role of those who teach through example the in-between stuff. We need to get better at this.

What Does A Christian Look Like?

These are confusing days we are living in, especially if you are trying to figure out how a Christian is suppose to think and act. So many voices. So many opinions. And that is just in the Church. Let's add in the pressure from the media and special interest groups. There is also the mounting opinion of a changing society, calling wrong right and right wrong. But no one can dictate to you what God has or has not said. You have it right there in your hand, the Word of God, and you are possessed by the great teacher, the Holy Spirit. As a Christian you are not into opinions; yours or anyone else's. All that matters is the Father's will.

Paul has given us a good idea of what we should look like when we are possessed by the Spirit and bent on doing the Father's will:

- running from temptation
- doing what is right (God's definition, not society's)
- being faithful
- being loving
- easy to get along with

And then we hit our Achilles heal:

Stay away from stupid and senseless arguments. (2 Timothy 2:23)

How many times have you been pulled into stupid and senseless arguments over disputable matters? We didn't mean to go there but we just wanted to correct their thinking or understanding on something. Before we know it we are in a huge argument and people are being hurt.Was it worth it? Did we make our point? Will that person ever be open to talking with us again?

Stay away from stupid and senseless arguments. These only lead to trouble, and God’s servants must not be troublemakers. (2 Timothy 2:23-24)

True, so very true. Often times we are not to teach but simply to share our testimony. We tell people what Jesus has done for us or maybe something that happened this week that shows his great grace. Not everyone is a teacher. I am a teacher and I still avoid senseless arguments.

Sometimes arguments are senseless because the person is not yet ready to receive. I am having an ongoing discussion with one gentleman who has been influenced by some Mormon teaching. He actually believes that only 144,000 people will get into heaven. I discussed the truth of this with him but his reply was "It all depends on interpretation". I could see that this discussion was only going to do more damage than good so I changed the subject. We will re-visit this topic again but at that particular moment he was closed to anything I had to say. It became a stupid and senseless argument.

Paul says that we are not to be troublemakers. We are not here to force anything on anyone. Like Jesus, we make ourselves available, we talk about Jesus to everyone and spend time with those who want to know more. It is their choice if they do not want to receive the good news we have to share. But that doesn't stop us from loving them or showing them compassion. Paul says of us:

They must be kind to everyone, and they must be good teachers and very patient. (v. 24b) 

Of being teachers and correctors I will write more tomorrow but for today, drink in this image that Paul has given to us of what a servant of Jesus Christ looks like. The most important things are, study the Word and listen to the Spirit. Know the difference between your voice and that of the Spirit's. After God, people are the most important thing in your life. Learn how to treat people according to the Father's will and you will be a faithful servant of the King.

If You Are A Christian ...

Are you a Christian? Are you a Christian in name only? Do you know Jesus or know of Jesus? There is a difference. Do you have any idea what you are proclaiming when you take on the name Christian? You aren't saying that Christianity is your religion, you are telling all of creation that you are a little Christ, a little Jesus; you are proclaiming that you are like Jesus.

Christianity is not something you are taught; it is something you are. Yes, you can be taught Bible passages and what they mean but the Bible is not a rule book to which we conform; it is an explanation of who we are. It shows us, reveals to us what we have become because of Jesus Christ; because of the cross; because of the empty grave; because of the Holy Spirit. The Father's love, when accepted, transforms us through the Son so that our pattern of thinking and behaviour changes. It is not our determination that changes us but God who changes us.

So when Jesus taught us to love our neighbour, it wasn't a rule but an explanation of what happens with the transformation of our heart. He showed us what it is to love your enemy when he was nailed to the cross. Jesus was not a victim. Don't rob him of his glory by thinking that he was powerless concerning what happened to him. Jesus went to the cross by choice, to save the enemy of God; us.

The Word tells us that it was while were were still sinners Jesus died for us. It was the only way that we could be freed from our sin nature. But as sinners we were the enemy of God. Sin separated us. Rebellion, self-determination, independence turned the creation into the enemy of the Creator. I can't stress this enough because it is incredible what God did for those who wanted nothing to do with him:

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. (Colossians 1:21)

People today believe there is good and evil in all of us but it doesn't matter. One act of rebellion is enough to separate us from God and turn us into his enemy. Imagine how many acts of rebellion we go through in a day, but those who have chosen life in Jesus are covered by God's grace. He has reached out to his enemy and made it possible for us to become family:

But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation. (Colossians 1:22)

He has covered his enemy, transformed them into his children and has covered them by his grace so that now we are presented before him as holy, without blemish and free from accusation. That means right now, today, at this very moment, you are blameless and innocent, covered by the blood of Jesus. Your rebellious acts from yesterday are covered by his grace. It is so incredible and that is why the Word tells us not to abuse this grace because it can be abused. You, who were once the enemy of God have been reconciled to him, adopted as his child and covered by his grace.

So when we read the words "Love your enemy" we can understand they are not just words to Jesus. It cost him everything to love his enemy. When we take on the name Christian we are stating that God's love has transformed us so that we too love our enemy. Not a choice we make but the action we take compelled by the love of Jesus. Not self-determined but Holy Spirit shaped by the love of Jesus. Not a rule to follow but a pattern embraced because of the love of Jesus. "Love your enemy"; not a command or rule but the nature of Christ's character in us.

You Don't Have To Be A Mechanic To Drive A Car

We are a strange people who love to complicate simple things. There is nothing as simple as being a Christian. Sure, in the depth of what God has done for us there are some incredible things to be understood. If you study theology you will discover some very long words that describe some deep truths. Following Jesus and studying theology is like being a driver compared to a mechanic. A mechanic understands how a car works but it doesn't mean he can drive whereas a driver just enjoys the car. Sometimes, in an effort to understand the car mechanics can lose the joy of driving.

