Final Days

Here it is…the last day of 2010. It's 11pm and the new year is about to begin. What will it bring?

There are so many uncertainties about that. The bible is true and it says that in the last days iniquity will abound. It says that men will be lovers of themselves more than lovers of God. We all know that this is happening right now, not only in our country but in countries all over the world. I believe there is trouble ahead, even for those of us who believe in and trust Jesus Christ as our Savior. Maybe that trouble will not be disastrous in this year, but in the year ahead, or the one after that. But no matter when or how terrible the bad news, there is always good news as well, isn't there?

I've been reading a book written by a Christian author by the name of Terri Blackstock. She has a series of books called the "Restoration Novels" that I have enjoyed reading so much even though I am not big on novels. Most of my reading of the past several years has been books on Christian doctrine or disciplines, never novels. I actually picked the first one up to try to figure out if a friend of mine might enjoy them as I know what type of novels she likes to read, and then I found myself reading the next one and the one after that as well.

What I have found so interesting about these "Restoration" novels is that the premise for them is a catastrophe that affects the entire world…and how people deal with it, some Christians, some non-Christians. Her Christian characters who are nominal Christians really, more influenced by monetary and material things than by the Word of God, find that they can no longer help themselves and MUST trust God completely for everything from finding food to eat, to keeping alive when once neighborly people become desperate and dangerous. It is very easy to imagine being in these situations that Ms. Blackstock writes of. Most of us have pondered these very scenarios in our minds from time to time, and her thoughts on how mankind would handle such disasters are very interesting and informative.

Yet, what I received the most from the 3^rd book in the series is her mention of the 139^th Psalm. For uncertain times are ahead of us, we all must surely be aware of that. And the Word tells us that the rain falls on the just as well as the unjust.

So, I thought I would remind us all of the complete and utter sovereignty of our God, remembering that He is still in control of our future, no matter what the pundits predict. He already has our days numbered according to His own plans for each of us. He knows our worries and our fears and how frail we are made. Yet He will never leave us who trust in Him. It is because of this that we know that there is nothing to fear in what the new year will bring. There is only the Good News of Jesus Christ ahead for those of us who have trusted in Him and walked in obedience to His Word. Note especially the underlined portions:

"O Lord, you have searched me and have known me. You know my downsitting and my uprising; You understand my thoughts afar off. You sift and search out my path and my lying down, and You are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, behold, O Lord, You know it altogether. You have beset me and shut me in – behind and before, and You have laid Your hand upon me. Your knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high above me, I cannot reach it. Where could I go from Your Spirit? Or where could I flee from Your presence? If I ascend up into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning or dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall Your hand lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me and the night shall be the only light about me, even the darkness hides nothing from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You. For You did form my inward parts; You did knit me together in my mother's womb. I will confess and praise You for You are fearful and wonderful and for the awful wonder of my birth! Wonderful are Your works and that my inner self knows right well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was being formed in secret, intricately and curiously wrought in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book all the days of my life were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them. How precious and weighty also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand, when I awake, I am still with thee. Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men. For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain. Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? And am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me and know my thoughts; and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

Have a blessed New Year!

Remembering the Lord

I read the complete book of Hosea in my prayer time this morning. It's sort of hard to stop reading it once you begin. When I study I use all versions of the Bible, but during morning prayer and reading, I prefer the New Living Translation as it is just an easier read.

But back to Hosea, it is mostly God talking through the entire book, which makes it all the more interesting, as you get to really see God's heart throughout the book. Listen to some of the things God says, remember these verses are from the NLT version:

• "There is no faithfulness, no kindness, no knowledge of God in your land….that is why your land is not producing. It is filled with sadness, and all living things are becoming sick and dying." (4:1-3)
  
• "…people don't realize that I am watching them. Their sinful deeds are all around them; I see them all!" (7:2)
  
• "…I wanted to redeem them, but they have only spoken lies about me. They do not cry out to me with sincere hearts. Instead, they sit on their couches and wail…." (7:13-14)
  
• "They look everywhere, except to heaven, to the Most High." (7:16)
  
• "But it is too late! The people…have rejected what is good, and now their enemies will chase after them." (8:3)
  
• "…but the more wealth the people got, the more they poured it on the altars of their foreign gods. The richer the harvests they brought in, the more beautiful the statues and idols they built." (10:1)
  
• "I said, 'Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of my love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord that He may come and shower righteousness upon you.' But you have cultivated wickedness and raised a thriving crop of sins. You have eaten the fruit of lies – trusting in your military might, believing that great armies could make your nation safe! Now the terrors of war will rise among your people. All your fortifications will fall…" (10:12-14)
  

Most of you who are believers already know who God is talking about in these verses. But if you didn't know, wouldn't it sound like America? In the literal sense, He is speaking about Israel, but in a spiritual sense, He could be talking about any of us, or any other nation, at least before we came to know Him as our Savior…it makes you think, doesn't it? I think He intended for it to make us pause and think about where we are in terms of remembering God in our daily lives, and remaining dependent upon Him, rather than upon our own resources each day....always busy scrambling for more of our own resources, leaving little time for God.

Fortunately, for us all, the Lord was (and is) merciful to Israel and to the nations of the Gentiles as well, through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. God says these things in Hosea as well:

• "So now come back to your God! Act on the principles of love and justice, and always live in confident dependence on your God." (11:6)
  
• "I am the Lord your God….You have no God but me, for there is no other savior." (13:4)
  
• "I will personally free them from their enemies without any help from weapons or armies" (1:7)
  
• "In that coming day" says the Lord, "you will call me 'my husband' instead of 'my master'." (2:16)
  
• "I will make you my wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion. I will be faithful to you and make you mine, and you will finally know me as Lord." (2:19-20)
  
• "At that time I will plant a crop of Israelites and raise them for myself! I will show love to those I called 'Not loved.' And to those I called 'Not my people.' I will say, 'Now you are my people.' Then they will reply, 'You are our God.' (2:23)
  
• "I am the One who looks after you and cares for you. I am like a tree that is always green, giving my fruit to you all through the year. Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those who are discerning listen carefully. The paths of the Lord are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them…" (14:8-9)
  

The "crop of Israelites" that God raised up for Himself were believers of all nations who did not resist the new birth, but were in fact "born-again" by the Spirit of God. But care must be given, even among those born-again, not to follow in the footsteps of the Israelites and forget God – forget that He is the One who takes care of us and upon Whom we depend…for everything!

I believe that is why God made sure His Word was preserved down through the ages, as a reminder to us all of where we have been and where we could return if we are not mindful of Him.

"This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: that ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Savior; knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts…..ye, therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest you also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen" (2 Peter 3 KJV)

Living in Darkness

I was praying and reading the Word this morning and I read this particular scripture from my prayer bible which is the New Living Translation. I found it interesting as I had never heard the term "liars" referred to as "living a lie". The King James just refers to "liars". The NLT version of it seems to expound that word a bit by explaining what it is that liars do: they live a lie. But I am reminded once more of what John tells us:

"This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth…" (I John 1:5-6)

"He that saith 'I know Him' and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth His Word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him. He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked." (I John 2:4-6)

Let me go back to the NLT for a moment and see how it translates that portion of the second scripture that reads: "But whoso keepeth His Word, in him verily is the love of God perfected". The NLT version reads as follows:

"But those who obey God's Word really do love Him."

The lie that we live begins by telling ourselves and others that we love God, when in fact, our disobedience proves that we love only ourselves and not God. That would make us idol worshippers wouldn't it, as well as liars? The idol in our lives would be us.

Thankfully, the grace of God extends to any who will turn away from sin. I once lived a lie while calling myself a Christian. But by the grace of God I was brought to repentance, turning my back on my sin once and for all time, never to visit it again. I know now that He forgave me my sin, although it took a long time for that to sink in, so terrible was my sin in my own eyes; terrible that I had shamed the name of Christ by my words and even more by my deeds. But the truth is that He is willing to forgive, not while we are IN SIN, but once we are willing to leave sin behind. His grace does not COVER our sin. His grace brings us OUT of sin, out of darkness, into the light. That's what His grace does for us. All through Jesus Christ who delivered us from sin's grip, if we only believe and trust in His completed work on the cross that He bore for our sakes.

