Personally, I have spent a significant amount of time applying those three maxims to every area of my life, with no area considered to be out of bounds.  I am continually asking myself, do you really need that (new book, new technology device or phone app)?  Do I really have time to take on another project right now?  How much time do I spend on internet related interests, news sites, ministry sites, social media platforms etc.?  Do I really need to attend another conference or ministry event that might be good, but is it really necessary right now?  Anyway, you get the idea.  It isn’t the questions that are important, it is getting the mind thinking about how we can simplify our lives, the first necessary step to slowing down and being still.  We need to admit without simplifying our lives the other two will never come.

I recently shared with our Spiritual Life Coaching group that it is my belief this is essential to our experiencing everything God has for us individually and corporately in 2022 and beyond.  If you find yourself often, or even occasionally, feeling anxious about life and disconnected from God, you may want to reflect on the following suggestions

Simplify- Embracing as a lifestyle the discipline of simplicity

The inner reality of simplicity is characterized by three attitudes about our possessions; all that we have is a gift from God (stewardship), what we have is to be cared for by God, and all that we have is available to others.  When we are actively seeking the kingdom of God, these three attitudes will characterize our lives.  The discipline of simplicity is not concerned only with our possessions but also includes our preoccupation with status, position and power.  It includes any unhealthy needs within us to have the recognition or approval of others and invites us to use plain and honest speech.  (Richard Foster, The Celebration of Discipline)

Slow Down- Physically, emotionally and spiritually

Slowing down is the next logical step after ruthlessly ridding ourselves of all the clutter that creeps in on a daily basis.  The physical dimension of this is easy to understand though not always easy to pull off.  Knowing what God has called us to do in any given season makes this process much easier as we are able to say no to anything that is not our responsibility.  The spiritual dimension of slowing down often includes recognizing and removing the habits, ungodly beliefs and values that drive us to an inner compulsion for more... of everything.  Comparing ourselves to others, seeking the approval of others, validating our worth and value with accomplishment and position, and serving in the wrong fit for ministry all apply here.  Ask the Holy Spirit to bring revelation and then work to eliminate them.

Be Still- Physical and inner stillness

Stillness comes as a practical outworking of the first two, and needs to be entered for extended periods of time to experience transformation.  Therefore, it is best practiced when we are not facing the deadlines of appointments and daily tasks.  The emphasis is on an unhurried waiting on the Lord to enjoy His company rather than asking Him for something.

Using the Serenity Prayer of Reinhold Niebuhr as a Framework

Lord, grant me the grace to accept, with serenity, the things that cannot be changed, 

Courage to change the things that can (should) be changed, and

Wisdom to distinguish one from the other.  

Living one day at a time, 

enjoying one moment at a time, 

accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.  

Taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it.  

Trusting You will make all things right If I surrender to Your will, 

So that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with You forever in the next.  In Jesus Name, Amen.

Putting It into Practice

I have found the above practices to be very fruitful.  It takes intentionality and we need to give it time, but each of these steps will help to create the right environment in our hearts to hear the Lord’s voice and where He is taking you in the coming months.  As you live into them each day, ask Jesus if there is anything He would want to say to you right now?  Give it time, praising Him for His goodness and thanking Him in advance for His continued care and provision.  Write down everything He says to you and then ask Him for His plan in walking it out.  I think you will be amazed at what the Lord reveals to you.

The world most of us grew up in is gone.  It’s hard to fathom how quickly it happened but it did happen.  We long for a sense of normalcy to be restored but our “normal” of the past is unlikely to return anytime soon, if at all?  This constant of life forever changing, that is so front and center now, has always been true of course.  But the pace at which it is happening now has clearly accelerated.  The COVID pandemic, natural disasters, governmental dysfunction, political infighting, media hype, the continued flow of misinformation, the general sense of distrust among people groups, and the increase in violence, all have coalesced into massive disruption of everyone’s life.  

Maybe, more importantly, it’s hard to know what the rest of today will look like, let alone what tomorrow might bring?  And then there is the ever-present battle of fighting off the temptation of becoming preoccupied with the chaos, evil, and instability around us.  Like the apostle Peter when he was called out of the boat, (Matthew 14:30), we are tempted to take our eyes off of Jesus and begin to sink into hopelessness and despair. 

Clearly, Jesus has a different pathway for us.  The very human desire to have things return to normal, however you want to define normal, is proving to be an elusive target.  If it should be a target at all?  It is anybody’s guess what the future will look like exactly and how quickly that might actually happen?  Many have general thoughts, of course, some of which are grounded in Scripture, but nobody really knows for sure where it will all end, or when, which adds to the fear, anxiety, and frustration.  

So, what are we to do with it all?  With all the media attention it is hard not to be captivated by all of the bad news and a sense of hopelessness.  But we know this is not where Jesus would have us live, for with God all things are possible.  There is always a reason to believe in the future, Jesus is our living hope. 

In the paragraphs that follow I would like to share some of what God has revealed to me over the last couple of months. Some of it I have written about before in different ways, but I think is worth reviewing. Other thoughts are more recent.  My hope in it all is that we will prayerfully consider it all, examining the Scripture passages where I have referenced them.  Also, we would prayerfully consider our own personal response if the Holy Spirit bears witness to any of it.  As always, I am sharing with you what I believe God is saying, based on the witness of Scripture and personal reflection on what God has revealed directly to me. 

Replacing anxiety and despair with hope.

In these days of uncertainty, I believe there is a truth we can know for sure.  It is a truth that is grounded in the nature and character of God and revealed by His Spirit that helps us navigate the ever-changing landscape.  Truth enables us to discern the enemy’s lies, answer our fears with sincere faith, and to bear spiritual fruit consistent with our personal calling.  The invitation of Jesus is the same as it has always been “follow Me.”  Stay close, pay attention to My voice, and trust what you are hearing from Me, rather than what you discern from your 5 senses and human reason.  God is shaking the heavens and the earth, resulting in discomfort and uncertainty, but it is purposefully meant for our ultimate good and His glory.

A good verse of Scripture to keep close right now is John 8:12, where Jesus said, “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me does not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life.”  It is not only a declaration but an invitation that is connected to a promise.  The invitation is to follow Jesus, to go where He goes, and enter into what He is doing.  The promise is we will not walk in darkness but will have the light that leads us into life.  Proverbs says it another way but it is the same idea, “trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).  Today, probably more than ever, anxious free living will come as we stay close to Jesus, paying attention to what He is saying and doing.  Hope can be found nowhere else.

God is sovereign over all of life, even when it appears that He is not.

A running theme throughout all of Scripture is that God, as Creator and Sustainer of the heavens and the earth, is completely sovereign over all of life. He rules over nations, determines their boundaries, exalts and deposes leaders, and ultimately controls the course of human history (1 Chronicles 29:12).  He is sovereign over all of creation, giving life and breath to human beings while numbering their days.  He laughs at His enemies (Psalm 37:13-14) and sickness, death, even Satan and his demons must bow to His authority and power.

God’s sovereignty, even in the midst of what appears to be an unspeakable tragedy, is clearly seen in the crucifixion of Jesus.  For the disciples it was an unimaginable turn of events, Jesus’ betrayal, flogging, and death on the cross appeared to be the end of their hopes and dreams.  But Peter later records the truth of that event, that God’s sovereign plan ended Jesus' victory over death and the salvation of all humankind. 

Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God, with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know, this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.  But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. 

The early disciples witnessed these events and believed them to be an out of control tragedy from which they may never recover.  The truth was God was always in control.  And it is just as true today, our good and beautiful God, the Lord Jesus Christ is still in control.  He has pledged Himself, by virtue of the new covenant, to provide for and protect His own, as the Good Shepherd to the sheep (John 10)

God is working out His plan of salvation history.

As just stated, our current circumstances must be understood in the context of God’s greater purposes and plan, namely Him reconciling the world to Himself (2 Corinthians 5:17-20).  Jesus the King came to earth and became a man and the Kingdom of God came with Him.  His purpose in coming was to “seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). His 3 ½ years of public ministry 3 years on earth were all focused on proclaiming the Kingdom, healing the sick, and casting out demons, evidencing His divinity through His authority and power over sickness and evil.  This culminated in His crucifixion, death, and resurrection and the commissioning of His first disciples at His ascension into heaven, a commission that now rests on us.  The Resurrected Jesus continues His work through His body, the church.

I will have more to say next month about the times we are living in right now but I want to leave you with a couple of thoughts until then.  I personally believe the sooner we let go of the past the better off we will be.  The way things were and what worked in the past for the most part is gone.  I received a verse of Scripture back in 2006 that has even greater implications today, “do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past.  Behold, I will do something new. Now it will spring forth, will you not be aware of it?” (Isaiah 43:18-19a).  God is doing something new and if we don’t take our eyes off of the past it is likely we will miss what He is doing today.

Finally, I would add we each have a unique role to play in the fulfillment of God’s plan.  God is always purposeful and uses all circumstances to accomplish His larger purpose of reconciling the world to Himself.  He is not the author of chaos and human suffering but He is sovereign over it and redeems it for His purposes in the earth.  With that in mind, we can take our eyes off what is difficult and uncomfortable for us and begin to look for what God is doing in the lives of those around us right now.  Are there conversations to be had that we couldn’t have before or are there ways to meet needs for people that they didn’t have previously?  God has a purpose for our lives that hasn’t disappeared because of the COVID pandemic and all its related consequences.  God wants to use us today, we just need to realign ourselves with God’s plan by asking Him to reveal to us what He is doing right in front of us.

It’s amazing to contemplate, isn’t it?  James writes in the verses above that as a result of the prayers of Elijah it did not rain upon the earth for 3-½ years.  It’s so outside anything we have experienced we are tempted to think there must be something really special about Elijah. But James, in anticipating where his reader’s minds (we) would be tempted to go, states Elijah had a “nature like ours.”  In other words, he was a human being just like us, and yet God did remarkable things in answer to his prayers.

Put in context, these two verses follow James’ admonition in verse 16, that they would pray for the sick among them, in order that they may be healed.  It is some of the clearest, and strongest, teaching we have from Scripture on why we should be both quick and steadfast in our praying earnestly for physical healing.  Today, however, I would like to make another application of the truth being communicated here.  That is, God uses and answers the prayers of ordinary people just like you and me to accomplish extraordinary things.

Consider the tentative beginnings of the early church.  God used twelve ordinary men to establish His church which has now endured for over 2000 years.  During His 3-½ year earthly ministry, Jesus chose, called, trained, equipped, and then anointed with His Holy Spirit, fishermen, tradesmen, and even a tax collector.  Ordinary people, like you and me, were sent out to bring the message of the Gospel of the Kingdom to a broken and confused world.  Their message went forward in both clarity and simplicity while being validated with “signs, wonders, and mighty deeds.”  The result was many were converted and the church was established almost overnight.

Again, the temptation is to deify Peter, James, and John, along with the rest of the disciples, and thereby lose touch with the reality they were mere “men” with a nature like ours. In Acts 4:13, the religious leaders of their day marveled at Peter and John’s healing of the lame man at the Gate Beautiful.  But Peter had already clarified to the crowds it was not by his "own power or piety" the lame man had been healed but by “faith in the name of Jesus.”  Added to Peter’s confession, are the observations of the religious leaders who marveled and Peter and John recognizing them to be “uneducated and untrained men,” whose only identifying characteristic was “having been with Jesus.”

In my study Bible, one of the section headings in Hebrews chapter 11 refers to the heroes of faith.  They are people like Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, King David, Daniel, Samuel, and Samson to name a few.  Verse 33 states, by faith they conquered kingdoms, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions and put foreign armies to flight.  These “heroes” were not inherently superior in their humanity but they did understand their true identity and calling which enabled them to walk in faith.  Belief in what God wanted to accomplish through them released the power of God in extraordinary ways.  I believe God wants to do the same through you and me today, make us heroes in His story.

In future articles, I am going to explore this idea further but my current goal is to enable us to see that the men and women of Scripture, people we often consider to be heroes of the faith, were ordinary people just like us.  They weren’t always filled with faith but were at times selfish and judgmental.  They still made mistakes and poor choices, often lots of them but God used them anyway.  God took ordinary people, fishermen, tradesmen, young girls, old men, criminals, prostitutes, religious zealots, and even a tax collector, and turn them into heroes in His plan of redemption. 

What about you? What does God want to accomplish through your life?  There are some things to learn along the way of course but it all begins with the belief that God wants to make you the hero in His story.  Spend some time with the Father and ask Him what He would like to accomplish through your life?  I believe you will be both surprised and challenged by what you hear.

It was in the midst of my own personal reflections on what life would be like, I was reminded of an event that took place many years ago.  It was mostly funny at the time but proved to be a lesson learned upon later examination.  In the early 70’s I had a friend who was a very good athlete but he had never learned to play the game of golf.  In spite of his never having played before we decided one afternoon to go and play a round of golf at one of the local public courses.  Being the weekend, the course was busy but because the course didn’t take reservations for tee times, we simply paid our greens fees and got in line on the first tee. For the rest of the story, it is important to note a couple of things.  First, as is often the case, the clubhouse was directly adjacent to the first tee and had both inside and outside seating for before and after refreshments.  It is also important to point out that both areas were full of patrons and there was an additional small group of golfers waiting next to the first tee. 

After a medium wait, it was our turn to tee off and my friend teed up his ball.  Having completed a couple of practice swings, he addressed the ball with his rented driver and swung with some enthusiasm at the ball on the tee.  But to his surprise (I can still see the look on his face), and everyone else’s amazement, instead of going straight down the fairway of the first hole, the ball went dead right at a 90-degree angle.  The ball was heading directly toward a large plate glass window on the front of the clubhouse.  Fortunately, it somehow missed the window but the ball did bounce off the wooden siding into the parking lot where it was heard to be bouncing off several of the cars parked there.  The whole thing took less than a minute to unfold but the commotion drew everyone’s attention to my friend who was totally embarrassed and couldn’t get off the tee fast enough.  As he quickly headed toward the first green, he announced he would drop a ball in the fairway and play from there.  It was every beginning golfer’s worst nightmare.

Like many life events, there is much that can be learned from my friend’s experience.  But I want to make just a couple of observations and then apply them to our unfolding drama in the world today.  The first mistake my friend made was his belief that he understood the game of golf well enough to play and his second was his athleticism would carry him.  Like a number of things in life, there is more to the game of golf than it first appears.  Recognizing that would have saved him his humiliation on the first tee. 

Second, he was overly confident in his own abilities His eye-hand coordination, while proven excellent in other sports, didn’t automatically transfer to proficiency in the game of golf.  He would have benefitted greatly from learning to apply his natural ability, with even a little bit of practice, before attempting to actually get out on the course.  In applying those same lessons to our situation today I would offer a couple of thoughts and then a Biblical truth. 

First, I think it is fine to listen to leaders from all sectors as they reflect on our current circumstances and then offer where they think we will be in the future.  There is probably some wisdom in most of them.  But I would hold any predictions loosely.  I don’t believe anyone has a handle on exactly what reality is going to look like by the time we finish the year 2020.

Second, I believe it would be wise to test any assumptions we have once the future arrives.  There are likely to be subtle or hidden shifts that matter a great deal when plotting a way forward, whether it be our personal life or strategies for ministry.  Waiting, exploring more fully and digging deeper will all be helpful strategies to know what this new reality is really like?

Finally, and most importantly, I want to remind us all that God is doing a “new thing” and He has a plan.  He was not surprised by the COVID 19 pandemic but rather is turning all things together for good for those who love Him.  Therefore, we don’t need to come up with a strategy for navigating our new reality, we just need to ask Him to reveal His plan for us in this new hour. 

I also believe that God has been purposeful in preparing us for this next season.  What has God been speaking to you about?  What has God been working on in your life? Are there promises He has made to you that didn’t make sense before but make perfect sense now?  In a very real sense, we are all like Queen Esther who was placed in her position in order to save the people of Israel from Haman’s evil plot.  We live at “such a time as this” because God has a job for us to do.

I find comfort and reassurance for today and hope for tomorrow when I remember God is sovereign over all of creation and He has a plan for each of us.  He spoke to the wind and the waves in Mark 4:39 “Peace, be still.”  And it became perfectly calm.  Jesus is doing the same today, leading us into a place of supernatural peace while He exerts sovereign control over His creation.  Be encouraged, God is on the move! 

In these words of Jesus, recorded for us by the apostle John, we find one of the key ingredients to experiencing the abundant life Jesus died to give us.  Jesus says if we “abide” (literally remain in, or practice) His word, we prove ourselves to truly be His disciples.  By disciple Jesus means learner, follower or an apprentice who actually follows Him by hearing His voice and doing what He says (John 10).  Jesus goes on to say that experience of abiding also leads us into a “knowing,” by experience, the truth and the truth will make us free.  By way of context, we know Jesus is speaking specifically here about our experience of truth leading us into an experience of freedom from sin.  But freedom from sin is just the beginning because when freedom comes, we also have the ability to become who God created us to be.  Then living out of our true identity, we are enabled to experience the fulfillment of God’s will and purposes for our lives.  Knowing God’s truth through experience, by abiding in it, holds the potential to transform our lives in ways nothing else can.

Imagine for a minute you were able to live each day with a clear sense of God’s love for you, not in a theoretical the Bible says so kind of way.  But with your heart informed by the certain knowledge that God is for you, intimately familiar with every detail of your life.  Further, knowing He has pledged Himself to provide, care for and guide you in your decision making.  What would it be like to live that kind of life?  Or to be freed from the tyrannical belief that you must somehow do enough for God, by giving, serving, sacrificing, and repenting, that He is finally pleased with you.  And with your hard won acceptance He will now hear your prayers and answer you when your kids are sick, you lose your job, or a meaningful relationship crumbles for no apparent reason.  Or maybe you just know there has to be more to life than what you are currently experiencing but have no idea where to look for answers?  Jesus says, “abide in My word, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”

All of these answers, and more, are revealed in God’s Word, the Bible.  In a study of the Bible we discover what God is really like by examining the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.  We grow in the ability to discern the devil’s lies by growing in an understanding of God’s truth.  We experience healing and heart transformation as we meditate on God’s truth under the direction and empowerment of the Holy Spirit.  Unfortunately for many today, their experience of attending or growing up in the church, they are not always taught how to study the Bible for themselves.  And as a result, the Bible remains a difficult and somewhat mysterious book that only the professionals can understand.  And their ability to experience the life transformation that comes as a result of abiding in God’s truth is severely limited.

If you find yourself in a place where you would like to be able to read and study the Bible on your own, or maybe go beyond your current understanding, I would invite you to listen to a testimony by Carolyn Johnson.  Carolyn grew up going to church and I believe her story is representative of many that I have met through almost 40 years of ministry.  In response to that need we are offering two spiritual life coaching experiences on studying the Bible for life transformation.  We have a few openings left in a small group experience that meets on the 2^nd and 4^th Saturday of the month and the other is an online offering that meets the 2^nd and 4^th Tuesday each month.  In both offerings, the emphasis is on the participant mastering the process by developing a personalized approach that reflects where they are in their spiritual journey.  I encourge you will listen to Carolyn’s story and then visit our website for more information and details on how to register for these opportunities.

Carolyn’s testimony

God's Living Stones Life Coaching

However, that is not to say that there haven’t been disappointments or other hard things along the way.  There have been difficult surprises, plans that haven’t worked out, unanswered prayers, deep and irretrievable losses and a variety of other things that seemed out of sync with what God had promised.  In other words, life happened, for me and for everyone else.  Probably none of this is new information for you and you could fill in your own personal examples from both sides of the journey, the amazing ways God has blessed you and the events that are not only difficult to understand but have caused you some level of emotional pain.

The reason I am writing about all of this today is God revealed something to me recently that I believe is holding us back from experiencing more of the abundant life Jesus speaks of in John 10.  It is also limiting our ability to access the Kingdom authority and power God has given to us as His followers.  Specifically, I believe we are many times conditioned by, and form beliefs, based on our experiences.  It is the belief expectation cycle that we talk about within the context of Restoring the Foundations ministry.  We have an experience and out of that experience, we establish a belief that governs our expectations and subsequent behavior.  What we don’t always recognize is how these experiences shape, or work to diminish our faith when it comes to believing God for the supernatural.  If we are not careful, we end up in a place of unbelief regarding the humanly impossible situations that are subject only to manifestations of God’s Kingdom authority and power.

I have spoken many times about a word I received in 2006 from Isaiah 43:18-19, where Jesus promised He was going to do a new thing. A little over a year ago God revealed that we are in that season of the new thing and because we are in this season of the new thing, we are not to recall the former things or ponder things of the past.  The part that I have always understood about that is we are not to look to the past, what God has done, as a way to guide our present or our future.  The part that is new to me is that neither are we are to allow our experiences of what God hasn’t done to determine our expectations of what He is doing now or might do in the future.  Practically this means that we are not to allow the non-answers to previous prayers for the healing of cancer, financial provision, restoration of relationships, etc. to poison our hearts with the belief that God doesn’t’ or won’t answer those prayers.  Rather, we are to choose to inform our hearts with the truth of what God has promised, and is doing right in front of us, as we pray and minister to others.  We are to fix our eyes, physically and spiritually, on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith.

Admittedly, this is much easier to understand than it is to pull off, especially when you are praying for someone with cancer and you have never seen God heal anyone of cancer before.  I would further suggest that most likely it is humanly impossible to do this and I think we need to be careful we don’t take on ourselves something that can only come by a divine gift, a supernatural working of God’s grace in our lives. 

If you would be willing, ask the Holy Spirit, “have I allowed my past experiences to influence my belief in what You are able and/or willing to do in and through me today?  And even more specifically, am I allowing the disappointments and unanswered prayers of the past, the things God hasn’t done, to displace my faith and push me toward unbelief?  Because of our human limitations and imperfections, I believe the heart position we are looking for is modeled for us by Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, when threatened with the fiery furnace of Nebuchadnezzar, “our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire, and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.  But even if He does not… (Daniel 3:17-18a).  God is calling us to believe He is both willing and able to do the impossible things He has spoken over us.

If the desire is there but it sounds too challenging to get there on your own, we are beginning a small group coaching experience on how to Study the Bible for Life Transformation, beginning Saturday morning January 25, 2020.  To make room for the Word in our hearts we need to clear out all of the disappointment, hurt, anger, frustration and anything else suppressing faith and propping up our unbelief.  And we must focus our eyes and our heart upon what God has declared and His ability to fulfill His Word.  We will move beyond a traditional Bible class, or even Bible study, that focuses on accumulating knowledge and stops at understanding.  Rather, this experience will focus on developing the wisdom and skills required to experience spiritual transformation on a daily basis.  We also will identify and remove the obstacles that keep truth from moving from our heads to our hearts.  All of it will be spiritual transformation under the direction of the Holy Spirit.  I am super excited about what I believe God is going to do for each one of us here.

I hope you will take advantage of this opportunity. 

If you have questions feel free to contact me at bruce@godslivingstones.org or visit our website at godslivingstones.org.

How long has it been since God’s Word has exploded in your heart, moving you emotionally, challenging your faith and rearranging your life priorities?  When was the last time God’s love, beauty, and goodness were so real to you that all you could do is weep with tears of joy and gratitude?  How long has it been since you have thought about all the promises God has spoken over you and the unique plans and purposes He has for your life? Are you excited for this daily journey we call life?

Many of us would have to confess that the answers to these questions, and others like them, is that is has been far too long. Having been subjected to the daily rigors of living in a fallen world and having endured the relentless attacks of the devil and his demons, we consider it a victory to simply get through the days.  We still believe but our hearts have grown cold, characterized by apathy, discouragement, and unbelief.  The end result is life on autopilot. 

God, out of His great love for each of us, is inviting us into a season of being fascinated with Himself.  Through a fresh study of His Word, focusing on the life and teachings of Jesus, to return to a child-like state where we are hungry to know Him as He truly is and we treasure every word He reveals to us.  God stands ready to do it but we must do our part by creating the right environment in our hearts so we might experience a renewing of our minds and transformation of our hearts.  Now is our time to receive from Him.

An essential part of creating that environment in our hearts is to practice the spiritual discipline of meditation.  In case you are not familiar, I will share some of my own journey over the years.  Meditation has been an essential part of my devotional life ever since reading Richard Foster’s book Celebration of Discipline back in 1985.  I started by following the Navigator’s Topical Memory System and committed to memory 60 verses which were related to 5 major topics.  Once memorized, I regularly reviewed them, thinking about how they applied to my life at that point in time.  I then added verses the Holy Spirit highlighted in my personal study and my times of making personal retreats.  As I grew more familiar with the person and work of the Holy Spirit, I learned to hear God’s voice through my dreams, through words of knowledge and words of wisdom and finally through the prophetic words spoken over me by those operating in the spiritual gift of prophecy.  Together, they came to form a rich deposit of God’s promises to me, along with personalized instruction on how to fulfill His plans and purposes for my life.  I continue to review all of them on a regular basis, meditating on the ones the Holy Spirit highlights for that season in my life.  

In the verses at the top of this article, the apostle Paul reminds young Timothy, who he has left behind in Ephesus to shepherd the churches he started, of the critical importance of remaining mindful of the “prophecies previously made concerning you.”  The Greek word for prophecies (propheteia) in this context refers to prophetic revelations or directions of the Holy Spirit related to his calling as an overseer in the church.  Specifically, Paul is saying Timothy can keep his faith and a good conscience, thereby avoiding suffering shipwreck of his faith by paying attention to the words God has spoken over him.  The warfare that surrounds our calling, whatever it might be, demands that we continually meditate upon the truth God has spoken and is speaking, over our lives. 

This admonition that Paul gives to Timothy is reminiscent of the Lord’s instructions to Joshua as he is about to lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land.  In Joshua 1:8 the Lord says to Joshua, “this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will  make your way prosperous and then you will have success.”  Joshua was no doubt tempted to be fearful and/or discouraged given the difficulty and dangers of displacing the current inhabitants of the land but meditating on the Lord’s promises is the God-ordained way of maintaining faith.