Here's what we have to do to drive the car:

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. (Colossians 2:6-7)

I love what the Spirit did through Paul, revealing the deeper things but also keeping it simple so we can just enjoy the car. Let's review the elements to being a Christian.

First and foremost you have to start with Jesus. There is no other way to be a Christian, part of the Body, a member of the Church. A number of churches no longer require its members to profess Jesus, only asking them to lead a moral life. They fail to teach that without a personal relationship with Jesus we have nothing. It starts with Jesus.

Second, accepting Jesus is great but we have to continue with Jesus. It is not a one time decision. It is a daily decision to be in a relationship with Jesus, to have fellowship with him, to keep him as Lord, to obey his Word and to follow his direction. The only life we have is the one we live in Jesus and without him we have no life. We can't just say "I accept Jesus as my Saviour" and think we have bought an insurance policy for the afterlife. When we accept Jesus we enter into a relationship and a lifetime of service.

Third, we must be rooted and built up in Jesus. It means he is our only source of everything. We send our roots deep into His Word, we absorb our sustenance in prayer, we drink deeply in worship. As we grow closer to Jesus we also realize he is building us up, changing us, increasing us, transforming us into what he needs us to be in this place. What we are today is not what we will be in a month, year or 20 years from now because we experience constant growth. Jesus is our source for all things, not this world. We seek wisdom and knowledge from him, not this world. The Kingdom is not based on the principles of this world but instead on the principles of our King.

Fourth, we must allow our faith to be strengthened by Jesus. Often we think we have to have faith, which we do, but Jesus said it can be as small as a mustard seed. We just have to take the first step. We have to be willing to get out of the boat, like Peter. We have to speak to the mountain believing it will move. We just have to speak the words, we don't have to move the mountain. It is Jesus who does it. He increases our faith, lending us whatever portion we need. He comes along side and strengthens that little seed of faith so it becomes a powerhouse that moves mountains, causes the blind to see, raises the dead and gives chase to demons. We just have to have that seed to take the first step and Jesus strengthens it to do the rest.

Fifth, we must be overflowing with thankfulness. Some of us can't even be thankful let alone overflowing with it. A Christian knows and appreciates everything Jesus has done, is doing and will do. We realize that despite our circumstances here, what we have in Jesus far outweighs them all. We realize just how rich we are in Jesus and it keeps a song of praise on our lips. We are so busy counting our blessings that we don't have time to complain. It is with a heart of overflowing thankfulness that the sweetness of Jesus is able to dwell and permeate the work of our hands.

Simple, right? This is how we enjoy driving a car even if we don't understand all the mechanics of it. In this simplicity great things have been done in the authority of our King by people without education and privilege. Simple people who made a simple decision and kept making it every single day of their lives. Simple people who moved mountains and hearts and moved entire cities by a simple act of faith. That's all that Jesus is looking for, simple people who know what it is to be a follower of Jesus. You don't have to be a mechanic to know how to drive the car.

Throwing Pearls To The Swine

You and I both know there is a lot of crazy stuff on the Internet. It is almost laughable that people will scoff at our belief in Jesus, in a omnipotent God, in the Creator of all things, and yet believe the stars can tell them what their day will be like. There is also the strong belief that man is responsible for his own salvation. This in the face of the fact of man's history of violence and destruction. People still deny the truth of our slavery to all the wrong things, even the though we have kept a good record of all these things we have done.

It is important in a world of instant information that we get our facts from a reliable source. In an instant I can find the best banana bread recipe, how to fix my toilet, the latest Olympic medal standings and the meaning of John 3:16. It's amazing but not all sources are based on truth and fact and that is extremely important to understand. There are a lot of opinions and half truths kicking around the internet.

This was Paul's concern even in his day, that those who were young in their faith would be led astray by fine sounding words and arguments. He expressed this to the Colossians:

I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. (Colossians 2:4)

There are a lot of people who love to debate and, as far as the world is concerned, they are good at it. They are great at arguing, especially when they are not willing to allow us to use the Bible are our authorized source. But that's where we make our mistake: We try to present Jesus as some kind of history project. We present him in the same way that a Muslim presents Mohammed or someone speaks of Gandhi. The presentation of Jesus is ineffective if we are just trying to use fine-sounding arguments:

My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power. (1 Corinthians 2:4-5)

We keep using words and leaving out the power. Jesus is not a dead historical figure but a present, powerful Saviour who changes and transforms lives. By his authority we heal the sick, bring sight to the blind, cause the lame to walk, cast out demons. Or at least we should, but we don't do much of it these days because we keep leaving aside the very real power that is Jesus, King and Lord over all creation. But even when we do use this power in us, the resurrection power, it doesn't mean we don't use any words:

We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written:

“No eye has seen,
    no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
    what God has prepared for those who love him” —

but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. (1 Corinthians 2:6-10)

Therein lies my point. We cannot present Jesus as this world presents things and we cannot argue with the supposed wise-men of this age. Jesus is not a formula or a methodology as the world understands it and actual understanding comes via the conviction of the Holy Spirit. It is by the anointing of the Spirit that we know and understand Jesus:

The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14)

Presenting Jesus to a person without the Spirit is fine because we do it in the power of the Holy Spirit, with signs and wonders, through a demonstration of God's power via words of knowledge into a person's life. However, we do not argue Jesus to a person without the Spirit because it is throwing pearls "before swine". They just trample those pearls into the mud because they cannot understand the value of them. People need to know Jesus beyond words, they need to see him manifested based on the Word of God.

Elegant words and fine-sounding arguments can be taught in Bible Schools and through formal education but the power of which Paul speaks only comes through the Spirit in us. We need to spend more time learning about the Spirit and how to make ourselves open to him. We need to learn to surrender ourselves so he can work through us. We need to stop with our human effort to save the world and become free agents of the Holy Spirit, spreading the power of God to the darkest regions of this world. The wisdom of this world cannot match the wisdom of our God, so it is time to set aside the pretty words, stop listening to the logic of this world and present Jesus through the Spirit in us.

