It's Time To Get Messy

 There is a basic foundation problem in the Church : honesty. Most of us have been conditioned not to be honest. Think about it. What happens when someone is honest about their failures, their sins or their temptations in the Body of Christ? Exactly. The place that is meant to be the safest place on earth is actually one of the scariest places. 

We have gotten it wrong and we can see that by what Jesus taught Nicodemus when Nicodemus came looking for answers to questions he didn't even understand. Take a minute and walk through this with me:

"God did not send his Son into the world to judge and condemn the world, but to be its Savior and rescue it!" John 1:17

That is perhaps our first wrong turn right there. We spend more time condemning the world than we do in participating in Jesus' mission to rescue it. How do we miss this? How do we forget that while we were the enemy of God Jesus died for us? How do we forget that we have all fallen short of the glory of God? We came from this world. We were products of it. And those who we spend so much time condemning and tearing down have the same potential as we had to be rescued. If they are without Jesus, the source of life itself, how can we expect them to act like they do have him? Crazy.

If we get this part wrong then we probably miss the next point:

"So now there is no longer any condemnation for those who believe in him, but the unbeliever already lives under condemnation because they do not believe in the name of God's beloved Son." v. 18

So there is a condemnation, but not from us and not for what most Christians think. We spend so much energy in tearing down people for their sin that we miss this point. The real danger is not the sin but their failure to accept the solution. We keep demanding that they change their behaviour but behaviour cannot change until the heart does and the heart is only transformed by Jesus. So the solution is not conformity but transformation by knowing Jesus. Knowing Jesus is an invitation not an accusation. No one can be forced, tricked or manipulated to kneel before Jesus. It only works when it is a surrender of the heart provoked by love, in response to Jesus' love. It's not the words we speak unless those words have been empowered by an overflowing heart.

Now we get to the heart of the problem that effects all of us and the atmosphere of the Church:

"And here is the basis for their judgment: The Light of God has now come into the world, but the hearts of people love their darkness more than the Light, because they want the darkness to conceal their evil." v. 19

The purpose here is not to have the things hidden in the darkness exposed for condemnation but for healing. Disease must be revealed before it can be dealt with. If it remains undetected it will continue to grow and destroy until the result is death. When a person is willing to have their rebellious ways exposed to the Light then they are expressing a desire for healing. This is more than a one time act, it is also part of our daily growth, our "daily work out your salvation". It is not good enough to kick out the demon. If we fail to daily allow the Light to occupy that space then the demon is coming back with friends. There is constant exposure to the Light.

The problem is, how can we promote such a culture of honesty in the face of the age old culture of condemnation? This is especially true for our leaders. How can they lead by example if their example is going to get them fired? I know of no perfect person and yet we force our leaders to hide their "demons" and have the facade of perfection so that we can apply the same false expectation to the rest of the Church. Only the wicked are suppose to be hiding from the light, not the believers:

"So the wicked hate the Light and try to hide from it, for their lives are fully exposed in the Light." v. 20

Jesus never intended that the Church would be a toxic place, being a killer of grace and forgiveness. The Body is suppose to be a place of healing, reconciliation and growth. This can only exist in an atmosphere of trust and love where people are not afraid to allow the Light to expose the things that would try to separate us from God. Read this:

"But those who love the truth will come out into the Light and welcome its exposure, for the Light will reveal that their fruitful works were produced by God." v. 21

Underline "who love the truth". Love is a thing of trust. It empowers us to do things we would not do in ourselves. It is the reason Jesus said "Love will empower you to obey my commands". Love is not just the enabler of our confession but is also the atmosphere of a healthy church that can handle the truth. Love does not guarantee it wouldn't be messy but it does make sense of the mess. Love trusts that it is indeed the work God produces and not reliant on mere appearances.

I do not know where we got this desire to present perfection to the world. It fails just on the basis that it doesn't exist. What is attractive to everyone is authentic love that is powerful enough to stand up under truth and desires to see people healed instead of appear perfect.

Does that make sense to you? 

I hope so because there are a lot of hurting people sitting in our churches too afraid to seek healing for those broken places. They are too afraid because we have not developed a culture that celebrates and supports honesty. Our desire for the person must be bigger than our desire for neatness. We have that very interesting motto, "Love the sinner and hate the sin" but much of the Church has no idea what that looks like. It starts by understanding that the person is more important than the situation, the argument, the hurt and the sin. The sooner we can start celebrating people the sooner we will be celebrating their healing.

Go ahead, get messy.

The Normalization Of Sin

It may seem a bit strange to a younger generation being raised in this age but I remember a time when fornication and adultery were not allowed to be depicted on television. It was an age when people "living together" was not accepted and very scandalous. Today, people having casual sex or living together is anything but scandalous: it is the norm. So how does sin go from unacceptable to being accepted as the norm?

At some point the Church made assumptions and stopped doing what it was suppose to do; mainly making disciples. We preached, we held people accountable but we did not come alongside and demonstrate what life in Christ looked like. We didn't invite people to become part of our lives, teaching them as we lived. We did the same with our children, assuming they would grow up in the faith. We taught them the Bible but we didn't have them walk alongside us, demonstrating what the power of Jesus looked like. We taught theory and assumed people would live it.

Now, along with this, we had people outside of the Church, not wanting anything to do with Jesus, doing whatever they felt was best. They saw the Church as an instrument of control instead of an influence for God's righteousness because, in truth, leaders of the time had the wrong attitude. They lorded their "power" over people instead of serving them. These disillusioned people arrived in places of influence and used the media and education as excellent instruments to change people's thinking.

So we had a huge part of the Church made up of nominal believers, ready to be swayed by the changing wind and we had a changing media and educational system that became a conduit of the wind. The most effective way to change people's mind toward sin is to normalize it, depict it as a common part of life. Slowly we saw more and more adultery and fornication being depicted on TV soap operas and TV shows after 9 pm. The attitude of society began to change and soon most people knew someone who was cohabiting instead of getting married. "Family" shows like Happy Days alluded to teens experimenting with sex. We began being entertained by the things God had declared as offensive to him. And the educational system welcomed and encouraged the changing attitudes.

