Christianity Is Not Cheap

We live in a world where the great message is that you can be and do whatever you want. Gone are the absolutes; the absolute good and the absolute evil. Now is a time of acceptance, tolerance, accommodating, respect, and broad-mindedness. We are an open society that says, "As long as it isn't hurting anyone you can do whatever you want". And it is in this environment that people create a god after their own image.

If that's what you want then go ahead but don't call yourself Christian while doing it. Christianity is not a "do what you want" religion. It is not a feel good system. It is not a something that has been developed and proclaimed based on people's opinions. It is not cheap; not by a long shot.

Christianity was birthed in the blood of our Saviour who gave his all so that we could be offered it all. It has continued in the blood of those who gave their all in return, who were not afraid of death and who refused to compromise on the truth. They sought nothing for themselves in this world because they had already received everything through Jesus Christ.

Christianity is not shaped and molded by popular thinking. It is not impacted by society. It continues on the foundation of the Bible, the Word of God, the Holy Scriptures that are the only revelation Yahweh has given of himself. It doesn't matter if you hold a different opinion. You are free to have your opinion but if it goes against the revelation of God then it is not Christian but remains your opinion.

As a follower of Jesus, centered on a relationship with him, we stand on the Word of God. If not, we stand on nothing, just a thought or opinion, which doesn't amount to much. Keep in mind that as a follower of Jesus our reality is summed up in this statement:

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. This life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself to me." (Galatians 2:20)

If we don't start with this then we are trying to follow principles without a relationship with the giver of those principles. It doesn't matter how good you are in following those principles, if you can't testify that your life exists only in Jesus, then there is no eternal value in what you do. Salvation does not come from what you do but from relationship with Jesus. What we do comes from this relationship but the relationship starts when we accept that Jesus died for us so our rebellion against Yahweh could be forgiven and now offers us life through him, in relationship.

Christianity is different from all other offerings out there and it costs everything. It is not cheap. It does not allow you to do what you want. It involves your death and a new life through Jesus. This is Christianity. Anything else is false and has no eternal value at all.

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.

A Life Worth Living

I so wish I could accurately express to people how we are getting Christianity wrong. The basic problem is that we continue to live as if it is something that goes outward in whereas the reality of it is that it goes inward out.

Jesus explained to us that it is not what goes into people that make them unclean but what comes out. Think about it.

Most people want a set of rules or instructions to follow. I have even heard preachers describe the Bible as a "How To" book on life. Others refer to it as an instruction book. But it isn't. The purpose of the Bible is to reveal what God has done for us and is doing in us. It's an explanation.

So many people try to "live by the Word" but forget that we are miserable failures at it. So we come up with excuses, "I'm only human", "I'm not perfect, only forgiven" and so on. But in truth the greatest failure is not understanding that these things that God is doing is done by the Spirit in us.

Again let me say, God's place is to do and ours is to submit to the Doer.

It is God who changes us, not us changing ourselves.

However, in Colossians 3 we do find a few things we can do to better facilitate God's work in us:

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. (Colossians 3:15)

There is number one and two right there. Let, allow, permit, make way for, submit to, invite in the peace of Jesus so it may rule in your hearts. When Jesus told us he was giving us peace he emphasized it was his peace and he did not give as the world gives. It is ours, never to be taken away. But he is the one who gives it. We receive it from him as a gift, not something we earn because we have removed all the stresses from our life and we know how to do yoga or have mastered meditation. His peace exists in us in the worst of times because of Jesus and we "let" it rule our heart. That's our part, letting it.

The second thing is being thankful. He does so much for us that he creates this natural condition of thanksgiving but we have to choose to be thankful. A complaining spirit is not thankful. Neither is a heart filled with rage, anger, hurt, pride and all the other junk we pollute ourselves with. A thankful heart should be natural in the light of God's grace but it is still our choice. We have to "let" it.

There are a few other things that we can do as well. These are all things that allow God to have the freedom to work in us and in the Church:

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. (v.16)

God can't force us to study his Word, that is our choice. But it is more than study, it is allowing the Spirit to put that Word into effect in our living: "dwell in you richly". It is seeing the Word come alive in all its depth when it says to love one another, to respect the elders, to love your enemies. God will write it upon our heart and the Spirit will enrich our lives with it as the Word takes life through our living. It is amazing stuff that works from the inside out but we have to let it, allow it, permit it, make way for it, submit to it, invite it in.

Part of the riches of the "Word alive in us" is the vibrancy it brings to the Body of Christ, the Church, our family. It is not a community, it is family, and it is vibrant when each member allows the Word of Christ to dwell in us richly. It turns us into teachers and ones who are able to admonish with all wisdom and not with anger and hatred. It overwhelms us with love for each other and the desire to see the best in people. It fills us with praise so that we are known as a people of singing and dancing as the praises of our God flow out of us. And, it brings us back to this point again, it provokes gratitude in our hearts to God.

Interesting how it always seems to bring us to thanksgiving, gratitude, thankfulness, appreciation. When we are busy being thankful we don't have time to complain or criticize.

So what is the end game? What results from these few things that we are able to do since it is up to God to transform us? The bottom line of our life is this:

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (v. 17)

There you go, a life worth living!

These few things that we can do amount to nothing more than facilitating the inward transformation that God is working in us, but it lets, allows, permits, makes way for, submits and invites in our ability to live our life in the name of Jesus. And don't forget the giving thanks bit. It provokes us to be a people of constant thanksgiving.

I don't know what other kind of life we are living but this is the only life that is actually worth living. This is life in abundance. This is freedom. This is joy. This is love. This is Christianity as it is meant to be.