How To Handle A Parent

Those of you who may be having a tough time with your parents, I have a bit of advice: Cut them some slack. I know you aren't happy right now; they've gotten after you for something or they always seem to be on your case but I want to explain something to you about them. It may not always seem it but they love you. It's just that being your parent is a heavy responsibility. They feel the entire weight of your future, of your education, of what you will become. They know the mistakes they have made and they are desperately trying to keep you from repeating them. Yes, you are your own person, different from them, but parents are not super beings, just human and you are a major focus in their life.

They want so much for you to get this right. They are honestly afraid that they haven't done a good job in the early years, like they messed up by forgetting to teach you important stuff, and now they are worried you are going to make the wrong decisions because of their mess ups. They have been the major influence in your life and now you are shifting away from them and relying more on your friends, which is a very scary thing for parents.

Maybe you can understand it if we looked at the relationship between a pastor and his congregation. His life is given for those people, in that he is there to serve them, to help with guidance and to train them to become mature Christians. He constantly prayers for them, is involved with them, is part of their lives in such major events as birth, marriage, and death. It is very hard for him when he sees other influences, negative influences pulling them away from the source of all things, Jesus, and leading them to destruction. We can see into the heart of a parent as we consider Paul's words to the Galatians:

 ¹⁷ Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may be zealous for them. ¹⁸It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always and not just when I am with you. ¹⁹ My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, ²⁰ how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you! (Galatians 4:17-20)

Perplexed is a good word. There are a lot of perplexed pastors out there and a ton of perplexed parents. An experienced pastor can see all the danger signs and will do everything he can to allow God to be a stronger influence through him to keep his people from taking the wrong path. Parents often find themselves in this same position, trying to remain a strong influence in their child's life, hoping to prevent them from the wrong paths. Parents have the responsibility of training their children into mature adults.

There is no training school for parents. You can't earn a Masters degree in parenting. It is basically on the job training and good parents rely on God's guidance, allowing love to be the motivator in their actions and words. But this does not mean their hearts are not often times overwhelmed and perplexed, knowing what you have to face every day and knowing the major influences out there. They love you. They want to see you succeed in the same way that God desires our success as his children.

So if you can find the maturity to love them and forgive them despite you disagreeing with them, it would go a long way in a smooth relationship with your parents. They aren't perfect. They will make mistakes but the core of their motivation is their love for you. It may look like a strange love at times but often they just don't know how to put it in words. They are perplexed. Make things a bit better for yourself by trusting their love, listening to their advice and honouring them through obedience. It will remove their perplexity and bring some peace to the relationship. When the waters are calm you can respectively explain your perspective on the matter. You will be amazed how much they will be willing to listen. After all, they love you.

God Is Not The Christian God

I think sometimes we forget that God is not the Christian God or the Jewish God or the 'anything else' God; he is simply God. What I mean by this is that God does not love one group of people more than another. In this same thought, God doesn't hate anyone, despite some things you may have heard some people say. Christians forget this quite often and think we are something special to God, as if we have merited some kind of special favor from him. Even in a simple little verse in Psalm 82 we find the truth of the matter:

Rise up, O God, judge the earth,    for all the nations are your inheritance. (Psalm 82:8)

All the nations, all the people, the whole world belongs to God because he is the life-giver to it all. He is not governed by our human failings that he should love some and hate others. He is governed by his character and the scripture tells us plainly that God is love.

The struggle that we have is how to do we access this God? How do we get close to him to know him? He is holy and no wretched creature can come near him so what do we do? This is why Jesus came, not only to show us the way but to become the way. Jesus told us plainly:

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

This is the part that prevents Jesus from becoming a great prophet or a wise teacher. No one, no great thinker, no Muslim, nor anyone else can claim that Jesus was only a teacher or a prophet. We can only decide that he is who he said he is or he was a liar. However, all the prophets described him and what he would do, so Jesus' testimony was not the only testimony. Jesus came to bridge the gap, to make it possible for us to access God the Father, the one who loves us more than any other. It was the Father's plan since the beginning of time.

Christians do not have sole ownership of God. The only thing Christians have is the knowledge and faith to be able to come into his presence. God's desire is that the whole world would know him and desire to fellowship with him. His desire is that we would accept his love, and love him in return. Scriptures show that the door is open for anyone who decides to enter it:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

A long time ago, the race of man decided to go it alone, to turn our back on God. We entered into rebellion and were lost to him, but he was not satisfied to leave it at that. He desired for us to know him and to give us a way to get back to him. He pursued us into the darkness and provided a light to see our way back to him. He provides this for every nation, every religion, every human condition. It is for the male and female, child and adult, the moral and immoral, the rich and poor, the healthy and sick. He loves us that much.

It doesn't matter what you have done and said in your living; it doesn't matter your religion or philosophy; it doesn't matter whether you believe or not, it will not stop him from loving you and desiring you to return to him. All you need is Jesus. All you need to do is respond to the love he has shown you through his son, Jesus Christ, who has become your access point to the one who loves you above all others. He will forgive you as you surrender all your rebellious ways to him. He will fill you with all good things, shower you in all the blessings of his love and he will give you solid ground to stand on again.

God is good, so very good, and he loves you more than you can comprehend. That is what we are truly celebrating on this Palm Sunday.