This change has continued so now we celebrate vigilantes who murder in the name of justice and we call them heroes. We can turn on the television at any time of the day and see depicted sex acts between people who are not married. According to television, parents are idiots. Homosexuality is now depicted in almost every show as a normal, common thing. Our children are being educated according to this changing wind so that they are encouraged by teachers to experiment with sex, in any way their imagination takes them, as long as they do it with safe methods. It is now okay for a boy to think he is a girl and for a girl to think he is a boy. These are becoming the new norms, regardless of what the Church tries to teach. And so we see the mind of our society changing with the wind, but what is worse is the change we find in those we have failed to root in Jesus.

So the question we ask ourselves today is what mind do we have, one that is changed with the changing wind or the mind of Jesus, which knows the will of our Father?

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. (Ephesians 4:11-14)

In Response To The Teaching That Sexual Sin Is Accepted By God

Recently I have been coming across some terrible and wrong teaching from people who call themselves Christians. But these are people who want Jesus while holding on to their sin. These are the sort who dismiss parts of the Bible by pointing out some of the lesser laws as an excuse to dismiss the important stuff. I am sure you have come across the two types of material argument to excuse the acceptance of homosexuality.

What we are failing to understand is that Jesus is the complete and perfect revelation of our God. In him all the law was made complete. Our example is found in him. His words are what we live. We do not need to search for anything outside of him. So, in order to find the truth I look to Jesus and found he told us plainly what is important:

"Don’t you know that everything that goes into the mouth enters the stomach and goes out into the sewer? But what goes out of the mouth comes from the heart. And that’s what contaminates a person in God’s sight. Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adultery, sexual sins, thefts, false testimonies, and insults. These contaminate a person in God’s sight." (Matthew 15:17-20)

Jesus fulfilled the whole law and made it possible for our hearts and minds to be transformed. We have been made into a new creation, like Jesus. Our bodies will be transformed when it is time but for now it has been made possible for us to understand the will of the Father and to live a life pleasing to him. And here Jesus tells us what the priority is in the Kingdom.

All sexual sin is wrong because it comes from a contaminated heart. Jesus defined the only acceptable relationship for sex, the relationship for which it was created:

“Haven’t you read that at the beginning the creator made them male and female?  And God said, ‘Because of this a man should leave his father and mother and be joined together with his wife, and the two will be one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh." (Matthew 5:4-6)

If we truly know Jesus and have laid down our life to him we know this to be true. But if we are seeking a philosophy and claim to know Jesus while fiercely holding onto our sin, we have not honestly encountered him and made a decision for him. If we search hard enough we are going to find some demonic spirit preaching whatever our itching ears want to hear, but if we are a true seekers then we will gladly lay it all down for him.

It doesn't matter if we are talking about homosexuality, fornication or adultery, they all come from a sin bound heart. Jesus came to set us free from this not to make us more comfortable in it. He came to give us the power to repent, to turn away from those things that do not please God, and we do exactly that because we love him. True love produces obedience. Sin produces rebellion.

Remember that Jesus said that the way is narrow and not many will make it. Remember that he said if we want to be his disciples we have to first of all deny ourselves. Deny our flesh desires. Deny our opinions. Deny everything about our former life so that we can be dressed in the clothing of the Kingdom, his righteousness.

We can lie to ourselves. We can be self-delusional. We can continue to be lovers of self and proclaim to the darkness that we are Christians but the fruit of our heart does not lie. You cannot have the sinful pleasures of this fallen world and Jesus Christ. It just doesn't work that way.

Sinners Have It Easier

“Oh, how we wish that the Lord had just put us to death while we were still in the land of Egypt. There we could sit by the pots cooking meat and eat our fill of bread. Instead, you’ve brought us out into this desert to starve this whole assembly to death.” (Exodus 16:3)

That was a low point for the new nation Israel. They had been removed from what was familiar, they had no idea where they were going, the idea of freedom was new, and they seemed to have less than what they had when they were slaves. They didn't have much before but at least they had something. In this position, following Yahweh did not seem very attractive.

Who of us haven't been there, wondering if following Jesus was worth it? It is the thought of the immature, those who have only begun to grow in their relationship with Jesus. It is a natural thought and one that is overcome by pressing in to Jesus. The problem comes when we entertain the thought, explore it, follow the progression.

The Lord was leading Israel in the manner that he was because he had purpose in it. There were things he was testing and developing in them. He knew what challenges were ahead and he needed to get them to a place of dependence and trust. It is not easy to give trust during times of transition, facing the unknown, having left the familiar behind but if they were to survive to possess the new land, the Lord had to get them ready.

There are times in these transitions with the Lord that the life of sin looks mighty attractive. There are times we look at those who are enslaved to sin and think "They don't have it so bad". We begin to long for the days when we could "sit by the pots cooking meat and eat our fill of bread". But that's because we stopped looking ahead and started looking back. Those who continue to look back will find a way to get back to those cooking pots but Jesus warned us:

“No one who puts a hand on the plow and looks back is fit for God’s kingdom.” (Luke 9:62)

The fact is that sin is a liar. It looks much more attractive than it is. Forgotten are the consequences of that slavery, the back breaking work for the profit of the masters and none for self; no ability to make choices; no freedom to go where and do what you want. In a moment of desire we think only of the desire and fail to see the catastrophic consequences of that desire. We also forget what we have, which is an incredible future.

No pleasure from sin could possibly compare to the sweet fellowship of love we have with Jesus. No sin can provide for us as he does. No sin can give us peace and fulfillment. And no sin can promise us an eternity like Jesus does. No, there can be no going back for us because we know who loves us, who holds us and who guides us. In him we trust. With him we will go to the end.

Do They Say There Is No God Because Of You?

Being religious in our thinking is no help to anyone. For a Christian, to be religious in our mind is when the head becomes more important than the heart; when our intellect is more important than our compassion; when rules become more important than mercy. It is easy to become religious but not so easy to be like Jesus. We can fault the Muslims and the Jews for being trapped in a law that they cannot fulfill but the Church is falling into that same trap.