As we look to enter the new year of 2020, a year filled with promise and opportunity, I would invite you to consider whether its time for your heart to burn again with the love and promises of God?  Are you tired of muddling along, feeling alternately anxious, or disenchanted with life?  The challenge of our individual callings, along with the increasingly hostile nature of our culture, puts us in Timothy’s place of needing to “fight the good fight” by meditating on the personal revelations and directions of the Holy Spirit (prophecies) that have been made concerning us.  Like Joshua, our prosperity and success are dependent on our meditating continually on the promises God has made uniquely to us.

To help us all fight the good fight in the new year, God’s Living Stones is offering three unique, but related, opportunities beginning in the month of January 2020. 

Revive Us Again

Our Revive event happening on Friday night, January 17, 2020, at Thanksgiving Church in Bellevue.  This dynamic community celebration will open with an extended time of worship.  Then we will look briefly at Psalm 119:25 and corporately ask God to revive us again according to His Word.  God wants to restore us to a conscious awareness of His continual goodness, beauty, and grace so that we can truly live the abundant life.  This happens as we purposely unite our receiving the Word of God with living out conscious awareness of the Holy Spirit’s activity in our lives.  Closing out the evening, there will be a time to receive a fresh promise from God, uniquely for you.

Prophetic Training and Words of Knowledge

On Saturday, January 18, 2020, we are hosting Walter and Ida Cowart of Armorbearer Ministry for another round of training in how to encourage others by learning to move in the spiritual gift of prophecy.  This hands-on, experiential workshop is for anyone, beginner or seasoned minister, and provides opportunities to prophesy to others as part of the training.  This event will also include a special emphasis on receiving words of knowledge and praying for physical healing.  These gifts, while sometimes misunderstood, are a source of tremendous encouragement for the body of Christ and often confirm God’s plans for both individuals and the church. 

Spiritual Life Coaching (Studying the Bible for Life Transformation)

Finally, on Saturday, January 25, 2020, we are launching a group spiritual life coaching experience where the focus will be on life transformation through a study of the Scriptures.  It is not a class or seminar, or even a workshop that is limited to covering or mastering content and methods.  Rather, in a small group environment, emphasizing doing over listening, the focus will be on mastering the principles and skills necessary to reading and studying Scripture for life transformation.  The coaching experience will also give each participant the freedom to apply the basic principles of interpretation in a way that reflects their uniqueness as a follower of Christ.  Along the way, we will examine many of the questions that emerge about the nature and character of the Bible, which are often obstacles to experiencing the transformational power of the Word.  Issues like the reliability of Scripture, the unique authority that resides in the Bible, and how to resolve apparent contradictions between the Old and New Testaments.  The Bible is not just a historical record of God’s activity with the people of Israel and the church but God speaks to us, clearly and specifically, about His plans and purposes for our lives today.

God wants to set our hearts on fire in 2020.  Will you accept His invitation and begin to live again?

But the waiting part is another matter altogether.  Since the time Jesus first ascended into the heavens, the people of God have been waiting for His return, with the promise His return is imminent. But with the Lord, a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day (2 Peter 3:8).  And so 2000 years later we are still waiting for the Lord to fulfill His promise.  Peter goes on to tell us that God is not slow in keeping His promises but purposeful “not wanting any to perish.”

A lost message in the season of Advent is God’s call to “suffer long,” to hold on to the promises of God in the midst of purposeful delay.   That the human race has struggled with God’s call to develop patience in this way is evident throughout Scripture, even in the lives of those called people of great faith.  Abraham, for example, was 75 years old when God promised he would have a son.  Abraham is 86 years old when he and Sarah get tired of waiting and take matters into their own hands.  Sarah convinces Abraham to conceive a son with Hagar, her handmaiden.  But as soon as it happened it results in tremendous suffering for them and the generations that followed.  Neither does it help them realize the promise of God.  It would be another 14 years or 25 years in total, with a lot of life in between, before Isaac is born to Abraham and Sarah.  God’s promise was fulfilled in His timing and in a miraculous way.

In our own lives, we are tempted to believe that God’s delays are arbitrary but Scripture reminds us they are purposeful, even if those purposes are hidden to us.  God is often building faith, developing character and sovereignly developing other storylines to accomplish His will and purposes in us and in the people around us.  The obvious question this Advent season is what promises are you waiting for God to fulfill?  Are you feeling tempted to fulfill God’s promises in your own way?

Isaac and Ishmael stand as constant reminders to us when we find it hard to wait for God’s answers.  For Isaac, God’s supernatural answer, we have to wait but Ishmael, our attempts to fulfill God’s promises our own way, we can have any time.  But when we wait patiently, we can know God is building our faith and developing our character so that we can fulfill the good works He has prepared for us.  For a little different journey this Advent season, study the life of Abraham in Genesis 12-22 and see how God moved in Abraham’s life.  May we all find encouragement to wait patiently for the Lord’s imminent return.  He is indeed coming again when we least expect Him. 

In Acts chapter 6, we have the historical account of the early church growing beyond the twelve’s ability to keep up with everything God is doing.  Led by the Holy Spirit, they choose and commission 7 men to oversee the distribution of food to those in need.  One of those men is Stephen, who we are told was “full of grace and power, and was performing great wonders and signs among the people” (Acts 6:8).  The religious leaders (men from the synagogue of the Freedmen) don’t like it and they raise up false witnesses against him, while they bring him before the High Council for speaking against the law.   In his defense before the Council in chapter 7, Stephen recounts the history of Israel, primarily using Abraham and Moses and then accuses the leaders of “resisting the Holy Spirit…just as your fathers did” (Acts 7:51).  The religious leaders are filled with rage, drive Stephen out of the city and stone him to death. 

I had, of course, read this account many times before but this time the Holy Spirit showed me something I had not seen before.  It is curious is it not, that the leaders who would go on to stone Stephen were so violently opposed to the message of Jesus, and Him crucified.  They were experts in the law, the word of the Lord, and were waiting for the promised Messiah but when He showed up, they missed it.  Why they missed it is speculation on my part but it seems to me that Jesus just didn’t match their expectations.  They had their traditions based on their understanding of the law and they had a clearly defined vision of how and when God was going to fulfill His promises.  Add to it all an unteachable attitude driven by their knowledge and pride of being the chosen people of God, and they were conditioned to miss the promised Messiah when He actually did show up.

The takeaway God left with me was really a question about my own ability, and willingness, to align myself with what God is actually doing in the present.  Or has my history with God, my knowledge or my preconceived understandings about what He is going to do blocked my ability to see what God is actually doing.  The Holy Spirit, through the words of Stephen, equates this with resisting the Holy Spirit.

The obvious point of application is to ask ourselves am I currently missing what the Holy Spirit is doing in my life because of what I believe I know to be true?  Have I allowed my past successes to so condition my current understanding that I am blind to what the Holy Spirit is doing right now?  Finally, have we nailed down God’s future plans so tightly that we are blinded to the shifts in how and what He is doing today?  Our ability to stay in alignment with God requires we stay teachable, always listening and always adapting to the new moves of the Spirit.

God’s truth never changes but His methods are constantly changing to meet people where they are. God would have us do the same.

The apostle Paul reminds us of this danger we all face in 1 Corinthians 10:1-12.  Using the historical example of Israel’s taking of the Promised Land, he declares it is possible to experience divine guidance, divine protection, supernatural provision and still not realize our own personal promised land as the covenant people of God.  In verse 5 he writes, all these things were true of the people of Israel, yet God was not pleased with some of them and they were “laid low in the wilderness.”  The expression is another way of saying they died in the wilderness, never tasting or experiencing the promises God had already prepared for them.  He goes on to write that these things happened as an example to us, written for our instruction “to not crave evil things” (verse 6).  Does God have your attention yet?

There are 4 general categories of sin that stirred God’s anger, brought about their destruction and kept them from their experience of the promised land.  They are defined for us in verses 7-10 and are as follows.

Idolatry- Idolatry is the worship, adoration, devotion to or seeking of someone or something more fervently than God.  It is putting our trust in money, possessions, our jobs or even another person for our provision and security.  It is valuing status, comfort, pleasure or the affirmation of others more than walking in obedience to God’s will.  It is living for self and our personal fulfillment rather than living God’s plan for our lives.  Where do you look for your security and future?  Can you say with Jesus, “I live only for the will of my Father”?

Immorality- Immorality includes any and all forms of sexual perversion.  The obvious violation would be any sexual act outside the covenant of marriage between a husband and wife.  But also includes sexual fantasies, pornography, lewdness, provocative dress.  It includes all acts of the heart and the mind, as well as the body.

Trying the Lord- The example Paul refers to here comes from Numbers 21:4-9 where the people had become “impatient with the journey.”  Specifically, these verses are the account of the Israelites testing the Lord’s patience by complaining about the desert conditions and the lack of variety in the food, manna, He is providing.  Rather than being grateful for the daily supernatural provision of food, the people were dissatisfied with having to eat the same food each day.  What goes on in your heart over your living conditions and daily routine?  Are you experiencing God’s goodness and the peace of being surrendered to His perfect will or are you discontented, frustrated and maybe even angry about it all?  Your lack of contentment may be hindering your realization of His promises in your life. 

Grumbling/complaining- This last condition describes a general attitude about life where one is continually unhappy or complaining about what they do or don’t have.  They don’t like their job, or their church boring or their spouse isn’t as successful as others.  The list is endless.  The key characteristic is there is a general restlessness that results in a discontented and grumbling spirit.  Are you living out of a grateful heart? Or are you chronically feeling disappointed and frustrated about your life? 

Paul ends this section of his letter to the Corinthians with the admonition in verse 12, “therefore, let him who thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall.”  Essentially, he is saying we are to examine our own hearts for these errors of the Israelites in order to avoid falling out of favor with the Lord.  Literally, Paul is telling us is to engage in this sinful behavior is to run the risk of never realizing God’s best for our lives but to choose the fate of dying in a spiritual wasteland of our own making.  The solution if we find ourselves there is genuine repentance that results in a lasting change in behavior. 

I would invite you to take some time to read and study 1 Corinthians 10:1-12 and see what God would have to say to you about your own walk with Him.  Respond in faith, repentance, and obedience to all He reveals.  In doing so, we can pursue God’s best for our lives together. 

There is lots more to the story but my telling of someone else’s personal tragedy is not really my point.  And fortunately, God has moved in such a way that this story is likely to have a positive ending.  But the whole experience has challenged me to think about others and their circumstances differently.  Which is why I chose to write about it. 

You see it is fairly easy to ignore the hardship of others when you don’t really know them or aren’t connected to them in any meaningful way.  It is easy to think their current situation is simply the result of their poor choices and/or an unwillingness to work hard.  But our critical assessment, which turns easily to judgment, is usually poorly informed, and often filtered through at least some personal prejudice.  But it nonetheless provides the internal cover we need to relieve ourselves of any responsibility to get involved.  They are to blame and we are free to let them reap the consequences of their actions.

But are we really released to ignore the pain and suffering that goes on daily all around us, even if it is of their own making?   Scripture suggests otherwise. The general mandate to love our neighbor, along with the specific command to bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2) knows nothing of how a person finds themselves in need.  The call is to love people and help wherever possible in ways within our capability.

There is much pain and suffering in our world today.  Financial issues, mental illness, family breakdown, chronic illness and disease, all work to create severe stressors on individuals and families.  What are your current thoughts and beliefs about those who find themselves in need?  Is it simply their problem to figure it out or is God calling you to get involved with helping someone you know?  You don’t have to look very far to find someone.

I would love to tell you that one day God visited me supernaturally and delivered me from fear, but that never really happened, at least not in the way that you and I would hope.  I somehow got through my speech class in college, and my seminary preaching practicums were even more difficult.  Part of the preaching curriculum was you were videotaped delivering 2 messages.  Then they were replayed in class the following week and you were critiqued by the professor and your fellow students.  The process was brutal and for someone who lacked confidence, the whole experience actually made the situation worse and not better.  Fear got bigger and stronger, rather than smaller and weaker.  My experiences were actually confirming my beliefs and my fears. 

Upon completion of seminary, I was called by God to a small church in the city of St Paul MN, where I had to preach on a weekly basis, plus weddings, funerals, and special events.  The fear of public speaking was still strong in me but my sense of God’s call, and wanting to be obedient to that call, was stronger, thank God. It didn’t mean however that I wouldn’t struggle each week as I prepared for and delivered the message during the Sunday worship service.  Many times, that fear would turn to dread at having to preach, knowing I was being critiqued by the congregation and other seasoned pastors who were a part of the congregation.  I was being obedient and experiencing some fruit but not enjoying the journey at all.  To improve and to get over my fear, I attended several communication workshops and those helped me be modestly more effective.  But still, for many years fear stole my joy and limited my effectiveness in communicating the Word of God to others.

Real change, a change that set me free to be myself, to proclaim God’s truth as I understood it, in the way that I believed God was calling me to present it, came for me as I began to be confirmed in my own heart about my true identity in Christ.  That I am a deeply loved son of God, created in His image and likeness and commissioned for a life purpose that only I can fulfill.  As my identity shifted from believing what other people thought about me and my performance to what God said was true of me and my circumstances, I was set free from the fear of public speaking.  Fast forward to today, teaching the Word of God is one of the most enjoyable things I do as a part of my overall responsibilities.  God delivered me, supernaturally, over time, by changing my beliefs and healing my heart.  Even 5 years ago I could never have imagined the freedom I feel in this area and the joy that it has brought into my life.  More importantly, I believe I am more effective in teaching God’s truth to others because I am not preoccupied with myself and the opinions of others.

My point here is not simply to share a personal testimony, though I think that is always a good thing to do, but to remind us of some important principles.  First, it is imperative that we know and live out of our true identity if we are going to overcome the devil and fulfill God’s plan for our lives.  Your particular issue may not be fear of public speaking but you are afraid of something else?  It might be the fear of intimacy, really being vulnerable to others?  Or you might be afraid to trust God financially, leading you to make decisions that leave you in control financially?  Or maybe it’s the fear of failure, fear of being laughed at, fear of being wrong, or fear of conflict?  The truth is there is no end of things to be afraid of, some are mild inconveniences while others are major obstacles that limit our effectiveness and steal our joy.  I read a quote a couple of weeks ago that I found really challenging.  It comes from Jack Canfield, a motivational speaker and corporate trainer.  He says, “everything you want is on the other side of fear.”  Think about that just for a minute.  Can you relate?  It might see to be a bit of an overstatement but I believe is true more often than we care to admit.

What are the fears that are stealing your joy and limiting what God can do through you?  The devil would have you believe that you can never be free of them.  Don’t believe it.  Don’t’ allow fear to steal from you any longer.  God is able to transform your heart and set you free supernaturally.  It can start immediately, though it may take weeks or months for you to find final victory.  Meditating upon God’s truth about ourselves and our situations, under the direction and empowerment of the Holy Spirit, God transforms us and sets free of our fears.  Praise God.

If you feel stuck or would like some help finding victory over your fears, we can help.  Please contact me at  bruce@godslivingstones.org and take the first steps toward a new journey today. 

That all changed Sunday morning June 10, 2018, when I woke up and was going to get out of bed for the day.  As I sat up and moved to put my legs over the side of the bed, my lower back exploded in pain.  I also found that I had great difficulty walking, with my right leg and foot not responding as they had normally. After a week’s worth of doctoring and diagnostic tests I found that the pain I thought was too much yard work was, in fact, spinal stenosis.  This more serious condition is defined by an abnormal narrowing of the spinal column where the nerves are pinched causing both intense pain and impairment.  The solution was not pain relievers and rest but a surgical procedure called an L3 L4 laminectomy.  I had seriously misdiagnosed the source of my pain.

 While I am now pain-free and have long ago returned to my normal routine, I have had many months to think about that experience.  In some of that reflection, God showed me that I am also prone to misdiagnose the pain associated with my spiritual and emotional life.  There is a tendency to blame others, including God, for the negative circumstances and emotions that I sometimes experience, like anger, sadness or discouragement.  The situations of relational conflict or the words that are spoken by others are often just neutral triggers that the enemy uses to stir up old hurts and the lies we have believed about ourselves and other people.  And as long as we continue to blame other things outside of ourselves, we will never find healing and freedom because we are misdiagnosing the problem.  If I blame you, I never get fixed.

All of this points to our need to have others speaking into our lives, especially the Holy Spirit. With the help of the Holy Spirit, loving friends and trained ministers can help us identify the blind spots and tear down the strongholds, releasing healing and freedom.  A way to invite the Holy Spirit in is to pray Psalm 139:23-24, “search me O God, and know my heart, try me and know my anxious thoughts and see if there be any hurtful way (literally way of pain) in me, and lead me in the everlasting way."  God desires that we be healed and free but we need to be willing to invite others into our blind spots.  Open your heart and receive from Him, He is waiting to meet you in the midst of the pain you don’t understand. 

s for us to consider would be the following.  We come to understand the nature of God’s great love for us, and more importantly are led into a fresh experience of His love, as we abide in His Word and His Word abides in us.  We discover our true identity and are enabled to live as sons and daughters of God as our minds are renewed in this essential truth.  We grow in our ability to trust God in all the circumstances of life as we appreciate God for who He truly is, His essential goodness and perfect character.  We grow in faith as we meditate upon the verses of Scripture that God highlights as being personal promises for us.  And as God’s kingdom ambassadors, our understanding of the Word of God enables us to minister to others more effectively.  This is true whether we are praying, prophesying or helping them form new beliefs that reflect God’s nature, His character, and His Word.  And these are just a few of the many benefits that come with being confident we have heard God’s voice through a study of His Word.

In my years of pastoral ministry, I have found that many followers of Christ sincerely desire to be able to study the Bible on their own but feel inadequate to the task.  They have tried, many times more than once, but never feel confident in their abilities to accurately interpret what they are reading.  Frustration and discouragement kick in and the whole issue just gets set aside for another time. The problem is not with their abilities but with the fact they have never had anyone to teach them in a way they can actually master the basic steps that apply to every book of the Bible.  By repetitively applying the practices that surround the basic 3 steps of; revelation (what did God say), interpretation (what does God mean by what He said) and application (how does this apply to my life) every believer in Jesus Christ can experience personally the transformational power of the Word of God.  This is best done in a small group environment where they can ask questions and receive personalized feedback on their own attempts at interpretation from someone further along in the journey.  

If this resonates with your heart, we have a new ministry offering for you to consider  It is a group spiritual life coaching experience where the focus will be on actually developing a personalized approach to reading and studying the Bible for life transformation.  It is not a class or seminar, or even a workshop that is limited to covering or mastering content and methods.  Rather, in a group environment emphasizing doing over listening, the focus will be on mastering the principles and skills necessary to be confident in your approach to reading and studying Scripture for life transformation.  It will also give each participant the freedom to apply the basic principles of interpretation in a way that reflects their uniqueness as a follower of Christ.  Along the way, we will examine many of the questions that emerge about the nature and character of the Bible, which are often obstacles to experiencing the transformational power of the Word.  Issues like the reliability of Scripture, the unique authority that resides in the Bible, and how to resolve apparent contradictions between the Old and New Testaments.  The Bible is not just a historical record of God’s activity with the people of Israel and the church but God speaks to us, clearly and specifically, about His plans and purposes for our lives today.

While some of the logistical details are still being worked out, I intend to launch our first group very soon. And due to the nature of the experience, the number of participants for each group will be limited.  If you are interested contact me at bruce@godslivingstones.org or call 402 290 3480.  I would love to tell you more about it.

Would you be willing to ask God what He would have you do?  Is it finally time to hear directly from Him through your personal study of the Bible and to experience life transformation through the power of the Word and the Holy Spirit? Based on personal experience I can promise you there will never be a more important investment you can make to grow as a follower of Jesus.  Hope to talk to you soon!

On a recent trip to Nashville, TN I was listening to a prophetic minister by the name of David Wagner.  It was a gathering of Restoring the Foundations leaders from around the country and he was reminding us of the importance of remaining alert to the new things God is doing in and around us. For often they are signs of what it is that He wants to do through us.  In the midst of his teaching, he dropped in a line that both summarizes his thoughts and extends to us an invitation to step out in faith.  He said, “God is wanting to turn us from being professionals in the old thing in order that we might be amateurs in the new thing.” 

In our culture today the common understanding of a professional is he or she gets paid, while the amateur does it simply for the love of doing it.  But there is also the idea that a professional is believed to be accomplished or competent at the task they are doing.  While the amateur is still learning, expected to make mistakes and therefore expected to perform at a lower level.  In the context of his message, he was communicating that in order to stay aligned with what God is doing today, the new thing, we need to leave the comfort of being a professional and become willing to become an amateur once again. 

That God once gave the same instruction to the people of Israel is clear from his instructions through the prophet Isaiah, “do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past.  Behold (pay attention), I will do something new” (Isaiah 43:18-19a).  Clearly, God is showing us that if our vision is preoccupied with the old, we will miss the new thing that God is doing.

Our New Testament model to follow is Jesus Himself.  Jesus stayed in perfect alignment with what the Father was doing at any given time by watching what His heavenly Father was doing in the world around Him.  Jesus said in John 5:19, “truly, truly I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself unless it is something He sees His Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.”   God the Father has a plan for our lives that reflects His will and purposes.  We ensure our being about the new thing by keeping our eyes on what God is doing and aligning ourselves with it.

A professional in the old thing or amateur in the new thing, which would you rather be?  Seems like a pretty easy question to answer, doesn’t it?  Yet, when it unfolds in front of us, we are many times reluctant to leave the old, our professionalism, behind. It is comfortable, certain and has proven to be successful in the past.  But it takes faith, humility and often a fresh act of surrender to do new things God’s way.  It also puts us in a place where we must trust God for things, and trust Him for methods that He has not used with us, or maybe anybody, before.  None of those things are comfortable and we naturally resist them.

What are the new things God is wanting to do in and through you?  Do you know? Are you willing to ask Him and find out?  Churches and ministries die because they get lost in the old things, the way God used to do things when their church or ministry was alive and producing fruit.  As individuals, we can lose our way as well. 

If God would lead you to do it, spend some time reflecting on whether you are a professional or an amateur?  The right answer is an invitation to live again.

I have for many years been both comforted and challenged by the book of Joshua.  Using our imaginations, we can put ourselves into Joshua’s life story and feel the weight that is upon him as he is tasked by the Lord to lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land.  The book starts with, “now it came about after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ servant, saying, ‘Moses my servant is dead, now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving them, to the sons of Israel” (Joshua 1:1-2). 

Moses, the long-time leader of Israel and the man Joshua had served for many years, is dead. Likely still grieving that loss, Joshua is commissioned by the Lord himself with the unbelievably difficult task of leading the people of Israel into the Promised Land.  Once in the land, they are to displace the current inhabitants, who are living in fortified cities and take possession of it.  To begin, they must first cross the river Jordan, which is at flood stage, without the benefit of bridges or ferries.  That the task tempted Joshua to be fearful and discouraged is evident by the Lord repeating His admonition, ‘be strong and courageous” four times in the first chapter of the book.  The successful completion of the task will take not one but several miracles.  To encourage Joshua, the Lord promises He will be with him, just as He was with Moses.

It is doubtful the Lord will ever ask any of us to do anything that compares with the level of difficulty and challenge represented here.  That said, there is much for us to learn from studying the life of Joshua and the instructions that were given to he and the people as they overcame their fears and realized God’s promises for them.  We, like them, have been commissioned by the Lord for a great work but there are often significant obstacles to the realization of God’s plans for our lives.  These obstacles vary in type and difficulty but they all tempt us to be fearful and discouraged.  If we shrink back in doubt and unbelief, we fail to experience God’s best for our lives, our own personal Promised Land.  The Lord has better for us.

While there is a host of lessons to learn by studying Joshua’s life, I want to look at 3 we see as preparatory to crossing the river Jordan.  These 3 especially will help us in our own journey of realizing God’s promises in our own lives.

Consecrate yourself- While the word is not commonly used outside the church, it is a familiar word within the faith community.  It’s generally understood meaning is to “dedicate fully” or to “set apart for a divine purpose.”  As such it can be used of religious articles, assemblies of people or individuals.  In Joshua 3:5, as the people prepare to cross the river Jordan, Joshua says to the people, “consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”  In context, Joshua is calling the people to set themselves apart for the divine purpose of realizing God’s promise of taking possession of the land.  God has given them the land, it is theirs, but now they must take possession of it.  In order to do so, they must rid themselves of any other thoughts, goals or desires.  There cannot be divided loyalties or other pursuits, they must be fully dedicated to fulfilling the divine commission. 

Follow God’s presence- In Joshua 3:3 the people were told by Joshua’s officers, “when you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God with the Levitical priests carrying it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it.”  They are told in verse 4 they are never to lose sight of it because “you have never passed this way before.”  Just as they had followed the pillar of fire by and the cloud by day, the Lord is guiding them by the ark of the covenant, a symbol of the Lord’s presence with them.  The journey before them was difficult and they had no previous experience to guide them.  It was therefore imperative they keep their eyes on the ark of the covenant to ensure their safety and the successful completion of their journey.

Act in faith- Finally, there is the day that Joshua and the people must act if they are going to realize God’s promise of the Promised Land.  As already mentioned, the Jordan was at flood stage (Joshua 3:15) and there is no way the people are going to be able to cross without the Lord performing a miracle.  The Lord has revealed to Joshua He is going to do the miracle of stopping the flow of the river Jordan, so the people can cross on dry ground, as a sign to them that they will be able to dispossess the people of the land.  The catch is they must act on the promise before it happens.  The waters are cut off “when the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the Lord, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan.”  Then and then only will the waters be cut off.

We see these same 3 characteristics modeled in the life of Jesus; He lived only to please His heavenly Father (John 8:28-29), He did only what He saw the Father doing (John 5:19) and in perfect obedience to the Father’s will He worked miracles, healed the sick and cast out demons throughout His earthly ministry.