The Problem With This World Is ... Me

I have been trying very hard to put a positive spin on the things I have been receiving in the Spirit lately. After all, who wants to read a blog that is going to point out our faults all the time. It's not that the Spirit is mean, just that lately he has been directing me to several things that have been steering us wrong. For example, this is Saturday morning. It would be great to have a nice light subject for a Saturday morning. Something whimsical to read with our morning coffee as we sit in our housecoat and slippers. Instead I get this:

“The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing. 
   They walk about in darkness;    all the foundations of the earth are shaken. (Psalm 82:5)

I got this last weekend as well but I skipped over it and wrote around it. Yet, here it is in front of me again this week. It's not that it is negative, as in the Spirit is calling us stupid; it's more pointing out our natural condition that causes us problems with God. The Spirit is not trying to be mean; he is pointing these things out in love because he wants us to live up to our full potential in Jesus. This means that we need to be made aware of things that have to change.

It is true that we have the attitude of 'gods', always wanting to be in control and changing things to suit us. We are always trying to change the environment around us for our own needs. If we are not happy with ourselves, our appearance, what we possess, our current situation, we take it upon ourselves to do something about it. As a race of nations, our many wars are caused by someone rising up as a 'god' and trying to take whatever suits them. Nation fought nation over land, gold, water rights, oil, philosophies, idols and such. Lives have been lost over things 'gods' wanted to possess.

We actually believe that we are the "masters of our own destiny", a thought that comes out of a poem by William Ernest Henley called "Invictus". The last bit of this poem reads:

"It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul."

This is the arrogance of man. "I am in charge of me." "No one is going to tell me what to do." We admire this in people and defend their right to such an attitude. It comes from the root of rebellion that we have against God. He gave us the freedom of choice, to choose this rebellious attitude if we want, and we have run with it. What a mess we have made of things. Anyone who thinks our world is better off "captained" by this attitude must truly be completely blind in a pitch black world.

When Jesus walked among us he demonstrated God's heart to us, which is a completely different attitude than our 'god' attitude. Jesus came to give his life, not only in his death (the cross) but in his living as well. He lived a life of a servant, giving himself over to the needs of others. He preached the Good News so people would turn away from destruction. He healed out of compassion. He was never concerned about his own needs, always put others ahead of himself and trusted the Father for everything. Does that describe our lives? I highly doubt it.

Even with the name Christian stamped on us we fail to rise up from the 'god' trap. Occasionally we consider Jesus and turn to him in repentance but to live by the Spirit, totally dependent on the provision and direction of God is often beyond us. It is not difficult to see where we are with this. Just check your attitude toward other people and toward life in general. I don't mean just your actions but your thinking and feeling as well. Jesus told us it is not just our actions that matter but our heart condition in the matter as well. It is just as bad to sin in your heart as it is to sin in action. It is not good enough to say yes, you have to do it as well. Check your attitude with this verse:

We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. But the man who loves God is known by God. (1 Corinthians 8:1-3)

It is not good enough to say you are a follower of Jesus, you have to live it too. I am not talking conformity but transformation. Our hearts have to be transformed supernaturally to be like Jesus, our minds too. We have to allow our 'god' complex to be crucified with the rest of the things of the old rebellion against God and put on the garment which has been provided by Jesus. Our life must be govern by the the love of Christ, a love that always puts the needs of others ahead of our own. Imagine if every Christian would stop living for themselves and start living in submission to the Spirit. Imagine if every Christian stopped defending themselves and started attending to the needs of others. Imagine if every Christian actually laid down their life and started to allow Jesus to live through them. Imagine what a different world we would be living in right now.

We ought to know better. We ought to start listening to the Spirit.

In This Clear And Present Danger, What Are You Doing?

Ahhh, what a beautiful day. I love Saturday's; the day we get to catch up on everything we couldn't fit in during the week. Also a day when we can take the time to "smell the roses", a time to relax and simply enjoy life. What will you do with this day? What would Jesus do with it?

Oops, what would Jesus do? What does he have to do with Saturday's? Well, he has everything to do with everything and if we do not realize it then our "following Jesus" is lacking some understanding. To be a Jesus follower requires total commitment; I mean total. Everything we are is all about him and he directs us, in everything we do, how to bring him honour and glory, and how to fulfill our part in the mission.

You would be amazed how he can use our everyday chores for the Kingdom. I mean the car washing, grocery shopping, lawn mowing, snow shoveling, but we have to be attentive, looking for the opportunities and jumping on them when they are presented. In other words, Jesus must always be on our mind.

I was reading Psalm 79 this morning, which was the reaction of this psalmist to the devastating attack of the enemy of God's people, and I realized how fitting it was in describing the effects of our enemy's attack on the Church:

O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance; 
   they have defiled your holy temple, 
   they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble. 
They have left the dead bodies of your servants 
   as food for the birds of the sky, 
   the flesh of your own people for the animals of the wild. 
They have poured out blood like water 
   all around Jerusalem, 
   and there is no one to bury the dead. 
We are objects of contempt to our neighbors, 
   of scorn and derision to those around us.  (Psalm 79:1-4)

The enemy in North America has been very subtle for years, invading the Church inch by inch, slowly eroding away our core beliefs, the foundations of our faith. Like a constant, gentle wave against the shore line, he has taken years to change us from Christ-centered to self-centered. So now we are weak and we are getting to be easy for the picking. Don't be fooled by the number of large churches; those who are strong in their faith, focused on Jesus and have turned their back on the pleasures of this world are much fewer in number. We have been seeing for years now the changes in doctrine being accepted without a fight, pastors changing the Word to fit their own ideologies without much of a challenge at all, and Christians being shaped by the thinking of society instead of the Word of God.

The nations have invaded God's inheritance. They have defiled his holy temple, which is us. They are tearing down God's nation from the inside. The dead bodies of God's servants are being fed on as they pile up, one after another, as these servants put a longing for success ahead of faithfulness to God. There is very little doubt any more of the contempt, scorn and derision that people around us feel toward us. Oh, maybe not toward those who are willing to compromise to be accepted by their neighbour, but those who stand by the Word, who refuse to give an inch to the enemy and whose constant thought is Jesus.