When Love Hurts

We can't live by emotions but emotions are a good gauge as to where we are with things. If you feel down it would be a good idea to examine yourself to understand why. If you are feeling angry all the time, there is an issue there somewhere. If you are feeling anxious, there is a reason for it. We can't live by these emotions but neither can we afford not to understand them. Emotions should not change our course of living but they can help us better understand how we are reacting to circumstances.

People have this notion that God removes our emotions, that all we feel all the time is love. Yet, when I read the Word of God I see all kinds of emotions in Jesus. I see excitement and pleasure, disappointment and anger, love and compassion. Jesus felt a whole range of emotions, the same ones we have all the time, yet none of it prevented him from moving forward. Not once do we hear him say, "I don't feel like it today guys" or "I'm a bit low today so I think I will stay in bed". Could you ever imagine Jesus saying, "I'm too angry with you to heal you right now"? He had our emotions but he never allowed them to keep him from doing what was right.

Paul is another great example of this. Paul was not the sort of guy who was very good at hiding his emotions. Maybe he was different in the flesh but in his writing we can see his heart all over the place. One of the places that really strikes me is in Galatians 4:

What has happened to all your joy? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? (v.15-16)

I wonder if you can relate to that. Ever have a great friend who, one day, just turned around and became your enemy? If that has ever happened to you I am sure you remember the emotions that were provoked by it. There was a lot of pain, hurt, anger, disappointment, questioning, bewilderment, confusion and a bunch of other stuff. We are a relational creature; relations really matter to us. When someone we love suddenly becomes someone who hates us it is difficult to handle. For some of us the easiest solution is to simply walk away. Can you imagine Jesus or Paul doing that? Why not?

Immaturity is when we allow our emotions to dictate our actions. There are a lot of immature adults walking the streets of our cities and sitting in the pews of our churches. Maturity allows us to understand our emotions but to still make the right decision to do the right thing. The reason Jesus and Paul never walked away is because love was always the dominate motivator of their actions. For Jesus it still is and for Paul it was always Jesus' love that compelled him to take the right actions.

So understand your emotions but don't live by them. Just like the pain in your arm tells you there is something that is wrong and that it needs your attention, our emotions warn us if something is not right in us. But that pain in your arm is not going to stop you from living today and neither should your emotions. Understand your circumstances but get on with your living. Emotions change but our reason for living should remain a constant. The greatest and most important things for us to do in our living for Jesus is to love and forgive. Don't let anything interfere with your living for Jesus.

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.

We Mouth The Words Of A Song We Don't Really Know

I've noticed recently that many of my blogs have taken on a harsher, more urgent tone to them. It is like a desperate plea to a people who have forgotten who they are, who seem to have lost their identity. We are a generation of believers with more physical advantages than any other generation before us and yet we are one of the spiritually poorest generations that has existed. We are weak in our faith and in our understanding of God's Word. We have almost completely set aside the Spirit of God and now only do what we can in our own ability. We mouth the Words of a song that we don't really know or identify with any more.

I want to shock you with a little piece of Scripture that will either encourage you or ruin your day, depending on your priorities. I don't want us to play games any more and fill our days with pictures of cute, fluffy cats and bunnies. I want you to understand the bare bones reality of what our relationship with Jesus is. Key element number one:

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  (Galatians 2:20)

You won't believe how many Christians are waking up today with this NOT being their reality. I have been crucified with Christ! Spiritually this is our reality. Christianity is not some mamsie pamsie feel good religion that helps people who are in misery make it through yet another endless day in their sorry excuse of a life. The reality is that when we decide to follow Jesus, we set our life aside. We voluntarily become crucified with him, laying down our life, giving up our future, past and present. We are dead. Paul says it clearly here, "I no longer live".

Do you hear that? Many don't. Many think they can accept Jesus, get all the benefits and then continue doing what they want to do. But we are no longer alive. We no longer live for ourselves. We no longer pursue what we want. We no longer chase after our dreams. There is no 10% for God and 90% for us. There is only 100% Jesus, all the time, everywhere. Our reality becomes, "I no longer love, but Christ lives in me". That means that it is his will we respond to, his desires, his character, his love and compassion. Our reality is totally shifted so that what is important to Jesus is important to us. We acknowledge that we are only alive because of Jesus in us. Jesus is not someone we add to our collection of stuff; Jesus replaces even us. Jesus is not something we do; Jesus is what we are.

It doesn't take a scientific study to know that this is not the reality for the great majority of Christians. In fact, most of us don't even know how it works. We just know that our parents went to church so that we should go to church too. The new generation of Christians, those that have joined the big churches simply like the singing, the programs and they find the pastor entertaining and wise. But where is the radical Christianity? Where is the red hot, on fire for the Lord, let's go out and save the world, brand of Christians? If we have died and Jesus now lives in us, shouldn't we be out doing what he has told us to do?

We have set aside our rights to make our own decisions and to live according to what we want. We have given up the right to second guess God. Our new reality is that we trust everything that Jesus says as if it is life itself, because it is. We place our entire faith in him. Key element number two:

The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)  

It is his love that compels us. It is his great act of love on the cross that compelled us to lay down our life in the first place. His love drew us to the cross where we were crucified with him. It is his love that called us back to life where he became the source of life in us. Imagine if you would that our heart was replaced by Jesus and it is now him who sustains our breath.

If we are not living every day for Jesus, we are wasting our days. Nothing we do outside of Jesus has any value. Nothing we pursue outside of him will add to our joy or will have any eternal impact. Nothing we do outside of him has any life to it at all since Jesus is the one who sustains our life. We do not live by the rules and wisdom of this world but by faith in Jesus. We live by his promises and his instructions. We are not confined by the limits of this world as we allow Jesus to live through us.