It is God’s desire to fulfill His promises to us and for us to receive our own personal Promised Land.  It is the abundant life Jesus speaks of in John 10:10 but it also includes the fulfillment of our personal calling, the unique plans and purposes God has for our lives.  I would invite you to join us Friday night August 9th at Thanksgiving Church when we gather to celebrate the truth Our Time is Now (https://www.godslivingstones.org/our-time-is-now).  And as a part of that gathering, we will get reconnected with the practical steps that enable us to overcome any obstacles keeping us from Gods’ best for our lives.  We are going to worship Jesus the King, have our hearts renewed and our vision restored.  Our time is now but we must consecrate ourselves, follow God’s presence and act in faith if we are going experience what God has promised.  Hope to see you there.

In the introduction to his book, Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life, Chuck Swindoll suggests that there are recurring seasons to life that come to us by the direction of our Creator, the One who governs all of life.  “Each of the four seasons offers fresh and vital insights for those who take the time to look and think… As each three-month segment of every year holds its own mysteries and plays its own melodies, offering insights and smells, feelings and fantasies altogether distinct, so it is in the seasons of life.  The Master is neither mute nor careless as He alters our times and changes our seasons (bolding mine).  How wrong to trudge blindly and routinely through a lifetime of changing seasons without discovering answers to the new mysteries and learning to sing new melodies!  Seasons are designed to deepen us, to instruct us in the wisdom and ways of our God.  To help us grow strong…like a tree planted by the rivers of water.” 

We also recognize that there are a series of life stages that most of us move through as we live out God’s plan for our lives.  We begin as children, then become teenagers, young adults, newly married, young couples with children, middle-aged couples with teenagers, empty nesters and finally senior citizens.  Each life stage has its own set of challenges, pressures, and rewards, and therefore shapes us accordingly.  It also tends to color the way we view the world and how we relate to God.

Both our season of life and our stage of life provide valuable context to words we receive and the life circumstances experience.

In general, we know God is moving in the earth constantly, reconciling the world to Himself, moving sovereignly through individuals and groups of people to accomplish His will and purposes.  He forgives sins, heals people of sickness and emotional pain while freeing them from the harassment of the enemy.  These all are available to us by virtue of Jesus’ death and resurrection when we put our faith and trust in Him.  Once saved Jesus invites us into the life of discipleship, where we discover who we are and what it is He created us to do.  However, our enemy, the devil, does all he can to rob, kill and destroy the good work God desires to do both in and through us.  Unaware of the seasons and stages of life, and the ways the enemy seeks to come against us, we sometimes find ourselves stuck in apathy and/or discouragement about the promises of God and the dreams He has planted within us.  As an unwanted consequence, we find ourselves idling along for weeks, months or even years, waiting for God to do something.  If that describes you in any way, I have good news.  Your time is now.

Over the last month’s God has revealed we are in a new season.  Through personal study, a number of prophetic words, and dreams by myself and others, God has revealed: “our time is now.”  For Scriptures, I would take us back to Isaiah 43:18-19, which speaks of the “new thing” God is doing.  And like the kingdom of God, it is here now but we have not yet experienced it in its fullness.  To the Isaiah Scripture, I would add Mark 11:22-24 and Romans 4:16-17 because they inform how we are to position ourselves in this new season.  The key phrases are “all things for which you pray and ask, believe you have received them” (Mark 11:24) and “even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist” (Romans 4:17).  The shift is primarily attitudinal, in that we are recognizing God has already done something and He is calling us to get in alignment with it in our prayers and our actions.  I would offer the following 4 Practical Shifts for this new season we are in.

•           Pray as if we have received what God has already spoken/revealed

•           Believe what God has spoken/promised

•           Declare God’s Word, Logos, and Rhema

•           Act in faith aligning ourselves with what God has promised, we see the Father doing

On Friday night August 9, 2019, we are going to gather at Thanksgiving Church corporately to worship Jesus the King and to realign our hearts with this new season.  There will be an opportunity to receive prayer for healing and a fresh word for this next season of your life.  My belief is God is desiring to awaken old dreams, promises, and prophetic words and add to them with fresh revelation of what He is doing right now.  As individual followers of Jesus, and as the body of Christ, we are called to represent the King and His Kingdom in a unique and significant way (2 Corinthians 5:20).  Come be refreshed and renewed.  Your time is now.

Over the last 6 months God has driven home for me our need to remain teachable, especially in areas where we believe we believe we have learned everything there is to learn.  Last December God revealed a lack of understanding I had about a verse of Scripture I had prayed over and meditated upon for 12 years, probably hundreds of times.  The verse in question was Isaiah 43:19 and in particular, it was the phrase “now it will spring forth.”  Until December of 2018, I had understood those words to have an instantaneous meaning of “now you don’t see it and now you do see it.”  It wasn’t here and now it is here.  However what God showed me was, in the original, this was an agricultural term used to describe how a plant grows and emerges from underground, an event that unfolds over many days.  The plant exists in seed form underground, germinates, begins to grow and after many days of invisible growth slowly emerges as a small shoot. It then eventually grows into a fully mature plant.  This new understanding was very significant as it changed completely one of God’s promises to me and how I was to understand its fulfillment.

More recently I was doing some study on Psalm 46:10, where the Psalmist writes the famous phrase “be still and know that I am God.”  This verse is very familiar to me and I have used it many times while on retreat to help facilitate physical stillness.  The New American Standard Translation comes closer to the original meaning in the Hebrew when it translates the phrase “cease striving” and know that I am God.  But it was just a few weeks ago I discovered a more accurate meaning.  In the course of studying it again, I found out that the Hebrew word we translate “be still” carries with it the connotation of surrender.  In addition, grammatically in the way the rest of the phrase is set up we find there is a causal connection between the being still or surrendering and knowing (experiencing) God as He really is.  It changes the meaning entirely from physical rest to finding spiritual rest in surrender and the resulting experience of knowing God as He really is, not just as we perceive Him. 

Finally, there was the discovery of a new application of the concept of repentance.  In Matthew 3:2, John the Baptist was preaching, “repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  As the forerunner to Jesus, John was calling the people of His day to turn from their sin and receive Jesus as the promised Messiah.  As a result, the common understanding is repentance defined as turning from one’s sin and embracing righteousness.  Again, this is not an incorrect application but it is an application of the term’s meaning which is more literally “change the way you think.”  To repent is at its core meaning, to change the way you think, and in this particular context, it is to change the way you think about sin.  But it can also be applied more generally to life in recognition that we entertain a variety of lies and ungodly beliefs about many aspects of our lives.  In the area of healing, for instance, we might believe that God can’t heal a particular condition because we have never seen or experienced God doing that.  To repent in this arena would be to turn it around and say I know that nothing is impossible for God and I am going to pray in accordance with God’s truth rather than my experience. 

As we seek to follow Jesus and walk in the Kingdom of God, we need to hear what Jesus is really saying to us at any given time.  Whether He is speaking to us through our study of His Word, through dreams, prayer or in the receiving of prophetic words.  It is also important to remember the three steps of revelation, interpretation, and application.  Revelation is what Jesus says, no more and no less, interpretation is what Jesus means by what He says, and application is how this truth applies to me at this time.  Each area has its own opportunities for error or continued growth in understanding.

By way of application, ask the Holy Spirit to show you any places where your current understanding is incomplete or in error.  You also might ask new questions of the text that will lead to a fuller or different understanding and application.  God’s revelation is progressive, ever unfolding in accordance with our current levels of knowledge, maturity, and circumstances.  Embrace the calling of “a workman who does not need to be ashamed” and you will continue to grow in Christlikeness as you handle accurately the word of truth. 

Every follower of Jesus Christ has experienced the power of forgiveness.  They know the transforming energy that comes with knowing they have been forgiven of their many sins, have been cleansed and restored to a right relationship with God.  The clear teaching of Scripture is that we who have experienced the magnitude of God’s forgiveness, are then required to forgive those who have sinned against us in a far lesser way.  To drive home the point Jesus told the story of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18:23-34, making it clear that any wrong we have suffered at the hands of others pales in comparison to our sins against God.  The penalty of refusing to forgive is also severe when Jesus tells us we will be handed over to “the torturers” if we do not forgive our brothers and sisters from the heart.  You may want to go and read Matthew 18:21-35 again to refresh your memory on how important it is that we walk in forgiveness.

Our ability and willingness are often tied to our current experience of receiving God’s forgiveness.  Meaning when our experience of having been forgiven a great debt by God, a debt so large we could never repay it, we are more apt to be forgiving of others.  To help us maintain that experience, I want to review a 7-step process that allows us to walk in forgiveness.  It is summarized for us in the Cleansing Stream seminar workbook on page 199.  I would encourage to go back and review this section of your workbook.

1. Revelation- Under the direction of the Holy Spirit we apply the truth of the Word of God to our lives, allowing Him to point out areas that need healing and freedom.

2. Repentance- As we experience the conviction of the Holy Spirit, we confess our sins to God and change our behavior to be in alignment with the truth of Scripture.

3. Renouncing- Through a verbal declaration of repudiation we break the enemy’s hold, legal right, by closing the door on sin.

4. Restoration- We cooperate with the Holy Spirit, receiving by faith cleansing, healing, and restoration of our whole person, spiritually, emotionally and physically.

5. Removal- A forceful and deliberate removing of the enemy through the setting of our wills in acts of deliverance commanding the demons to leave.

6. Resisting- Putting on the armor of God in Ephesians 6:10-20, we resist the enemy’s attempts to return by monitoring our thought life and practicing the spiritual disciplines of meditation, prayer, fasting, and worship.

7. Resting- We rest in our true identity as a son or daughter of the King, knowing we have been given eternal life and both authority/power over sin, death and the devil.

Forgiveness is easy to understand and it is the key that unlocks healing and freedom in every area of our lives.  Make it practical and keep it simple.  When the Holy Spirit convicts of sin or unforgiveness respond in confession and repentance, stopping to receive His forgiveness.  For your normal routine consider memorizing the 7 R’s and practice them daily.  Together these disciplines will allow you to walk in forgiveness and the peace that accompanies it.

In about 400 BC it was Socrates who first said, “the unexamined life is not worth living.”  It was spoken by him at his trial where he was charged with corrupting the youth of his day and his refusal to acknowledge the gods of the state.  His point to his prosecutors was it would be better to die and be able to pursue the understanding of truth in the afterlife than to be placed in exile and never know the truth.  Over the last 2400 years, the basic premise has guided millions in their pursuit of truth and understanding about life in general, and their own lives in particular.

I personally was introduced to the idea many years ago while making an Ignatian silent retreat and have found it to be a helpful spiritual discipline.   Ignatius of Loyola considered the examination of conscience to be the single most important spiritual discipline and Richard Foster highlights its importance in his teaching on the discipline of study.  Countless others have implemented the practice without having been formally taught the principle, knowing intuitively it will enable you to live 30 years versus the same year 30 times.  A fate we all hope to avoid.

In an effort to illustrate how this works I will share some of my reflections that came out of our Remember event that took place on Friday night May 31, 2019.  The event was a 40-year anniversary celebration for an encounter I had with the Lord where I was healed physically and set free spiritually and emotionally to a years’ long addiction to drugs and alcohol.  We had about 120 people attend who were given the opportunity to remember their own personal encounters with God and receive prayer ministry for any current concerns they had in their lives.  Many were touched and received fresh revelation from God about who He wants to be for them and the plans He has for their lives.  It was a joyous time. My point here, however, is to give you a little insight into how I processed what God did, and was saying, in the days following.  In no particular order.

We don’t always know exactly why God has us do something, even after we are done doing it.  God had spoken to me clearly the year before about “remembering” the encounter in 1979 but did not really reveal many other details.  He revealed the date for the event, ministry format and who was to be invited to participate, but that was about it.  He never really offered why were to do it, what was going to happen either the night of, or in the days following, or a host of other details that would have been really nice to know.  Sometimes God provides those details but many times we need to walk in faith and obedience and celebrate whatever happens!

It is sometimes difficult to refrain from developing expectations and filling in the blanks.  As human beings, created in the image of God, we have an innate desire to figure things out and understand what is happening or about to happen. It is part of our practicing dominion over creation, something God created us for and has commissioned us to do.  This leads us to interpret God’s revelation through our own lens and fill in the blanks with our own expectations of fulfillment.  In other words, if God said “do this” it must mean that He is going to “do that”, which may or may not be true.  We tend to place our own desires and expectations on what God is doing which leads to disappointment and just generally gets us into all kinds of trouble. 

Spiritual highs leave us vulnerable to spiritual lows.  I think of this as the Elijah syndrome referencing his encounter with the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18.  Elijah experienced this tremendous victory over 450 prophets of Baal, demonstrating the power and majesty of God.  The people responded in repentance and committed themselves to serve the Lord once again.  In a life filled with the miraculous, this event surely would have been considered in the top 5.  Yet, a few days later he hears queen Jezebel is after him and wants to take his life and runs scared.  Elijah goes into hiding and once there, asks the Lord to take his life. Within just a couple of days, he goes from miraculous victory to despairing of his own life.  There are lessons to be learned here, the primary one being we need to prepare for the lows before they descend on us in times when we are depleted spiritually, emotionally and physically.

There were other lessons as well but these are just a sampling to make the point.  We learn and grow as we examine ourselves and seek to align ourselves with truth.  And examining one’s life is not difficult work when done under the direction and empowerment of the Holy Spirit.  He is more than ready to show us how we can continue to grow in Christlikeness and our effectiveness in serving.  However, we must be intentional and allow the Holy Spirit to work transformation in us by doing what He says.  Repentance, faith and future obedience are the keys to moving forward in our walk with Jesus.  Together, let us commit to “examining ourselves” and experience a more vital walk with Jesus, maturing followers of Jesus Christ.  

In the explanation to the Matthew account, we are told that the farmer (the sower) is the Son of man and that the seed is the Word of God or maybe more specifically, the Good News of the kingdom of God.  Luke tells us in verse 1 that soon after one of His many encounters with the Pharisees, Jesus is addressing a great crowd that has gathered from nearby towns and villages and He tells them the parable of the four soils.  He concludes the parable with the expression, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”  The expression is nothing less than an invitation to enter the kingdom of God and to remain there by hearing God’s Word, clinging to it and patiently producing a huge harvest, up to 100 times that which was planted.

In the following paragraphs, we will look briefly at Jesus’ description of each of the 4 heart conditions.

The Footpath

Jesus tells in verse 11 “that the seeds that fall on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved.”  What we have here is a group of people who have heard the message, probably more than once, but because of the hardness of their hearts, the word fails to penetrate their hearts and the devil comes and steals it away.  As a result, they are prevented from believing and being saved.  They remain captives in the kingdom of darkness, lost in their sins and servants of the evil one.

The problem here is the hardness of heart that does not allow the Word to penetrate and take root.  This is often human pride that refuses to believe in the reality of sin, their own need for a Savior and is often accompanied by a firm refusal to submit to the will and purposes of God.  This person knows what they want out of life and nobody, including God, is going to stand in their way. 

The Rocky Soil

Jesus tells us in verse 13 that, “the rocky soil represents those who hear the message with joy. But like young plants in such soil, their roots don't go very deep. They believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation.”

A couple of things that help us understand what is being said here.  First, this is not rocky soil like we think of it where it is a mixture of good soil and rocks.  Rather, it is describing a thin layer of soil that covered a solid layer of rock or stone.  The plants would germinate and grow, looking really good above ground, but because of a layer of rock, they had no root system to sustain them in times when there was little or no moisture from above.

Also, there are a couple of words that we must understand if we are going to make sense of what Jesus is saying here.  The first of those words is what the NLT translates as temptation (peirasmos), it carries with the connotation of the testing or proving of one’s faith.  And the second word or words are fall away (aphistemi) are more literally “to make defection from, to revolt, or to apostatize. (AMG’s Strong’s Greek Dictionary of the New Testament).  You put that all together and you have a temptation to sin that results in a testing of one’s faith, that leads to a rejection of faith because the person was not well grounded in the Word of the Kingdom of God.

This is, unfortunately, the experience of many who hear the Good News of the kingdom, receive it with joy and begin their experience of faith with much zeal and enthusiasm.  But because never really get grounded in the Word of the kingdom when times of testing come, they abandon their faith.  They never read their Bible, they never bother to study the Scriptures and as a result, they never really come to know God as He is or understand how He works in the world and so when trials come, the pain, the hurt and the confusion of their circumstances bring them to reject God.  They find themselves in the same position as those who never believed, excluded from the kingdom of God.

The Thorns

The interpretation of the parable continues in verse 14 when Jesus tells us “the thorny ground represents those who hear and accept the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity.”

Jesus here touches on a familiar theme that is carried throughout Scripture namely that we are not to be preoccupied with the cares, riches, and pleasures of this life for they are destined to crowd out, to smother, our experience of the kingdom of God.

So, I tell you, don't worry about everyday life — whether you have enough food, drink, and clothes…27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not…Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, 33 and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.  34 "So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today. (Matthew 6:25-34)

There is a medical condition of the brain that affects the eyes that is called strabismus.  It is a turning out of one of the eyes so that the brain is really receiving 2 images, one from the left eye and one from the right.  The result causes many difficulties such as a lack of depth perception, especially on one side, startle reflex and a general lack of balance.  Yet it is not really an issue of the eyes but rather of the brain’s inability to integrate the two images into one, as happens for most of us. 

To try and live with one eye on the world and one eye on the kingdom of God is a kind of spiritual strabismus that has equally disastrous results.  We must come to understand that we cannot walk with one foot in each kingdom and fulfill the purposes of God.  It creates within us an internal dissonance that leads to a lukewarm commitment to the person of Jesus Christ and life within the kingdom of God.

The Good Soil

Finally, in verse 15 Jesus describes the heart that is capable of receiving the kingdom, “but the good soil represents honest, good-hearted people who hear God's message, cling to it, and steadily produce a huge harvest.  The distinguishing characteristics of the good soil is that they hear the Word of the kingdom, they cling to it like a drowning man clings to a life preserver and then with a patient endurance,  a persevering through monotony, hardships, and trials and even suffering produce a huge harvest 30, 60 even 100 fold increase over that which was planted.  This in a day where a yield of 7-8 times that which was planted was considered to be very good.  This is a truly abundant harvest.

Speaking and believing truth (words of life) is important but equally as important is paying attention to the condition of our hearts.  For the Kingdom of God flourishes in a good heart.  As an exercise, this month consider Jesus’s description of each of the soils and ask the Holy Spirit to show you the condition of your heart.  Repent as God directs you and receive the Word implanted that it may bear fruit, 30, 60 and 100-fold.

Over the years he lived off the land and raided the fields and gardens of local citizens. He was responsible for killing at least 30 nationals during his 29-year personal war. Almost a half million dollars was spent trying to locate and convince him to surrender and 13,000 men were used to try to locate him.  Finally, on March 10, 1974, almost 30 years after World War II ended, Onada surrendered his rusty sword after receiving a personal command from his former superior officer, who read the terms of the cease-fire order. Onada handed his sword to President Marcos, who pardoned him. Onada’s personal war was finally over. He was 22-years-old when left on the island of Lubang and returned to civilization a prematurely aged man of 52. In a later interview, Onada stated, "Nothing pleasant happened in the 29 years in the jungle." (Citation: Summarized from a 1974 story in Newsweek)

Like Onada, many people are fighting a lonely battle against God and refusing to surrender to the one who holds the keys to the kingdom and the abundant life.  Jesus throughout His earthly ministry, and today, extends His invitation, “Follow Me.”  It is an invitation to go where He goes, to live as He lives, and to do what He is doing.  It is a call to live the life that Jesus lived, a life of surrender to the Father’s will.  Jesus said in John 6:38, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”

There are 6 places in the New Testament in which Jesus’ describes what it means to be one of His followers, 6 statements by Jesus Himself that must be true of us if we are to be considered His disciples.  There are 3 in Luke and 3 more in the book of John and they are as follows.

• “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26).

• “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:27).

• “So therefore, no one of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions” (Luke 14:33).

• “Jesus was therefore saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine” (John 8:31).

• “By this, all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).

• “By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples” (John 15:8).

The first 3 statements of Jesus are all statements of surrender in that we are to surrender our relationships, our possessions and even our very lives with all of our hopes, dreams, and desires.  Jesus is to be our first priority, and our love for Him is to exceed the love that have for our wives, our children, our brothers and sisters and maybe most importantly ourselves.  Further, we are not to allow our possessions to take His rightful place.

The second 3 also speak of surrender but in a little bit different way.  We are to be people who are characterized by love for one another, we are to be people who understand and obey the Word of God and we are to be people who are bearing much fruit for the kingdom of God.  When these things are true of us we prove ourselves to be genuine disciples of Jesus Christ. 

Christ’s invitation, “Follow Me,” is not to be understood in terms of our asking Jesus to come into our lives and bless whatever it is that we are doing or want to do, but rather it is us re-aligning ourselves with His mission and purposes which will always require our developing Christ like character and familiarity with the ways of God. 

Application

This month as we consider the practical implications of “committing everything to God” I want to suggest getting there begins with embracing Jesus’ call to surrender.  Only when we have surrendered do we put to death the idea that certain parts of our lives are still ours to control.  Read through both of the Scriptures listed below and pick one to meditate upon for several weeks and then pick up the other one.  Be sure to journal what God reveals, making sure it ends in practical application.  And don’t forget to blog what you learn.

1.      Read John 21:15-23 and answer the following.  What has been your response to the call of Christ, “Follow Me.”  Have you joined Him in His work?  Have you given all of yourself to following Him?  Do you love Him more than anything else in life?

2.      Read Luke 14:25-33 and consider the following. Our living for the will of God begins with our obedience to His revealed will in the Word of God (the Bible).  Is God speaking to you right now about anything that is keeping you from following Him more completely?

Jesus knew that His original disciples could not carry out His will for the world without supernatural empowerment and He warns them to not leave Jerusalem until they had received the Holy Spirit.  “And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay the city until you are clothed with power from on high.  This promise is then fulfilled in Acts 1:8, “but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” 

Scripture teaches that it is God’s desire to fill us with His Spirit.  In Luke 11:13 Jesus says, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” 

If we look at Ephesians 5:18 and following where Paul gives the command to be filled with the Holy Spirit, we find out a number of things by looking closely at the Greek word plerousthe, which is translated “be filled.”  A more accurate translation that better reflects the sense of the original is “be continually filled with the Holy Spirit.  Parsing the word down we discover the following.  It is in the:

o   Imperative mood- It is a command of God, not a suggestion or a good idea.

o   Plural- not for individual only but the whole Christian community

o   Passive voice- Let the Holy Spirit fill you

o   Present tense- Keep on being filled with the Spirit

The results or signs of being filled with the Spirit are expressed in 4 participial phrases in Ephesians 5: 19-21. 

1.      Speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs

2.      Singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord

3.      Always giving thanks for all things

4.      Being subject to one another out of reverence for Christ (Jesus, John 4:34; 6:38)

·         Wives submit to your husbands. 

·         Husbands love your wives.

·         Children obey your parents. 

·         Fathers do not provoke your children.

·         Servants obey your masters as you would Christ.

Because we always want to be keeping things practical, focusing on how we can actually experience what the Bible teaches, here are some steps to living the Spirit-filled life.

1.      Faith and obedience (Acts 5:32)

2.      Repentance and baptism (Acts 2:38)

3.      Thirsting (Desiring) (Matthew 5:6; John 7:37-38)

4.      Asking (Luke 11:11-13)

5.      Receiving (John 7:37)

6.      Yielding (Obedience) (Hebrews 3:7-19)

We must also be aware that we can quench or grieve or otherwise resist the Holy Spirit through disobedience, sin and ignoring God’s voice when He calls us to do something.  When filled with God’s Spirit we can expect to experience the fruits of the Spirit listed for us in Galatians 5:22-23 and the gifts of the Spirit listed for us in 1 Corinthians 12, 14 and again in Romans 12:4 and following.  It is the Spirit’s empowerment that enables us to live in the Kingdom, conquer sin, and bear witness for Christ.

Reflection

1.      As you consider the more literal translation of “be filled: what stands out to you?  Which part do you find the most encouraging?  The most challenging?

2.      While being filled with the Holy Spirit is an experience, we don’t always feel something, nor does something extraordinary always take place.  Can you remember times when you believe you were the Holy Spirit was operating in your life but you just didn’t recognize it at the time?

3.      What changes would God have you make in order that you might walk in the Spirit each day?  Be specific and practical.

This month I want to expand a little bit on the last item we are called to remember, recognizing we have a unique kingdom purpose.  It is a universal human desire to know the purpose for which God created us. But discovering, and realizing, that purpose can often prove to be elusive for many of us.  The life story of Joseph, son of Jacob and great-grandson of Abraham, is a fascinating account of God revealing, in a dramatic way, His kingdom plan and purpose for an individual.  It begins with God revealing His plan for Joseph’s life in a couple of dreams and then chronicles the journey to its fulfillment.  The story is captivating for a couple of reasons but primarily it connects with our longing to fulfill God’s plan and purpose for our own lives.  Inherent in every person is the God-given desire to fulfill their destiny, God’s purpose for their lives, and to create a legacy that endures.  God speaks to us today, through the inspired words of Scripture, and calls each of us to a similar journey of faith.

The historical account of how God worked in Joseph’s life (Genesis chapters 37-50) also reminds us that we must become people of sufficient faith and character that God is able to fulfill His plans and purposes through us.  Most likely, we are not the people we need to be, fully understanding our covenant relationship with God (identity, obedience), so that we can live out the good works He has prepared in advance for us (Ephesians 2:10).  We are all about the destination and God is more concerned with the journey.