Paul the apostle pointed out that there was no one like a good Jew and pointed out their attitude:

Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God, and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law. (Romans 2:17-20)

When we fail to remember what Jesus has saved us from we can fall into this place of self-imposed instructor. We think it is our role to demonstrate righteousness to a world struggling under its own filth. But Paul asks another question of these "teachers":

You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? You who say, “Do not commit adultery,” do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law? (v. 21-23)

You who preach against the sins of this world, do you also sin? Can any of us afford to cast that first stone? Do you not remember your past? Do you not remember what you were? And who made the difference? Did you save yourself, or was it Jesus who saved you even though you were his enemy? Now here is the punch:

For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” as it is written. (v. 24)

Is our judgmental attitude and our failure to walk what we talk causing people to blaspheme, to say there is no God, to consider that the Church is a joke? Would attitudes be different if we truly had the desire to be like Jesus, to be compassionate, merciful, forgiving, where relationship becomes more important than rules. We need to ask ourselves if we are here to be law enforcement or representatives of the greatest Advocate we could ever know. Are we trying to hold the failing world to a greater standard than what we are able to live?

The Truth About Sinners And Salvation

You may not agree with what I am about to say but I hope you will search the Scriptures first to see if it is true. If you are a Christian it is important that you have a correct view of the world, the Church and your place in it.

If a person is without Jesus Christ it does not matter what they do. It doesn't matter if they are a murderer, liar, or cheat. It doesn't matter if they are straight, homosexual or are confused about their identity. It doesn't matter if they are druggies or alcoholics. It doesn't matter if they are bank robbers, prostitutes or white collar crooks. All that matters is that they are without Jesus:

“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:18)

In case you didn't know it, those are Jesus' words. He told us the judgement will be based on whether we believe or not, not based on behaviour. We are all sinners. The difference is that our sins are covered, forgiven and forgotten when we choose to believe Jesus.

The reason this matters is because this is the foundation of Christianity but we are actually preaching something different. When we spend so much time on people's behaviour we come across as if they can save themselves by changing their behaviour. It becomes about living a good life and not about the spiritual act of believing.

We can't save ourselves; only Jesus saves. It is only by the blood of the Lamb. It is all about the sacrifice on the Cross. We cannot justify ourselves by modifying our behaviour. A prostitute who stops being a prostitute is not any closer to salvation because of her changed behaviour. She still needs Jesus because:

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

We need to stop criticizing sinners for behaving like sinners, the rebellious for rebelling, and instead learn to love them as Jesus loves them. I am no liberal in my theology. Judgement Day is coming but our attitude in serving this suffering world is not going to help in the salvation of the dying masses.

The behaviour we should be concerned about are those who claim to have Jesus but act as if they don't; those who think they can still participate in the pleasures of sin while testifying to the goodness of Yahweh. They are spiritual in their talk and carnal in their thinking and behaviour. These are they people who have been deceived and are deceiving.

We speak the same truth to the world as Jesus did but we must also love as he loved. He did not concentrate on their behaviour but instead dealt with their heart condition. Behavioiur changes after encountering Jesus, not before. People need Jesus before they can stop sinning, rebelling against Father; they don't stop sinning in order to come to Jesus.

We need to stop being offended by behaviour and attitude and start telling people how they can have peace, real joy and the empty place of their heart filled with real life. We need to tell them how the burden can be lifted from them and how they can discover what real unconditional love means. Stop being shocked that sinners sin and be more amazed that Jesus died for them as he died for us. Let us stop demanding conformity and allow the Spirit to bring in real transformation.

You Are Not Perfect But You Can Desire To Be

We know we are not perfect. Not one of us is without sin, mistakes, faults, imperfections, so none of us can afford to point out the failings of others. If there is any love in us we should have a desire to see people succeed, not fail. Yet there is something in us that rejoices in the failings of others and for some reason makes us feel good about ourselves. Maybe such failings cause us to forget our own for a moment.

The strange thing is,when we accept Jesus, our sins, failings, mess ups, from our past, present and future are all forgiven and covered. But this does not negate the fact that Father wants us to seek his righteousness. He wants us to throw off the attractions of sin's system and walk in his ways, even if we stumble in doing so. He wants our hearts desire to be the things of the Kingdom. Job reflected:

I have made a covenant with my eyes;
Why then should I look upon a young woman?
For what is the allotment of God from above,
And the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?
Is it not destruction for the wicked,
And disaster for the workers of iniquity?
Does He not see my ways,
And count all my steps? (Job 31:1-4)

Job had a heart desire to walk in righteousness. He knew that Yahweh was occupied with him and Job desired to honour him with his life. He knew he wasn't perfect and it was for that reason he began each day with sacrifices, to cover his failings. Jesus has covered our failings with one sacrifice so we don't need the system of sacrifices, but that does not mean we should not desire to live the righteousness of Jesus.

Allow the sacrifice of Jesus cover your failings and sins but you guard your heart. Make it your great desire to honour Jesus with your living. Do what is right. Live by his instruction. Seek his face daily. Love as he loved. Sacrifice as he sacrificed. Desire to do good. And when you fall short, confess it and trust Jesus. Father has declared us to be perfect and holy according to his grace, so do your best to walk in it.

Don't Waste Your Sin

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. " - George Santayana

Most of us can attest to the truth of this statement. We may understand it from a different perspective like, a mistake is not a waste if we learn from it. Some of the greatest lessons in history and our personal lives were the precursor to some great advances. But how different it could have been if we had failed to learn.

We see this in our relationship with Jesus as well. Nothing is a waste when Yahweh is involved:

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28) 

But what a mess it becomes when we refuse to remember and refuse to learn.

Remember Aaron's mistake (sin) when he made the golden calf and called it the god who had rescued Israel? The nation was almost wiped out on the spot. You would think it would be an historical sin that no one would repeat. Not so. When the kingdom became divided there was concern that people would eventually move to Judah because of the temple. So guess what they did?

Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!” (1 Kings 12:28)

They did what most of us do, they not only repeated their sin but doubled it. "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results." - Rita Mae Brown. Insanity or not it is what we do with sin when we are not strong in the Lord. Sin seems to cloud our mind but the presence of the Spirit frees it. In the Spirit we are able discern but without him we continue to repeat our sins.

We can't do it on our own and we need to stop trying. We are wasting time, effort and opportunities. If we are really interested in spiritual growth and development we need to embrace the lessons that come from the sins of our past and be willing to be taught in every situation we face. It is part of growing up.

Understanding Imperfection

So how are you? Is life treating you good? Are you managing to live a good life? Are you being good to yourself and others? Are you keeping to that life motto of not causing harm to others? Feeling pretty good about yourself? Probably not. Man, we can trying really hard but no matter how hard we try we are always hurting someone, somehow, somewhere. It's just the nature of things; as long as a human is involved it is going to get messed up somehow. It's why we need Jesus.

We don't need Jesus to make us good so we can earn our way into heaven. Too many Christians received the wrong memo. Our living will never be good enough to get us into heaven, no matter how hard we try. Think of Solomon for a moment. Here was a guy who had it all. He was suppose to be the best of the best, the cream of the crop. Yahweh told him that he would have everything that he needs , all he would have to do is stay loyal to Yahweh. Simple. But it is never simple when we are part of the equation:

But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites— from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, “You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. (1 Kings 11:1-2)

No matter how hard we try we will always mess up, always fall short, always disappoint. Jesus did not come to make us perfect but to die for our imperfections. He came to cover us, to forgive our past, present and future sins. Because of him we have been declared righteous. It isn't that we are righteous or perfect but that we have been made righteous by Jesus' sacrifice on the cross.

Now we need to grow into that righteousness. It means each day we should be dying more to ourselves and becoming more like Jesus. The Church is not full of perfect people but of people being perfected. That means in our flesh we still mess up and fall short but we have a safety net called grace. This means the Church is a messy place and can only exist as we practice the same love, mercy, grace and forgiveness that has been shown to us. We are not really understanding this as the immature destroy the imperfect mature followers of Jesus. "You who are without sin, cast the first stone."

In our imperfection we will hurt people and people will be hurt, that is the nature of mess ups. But what a wonderful backdrop for a family that is working out and perfecting love, mercy, and forgiveness. Now, if you can understand this, life is going to look much different to you, so will you and so will the Church.

Battling Sin In The Body Of Christ

Have you ever noticed that you are stronger with friends? Facing difficulties, challenges, even defeat is a lot easier when you are surrounded by people who love and encourage you. A rope made of many woven pieces of twine is far stronger than a single piece of twine. We can't afford to forget that we are not on this Christian walk alone. Not only are we possessed by Christ but we are also a single unit in the context of the Body of Christ.

We are responsible for each other. It has been given to us to encourage, pray for, help carry, warn and even correct each other. The Christian walk is not an easy one and part of it is learning to love each other in the same way Jesus loved us. We are supposed to be united as brothers and sisters and our goal is to see each other complete the race we have been given to run. That means a lot of encouragement during the rough patches.

We are here for each other's success but at the same time there are warnings not to allow sin to propagate in the Body. Sin is a destructive force and when not dealt with it will spread and effect the whole. It would be like a diseased limb. We would do everything we can to heal that limb but if it failed to respond to the treatments it would have to be amputated to protect the body from its spread. This is the exact course of action subscribed by the Word of God for a diseased unit within the Body of Christ. We see a severe example in Joshua.

Achan had sinned by going against the exact instruction of Yahweh. The instruction was clear as was the sin against it, but note how it was seen from Yahweh's perspective:

But the children of Israel committed a trespass regarding the accursed things, for Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed things; so the anger of the Lord burned against the children of Israel. (Joshua 7:1)

Yahweh's anger was at the whole nation even though it was only one person who had sinned. The solution was to find the one person and remove him from Israel because the whole body was suffering due to the disease that had been brought into the nation.

People think that when they choose to sin it only effects them. They are too self-centered or clouded to see the impact it has on people around them. Because it has impact on so many others it is only natural that others will be part of the solution. These others bring the situation to the attention of the individual, bring correction and participate in the restoration of the individual. If the individual does not respond to the treatment then these same others have no choice but to amputate for the sake of the whole. This is how it should be done but rarely is because we have a wrong perspective and so allow the disease to grow and spread. We think that pampering the disease, calling it something else or defining the cause will somehow lead to a cure. Instead it leads to tolerance and the spreading of the disease.

This is not something I expected those without Jesus to understand but those of us with Jesus should be able to appreciate the Biblical instructions. We should appreciate people helping us see where we are making terrible mistakes and when we are in danger. Individuals can lose sight, perspective and come under the influence of disease. It's not about protecting a persons feelings but keeping an eternal perspective. We need our church government to be strong in these matters even if it involves amputations because the health of the Body matters.

 

The God Of Justice

We may not always appreciate it but Yahweh is the God of justice. That means that he rewards the good and punishes the bad. He doesn't fudge the lines between what is good and evil. He also does not excuse the evil for what good he may find in a person. If you lie you are evil even if you just gave a $1000 to some charity or helped an elderly lady cross the street.

Yahweh is also everywhere at once and knows everything. He doesn't just judge our actions but also our heart. He knows our motivation for doing what we do. This is wonderful when we have good intentions but not so good when the good we do comes from a wrong motivation. How can you protect or defend yourself from such a God? We cannot afford to forget he is the God of justice:

Then, if you walk contrary to Me, and are not willing to obey Me, I will bring on you seven times more plagues, according to your sins. (Leviticus 26:21)

Praise the Lord because he is also the God who desires restoration and reconciliation over justice. He will punish us for our rebellious ways if we do not repent but if we repent he joyfully forgives us of all things, and that grace abounds in our life going forward. We do not need to fear his punishment as we seek a deeper relationship with him and pour our love into him. We are now his and he has forgiven past, present and future. Oh, what praise is due him.