We have to decide today that we are going to stop living such weak lives; lives without the power of God. We have to put on the realty that we gave our life up and everything that went with it. Jesus is not interested in renovating our lives, he wants to do a whole new build. We now have the power and authority to do everything because of he who lives in us. I don't speak in my own authority because I have none, but I do speak in the authority of the Son of God, and everything must obey that authority. I no longer have a right to live such a weak life because I laid down my life and I refuse to pick it up again. In fact, I can't pick it up again because it has a new occupant; it is no longer I who live but Jesus who lives through me. Are you beginning to see what we have been missing? There is a difference and his name is Jesus.

A Man, A Boy And A Dog - An Illustration Of Authority

Yesterday I was walking with my children to school. My wife was at home, sleeping a few extra minutes to make up for her late night studying. All of the children had left for school on their bicycles except for my 6 year old son, who still had to practice a bit more before he can go on his bike as well. It is a beautiful March here in Montreal, with a very early Spring. I have never seen flowers showing up in March before. We usually have a couple of feet of snow still covering the ground but instead, today we will be enjoying 25 degree weather (Celsius).

As we were getting ready to leave my son asked if he could walk our dog. We have a beautiful Standard Poodle who I bring along each morning so she can get some exercise. She has recently given birth to 8 puppies and hasn't been getting out much. She and I both enjoy the walk. In fact, she is a great dog to walk. She stays by my side the entire time, and although she is on a leash, she seldom pulls on it. She will stop when I stop and walk when I walk. She is calm and mature.

I told my son that he could walk her, because I was going to be right beside him. She's almost as big as he is. But as we were getting ready to go I stopped to adjust something. When I looked up he and the dog were disappearing around the first corner. I picked up my pace to catch up but I wasn't too worried about it. His older brother, who had also elected to walk and who was walking with a friend, was just behind him. I also knew that his other older brother, who was on a bicycle, was just over on the next street, stopping to pick up a friend.

When I rounded the corner I found my six year old at the end of the block, calmly holding the dog's leash, as they waited to cross the street with the older brother. The problem started after they crossed the street and started down the opposite sidewalk.

Suddenly my six year old took off running with our dog running in front of him. I assumed that he had seen his other older brother and was running to show him what a big boy he was walking the dog. I was now on the same side of the street as the others and could see my son running faster than I had ever seen him running before. I was amazed to see his legs moving so quickly and thought to myself that he was going to end up on his face.

That's when his screams reached my ears.

I wasn't sure what it was at first. I thought it sounded like something that was very familiar to me but somehow distorted. Then I could make out the words. It was a very panicked voice of a crying boy who was screaming, Help! over and over and over. I quickly realized that my son was no longer in control but was instead now being led by the dog and they were out of control.

I yelled to my other son who was much closer to a rescue than I was, but he was too engrossed in his conversation to hear my calls or his brother's screams. So I started running with my wife's large computer bag in tow. It was on wheels.

It must have looked like something from a comedy sketch. A dog running down the side walk in break-neck speed with a screaming, flailing, panicked boy behind her, with a man in pursuit who was also rushing down the sidewalk, with a rolling computer flying behind him, yelling at the boy to drop the leash (in between fits of laughter I say to my shame).

It was at this point that my other son, who had heard his brother's frantic cries for help, came running across the street and planted himself in the path of the runaway dog. Of course the dog stopped and my six year old collapsed in a heap of breathless tears. When I finally reached his side and asked him if he was okay, this dear sweet six year old son looked very sincerely at me, with tears streaming down his face while clutching his chest and said, "I thought I was going to have a heart attack".

The problem was, my son did not know the authority he had over the dog. If he had stopped the dog would have stopped. If he had dropped the leash the dog would have stopped. Instead, the faster my son ran to catch up to the dog the faster the dog thought he was being given permission to run. My son was enabling the dog to pull him out of control to the point where he became panicky and could have seriously injured himself. Yet, all he had to do was stop and everything would have returned to normal.

It hit me that this was a perfect illustration for what we have been teaching our church recently on our authority in Jesus Christ. Too often our lives get out of control because of various circumstances, including finances, disease and relationships. We either panic or we throw ourselves into the great pit of despair. Everything seems like it is whirling out of control and we don't think it will every stop. Yet, it is us that is enabling these things to lead us out of control. The truth is, it is we who have the control.

Jesus has given us authority over these things and they must do exactly what we say because of that authority. Let me repeat that: They must be obedient because of the authority of Jesus in us. When we stop they stop. When we let go of their connection to us they no longer have any control over us. It is amazing how quickly everything slows down and comes into line when we use the authority we have been given. It is a lie to think that circumstances, disease and health have any authority over us. The only authority over us is Jesus and he in turn has given us authority over these things.

Unfortunately, too many of us act more like six year old children, without the maturity to understand the authority we have through Jesus Christ. Instead we spend our days arguing with people about this authority. We are refusing to grow up, to take our place as a "son" of God, and would rather excuse away our lack of power and authority. We are condemning ourselves to a life being pulled around by dogs instead of a life of joy, peace, power and love. As I often say, it really is time for us to grow up and discover who we are in Christ Jesus.

You Say You Believe, But What Exactly Do You Believe?

There certainly is a lot of stuff out there on the Internet. You could spend your life just surfing, reading, watching and learning. But what would we be learning? There is a lot of information on the Internet but not all of it is worthy of your time and not all of it is true. Checking out the source of this information is crucial in what to accept as truth and what to cast aside as false. This is as true about spiritual matters as it is about health products. You need to look at the source.