In addition to studying Genesis 37-50, I would recommend reading Bruce Wilkinson’s book, The Dream Giver to help implement the major teachings that God would have for us.  The book begins with a modern-day parable, a story about “Ordinary, a Nobody who leaves the Land of Familiar to pursue his Big Dream.”  Ordinary soon discovers that while it is exhilarating to receive a Big Dream from the Dream Giver, realizing that dream requires large doses of faith, courage, perseverance and a willingness to surrender all to the Dream Giver.  Using the Exodus account as a backdrop Wilkinson describes the process that God takes each of us through as we pursue our God-given dreams.

The story is a delightfully quick paced review of the journey that one must take if we are to realize God’s plan for our lives, a pursuit that leads to both purpose and fulfillment in life.  Much of the story’s appeal comes from the ease in which we can replace Ordinary’s story with our own.  Our God-given desire that will not go away, the temptation to doubt and despair of God’s faithfulness in times of trial and the giants (fear, comfort, security) that must be overcome if we are to experience the dream.  Finally, there is that act of surrender when we give back to God the dream that He placed within us, trusting Him with the how, when, and maybe if, of the dream’s fulfillment.

The last chapters of the book include many practical tips on discovering God’s big dream for you, how to overcome the obstacles that are sure to arise and avoiding the devastating effect that unbelief has on realizing your dream.  This short little book will inspire you to dream once again and give you the tools required to see your dream become reality.

He also (page 70) identifies “a pattern that is repeated throughout the Bible whenever God’s people reach for their Dream and attempt great things for Him.  In almost every instance they:

1. Become aware of a personal Dream or calling, deciding to pursue it.

2. Face fear as they leave a place of comfort.

3. Encounter opposition from those around them.

4. Endure a season of difficulty that tests their faith.

5. Learn the importance of surrender and consecration to God.

6. Fight the Giants that stand between them and the fulfillment of their Dream.

7. Reach their full potential as they achieve their Dream and bring honor to God.

I believe God desires each of us to experience the joy and satisfaction that comes as a result of knowing our life purpose.  In this season where we are remembering for the purpose of repentance and being restored, consider spending some of your devotional time in Genesis 37-50 and see what God stirs in your heart.  The Dream Giver book is also an easy read that will put practical steps to your journey of discovery.  It will be well worth your investment of time and energy.  

Understanding with our mind but not believing in our heart- There is a night and day difference between understanding something and believing it.  And to understand that God loves us is a great beginning but it must become a belief that informs our heart.  Romans 5:5 says “the love of God has been poured within our hearts by the Holy Spirit.”  Developing new godly beliefs, and meditating on them until our hearts are convinced will transform what we know into what we believe.

Willful disobedience- One of the consequences of sin is it grieves the Holy Spirit and creates a separation between us and God.   In Psalm 51 David confesses his sin and acknowledges the separation it has created between him and God with language like “do not cast me away from Your presence” and “do not take your Holy Spirit from me” but “restore to me the joy of Your salvation.  Sin doesn’t change the fact that God loves us but it does hinder our experience of it.   Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any hidden sin, confess it and be restored to a fresh experience of God’s love and forgiveness.

Misinterpreting present circumstances- We are tempted to doubt God’s love for us when we encounter trials, hardship or unexpected tragedy.  This temptation is grounded in a false expectation, which is really a lie or ungodly belief.  The lie suggests that as a follower of Jesus we should never experience any of the negative consequences that sometimes come our way as a result of living in a world that has been corrupted by sin.  The author of the book of Hebrews reminds that sometimes our difficult circumstances are actually God disciplining us as legitimate sons and daughters (Hebrews 12:5-11).  In those times hardship and trials are proof of His love rather than a sign He no longer loves us.  God’s love is defined for us when Jesus died for our sins, not by our current circumstances, pleasant or unpleasant.

Undisciplined in controlling our thoughts and emotions- We have many thoughts during any given day, with some of them being automatic negative thoughts driven by the ungodly beliefs we entertain.   As we receive and contemplate those lies negative emotions like fear, anger, resentment, bitterness, and suspicion begin to wash over us, thus replacing love, joy, peace and other fruits of the Holy Spirit.  Part of warfare it to take “every thought captive unto the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).  Becoming more disciplined in our thought life and examining where that idea is coming and whether it is true or false is essential to experiencing God’s love on a daily basis.

Reflecting on God’s Truth

1.       The starting place is to personalize the apostle Paul’s prayers in Ephesians chapter 1 and chapter 3.  Ask God to move what you know to be true in your mind and make it a belief of your heart.  Pray each of these prayers until you experience the Holy Spirit pouring out Christ’s love in our heart.

2.      Can you relate to any of the above blockages?  If so, pursue the suggested remedies and anything else the Holy Spirit reveals to you personally.

3.      Be sure to share a posting on the blog with any insights you receive so that we can also benefit from your learning.

There often has been a two-tiered presentation/understanding of the Gospel.  In many cases the message presented is one can “receive” Jesus by professing belief in Him, attending church, reading the bible, praying occasionally and you are a follower of Christ.  The main emphasis is on the forgiveness of sins now and as a result the promise of heaven one day, after you are done living your life here on earth.  Again, it is not I believe this is wrong, just incomplete and therefore misleading.  With this understanding, the activities of spiritual formation (transformation) discipleship, which allow for the experience of lasting spiritual transformation are at best optional.  Things like daily following Jesus by hearing His voice and doing what He says, are optional pursuits for the zealous and the professionals.  The problem with this thinking is the New Testament knows nothing of it. 

The Gospel message presented in the New Testament is about Jesus’ invitation to live in the kingdom of God, now, and the way we do that is by becoming a follower, an apprentice, of Jesus.  Beginning with John the Baptist the message was “repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2).  The invitation always has been that those who would follow Jesus, become His disciples, do so by leaving everything to follow Him, embracing His teaching and His ways of living.  We are called not only to live in the Kingdom of God but to make seeking it and its advancement our top life priority.  In Matthew 6:33 Jesus said, “seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you as well.”  In other words, our top priority in life is to actively seek God’s reign and rule in, and through, our own life, and the rest of life will take care of itself. To get at this teaching of Jesus let’s look at Matthew 6:33 a little more closely.

Seek- The first thing we notice about Jesus’ instructions to us comes from the word seek.  In the original text, it is a second person, present active imperative and should be understood as a command coming directly from the mouth of Jesus.  It is if Jesus is standing here among us and saying to us collectively “seek and keep on seeking” the kingdom of God (His Kingdom) and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you as well.  This is not some casual looking here and there to see if you can find something but an earnest, intentional pursuit that recognizes the truth that you cannot serve 2 masters or live in 2 kingdoms (Matthew 6:24). 

First- Frank Damazio in his book, The Power of Spiritual Alignment notes “to place something first means it must be the first in time and number, first in rank and value, the most important…The first thing is the most important thing.”  The word first tells us that our seeking of the kingdom needs to be the top priority in our lives, superseding all other pursuits in life.

His Kingdom- The kingdom of God is not a geographical place but rather refers to the reign and rule of God upon our lives and in the earth.  God sovereignly reigns over all creation but the Kingdom of God exists where His rule is welcomed and observed.  To seek first the Kingdom of God is to actively and persistently pursue His will, His plan and His purposes for our lives.  Like Jesus before us, we live only for the will of the Father (John 5:19; 6:38).  The kingdom of God is a present reality in our world accessible to all who live in covenantal relationship God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit. 

Those who participate in God's kingdom avail themselves to the power of God in this life. On this topic, Dallas Willard writes:

As a child, I lived in an area of southern Missouri where electricity was available only in the form of lightning. We had more of that than we could use. But in my senior year of high school, the REA (Rural Electrification Administration) extended its lines into the area where we lived, and electrical power became available to households and farms. 

When those lines came by our farm, a very different way of living presented itself. Our relationships to fundamental aspects of life—daylight and dark, hot and cold, clean and dirty, work and leisure, preparing food and preserving it—could then be vastly changed for the better. But we still had to believe in the electricity and its arrangements, understand them and take the practical steps involved in relying on it.

You may think the comparison rather crude, and in some respects it is. But it will help us to understand Jesus' basic message about the kingdom of heaven if we pause to reflect on those farmers who, in effect, heard the message: "Repent, for electricity is at hand." Repent, or turn from their kerosene lamps and lanterns, their iceboxes and cellars, their scrub-boards and rug beaters, their woman-powered sewing machines and their radio with dry-cell batteries.

The power that could make their lives far better was right there near them where, by making relatively simple arrangements, they could utilize it. Strangely, a few did not accept it. They did not enter the kingdom of electricity. Some just didn't want to change. Others could not afford it, or so they thought.

To be sure, that kingdom [God's] has been here as long as we humans have been here, and longer. But it has been available to us through simple confidence in Jesus, the Anointed, only from the time he became a public figure. 

- Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy, (HarperCollins Publishers, 1997), pp. 30-31

His Righteousness- In the Old Testament righteousness involves the fulfillment of the demands of a relationship, either with God or other human beings…Righteousness is justice within the context of a covenantal relationship.  Again, in the New Testament righteousness generally refers to the conduct within the new covenant between God and His people and discussion of human righteousness generally refers to obedience to the will of God and actions that are pleasing to Him (All from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Volume 4)

The Bible speaks of righteousness in at least a couple of different ways, positional and experiential/human.  The positionally righteous state we enjoy as believers in Christ comes to us as Jesus’ righteousness is credited to our account thereby canceling our debt of sin.  It comes to us a free gift by faith, as we put our trust in Jesus Christ.

But the righteousness Matthew has in view here is the pursuit of “life in full submission to the will of God” (Expositors Bible Commentary, Volume 9, p 217) as demonstrated by Jesus Himself.  As apprentices of Jesus, we are to grow in Christlikeness by following His teachings and emulating His life, thus fulfilling the demands of living in covenant with God.

And all these things shall be added to you- In the immediate context Jesus is speaking about food to eat and clothing to wear but they are symbolic of a larger truth.  Our heavenly father, who knows our every need, knows we need food and clothing.  And He has promised to provide them for us, along with meeting our other needs for the sustaining of life.  To be preoccupied with pursuing them, or to worry about not having them, is an act of unbelief and distracts from the higher priority of pursuing the Kingdom of God.

Understanding Truth + Belief + Practice + Time + Community = Spiritual Transformation

In our monthly Transforming Together gathering, we looked at the big picture acrostic VIM given to us by Dallas Willard in his book Renovation of the Heart.  The acrostic represents the three components he argues need to be present Vision, Intention, and Means.  They are building blocks to creating an environment for life change and you can visit the podcast section on our site to hear a discussion of those points.

But I want to just mention now and describe more fully later a more specific process that is also present when we think about life change and spiritual transformation.  Very briefly, it begins with our understanding the truth about God, ourselves and the true nature of our situation.  From there we need to actually believe it is true, not just recognize its veracity or truthfulness.  We can acknowledge a matter’s truthfulness without believing it is true for or about us.  Then it is to put into practice, through a change in attitudes and behavior, the right actions consistently over time in the midst of others.  Through this long-term effort, the Holy Spirit works the transformation we desire.  It is not about trying harder but being intentional and disciplined to bring our thoughts and behavior into alignment with the truth we have come to understand and believe.

Reflecting on God’s Truth

As you consider the reflection questions below keep both the larger (VIM) and more specific pathways of spiritual transformation in mind.  Read through them all and ask the Holy Spirit to help you pick one.  After you have processed that one fully you may want to consider another?  It is not a test and there isn’t a required number to complete each month.  Work at your own pace as the Holy Spirit directs you. 

You may want to keep a journal and for sure respond with a post to the Transforming Together blog as God reveals His Truth to you.  We all can learn from one another.

1.      What is my current understanding of the Gospel message of Jesus Christ?  Has my primary focus been on forgiveness now and heaven later or living with and for King Jesus in His Kingdom?

2.      Will I consider memorizing Matthew 6:33 and spend some time meditating upon the various truths Jesus is teaching me here. What am I learning?  What are the benefits of living in God’s Kingdom?  (See Romans 14:17) What changes would allow me to experience more of a daily walk with Jesus in His kingdom?

3.      Since Jesus is the King in His Kingdom what does that say about my relationship with Him?  With my heart open before God, I can ask myself if seeking God’s kingdom (reign or rule) is my top priority in life.  I will ask the Father to reveal any obstacles I may have to do this (questions, fears, unhealthy relationships) and what He would have me do with them?

4.      In my covenant relationship, there are both benefits and obligations.  How will my recognition of both help me in my pursuit of Kingdom living and the resultant spiritual transformation?

5.      What is the relationship between righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit?  What would it be worth to me (what would I be willing to do) to have my life characterized by peace and joy in the Holy Spirit?

Then there is the question of “what does it mean to be “righteous” in the sight of God?”  It is an important question for each of us to answer because as the verse indicates, it has an impact upon both the power and effectiveness of our prayers.  And no one signs up for an ineffective prayer life. 

So how do we understand what it means to be righteous?  The International Bible Encyclopedia offers a helpful definition for righteous and informs us that the root word is normally used to “connote behavior that is in keeping with the covenant relationship between God and His people; thus, the righteous person fulfills the covenant law in regard to God and others” (ISBE, Vol. 4, 192).  In short, it is a person who loves God and others in accordance with the teaching of the Word of God.  We would all do well to occasionally spend time asking the Holy Spirit to reveal those thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, and actions that do not reflect our covenant relationship with Jesus Christ so that we might repent and be restored to a place of power and effectiveness in prayer. Again, it is not about doing all the right things but in a response of love we align our hearts with His and hear Him more clearly.  The result is our prayers are more powerful and effective.

In this last month of the year, it is a good time to step back and reflect, especially as we set ourselves up for 2019.  We are of course celebrating the Lord Jesus coming to earth to accomplish our salvation.  It was an incredible act that demonstrates both the humility and love of God in a concrete way.  Self-sacrificing, others-oriented, agape love as Jesus set aside His divine attributes and became the God-man.  Jesus would go on to model what it means to believe in prayer, as He spent time each day in prayer with His heavenly Father.  His, and our, heavenly Father would speak to Him as He prayed and then Jesus did what the Father showed Him.  It is the same life the Father has for you and me.

Would you pray for the ministry of God’s Living Stones as we prepare to enter the New Year, a year filled with opportunity and promise?  It is our heart’s desire to hear the Father’s voice and walk in obedience to what He reveals.  We pray for the return of the King but until then we seek to be ambassadors of His Kingdom.  Thank you for partnership and God bless your Christmas and New Year celebrations.

In stark contrast to this mental image of a god hunting to punish someone stands the true Jesus.  A loving God who takes on flesh in order to become Savior of the world.  As the boy Jesus becomes a man, He enters His years of public ministry.  He continues to humble Himself and extends His invitation to every human being to come and be reconciled to God.  One such occurrence comes in Matthew 11:28-30.  We are not given any details about His body position but it is not difficult to imagine Jesus standing with His arms extended saying, “Come to Me all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”  The mental image is not of a stern, heavenly taskmaster who delights in raining on our parade and meting out punishment.  But rather a gracious and loving God who gave His life to pay for our sins and who wants us to experience the fullness of life for which we were created.

The invitation that Jesus extends is for those who are weary.  The word we translate as weary is a present active participle and might better be translated “those who are laboring.”  Contextually we know that the book of Matthew was written primarily for the Jewish people and its author presents an abundance of evidence that proves that Jesus was the promised Messiah of the Old Testament.  We also know that many of the Jewish people of Jesus’ day, especially the scribes and Pharisees, believed that one’s standing before God was determined by how well they kept the Law of God, the Torah.

This practice of keeping the Law, making sure that you did not even inadvertently break the Law, led to the development of another set of laws called the Mishnah.  These laws served as a hedge of protection around the Torah.  It is generally accepted that there were 365 negative commandments and 248 positive commandments for a total of 613 commandments from the 5 books of the Law, plus those that were added by the Pharisees of Jesus’ day.  In Jesus day, the rabbinical teachings had become so massive, so demanding and all encompassing, that they prescribed standards and formulas for virtually every human activity.

It was near impossible to learn all these traditions and certainly it was impossible to keep them.  Yet they believed that to find favor with God, to enter the kingdom of heaven, they needed to have a righteousness derived from keeping the Law. The people were left exhausted trying to fulfill an impossible obligation.  The sin of the Pharisees, and the shortcoming of their teaching, was not in the attention that they gave to the commandments of God but in their trusting of the goodness, righteousness, that they believed was generated from their keeping God’s commandments.

Before we are too hard on the Pharisees of the Jesus’ day, we may want to take a moment and reflect on our own lives.  The sin of the Pharisees is alive and well today.  In the polling of Americans, the overwhelming majority believe that they will go to heaven upon their death because they have lived a pretty good life.  They have determined what they believe to be a proper moral code and more or less have sought to live by it.  Their trusting in it is no different than those who were seeking to live up to the law in Jesus day.  It too leads to a weariness or dullness of the soul.

In the church of Jesus Christ, the same behavior exists but it is not as overt.  We say the right words and pretend to experience God’s peace as a result of living in His grace but inwardly we labor, strive and seek to find favor with God and acceptance from others based upon our performance. A condition we call the orphan heart.  When we perform well, we feel good about ourselves but the downside to living by our performance is that we never quite measure up.   This is especially true when comparing ourselves to God’s standards for righteousness.  We look at where we are spiritually and where we would like to be and the seemingly ever widening gap makes us tired, maybe even tired enough to quit trying.

The apostle Paul discovered this kind of thinking in the church at Galatia and addressed it strongly in Galatians 3:1-5.  Oh, foolish Galatians!  Who has cast an evil spell on you?  For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross.  Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses?  Of course not!  You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ.  How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?  Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely, it was not in vain was it?  I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law?  Of course not!  It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.

Like the thief in the opening story we run from God because we do not know His true nature and character.  But in re-examining the implications of the Christmas story we can undo our wrong thinking.  In the person of Jesus Christ, you have the greatest cheerleader you will ever want to meet. He created you, and He knows everything there is to know about you.  He knows all your strengths, all your weaknesses, every experience you have ever had, good or bad and He believes in you because He has a plan and purpose for your life.  But you have to accept the invitation to become His disciple, His follower.  The promise when we do is we can learn from Him and become like Him in our beliefs, attitudes and actions.  It is then, and only then, we find true rest for our souls.  May you have a truly blessed Christmas holiday as you consider again the amazing story of Jesus, Son of God, who came to earth and extends the best invitation we will ever receive, come to Me.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.   

Some of the best known but maybe least understood, verses in the Bible are the Lord’s prayer, Matthew 6:9-13.  Many have memorized these verses and some actually say these words as a part of their weekly corporate worship services.  We pray “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  But do we really know, much less believe, what we are asking Father God to do?  In short, we are asking God the Father to send His kingdom, that His rule and reign would be made manifest in the earth, beginning with us.  But our asking seldom gets connected with our believing and little happens in response to our prayers.

One way of addressing this is to return to the forgotten truths of the creation account in Genesis 1 and 2, where we find we have been given “dominion” over all the earth.  We were in fact commanded to “subdue it, and rule over…every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:28).  Likewise, Jesus has called us to be His ambassadors, and by His authority, we are to represent Him to the world around us.  It is an authority that comes to us by virtue of our being “in Christ” and finds its expression as we seek to accomplish God’s will and purposes upon the earth.

Believing this truth impacts the way that we pray.  In his book, Authority in Prayer: Praying with Power and Purpose, Dutch Sheets walks us through the Biblical foundation for our authority and then applies this truth to several areas of life.  The book is intensely practical, well illustrated and will definitely bring you into a place where you can pray with greater authority for your spouse, children, un-churched neighbors and the challenging circumstances of life.  You will be encouraged to pray more and with more authority.  I highly recommend you check it out for yourself.

This month we begin our preparations to honor the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the Lord Jesus Christ, through the Advent and Christmas seasons.  As we do so let’s remember to connect faith with our asking and pray expectantly.  Prayer is one of the highest privileges of the Christian life.  It is also a vehicle whereby we can change the events of our world.  Let’s grow together as people of prayer and experience the authority and power that is ours by virtue of our being in “Christ.”  I can think of no better way to practice thankfulness and usher in the season of Advent.    

Rockne scoured the city of South Bend, Indiana (Notre Dame's hometown), and hand-picked 100 of the largest men he could find—each at least six-foot-five and 300 pounds. He put the men in Fighting Irish uniforms and, at game time, marched them onto the field ahead of the real team. (Obviously, this was before the days of limited rosters and eligibility restrictions.)

As USC watched those giants line up on the sidelines, they forgot about their talent and their undefeated record, and they began mentally preparing themselves for a beating. Though none of the specially recruited men played during the game, their presence on the sidelines was enough to knock Southern Cal's concentration off balance. Knute Rockne's trick had worked; he had intimidated the Trojan players into giving up before the game even started.

The story is illustrative of how the devil seeks to intimidate and discourage believers in Jesus Christ by tempting them to believe that his lies are truth and that he has the authority, and power, to hold people captive.  People are tempted to believe that sin, frustration, and brokenness is just a way of life and there is no real hope for meaningful change.  In reality, the Lord Jesus Christ defeated the devil at the cross and by virtue of our relationship with Jesus we have been given the authority over the devil and his angels.  It was Jesus who said in Luke 10:19, “behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy.” 

In the preface to his book, The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis writes, “there are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.”

We must come to believe, and then act as if we believe, that we are in a great spiritual battle.  That each and every day we battle against our old nature, the world system and the devil, all of which are seeking to lead us out of our covenant relationship with God and enticing us to live in another kingdom (under the rule of another).  The devil hates Jesus Christ and all who claim His name, and he will do anything that he can to destroy us and the church of Jesus Christ.

In order to do this, we need to have a shift in the way that we view the world.  We must acknowledge that there is an unseen reality that cannot be discovered by the five senses because it is spiritual and not physical.  We need to come to understand, and believe, that “we are not human (physical) beings having a spiritual experience but spiritual beings having a human (physical) experience.” (Pierre Teilhard de Chardin)

The apostle Paul also tells us in 2 Corinthians 2:11 that “no advantage can be taken of us” if “we are not ignorant of his (the devil’s) schemes.”  The devil has specific (time-tested) strategies that he continues to use today with great effectiveness.  Some of the major ones are as follows.

Strategies of the devil

• Seeks to cause us to act independently of God, doing of our own will (Genesis 3:4-5).

• Seeks to incite us to fear and unbelief, the opposite of faith (Numbers 14).

• Creates circumstances and situations to incite the old nature (James 4:4).

• Casts doubt upon the Word of God, creating confusion, discouragement, and depression.

• Tempts us to lie, become prideful and harbor an unforgiving spirit (2 Corinthians 2:10; 1 Timothy 3:6)

The beginning place to finding freedom is to recognize that we have a personal enemy, who knows our weaknesses and seeks to exploit them.  Then to adopt that battle position that is described in James 4:7, “submit therefore to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. The only power the devil has over us is the power we give him by giving him place through sin and by believing his lies.   We need to believe God’s truth rather than the devil’s lies and when we do we will have victory over the enemy.  Let’s not be intimidated by the enemy’s bluster but encouraged by the Lord’s faithfulness and His power and authority.  Submit and resist, then freedom will be yours.

In the introduction to his book, Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life, Chuck Swindoll suggests that there are recurring seasons to life that come to us by the direction of our Creator, the One who governs all of life.  “Each of the four seasons offers fresh and vital insights for those who take the time to look and think… As each three-month segment of every year holds its own mysteries and plays its own melodies, offering insights and smells, feelings and fantasies altogether distinct, so it is in the seasons of life.  The Master is neither mute nor careless as He alters our times and changes our seasons.  How wrong to trudge blindly and routinely through a lifetime of changing seasons without discovering answers to the new mysteries and learning to sing new melodies!  Seasons are designed to deepen us, to instruct us in the wisdom and ways of our God.  To help us grow strong…like a tree planted by the rivers of water.” 

We also recognize that there are a series of life stages that most of us move through as we live out God’s plan for our lives.  We begin as children, then become teenagers, young adults, newly married, young couples with children, middle-aged couples with teenagers, empty nesters and finally senior citizens.  Each life stage has its own set of challenges, pressures, and rewards, and therefore shapes us accordingly.  It also tends to color the way we view the world and how we relate to God.

One of the foundational doctrines of our Christian faith is that God is sovereign over all creation including us as His creatures.  He holds the heart of the king in His hand and directs it wherever He wishes (Proverbs 21:1) and while “the mind of man plans his way, it is the Lord who directs his steps” (Proverbs 16:9).  He created us at the time and in the exact way He wanted us to be, with the physical features, intelligence, talents, abilities and spiritual gifts that will enable us to accomplish “good works which He prepared beforehand” (Ephesians 2:10).

He is also using the circumstances of life, even those that seem unfair or puzzling to us, to shape us into the image and likeness of His son Jesus Christ (Romans 8:28-29).  One of the great mysteries, and comforts, in life is that nothing happens to us, or in the world in which we live, that is outside of God’s knowledge or control.  God is in control and is working out His plan and purposes for all of creation for His honor and glory.

It was Socrates who said, “the un-reflected life is not worth living”, a concept we need to pay attention to today.  God is speaking to us by His Spirit, through the Word of God, prayer, our life circumstances and through our varied experiences in the stages and seasons of life.  But are we listening?  He is teaching us about ourselves, the world in which we live, and the way He would have us live.  But are we learning what He wants us to know?  As we pray and reflect upon these experiences of life, we mature in faith and tend to view ourselves, the world in which we live and our relationship to God differently.  Our love for God and others grows stronger, our priorities become clearer and life becomes simpler.  We are freed of our pride and our sense of self-importance, thus enabled to embrace a life of humility and servant-hood.

Life lessons abound in every stage and season of life.  God in His sovereignty is working out His plan in your life and mine.  But we must stop and take time to reflect, to study and to pray in order to understand what God is seeking to accomplish in our lives.  A friend of mine often asks people to consider whether they want to live another 30 thirty years or if they want to live the same year, 30 times?  The answer seems obvious yet many forfeit the opportunity to experience the fullness of life because they fail to take time to reflect upon, and learn from, the seasons and stages of life.  What would God have you learn today?