Everyone born on this planet come from the same root; all of us were enemies of Yahweh due to our sin, our rebellious ways. It is the state we were born into because man's actions warped Yahweh's plans from the very beginning. It is a state that we had no hope of escaping because our relationship with our Creator was broken and we had no means to repair it. But he did.

Our path was not a good one, heading toward the justice of our Creator, the judgement against our rebellion. We had no means of turning to the right or left, we did not have that power. Hell awaited us. This was not Yahweh's fault because it was we who had rebelled against him, and his character of justice demanded punishment. But his character of love, mercy, forgiveness and grace found a way to offer reconciliation to his enemies. Through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ he opened the door to reconciliation and restoration, but the choice was still left to us:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:17-19)

Jesus said that he who has been forgiven much will love much. I remind you of this because Yahweh knows our heart, our motivation, our desires. He knows if we are sincere about Jesus or just being religious. He knows if we are mocking him by using the right words while filled with evil thoughts. He knows if we are conforming to the acceptable instead of being transformed by the incredible. It matters to him, the God of justice.

Today let's examine our hearts and test ourselves to know that our love for Jesus is sincere. Let us make sure that we are not saying we are Christian to please family and friends without even knowing Jesus. Let us make sure that we are not wearing a title simply because it is what we were born into and we don't know any different. Let us make sure that we understand our history with Yahweh, who he is, what he has done for us and what he offers, so that we can make the decision to accept it and be reconciled to him. It is far better to know him as the God of mercy and grace than as the God of justice.

Standing For What Is Right

The last thing most of us want to do is stand out in a crowd. Given the choice, the vast majority of people would simply like to "live and let live" and continue living a peaceful life of blending in. We don't like conflict so we do what we can to avoid it, even if it means agreeing with the disagreeable. Whatever it takes to maintain peace. Except, followers of Jesus can't do that. We can't blend, we can't remain anonymous, we can't agree with what is disagreeable for the sake of peace. We tend to stand out in a crowd.

We live by different rules, by a different standard, by a different definition of good and evil. We are clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ and, like him, we must speak the truth, even when people don't want to hear it. We don't force anybody to do anything, that isn't Father's way, but we do need to let people know they have a choice. I know we would rather not draw attention to ourselves but, we are here as examples of his grace. That doesn't mean demonstrating perfection, because it doesn't exist in us, but demonstrating his power made perfect in our weakness. Consider Lot for a moment.

Lot, the nephew of Abraham, chose an interesting place to live. Sodom was a city that had lost its moral compass and did whatever they felt like doing. We only get one glimpse of Lot in this context but consider what we are told. He had just housed the visiting angels when all the men of Sodom showed up to rape them:

Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. (Genesis 19:4)

Notice that it was all the men, of every age, of every social standing. Yes, an interesting place in which Lot had chosen to live. But these angels had come under Lot's hospitality and the desert law of hospitality meant that they were under his protection. He had to do everything he could to protect them. So Lot told these men that what they planned to do was wicked and he tried to reason with them, but a heart bent on sin cannot be reasoned with. It is here I want you to notice how these wicked men describe Lot:

“This one came in to stay here, and he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them.” (v. 9)

He keeps acting as a judge. Obviously this was not the first time Lot spoke out against their unrighteous living. Even at this early stage of the developing relationship with Yahweh, enough had been revealed that Lot knew the difference between good and evil, right and wrong, holy and common. Imagine the conviction that Lot must have felt in order to find the courage to speak out against a city.

I am not saying that we need to go on the rooftops and shout out the sins of this world. Such an approach rarely works, causing the sinful heart to become even harder. However, in our sphere of influence, in our Sodom, we must stand for the righteousness of Jesus. As far as it depends on us, we cannot allow good to be called evil and evil good. As much as we might fear it, we must be willing to stand out in a crowd, to allow the light of Christ to shine in and through us, as we set the example in word and deed. We cannot compromise the Kingdom for the sake of maintaining a false peace. Remember, Jesus did not come to bring peace, except to the heart of the forgiven sinner.

My brother, my sister, let us stand on the righteous ground of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (Ephesians 6:13)

You Should Rule Over It

Life would be so much better if we would just listen to Yahweh. It isn't like he has just left us on our own. We were never meant to go it alone; it was always his plan for us to be with him in our journey because we need him. If we could understand and accept his wisdom life would be much better for us. Looking at the beginning of things gives us a clear example of this.

Adam and Eve had already rebelled against Yahweh. They had been sent out of the garden and they had started having children. Cain and Abel were the first and their parents raised them well. They knew Yahweh well enough to want to honour him with offerings, but they still had much to learn. Cain's offering wasn't quite up to par, or perhaps it was his attitude. Whatever it was, Yahweh saw something that concerned him and like any good father, he warned Cain:

He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” (Genesis 4:5-7)

Cain was mad, not understanding that Yahweh was teaching him something here. Like so many youth, he could only see it from his perspective and refused to learn. Instead, he allowed his emotions to take over and lead him in a direction that would bring a lot of pain and destruction. It is hard when emotions take over. Once we give them authority over us it is almost impossible to reign them in.

Yahweh was very tender and compassionate to Cain, pointing out that sin wanted to have his way with him. Like a good dad he tells him that he has to gain control over this thing and not allow it to dictate to him. Any time we allow emotions to rule over us, we wake up the next day filled with regret. In a fit of anger we say things that should never be said; we do things that should never be done; me make decisions and declare things that only produce bad seed. We may not see the results immediately but those bad seeds are going to produce bad things at some point on our timeline.

Cain could not gain the control of which Yahweh had spoken to him and that emotional sin led to the murder of his brother. It seemed such a trivial thing but it is amazing how small things can escalate into large things when emotions lead us into the path of sin. Thousands of years later we still need to hear the council of Yahweh as he tells us that we should "rule over it".