The Spirit of God revealed many things to apostle Paul and one of those things is the age in which we live. Paul warned as he wrote to Timothy:

The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. (1 Timothy 4:1)

These deceiving spirits and things come in all kinds of forms, not just false biblical teaching. One of the biggest things is the teaching that God does not exist in the first place. There is a lot of deception found in the sciences, in philosophies, in the matters of life that we come to accept as basic tenets of living. When we hold up a number of things that the world puts forward as basic human rights these days we see how they pull people away from the teaching of the Spirit of God. Two very simple things that spark a lot of hatred and debate when they are brought up in polite company: the woman's right to decide and homosexual rights. I have no doubt that the "right to die with dignity" will soon be added to the number. One really has to set aside their faith in God in order to promote these rights because the Bible is very clear on where God stands on these issues.

Paul tells us that these things are taught by demons and people are lead away by deceiving spirits and these things are promoted by people who have completely cut themselves off from God:

Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. (1 Timothy 4:2)

The frightening thing is that there are many false teachings, things that take our kids away from Jesus, being taught in the classrooms. Even the students with the strongest faith find it hard to avoid the indoctrination that is taking place every day. Even parents, who are weak in their faith and knowledge, who don't have time for Bible study and prayer, who simply attend church once a week, come to accept these things as truth. They aren't there to protect their children, to help them overcome these threats, to put those demons to flight.

Godliness is under a huge attack right now as preacher preach against hell instead of warning people from it. There are so many churches that have embraced the acceptance of homosexuality, common-law marriages, abortion, just to name a few things. It is common to hear now that Jesus is not the only way to the Father, that there are many ways. Bibles are being promoted that marry Islam and Christianity together. Instead of being based on the solid rock of Jesus Christ, parts of the Church are being blown about by the waves of popularity. Leaders are not leading but instead are taking the pulse of society and adapting to it. Craziness, but the Spirit warned Paul that these days were coming.

Skipping ahead a little bit in this chapter of 1 Timothy 4, Paul encouraged his friend and fellow worker to remain diligent in his study and teaching:

Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. (1 Timothy 4:16)

My friends we must pursue godliness. Our greatest desire must be to become like Jesus. He has to be our only hero, the one we want to be transformed into. As we study his life we discover that he was not a big fluffy teddy bear as many picture him today. He was rough with people sometimes, he spoke the truth without apology and he dealt with what was most important. He always spoke the truth no matter the cost. He spoke the truth because those who God loves need to hear the truth in order to live.

Paul told Timothy to watch his life, how he was living. Are we living the Word of God at all cost? He told him to watch his doctrine, make sure it is the Word. Are we living the Word of God or someone's opinion on that Word? We have to read and study for ourselves. We need to know the overall plan of God and the purpose of it. We need to keep everything in this context and we need to pursue godliness based on this, to become just like Jesus. Paul told Timothy to persevere in the truth of the Word and in godliness because it wasn't just about him. We are all people of influence. What we say, what we do, what we believe has an impact on the people in our lives. We have to make sure we are living the truth or we will end up having a negative impact on those we love. Check yourself and what you believe to be the basic tenets of life. Check them against the Word of God and the teaching of the Spirit. 

There is a lot of information and teaching out there. Check the source! Make sure it is the Word of God as revealed by the Holy Spirit. Watch yourself out there, there's a lot of deceiving spirits and demon teachings.

Employing A Weed Whacker To My Life

Your life was meant for something more than what you have allowed it to become. I think you already know that. I think you already know you are not living what God has planned for you. I am not referring to what you do for a living but the condition of your heart and the lack of depth in your relationships. Most of us are surface dwellers but we were created to be people of the depths and people of the wind. Remember this from Jesus:

The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. (John 3:8)

Does this not speak of freedom to you? Not freedom to do as you wish but freedom in our obedience to Jesus. Nothing to cage us in or hold us back. You can't bottle a hurricane or can a tornado. You can't even package the delight of a summer breeze. Nothing holds the wind back and nothing prevents it from coming and going. That is our life in the Spirit, with no ties or bondage to this world.

Jesus told a parable of a farmer scattering his seed which, for me, speaks much of our destiny and God's purpose for us in this place. He described how the seed fell in different types of soil. First some fell on the walking path which was packed down from all the walking. This seed was easily carried away by the birds. It never had a chance. Then there was the seed that fell in soil that was not really prepared, having rocks just under the surface. The roots could not grow so when it became hot the plant simply dried up and died. The third fell in soil that also contained many weeds. The plant grew but it was so chocked off by the weeds that it produced no "fruit". The last seed fell in well prepared soil, minus weeds, where it grew and produced a huge harvest:

Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times. (Mark 4:8)

That seed is the Word of God, the Holy Spirit, our life in God, and the plant is what God produces out of our heart. It is our kindness, good deeds, healing power, words of knowledge and the Word of salvation we carry with us to share with the nations. We are meant to be fruitful; it is our destiny to be multipliers of the Kingdom. It is our purpose for being in this place, to share Jesus with everyone. Unfortunately, we are more like the seed among the weeds.

We are meant to be as free as the wind from the trappings and sins of this world. Instead, we try to live a life of duplicity, chasing after the things of this world. We are more concerned about jobs, money, girlfriends and boyfriends, making the right connections, credit problems, mounting bills, health issues and so on. All the time we have the solution for all of it right in front of us in our Saviour Jesus. We fill our life with sorrow, producing nothing in our lives for the Kingdom, whereas Jesus designed us for joy, peace and his prosperity. We keep forgetting that we have died to ourselves and all of this. We act more like a sinking rock than the free roaming wind.