It is not hard to tell which camp you fall into and it is not hard to change it. Is Jesus the center of everything you do? Is he involved in everything you do? Do you do what you do because of Jesus? Is there anything in your life that has a greater influence on you than Jesus? Is your greatest desire to please Jesus in all your thinking, feeling and actions? Do you see him as the reason for your life? Is there anything that you tolerate that comes against the person of Jesus? If Jesus was physically present with you all day today would you change some of your plans and perhaps some of your vocabulary and maybe the way you treat family and neighbours?

The difference is sometimes very subtle. Do you spend time with your friends because you get something from them or because you want to add to them? Do you help your parents with resentment or with joy? Do you play video games with your children because you enjoy video games or because you enjoy your children and being with them gives opportunities to teach about Jesus? In everything we do it is always a question of the heart. Is it because it honours Jesus and a giving to others or is it because we get to feed our own selfish needs?

We have to stop playing the church game. Either we are followers of Jesus or we are not. There is no in between place. Jesus said that anyone who was lukewarm would be spit out. He said to be his followers we would have to give up everything. He said we would have to deny ourselves, take up our calling (purpose)(cross) and follow him. In other words, go all the way until our purpose has been completed.

The enemy is in our midst and some of us are just becoming aware of it. The good news is that he is nothing compared to Jesus. He is weak, pathetic and simply a fallen angel in rebellion against God. Jesus won't be taking him on because the enemy is beneath him. It is the other angels who will fight against Satan and defeat him. We are powerful against him and the Word is clear that we must be attentive to the war that is raging around us. We are those who pray and send the enemy fleeing. We know in this age many will be deceived but we do not have to belong to this group. We are the children of God and we must take our stand, trusting,  believing, refusing to give an inch to the enemy.

So, I ask you again: What will you do with this day? What would Jesus do with it?

I No Longer Belong To This World And It's Foolishness

I wish I could convince people that we are different, that we are suppose to be different. It seems in this age we hate to be different from our neighbour and just try to fit in, not wanting to cause any trouble at all. We just want to live our life anonymously, without anyone taking note. There are those who try to stand out in our society but they do it through rebellion and for selfish reasons. But to find people who stand out from the norm because of God's righteousness, his power and because they believe they are part of a rescue team, is a hard thing to do. We are different and the sooner we accept that the better this world will be for it.

To be a follower of Jesus Christ is to be a new creation. You are no longer controlled by your sin nature but instead by the righteousness of God. This means that you live the way God has created you to live; to love everyone, to consider others more important than yourself, to be generous toward others, to always seek the good of others, to share the good news of Jesus Christ with anyone who will listen. It is due to this righteousness, to the love of Christ that we are compelled to warn people of their destruction and to show them the rescue plan. There is another difference as well, a big one: We are possessed by the Spirit of God and are filled by the resurrection power.

We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. (1 Corinthians 2:12)

This is the thing we need to be absolutely sure of, that we are not possessed by the spirit of the world but by the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God works to change us into the character of Jesus; the spirit of the world moves us away from the character of Jesus. The Spirit of God causes the priority of others to rise up over ourselves, but the spirit of the world lifts us up ahead of anyone else. There are huge differences but one of the greatest advantages is that we begin to understand spiritual matters. We understand what God has freely given us. Our entire language begins to change:

This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. (1 Corinthians 2:13)

This is what I find so frustrating, when the leaders in the Church try to guide by the wisdom of this world. They get some caught up in their "knowledge" and the "wisdom" they have been taught in their great institutions of education, so that they fall into the trap of treating the Church like an institution of this world. The Church is not of this world, she was not birthed by this world, she does not operate according to the wisdom of this world and man has no part with her. However, the new creation does and the new creation is birthed by the Spirit as was the Church.

There is no amount of teaching, learning or education that can come close to what the Spirit reveals to us. You could study the Word until Jesus returns but if you do not have the Spirit and if the Spirit is not teaching you, you will have gained nothing. Spiritual truths can only be grasped and understood by those possessed by the Spirit because only the Spirit gives understanding:

The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14) 

I will not listen to what the world has to say about spiritual truths because they have nothing to add to my understanding. They are the dark who have never seen the light trying to explain to the light what the light looks like. Ridiculous! On top of that we must test the spirit when it comes to the teaching we submit ourselves to in the Church. I am not referring to the false prophets but of those who teach with carnal minds, who do not have the Spirit and are forced to teach from their flesh, their human knowledge. There are a lot of confused people who do not even realize they are confused, leading a bunch of other confused people, and they are all happy in the process. These are the ones who make it their business to teach against the Word of God and who want everyone to fit in, conform to our society. They teach homosexuality is okay, that abortion is appropriate, that Muslims are no different than Christians and we really don't need to worry about hell because , even if it does exist, God's love would not allow it. Wake up people, they are calling Jesus a liar. Do you hear me? A liar!

It is time to rise up in the Spirit, to stop conforming to this world, to stop trying to bring peace when Jesus said there would be division because of him, and start living the life God called us to so that Jesus would be lifted up and people would be rescued. It's not easy but Jesus warned us it wouldn't be. However, it is just for a short time that we must face this kind of suffering as the world hates us because soon we will be with Jesus in glory. Come on my friends, live the life you were saved to live, life in the Spirit of God.

I Am Telling You, Jesus Sent Us Out With Power

I think we too easily forget who we are in Jesus Christ. We get so used to the rules of this world, the natural laws, the restrictions of our flesh that we forget that we are more than this. Have you read the gospels? Have you read the life of Jesus? Do you know who he is?

Let me tell you, Jesus was 100% man and 100% God. However, he set aside his divinity so that he could take our place. Oh, he was/is divine but he did not avail himself of these powers and privileges. He walked, lived, worked, slept, ate just like we do every day. When he hurt himself he felt pain. If this is true then how did he do the stuff he did? Good question.