As we move into fall, I would invite you to consider making a retreat with us at the St Benedict Center in Schuyler, NE, November 15-18, 2018.  Our Doorway to Discovery weekend is a 3-day guided retreat that provides ample opportunity to take time out and reflect on the current season of your life and where God is taking you over the next months.  Many have found it to be a deeply rewarding experience.  You can find more information by clicking on the ministry tab of our website.  Whatever their specific emphasis, every opportunity will serve to strengthen you in your walk as a disciple of Jesus Christ and lead you into a deeper understanding of what it means to live in the kingdom of God.  Plan now to take advantage of one or more of these opportunities. It will enable you to make the most of whatever season or stage of life you are in.

I have already alluded to the suggestion that I believe we are guilty of this in the church today as well.  We tell people, believe in Jesus, read your Bible, attend church, join a small group, go on this retreat, attend this seminar, operate in the prophetic, heal the sick, worship in this way and your life will be transformed.  But we do all those things and find we are essentially the same as we were five years ago.  Except now we are disillusioned and wonder can I really expect to experience the kind of life that the Bible promises to every follower of Jesus Christ?   An abundant life filled love, joy, peace, meaning and purpose in spite of current life circumstances?

The answer is yes, true spiritual transformation, becoming more Christlike, is within reach of every believer in Jesus Christ.  However, we must understand and cooperate with God’s established pathway for renewal.  I will lay out my understanding of how I believe God works spiritual transformation in a future article but this month I want to begin with listing some of the major obstacles to our ever getting to God’s pathway.  If we don’t resolve these issues first, we will never truly embrace God’s way.  Some of these issues are as follows.

We believe that actually obeying Jesus is optional- In many churches there is a 2-tiered approach to the message of the Gospel.  Often, the implied message is one can “receive” Jesus by professing belief in Him, attend church, read your bible once in a while, pray occasionally and you are a follower of Christ.  The main emphasis is on the forgiveness of sins and the promise of heaven one day after you are done living your life here on earth.  While the activities of discipleship, actually following Jesus by hearing His voice and obeying Him, are optional pursuits for the zealous and the professionals.  The problem with this thinking is the New Testament knows nothing of it. 

The Gospel message presented in the New Testament is about our opportunity to live in the kingdom of God, now, and the way we do that is by becoming a follower, an apprentice, of Jesus.  Beginning with John the Baptist the message was “repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2).  The invitation always has been that those who would follow Jesus, become His disciples, do so by leaving everything to follow Him, and embracing His teaching and His ways of living.  The word disciple literally means learner or apprentice and speaks of us actually becoming like Jesus in thought, character and behavior. To reject this understanding, cuts us off from the only real source of change, Jesus, who has the ability to effect real and lasting transformation in our lives.  Responding to the Gospel is to accept the invitation to follow Jesus by doing what He says and live in His kingdom now, today, not some day in the future.

We never correctly define what spiritual transformation looks like- When asked most people define transformation in terms of knowledge and behaviors.  You need to know certain things, profess certain beliefs, and you need to behave in a certain way.  Normally this gets defined in terms professing to believe what Jesus taught us to believe and acting as Jesus did when He was present among us.  This thinking was popularized by the expression what would Jesus do?

This is of course correct as far as it goes but as a definition or goal it is lacking a very important dimension, the piece that addresses the state of one’s heart or inner life.  God directed spiritual transformation is the actual changing of one’s heart to be in alignment with our professed beliefs so that Christ like behavior comes as a natural outgrowth of who we are.  To focus on the right behavior is to set up a never-ending battle for the will between the old nature that is weighted down with all kinds of sinful desires and the standard of Christ like righteousness.  It is this lifestyle that Jesus condemned in the Pharisees and religious leaders of His day.  The practical outworking of this focus on changing behavior is to become tired, frustrated and discouraged with one’s spiritual life.  To anyone who finds themselves here Jesus says, “come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

We believe spiritual transformation should be easy- Given the culture we live in and the rhetoric of leaders who paint a picture of an easy journey, it is easy to get sucked into the implied message that Jesus will do it all.  The promotional messages say the completion of 6 steps to a happy and fulfilled marriage actually make it so.  Or eight easy steps to financial prosperity and you will never need to worry about money again.  The messages are so inviting because we desperately want them to be true.  You add to that when we are speaking about spiritual things we know God is involved and that transformation is His work, we misapply the doctrine of God’s grace and assume there is nothing for us to do.  We expect we just need to sit back and let God do His thing.  We want it to be easy so the message finds a receptive audience.  Genuine spiritual transformation is God’s domain and happens by His grace but this does not mean there is nothing for us to do or it will come easily.  Most of the time we have to fight the good fight of faith in order to appropriate the abundant life Jesus has promised each of us.

We believe spiritual transformation should be quick- Like the idea that transformation should be easy this thought is driven more by exposure to our culture than a study of the Scriptures.    We live in a time when we don’t have to wait for much anymore.  Most of the things we desire come in a matter of seconds, minutes or sometimes days.  Waiting longer than that for anything is rare and usually we don’t need to do much to have it happen. But when it comes to life change, long held, core ungodly beliefs, along with the hurts and iniquity that secure them, will not disappear because we hear a sermon or attend a retreat.  Rather they are replaced over time as our minds are renewed and our hearts are healed through meditation on God’s truth at the direction of the Holy Spirit.  Genuine spiritual transformation can happen in a single encounter with Jesus but that is the exception and not the rule.

We try and do it alone- It is common in our culture to take an individualistic approach to life, an approach that comes naturally to most.  We want to decide on our own, do it our way and not have to be concerned with the thoughts and concerns of others.  Sometimes we are successful, or at least appear to be successful but most of the time we fail or fall short of what we could have accomplished if we worked together with others.  The rule of synergy often applies in life.

When it comes to experiencing life change, of any kind, being in community with others often determines the difference between success and failure.  It has been proven time and again that addictions are best broken when sharing life with others.  Spiritual transformation is similar in that very few people can take a new truth, receive it, begin to live out of it and follow that through to it becoming a core life value without the input and encouragement of others.  The enemy of our souls loves to see people isolated and struggling for is then they are truly vulnerable.  Genuine spiritual transformation happens best under the direction of Holy Spirit guided shepherd or mentor and in the context of a community of people seeking to live the same values and lifestyle.

Most of us have ways of thinking, ways of reacting to people and circumstances that remind us we are not yet fully mature followers of Jesus.  Issues like anger, unworthiness, unhealthy desires, worry, anxiety and the list goes on.  They are often deep, core life issues that we have tried for years to address by doubling down on self-effort and trying one more human remedy.  But it has ended in failure often enough that we now believe real life change is not possible.  Could it be your thinking and therefore your expectations have been shaped by one of the above beliefs?  If so, your success has been sabotaged before you begin.

In John:8 Jesus reminds us of His promises “if we abide in His truth, the truth will make us free” and if the Son shall make you free you shall be free indeed” (John 8:32, 36).  True spiritual transformation is available to us today as we choose to become a disciple of Jesus, living in the His kingdom by obeying Him.

There is a very challenging passage of Scripture where Jesus calls us to put all these things together and to pray in faith, pray expectantly that we will receive what we ask for.  In Mark 11:22-24, God has given us instructions that He expects us to follow if we are going to receive the miracles, or answers to prayer, that we seek.  They are instructions that come from the mouth of Jesus Himself.  Jesus says, “Have faith in God.  Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘be taken up and cast in the sea’, and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says is going to happen, it shall be granted to him.  Therefore, I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they shall be granted to you” (Mark 11:22-24)

If we were to break these verses down Jesus first establishes the principle “have faith in God.”  The verb is an imperative (exete), command, and could be translated to have or to hold.  It is also possible to translate the remainder of the Greek phrase here “faith of God” or the genitive expression “God’s faith.”  We are therefore commanded to have/hold the faith of God (God’s faith/the God kind of faith), a translation that would emphasize the fact that faith is a gift of God and distinct in quality from our faith.

It may also be worth noting that the words “faith” and “believe” though seemingly very different in English, share the same Greek stem pist, pistis and pisteuo.  Faith is the noun form and believing is the verb form of the same idea.  To have faith is to believe.

Jesus then goes on to describe what this God kind of faith is like

1. Believes what it says

2. Believes without any doubting

3. Believes in spite of delays, circumstances (present tense)

4. Believes it has received, without proof or evidence (aorist, past tense)

The question for us is with the teaching so clear, and the benefits so great, and the consequences so severe, why don’t we do it?  Why don’t we live by faith and not by sight?  Why don’t we pray believing the mountain is going to move?

I don’t have all the answers, in fact, I have more questions than I have answers, but I think I have gained some insight into one aspect of this struggle.  And I do believe that the walk of faith can be a struggle at times.  There are enemies to a life of faith, the enemies of fear, doubt, and unbelief to name a few.  They are enemies that present themselves at times of pain, disappointment and honest questioning.

• We pray for a loved one’s salvation

• We pray for a loved one’s physical healing

• We pray for financial provision

• We pray for healthy marriages

• We pray for physical protection

• We pray for the unborn, the disadvantaged, widows and orphans

We pray for good things, we pray for Godly things, we pray the Scriptures, we pray in faith, we fast and pray, we tell others and they fast and pray.  And in the end people die, people go lost, people go broke, the world seemingly continues its downward spiral and we wonder what’s up with that?

In over 25 years of vocational ministry I probably haven’t had a handful of honest conversations about what do you do with the disappointment, what you do with the doubt, how do you ask and pray in faith in the face of so many unanswered prayers.  And yet looking back I know that there have been many who gave up their faith in a time of trial or best case put their faith on cruise control because they couldn’t make sense of the world around them and what was happening in their lives.  Not really in and not really out, just kind of there.

In the fall of 2007, I ran across a message by Pastor Bill Johnson, pastor at Bethel Church in Redding, CA.  Pastor Johnson is a fifth-generation pastor coming out of the Assemblies of God tradition.  He and his congregation have experienced a significant amount of physical healing, though even his own father died a difficult death after they had declared their city a cancer-free zone.  He has, I believe, some helpful suggestions when it comes to maintaining a position of Biblical faith.

1. Refuse to become offended at the Father (God) over what He has not done.  Tell Him what you think, tell what you feel but refuse to become offended.  Resolve in your heart that you will not accuse God.

2. Give up your right to understand why and how this thing happened. We need to recognize that faith does not come because we know or because we understand.

3. Feed on what God is doing and what He has done, rather than on what He hasn’t done.

4. Resolve that you are not going to let this go until you have worked it through with the Father.  It is not coming to a place of understanding but it is allowing God to take you to a place of rest, a place of trust that even though you don’t understand you will continue to trust Him and believe in Him.

5. Receive the peace that passes all human understanding

Ask God to take you to a place of faith and rest as was demonstrated by Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in Daniel 3:8-30, especially verses 16-18.

“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter.  If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.  But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” (Daniel 3:16-18).

The beginning place for a life in the Kingdom of God is learning to live by faith and not by sight as the apostle Paul states in 2 Corinthians 5:7 and to do that we must learn to overcome the enemies of faith, doubt, disappointment, discouragement, even anger.  I would encourage you to let God examine your heart and reveal the state of your faith.  Further, purpose in your heart that you will not leave this issue unresolved weekend but will make it a matter of prayer until you can say with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego:

• Our (My) God is able

• Our (My) God is willing

• But even if He does not

I will not be offended, I will not withdraw, I will not turn away to worship other gods of my own making…

Reflection/Application Questions

1. There are a number of enemies of the life of faith.  Some of them include sin, fear (of the unknown, other people), doubt and unbelief.  Can you think of a time where one of these undermined your faith and kept you from doing/enjoying something you know God had for you?  What could you do that would enable you to overcome these temptations and be victorious in the future?

2. Have you ever been, or are you now, offended at God for what He hasn’t done?   Has unanswered prayer affected your ability to trust God and believe His promises for today and for the future?  If any of these are true for you, consider following the steps suggested by Pastor Bill Johnson and ask the Lord to bring you back to a place of childlike trust in Him.  Remember though, it is not an intellectual exercise where you have to try and figure it out.  Just rest in Jesus (Matthew 11:28).

On Monday afternoon June 18th I had a successful L3-L4 laminectomy to relieve the pressure on my spinal cord.  My long-term prognosis is very good and I should be back to my normal routine in several months.  Praise God!  The whole event has provided the backdrop for several life lessons that have positively reshaped my relationship with God.  In the following paragraph,s I want to highlight a couple of them that might help you in your spiritual journey as well.

My first takeaway in the whole ordeal was the reminder of how quickly life can change, either in a positive or negative way, and what little control we have over certain dimensions of our lives. Literally overnight, without any clearly recognizable signs that change was coming, my life took a dramatic, and life altering, turn. I went to bed with a little bit of a sore back but the soreness was explainable given my recent circumstances and activity level.  There were subtle signs but they were all explainable.  The apostle James addresses this human tendency we all have to become overly confident about our future.  “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow, we shall go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’  Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow.  You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away” (James 4:13-14).  God is sovereign, infinite and dependent on no one and we are not.  It is pride and foolishness that lead us to believe we control our tomorrows.

The second area of learning for me had to do with us praying and trusting God to answer.  In brief, I ran into insurance issues on the first day and was caught in between the hospital and the insurance company.  The details are not really important but the bottom line was the insurance rules and the hospital rules didn’t mesh and as a result insurance didn’t want to cover part of my stay in the hospital.  This left me as the patient responsible for several thousand dollars in medical expenses.  We immediately began to pray, and asked others to pray, asking God to move and for the expenses to be covered by insurance.  Each day I would ask hospital personnel if the issue had been resolved and the only word I would get is they were working on it but since it was the weekend not much could be done.  I would not find out until the day I was discharged that God had answered our prayer and those expenses would be covered by insurance.

Over the five days that we waited to hear God revealed a very important truth, that is our trust in His willingness and ability to protect, care for and provide for us is not limited to the answering of a specific prayer in a particular way.  Our prayer was that the insurance would cover the expense but what God showed me was my trust in Him needed to be bigger than His answering that prayer.  In other words, God’s ability to provide for me in that situation was not limited to His helping us resolve the insurance issue.  He could have covered that expense by prompting someone to give us the money, the hospital forgoing the charges or any of a number of creative ways of providing.  We tend to pray, and attach our trust in God to, specific prayers and if those prayers are not answered in the way or in the time we expect, our trust in God is shaken.  Here a Scripture that comes to mind is Proverbs 3:5-6, “trust in the Lord with all your and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.”  We pray based upon what we know and believe to be the best outcome for us and generally in ways that are most comfortable for us.  But we need to give God the latitude to answer in the way and time that He knows is best for us and is consistent with the work He is currently doing in our lives.

If we pay attention, there are life lessons to be learned virtually every day, but for sure in the major events of our lives.  They are lessons that transform us often in ways that we don’t understand and can’t articulate.  But we must learn to recognize them and then receive them as God’s truth for us.  What has God been teaching you lately?  It might be that life has been hard or joyful, maybe it has taken an unexpected turn.  Ask the Holy Spirit what it is that He wants you to learn and allow that truth to deepen and strengthen your relationship with Jesus.  I think you will be glad you did!

The issue of idolatry is often difficult for modern day Christians to get their minds around and as a result, they don’t believe they are involved in it.  No doubt this is in large part due to the mental image that comes to mind when the words idol or idolatry are used.  Many, immediately think of wooden or metal statues formed to represent the gods of ancient world religions.  With that as their standard, they mistakenly assume they are not involved with idolatry because they don’t have any idols laying around their home or office.  And they certainly aren’t worshipping anyone else’s idols either.

But the truth is idolatry is not limited to wooden or metal statues but can literally be anything that captures our heart and becomes a higher priority than our relationship with God.  It could be one’s love of sports, career, clothes, money, romantic relationships, even good things like marriage, kids, grandkids, ministry calling or sacrificially serving others.  Again, it can literally be anything that captures our heart or we put your trust in for our current or future well-being. 

In his book, Counterfeit Gods, Tim Keller offers some reflection questions to get at whether we have allowed idols to get set up in our hearts. He says,

"the true god of your heart is what your thoughts effortlessly go to when there is nothing else demanding your attention.  What do you enjoy daydreaming about?  What do you habitually think about to get joy and comfort in the privacy of your heart?  How do you spend your money?  Our money flows most effortlessly toward your heart’s greatest love."

David Powlison, writing in The Journal of Biblical Counseling says,

has something or someone besides Jesus Christ taken title to your heart’s functional trust, preoccupation, loyalty, service, fear, and delight?  To who or what do you look for life-sustaining stability, security, and acceptance?”

Our answers will often reveal idols or at the very least inordinate affections that are in violation of the first and greatest commandment.  Jesus said “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the great and foremost commandment.”  (Matthew 22:37-38) Anything that usurps this first love is idolatry.

The apostle John ends his first letter with the admonition, “little children, guard yourselves from idols.”  It seems like a strange way to end his letter until you remember the content of the letter.  He spends several chapters highlighting how sin is inconsistent with love and the one who loves God will refrain from sin.  He also knows the human heart is given to the establishment of idols. It is almost like an idol factory, making idols whenever there is a vacuum.  John says we are to “guard ourselves” and the best way to do that is practice loving God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength.  Secondarily, we remain vigilant in examining the affections of our heart on a regular basis to prevent even good things from becoming idols.  These practices will go a long way in enabling us to live the abundant life Jesus died to give us!

The ten plagues that preceded their deliverance were an over the top demonstration of Yahweh’s power over the so-called gods of the land.  Each plague demonstrated in a visual and dramatic way the Lord has no equal and He alone is worthy of our wholehearted worship and devotion.  Even in the face of seemingly impossible circumstances. Said another way it was another reminder that God is fully capable of keeping His promises, even when circumstances suggest otherwise.  And yet in spite of having just experienced God’s supernatural deliverance, when it mattered most, the people faltered in fear and unbelief.  The report of the spies sent in to do reconnaissance sums it up for us.

We went into the land where you sent us, and it certainly does flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.  Nevertheless, the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are very large; and moreover we saw the descendants of Anak (giant sized people) …and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight. (Numbers 13:27-28, 33)

In the terms of an overused contemporary expression, it was an epic failure!

The temptation I suppose is to just write it off as a piece of unfortunate ancient history.  But the apostle Paul says not so fast.  He writes, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we have something to learn here.  In 1 Corinthians 10 he references the Exodus and then writes the following, “these things happened as examples to us,” “that we would not crave evil things” and “they were written for our instruction” (1 Corinthians 10:6,11).  Clearly, they have been written in order that we would not repeat the same mistakes.

As new covenant believers in Jesus Christ, we have been promised, by God Himself, our own Promised Land, “flowing with milk and honey.”  Jesus called it the abundant life (John 10:10).  And like our old covenant predecessors, the only way to have that life is to rise up in faith, overcome our fears and defeat the adversity that co-exists alongside all of God’s promises.  Our first mistake often is to believe that God’s abundant life for us will come easily and without significant sacrifice on our part.  We need to be confirmed in our true identity as a follower of Jesus, we need to learn to trust God in every circumstance and we need to become skilled in spiritual warfare to overcome the enemy. 

Finally, we need to choose to believe that God is going to make good on all His promises.  In the heat of the moment, when the pressure is really on, we often act as if we believe we don’t have a choice or maybe we have conditioned ourselves to really believe that we don’t have a choice?  Reason, common sense, logic and outside counsel all seem like the better, maybe safer, choice?  Most likely it seemed this way to the Israelites as well.  In his letter to the Hebrews, chapter 3, the author references the same exodus event and uses words like rebellion, disobedience, and unbelief to describe the people’s failure.  These are all words of choice.  We choose to rebel, we choose to disobey and we choose not to take God at His Word.  We have lots of excuses and more spiritual ways of trying to explain it away but the issue at its core is there needs to be a decision.  We need to always remember it is a choice to believe in God’s promises.

Many of us look upon our current life situation and we know we are not living the abundant life that Jesus died to give us.  There are times when we think we have it but they don’t last very long.  Or maybe we have never experienced the superabundant, supernatural life that Jesus and the author New Testament writers describe.  Either way, the remedy is the same.  We start by asking ourselves are we taking God at His Word and believing His promises, even in the most difficult circumstances?  It isn’t the only question that needs to be answered but it is one of them. 

God’s plan for your life, the supernatural abundant life, cannot be realized by remaining comfortable and playing life safe but choosing to believe God.  Let’s each of us take that first step today and experience the Promised Land life! 

While it was relatively easy to do all of that in the context of an activation seminar it becomes much harder once we return to our normal routines.  As a response to this natural tendency we all have to disengage, I challenged our ministry team to stay engaged with their gift.  I suggested one way to do this would be intentional about picking one person, praying for them and then sharing either in person or by audio text file what they heard God say.  It can be done as a part of our normal devotional life or we can dedicate a special time.  Either way works, the important part is that we do it.  And I would not limit our intentionality to the gift of prophecy.  If your gift is to teach, look for opportunities to teach.  If serving is your gift, look for opportunities to serve, and so on.  For a fuller study of all the gifts take a look at I Corinthians chapters 12 and 14, along with Romans chapter 12.  It will be a rich time of study.

We are in a season where God is mobilizing the church and wants every follower of Jesus to be operating in their gifts.  We each have a very important part to play in what God wants to do at this time in history.  Do you know what your gifts are?  Are you allowing God to minister to others through you and the spiritual gifts He has given you?  We are missing out on the abundant life that Jesus died to give us if our answers are not yes to both of those questions.  Kindle afresh the gift that was placed within you and experience the joy of being used by the Holy Spirit to bless, heal and restore others.

No doubt this is true because as fallible human beings we find so many ways to get disconnected from or to question our personal experience of abiding in God’s love.  It didn’t take me very long to come up with a medium length list of behaviors or ways of thinking that diminish our experience of God’s love.  Or at the very least block our awareness of the depth and persistent nature of the love of God, regardless of our circumstances.  I have listed a below just a few of them.

Disobedience- In John 15:10 Jesus says if you want to “abide” in His love, keep His commandments.”  From this verse and others, Jesus connects our walking in obedience to His revealed will as the first step to an abiding experience of His love.  And I don’t think He is talking about perfect obedience as the standard but is the desire of our heart and the intention of our will generally, to walk in obedience?  Little regard for obeying God’s will impacts our experience of receiving God’s love.

Expectations- Most of us have in our minds a definition of what it looks and feels like to be loved by God.  It might be that we haven’t even really clearly worked through all of these expectations for ourselves, but they often rest in the unconscious as ungodly beliefs.  We expect to have all of our most heartfelt prayers answered in a positive way and at the right time.  We expect to be spared many of the trials and tribulations of life.  We expect to always have enough money for the things we believe we need/want.  We expect to enjoy good health and to receive healing when we are ill.  In short, we expect life to be rewarding, and fulfilling the majority of the time, or close to it.  Unbiblical expectations of God and our life with God diminish our experience of God’s love.

Shame/Unworthiness- Shame is that state of mind where we are just absolutely convinced there is something wrong with us.  That we are uniquely and fatally, therefore irredeemably, flawed.  In our minds, we are so damaged that even God’s love is not enough to make us whole.  The sins, and sometimes iniquity, of abandonment, rejection, abuse of all kinds can tempt us to believe that we are simply not worthy of God’s love.  Our deep sense of unworthiness leads us to believe that God doesn’t love us.  This too diminishes our experience of God’s love.

Discontentment- Failure and disappointment tempt us to become discontented with our lives, and in turn lead us to a lack of gratitude.  Pride tells us that we deserve better than we have received and once that message is received a lack of being satisfied and ingratitude are not far behind.  It is the devil’s work that tempts us to look around and compare ourselves to others.  The result is often more pride and selfishness along with a grumbling heart, for God resists pride but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).  All will serve to diminish our experience of God’s great love for us.

The above examples are not an exhaustive list but rather possibilities to stimulate your thinking.  The main idea here is since God loves never changes, why does our experience/awareness change?   God is the constant and our experience is the variable.  God wants to us to abide in His love because He is the source of the fruitful and abundant Christian life.  The devil wants to keep us from by robbing, killing and destroying.

Think of a living organism in all its intricate beauty and wonder.  Millions of living cells are hard at work at very complicated and specific tasks. Neurons pass signals from the brain to orchestrate the symphony of life.  Blood cells deliver oxygen and nutrients to each cell in exchange for the waste products of life.  Specialized cells produce enzymes, convert amino acids, cleanse the blood, digest the food, transfer oxygen, fight intruders and maintain delicate balances.  All of this is community.  Without the interdependence, co-operation, communication and balance of these millions of living cells, the community of cells will die.

It is, of course, a terrible thing to lose one’s mental capacity.  But one does not have to get old to have problems remembering.  People of all ages suffer from a kind of spiritual amnesia that is just as detrimental to our souls as dementia is to our physical lives.  We are often quick to forget God’s kindness and faithful provision in our daily lives.  And because we are slow to remember we live as though all that we enjoy in life comes to us by our own hand.  We tend to forget our position as believers in Jesus Christ and often live defeated lives that are short on joy and filled with worry and anxiety.  Through carelessness and neglect, we tend to forget the basic teachings of our faith and are quick to embrace the teachings and philosophy of the world. In short, we tend to be people of poor memory and limited perspective.

Nowhere is this more evident than in our observance, or lack of observance, of the Ten Commandments, some of the most basic teachings of our faith.  Most of us have studied the 10 commandments maybe even memorized them, but the question is are we keeping them?  One of the more striking examples in my own experience is that of remembering the Sabbath (Lord’s day) as a day set apart for worship, rest and waiting upon God.  As a boy growing up in the 50’s and 60’s, there was a much more relaxed pace to life in general but especially on Sunday.  There were no organized school or athletic events scheduled for Sunday, and especially not Sunday morning.  Grocery stores were closed, gas stations were closed, department stores and shopping malls were closed and for the most part, only essential personnel such as policeman, firefighters, hospital staff etc. worked on Sunday.  Contrast this with the schedule that many keep today.  For the most part, it is business as usual and the frenetic pace of Monday thru Saturday is carried into Sunday with little regard for God’s command to “remember the Sabbath.”