The solution is not a complicated one. It's time to take a weed whacker to the weeds of our life. It's time to cut loose a few things that no longer belong to us, that are no longer part of our "living for Jesus". It's time to throw off our bondage and set our sails. It's time to simplify a few things, change some priorities, face a new direction, take in a new view and step out in faith. It is time to step into our destiny and allow Jesus to produce in us a great harvest so that we can be used for his glory. It is time to move from consumer to producer, from useless to useful, from empty to full, from life to death back to life again in Jesus. It is time my friends to change from being a sinking rock to the free flowing wind, where God can be glorified in us and through us.

It is a decision. It is a decision to turn our back on the pattern of this world. It is a decision to step out of the garbage heap and into the freedom of life in the Spirit. It is a decision to say no to this world and yes to the lover of our soul. It is a decision you can make right now. Let's get that weed whacker out.

Can We Take A Minute Here To Speak Frankly About Prayer?

Can we be frank here? What is your attitude toward prayer? When I say prayer what image comes to your mind? Is it kneeling beside a bed with hands folded and head bowed? Perhaps you see ten thousand people in a stadium with music blaring and hands lifted? Perhaps it is at church as the pastor and a few others pray? Do you pray? How often? Where? For how long? Would it surprise you to know that every evening Jesus stayed up later than everyone else to spend time with his Father and he got up early than everyone to do the same thing? Unfortunately those who profuse to be Jesus followers are not very good at it. Victory Life Church in California put out these statistics:

- an average Christian prays 3-7 minutes a day, including meal time
- 52% of those who do pray do so several times a day
- 37% of Christians say they pray once a day
- 21% have extended prayer time with other family members
- only 33% of adults regularly participate in a prayer group

You know what the sad thing is?

- an average pastor prayers for 39 minutes a day; 21% spend 15 minutes or less in prayer daily

Where's the flame? Where's the passion? Most of our time is being put into ministry and not into relationship. Prayer is where we spend time with the one we love above everyone and everything else. It's where we connect, express our heart, receive correction and instruction. It is also where the most important part of the battle takes place. It is in prayer that things get done in this world, where the enemy is put to flight, where hearts are changed, situations improved, power released, and victory won.

Apostle Paul told Timothy that this was vital in the mission we have been given:

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:1-4)

We are warriors on our knees and on our knees the enemy is defenseless against us. Prayer is the most powerful weapon we have. It is about relationship and about the release of God's power and will. James told us plainly:

And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (James 5:15-16)

Many Christians today do not believe in healing or in any manifestation of the Spirit. They have died to the Spirit and no real life is found in them. It is not a judgement on my part put a repeating of what the Word of God tells us. Without the Spirit we do not have Jesus. But most Christians wouldn't know that because only 4% of Christians have read the Bible cover to cover, and only 36% of us read our Bible in a typical week. We aren't followers of anyone; we are pretenders. Without prayer there is no power. Without prayer there are no miracles, no great change; there is nothing. Just a facade.

I am not saying this to guilt anyone into anything because prayer has to be a passion. It has to be something that you long to be at. Yet, a passion must be born from somewhere and that somewhere is from a disciplined Christian life. We can't do whatever we want in our life. Well, we can but then we can't call ourselves Christians. Actually, we can call ourselves whatever we want but we are only pretenders. I can call myself a doctor but that doesn't mean I am. A Christian life is a disciplined life but not a discipline that develops from a religious thinking but instead a discipline that develops from a passion for the one we love.

When a runner has a passion for his sport he has the discipline of eating and sleeping well. He makes sure that he puts in the required time of running and he is always desiring to improve. This is true of anything that comes from passion, singing, writing, dancing, teaching; it all requires sacrifice and discipline and the greater the passion the greater the sacrifice and discipline.

Prayer is a fundamental part of the discipline that springs from our passion for Jesus. Such discipline includes:

- prayer
- Bible study
- worship
- fellowship
- witnessing
- accountability

These are all vital to our spiritual growth in Jesus Christ. We aren't talking about earning salvation here. This is relationship building, growing closer to the one we love. It doesn't happen unless we put effort into it. However, it is our attitude toward prayer that is my concern at the moment. It is true that we need to have our "closet time" like Jesus did with the Father, when we step away from everything just to be with him, to present other people and their needs to him, to fight against the darkness of this world. But our understanding of prayer has to go beyond this as well. We should have an attitude of always being connected to Jesus so we can do exactly what Paul instructed:

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. (Ephesians 6:18)

Pray without ceasing. Always be in an attitude of prayer. Pray about everything you see in a day. Intercede all the time for the people around you. Maybe there is not a lot you can do but you can do the most important and powerful thing there is, pray. On all occasions, with all kinds of prayers and requests, wrote Paul. Prayer is a fundamental part of who we are.

Lord, I ask that you would capture our hearts, minds and imaginations again. Set a fire ablaze in us, that we would again become a people of passion, or prayer and of praise. Let us not go another moment without the conviction of the need of prayer. Lord, renew the Church, your Bride, to be prayer warriors again, called to partnership with you in your desire to see everyone in this world saved. Remind us that it is you living through us not us living for ourselves. Help us Lord to be a disciplined people, dedicated to your service every moment of our day. By the power of the Spirit in us we can overcome all obstacles that would try to prevent us from giving our all to you. Amen!

Improving Our Memory With Praise

We are a people of such short memories. It must frustrate our generous Father. Today we could have a huge problem, perhaps we don't have money for food, so we cry out to God. We are downcast, frightened, feeling alone and our cry to God is deep and meaningful. That day there is a miracle, God provides and we are amazed by his love. We praise him, tell people all about it and are satisfied in our relationship with the Lord. Then the next day something equally frightening happens and we find ourselves back to being downcast, frightened and feeling alone. We have already forgotten what God did for us yesterday. We have such short memories.