You see, those who really don't know anything about Jesus simply believe that he was a good man who taught about love. They say he was a great teacher that had far greater insight into love than most people today. They put him on the same level as Gandhi. But that's because they don't really know anything about Jesus.

Jesus came to cast out demons and preach the good news. He had to get rid of the demons so people could receive the good news. Right there people start freaking out and walking away. Christians today don't want to hear it because they don't want to defend it. But that is exactly what Jesus did. Read it for yourself.

Then our compassionate God could not walk around in the suffering of mankind without responding to that suffering, so when the first person asked for healing Jesus responded from the love of his heart. Then it became a sea of requests as a suffering humanity discovered the compassionate heart of God. How did Jesus do all this if he had limited himself to his humanity? Can't only the divine do this?

Go back to where Jesus stepped away from his life in the world and presented himself for baptism. It wasn't just water Jesus was baptized with but the Holy Spirit as well. As Jesus came out of the water the Spirit of God descended on him and it was by the Spirit of God that Jesus did all these things. Why? Why would he set his divinity aside and operate in the Spirit?

There were a few reasons but the one I am addressing here right now is that he came to set for us an example of what it was to live by this same Spirit. Jesus promised this same Spirit to us and told us we would do even greater things than he did. When he left he said he was leaving so he could send the Spirit. After he left the Spirit came upon the believers and the Church was born. The book of Acts is not the Acts of the Apostles but the Acts of the Holy Spirit because it was by the Spirit they did all these things. Have you read it? It's out of this world. Nothing there about being stuck in the confines of this place. No patterns of the world found in these chapters.

Why am I telling you this? Because we have forgotten, in the trappings of this world, that we are more than this. We have forgotten that Jesus told us to live by the Spirit of God. We have forgotten that the epistles of the Apostles tell us to live by the Spirit of God. We forgot that we are God's glory and he wants to operate through us in power so that the nations will see his glory.

Instead we set up churches to sing songs, entertain people, give out food and clothing and operate like any other charity would. Meanwhile we have the resurrection power in our blood to cast out demons, heal the sick and raise the dead. Jesus first gave this authority to his 12 disciples (Luke 9). Later he gave this same authority to the 72 (Luke 10). Finally it was given to all believers with the giving of the Holy Spirit at the birth of the Church (Mark 16).

There are far too many skeptics walking around disguised as Christians. Either we believe the full gospel or we don't believe any of it. Jesus said it is all or nothing. Too many Christians are calling Jesus a liar. Too many are saying that only parts of the Bible are true. Too many say that the sink can't be healed, that the dead can't be raised, that there are no such things as demons. They say the only power we have is to live a good life. Wimps is what I call them. No spiritual muscle to them at all. No wonder this world is becoming a darker place as the Church fails to bear the Light who is Jesus. Jesus was more than a teacher, more than a statesman, more than this world deserves. We are more than teachers, more than statesmen, more than this world understands. Go ahead, read it for yourself and see if I am lying. Ask the Spirit to open your eyes and you too will see it plainly enough. God has filled us with his power to reveal his glory and he has sent us out to do it. Go ahead, open your Bibles and read. See for yourself.

And hurry up because we have a lot of work to do!

How To Know You Are Living For Jesus And Not Yourself

Have you ever felt that perhaps you have everything screwed up? You know what I mean, where you are doing some things right but they seem to be all twisted in things that aren't quite right but you are not sure how to untangle it all? Perhaps I am reaching too far to start with and you are still at that point where you think everything is okay. The usual reason for thinking everything is okay is because we are blind to the real situation. There is an idiom that says, "If you can keep calm while everyone around you is loosing their head in panic, it's because you don't know what's going on." Funny.

I believe many Christians are doing what they think they are suppose to do but they are doing it without power and often times without real conviction. This means that the first sign of trouble or resistance and they drop their faith and run. Perhaps we don't run from church, which has become our family, but we don't rely on God to get us out of situations, often turning to other people or trying to dig our own way out. All of this is a result of lack of prayer. It is in our prayer time that we are convicted about things in our lives, strengthened to do the right thing and are shown the correct path to take. Without prayer we are left to our own devices.

After writing to his friend Timothy concerning the importance of prayer, Paul then spoke of his desire for the Church:

Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing. (1 Timothy 2:8)

This is what Paul desired to see developing out of a disciplined life of prayer, a lack of anger and disputes; a lack of arguing and division. You can't spend a great deal of time with Jesus and come away the same. Prayer and fasting changes a person; it changes them to be more like Jesus. The more time you spend with him the more he rubs off on you. You can't hate someone you are praying for. If you go into prayer angry with someone, that time with Jesus will change your heart so that you come out with forgiveness and renewed love. You can't be a prayer warrior and be filled with anger and hate. If you are, you are a fake.

Paul also expressed another desire he had for the Church:

I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God. (1 Timothy 2:9-10)

This was not a command telling women how to dress, but it was an expressed desire of Paul to see radical changes produced through prayer. You can't mandate modesty. If you try it becomes legalism. It is something that is birthed as a loving response to Jesus. You can't spend time with Jesus without it changing your thinking, perspective and desires. Fasting and prayer helps you understand the priority of the Kingdom and gives you a desire for those priorities. It causes us to let go of the things that do not bring us closer to God and of the things that are unhealthy for us.

Consider it from Jesus' perspective: Why did he die on the cross/ What was the purpose of his resurrection? Was it so we could spend all our money on fashions, jewelry, and make-up? Was it so we could fill our heads with worrying about how we look and how people perceive us? I am not saying there is anything wrong with looking presentable; I wear a suit for that exact reason, to look presentable. But when that occupies your thinking, pocket book and desires then it has taken priority over the Kingdom. Paul picked on fashion but we could use sports, cars, fitness or anything else that takes priority over God's priorities.