Another example might be our tendency to violate the First Commandment and allow “other gods” to assume God’s rightful place in our lives.  Martin Luther reminds us that in keeping this commandment that “we should fear, love and trust in God above all things.”  While the author A.W. Tozer says we can reveal the priorities of our heart by asking ourselves questions like, “What do we want the most out of life? What do we think about the most?  How do we spend our money?  What do we laugh at?  What kind of friends do we keep?”  These questions, and others like them, serve to reveal the priorities of our hearts and the false gods that creep into our lives, sometimes without our even being aware that it has happened.

The sins of idolatry, misuse of the Lord’s name, violating the Sabbath, dishonoring of parents, hatred (murder), adultery, stealing, bearing of false witness and coveting our neighbor’s possessions are all rampant within our society, and to a lesser degree within the church.  Jesus said in John 14:21a, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me.”  Jesus begins with the obvious that we must first have (know and understand) His commandments but also that our keeping (obeying) them is an expression of our love for God. As we continue to walk out our celebration of Jesus raised from the dead, I would invite you to reflect upon these basic teachings of our faith and ask yourself if you are truly keeping the commandments. There is no better way to express our love and gratitude to God then to live out God’s call to remember His commandments.  

And the practice of fasting, like prayer, is not to be an outward demonstration of our piety, but an inward act of the soul directed exclusively toward God.  The goal of Biblical fasting is not the physical benefit or even increased effectiveness in prayer, but rather coming to know God, and ourselves, more accurately.  Motives always matter to God and we dare not fast as an attempt to manipulate God into doing our bidding.  I have found that there is a subtle, yet extremely strong temptation to try and will things to happen because we are fasting.  This is not an expression of faith but carnal Christianity.

Dr. Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, was a man whose life was touched deeply by the discipline of fasting.  In his booklet, 7 Steps to Successful Fasting and Prayer, Bill Bright, wrote the following about his experience with fasting back in the summer of 1994.  “The longer I fasted, the more I sensed the presence of the Lord.  The Holy Spirit refreshed my soul and spirit, and I experienced the joy of the Lord as seldom before.  Biblical truths leaped at me from the pages of God’s Word.  My faith soared as I humbled myself and cried out to God and rejoiced in His presence.  This proved to be the most important forty days of my life.”  Dr. Bright’s experience with fasting began with obedience and ended in great blessing.  Our obedience in practicing this discipline will bring blessing as well. 

There are a number of ways to practice the discipline of fasting but one should proceed carefully, especially if there are known medical conditions that could be aggravated by fasting.  Purchase a book on fasting and learn all you can about the practical aspects of fasting.  If you have any concerns about your health, check with your doctor before you fast.  Begin slowly by abstaining from certain kinds of foods or skip a single meal and spend the time praying instead.  As your body gets used to fasting you can begin to make longer fasts as the Lord directs you.  Over time you will grow in humility and experience greater effectiveness in prayer as you follow the example of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  

This year’s spring retreat has as its focus being “rooted and grounded” in God’s love.  It comes from Paul’s prayer for the church at Ephesus when he prays they might be “rooted and grounded in love” in order that they might “comprehend… and know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge” (Ephesians 3:17-19).  It is the blending of two metaphors that highlight our need to be “rooted”, drawing our life from a fresh experience of God’s love.  And being “grounded,” building our lives upon the foundation of God’s agape love.  Our experience of the Christian life depends on our ability to live out these two foundational truths. 

As I have encouraged people to consider making a retreat of this nature, most have objected by saying, “I could never go that long without talking.”  Others look back at me with eyes that say “why would I want to do that?”  To the first objection, I tell them keeping the silence isn’t anywhere near as difficult or awkward as it sounds.  Once into the retreat if feels quite natural and even the most extroverted of people find they enjoy the solitude, the unhindered alone time with God.  For most, it is something they have never experienced before in life.  As to the “why would I want to do that” question, I would offer the following for your consideration. 

Hearing God’s Voice

One of the great privileges of being a follower of Jesus Christ is that He promises to guide us through life if we will let Him.  In John 16:13 Jesus says the Holy Spirit who has been given to indwell us “will speak to us what He hears and what is to come.”  The pre-existent God, who knows all things, the beginning and the end, has promised to lead us through life.  It is an incredible promise that many followers of Christ never learn to trust.  Yet the foolishness of ignoring this gift is like finding yourself lost in a strange city, filled with dead-end streets and big city dangers and not using your car’s GPS system to lead you to safety.

Each retreat we spend many hours over a three-day period asking God to give us spiritual ears to hear and spiritual eyes to see.  By the end of the weekend, most are hearing without difficulty as God speaks uniquely to them about the circumstances of their lives.  Once they have had the experience on retreat it is much easier to hear once back in the midst of their daily routine.

Knowing Him Better

Each of us has a mental image of God and believe certain things to be true about Him.  Some of what we believe is accurate, though incomplete, while other things we hold to be true about God are simply incorrect. These incomplete, or sometimes incorrect, understandings cause us to make poor choices and hinder our ability to walk in faith.  In addition, the devil has used these false beliefs to create fear and anxiety in our lives, part of His plan to rob, kill and destroy.  (John 10:10)

Because each of the guided meditations for the retreat is based on Scripture, the Holy Spirit has the opportunity to ground us in truth while He works transformation in our hearts.  We consider the many attributes of God, like His love, mercy and compassion which replace the mental image of a stern, heavenly taskmaster that many grew up believing in.  It was A. W. Tozer who said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”  It is essential that we think rightly about God, and after every retreat weekend we leave with a fuller, more accurate understanding of what God is like.

Experiencing God’s Love

For most church people the fact that God loves them is an idea.  It is a truth they have heard so many times they can even quote a Bible verse or two.  But that is all that it is, an idea, a truth, a doctrinal statement that is lodged in their minds as information.  But when they are sick their first response is not to turn to Jesus who loves them.  When they are facing a decision, and don’t know what to do, they don’t ask the God who loves them and promises to give wisdom to all people generously.  In short, when life happens they do not have an abiding sense of God’s peace and the certain knowledge that God is going to help them.  Maybe you can relate to one of these?  Your mind knows the truth, that God loves you and He will never leave or forsake you.  But your heart is telling you something else, like you are in real trouble here and its up to you to fix it.

Romans 5:5-8 reminds us that God’s love is not just an idea to be understood but a substantive truth that is to be experienced, on a daily basis.  It is a supernatural experience orchestrated by the Holy Spirit as we contemplate the ultimate expression of agape love, Jesus’ death on the cross.  While on retreat we have extended periods of time to meditate on the cross and receive the love of Jesus.  In so doing we move from understanding we are forgiven, accepted and belong to actually “knowing” in our hearts.  The result is being able to live with God’s peace, hope and confidence regardless of our circumstances.

Discerning God’s Plan

There are two universal questions that every human being wants to be answered.  Who am I?  Why am I here?  Whether a committed follower of Christ or a pre-Christian, everyone wants to know they have worth and value apart from what they do but they also desire to live for an eternal purpose, for something that goes beyond having wealth and position.

The answers to those questions go way deeper than should I be an accountant or a plumber?  An airline pilot, pastor or brain surgeon?  Worthy occupations all but only properly understood and fulfilled from a life filled with love, faith, humility and a servant’s heart.  There are universal callings, shared by every son and daughter of the King, that provide the foundation for our unique vocation.  On retreat, God shows us how we can grow in faith and character as we represent Him and His kingdom in the world we live in.  We leave the retreat with a renewed sense of our true identity and eternal purpose.

It is unfortunate that we live in a world where the words “life-changing” and “transformational” are often attributed to lesser experiences like losing a few pounds, buying a new car or going on a dream vacation.  For then we often grow jaded to all the testimonials making such promises   It is because of these experiences we knowing intuitive that their claims to a changed life will never come close to what we are hearing.  I can assure this invitation is different, not because I can guarantee a mountaintop experience that will instantly transform your life.  But because God has promised “everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds and to him who knocks it shall be opened to him” (Matthew 7:8)

Have you ever prayerfully considered making a retreat like the one I just described?  God is waiting to meet with you in order that you might be “rooted and grounded” in His love.  Our next Doorway to Discovery retreat is March 15-18, 2018 and you can register on our website at godslivingstones.org.  I hope it works for you to join us.

Quarterback Case Keenum and receiver Stefon Diggs both gave thanks and glory to God for being allowed to be a part of such a remarkable play.  This wasn’t surprising as we have heard other athletes give the same kinds of speeches after similar kinds of events.  But there was any number of intriguing storylines that came out of the game for me.  Like did God really have any influence on how the game came out as some of the testimonies suggested?  Or as some offered it was destiny that caused the Vikings to win.  In other words, they couldn’t have lost because of some force, presumably God, was at work ensuring their victory regardless of their desperate circumstances.  And what about the defensive back for the Saints who missed the tackle, Marcus Williams, what happens to him?  Does it end up defining his career as a football player or does it ultimately propel him to something bigger and better?  Only time will tell. There is any number of storylines that could be pursued but the one that stood out for me came from a post-game interview with Vikings head coach, Mike Zimmer.

The play that was called, the play that ultimately won the game was called ‘Seven Heaven.’  It basically is a play where all the receivers run different distances, to various positions on the field and the quarterback looks for someone to be open.  In this case, it was Stefon Diggs, the deep receiver, who was open, made the catch and scored the touchdown.  What struck me about Zimmer’s interview was that this desperate, last second, chaotic looking play was a designed play that had been practiced hundreds of times.  It actually had been run a couple of times previously in the game and once in this particular series.  Since the beginning of training camp in July, coach Zimmer had his players run the play over and over in practice.  Another Vikings receiver, Jarius Wright said they have practiced Seven Heaven “a million times this year” but Diggs never had the ball thrown to him in practice, “never.”  But each time Diggs would faithfully run his route!

It seems the Holy Spirit is always teaching me spiritual truth out of the natural experiences of life.  A couple of reflections where I believe God is saying our spiritual lives mirror our natural existence.  First, I believe the Holy Spirit will “coach” us through life if we are listening.  He knows the future and what we will need to be successful when life happens.  In John 16:13 Jesus says “when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth.”  The process of Holy Spirit sanctification is designed to make us more Christ-like so that we can be successful when opportunities, challenges or disasters come.  We must trust God, who knows the beginning from the end, to get us where we need to be.  The temptation is to want to run our own lives and turn to God only when we find ourselves in a tight situation.  But that view of life is short-sighted and we deny ourselves the opportunity to walk in divine wisdom for all of life’s circumstances.

Second, there is the role of preparation.  I am sure most of the players thought to practice a play so many times was a waste of time and energy but in reality, it prepared them to be successful in a crisis situation.  This would have been an especially strong temptation for Diggs who had run the same route hundreds of times without even having an opportunity to catch the ball in practice.  But faithfully running that route, all those times, put him in the place to be successful when the opportunity finally presented itself.   Likewise, God often has us doing things over and over, to the point we don’t need to think about them. They become a part of our operating system and when the crisis comes we can perform what needs to be done with confidence.  God has instituted spiritual disciplines like prayer, studying the Word of God, meditation and listening to His voice as a way to prepare us for all of life, especially times of crisis.  For many, they seem like a waste of time but they ignore them to their own detriment. 

While many will be talking about the Vikings last-minute victory for months, maybe even years, the more important lessons will be lost on them.  For that is only a football game but in the game of life, the quality of people’s lives, maybe even their final destinies are at stake.  Are you listening to the Holy Spirit and living out the truth He reveals?  As the ultimate life coach, He really does know what is to come and how to prepare us for it.  The quality of our lives, and those we love, depends on it.  And what is your attitude toward the repetitious dimensions of walking with God?  Those routine tasks that are done over and over seemingly without any reward.

They are all questions worth reflecting upon and more importantly asking God about.  It is a certainty there is a situation in your future the Holy Spirit is preparing you for.  A life circumstance where you won’t have time to get prepared but will need to be ready.  Are you cooperating with Him?  Your future success depends on it!

The Gospel or “good news” is not simply that Jesus has come into the world to make salvation from our sins a possibility, as wonderful as that is, but it is the Gospel of the kingdom.  The King of kings and the Lord of lords has come to earth and established His kingdom, His rule, and reign, among us.  And He now extends the invitation to all humanity to enter in by coming to Him in repentance and faith, and taking on a new identity as one of His subjects, a Christ follower.  The word the New Testament uses to describe this new relationship is the Greek word mathetes, which we normally translate disciple.  It can also be translated learner, adherent or apprentice, all reflective of the relationship that a rabbi of Jesus’ day would have with his disciples.  They were recognized as “disciple” of a particular rabbi based not on their knowledge of his teachings but rather on their living out what the rabbi taught.  People looked upon their lives and on the basis of their behavior declared them to be a rabbi’s disciple.  So, it is for us who claim to be disciples of Jesus Christ.

The difficulty for us today is that for the most part, we do not have an actual experience living in an earthly kingdom with a king who has total authority over his subjects.  We talk about our rights, our freedom to choose and freely offer our opinions on what is right, just and appropriate for us.  This reality puts us at odds with Jesus’ kingdom, the kingdom of God. 

The first step in rectifying this problem is to read the New Testament with fresh eyes and through a new lens.  The new lens is salvation from our sins comes as a result of our becoming a son or daughter of God who lives in the Kingdom of God, under King Jesus’ rule and reign.  Disciples of Jesus are made for the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom is the dwelling place of all disciples.  There is no salvation for those only profess to “believe” or attend church or try and live a good life.  Jesus said in Luke 14 that “you cannot be My disciple” unless you love Him above all else, take up your cross and follow Him, and unless you give up all your possessions.  (Luke 14:25-33) The King demands that we have no other gods besides Him and that we walk in wholehearted obedience to all of His commands.

This Christmas season when we proclaim and celebrate the good news of the Gospel we need to remember it is the Gospel of the Kingdom, so we and others are not deceived.  King Jesus is returning soon but until He does we are called to live in and represent His kingdom to the world around us.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Generally speaking, there hasn’t been any shortage of Biblical teaching about the desire/need that every follower of Christ has to discover/live God’s plan and purposes for their lives. Yet, even with an abundance of good teaching, knowing and living God’s plan remains an elusive, and seemingly unreachable, goal for many.  The results have been devastating for individual believers and the church of Jesus Christ. Individual believers drift aimlessly through life, fighting off the resultant boredom, frustration, and apathy by grabbing onto whatever trend is currently sweeping through the church.  Meanwhile, the corporate church, being the gathered expression of these individual believers, has turned inward lacking the direction, vitality, and sense of purpose essential for effective witness in the world.

The problem has not been with what was presented but the context in which it has been presented.  For most, the embracing of God’s plan for their life will require monumental life change that can be accomplished only by God’s grace over a period of months or possibly years.  Dying to self, re-ordering life priorities, learning to love, developing a Biblical worldview, living in community and finding one’s place of service within the body of Christ will require intentionality, a plan, hard work, perseverance, much prayer, Biblical instruction, encouragement, and accountability.

The kind of life change we envision will not take place in a 6 or 8 week seminar but under the direction of a loving shepherd, in a meaningful relationship with other believers (community) over an extended period of time.  It will also be important to create the necessary structure and environment, whereby people will have a platform to live out their call.  This will include networking with existing churches and ministries but most likely will require everyone to develop entrepreneurial skills and expertise.  Innovative, creative ministry, directed and empowered by the Holy Spirit, unencumbered by tradition and unnecessary regulation, yet held in accountable relationships that provide theological integrity, financial accountability, and legal compliance.  It will be ministry out of the box.

The Apostle Paul’s Model for Discipleship

The apostle Paul provides a model for ministry in his letters to the churches, a model that we can follow as we seek to help others discover and live out God’s plan for their lives.  The letter to the Colossians is a good example.

·         Paul was clear about his own call (as an apostle to the Gentiles) and the authority that he had because of that call.  As shepherds to God’s church, we have been called/authorized to shepherd God’s people.  Our authority rests in our call and in our faithfulness to teach the Word of God.

·         Paul gave thanks for the people that God had entrusted to him, even though many times they were difficult, immature and a rebellious bunch.  He was thankful for their faith in the Lord Jesus, their faithfulness to Christ in the midst of trials and persecution and for their witness, which could potentially result in martyrdom. We need to be thankful for all whom God would entrust to us in this process of discovery.

·         Paul prayed “without ceasing” for the churches he planted, that they would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will, bear fruit in every good work, be strengthened with all power and that they would attain all steadfastness and patience.  Prayer releases the power of God and brings spiritual insight, understanding, and wisdom.  We will need to pray “often” for those who are in this discovery process.

·         Paul also spent significant time teaching them sound doctrine, about God, about their identity in Christ and how they were to live as the people of God.  We cannot assume that people know and understand even the basics about God, the world in which we live, our identity as believers in Jesus or what God requires of us as a response to His love and grace that we receive as a result of our salvation. 

·         Upon the completion of teaching sound doctrine Paul always called for a response.  In the majority of his letters, he would begin with what was true about God or them as believers in Jesus and then would say because these things are true live in this way.  God expects that His commands will be obeyed.  We need to remind ourselves and others that obedience is not optional but is to be practiced at all times and in all circumstances, even when it is difficult or costly for us personally.

·         Finally, Paul spent much time encouraging, modeling and holding the churches accountable to those things they had been taught and also, in the commitments they had made to God and each other.  Life change, developing new habits and changing the way we think takes time and perseverance.  We must create for people an environment where they can experiment, fail, succeed and mature in faith.

It is a great privilege to be used by God to help other disciples of Jesus grow in faith and godliness.  It can also be frustrating and discouraging if we don’t see any movement in people’s lives.  If you haven’t always had the results you desired when discipling others give Paul’s example a try.  It is a model that works even today.  “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.”

A close second was the discovery of the authority and power they have as a believer in Jesus Christ.  Scripture declares we are not victims but more than conquerors.  We are sons and daughters of the Creator of the universe, the One who gives and sustains life and gives it abundantly.  But we do have to choose to live like it, an act that comes only when we understand our God-given authority and power in Jesus Christ.  As we concluded the weekend retreat, I reminded people that it was not the end but the beginning of a new life for them.  And they didn’t have to be on a retreat weekend to continue experiencing more healing and freedom in their walk with God.

Their discoveries are ones that we all share.  I often find myself thinking, “I had no idea.”  It is a life principle that there is always more, more to learn and more to experience, especially when it comes to journeying with God.  And I often have to be reminded of my God-given authority and power.  We are not helpless victims in our struggles in life but operate from a position where our victory is guaranteed

As another way of helping people make those discoveries, we are offering a Restoring the Foundations, Hope, Healing and Freedom seminar on November 18, 2017, at Thanksgiving Church.  During the seminar, we explore the role of forgiveness in experiencing the abundant life.  We also consider the 4 problem areas that every life issue shares; generational iniquity, ungodly beliefs, soul/spirit hurts and demonic oppression.  Understanding this grid and learning how to use it to analyze our life issues, ensures a steady flow of personal revelation that results in life transformation.  There is often more to learn but there is always more to experience in the way of personal transformation and becoming more Christ-like.

If it has been a while since you have attended an RTF seminar you may want to consider coming to the November 18 event.  There is always something new to learn.  Even better would be to think through the people in your life that could really benefit from attending the seminar and learning to apply the Integrated Approach to Healing and Freedom to their own life.  Invite them to attend and tell them why they would want to come.  It is important to keep in mind people don’t know what they don’t know. We don’t do things until we have answered the why question and you may have to explain to them why they would want to come?

Again, the Hope Healing and Freedom seminar is November 18, 2017, at Thanksgiving Church, 3702 370 Plaza, Bellevue, NE.  The seminar runs from 8:30 am - 1 pm and features both teaching and an opportunity to experience group ministry.  The only cost for the seminar is the seminar workbook which is $10.  Advance registration is required and can be done through our website godslivingstones.org.  Hope to see you and your friends on the 18^th!

Pastor and author Gordon MacDonald refers to this spiritual barrenness as a loss of passion for our first love Jesus Christ.  In his book, Restoring Your Spiritual Passion, he lists seven conditions that threaten our spiritual lives, that left unattended will lead us into a spiritual wasteland.  He describes them as seven conditions that rob us of our passion for Jesus and leave us feeling indifferent to the things of God.  The result is we are more excited about our jobs, our hobbies, vacations to exotic destinations, entertainment of all kinds and the toys that we own than we are about living for Jesus.  As I go through each of them I would ask that you consider which, if any, of these distractions apply to you and if you believe that it is possibly stealing away your zest for living the life that God would have for you.

1.         Drained condition.  This one is easy to understand in that it is a common experience for many of us.  Too often we try and cram 10 days of activities into 7 days and then do not allow any time for rest when we are done.  A medical doctor by the name of Richard Swenson has written a book Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives.  In it he talks of the importance of leaving room in one’s schedule in order that we can avoid a pace of life that leaves us drained and feeling hurried or pressured.  Seasons where we are unusually busy are common to us all but when it becomes a lifestyle we will find ourselves drained and listless.  Rest is an essential part of a healthy life. 

2.         Dried out condition.  This is similar to the drained condition in that these people find themselves in the same place, but for a very different reason.  In the former they are exhausted because the demand was too great, but here they are drained because they have not taken enough in.  Just as we need food and water to maintain our physical lives, we need to engage in the spiritual disciplines of worship, bible study, prayer, meditation, fasting etc, in order to maintain our spiritual lives.  We can ignore this aspect of life but if we do so we run the risk of making shipwreck of our faith.

3.         Distorted condition.  It is a documented fact that we are subjected to an incredible number of persuasive messages every day.  Some experts believe that we are exposed to some 2000 messages each day through radio, television and the print media to buy this product, to support this cause, a new philosophy to consider etc.  For the most part we simply block out most of them, but their combined effect does have an impression on us and affects our ability to make sound decisions based upon inner values and convictions.  It is the world seeking to press us into its mold and calling us to base our life values and decisions upon the philosophy of the world instead of the Word of God.

4.         Devastated condition.  This is the weariness that comes from a prolonged battle with vigorous opposition.  Incidents of ridicule, persecution and spiritual warfare repeated over a period of time slowly begin to work at one’s inner resolve and resistance.  The apostle Paul wrote of it to the believers at Corinth when he told of his experience in Asia “that we were so utterly, unbearably crushed that we despaired of life itself” (2 Corinthians 1:8-11).  In speaking to others about Christ we will be rejected and scorned and maybe ridiculed and this opposition represents a threat to our spiritual passion.

5.         Disillusioned condition.  This could also possible be described as the death of a dream.  It is one of those moments when something that you want very, very badly doesn’t happen.  You invest great personal energy in a relationship but it falls apart.  You do all the right things to make your dream come true but it never happens.  These experiences are painful and we are tempted to withdraw and never dream again.  Spiritual passion is dissolved and for a time there is no fight within.

6.         Defeated condition.  We are sometimes weary of the personal defeat that is so prevalent in our lives and so we give up.  We all have besetting sins, and try as we might, we fail to achieve victory over them.  The devil seems to mock us, reminding us of our failure and our inability to gain victory in certain areas of our lives.  We awake one day and suddenly feel totally incapable of living up to the standards of the faith.  We have made promises and commitments for the tenth or maybe the one-hundredth time and were not able to keep them.  This is the human condition and if we live as defeated people there never can be any passion in our lives.

7.         Disheartened condition.  This final state is one in which our passion is squelched by the circumstances of our lives.  We adopt a view in which people, events and circumstances are more powerful than the God of our faith.  We are intimidated and become fearful not unlike the spies sent in to view the land promised to the people, Israel.  When we are in this condition our lives are characterized by unbelief and discouragement.

In addition to experiencing all the consequences attendant with each of these conditions, the enemy often is also there to bring his condemnation for not being as excited about the things of God as we once were.  But we must reject those thoughts and rather turn our energy to implementing a plan that addresses the unique challenges of our condition.  The Holy Spirit is waiting to lead us out of the wilderness we just need to say yes and be restored. 

 Both positions betray a misunderstanding of the essential nature of God’s grace and how we experience it.  It is not works righteousness to re-affirm the importance, even necessity, of living a life of obedience as a response to the love and grace that we have already received from God.  Also, throughout church history, Christians have affirmed the essential nature of the historic Christian disciplines that enable us to hear God’s voice, receive His grace and be transformed into the image and likeness of Christ by the power of His Holy Spirit.

In his article “True (and False) Transformation” Pastor John Ortberg wrote in the Summer 2002 issue of Leadership Journal.

Significant human transformation always involves training, not just trying.  Spiritual transformation is a long-term endeavor. It involves both God and us. I liken it to crossing an ocean. Some people try, day after day, to be good, to become spiritually mature. That's like taking a rowboat across the ocean. It's exhausting and usually unsuccessful. 

Others have given up trying and throw themselves entirely on "relying on God's grace." They're like drifters on a raft. They do nothing but hang on and hope God gets them there.

Neither trying nor drifting are effective in bringing about spiritual transformation. A better image is the sailboat, which if it moves at all, it's a gift of the wind. We can't control the wind, but a good sailor discerns where the wind is blowing and adjusts the sails accordingly. 

Working with the Holy Spirit, which Jesus likened to the wind in John 3, means we have a part in discerning the winds, in knowing the direction we need to go, and in training our sails to catch the breezes that God provides.  That's true transformation.