It is important that we remember, that we carry forward the things that God has done so we don't forget, so we remember every time we face hardships that he is our Father who provides. The psalmist tells us a way of doing this is to constantly testify about his goodness. Is that not our purpose here, to glorify our God to the nations:

Give praise to the LORD, proclaim his name;    make known among the nations what he has done. (Psalm 105:1)

Praise and worship every day needs to be part of our relationship with God; to lift up our voice in praise for who he is and for what he has done. When we bring back to our memory the great things God has done for us in the past it will strengthen our resolve in the present and will chase away our fears of the future. But don't keep it to yourself, tell others, especially unbelivers, that they will look to you and see the mighty hand of God at work:

Sing to him, sing praise to him;    tell of all his wonderful acts. (v. 2)

The greatest way to keep worry and fear away from your heart and mind is to keep your heart and mind occupied with God. Praise and worship is not just about honouring God, it is also when we remind and encourage ourselves with just how great our God is. Worship keep the relationship fresh and alive. It gives a life of rejoicing in place of a life of anxiety:

Glory in his holy name;    let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. (v. 3)

Don't go from crisis to crisis with Jesus. Choose to go from glory to glory. Don't treat him like a genie that you pull out of the bottle to get you out of terrible situations. Let him be your everything every day. When is the best time to seek the Lord? Today and every day hereafter:

Look to the LORD and his strength;    seek his face always. (v. 4)

Invite him to be part of every moment of every day and you will soon discover that there is nothing in this world that can overwhelm you and his joy will carry you through everything. Then you will be a true witness of his great love and glory; the nations will look in and desire to know our God. May he receive all our praise and thanksgiving today as we increase our memory of the great things he has done.

Are You Promoting The Truth Or A Bunch Of Confusion?

It is not easy being an ignorant follower of Jesus Christ these days. By ignorant I mean those who do not read and study the Word for themselves but instead take their knowledge from others. It may be from the pastor on Sunday morning or from little snippets off of the Internet or even just nice sounding sayings people share on their blog. Their knowledge is more "hearsay" based and is both damaging and dangerous.

As I browse through blogs and read articles on the Internet I am seeing a lot of humanism and other teachings mixed in with biblical teaching. I am also seeing people focusing on minor arguments concerning Christianity. I see in discussions a number of Christians with a little bit of knowledge attacking other people with a little bit of knowledge, both digging in their heals about minor things while losing the big picture of God's plan. There is no love in these discussions as they beat each other up and rob God of his glory. It is good then to consider what Paul had to say to his friend Timothy who was more like a son to him.

Paul had to return to Macedonia but he left Timothy responsible for the huge ministry in the region of Ephesus and he left him there with a purpose:

As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. (1 Timothy 1:3-4)

Timothy's purpose was to keep the gospel teaching pure and true, to confront any of the false teaching that was welling up from people with little knowledge. Paul was concerned because he saw how easily it was for people to turn to things that were new, exciting and nice to listen to:

Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith. (v. 4)

There it was; anything that promoted self-work over faith is a danger to the truth of the gospel. Anything that convinced people that man was capable of saving himself, by sacrifice or good living is a danger to the truth of salvation by faith. Anything that promotes the human spirit to overcome, that good lies in all of us, that we can find truth the more we look within ourselves, that the answer lies with us, comes in direct opposition to the gospel that says the answer is found in Jesus who did it all for us.

The reason Paul gave this command to Timothy is because the work of God needs to advance. The command was given for Timothy not to destroy people but instead to see them becoming mature in Jesus:

The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (v. 5) 

As I have said before, love is the beginning and the end of it. Every day should be spent in the pursuit of discovering the depth of God's love and seeing it put into action in our own lives. But love does not come from a heart bent on selfishness or evil intent. Love cannot come from a heart that is plagued by a guilty conscience. We cannot put this love into affect in our lives if we do not believe it's source is pure and holy. The only way that the love of Christ can permeate our heart and overflow into others is if we accept the gospel as true and follow Jesus according to what he has taught us. Anything else will taint this love with our own failings and in the end will fail.

Paul reminds Timothy of the challenge he faces:

Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm. (vv. 6-7)

Paul is saying that people have left the importance of a pure heart, a good conscience, a sincere faith which allows for the flow of God's love. They have left these things in pursuit of lesser things, things that appear to be important, disputable matters. Often we find these people wanting to be teachers of others. They think they know without knowing and so many people fall into the trap and leave what is important.

We need to check ourselves all the time and make ourselves accountable to our pastors and elders. We need to look at what we are promoting; is it what matters? Are we promoting a pure heart, encouraging people to stop being distracted, to cut out things that take away from Christ, to keep their eyes fixed on him? Are we promoting repentance and forgiveness, good relationships between believers and neighbours, considering other people more important than self, a life of servanthood? Are we promoting Jesus Christ, who he is, what he has done, that he is the only way, that he is our everything, that he is our saviour and that we must trust him in all matters? If these are the things we are concentrating on, promoting and teaching then all other teachings will fall away and we will see his love well up in those we teach.

Some of you may think that you are not a teacher and this does not apply to you but let me point something out to you. If you have a blog where you quote scripture, reblog nice sounding sayings, share artwork with sayings or pass on little stories then you are involved in teaching or the promotion of someone's teaching. Be careful. Before you reblog something check it against the Word of God. Before you agree with someone that God is love so there can't be a hell, check it out in God's Word. Before you fall victim to fine sounding arguments and start teaching it to others, check it out against the Word of God. If you are not sure talk to your pastor or one of the elders. That's what they are there for. I encourage you my friends, know the Word of God and stick to the fundamentals: a pure heart, a good conscience, sincere faith which allows God's love to flow from us to others.