When we live in sin, we are not living in faith. We cannot say we trust in Jesus. We cannot say that we believe in God. We cannot say that we love God. His Word makes that very clear to us.

But His Word also says that if we cry out He will be quick to answer, even when His justice demands death as punishment for our sins:

""…suppose I tell some wicked people that they will die, but then they turn from their sins and do what is just and right….if they do this, then they will surely live and not die. None of their past sins will be brought up again, for they have done what is just and right, and they will surely live." (Ezekiel 33:14-16 NLT)

It is the death that Jesus endured and the separation from God that He experienced that now comes into effect when we turn from our sin. Justice is still met, only Jesus is the One who fulfills that justice. It is by faith that we turn from sin and its bondage, step out of the darkness of that living lie, and into the light of truth. It is by faith that we receive God's forgiveness and become whole again. It is by faith that we face all the consequences of our sin, if there be any, honestly and openly, no longer being condemned by it, for even in facing those consequences we are living in truth, no longer in the lie. And we are not here to please man, but to please God.

Our living in the light pleases God.

Memorial Unto the Lord

"And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever." Exodus 12:14

The scripture above refers to the Feast of the Passover, a feast day still observed annually by Jews everywhere, whether they are secular, which so many are these days, or whether they are religious. It was a day to look back and remember how good God was to the nation of Israel. He forgave their sin and delivered them from slavery to the Egyptians. It was a memorial set aside to remember their Lord and to remember their freedom and not to take it for granted.

Here in America, we celebrate Thanksgiving, a memorial to the Lord as well. Or at least that was the original intent.

I found an interesting little website that talks a bit about Thanksgiving and its origins. There are many of them, of course. This particular one [ http://www.christiananswers.net/q-wall/wal-g007.html ] speaks of the Thanksgiving that we all know of: celebrated by the Pilgrims after a successful harvest in their new homeland, having run from England because of religious persecution, coming to a faraway place that became known as "New England" – a place of freedom. But it also tells of how first George Washington, and later Abraham Lincoln, made the day an ordinance in a sense, a national holiday here in America. It goes on to tell of how Abe Lincoln became a Christian while walking among the graves of some of the 60,000 men who had died at the Battle of Gettysburg.

Thanksgiving has come a long way since the days of the Pilgrims, and Washington, and Lincoln. It follows pretty closely on the coattails of Halloween, the holiday producing big profits for retail in America – estimated at 6.2 billion this year – I think I heard that it's bigger than Christmas in sales, but I haven't verified that. Regardless, 6.2 billion in sales for Halloween this year [ http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/media/halloween-2010-more-treat-than-trick/19693833/ ] says something rather significant, I think. Especially in our current economic times.

Thanksgiving is a lot about food, as are many Biblical feast days. But how many of us remember that it's about thanking God as well?

In my own family, there are some who don't give God a thought at all on Thanksgiving, for they don't yet know Him as their Lord and Savior, giver of all that they possess, including their next breath, and the one after that, and the one after that….

Yet, for many others in my family, and in so many families all over America, we still remember that this rather secular holiday had very spiritual beginnings. And we remember the Lord on Thanksgiving Day, but not ONLY on that day.

A heart filled with grateful thanksgiving is an everyday occurrence for true believers. In fact, I believe that a grateful heart is the one thing that marks true believers and sets them apart from others who simply call themselves by the name of Jesus Christ, but really don't know Him or rely on Him.

God, the Father, sent His Son, named Jesus, the Christ (the Anointed One) to show us the way to Himself. Jesus lived a life of perfect obedience to His Father, then He died for US. By the power of God He was resurrected from the dead, the first of many to receive eternal life and to experience the joy of living in the presence of God, both now and in the future. But those who follow after Him, who call themselves His disciples, understand that He is the source of all that they possess and the supplier of all their needs. And I'm not speaking of material things here, for in light of the knowledge of what Jesus has done for us, material things have little value. I speak of things having eternal value: the joy of knowing our sins are forgiven, the peace of knowing that we will spend eternity with the Lord rather than in a place of everlasting torment called hell, the hope of knowing that the Lord is always with us, never forsaking us, leading us always into righteousness, right living, holiness, as we rely and depend upon Him for all that we need and all that we are to become.

And because of all of these things, we receive the most blessed gift of all: REST.

"My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest." Exodus 33:14

God loved us enough to give us REST. REST from worrying that we haven't been good enough and never will be to attain heaven. REST from fear of death and hell. REST in times of economic turmoil. REST from trying to figure out how to survive. REST in times of religious persecution. REST from worrying about the future of our loved ones. SO MUCH REST!!!

If you aren't experiencing rest, then you aren't calling out to and relying upon Jesus. It's very simple to do. Just call out to Him. He WILL Answer. He WILL give you REST.

Have a blessed (and grateful) Thanksgiving!

Psalm 77:11: "I will remember the works of the Lord, surely I will remember thy wonders of old."

Able to Subdue

"Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.) For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself." (Phillipians 3:17-21)

There is only ONE who is "able even to subdue all things unto Himself." It certainly is not me. And even if you have more will-power than I do (admittedly I have none at all) it is not you, either. For no matter how disciplined a person is, no matter how much will-power, no matter how strong they are in themselves, only One is able to subdue ALL THINGS….and that is GOD. It is the Lord God Almighty, who gave His Son to us. It is Jesus Christ Himself who subdues all things by the power of God, because He IS GOD and CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE. And it is the Holy Spirit of God. It is the Lord our God who is ONE LORD. It is THE LORD. (Deut. 6:4; Mark 12:29)

Recovery programs can teach us guidelines to healthy living, but it is only the strength of the Lord, the power of God, that causes us to remain faithful to Him and consistent with those program guidelines that we have been given. It is only HE that is our victory, it is not the programs themselves. And no matter what you believe, it is not you who are able to overcome sin. There is none perfect except God. Our fleshly appetites (not just food and drink, but emotions and greed and ambition and anger and fear and worry and so many other things) have control over us all until we surrender ourselves to the Lord. There is no one who does not sin... EXCEPT GOD…whose name when He walked on this earth among us was JESUS CHRIST:

"Only in the Lord shall one say, I have righteousness (salvation and victory) and strength [to achieve]." (Isaiah 46:24 AMP)

But we will go our own ways, walking right into defeat, unless we appropriate for ourselves, the gift that the Lord Jesus Christ left for us when He went to sit at the right hand of the Father in heaven. That gift is none other than: THE HOLY SPIRIT.

As the opening scripture says, there are those who "mind earthly things" and then there are those whose "conversation is in heaven."

I find that my desire is for eternal things, yet I can get distracted by temporal or earthly things. I also find that this happens dependent upon whether I am walking "in the Spirit" or am, instead, "walking by the flesh."

"For, brethren, you have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh….walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." (Galatians 5:13-16)

It's very simple. We are to walk by the Spirit. So why don't we do that always?

I believe it is because we don't pull away from the turmoil and activities that surround us each day, long enough to do so. We don't separate ourselves and pray.

Remember how often Jesus pulled away from the crowds and went off to pray?

When things get too hectic around me, as happened prior to this trip, time alone with the Lord sometimes gets set aside. And when I later stumble, I am surprised… when it really should come as no surprise at all. For if I am not walking by the Spirit….filled with the Spirit, aware of the Spirit's leading in all things, with my mind on heavenly things…then I must be walking by the flesh, with my mind on earthly things and not on the Lord. And that's when sin happens.

The Lord has left us the strength and the power to be obedient by sending to us the Comforter, the Holy Spirit of God. We just need to pull away and receive a fresh filling from Him each day, and sometimes throughout the day. AND we need to pray for one another….which ALSO requires pulling away. (I'm preaching to ME!)