Jesus has promised us abundant life, an experience of the Kingdom of God that is supernatural in both our understanding and our experience.  However, the transformed life that we all seek will not happen by our trying harder, nor will it happen by accident.  Substantive life change takes place by God’s grace as we meditate upon the Word of God, seek Him in prayer and worship and live communally with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

With these truths in mind I will be patterning our upcoming silent retreat weekend, November 9-12, 2017 at the St Benedict Center in Schuyler, NE after Richard Foster’s book The Celebration of Discipline.  The framework of the book will provide the backdrop for each the meditations for the weekend and will naturally lead us through a personal time of spiritual renewal that comes through training ourselves to cooperate with the Holy Spirit.

There are several companion books that I would also recommend that will further help prepare you for the retreat or your own personal growth.  For those who have the additional time and interest I would suggest the following:  Celebrating the Disciplines: A Journal Workbook to Accompany Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster and Kathryn Yanni, Richard Foster’s Study Guide for Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster and Spiritual Classics: Selected Readings for Individuals and Groups on the Twelve Spiritual Disciplines edited by Richard Foster and Emilie Griffin.

I have personally read, and used devotionally, each of these works and have found them to be immensely helpful as I have sought to grow in my relationship with Christ.  I have taught the book Celebration of Discipline many times and each time those who attended the course expressed their appreciation for the insightful, and practical, nature of Foster’s work, now considered by many to be a contemporary Christian classic.  When Christianity Today published their review of all the books published in the 20^th century, they considered this work to be in the top 100 of all books published in that 100 year period, which is high praise indeed. 

All this to say, I believe you too would profit immensely by joining us for retreat November 9-12, 2017.  You can register by going to our website godslivingstones.org and clicking on the silent retreat tab.  If you have any questions email at bruce@godslivingstones.org, otherwise I look forward to seeing you in November.  

Scriptures on Meditation

Joshua 1:7-8; Psalm 1; Psalm 119:9-16, 97-106; Proverbs 4:20-22; John 8:31-32; Romans 10:17; Romans 12:2; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12

“Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success” (Joshua 1:7-8)

“My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your sight; Keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life to those find them, And health to all their whole body” (Proverbs 4:20-22).

“Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32).

“Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17).

• We are commanded to meditate upon the whole book of the Law.

• We are commanded to meditate “day and night.”

• We are to be careful “to do” all that is written in it.

• Observance of the law will bring prosperity and success (the good life Biblically defined).

• We are to keep them in the “midst of our hearts” as opposed to our mind only.

• Meditation brings life and health to the whole body.

• Abiding (literally, remaining) in Jesus’ words is proof of our being a disciple (learner, follower) of Jesus.

• Meditating upon the Word of God enables us to know the truth and experience genuine freedom.

• Meditation upon the Word engenders faith, the ability to believe and overcome.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia- In the biblical world meditation was not a silent practice. Haga means “growl,” “utter,” or “moan,” in addition to “meditate,” or “muse.” No doubt meditation involved a muttering sound from reading half aloud or conversing with oneself…Meditation takes place any time of the day or night (Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:2). It produces inward strength and joy (Psalm 63:5f). The object of meditation is particularly the law with its precepts (119:15), statutes (v 48), testimonies (v 99), and promises (v 148). The glorious splendor of God’s majesty, along with His wondrous works or miracles, is also the content of meditation (143:5; 145:5). Meditation takes place in the heart, the seat of emotional and rational life. (ISBE Vol. 3 pgs 305-6)

The discipline of meditation brings us into direct contact with the primary means of receiving God’s grace, the Word of God. By exposing our minds to the truth of God’s Word we receive understanding by putting those truths into action we demonstrate wisdom and the validity of our faith. We also begin to develop a Biblical worldview that enables us to live out a life of prosperity and success.

John Backus in his book, Telling Yourself the Truth, reminds us that not all of our thoughts are in keeping with reality but they are simply lies that we have told ourselves so long that we have come to believe them. In fact they have come to give us a distorted view of reality and crippled us emotionally and spiritually. 

• The world says that our worth is determined by our performance, God says that we are precious in His sight because He created us and we belong to Him.

• The world says that if you make a mistake or if things don't work out you are a failure, God says making mistakes is part of the human condition and the life of faith.

• The world says the one with the most toys wins, but God says, "even when one has an abundance life does not consist of their possessions" (Luke 12:15)

• The world says grab for all that you can in life because you only go around once, God says "whoever wishes to save his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for my sake shall find it." (Matthew 16:25)

We must replace the lies that we have come to believe with the truth of the Word of God in order that we might be transformed to live the life that God would have for us.

In Romans 12:2 the apostle Paul writes, “ And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” The Greek verb that we translate “transformed”, metamorphoo, is a passive imperative. The imperative voice means it is a command and the passive voice indicates that the power to be transformed lies not in ourselves but comes to us by God’s grace.

The same verb is used in the Transfiguration account where Jesus is transfigured before Peter, James and John, “His face shone like the sun and His garments became white as light.” And again in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”

You will also recognize that this is the same verb that we get our English word metamorphosis, which is used to describe the process of caterpillar being changed into a butterfly and a tadpole into a frog. The term is used to describe a marked change in appearance, character and function. Meditating upon the Word of God puts us in the place where we are transformed into the image and likeness of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.

“The Bible uses two different Hebrew words to convey the idea of meditation, and together they are used some fifty-eight times. These words have various meanings: listening to God’s Word, reflecting on God’s works, rehearsing God’s deeds, ruminating on God’s law, and more. In each case there is a stress upon changed behavior as a result of our encounter with living God. Repentance and obedience are essential features of an biblical understanding of meditation (highlighting mine)…Christian meditation, very simply, is the ability to hear God’s voice and obey his word” (Foster 15). In contrast to other forms of meditation, which often seek to empty the mind, Christian meditation has as its goal the filling of the mind with the Word of God. It is to so reflect upon, rehearse and ruminate over that the Word, that the Biblical truth or principle being considered becomes a part of us in an experiential way. In a very practical way we begin to live out the truth of Romans 12:2 as our lives are “transformed by the renewing of our minds.” 

Points to help us in our meditation.

• We must maintain an attitude of prayerful reflection throughout the day. We must be careful to not be so busy or preoccupied with life’s daily concerns that we cannot quiet our hearts when we sit down for specific times of meditation. It would be like going for a 5 mile run, stopping, and then expecting that your breathing and heart rate to be the same as if they were at rest. It takes time to transition one’s physical body and so with the spirit as well. We need to maintain a reasonable pace to life that allows for the nurture and development of our spiritual lives.

• We also must learn to use our imagination as we reflect upon each text. Try and view the scene from the perspective of one of the people mentioned in the text. What has just happened or is happening to the people involved? How would you feel if it was you? What do your five senses tell you about what is happening in the text? What do these things reveal to you about God and His love for you? 

• It is also helpful to find a place and posture that minimize distractions. Try and choose a location that is comfortable for you and will allow you to focus exclusively on the text. Also, have a journal and extra piece of paper available to jot down anything that you would want to remember. Finally, recognize that it will take time to quiet your heart, free yourself of all distractions (external and internal) and to recognize God’s voice. We can’t be in a hurry and expect to hear from God.

• Finally, there is the practice of Scripture memorization, an invaluable aid to growth in the spiritual life. It would be difficult to over emphasize the benefits of memorizing key verses and passages of Scripture as a part of our being people of the Word. In the hands of the Holy Spirit, the Word is able to keep us from sin, provide supernatural guidance and direction for living, reveal the nature, character and purposes of God and lead us in the way of a prosperous and successful life.

In psalm 119, a psalm that offers praise to the Scriptures, the psalmist reminds us of the power of the God’s Word, “Thy word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against Thee” (11). “Thy commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever mine” (98). “Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path” (105). “Thy testimonies are wonderful; therefore my soul observes them. The unfolding of Thy words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple” (129-130). “My soul keeps thy testimonies, and I love them exceedingly. I keep Thy precepts and Thy testimonies, for all my ways are before Thee” (167-168). 

Take fifteen minutes and try implementing some of the above suggestions with one of the following texts, Revelation 3:14-22; Matthew 14:22-33 (Jesus Walks on Water); Luke 7:40-50 (Parable of the Two Debtors). Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in your reflection and to enable your imagination. Don’t press for any personal application but let the Holy Spirit reveal to you anything He would have you know or change. Jot down on a piece of paper any major thoughts or reflections.

Anyone who has been married for any length of time knows that the relationship between a husband and wife takes time, energy and attention. And it is generally accepted that one must “work” at keeping the marriage relationship vibrant, healthy and alive during the many seasons of life that a couple will experience. Daily times of uninterrupted communication where each is allowed to share their dreams, hopes and desires are considered essential, along with weekly date nights, weekends away and periodically, a marriage retreat or seminar. It is also accepted that one must “work” at becoming or remaining physically fit. Both medical science and experience have taught us that proper nutrition, aerobic exercise, along with a strength/flexibility regimen and adequate sleep are the building blocks to experiencing a healthy and energetic lifestyle.

Yet, when it comes to the spiritual life and maintaining a relationship with God that is personal, alive and growing, many Christians believe, or at least act as if, it will just happen. It is almost as though they believe that the classic spiritual disciplines of meditation, fasting, prayer, study of God’s Word etc. are at best unnecessary and at worst negate the transforming work of the Holy Spirit that comes to us by God’s grace. It is time that we re-affirm the necessity of living a disciplined life before God and that doing so actually puts us in a position where we are able to hear God’s voice, receive His grace and be transformed into the image and likeness of Christ by the power of His Holy Spirit. It is the devil’s lie that being intentional and disciplined in our relationship with God was only for the saints of old or for the legalists of our day who have yet to come to understand God’s love and grace. 

The apostle John records for us in Revelation 2:1-7 what the Lord Jesus had to say to the church at Ephesus, a group of believing Christians, devoted to the Word of God, concerned for holiness, hard working, God fearing. In contemporary terms they were a Bible believing, God fearing group of believers that were working hard for the good of the kingdom of God. But there was a problem, they had forsaken their first love, Jesus Christ. They had allowed other things, other people, other gods to take God’s rightful place in their hearts. This was a condition that the Lord would not tolerate and He calls them to repentance. It is also a condition that He will not tolerate within us. We must recognize that the Lord is calling us as members of the church to repent or turn from those things that have taken over His rightful place in our hearts, that position of being our first love. We must also recognize that the things that we need to repent of are not necessarily evil things but could be God’s good gifts to us that have captured out hearts. Things like family, career, retirement, status, power, prestige, security, comfort, along with leisure pursuits of golf, travel, gardening, cooking, reading and entertainment of varying kinds. The list is endless and unique to every individual.

In writing on this matter of the condition of one’s heart, the author A. W. Tozer describes 7 things that reveal the character of one’s heart;

• What we want the most
• What we think about the most
• The way we use our money
• What we do with our leisure time
• Whose company do we enjoy
• The things we laugh at
• The people and things that we admire

What is it that you dream about, what is the one thing that you desire above all else? God says if it isn’t Him you have left your first love and you need to repent. Further if you do not repent He is coming to remove your lamp-stand from its place and you will lose your ability to bear witness for Him and will cease to be a person God can use. God is calling each of us to repent, to turn from those things that have captured our hearts and restore Him to His rightful place as the first priority on our lives. In verse 7 of Revelation 2 Jesus says, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” It is God’s invitation for us to respond, to respond in repentance, faith and obedience that we all might enjoy eternal life.

This fall there are a number of adult opportunities that could serve as catalysts for a renewed relationship with Christ. We are offering a Sunday morning study on the book of Philippians, the Alpha course, the Cleansing Stream seminar and retreat, Cleansing Discipleship and the Lord Teach Us to Pray Silent Retreat would all be great choices to get re-established with a more disciplined approach to walking with God. It is God’s desire that He would be the first priority in each of our lives and He asks each of us to consider whether we have left our “first love.” Let us learn to fall in love all over again and then purpose to live a disciplined life that will allow for a personal relationship with God that is alive, vibrant and growing richer on a daily basis. 

In the introduction to John Maxwell’s book Partners in Prayer, author Max Lucado tells of an experience that changed his life and ministry forever. While on sabbatical in 1996, he was invited to speak at Skyline Wesleyan Church in San Diego, CA, the church where Maxwell served as pastor. He went hoping to learn a few things about leadership, he came away with a “passion for Prayer Partners.” Lucado writes this about his experience.

My Sunday at Skyline was bathed in prayer. The Prayer Partners met me as I walked in the door and met me as I walked off the platform. They were praying for me as I flew, as I spoke, even as I rested. I was so convicted about the importance of Prayer Partners that I asked God to grant me 120 members who would covenant to pray for me daily and pray with me fervently.

He returned home and God granted his request for 120 who volunteered to become Prayer Partners. After 6 months Lucado noted the following about the life of their congregation.

• They had broken their Sunday attendance record twice.
• They finished the year with their highest ever average Sunday attendance.
• They finished the year over budget.
• They added 3 new staff members and 6 new elders.
• They witnessed several significant physical healings.
• There was a decrease in antagonism and an increase in church unity. 

In a time of reflection Lucado wrote, “More than ever I’m convinced: When we work, we work; but when we pray, God works.

The establishment of a Prayer Partners ministry is not just about increasing attendance and the size of our budget, though those things will probably happen. Having pastors/directors praying in partnership with their people advances God’s kingdom and brings glory to the Father. Winning souls, shepherding people, teaching the whole counsel of God, training and equipping leaders and discerning God’s vision for a congregation are spiritual tasks that are accomplished under the direction and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Prayer releases the power of God in the lives of His people. 

Is God calling you to pray more, more intentionally and more strategically? Perhaps He is calling you to formally commit to becoming a “Prayer Partner” for a ministry you believe in. A starting place would be to read Max Lucado’s Partners in Prayer or get in touch with me at bruce@godslivingstones.org.  I would love to hear what you are thinking.

It is a declaration that we need to take note of because Jesus is saying that if you want to know what God is like you need only examine the life of Jesus.  The character of God, His attributes, His thoughts and His desires for humankind are all revealed in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, His only Son.

A helpful tool in studying the life and ministry of Jesus is a Gospel harmony.  It combines the four Gospel accounts, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in their probable chronological order allowing the reader to develop a sense of the relationship that existed between the various events and teachings in the life of Jesus.  It also allows for an easy comparison of the parallel accounts that are recorded in the Matthew, Mark, Luke and sometimes John.  In many cases the Gospel writers were eyewitnesses to the events they record, and like many eyewitness accounts include, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, individual details they believe important.  Much can be learned as we examine each account for similarities and differences.

This month I would recommend that you either buy or borrow a Gospel harmony and study the account of the healing of the paralytic contained in Matthew 9:1-8, Mark 2:1-12 and Luke 5:17-26. Read and re-read each account several times and then begin to ask the following questions.  I think you will be amazed at what you discover.  Enjoy!

• What are the points of the story that each writer includes?

• What information does each writer include that is not included in the other accounts? What can we learn from this about the author or the people to whom he was writing?

• Why was this particular account included in the canon?  What do we learn about God, Jesus and/or the Holy Spirit?

• How would God have us respond to this teaching?

• Write out a prayer that reflects your desire to incorporate this teaching of Jesus into your life.

I was especially intrigued by his contention in habit #7 that one had to make time to “sharpen the saw.”  In introducing the principle, he told the story of a lumberjack who was found sweating and cursing as he labored to cut down a tree.  When asked what the problem was he said, “my saw is blunt and won’t cut the tree properly.”  When it was suggested he sharpen the saw the lumberjack responded, "but then I would have to stop sawing.”  The story concludes with it being suggested the lumberjack could cut the tree more efficiently and effectively if he stopped to sharpen the saw to which he replied, “but I don’t have time to stop.”

The whole thing sounds ridiculous doesn’t it, but the point is obvious.  We many times feel like we do not have time to stop what we are doing, whatever it is, in order that we might be renewed.  So, we continue on doing what we have always done, the way we have always done it, often with diminished results.   But the wisdom of the principle is validated in the fact that every occupation and walk of life uses vacations, seminars, conferences, retreats and even extended sabbatical times so people can be renewed physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.  The belief, validated by experience, is that individuals will return rested, renewed, focused and many times equipped with new knowledge and/or skills that will enable them to be more effective at their craft.  I have had this very experience numerous times.

In keeping with this principle of personal renewal and development we are offering two “sharpen your saw’ events this summer. 

August 5th from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. GLS is bringing Bob and Cheria Guier, from the RTF Healing House Network, for an all day training event.  We will again start with worship and then Bob and Cheria will be teaching on topics designed to increase our effectiveness as RTF ministers, both Issue Focused and Thorough Format.  Together they have many years of experience doing ministry but also a vast amount of knowledge and expertise as trainers of the RTF integrated approach.  The content will be new material that supplements the core training we receive as Issue Focused and Thorough Format ministers.  It promises to be a rich and productive day.

To be a follower of Jesus Christ is to be a life-long learner.  He is constant in His attributes but His revelation is progressive and His ways change to meet the needs of His people.  I hope you will make time this summer to “sharpen your saw.”  As stated previously, registration will upon up in the coming weeks but we wanted to provide some advance notification so you can save the dates and plan to attend.  We look forward to seeing you soon.

Another customer, curious, asked, "Who's the world traveler?" Rolling his eyes, the store owner nodded toward the departing pump jockey. "Some nut who runs the gas station down the street. Thinks he's an airline pilot!" Both men got a good laugh out of that one.

It's easy to be deceived and things in life are not always as they first appear.  This is true in all walks of life but may be especially true when it comes to the life of faith.  Spiritual truth and spiritual reality are often counter intuitive and life within the kingdom of God is sometimes defined by paradox, 2 apparently conflicting truths that are resolved in a higher truth.  Truths like the Trinity, 3 Persons but 1 God, Jesus Christ fully God and yet fully man, greatness is found by humbling ourselves and fulfillment in life is not found in satisfying our every desire but in denying ourselves in order that we might take up the cross of Christ and follow Him.

Jesus was a master story teller and he would often use the objects in His immediate surroundings to teach spiritual truth.  In Luke 8:1-15 Jesus uses the imagery of a farmer sowing seed to teach about the role the Word of God plays within the kingdom of God.  It is sometimes called the parable of the sower but probably should be called the parable of the 4 soils because that is the clear focus when Jesus explains the meaning of the parable.  Before we look at the parable I want to set some context for the parable, for its interpretation and for our understanding of the importance of the kingdom of God.

We must first understand Jesus’ view of the world, that there are only 2 kingdoms, spiritually speaking, the kingdom of God (kingdom of light) and the kingdom of Satan (the kingdom of darkness).  Jesus understood, and taught, that there were only these 2 kingdoms, that these kingdoms were in conflict and that to reject the kingdom of God was to choose the kingdom of darkness.  Throughout the Gospels he said things like the following.

"No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."  (Luke 16:13)

In spite of popular opinion, there is no intermediate state where you can be kind of half in and half out.  Jesus says you are either for me or against, you are either in or you’re out.  You are either serving the kingdom of God or you are serving the kingdom of darkness, and to reject the will of God in to serve ourselves is to align ourselves with the enemy of our souls.

The remainder of my comments are about the parable itself and Jesus’ interpretation of it.  The focus of the parable is on the 4 soils and not the farmer or the seed.  This is easy to see by the fact that Jesus offers no explanation about the effectiveness of either the farmer or the quality of the various seed.  It is assumed that the farmer is doing his job properly and the seed is of good quality with the ability to grow and reproduce wherever it finds proper soil.  Jesus’ hearers would have readily recognized this fact.

In the explanation to the Matthew account we are told that the farmer (sower) is the Son of man and that the seed is the Word of God or maybe more specifically the Good News of the kingdom of God.  Luke tells us in verse 1 that soon after one of His many encounters with the Pharisees, Jesus is addressing a great crowd that has gathered from nearby towns and villages and He tells them the parable of the four soils.  He concludes the parable with the expression, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”  The expression is nothing less than an invitation to enter the kingdom of God, and to remain there by hearing God’s Word, clinging to it and patiently producing a huge harvest, up to 100 times that which was planted.

The Footpath

Jesus tells in verse 11 “that the seeds that fall on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved.”  What we have here is a group of people who have heard the message, probably more than once, but because of the hardness of their hearts the word it fails to penetrate their hearts and the devil comes and steals it away.  As a result they are prevented from believing and being saved.  They remain captives in the kingdom of darkness, lost in their sins and servants of the evil one.

The problem here is two-fold.  First, there is the hardness of heart that does not allow the Word to penetrate and take root.  This is often human pride that refuses to believe in the reality of sin, their own need for a Savior and is often accompanied by a firm refusal to submit to the will and purposes of God.  This person knows what they want out of life and nobody, including God, is going to stand in their way. 

This group of people hears the message of the Good News of the kingdom of God but because of the hardness of their hearts and the work of the devil, they are prevented from believing and being saved.  They remain captives of the kingdom of darkness.

The Rocky Soil

Jesus tells us in verse 13 that, “the rocky soil represents those who hear the message with joy. But like young plants in such soil, their roots don't go very deep. They believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation.”

A couple of things that help us understand what is being said here.  First, this is not rocky soil like we think of we think of it where it is a mixture of good soil and rocks.  Rather, it is describing a thin layer of soil that covered a solid layer of rock or stone.  The plants would germinate and grow, looking really good above ground, but because of layer of rock they had no root system to sustain them in times when there was little or no moisture from above.

Also, there are a couple of words that we must understand if we are going to make sense of what Jesus is saying here.  The first of those words is what the NLT translates as temptation (peirasmos), it carries with the connotation of the testing or proving of one’s faith.  And the second word or words are fall away (aphistemi) are more literally “to make defection from, to revolt, or to apostatize. (AMG’s Strong’s Greek Dictionary of the New Testament).  You put that all together and you have a temptation to sin that results in a testing of one’s faith, which leads to a rejection of faith because the person was not well grounded in the Word of the Kingdom of God.

This is unfortunately the experience of many who hear the Good News of the kingdom, receive it with joy and begin their experience of faith with much zeal and enthusiasm.  But because they never really get grounded in the Word of the kingdom, when times of testing come they abandon their faith.  They never read their Bible, they never bother to study the Scriptures and as a result they never really come to know God as He is or understand how He works in the world and so when trials come, the pain, the hurt and the confusion of their circumstances bring them to reject God.  They find themselves in the same position as those who never believed, excluded from the kingdom of God.

The Thorns

The interpretation of the parable continues in verse 14 when Jesus tells us “the thorny ground represents those who hear and accept the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity.”

Jesus here touches on a familiar theme that is carried throughout Scripture namely that we are not to be preoccupied with the cares, riches and pleasures of this life for they are destined to crowd out, to smother, our experience of the kingdom of God.  There is a medical condition of the brain that affects the eyes that is called strabismus.  It is a turning out of one of the eyes so that the brain is really receiving 2 images, one from the left eye and one from the right.  The result causes many difficulties such as a lack of depth perception, especially on one side, startle reflex and a general lack of balance.

Yet it is not really an issue of the eyes but rather of the brain’s inability to integrate the 2 images into one, as happens for most of us.  To try and live with one eye on the world and one eye on the kingdom of God is a kind of spiritual strabismus that has equally disastrous results.  We must come to understand that we cannot walk with one foot in each kingdom and fulfill the purposes of God.  It creates within us an internal dissonance that leads to a lukewarm commitment to the person of Jesus Christ and life within the kingdom of God.

The Good Soil

Finally, in verse 15 Jesus describes the heart that is capable of receiving the kingdom, “but the good soil represents honest, good-hearted people who hear God's message, cling to it, and steadily produce a huge harvest.  The distinguishing characteristics of the good soil is that they hear the Word of the kingdom, they cling to it like a drowning man clings to a life preserver and then with a patient endurance, a persevering through monotony, hardships and trials and even suffering produce a huge harvest 30, 60 even 100 fold increase over that which was planted.  This in a day where a yield of 7-8 times that which was planted was considered very good.  This is a truly abundant harvest.

Consider the life of Joni Eareckson Tada, founder of Joni and Friends, an international ministry to the disabled and their families.  In 1967, at the age of 17 she was left a quadriplegic because of a diving accident.  After 2 years of rehabilitation she re-entered the community with new skills and a fresh determination to help others in similar situations.  After 42 years in wheel chair and after 3 decades as the leader of an international ministry to the disabled and their families she has:

• Personally visited 45 countries
• Authored over 35 books
• Spent months learning to paint with her teeth
• Hosts a daily 5 minute radio program that has over 1 million listeners
• Hosts a weekly television series heard around the world
• Collected 52,000 wheelchairs that were refurbished by inmates in 20 different correctional institutions and then distributed to those in need in 102 different countries
• Received 5 honorary doctorates
• Served as the presidential appointment to the National Council on Disability
• Brought courage and inspiration to millions by rejecting the temptation to sink into a life of bitterness and despair and choosing rather to be good soil that received the Good News of the kingdom of God.

In Decision, Joni Eareckson Tada writes:

Honesty is always the best policy, but especially when you're surrounded by a crowd of women in a restroom during a break at a Christian women's conference. One woman, putting on lipstick, said, "Oh, Joni, you always look so together, so happy in your wheelchair. I wish that I had your joy!" Several women around her nodded. "How do you do it?" she asked as she capped her lipstick.

"I don't do it," I said. "In fact, may I tell you honestly how I woke up this morning?"

"This is an average day," I breathed deeply. "After my husband, Ken, leaves for work at 6:00 A.M., I'm alone until I hear the front door open at 7:00 A.M. That's when a friend arrives to get me up.

"While I listen to her make coffee, I pray, 'Oh, Lord, my friend will soon give me a bath, get me dressed, sit me up in my chair, brush my hair and teeth, and send me out the door. I don't have the strength to face this routine one more time. I have no resources. I don't have a smile to take into the day. But you do. May I have yours? God, I need you desperately.'"

"So, what happens when your friend comes through the bedroom door?" one of them asked.  "I turn my head toward her and give her a smile sent straight from heaven. It's not mine. It's God's. And so," I said, gesturing to my paralyzed legs, "whatever joy you see today was hard won this morning."  I have learned that the weaker we are, the more we need to lean on God; and the more we lean on God, the stronger we discover him to be. 