What Does A Fast Change, If Anything? (fasting series)

Do you mind if I ask you a personal question? Why are you fasting? No, I am being serious. What are you hoping to get out of it? Some people do it to lose weight even though fasting in the Body of Christ is a spiritual matter. Others fast because they want something from God? They want to earn his favour or twist his arm to get what they want. Fasting is neither of these, and if it is for you, you may find yourself complaining like this lot:

‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, 
‘and you have not seen it? 
Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ (Isaiah 58:3)

Of these people God said:

For day after day they seek me out; 
they seem eager to know my ways, 
as if they were a nation that does what is right 
and has not forsaken the commands of its God. 
They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. (Isaiah 58:2)

But God sees more than intention, he also observes the fruit of our heart. They may have been fasting and seeking to come closer to him but their action toward others during their fast showed anything but a heart for God:

Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers. 

Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high. (Isaiah 58:3-4)

If our fast is not changing who we are, bringing us closer to our Lord, allowing our heart to be changed to be more like his, then we are wasting our time and sacrifice. God asks this question of us:

Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, 
only a day for a man to humble himself? 
Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed 
and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? 
Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? (Isaiah 58:5)

What kind of fast do you consider would be acceptable to the Lord? One that has benefit for our eternity, one the brings us more into line with his heart, one that changes us:

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke? 

Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?  (Isaiah 58:6-7)

Consider for a moment what you want from this fast. Consider your motives and desires. Honestly, what do you want from this? If there is an selfishness or manipulation involved then either change your heart or quit the fast. We can't earn anything from God. Everything comes from his point of grace. The greatest thing we can desire for ourselves is a heart like Jesus and if fasting opens me up to this change then I will fast. That is the purpose of fasting, to be changed so that we would desire and understand the will of God. If we enter into it with this purpose, to be changed, he tells us things are going to happen:

Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. 

Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.  (Isaiah 58:8-9)  

Isn't that our great desire, to hear the voice of God say to us "Here am I". Open our eyes Lord! We can't live without your presence.

Radical Christianity - Is There Any Other Kind?

There seems to be a real disconnect in this age of mass marketing Christianity as to what it means to "follow" Jesus Christ. Following Jesus is not a convenient thing. At times it is not even a pleasant thing but it is always a joyful thing that is marked by daily surrender. Unfortunately people do not understand this because much of our spiritual understanding is now mixed with the spiritual understanding of the world. We are so full of humanism now that we find ourselves agreeing when people quote "We are the masters of our own destiny".  The only sense that this can be true for anyone is that Jesus has given us a choice of our destiny but we are masters of nothing.

The prophet Jeremiah very simply confessed to God:

"I know , O Lord, that a man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps." (Jeremiah 10:23)

If believers could understand this to be truth there would be a lot less anxiety, fear and worry in existence. Jesus spoke the only reality that we should understand as followers, the only option there is for us:

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." (Matthew 16:24)

"In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:33)

"For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?" (Luke 9:24-25)

I hear people talk about radical living and radical Christianity. Is there any other kind? If these quotes aren't clear enough then try this:

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. >>>>> FOR YOU DIED <<<<< and your life is not hidden in Christ." (Colossians 3:1-3)

The emphasis there is mine. But get what follows next:

"When Christ, >>>>> WHO IS YOUR LIFE <<<<< appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." (Colossians 3:4)

You can't be a follower of Jesus if he is only part of your life. Jesus has to be your life. He has to be the reason for you breathing, thinking, talking and doing. He has to be the very essence of life to you. We have to be able to say with Paul:

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20)

"I no longer live." Say that a few times and let the reality of it sink to the depth of you consciousness. There is no part time Christian or partial Christian or "I go to church" Christian. It is either all or nothing. And it isn't a sentiment. It is a radical change, a new birth, a death to self. That means everything we do must have purpose in Jesus, directed by Jesus. We do not get to control our life. We don't get to decide. It is as Jeremiah said: "A man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps."

What does this mean for you? A lot. But the exact details are only discovered as we live a daily surrendered life. We do a lot of things in our life every day that are still focused on us. It is habit. We have to ask the Spirit's help in breaking those habits. Our life is not our own, it belongs to Jesus and we must be living for his purpose. Examine your day and see what you do for your own gratification, what has nothing to do with Jesus whatsoever, how you are wasting this life you are suppose to be living in and through Jesus. Remember, you have been crucified with Jesus and the only life you have is the one Christ lives in you. To this world, the only Christian life there is is a radical one. Remember, you no longer live, it is Christ who lives in you.

Handcuffed By Our Past

Too many of us are handcuffed by our past. God has called us, equipped us and put us in place but we fail to rise up to our calling because we continue to limit ourselves according to what we were or what we have done. We are afraid. I am not sure that we are afraid of failing or if we are afraid of being called impostors. We know that people know our past so who are we to try to be anything different, especially so radically different? We can say with David:

For I know my transgressions,    and my sin is always before me. (Psalm 51:3)

Now imagine if your past was known throughout the world. Imagine if people in the Body of Christ had suffered at your hands. Imagine if thousands of people blamed you for the lose of their home, for being forced to move away from family, for having to learn new languages, new customs in a new country. Now imagine you were told by God to go to these same people to encourage them with the gospel. Would you do it, or would your past handcuff you?