What do we think Jesus' priorities are? Paul says dress to look good but your energy needs to go into the things that honour God, such as good deeds. I would add to that, working for the salvation of souls, because that is the mission we have been given. A healthy prayer life does this by keeping us in tune with the Holy Spirit. It keeps us in the mind of Christ and helps us fix our eyes on that goal of eternity. It helps put everything in it's place. There is nothing wrong with nice clothes, sports, or fitness, but when they become more important than the Kingdom of God we have begun to twist things again.

If you want to judge the health of your relationship with Jesus check your habit of prayer. Not only do we need to be praying ceaselessly, we need our relationship building time with Christ; that time we set aside just for him. The healthier that is, the healthier our relationship, the more we will walk in his conviction and power. Let's get our life untwisted by spending the time we need to with Jesus, who is our everything.

Eat And Drink For Tomorrow We Die

Spiritual maturity comes with understanding and accepting the full plan of God. Some people live as if this is all we are getting. They may follow Jesus but feel cheated if their life is more difficult than someone else's. We have this attitude that we need to eat and drink today because tomorrow we die. What foolish people to think that what we are experiencing here is of any value compared to what we are maturing towards. This place is a brief staging area for the eternity Jesus is preparing us for.

If we could understand what will happen with the resurrection I think many of our attitudes would change in this place. We would be less concerned about what we don't have and we would be less bothered by any troubles we have to live through. Paul expressed it this way:

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. (2 Corinthians 4:17) 

If we are bothered and disturbed by the things of this life it means we are too attached to it and may not understand what is coming. It is like those who are afraid of death. They don't want to experience death because they are too in love with this life. They have yet to realize that death is simply the door to the eternity that has been planned for us. In fact, to call it death is not a correct term for Christians as we know that we are simply falling asleep in Christ until his return. And what a return it will be.

Have you stopped to think about the resurrection and the new body you will receive? This body we have, this flimsy vessel, so weak and prone to sin is only a seed to be planted so that the eternal body may be born from it. The Scriptures are clear in regards to our eternal body:

What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. (1 Corinthians 15:36-38)

We fret so much over this temporary thing that houses us. We regret that we were made too short or too tall. We try to measure the beauty of it but we are always seeing the imperfection. We try to convince ourselves to "love the skin you're in" as if this is all we will ever have. Well, this skin grows old, it only lasts so long. It will have pimples and blemishes when it is young and it will be wrinkled when it is old. It is susceptible to disease, it requires lots of attention to remain healthy. If we abuse it it will break down and cost our society tonnes of money. It is described as a clay vessel because at that time clay was cheap, weak and disposable. Yet we waste so much time on it. It's just temporary folks, disposable, a seed to be planted to become what we were intended for:

So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. (1 Corinthians 15:42-44)

This is our reality! This body and this place is temporary for us. This perishable, dishonoured, weak, natural body is going to be reborn, transformed just like our heart and mind so that it is imperishable, glorified, powerful and spiritual.

So stop living the attitude of "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die". That is the attitude of those who do not believe in the resurrection of the dead. It is the attitude of those who do not have faith in Christ. It is the attitude of those who believe that "this" is all there is so enjoy it while you can. Don't be one of those people, it is a sad life. Instead, invest what you have been given. Store up for yourself treasures in heaven. Spend your life in service to the King, not worrying about the distractions this world has to offer. Live in such a way that you show that this world is only a shadow of what has been promised to us, so to die is gain for us. To die is to plant that perishable seed so that it becomes the imperishable in Christ. Live your life to the fullest in Jesus and stop worrying that you are missing out on something. The best is yet to come.

Why Is Life So Complicated?

So much noise. So many voices. So many distractions. It's a wonder we can hear God's voice at all as we overcrowd our life and complicate it beyond anything reasonable. It would be interesting to make a list of all the essential things and activities in our day and then make a list of all the non-essential. I wonder which would be the longer list? I wonder if we would be able to tell the difference between the two? No wonder we are getting the philosophies and ideas of the world so mixed up with God's Word.

Every day I am hearing or reading things from Christians that come directly from the current thinking in the world system. "Believe in yourself." "You can do anything you put your mind to." "If you think you can, you will." Yet, until we realize our total fallen state and that we have nothing of any worth to offer Jesus, we will not be able to fully accept his grace, mercy and compassion. As long as we believe that there is some good in us God can do nothing for us. We have to realize that Jesus must and has done it all for us, that there is nothing we can do for ourselves, before we will begin to understand the extent of his love for us and everyone else.

Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth:

Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame. (1 Corinthians 15:34)

There are two parts to this. First of all we need to come back to our senses and stop sinning. The problem with the Corinthians is that they had started twisting the gospel Paul had brought to them. They started rejecting the fact of the resurrection. They were philosophers and they loved talking about new ideas and new religions which they would then take on or reject. Somehow they were allowing the philosophies to dilute the truth of the gospel. Not unlike today as we pick and choose from a whole grocery store of thoughts, ideas, and life philosophies. Instead of sticking to the clear Word of God we are creating our own beliefs from bits and pieces of everything that tickles our ears.

Second, these people were distracted from their purpose. Instead of doing what God has called us all to do they were distracted by their great debates and discussions. They preferred to sit around and talk about the gospel instead of actually doing the gospel. Paul said it was to their shame that some people were still ignorant of God. Isn't that crazy? It's like working at a grocery store and spending all day discussing the best way of stocking the shelves without actually stocking the shelves. It is great that we have opportunities to study the Bible but the Bible is more than a piece of literature to be discussed and studied; it is an instruction manual that tells us what we are suppose to be doing. The most important thing for us to be doing is getting out of our churches and into life so we can share the good news of Jesus Christ.