Jesus has given us freedom and authority over such matters in our life. Anything that comes from the root of sin has lost its power over us because Jesus has freed us from the iron-fist slavery of sin. We are no longer the victim of our emotions. Instead, we have become slaves to his righteousness so that we no longer have an excuse for not ruling over that which once ruled over us. It is only a lack of application and discipline on our part. All we have to do is hear Jesus say, "Go and sin no more", believe he made it possible by giving us his power and authority and walk in the authority he has given us over all such things. Emotions are a wonderful thing but they no longer rule over us when we have given ourselves to Jesus.

The Trap Of The Religious Tomb

The problem occurs when we move from a daily relationship to family traditions. It is frustrating when people think that Christianity is just something you are born into, a family tradition. We are not Christian because it is something a distant ancestor claimed. We are not Christian because our parents told us we are. We aren't even Christian because we go to church on Christmas and Easter. We are Christian when we are convicted about our rebellion against Yahweh, make the decision to confess our sins, ask for forgiveness, accept it, and then give up our life to follow Jesus. It is a personal decision.

Much of the Christian "world" is trapped in religious thinking, not understanding what it is they believe. They know more the traditions of their church than they do the Word of God. Many more of us are there than we think. Any time we put the the traditions and good works of our church ahead of the Word we are already falling into the trap of religion. While dealing with some religious leaders Jesus said:

"Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: 'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. And in vain the worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of me.'" (Mark 7:6-7)

It is frustrating to see what we are making of it when Jesus paid the price for us to have the most incredible relationship of all eternity. He has ushered us into an age of grace and freedom, breaking all bondage that kept us from enjoying this relationship with him. So many have been freed from their bonds of sin but instead of receiving that freedom they added to it with the shackles of religion. But on the other hand, we have those who have taken that freedom and grace and have used it as a license to sin:

For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedienceleading to righteousness? (Romans 6:14-16)

It really isn`t as complicated as it seems. The first of the great commandments: Love Yahweh with your entire being. The thing to note about this love: Jesus defined it as obedience. So, Father demonstrates his love for us in this: while we were still sinners Christ died for us. We in turn demonstrate our love to him by obedience. It is a daily relationship not a religious tomb. Relationship takes effort and time so spend time with the lover of your soul today and every day, and get to know him by knowing the Word of God.

The Message Hasn't Changed: We Need Jesus

We need Jesus. We accept a lie perpetuated by the enemy when we believe that we don't. We can have great noble intentions, lead a good life, care for people, live a simple life and still we will have fallen short of what we were created to be. Let's consider for a moment the best of the best, the cream of the crop of our humanity.

Solomon had it all. He had all the wealth a person could have and he was generous with it. He had fame because of the wisdom Yahweh had given him, and he put it to good use. He established a kingdom of peace and other nations and leaders honoured him. This was a great man who achieved what many leaders today can only dream of achieving. Yet he still fell short.

Yahweh only required one thing of him, all he has every asked from anyone:

Now if you walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you,and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’ (1 Kings 9:6-5)

It's all a father ever asks of his child, obedience. But this man, who represented the best version of ourselves, with all the tools that had been given to him, fell short of that obedience. Yahweh had commanded Israel not to get involved with other nations, not to intermarry because these nations would lead them astray. Yahweh knows our heart. All his instructions were about what was best for us. But, not only did Solomon disobey these instructions, he did it in a major way:

But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites—  from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, “You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. (1 Kings 11:1-3)

Was Yahweh trying to be mean with this command? Not at all, he knows our heart and was trying to protect his people. How many children brush aside their parents' instruction and end up in hot water? Their selfishness takes over their heart. Solomon proved Yahweh to be correct:

For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David. (v. 4)

This great man, who had everything a person could want as a result of his relationship with Yahweh, threw that relationship away in disobedience. This is why we need Jesus. No matter how good you think you are you are not capable of living at the level Father has intended for us. We will always fall short of his glory. Good is not good enough.

Jesus does not care about us falling short; it doesn't stop him from loving us. He didn't come to seek the perfect. He came for us. He came to pay the penalty of us falling short, to take our place. He bridged the gap for you and me so we could have the relationship that Yahweh wants with us. He also gave us the Holy Spirit to develop in us a heart like David's, one that is consumed with Yahweh, desiring to please him and live for his glory. None of us can do this on our own. We need Jesus.

What Is Sin And Why Do I Struggle With It?

Maybe our problem is the way we define sin. Maybe that is what all the confusion is about. It seems that we are confusing the fruit of sin with the root of sin and we need a little education from the Word to better understand the parameters of our discussion. Let's start with this fact:

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)

And just for good measure we shall add:

"If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." (1 John 1:10)

So something everyone in this world has in common is this fact that we have all fallen short of Yahweh's glory. None of us can ever claim that we have never sinned against Yahweh and thus having sinned stand guilty of our rebellion. But consider the root of all our behaviour, which is rebellion against Yahweh:

"All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:6)

The lying, stealing, cheating, sexual immorality, hatred, murder, and all the rest are only the fruit of sin. Just as love, joy, peace, hope and all the rest is the fruit of his love in us, all the negative stuff is the fruit of our sin nature which is rebellion against Yahweh. How is sin defined? "We have turned, every one, to his own way." That is the best definition you are going to find. Our actions are only the fruit of the root and the root is a heart that is turned to it's own ways instead of the righteous path of Yahweh.

All the epic battles in your life have come down to the struggle between your selfish nature and Yahweh's holiness. Eve's sin was a selfish act, when she put her wants ahead of Yahweh's instructions. David's many sins stemmed from the same source as has every sinful act committed by every single human in history.

Only Jesus has made it possible for this bondage to be broken so that we can make ourselves slaves to Yahweh's righteousness. If that is not your desire you will continue to stumble, struggle, and war against yourself. Peace is found when we swim out to the current of Father's will and allow ourselves to be carried along, swimming with the current instead of against it. Understand the source, the root of the fruit that is produced in your life. Is it the good stuff produced by the Spirit in you, or the rotten stuff that comes from your heart rooted in rebellion? If you can understand this root, you may discover you have been sinning without knowing it, blocking your destiny with Yahweh. Discover it, confess it, be set free from it, and begin to soar as you were designed to soar.