I'm thankful for God's continued mercy, grace and faithfulness to me. I'm thankful for His forgiveness and that He brings me to repentance each time I fail. And I am thankful that the Word of God promises me that as I continue to submit to the Holy Spirit, He will subdue all things unto Himself…INCLUDING MY FLESH!

In the Lord alone is my victory! And on Him I must rely!

Beauty from Ashes

"…to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that HE might be glorified." (Isaiah 61:3)

Mourning and the spirit of heaviness can be caused by many things, but for me it seems most often to be caused by my sin. And yet, no sooner do I finish crying out to God for deliverance once more from this body of sin, than He does things that cause me to praise Him all over again! And suddenly my mourning is turned to joy as He moves me once more from darkness into the light of His beauty and glory! Oh how faithful He ever is to us who are so unfaithful and so helpless without Him!

I've been struggling for a couple of weeks. A big road trip was coming up (my 10 year-old grandson and I will drive for our fourth and last day today to reach our destination in Texas) and there was much to be done to prepare for the trip; much to be done ahead of time since I would be gone for three long weeks. My husband, who had been out of town for six weeks, came home two weeks ago and after such a long absence, there always seems to be a period of re-adjusting to one another that goes on, in this case, made a bit more rough by all my preparations and little attention spent on him. Not that I was paying much attention to me either, especially to my program of weight loss. As each day went on, I told myself I would "catch-up" on my program work "tomorrow" until finally, on the second day of my travels, I found myself checking into the hotel room with my grandson, sitting in the room's recliner and polishing off his uneaten bag of popcorn that the hotel had provided to him free of charge…all of that AFTER I had eaten MORE than my share of calories that day already!

A month ago, I would not even have been tempted by that popcorn; but I was in a different place spiritually today than a month ago and I had been in this place for almost two weeks now…losing my focus on the Lord, feeling as though my thoughts were always on food…just like it used to be. In all the busy-ness and all the distractions, I just couldn't seem to re-focus properly on the Lord and on my program. I realized just before I left on this trip that I had missed a whole week of lessons in my program lesson book. I found it almost impossible to believe I had lost a whole week, but I had! I felt a very gradual descent into the darkness coming upon me again.

The morning following the popcorn indulgence (Tuesday) I woke up very early (a guilty conscience often does that to me) but remained in bed contemplating my sin and what had brought it on. I came up with the usual excuses: a) my husband has demanded so much of my time and attention that I haven't had time to do my daily lessons (he's always my first choice of scapegoat, poor thing); b) it's all the pressure I'm feeling to succeed now that I've told everyone about my victory and even posted it on my blog; c) I've just had NO TIME with all the preparations for this trip; d) it's…it's…well, I couldn't think of the other reasons at the moment, but there must have been other reasons.

But what I was left with was the fear of how many people would be so disappointed in me when I returned from my trip weighing 50 pounds heavier than when I left. I jumped up and ran to the mirror. Yep, there it was…I could SEE my body EXPANDING already with weight gain even as I stood there looking in the mirror, sort of like Pinocchio's nose growing with each lie. That's what I was…just a LIAR. Being in a small hotel room with my grandson, there remained no place for me to hide in the darkness of my shame except the shower.

It was there that I cried out to God: Help me! Help me please! I KNEW my sin was towards HIM, not others, and yet it was OTHERS that I was fearing, it was their RESPONSE, THEIR DISAPPOINTMENT IN ME that I dreaded….not the Lord's. I could see it and yet felt helpless to control it. And I cried out to the Lord even more! Finally, I finished my shower, dressed, and coaxed my grandson, who had just sat up in his bed, to go back to sleep as it was early still (to which he gratefully responded by rolling over and burying himself deep in his blankets again). II sat down still feeling very far from the Lord, still wallowing in my shame and self-loathing. What exactly had caused me to sin after such a long stint of really easy victory? What was I going to do now? Maybe if I fasted I could lose all this weight that I was suddenly gaining (mind you I have no scale to tell me I had gained, just my guilty conscience…similar to Adam and Eve suddenly being aware that they were naked.) I was attempting to hide my sin behind fig leaves just as they tried to do.

Not ready to hear what the Word of God had to tell me quite yet, I reached instead for a book that I had brought along with me called "The Law of Liberty in the Spiritual Life." Upon merely opening the book, the page turned to an excerpt which immediately caught my eye about Jacob's struggle with the Angel of the Lord of which the author wrote:

"The power of resistance – which is self-will – being broken, the strength to cling – which is faith – is now brought into exercise. So we see Jacob, the moment his thigh was out of joint, no longer wrestling, but clinging – no longer an antagonist resisting an enemy, but as a suppliant in an attitude of earnest entreaty: "I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me."

I re-read that same passage three times at least…self-will…self-will. Oh, not that AGAIN!

Suddenly, the clock/radio on the bedside table began to talk…really loud! My grandson jerked his head up and we both stared at the clock/radio (for different reasons, obviously) as it said these words:

"Proverbs 28:13 says 'He who covers his transgressions will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes his sins will obtain mercy." The preacher who spoke those words then began to preach about that very sin of lying, trying to cover sin, and suddenly I felt like laughing!

Laughing that the Lord would use such methods to bring me to my spiritual senses! A page out of a book I hadn't opened for months – a talking clock/radio that spoke directly to my sin as I contemplated how I could get out of the mess I was in. How amazing that He loves me enough to prepare ALL of this, knowing in advance where I would be spiritually! How amazing IS our GOD?

The Lord reminded me that it was confession of my sin in the first place that had brought about victory over the sin of gluttony for such a long time. It was not my cleverness, OR my spirituality. It was simply God's divine principle at work: bring your sins out of the darkness and into the light, confess your faults one to another, and I will heal you, He reminded me. His healing WAS my victory…yet not mine, but HIS alone; purchased with His own obedience at the cross.

And so, once more, I confess that I have sinned. Once more I confess my sin to GOD first (who already knew it) and then to my fellow sisters in the Lord to whom I have made myself accountable in His name.

Jesus has once again turned the ashes of my sin and shame into the beauty of restored fellowship with the Father for which I praise HIM!

Perhaps I have gained weight, I don't know and won't know for now. But, if I have, it will come off again. He's not done with me YET! And it isn't, after all, about losing weight. I think I forgot that for awhile.

It's about restoration; it's about a LIFETIME of obedience to the Lord; it's about being transformed into HIS image. That's the REAL goal of this weight loss program and all else that the Lord brings our way….that's HIS goal:

"JESUS, the author and finisher of our faith." (Hebrews 12:2)

HE IS ABLE.

Prophetic Curses

In a recent posting, I wrote of what I think might have been the "anguish" of Moses in following God's commands to destroy a race of people, including what he called "the little ones" or the children. I believe that the anguish that Moses might have felt is symbolic of the anguish that God Himself feels when the nations are destroyed, even when He Himself gives the order to destroy. The total destruction of men, women and children is pointed to by those who do not know God as a REASON why they will not trust and acknowledge God. They misinterpret these actions as being that of a vengeful, hateful God that has no love in Him. They entirely miss God's goodness, love and forbearance towards all man. They see only evil, when in fact, there is only love. Even judgment, when fairly administered, is a display of love, although many refuse to accept this truth. And so I'd like to explore these frequently misinterpreted aspects of God in this posting and possibly the next.