We are complicating our lives whereas God has made it simple for us. You have not been saved for your own pleasure but so that you could be used as an instrument in someone else's salvation. We have not been left in this place to chase after the things of the pagans, to pursue our own entertainment and pleasures but instead to live for Jesus by serving other people. It's all about getting your head screwed on right, coming back to your senses, to stop sinning, to stop making life about you and instead making life about Jesus and others. Examine your day, cut out the non-essentials and see what you are left with. Then start filling your day with the purpose of your life. Remember, you died to yourself and now you live in Jesus. Without him you have no life. As Paul stated, Jesus is our life and we live for his purpose, not our own.

What Have We Done To God's Design?

As a youth I was always fascinated with 1 Corinthians 14 and the description of what a Christian gathering looked like. As one who found church absolutely boring and predictable, I was intrigued by the inclusiveness of Paul's description of the order that was needed because of everyone's preparedness to participate:

When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. (1 Corinthians 14:26)

Church in my youth was not unlike it is today. There may be a bit more singing and the songs may be a bit more upbeat and modern but the format is still the same:

- greeted at the door
- find a seat
- listen to the welcome and announcements
- sing some songs
- tithes and offerings
- listen to the preacher
- prayer
- go home or out to lunch

Not a lot of participation or even potential participation. It is all very predictable and controlled. Man got his hands on the new thing that God was doing and had to control it. Take note in this passage that Paul was not trying to control the Spirit but simply to help the Corinthians understand that there must be some order to it all:

- If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. (v. 27)


- Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. (v. 29)


- And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. (v. 30)

Wow! I wonder what the experience must have been like? The freedom to speak through as many people as he chose, the various revelations that would come in, the variety of speakers, no long winded preaching. Realize the beauty of this:

For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. (v. 31)

I point this out to you because it is important for us to understand that we are still often governed by the traditions of man. Many of us think that we walk in the freedom of the Spirit believing that what was done by the previous generation was God ordained. I think God has a lot of patience with us, that he has permitted many things that are not his will, and that we should really examine what governs us.

As far as I am concerned every generation should question what has been handed down to it and every person should seek God's will for themselves. There have been many incorrect teachings in the past. Perhaps the evil age of denominations is now over. I certainly see a lot more mix of Christians online. I rarely hear people online discussing their denominational differences. But I am still thinking we don't do church right.

We have become very professional with our clergy, our priests. I don't care what denomination you are from, we treat our ministers, our pastors, our clergy like priests and that is not what we see here in this passage. It was recognized that everyone was filled by the Spirit and had received spiritual gifts for the Church. No one had to show their credentials before bringing a word. There was no requirement to obtain a bachelor degree before being accepted to speak. The traditions of man did not exist yet and the Spirit flowed with incredible power.

Just as we have seen a revolution take place in our worship, where there is more freedom now to worship and praise with our spirit, so we must see a great change in our approach to our gatherings. I still long, as I did as a youth, to see the Spirit move again like he did in the beginning, when we will recognize that we are all members of the royal priesthood, that everyone is capable of being used by the Spirit to bring instruction and encouragement to the Body of Christ. Learn to distinguish the difference between the traditions of man and the will of God.






 

This New Year Keep Smiling

As we face yet another new year we also face a lot of uncertainty. Young people often only consider their immediate environment failing to understand that the local is often a victim of the global. As we get older we take more notice of what is going on in the world and how fragile everything seems. The economy is not great and appears ready to tank at any hint of a crisis. The Arab states continue to be a powder keg, with the relationship between Israel and Iran always on the front burner. We add to that the uncertainty of the new leader in North Korea and we have have a lot of unstable regions in the world. Then we have the various famines, crop failures, wacky weather, the rising cost of food and we realize that nothing is certain for 2012. Well, at least if you are not a follower of Jesus Christ it is not certain.

That's the thing for Christians to keep in mind, we don't belong to this place or receive our peace from it. Whether you are concerned about things in your school, community or the global situation there is no reason for us to feel any fear or trepidation about our future. In fact that should be the hall mark of any Christian, the peace we have in any and all situations. Ours should be a path of certainty as we realize that joy is ours in everything. The psalmist wrote:

But may the righteous be glad
and rejoice before God;
may they be happy and joyful. (Psalm 69:3)

Look at the vocabulary here: be glad, rejoice, be happy, be joyful. Why? Because of who our God is, because of his promises, because of what he has done in the past and because of what he promises for the future. It should be enough for us to consider the eternity Jesus has prepared for us to see joy poring out of us. This is to God's glory. Forget about the health benefits of a cheerful and thankful heart that the doctors talk about, it is enough that we bring glory to God through these things. Too many of us have witnessed the ill effects of a mean tempered person who claims Jesus as lord. I really don't think they would know Jesus to trip over him. In Proverbs we read:

A happy heart makes the face cheerful. (Proverbs 15:13)

How can we ignore the great theme of all the writers of the New Testament:

Be joyful always. (1 Thess. 5:16)

Joy is ours because Jesus Christ is ours and that is all that matters to us. If we trust him then we have joy but if we do not trust him we do not possess his peace which allows for joy. Most of the time what troubles us are things we have no control over so it is always best to trust the one who has control over everything.

I am not one who sticks my head in the sand, I do not ignore problems hoping they go away, but neither do I allow those problems to so block my vision that I can no longer see Jesus. Our Father is in the rescuing business and he loves to look after his children. I am very aware of what is going on in the world but I am more aware of what is going on in my relationship with God. I have a purpose and a function in the Kingdom and despite what it looks like in the world I will be faith to my duties. I know I have a duty to reveal God's glory in every situation. I refuse to rob him of this glory by failing to be joyful in my relationship with Jesus. It gives me great joy that, despite the changing times in the world, our God never changes. I leave you with this blessing:

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

Keep smiling!