The Twisted Logic Of Sin

It is hard to convince anybody of anything when they think they are right. It doesn't matter how you present the situation or information, if they are convinced they are right they will defy all logic, even when the evidence is right in front of them. We shouldn't be surprised then when people refuse the facts about Jesus. They come up with every argument, every excuse, every "reason" to deny him. However, we need to keep in mind there is something working to keep them from the truth.

Rebellion is a very powerful thing. We call it our sin nature but what it boils down to is rebellion. Eve rebelled against Yahweh's command. There was only one command and yet Eve found it in herself to deny even that one. It set mankind on a terrible spiral down into a nature of rebellion. This sin nature distorts and twists everything so that people even defy the logic that they aspire to live by. We have plenty of examples in the Word of God which demonstrate this perfectly.

Consider David and Bathsheba. What would possess David to think that he could get away with having sex with another man's wife? Did he think that Yahweh would kindly turn a blind eye to his action. But this wasn't even the sin that he got called out on. David went from being an adulterer to a murderer. It's amazing how quickly sin can escalate. The natural consequences to his adultery was that Bathsheba was pregnant. David actually thought he could cover it up and make Uriah think he had gotten his wife pregnant. It is incredible to what lengths we will go to avoid dealing with our rebellion. Finally David arranged to have Uriah killed in battle, and this was the sin with which he was called out on, but it started with his adultery.

What possessed David to think that he could get away with it? Rebellion twists our thinking and causes us to think abnormal situations are normal. Yahweh and the whole kingdom were looking in and David ended up dealing with this sin in a public manner. But there are even greater examples than this.

In Luke 20 Jesus told a parable about a landowner who built a vineyard and then rented it out. The rent was simply a portion of the crop. It is only logical that when you rent something you have to pay the rent. But when the landowner's servants arrived to collect the rent, the people renting the vineyard beat them and sent them away. So the man sent his son. Now look at the twisted thinking of a rebellious mind:

But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.’ (Luke 20:14)

Are you kidding me? What logic would dictate that, because you kill your landlord's heir, you will become the heir? Craziness, but that is exactly where their thinking went. You may say, it's just a story, which it is, but this parable was aimed at a real life situation. The religious elite knew who Jesus was. If they didn't Jesus would not have told this parable. The thing is, these elite did not want to lose their position of importance. Jesus was stating here that their motivation for killing the Son was to maintain the kingdom for themselves. So killing God's Son would let them keep the Kingdom. Sorry but this is messed up thinking. Yes, they did kill him, but 40 years later everything was taken from them and destroyed.

We live in a world that defies logic. They think they are thinking straight and understanding everything but their rebellion has twisted their perspective and understanding. Even in the Church people are being deceived by what they want to be true instead of seeking the truth itself. We are living in an age where evil is called good and good evil. We need to be aware of it to avoid the trap that so many are falling into. We need to get ourselves fixed on Jesus and fight against any notion of rebellion in us. We know we are in danger when we start rejected sections of the Word of God. When we start rejecting his truth because it goes against what we want, it is called rebellion.

May we clearly hear Jesus' voice calling us to his righteousness and may his holy fires burn passionately within us.

What To Do When Sin Keeps Knocking

There is a lot of garbage going on which is shooting holes in the faith of many people. When you start wiping out sections of the Word it leaves you wide open to the influence of the enemy. Without the Word you have no solid ground to stand on. That is going to leave you wide open to all kinds of twistings to the morality taught by the Word of God.

As if things weren't already bad enough.

People have always struggled over sin because they try to take it on themselves. They don't understand that sin was defeated by Jesus on the cross and not by our conviction that it is wrong. Conviction has us turn to the only one who can give us freedom; Jesus. Jesus defeated sin and we have been set free so we walk in that freedom.

But what do we do when we keep being defeated by temptation?

We need to understand the nature of temptation. It is attractive. That is how it is designed, to be attractive. It wants to grab our attention and cause us to look at it. It wants to capture our attention so that our heart and mind are distracted from their intended focus. Just look how it played out for Eve:

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. (Genesis 3:6)

Eve had successfully fended off the initial lie of the enemy. When he suggested that Eve had misunderstood what Yahweh had said, she told him exactly what he said. That would be great for some leaders to remember these days. But then he managed to convince Eve to consider the fruit. Eve saw the tree. She thought about it, set her mind on it and considered that it was good for food.

Rationalization.

It is dangerous when we start to rationalize sin.

As she continued to look on that forbidden thing her rationalization made it become attractive. It became pleasant to her eyes. That rationalization progressed to the point where the attraction became a desire and she convinced herself that it would actually prove beneficial even though it was disobedient to Yahweh. 

All because she gave her mind and her heart to that thing when they actually belonged to someone else.

How do you resist temptation? Cut it off at the roots. Get your mind and heart off of that thing and get them where they belong:

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 now hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:1-3)

Don't make the excuse that the temptation is too strong for you. It has no power over you because sin was stripped of it's power. Now it comes down to your love. Who do you love more, Jesus Christ who died for you, or yourself with all your selfish desires?

Sin has been defeated. Satan has been defeated. You only have one King. Get your eyes off of the "tree" and on the King. Get you mind and heart out of the garbage and get them set on the Kingdom things. Decide who you love and act accordingly. He has empowered you to live a godly life. It's your choice.

Look in the mirror and speak the truth into your life, "I am set free!"

Getting Real With Jesus - A Call To Holiness

I think we have gone too far in the taming of our God, to make him appear more attractive, more salable among the cavorting nations. We have removed the bite from the Lion, or, I should say, we tried. At what point did we realize that the way of holiness was unattractive to the masses? When was that moment that we decided a benevolent Santa Claus type figure would be more acceptable? Who was the marketer that decided it was wiser to leave people happy in their sin in the pews than uncomfortably convicted at the Mercy Seat? I realize I am being harsh but I am being harsh on people like me: The Preachers.