Let's begin with what the sons of Noah and the events that led up to Noah speaking what appears to be a curse over his grandson, Canaan:

"After the flood, Noah became a farmer and planted a vineyard. One day he became drunk on some wine he had made and lay naked in his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw that his father was naked and went outside and told his brothers. Shem and Japheth took a robe, held it over their shoulders, walked backward into the tent, and covered their father's naked body. As they did this, they looked the other way so they wouldn't see him naked. When Noah woke up from his drunken stupor, he learned what Ham, his youngest son, had done. Then he cursed the descendants of Canaan, the son of Ham: 'A curse on the Canaanites! May they be the lowest of servants to the descendants of Shem and Japheth.' Then Noah said, 'May Shem be blessed by the Lord my God; and may Canaan be his servant. May God enlarge the territory of Japheth, and may he share the prosperity of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant." (Genesis 9:20-27 NLT)

Noah's curse seems like an over-reaction to something that, by today's standards at least, would be something embarrassing for sure, but not worthy of a generational curse on all of Ham's grandson's descendants. After all, why curse Canaan's descendants when it was Ham who did the misdeed? And, many people will ask, why was Ham's deed worthy of a curse at all?

Some things we just don't see clearly in this day and age; the culture of that generation of Noah and our own has such vast differences, they cannot for the most part even be compared, and even less, understood. But what we can clearly see from the passage is that Ham's brothers, Shem and Japheth understood the vital importance of not viewing their father's nakedness; and therefore, we must understand that Ham also understood. Thus, he had no excuse to view his father's nakedness, unless he happened to come upon Noah's nakedness unexpectedly upon entering his tent. But even if that were the case, why then did he go and speak of his father's nakedness to his brothers? If he knew the "wrong" of such an act, why would he then go and discuss it? Why wouldn't he stand guard to make sure no one else unexpectedly came upon Noah in that condition and thereby protect his father from shame? And was he merely mentioning it to his brothers (I don't think so since they did not appear to discuss it with him at all, so quick were their actions to protect their father); or was he perhaps discussing it in such a way as to bring more disrespect to Noah, and more shame to Ham – if Ham had a conscience that viewed the deed as shameful at all? And was there perhaps something illicit about Ham's portrayal to his brothers of Noah's nakedness; after all the generations of Canaanites became known for their sexual impurity and gross depravity. Did the origin of that long line of sins have their root in Ham?

But let's look at another aspect of this. Let's look at who Noah was in God's eyes just prior to the flood:

"…Noah found favor with the Lord….Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless man living on earth at the time. He consistently followed God's will and enjoyed a close relationship with Him." (Genesis 6:8-9 NLT)

Did you know that Noah was not only a righteous and blameless man, but he was also a prophet of God? 2 Peter 2:5 tells us that "Noah warned the world of God's righteous judgment" prior to God destroying the evil inhabitants of the earth by flood. Noah was a prophet. What do God's prophets do? They speak as God gives them words to speak.

We know that God is omniscient: He knows what we will do before we do it. He can see far ahead; He has foreknowledge of events that will happen. But another characteristic of God is His forbearance as demonstrated through another prophet of God, Ezekiel. Through Ezekiel, God spoke these words to a sinful nation:

"As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live…nor will the sins of evil people destroy them IF they repent and turn from their sins….and suppose I tell some wicked people that they will surely die, but then they turn from their sins and do what is just and right. For instance, they might give back a borrower's pledge, return what they have stolen, and obey my life-giving laws, no longer doing what is evil. If they do this, then they will surely live and not die. None of their past sins will be brought up again, for they have done what is just and right, and they will surely live." (Ezekiel 33:11-16 NLT)

So let's lay all of this information out properly in terms of the curse of Noah upon the descendants of Canaan:

1. God, being omniscient and able to see what lies ahead (whereas we do not), saw sin in Ham, and even in Canaan and his descendants. The curse did not "cause" Canaan's descendants to sin, make no mistake about that. God does not put evil in men's hearts, even in those verses that speak of hardening a heart such as happened with Pharaoh. But the fair and just judgments of God will cause a sinful man's heart to harden even more than it already is simply because of man's own sin. It is not God's judgments doing the hardening; it is sin in the person's heart that causes it to become even harder against God when just punishment is dispensed.
   
2. Noah, being a prophet of God, in proclaiming the curse, was simply prophesying what would happen with the descendants of Canaan; his words were the very words of God Himself, I believe.
   
3. Even though all of these things came true regarding the Canaanites (not because God created them, but because the sin of the descendants caused them to happen just as God foresaw that they would), this did not for a moment mean that God would not have willingly and gladly received each descendant to Himself if they would only have repented and turned from their wicked ways. The Canaanite prostitute Rahab (Joshua 6) is an example of God's protection extended to those who do right according to God, rather right than according to man.
   

The point of this posting is to try to show that God's heart never changes towards us, while also showing that God's foreknowledge is not pre-determinism. Man is not then FORCED to sin because God "prophesied" through His prophets, or because He "foresaw" the wickedness of men's hearts. Thus, when God's just and fair judgment falls on man, man has no one to blame but himself. For if man would only turn and repent, judgment need not fall. Our God's promises are true and eternal. As is His love for each and every one of us.

In the next posting, we will look at the reason that God commanded the Israelites to completely destroy the Canaanite nations, whereas with other nations He allowed them a chance to surrender peacefully rather than face annihilation.

Mighty Through God, Part 10 - Final

Praying in the Spirit

"And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; and for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak." (Ephesians 6:17-20)

Every now and then, the Holy Spirit "reveals" something to us through the Word. When I say "reveal" I mean that He gives us understanding about a passage that we have not had prior to His "showing" or "revealing" its meaning to us. That is, after all, His job: to reveal the Word of God to us – the Word of God being JESUS. And to bring the Word to its destination of creating life in us.

One such "revealed" passage is the one that I discussed in Part 3 of this study that speaks of Genesis 1:2 in which it can be seen that the Holy Spirit "hovered" over the dark void that existed prior to creation, "waiting" to carry the Word of God to its destination in creation, bringing about life at the very beginning of life as we know it. Not bringing about life as though the Spirit Himself was that life, but as a vehicle of the WORD OF GOD Who IS Life (John 1:4); always glorifying the Word of God: Jesus Christ.

When He "revealed" that understanding to me years ago, and even up until two weeks ago when I published that understanding on this blog, I had never heard another living soul speak of this particular job of the Holy Spirit in the creation process, of this understanding of that particular passage in Genesis. And even when I spoke it to others, as I felt it was of significant importance to share with others, I sometimes got only a blank stare in return. But, for me, at least, it was a pearl that just opened up so much more of who the Holy Spirit is and what He does: not only back in the beginning, but even today.

Then last week, the Lord blessed me considerably by allowing me to hear that same revelation coming out of the mouth of a man, whose name I had heard, but whom, until a few days ago, I had never heard speak, nor had I ever read anything he might have written. This man's name is: Reinhard Bonnke.

All I knew of Reinhard Bonnke was that he was an evangelist in Africa and that he was anointed by the Holy Spirit to preach. Well, actually, I only "assumed" that he was anointed, having never heard his preaching myself, and that assumption was based on the fact that I heard that "millions" were being saved in Africa. That sounded like God at work to me.

And one day, as I was stalled in posting this last segment of the study onto this blog, I decided to "google" his name. It led me to his website: www.cfan.org and that led me to see that he had videos of his preaching for sale. So I purchased a couple. And while I was watching him preach, he spoke the very revelation that God had also given to me years ago. He spoke of the Holy Spirit "hovering" in order that it might at the proper time "carry" the spoken word of God to its destination of creating life. I was amazed to hear it coming from someone else and I was blessed to have confirmation of my correct understanding coming from such a man of God: a man whose "Spirit-anointed preaching" saves millions; a man who then makes sure they have all received the "baptism of the Holy Spirit" so that they can go forth and "speak boldly" as they ought to speak – just like Paul did – just like Reinhard does - just as we ALL are to do.

And all of that is just another example of the workings of the Holy Spirit. It begins with the baptism of the Holy Spirit and of fire that John the Baptist was the first to speak of:

"I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire…" (Matthew 3:11)

It has always been amazing to me that the very gift that the Lord left with us to help us overcome, is the very gift that so many saved believers hide from; and I believe it stems mostly from one of two reasons: 1) because we mistakenly believe that too much of the Holy Spirit detracts from Jesus Christ, and 2) because of the fear of something that cannot be logically explained: tongues.