Perhaps we can begin to understand the faith and obedience apostle Paul had to show by doing this. It is different then going to those who harmed you. Giving forgiveness is one thing, seeking it is another. It takes a lot of confidence in God to face those you have harmed and be God's representative to them. The world and even some in the Church would say you are disqualified, but not God:

For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. (1 Corinthians 15:9)

There was always this sense in Paul that his sin was always before him. It is not that he did not accept God's forgiveness nor that he did not forgive himself, he just always remembered what he was saved from. It kept him humble and appreciative of God's grace. However, he also knew the value of that grace and would not allow his past to prevent his present:

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. (1 Corinthians 15:10)

It was by that grace that Paul was able to stand before those people he had sent to flight during his persecution of the Church and to minister to them by the Spirit. We hope it was also by that same grace that they forgave and accepted Paul and the message he bore.

It is this grace that allowed Paul to say "I am what I am". There is the key to those handcuffs. By the grace of God I am what I am. Paul said that he did not deserve this but he found himself in this position because of God's grace. We deserve death not life but by God's grace we have life in abundance. We deserve to be kicked to the curb because of our past but by God's grace we are more than forgiven, we are also called to serve. We can't do anything about the perceptions of others who know our past but we can know who we are in Jesus today. We are who we are because of what Jesus has done, not that we deserved it but we have received it by his grace.

You are real, you are authentic, you have been called by God, you have received his grace. Your past is real but it is now forgiven so allow it to remind you of God's grace but today live in his love, forgiveness and power to do what he has called you to do. No excuses are accepted. You are what you are by the grace of Jesus Christ.

Restore Us Again, O God Our Saviour

Maybe it's just me. Maybe it's just where I live and serve the Lord. Maybe it's just my part of the world. When I  dwell in the Word of God I am overwhelmed with a desire to possess what the early Church had. Then I look around at where I am and all I see is what man has done with it. It's not the same thing. I know there are a lot of good people out there who are trying to get there with their churches but often the majority of believers keep the leaders boxed into what the majority see as the way to go, which is often just gimmicks of the world. Maybe I am being overly critical but I am tired of all the marketing, the showmanship, the "cool" kid syndrome, the leadership worship, the facade.

I honestly believe that we are missing the blessings of the Lord, the anointing in ministry, the headship of Jesus. Is it possible for God to remove his favour from his people due to disobedience and we not notice? Have we continued on with the "appearance of godliness" without the power? Have we become a bunch of teachers because no one has a clue how to actually live the Spirit-filled life? Are we nothing more than academics in pursuit of knowledge without the actual "fear" of the Lord?

There were many times in Israel's history where God had to remove his favour from his people due to their disobedience. He didn't remove his love or they would have been destroyed but he removed his favour and they became subject to other kingdoms until they turned back to him with all their heart. During one of these times a psalmist wrote:

You showed favor to your land, O LORD; 
   you restored the fortunes of Jacob. 
You forgave the iniquity of your people 
   and covered all their sins. 
You set aside all your wrath    and turned from your fierce anger. (Psalm 85:1-3)

This was an acknowledgement of what God had done in the past, the forgiveness he had shown his people for their past disobedience. Because God has set this pattern and has consistently forgiven his people in the past the psalmist prayed he would do it again:

Restore us again, O God our Savior, 
   and put away your displeasure toward us. 
Will you be angry with us forever? 
   Will you prolong your anger through all generations? 
Will you not revive us again, 
   that your people may rejoice in you? 
Show us your unfailing love, O LORD,    and grant us your salvation. (vv. 4-7)

Today we act more as individuals with God than we do as a nation of his people. We know what it is to repent and seek forgiveness for our own individual disobedience but how often do we do that as a people, as a church? Most churches will never repent because they do not recognize their own folly. They do not see what they are doing as wrong. As long as they pay their bills and new people are showing up now and then they are doing okay and obeying the great commission of Jesus Christ - is what they think. We have gotten so use to man's traditions that we do not even see how far off the mark we have gotten.

The Church is filled with self, materialism, greed, idol worship, self-determination. We make our own plans and then ask God to bless them. We treat Jesus as a genie granting us our wishes instead of as the Head of the Body from where we take our orders. We are governed by man's wisdom, traditions and ideas and have lost the ability to hear and follow the Holy Spirit. It has become much more about growing the numbers in our churches instead of growing the people in our churches. We are so messed up and we don't even see it. When is the last time the Spirit took over in your church and turned the meeting upside down? I know it happens with some of you but the vast majority deny the Spirit and stick to their own agenda.

It's never too late to say we are sorry, to turn back to God with all our heart and obey him:

I will listen to what God the LORD will say; 
   he promises peace to his people, his saints— 
   but let them not return to folly. 
Surely his salvation is near those who fear him,    that his glory may dwell in our land. (vv. 8-9)

I am telling you God has intended great blessings for his people, the Church, the Body of Christ but disobedience blocks those blessings. Jesus has all the answers we are looking for, the solutions for our needs, the direction for us to take. We only need to set aside ourselves and make the decision to fully surrender and to fully obey. Not obey part of his commands but to obey all of his commands. It starts with love. He desires for the blessings to flow through us so that his glory may dwell in our land:

Love and faithfulness meet together; 
   righteousness and peace kiss each other. 
Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, 
   and righteousness looks down from heaven. 
The LORD will indeed give what is good,    and our land will yield its harvest. (vv. 10-12)

That is the description of a blessed nation, a blessed people, the blessed children of our heavenly Father. It is not too late for the Church as it is not too late for any individual to repent and turn in obedience to the Lord. Throw off all the trappings, all traditions of man, all the idols and self notion and walk in God's righteousness:

Righteousness goes before him    and prepares the way for his steps. (v. 13)

Perhaps we don`t realize it yet but much of God`s great river of blessings have been stopped up by our own disobedience. Let us repent as a people, recognize our folly, submit ourselves to the Spirit`s control again and see that river set free. Let our desire not be for self but that the glory of our Lord will once again fill our land, that the nations will know that there is a God and he has revealed himself through Jesus.