Our God is not tame; far from it. However, he is kind, loving, forgiving and his desire is to see everyone saved from their intended destination of destruction. This does not diminish his glory; his righteousness; his holiness. Just because he reaches out in compassion to adopt us as his children does not take away from his glory:

Clouds and darkness surround Him;
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. (v. 2)

I don't think we preachers have done a very good job of telling people that a mark of accepting Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord is change. We die to what we were. That is how our bondage to sin is broken. Then we are raised in our new life in Jesus, and he in us. It is true that all our sin is forgiven but it also means we are called to his righteousness. It is the foundation of his throne as it becomes the foundation of our lives. It means that we no longer desire sin, or self or anything but the will of the Father. Any other form of Christianity is a lie. Anything that allows you to remain in sin and your desire for sin and self is a lie. Remember that justice is also the foundation of his throne and all those who live by sin instead of the Spirit are his enemies:

A fire goes before Him,
And burns up His enemies round about. (v. 3)

Not so tame.

We need a better vision of Yahweh, a better understanding so that we know that we do not want to fall into the hands of the living God; not his hands of justice:

His lightnings light the world;
The earth sees and trembles.
The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
The heavens declare His righteousness,
And all the peoples see His glory. (vv. 4-6)

We should fear to sin. We should fear to fall out of his grace. We should fear to offend our God. We should never take his grace for granted. We should never abuse his love. We should never try to manipulate his kindness and desire for us to our selfish advantage. We should desire to flee hard and fast from even any hint of sin, not use grace as an excuse to flirt with it or even to flaunt it. If we are saved we should have a longing for the righteousness of Jesus Christ. It should be our desire and when we fail, repentance should be our quick response.

Let all be put to shame who serve carved images,
Who boast of idols. (v. 7)

Indeed, let us feel the shame of our prostitution to the idols of this age. Let us feel deeply the shame and guilt of what we do against the Name above all names. Let us stop playing games with grace and get serious about loving our God. Let us throw off everything that entangles and ensnares our hearts and be thoroughly cleansed and set right in our service to our King. Let us discover again our fear of the Lord, the great respect that is due him and get up on his Highway of Holiness. Let us pursue him with all that we are and trust him to preserve us until the day of his return.

You who love the Lord, hate evil!
He preserves the souls of His saints;
He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.
Light is sown for the righteous,
And gladness for the upright in heart.
Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous,
And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. (vv. 10-12)

Indeed, REPENT! REJOICE! GIVE THANKS! REMEMBER!

A Cause Of Our Spiritual Weakness

There is a spiritual truth that is almost impossible for us to live in our current age where the almighty dollar reigns supreme. For years we have allowed the seed in our heart grow, the seed that says "money makes the world go round". Everyone wants a comfortable life with enough money to do what they want and what most people want is to be entertained. So we work to spend, and what we don't have, we borrow. We lean heavily on credit cards and enslave ourselves to the financial system of this world; and we think it is good.

How can we discover the greatness of our God when we are enslaved to another? How can we discover the wonderful provision of our God when we are enslaved to another? How can we discover that he is mighty to save, whether by many or few, when we trust another god for our salvation?

You may think I am being a little over dramatic but that's because we have become blind to our own condition. We have become spiritually weak for several reasons but this is one of the big ones. It is not unlike the kings of old who trusted their own resources instead of Yahweh. Over the last couple of days I have been using king Asa as an illustration and today is no exception.

You will recall that Asa was a great king, bringing spiritual renewal to Judah as he encouraged everyone to turn back to Yahweh. He was a king who leaned on his God, who trusted him and as a result the land was blessed. During an invasion of the Ethiopians, when he was outnumbered 3 to 1, Asa cried out to Yahweh and trusted him in the battle. He easily defeated the army and gained great riches. Because Asa and Judah sought the Lord, they found him, and he gave them peace for 35 years, during which time they prospered. It was a golden age, until Asa made the same mistake we make today.

The King of Israel attacked and was building a city to cut off a major trade route. Israel's army was nothing compared to the Ethiopian army Asa had defeated in trusting Yahweh but during the 35 years of peace Asa seemed to have forgotten. He panicked and made a bad decision:

Then Asa brought silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the Lord and of the king’s house, and sent to Ben-Hadad king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying, “Let there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you silver and gold; come, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.” (2 Chronicles 16:2-3)

The fact that Asa trusted his riches and paid a foreign king, who was actually an enemy, to get him out of trouble was distasteful to Yahweh. He sent his prophet to tell Asa what he had done was wrong:

Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand. Were the Ethiopians and the Lubim not a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your hand. ( vv. 7-8)

Now pay attention to the next part and understand how wrong we have been and why we struggle in spiritual weakness:

For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. (v. 9)

Our Lord looks for opportunities to show his strength through the weaknesses of his children. It brings to mind the Lord`s response to Paul`s prayer for deliverance, when he said that his grace was sufficient for Paul because he reveals his strength through our weakness. But we refuse to be weak in this age. We turn to other sources for salvation. We rely on the wisdom of man. We lean on credit. We run after means to feed and clothe ourselves. We wear ourselves out, ignoring Jesus entirely, as if he were some decorative ornament that adorns our lives; totally useless but pretty to look at.

Now that you are aware of this you have an opportunity to repent of it. Father wants us turning to him in our weakness. He wants us to lean on him so he can glorify himself through us. But please do not react like Asa. He had an opportunity to repent here. He had made a mistake but our Lord is the source of all grace. He only looks to us to repent and be restored. But instead of repenting, Asa allowed his heart to be filled with anger, bitterness and resentment. He threw the prophet into jail. He became a tyrant, oppressing the people because his heart had changed. And even when the Lord used disease to bring correction and to soften his heart, Asa refused to turn to him for help, instead choosing to die in suffering with the disease. We can be stupidly stubborn in our disobedience.

Face it, we are a distracted people who lean on other gods for salvation. We are wrong, we are weak, and we are in much need of repentance. Just for this moment, be honest with yourself. In your weakness, who or what gets glorified? If the answer is not Jesus then fall on your face before him. And don't lie to yourself. This could be a major turning point in your spiritual maturity. Allow Jesus to be glorified in your weakness.