To address the first issue: the Holy Spirit speaks only of JESUS. Jesus is the WORD OF GOD. The Holy Spirit illuminates for us the WORD OF GOD. All that He does is about Jesus and what He hears from Jesus; for Jesus said:

"Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come. He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you." (John 16:13-14)

The Holy Spirit is all about glorifying Jesus. If we want to speak more boldly of Jesus Christ, the Good News Himself, then we need more of the Holy Spirit! There is nothing to fear in having more of the Holy Spirit. There is something to concerned about, however, if we manifest the gifts of the Spirit and have no love of God in our hearts for one another:

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity it profiteth me nothing." (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)

Paul said he spoke with tongues of men, meaning he spoke in his native and learned languages such as Hebrew and Greek; and he said that he also spoke with tongues of angels – that would be another language, a heavenly language coming from the Holy Spirit of God, that the Bible simply calls "tongues." He instructs us to be "praying always…in the Spirit." I don't believe this means that Paul spoke only in that heavenly language of "tongues" when he prayed, never praying in his own native language; but I do believe that he means in every avenue that the Holy Spirit has given us to pray, we should pray: in the Word, in power, in love…and yes, even in tongues. The Bible tells us that tongues "edifies" us (1 Corinthians 14:4) and that the Holy Spirit "groans" through us those things which are fitting to be prayed for us as only He knows best (Romans 8:26-28). Paul says that besides tongues there are many other gifts of the Spirit that we are to covet as well (1 Corinthians chapters 12-13). But nowhere does he tell us to pick and choose those which we want only and discard any that we don't either understand or agree with.

It is time for the church world-wide to be a FULL gospel church: FULLY acknowledging the Father, the Son, AND the Holy Spirit.

There is an excellent article about praying in tongues and a video about tongues at these two links from Charisma magazine that might help those of you who are still doubting Thomases: http://www.charismamag.com/index.php/features/2010/august/28937-evidence-of-the-gift and http://www.charismamag.com/index.php/online-exclusives/august-2010/28879-the-science-behind-tongues

Believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God who died to conquer death and the enemy, Who paid the penalty of the wages of our sin for our sakes because He loved us more than He loved His own life; be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit – the same power of God that raised Christ from the dead – the same power that will cause us to live in the resurrection power and life of Jesus; so that we might go forth boldly proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ through the testimony of our changed lives, changed by the power of GOD – the one true and living GOD who loved us so much He gave His only-begotten Son for us as the eternal and everlasting atonement of sacrifice for OUR sin.

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit will light a fire under your easy-chair and you will leap up with "passionate compassion"…to quote Reinhard Bonnke….for the LOST.

"Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down,, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." (Revelation 12:10-11)

Mighty Through God, Part 9

Speaking Evil of Authorities, Part 3

"…unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their's and our's…" (1 Corinthians 1:2)

I'm sad to say that so much of what the Lord has shown me through this teaching was revelation of my own sins of the past concerning authority. Sins that I had to confess and repent of as this study progressed, prior to sharing it at the Women's Retreat; sins that had to do, most specifically, with my criticism of the church, whether it was past churches I've attended or the early church of the 2^nd and 3^rd centuries and forward. I have looked back and found myself to be quite critical of these even in my blogging, and have, as a result, gone back to those blogs and tried to remove that criticism wherever I have been able to find it. (If anyone is aware of any criticisms that I missed, please alert me to it so that I can remove it.)

It seems as though criticizing other churches, or other church members or church leaders, can take hold of us quite easily if we are not on our guard to prevent it. We all have that human tendency to believe that our church is the best; yet, we prove by our criticism of others that we are far from perfect as well.

It might help us if we can remember this one thing about the "church." No matter where the church is, no matter the denominational barriers or faults of specific individuals within the church, IF they are witnesses of Jesus Christ and proclaim Him to be the risen Son of God, then they are the BODY of JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF….and I don't believe any of us would want to risk criticizing HIM. We need to stop thinking of churches as just another building containing some folks of some other denomination that we just don't happen to agree with. We need to instead remember that they are the body of Christ….flaws and all….as are we…flaws and all!

"And He [Jesus] is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence." (Colossians 1:18)

Now, if we can think that way about other churches, that they are the body of Christ, then perhaps we can also begin to think that way about individual church members, especially those of our own church. Would we want to criticize even a part or portion of the Lord's body? Should we criticize His foot or His hand or His mouth? Would we dare to criticize any part of the Lord Himself? Of course not! So why do we think nothing of criticizing members or leaders of the church?

"Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God, even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved." (1 Corinthians 10:32-33)

I think Paul hit the nail on the head when he said in this passage above "not seeking mine own profit." That often seems to be the motivation we have when we find ourselves criticizing others in the church, yet we seldom seem to see it at the time. We each have our own thoughts, our own desires, our own ideas of how a church should be run. And when we set ourselves up higher than the Lord Himself (who is the HEAD of THAT CHURCH and is therefore aware of all that goes on in it), and determine that we can do things better or more efficiently or more eloquently, that is when the criticism begins to surface. And before long it has left our thoughts and been birthed into words….words of criticism that are directed to the Lord Himself whether we will acknowledge it or not.

If you have learned anything from this study on authority, I hope you have learned that we are not to speak evil of ANY authorities, as ALL authority has been established by God. How much more so His church, whom Jesus Christ Himself died for?

There is one last thing to be said about this body of Christ, and to get to that point I draw your attention to these two scriptures directed to those Christians who believe it's ok to be loners, isolated from the body of Christ, when it fact it is a dangerous thing, even a sign of your lack of sincerity in Christ, no matter how much you rationalize your reasons for not assembling together with the body that you have been called to:

"Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." (Hebrews 10:24-25)

"They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us." (I John 2:19)

The first scripture is our biblical command to assemble together; and it is a command, it is not an option. The reason why is stated in the second scripture. If we are not living in community with the body of Christ, then how can we say that we are OF Christ? John states just prior to this passage of scripture that "even now there are many anti-christs; whereby we know that it is the last time [last days]."

The question has to be asked of each of us: are we walking by the spirit of Christ and in obedience to His Word…or not? If we are not walking by the spirit of Christ, if we are instead being disobedient to His Word…then what spirit is driving us?

"…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling…" (Phillipians 2:12)

Are we ready yet to recognize God's authority…completely and without question? If we grasp this properly, there will be a good healthy fear of the Lord, as well as a love of Him, that will cause us to walk obediently….thereby "working out [our] own salvation."

In the next and final posting of this series, Mighty Through God, Part 10, we will take a look at what it means to be "praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:18)

Mighty Through God, Part 8

Speaking Evil of Authorities, Part 2

"Likewise ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; while they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands: even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughter ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement." (1 Peter 1-6)

So today we will look at what it means to be subject to the authority of our husbands; an authority given to husbands by God, but an authority that so very many wives, as I once did myself, so easily forget about (or even deliberately set aside) for a variety of reasons. I am going to give a few that I have heard:

"He does not keep a job for long thereby putting us into financial straits; he doesn't handle money well, thereby putting us into financial straits; he just doesn't seem to have any common sense; I make much better decisions and more quickly than he does; he's too emotional; he's a push-over; he's too cold-hearted; he's too stern; he's lazy, I have to do everything or it just won't get done; he's too slow, nothing will ever get done unless I do it myself; he doesn't understand children's self-esteem issues like I do; he's not their natural father, he's their step-father, therefore he can't possibly love them as I do, and so he can't really make the best decisions regarding them; he doesn't "understand" the children the way I do, he's too harsh in his speaking to them; he doesn't care what our house and yard look like, not like I do; if I don't maintain this great job, we'll never get ahead, we can't rely on his salary alone."

How many other reasons are there? Probably too many to list here, and I know I missed some equally good ones! Aside from "speaking evil" of this authority that God has established to be the head of our households, how does this talk or thinking reject GOD Himself? For it does indeed.

The point is this: we wives abduct our husband's authority (and become rebellious to God) because of our "fears." That's what it all boils down to, if we will just face the facts. Fear of not having enough material things. Fear of going bankrupt. Fear of our children being wounded emotionally because our husbands believe discipline is a good thing. Fear of what others might think. It's all about our fears. And we all should know by now that those who are fearful will not have a place in the kingdom of God.

Once we acknowledge that our fears cause many of the problems between us and our husbands, perhaps we can then look at the example Peter gives us of Sarah. It's an excellent example: of Sarah's obedience to her husband and therefore to God; and it's an excellent example of a bad decision that a self-centered Abraham made (not once but twice!) that put his own wife in danger, and why? To save his own skin! Listen to the first example in Genesis 12 (remember, they were still Sarai and Abram, God had not yet added the "h" or spirit-breathed sound to both of their names):

"And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famines was grievous in the land. And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon: therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, 'This is his wife': and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee." (Genesis 12:10-12)

And as you read on in this passage, you will see that indeed, Abram told the Egyptians that Sarai was his sister, rather than his wife, and sure enough, the Pharaoh wanted her for his own; obviously she was a beautiful woman! Sarai could have told the truth, but she was obedient to her husband, even in this bad decision, and was led away to the Pharaoh's house. Peter tells us that this is because Sarai trusted God. And I believe at this particular time, she trusted God more than Abram did; for just a few verses prior to this passage is where God covenanted with Abram to make him the father of many nations. Abram should have known that God was not done with him and would not have allowed him to be killed by the Egyptians. But, then again, who am I to point out Abram's lack of faith, right? When my own is often equal to Abram's rather than Sarai's.

My point is, that this bad decision did not have to be made by Abram, but once it was, for better or for worse, Sarai submitted herself to his decision…BECAUSE she trusted God completely. And who saved Sarai from the Pharaoh's unwanted attentions? GOD. She was right to trust Him to take care of her, not matter what her husband did. And, in Genesis 21, Abram did the same thing again to Sarai. And again, God protected her.

So what does this say to us? Of all the excuses given above of why we wives feel we have to "take over" – which of these reasons is as devastating to us as what Sarai experienced in being handed over to a complete stranger with the potential of now becoming his concubine? None that I can see. So why do we trust God less? Why do we take from our husbands their God-given place of authority and assume it for ourselves? And when we do this, is it sin?

YES! But it isn't sin against our husbands. It's sin against GOD!

That part of the passage above that says "while they [your husbands] behold your chase conversation couples with fear" speaks of us wives having fear of the Lord; enough fear of the Lord to remain obedient even at times of "amazement" which is another way, in the Greek, of saying "terror." So, when those times of "terror" strike your heart, just as your husband is about to make a bad decision (or so you believe), try to remember Sarah's calm trust in the almighty God, that allowed her to be obedient to her husband, and therefore obedient to God, no matter how bleak things appeared to be.

God CAN be trusted…in ANY situation!!!

Tomorrow, Part 3 of "Speaking Evil of Authorities" in Mighty Through God, Part 9.

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Mighty Through God, Part 7

Speaking Evil of Authorities, Part 1

"Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, to speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men." (Titus 3:1-2)

Once we grasp the true meaning of "authority", specifically, God's authority, we will be brought up short at the first beginnings of any evil-speaking in ourselves, hopefully, taking captive the evil thoughts themselves long before they have a chance to reach our mouths and cause us to "bite and devour one another."(Galatians 5:15)

But, once again, we need some practical insight as to what is meant by evil-speaking against man, and especially against man (or woman) who is in a place of authority over us.

Evil-speaking against government:

Along with the scripture in Titus that instructs us to be "subject to principalities and powers", are these additional two, which speak not only of being subject to, but also of praying for and, yes, even of giving thanks for those in authority:

Romans 13:1-2 "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation."

1 Timothy 2:1-4 "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth."

In the Greek, "principalities" indicates those in a "principal" or "first" place of authority, or "leaders." While we know that God is the "supreme" authority over all, it is His will that we submit to those who are in an "earthly" place of principality or authority; knowing that they would not be in that place had not God ordained it to be so. "Powers", in the Greek, simply means the power of rule or government; or the power of such authorities.

That God uses such principalities and powers for His purposes in our "refining" and that we are not to resist His will even in this area, is shown in Jeremiah 38:14-18, in the instructions Jeremiah gives King Zedekiah (who unfortunately did not heed the prophet's words and thus died). And even in the New Testament (Matthew 23:1-3), Jesus instructs his disciples that while they are NOT to DO as the scribes do, which are the opposite of their teachings, the disciples ARE to "observe and do" whatever "they bid you observe" as they sat in a seat (a principal place of authority) that had been ordained by God. While we could not look to either Nebuchadnezzar or the hypocritical scribes as examples of righteousness (although I do believe Nebuchadnezzar repented under God's persuasive power Daniel 4), still we are clearly told not to resist them, nor to speak evil of them, for in speaking evil of them, are we not, in fact, speaking evil of God who has established them in their roles? This is critical to us to understand: that if we resist or speak evil of authority of any kind, knowing that all authority is established by God who is sovereign, we are in fact resisting or speaking evil of God Himself!

In practical terms, the leader having principal-place here in America is our President. Whether or not we voted for him, whether or not we believe his decisions to be right in the eyes of God, we must bring our thinking in line with the Word of God that tells us to make "supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks" for him. (How can thanksgiving and evil-speaking both come out of the same mouth?) And these biblical actions are to be applied, as well, to our state leaders, and city leaders equally. In these days of social outcry, it is difficult to do one and still do the other, is it not? I always remember the words of J. Vernon McGee, a biblical pastor and teacher, deceased now, who said: "God has called me to fish…not to clean up the fishbowl." Truly, I do not see the example, biblically, of Jesus leading social reform meetings. He spoke of "individual and personal" reform through repentance of sin; He exemplified holiness, as we are also to be holy. Perhaps if more Christians were witnessing to more individuals about the Good News, there would soon be so much individual reform (as in returning to God), that the cities and countries as a whole, would in fact, become spiritually (and thus socially) reformed….all through the power of God Himself.

Evil-speaking against husbands:

This is one of my favorite subjects; probably because I have had so much to learn in this particular area. Here are the three passages of scripture that made it most clear to me:

1 Peter 3:1-6; Genesis 12; Genesis 20. If you have a chance, I hope you will read them so that perhaps God will show you in advance what I learned through Sarah and Abraham, before we discuss them further tomorrow.

Next posting: Part 2 of Speaking Evil of Authorities, in Mighty Through God, Part 8.

Mighty Through God, Part 6

[To receive the most benefit from this study, please begin at Part 1 which can be selected from the menu to the right.]

Love of the World and Worldly Love

"…but God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." (Galatians 6:14)

This is a powerful and telling statement about the apostle Paul. I believe it is the key to the power of his ministry in Jesus Christ….that because of Jesus Christ, the world is dead to Paul and Paul is dead to the world; meaning of course, that even though he lives in the world, he is dead to the draw of worldly things. Paul speaks a lot about dying in his letters; and about our true identity being found in Jesus Christ alone.

We hear the words, but we don't always act upon them. Paul is giving us instruction, showing us that we MUST die, in order that Christ might live in us. Sometimes we begin on the right course, but are drawn off course by the bright lights of a distant city as it beckons to us.

I speak of this world, of course. And of our society, with whom, perhaps we have a close identification. Sometimes, it is difficult to tell the Christians from those of the world. That wasn't a problem in Paul's case.

So, let's try to put this into practical terms with.

What is the most frequent subject of our conversation? What do we speak about more than anything else during the day? Some people spend a lot of time talking about their children. Others about their animals or pets. Others about their jobs. Still others about politics, whether on a national level or within the community. Others speak about their talents, or their hobbies. Others speak about their travels. Some just spend a lot of time talking, about anything and everything, but seldom about the Lord.

The things we speak about are the things we "glory" in.

The thing that Paul gloried in was the cross of Jesus Christ. That is what he spent his time speaking of.

"But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." (Matthew 12: 36-37)

Will our words justify us because they bring glory to Jesus; or will they condemn us because they showed that our hearts were focused on things of the world? And what about the love that we have shown one to another? Will that love justify us or condemn us?

The Lord showed me something in scripture recently that I had not seen before, but which gave me some understanding into a question that I had long held in my heart concerning the destruction of the pagan people, especially the children. Love as the world knows it would never harm a child. But in the passage below, we will see that in obedience to the command of the Lord, Moses led the Israelites into a campaign against Sihon, king of Heshbon, in which all living persons, subjects of this evil king, were destroyed:

"And the Lord said to me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land….and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people. And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain…" (Deuteronomy 2:31-34)

What struck me about this passage, the last time I read it, was the use by Moses, of the term "little ones." It sounded like an endearment to me. I saw for the first time, that Moses took no joy in slaughtering the people, perhaps especially when it came to the children. How it must have actually grieved him to do so, and yet he knew that God knew better than he did. He understood that God knew what He was doing and why. And he understood that no matter how painful the command might be, he could do no other than obey. I don't believe Moses was cold, heartless and unfeeling when it came to destroying the pagan children. But he trusted God more than his own heart.

We, on the other hand, who at times seem to be so far away from being excellent examples of unquestioning trust in God….we lean to our hearts, rather than to the Word of God, in so many things. For us mothers, especially, we rely on our "motherly instincts." And many times the love we offer our children, or others around us, is not that which God would have us offer, for we dare not ask God: He might tell us to do something that our hearts could not bear to do. Better not to ask! Better to trust our own instincts!

But this posting does not apply to mothers alone. Whatever manner with which we have chosen to show love for one another, whether to the brethren within the church or to the lost outside of the church, must have as its source, obedience to God, rather than what we, or the world around us, consider to be love. Because of this lack of understanding, we again see many fleshly forms of love being distributed amongst believers. Not in illicit ways, but in ways that on the surface appear to come from a good heart, but underneath, the source is really only the desire to be seen and recognized; having nothing to do with the love of God at all. Many of us are "people-pleasers" rather than "God-pleasers". And, as for the world, do we love as the world loves, supplying all types of "good works" but not necessarily "Good News"? So that, once more, the works we do are not born out of faith in God, but out of wanting to "out-do" the world? We are not in competition with the world. We are simply servants of the Most High God.

If we are submitted to the authority of God in Jesus Christ, then our love will spring up out of a desire to please God and not man. When we walk in obedience to God, the world will see in us a love that bears little similarity to that with which they are familiar; because our love will "glorify" God rather than man.

"…and be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God." (Romans 12:2)

Tomorrow, part 7 of Mighty Through God: "Speaking Evil of Authorities"

 

Mighty Through God, Part 5

[To receive the most benefit from this study, please begin at Part 1 which can be selected from the menu to the right.]

Under Cover of Darkness

"For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." (John 3:16-20)

We know from the earlier passages in the Gospel of John that the "light" was Jesus Christ, the Word of God made flesh (John 1:1-14). This passage above has great bearing on our study because it gives us some key insight into what it is that causes mankind, even some who are believers, to continue in weakness, never displaying the power of God in their lives. The key is seen in the last six words of the passage above: "lest his deeds should be reproved." This speaks again to us of PRIDE (fear of reproval), and that all deeds hidden in darkness are SIN.

"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." (I John 2:15-17)

As "born-again" believers, created new by the power of God, we can no longer derive any nourishment from the flesh. We can only be fed and grow when our nourishment comes from the Spirit of God to our spirit, for we are to be alive in the spirit and dead to the flesh ( Romans, chapter 6). Those who live by the flesh rather than the Spirit, are called "carnal" in the Bible. I think this word is related to "carnivorous" and rightly so, as these Christians are being "fed" by the flesh, rather than by the Word of God.

"Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do you spend money for that which is not bread? And your labor for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline our ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live…." (Isaiah 55:1-3)

Self-sufficiency and independence, born of PRIDE, prevents us from coming to get that which is freely given. In order for us to come and to receive, we must step into the light. We must place ourselves into a position of exposed vulnerability. What has been hidden in darkness, must be brought into the light.

But we know that the things hidden in darkness, once brought into the light, will show the world that we have been "liars," that we are not as "spiritual" as we appear to be. Even in our deception, we know that God see these lies, but that is not important to fleshly Christians. What IS important to those full of the pride of life and the lusts of the flesh is what MAN thinks of us, not GOD. For the PRIDE of our flesh rules us. And we desire greatly to be seen, to be known, to have a reputation. Unlike Jesus, who was of no reputation.

Yet there is no healing for us until we become vulnerable and exposed to the light. If we do not willingly expose our sin, it will be exposed at another time, bringing only shame to the name of Jesus Christ. And we fool ourselves if we think that the truth won't be known.

The Bible tells us that the works of the flesh are manifest, in other words, clearly seen:

"Adultery, fornication (illicit sex), uncleanness (the impurity of lustful, luxurious, profligate living), lasciviousness (unbridled lust, excess, wantonness, insolence), idolatry (the worship of false gods), witchcraft (the use of or administering of drugs, poisoning, sorcery, magical arts), hatred (enmity), variance (contention, strife, debate), emulations (rivalries, jealousies), wrath (rage), strife (a desire to put one's self forward), seditions (division), heresies (opinions varying from Christian doctrine), envying, murders, drunkenness, reveling (nocturnal feasts and drinking parties, carousing), and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21)

I think gluttony would be classified under lasciviousness, along with any excessive behavior. Does that include excessive television watching? Excessive sports viewing? Excessive internet surfing? Excessive computer game playing? Excessive house cleaning? Excessive gardening? Excessive cooking? Excessive or unbridled talking? Excessive or unbridled spending?

You see, the things that are of the flesh, can, in and of themselves, not necessarily be evil. But they become evil when they consume us and our time, so that rather than "redeeming the time" as we are instructed to do, instead, our time (and life) is wasted. And all in doing what the flesh wants us to do, not God. James has something further to add to this:

"Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work." (James 3:13-16)

Interesting that James tells us to show our works by our good conversation that is in meekness of wisdom. "Good conversation"….just the opposite from the carnal Christians who want to make sure everyone sees their "good works", and yet whose unrestrained tongues "bite and devour one another" (Galatians 5:15).

The thing is that these excesses within us, these envyings, these rivalries, these divisions, all the things that tell us our flesh is NOT submitted to the authority of God….ALL will continue to rule us, keeping us captive (we may think we are free to do what we want, but we are not free, we are slaves to the flesh)…until we humble ourselves, and bring them into the light of confession before one another. THEN and only THEN, will the Lord heal us of these bondages to the flesh. We MUST humble ourselves, we MUST confess to one another, and we MUST pray for one another. If we cannot bring ourselves to confess, and pray for one another, then we must acknowledge that we are bound….by pride. And we will find ourselves living in fear of judgment instead of in freedom and peace.

"If we say that we have fellowship with Him [God], and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: but if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us." (I John 1:6-10)

Tomorrow, part 6 of "Mighty through God": "Love of the World and Worldly Love."

Mighty Through God, Part 4

[To receive the most benefit from this study, please begin at Part 1 which can be selected from the menu to the right.]

Great Faith Recognizes the Authority of God's Word

"And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching Him, and saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest comes under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth: and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no not in Israel. And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way, and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour." (Matthew 8:1-13)

As many years as I have read the Bible, I must admit that I did not ever quite understand this passage of scripture; at least not until the Lord began to show me the meaning of authority and its purpose in my life. Now this passage is rich in meaning and full of truth for me – of the kind that produces new life.

This is a detailed explanation, perhaps one of the clearest definitions given of what "great faith" looks like. The passage illuminates the key elements of this "great faith" in such a way that, by the work of the Holy Spirit, we can see it; and for some of us, like me, perhaps for the very first time.

"Lord, I am not worthy":

When authority is truly recognized, we will humble ourselves in the face of it. Where there is no humility, there is only rebellion against authority. The centurion made a public confession of his unworthiness. He was not alone with Jesus, there was a multitude of people surrounding and following Jesus as He had just come down from the hillside on which he taught what we now know as the Beatitudes. Therefore this was not "lip service" humility, this was true humility displayed in the centurion. Such as the kind that we must have if we are to obey the commandment to "confess your faults one to another, and pray for one another, so that ye may be healed." (James 5:16) Pride will not allow such an action. And the result will be: continuation of the disease of which we need to be healed which is SIN.

If we look at this in terms of our Christian walk, we have all seen those who call themselves by the name of Christ, and yet in which the flesh is strong. The thing we will see lacking in these folks will be humility. There will be, instead, a boasting of fleshly or worldly things because where humility is lacking, pride is present. We can clearly state then, that the problem in this one's life is rebellion to the authority of the Word of God. But rather than apply this diagnosis to others, let us first look to the disease rampant in ourselves. If our gaze remains on others, never looking to our own hearts, we will never receive the healing of the Word in our lives. In this humbling of ourselves, first and foremost, we are to follow Jesus.

Yet, how can we humble ourselves and submit ourselves to an authority that we do not truly believe is greater than ourselves? For that is often what our lives declare: that we have no need of a great God for we are sufficient unto ourselves. Until, of course, that giant appears before us that we are unable to conquer, then, sometimes only momentarily, we look for One greater than ourselves.

If we have truly grasped the creation power of God, how can we continue to exalt ourselves above God? How can we continue to replace His will with our own? Has anyone, even the most skillful of doctors, been able to recreate from nothing all that our own bodies are composed of, and to do so by merely speaking it into existence? We are hugely deceived until we can see that all authority in the universe belongs to God alone. We are hugely deceived until we submit fully and completely to that authority.

The submitting of Jesus to the complete and full authority of the Father is given testimony to first by His humility and meekness….and then by His power. The centurion, a Roman Gentile, not even a Jew, recognized the creation power of God in Jesus Christ.

"…speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed":

How did the centurion come to recognize this creation power of God in Jesus? The first few verses of Matthew 8 explain this for us. Jesus had just healed a leper as he was coming down the mount on his way to Capernaum. I've been to that area. It is a short walk between the grassy hillside known as the Mount of Beatitudes to the poor fishing village of Capernaum (now only in ruins, perhaps as a sign of the judgment Jesus pronounced over it in Matthew 11:23-24). It was as Jesus was entering Capernaum that the centurion came up to him. I suspect that the centurion, perhaps assigned to the area for "crowd control", had witnessed the healing of the leper. Being a man who understood authority, far better than those of us in today's rebellious society, the centurion obviously recognized that Jesus could not have healed the leper, literally rearranging the molecules of his diseased flesh, by merely a touch of his hand and speaking the words of healing, except by the authority of the God of the universe. Jesus literally "commanded" those molecules to rearrange themselves into new flesh! The centurion recognized the "commanding" voice of the authority of the Creator in Jesus. And the centurion's faith was obviously aided by the Holy Spirit as well, even though we are not told that. We know that helping our faith is His job and He performs it in each of us who are willing and in need, as was this centurion.

How much this speaks to us of the need for us to understand this authority! For because of the centurion's understanding, Jesus pronounced him to be of "great faith." Faith, therefore, is not some ethereal superstitious belief. It is simply an acknowledging of the authority and therefore the power of GOD, OUR CREATOR!

I never understood that prior to beginning this study. I never understood how great was my own rebellion against God! I never even saw it AS rebellion until the Holy Spirit illuminated these passages for me and the ones in the preceding post, part 3. But once I saw it, I repented. And I am still finding areas that have not been surrendered or submitted to the authority of God, and I repent of these as well, as the Lord reveals the depths of my sin. There is more to be said about defining those areas of rebellion in our lives that will be discussed further into this study. But there is still one key element that remains for us to examine in this passage of Matthew.

"…but the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Jesus is speaking to those who consider themselves to be part of the kingdom of God. That could be us as well, could it not? I don't believe we can simply lay this charge at the feet of the religious Jews of Jesus' time. Perhaps these are folks who believe they are safe and secure in the Lord, when in reality they are not, because they have not submitted themselves to the authority of God in Jesus Christ. There are many passages using this terminology - found mostly in Matthew: 8:12; 13:42; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30 with one final passage found in Luke 13:28. Keep an eye out for "unfaithful servants" in these passages and then ask the Lord to show you what is meant by "unfaithful servant". Obviously, a servant is not a stranger, but is part of the master's household. How did he get there, unless he was brought in by the master himself? But the question is: will he be allowed to stay if he is unfaithful? There is a warning here; something for us to heed. And we must endeavor to pay close attention to all warnings that the Word gives us. We must not skip lightly past them.

It is Jesus who gave us access to the Father; and all that He IS has been given to us through the Holy Spirit to be utilized in glorifying Him. What Jesus accomplished for us could not be accomplished by ourselves. It HAD to be accomplished through Him alone. Without Jesus Christ we have no hope. But there is also scripture that says "he that endures to the end will be saved" (Matthew 10:22) which tells us that something is required of us; not in terms of paying for our sin, for only Jesus could do that. There is no other sacrifice for sin but His (Hebrews 10:26) that the Father would accept, certainly not our own works. That would be putting ourselves back under the law again, instead of under the Spirit of grace by faith. But we can choose to yield ourselves to Him, to yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit believing (as in Jude 1:5) that HE can and WILL accomplish in us that transformation into holiness, known as sanctification, which happens in us only as we are willing to submit to the leading of the Holy Spirit so that we may walk in obedience to the Word.

Those who believe we are on a "free ride" to heaven have misinterpreted the grace of God. We have been purchased with a great price, a priceless price, and are not our own to live as WE please. We are to be slaves, not to sin, but to the One who paid the price for our rebellion with His own Life.

Remember the passage where our works (our building materials) will be tried?

"According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire." (I Corinthians 3:10-15)

It is the fire of the Holy Spirit that tries the things with which we build on the foundation of Jesus Christ here and now: are those materials of the flesh or of the Spirit? If we do not allow that fire to refine us here in the process known as sanctification, then perhaps we can expect that refining to happen later. At a time when we should be rejoicing, we might find ourselves weeping instead. At greatest risk are those who believe that just because they have believed in the name of Jesus, they are saved, all is done and they can now sit back and let the flesh rule. They do not understand that "the name of Jesus Christ" is another way of saying the "authority of God as displayed through Jesus Christ". It is not just the words "Jesus Christ" that saves us. They are only words until we understand (and submit to) the authority that backs the name. Remember those folks who tried to cast out demons "in the name of Jesus" (Acts 19:13) and were instead beaten up by them? They learned a difficult lesson in humility that day! Seems the demons know more about true authority than we do! And these "pretend disciples" were no threat to the demons because they were not walking in the authority of Jesus like Paul was; they thought only speaking His name was enough. They were wrong! We see a lack of this understanding all around us. But it does not have to be so. We may not fully understand all scripture yet, but it takes very little effort to know that we have a responsibility – and that is to walk as Jesus walked in every way; including humility that submits to the authority of God.

All that is required of us is to acknowledge the authority of God in Jesus Christ, repent and pray, and humble ourselves in complete obedience to His Word, allowing the will of the Lord to accomplish in us what He will, submitting our own will to Him completely (2 Chronicles 7:14). Then will our rejoicing be made complete in Him.

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." (Romans 8:1-4)

When we understand the authority of God in Jesus, all scripture takes on new meaning…speaking life to us instead of judgment and death.

Tomorrow, "Under Cover of Darkness", in part 5 of "Mighty Through God."