Joni Eareckson Tada, "Joy Hard Won," Decision (March 2000), p.12, used by permission

The kingdom of God flourishes in a good heart, but the good heart does not happen by accident.  It takes intentionality on our part to cooperate with the Holy Spirit, receiving the Word of God with gladness.  We must learn to trust in God’s character, namely His goodness.  And we need to make right choices, choosing to do the will of God over what might be more pleasant or expedient.  Jesus says to each of us again, “he who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

As a beginning place we must remember that Psalm 103 was a part of the worship life of the people of Israel.  It is a spiritual poem that was most likely written as an expression of King David’s personal worship of Yahweh, the Lord God of Israel.  It would have been sung, maybe to musical accompaniment, and most likely carries a rhythm in the original Hebrew that gets lost in the English translation.  But more to the point it is meant to declared out loud, probably with some enthusiasm, as the worshiper reflects on the content of the psalm.  Our take away is that we don’t just memorize the words but we are declaring God’s truth for all to hear.

The psalm begins with “bless the Lord” which is literally to bend our knee before Him as an act of adoration or worship.  And we do so not with empty words but with “all that is within us” we “bless His holy name.”  As God’s covenant people we declare the relationship that we have with God the Father, through Jesus the Son, expressing our gratitude for all that represents.  From there I personalized the benefits received by substituting “my” for “your.”

As I meditate slowly over each of the benefits, I allow the Holy Spirit to highlight words and phrases bringing to my remembrance specific life events where God has fulfilled each of these benefits.  The result has been a heart overflowing with thanksgiving and gratitude.

If your heart is need of a spiritual pick me up I would highly recommend on this first 5 verse of Psalm 103.  In blessing the Lord you will in turn be blessed with a heart overflowing.  Be blessed!

In a dream I had not long ago I was attending a health and fitness conference that was sponsored by my general practitioner, who specializes in anti-aging and holistic medicine.  At this conference, there was a booth that had on display a vast array of nutritional supplements.  I remember being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of supplements and wondering how would you ever know which supplements were right for you?  In response one of the workers at the booth said “for sure you need these three amino acids” because everything else depends on these.  But there weren’t any labels on the three containers just the understanding these were essential.  With thought in mind I woke up.

I jotted enough of the dream down so I would be sure to remember it when I got up in the morning.  When I finally got up for the day I began to ask the Lord what it all meant.  I knew it was important that I had these three things in my life but I didn’t know what they were.  As I prayed about it the Lord reminded me of 1 Corinthians 13:13 and the phrase “now abide faith, hope and love, these three, but the greatest of these is love.”  Immediately in my spirit I knew that this was the correct interpretation to the dream.  God was reminding me that faith, hope and love are the building blocks of the spiritual life and must be in place if we are going to develop other beliefs, attitudes, values and behaviors that will enable us to represent the kingdom of God.

Scripture highlights the essential nature of faith in several places.  Hebrews 11:1-2 reminds us “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, conviction of things not seen” and “by it men of old gained approval.”  The apostle Paul reminds that we are called to “walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7) and “whatever is not from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23).  Likewise, hope, as an extension of faith, serves as a foundational component of life by reminding us of our future.  A future that is guaranteed by our faith in the Lord Jesus and His death and resurrection from the dead.  Jesus as our living hope has guaranteed our “inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven” (1 Peter 1:4) for us who believe.  We live with perspective and a confidence that places the events of this life in proper order.  Finally, there is love, agape love.  Jesus said loving God and loving our neighbor are the two great commandments in all of Scripture.  “On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:40).  In other words, all the teaching of Scripture can be summarized in these 2 commandments to love.

The application for all of us is a Holy Spirit check in about the development of each of these building blocks in our lives.  Am I living each day by faith, with every decision an act of faith?  Is my hope grounded in the death and resurrection of Jesus and the promise of my future inheritance?  And finally, does love characterize my relationship with God and others?  The fullness of our spiritual lives depends on the vitality of each of these building blocks.  Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to grow them in us in order that we might continue to multiply our experience of the abundant life.  

Anyone who has read the apostle Paul’s letters to the churches is familiar with his teaching on the spiritual warfare that attends the Christian life.  He makes it clear there really is a fallen angel, Lucifer, who hates Jesus and His followers, and is doing everything He can to disrupt their lives.  Jesus described the devil’s activities as robbing, killing and destroying (John 10:10) and that activity gets experienced by us in different ways.  Ultimately, the devil, and his demons, seek to prevent people from experiencing salvation but if they are unsuccessful there, they will do whatever they can to make us miserable and unproductive.  Most of us are all too familiar with this reality of the Christian life.

What isn’t always as apparent is the various ways that the enemy comes against us.  In the verse quoted above Paul uses the word “schemes” or “devices” to suggest there are multiple strategies the devil and his minions use to come against us.  In addition, Dr. Jack Hayford reminds us in his message “Devised for Your Defeat” these schemes are tailor made for us, reflecting our personal weaknesses.  Put it all together and it is easy to see how important it is that we are not “ignorant” (literally without knowledge) of his schemes so that he is not able to take advantage of us.

All of this was brought to my attention again as I was reflecting on the drift (apathy) we sometimes experience in both life and ministry.  It’s a kind of spiritual malaise that anesthetizes us and renders us motionless.  We aren’t doing anything sinful or rebellious but we aren’t really engaged either.  We are just kind of floating along without any clear sense of purpose.  I don’t think most of us would connect this with a spiritual attack of the enemy but I believe that often it is the result of the devil taking advantage of our ignorance of his schemes.  When we are attacked directly through the words and actions of others or through adverse circumstances it is easy to recognize the connection to the devil’s activity.  But when he whispers in our ear a believable lie that diminishes the significance of God’s activity in our lives or the importance of the task God has given us, we don’t always make the connection.  Our ignorance makes us vulnerable.

All of this highlights the importance of Paul’s admonition later in the letter when he exhorts us to “take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).  The enemy knows our strengths, weaknesses and the seasons where we are vulnerable to specific kinds of attacks.  Sometimes it is a direct frontal attack meant to intimidate and discourage, other times he comes in through the back door with a whisper of a lie that takes us out of the game.  He is equally pleased to use either tactic.

Where are you today?  Are you fully engaged in life and your calling?  Or has the enemy taken advantage of you?  In the power of the Holy Spirit God enables us to stand if we put on His armor and listen to His voice.  Let us make a commitment to have the Holy Spirit show us all the ways the enemy seeks to come against us and render us ineffective.  If we do, Jesus will once again lead us into the abundant life He died to give us.

In spite of this persistent and pervasive influence, people know intuitively when they stop to think about it, that the real treasures in life cannot be purchased and do not carry monetary value.  I think of the gifts of life, good health, a sound mind, godly parents, freedom, opportunity, genuine friendships, loving spouses and children and helpful neighbors.  On the spiritual side of life there are the gifts of faith, love, grace, the Word of God, church family, godly church leaders, spiritual gifts and maybe most importantly the gift of the Holy Spirit, who is “the pledge of our inheritance.”  None can be purchased with money, and only a few earned with hard work and sacrifice, the remainder are constant reminders of the goodness of God in a world gone astray. 

God is the original giver of gifts.  Gift giving was His idea.  He gives because it is His nature to give.  He gives to us because He loves us.  The ultimate gift, the gift of all gifts, was God giving His only Son, Jesus Christ.  At Christmas time we acknowledge, celebrate and receive His gifts with gratitude and thanksgiving.  In addition, we express our love for others through the giving of gifts.  It is not the kind of gift, or its monetary value that is important but rather the love, thought and intention with which gifts are given and received.  In our giving and receiving of gifts this Christmas, let us remember what is truly important in life and the reasons why we give and receive gifts.  Doing so will bring new joy to the entire holiday season. Have a Blessed Christmas and New Year’s holiday.

 “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name.  Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits; who pardons all your iniquities; who heals all your diseases; who redeems your life from the pit; who crowns you with loving-kindness and compassion; who satisfies your years with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle” (Psalm 103:1-5)

 “Do not be anxious then saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘With what shall we clothe ourselves?’  For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need these things.  But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.  Therefore, do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:31-34)

 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23)

 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4)

Many reject the Christian life because they see it as a boring and mundane existence that emphasizes the keeping of rules (commandments) and the rejection of anything that might be fun or pleasurable.  Foster points out that the discipline of celebration keeps the other disciplines from degenerating into “dull and death breathing tools in the hands of modern day Pharisees.”  We must work at emphasizing the joy that is ours, at least potentially, by virtue of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.  Life is to be celebrated and enjoyed not endured.  Consider also the following.

•  The focus of the Christian life, and the disciplines, is abiding in Christ and allowing His Word to abide in us.  This means that we will not only understand God’s Word but also that we will put it into practice.  Obedience to Christ, the Word of God, brings about joy in the Christian life.

• Our anxiety over the many concerns of life robs us of the joy that should be ours each and every day.  The only antidote is to trust in Christ to care for our every need whether it is physical, spiritual or emotional.  If we worry and allow ourselves to become anxious we will never experience true joy in living.

• Through prayer we can make our requests to God, with thanksgiving, with the knowledge and assurance that God will answer in a way that is commensurate with our best interests.  Such knowledge eliminates anxiety and allows for the peace of God to guard our hearts.

• Engage in singing, dancing and shouting at every opportunity.

• Make laughter an integral part of daily life.

• Allow your imagination to occasionally run wild.

• Turn birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, and pay raises into times of celebration and thanksgiving.

• Celebrate cultural holidays (Christmas, Easter, Labor Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July) and really do them up right.

1. Are you living in complete obedience to the will of God as you currently understand it?

2. What concerns or fears cause you to become anxious or to worry?

3. Have you ever experienced the joy of obedience?  What happened or what was it like?

4. What are some ways that you can build celebration into your lives?

1. Review them all and ask the Lord to help you choose 2-3 that He would have you integrate into your life at this time.

2. Pray for discernment, courage and strength for the will to make lifestyle changes as directed by the Holy Spirit.

3. Begin with reasonable goals and expectations, knowing that life is a journey.

4. Strive for consistency of time and place, recognizing there will be spiritual resistance.

5. Find a partner that will encourage you and hold you accountable.

6. Seek to make the disciplines a lifestyle instead of an event.

7. Keep a journal to record your experiences with God.

“Without consultation, plans are frustrated, but with many counselors they succeed” (Proverbs 15:22)

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

“Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.  For where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst” (Matthew 18:19-20).

“And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  And everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.  And all those who had believed were together, and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions, and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.  And day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people.  And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:42-47)

In our day heaven and earth are on tiptoe waiting for the emergence of a Spirit-led, Spirit-intoxicated, Spirit-empowered people.  All of creation watches expectantly for the springing up of a disciplined, freely gathered, martyr people who know in this the life the life and power of the kingdom of God.  It has happened before.  It can happen again.

 

Many are having a deep and profound experience of an Emmanuel of the Spirit-God with us; a knowledge that in the power of the Spirit Jesus has come to guide his people himself; and experience of his leading that is as definite and as immediate as the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night.  But the knowledge of the direct, active immediate leading of the Spirit is not sufficient.  Individual guidance must yield to corporate guidance.

 

There must also come a knowledge of the direct, active, immediate leading of the Spirit together…God led the children of Israel out of bondage as a people.  Everyone saw the cloud and the fiery pillar.  They were not a gathering of individuals who happened to be going in the same direction; they were a people under the theocratic rule of God.

 

Although Jesus was an outsider to his own people, being crucified beyond the city gates, some people embraced his rulership.  And they became a gathered people…They became a fiery band of witnesses, declaring everywhere that Christ’s voice could be heard and his will obeyed.  Perhaps the most astonishing feature of that incendiary fellowship was their sense of corporate guidance.  It was beautifully illustrated in the calling forth of Paul and Barnabas to tramp the length and breadth of the Roman empire with the good news of the kingdom of God (Acts 13:1-3).  Their call came when a number of people had been together over an extended period of time.  It included the use of the Disciplines of prayer, fasting, and worship.  Having become a prepared people, the call of God arose out of their corporate worship: “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them” (Acts 13:2) 

With all the modern methods of missionary recruitment we could profit by giving serious attention to this example of corporate guidance.  We would be well advised to encourage groups of people to fast, pray, and worship together until they have discerned the mind of the Lord.  (Celebration of Discipline, Foster, 176-178)

Foster rightly points out that the vast majority of material written on the topic of divine guidance comes at it from and individualistic point of view.  Rarely, if ever, is this aspect of God leading His people as a group taught or applied.  One notable exception to this is the study, Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby and Claude King.  In Unit 10 they stress the importance of knowing God’s will as a church and the subservient role that the call on an individual plays to God’s plan for the church (congregation).

A church comes to know God’s will when the whole body comes to understand what Christ wants them to do.  For a church, knowing God’s will may involve many members, not just one.  Yes, God will often speak to the leader about what He wants to do.  That leader then bears witness to the body about what he senses God’s will is.  The leader does not have to try and convince the church that this is God’s will.  The leader does not have to ask the congregation to follow him without question.  The leader encourages the body to go to Christ and get confirmation from the Head (Christ).  The Head does the convincing on His timetable.  Then the whole body follows Christ-the Head.  This is why a church must learn to function as a body with Christ as the Head of His church.  (Experiencing God, Blackaby and King, 168).

1. Have you ever experienced God’s guidance in a corporate way as described by Foster, Blackaby and King?

2. What obstacles need to be removed from our lives individually, and as a church, if we are going to experience God’s guidance in this way?

3. Do you see God’s call upon your life as an individual to be of a lower priority than God’s call upon your congregation?

4. Would you be willing to lay your life plans before a small group of fellow believers to confirm they are truly God’s will for your life at this time?

“But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.  God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24).

“I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship” (Romans 12:1).

The concept of worship as daily experience is foreign to most people, even believers that have grown up in the church.  For the most part, worship is seen as something that is done once per week in the corporate celebration service and is usually considered the domain of the clergy or church professionals. Even though the liturgy, or literally the work of the people, is designed to lead people in their God given privilege/responsibility of “ministering” to God.

In addition, there is confusion over exactly what worship really is in the eyes of God.  Many have reduced it to the attending of a church service, the singing of hymns and choruses, enjoyment of special music, the recitation of creedal statements and the listening to an inspirational message, each of which works together to make them feel good.  Yet God defines genuine worship much differently.

• God is seeking true worshippers of Himself and takes great pleasure in the praises, prayers and offerings of His people.  Just as an earthly parent takes joy in the sincere expressions of thanksgiving of their children, so our heavenly Father is moved by our shouts of praise and thanksgiving.

• Our worship must be in accordance with God’s truth as revealed in the Word of God.  Scripture must be the foundation of every part of lives and should inform our beliefs, attitudes and behaviors.

• Worship of God must issue from our spirit if it is going to be true worship.  God takes no pleasure in the mindless singing of songs and the mouthing of empty words.  In fact, Jesus condemned such behavior as hypocrisy in Matthew 15:8-9, “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me, But in vain do they worship Me.”

• When we truly enter into worship with a holy and righteous God, we will be reminded of our own sinfulness.  Before offering our praise to God we need to take time to confess our sin and be cleansed of our unrighteousness.

• It is our privilege and responsibility to minister to the Lord through genuine worship.  In the Old Testament period it was the responsibility of the priest to minister to the Lord and make sacrifices for the sins of the people.  Now that we are living under the New Covenant and the priesthood of all believers, this privilege/responsibility rests with us.

Foster on Worship

Worship is something we do.  Studying the theology of worship and debating the forms of worship are all good, but by themselves they are inadequate.  In the final analysis we learn to worship by worshiping.  Let me give a few simple steps that I hope will help in the experience of worship. (Celebration of Discipline, Foster, 170)

• Learn to practice the presence of God daily.  Punctuate every moment with inward whisperings of adoration, praise and thanksgiving.

• Have many different experiences of worship.  Try worshiping alone, in small groups and in the large group corporate celebration service.

• Find ways to prepare for the gathered experience of worship.  Go to bed early the night before, read Scripture, pray and arrive early to quiet yourself.

• Become willing to be gathered in the power of the Lord.  Set aside your own agendas and desires.  Let God be God.

• Cultivate a holy dependency.  Look forward to God acting, teaching and moving.

• Absorb distractions with gratitude.  Relax and pray through any distractions.

• Learn to offer a sacrifice of worship. We don’t always “feel” like worshiping God but we press on give the Lord the best that we have at that time.

Application

• What are the distractions that keep you from entering into genuine worship?

• What changes could you make that would allow you to experience genuine worship on a daily basis?

In one of my morning times with the Lord recently, I was asking Him for direction on a number of concerns in my life, some personal, some vocational.  Some of them were newer questions but others were things that I had been praying about and reflecting on for some time.  As I considered one in particular I began to sense my frustration rising.  The situation was/is beyond my human capability to figure out, let alone resolve, and my expectation was that by now God should have revealed the way forward.  Out of that frustration I said to God, “are you ever going show me what to do?”  And then I waited.  It wasn’t long before I heard the words in my spirit, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.”  (Proverbs 3:5-6)

I didn’t sense that it was a rebuke but rather a patient Father reminding His son how He relates to His children.  The experience triggered my returning to the first time I was introduced to that verse of Scripture.  It was the winter of 1984 and my wife Barb and I were taking a Bible study class on Sunday morning at our church, Calvary Lutheran Church of Golden Valley, MN.  It was entitled a Discovery class and it used the Navigators Bible study, Lessons on Assurance.  It was a 6-week class that shaped me for a lifetime.  In the course of those 6 weeks we examined 5 promises that God has made to every believer in Jesus.  They are assurances, promises, God makes to us that we can rely on regardless of our current circumstances.  God assures us of 1) our salvation, 2) He answers prayer, 3) victory over sin, death and the devil, 4) He forgives our sin upon confession, and 5) He will guide us through life.  In the course of each lesson we looked up various Scriptures and answered the questions in the booklet which were helpful but the life changing component was memorizing Scripture verses and meditating upon them throughout the week.  There was a memorization verse for each topic and the one for guidance was Proverbs 3:5-6.

My initial experience with each of these promises was over 32 years ago and they have borne fruit in my life ever since.  Praise God!  But even so I needed to be reminded on this particular morning that our God is a God of promises and that He can be trusted to keep His promises.  It wasn’t that I forgot the truth but rather I lost sight of the way God desires to relate to His children.  Most often when we think of God guiding us, we envision a road map and a timeline that shows every step of the whole journey.  God gives us a compass and says “Go north.”  In the former we thank God and go on our way, trusting in our own ability to read the map and reach the destination.  But God prefers the Holy Spirit directed GPS approach that says in 600 feet turn right on to Wilderness Avenue, continue for 8 miles and then turn left on I Am Confused Boulevard.  It is often only at the end, when we have reached the destination that the pathway makes any sense to us.

In the Proverbs 3:5-6 verses we have 3 choices to make, 3 responsibilities if you will, if God is going to fulfill His promise.  First, we are to trust Him with all our heart.  The apostle James calls it “faith without any doubting” (James 1:6).  No wavering allowed.  Just a confident expectation that God is worthy of our trust and He knows what He is doing.  Second, we are to avoid the trap of having to know in advance or be able to figure things out before we can be confident of moving forward in life.  Our culture tells to trust in ourselves, to be confident in our own abilities but this puts in a place where we are susceptible to worry and anxiety and diverts us from realizing God’s plans and purposes.  Finally, we are to acknowledge Him in all that we do, whether we think the activities are related or not. Demonstration of being faithful in small things is often required to release the bigger and more important things of the Kingdom.  The promise God makes to us is that when we fulfill these instructions “He will make our paths straight.”  It is a promise to guide us through life.  And what a marvelous promise it is.  The Creator and Sustainer of the universe, the One who knows all things, past and future, the One who loves us with an unfailing and incomprehensible love will guide us through the best life possible.

Learning to trust in the promises of God is both simple and profound.  The process is not difficult to understand but in the midst of the pressures of daily life making the right choice can be challenging.  I would recommend memorizing Proverbs 3:5-6 and meditate on it until its truth is guiding your thought life and your decision making on a daily basis.  It is one of the guiding principles that will allow you to experience the abundant life of the Kingdom of God. 

With this month’s study we introduce one of what Richard Foster refers to as a corporate discipline, a spiritual practice that takes us beyond the personal and includes our relationship to others within the body of Christ.  The focus is on our confession of sin, both to God and to each other.  Many people needlessly carry the guilt and burden of un-confessed sin because they are afraid they have committed an unforgivable sin and they will not be able to find mercy and forgiveness.  Or it may be that their pride will not allow them to expose their faults and weaknesses to others and thereby be diminished in stature.

Read John 20:20-23; 1 Timothy 2:3-6; James 5:13-16 and 1 John 1:8-2:2 and consider the following. 

·         Genuine confession, and its resultant benefits of forgiveness and inner peace, is made possible by the finished work of Jesus Christ.  The person of Jesus Christ paid the penalty for all sins past, present and future when He laid down His life and died on the cross.  All this has been made possible by the grace of God.

·         We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) and therefore are in need of the discipline of confession and forgiveness.  If we believe that we have no need for this discipline we are self-deceived or in denial.

·         Healing comes as we confess our sins to another human being and receive the words of absolution.  Forgiveness is an objective reality whereas freedom from guilt and inner peace are experiences subject to the whim of human feeling and emotion.

Confession has two parts.  First, that we confess our sins, and second, that we receive absolution, that is, forgiveness, from the pastor as from God Himself, not doubting, but firmly believing that by it our sins are forgiven before God in heaven.

What sins should we confess?

Before God we should plead guilty of all sins, even those we are not aware of, as we do in the Lord’s Prayer; but before the pastor we should confess only those sins which we know and feel in our hearts.

Which are these?

Consider your place in life according to the Ten Commandments: Are you a father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife or worker?  Have you been disobedient, unfaithful, or lazy?  Have you been hot tempered, rude or quarrelsome?  Have you hurt someone by your words or deeds?  Have you stolen, been negligent, wasted anything, or done any harm?

Dear confessor, I ask you please to hear my confession and to pronounce forgiveness in order to fulfill God’s will.  I, a poor sinner, plead guilty before God of all sins.  In particular I confess before you that as a servant, maid etc, I sad to say, serve my master unfaithfully, for in this and that I have not done as I was told to do.  I have made him angry and caused him to curse.  I have been negligent and allowed damage to be done.  I have also been offensive in words and deeds.  I have quarreled with my peers.  I have grumbled about the lady of the house and cursed her.  I am sorry for all of this and I ask for grace.  I want to do better.

A master or lady of the house may say:

In particular I confess before you that I have not faithfully guided my children, servants and wife to the glory of God.  I have cursed.  I have set a bad example by indecent words and deeds.  I have hurt my neighbor and spoken evil of him.  I have overcharged, sold inferior merchandise, and given less than was paid for.

[Let the penitent confess whatever else he has done against God’s commandments and his own position.]

If, however, someone does not find himself burdened with these or greater sins, he should not trouble himself or search or invent other sins, and thereby make confession a torture.  Instead he should mention one or two that he knows.  Let that be enough.

Then the confessor shall say:

Do you believe that my forgiveness is God’s forgiveness?  Yes, dear confessor.

Then let him say:

Let it be done for you as you believe.  And I, by the command of our Lord Jesus Christ, forgive you of your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.  Go in peace.

Foster on Confession

Confession is a difficult Discipline for us because we all too often view the believing community as a fellowship of saints before we see it as a fellowship of sinners.  We feel that everyone else has advanced so far into holiness that we are isolated and alone in our sin.  We cannot bear to reveal our failures and shortcomings to others.  We imagine that we are the only ones who have not stepped onto the high road to heaven.  Therefore, we hide ourselves from one another and live in veiled lies and hypocrisy. 

But if we know that the people of God are first a fellowship of sinners, we are freed to hear the unconditional call of God’s love and to confess our needs openly before our brothers and sisters.  We know that we are not alone in our sin.  The fear, and the pride, that cling to us like barnacles, cling to others as also.  We are sinners together.  In acts of mutual confession we release the power that heals.  Our humanity is no longer denied, but transformed.  (Celebration of Discipline, Foster, 145-146)

“For a good confession three things are necessary: an examination of conscience, sorrow and a determination to avoid sin” (St. Alphonsus Liguori).

• Examination of conscience-We invite God the Holy Spirit to reveal our hearts and show us specific sins that are in need of His forgiving and healing touch.  

• Sorrow- Not primarily an emotion, though emotion will often be involved, but a deep regret at having grieved the heart of God.

• Determination to avoid sin- We ask God to give us both the will and the strength to resist the world, the devil and our own flesh, while at the same time submitting to the rule of God.

1. Have you ever experienced the discipline of confession with another believer?

2. Would you be willing to meet with another and confess your sins if you knew that they would respect your confidentiality?  Would you be willing to hear another’s confession?

3. On page 131, Foster writes of an exercise he performed to help with this discipline.  He began by dividing his life into 3 periods; childhood, adolescence and adulthood.  Then he prayerfully considered each section, jotting down each memory that God revealed. He then met with a friend who heard his confession and prayed with him for a healing of those memories.  Would you be willing to do that with another?  Is that something that needs to be done today?

I was reminded the other day of another truth that shapes our experience of the abundant life that is both simple to understand and yet more challenging to apply.  The truth I am thinking of is a more specific application of the paradoxical reality that is expressed in the tension between God’s sovereignty and our responsibility.  Said in a different way there are certain things that remain exclusively within God’s domain, such as salvation, healing, sanctification and the ordering of world events.  We cannot save anyone, heal anyone, or control the unfolding of human history.  God has declared this is His domain and He doesn’t take kindly to us trying to usurp His authority.  The temptation to be like God is what got Lucifer and then Adam and Eve into trouble, and subsequently pushed all of humanity into the mess we are in.  I would argue it is a temptation that plagues us as well.  The other side of all this is God has charged us with the responsibility to grow in maturity and to become more like Jesus.  He has commanded that we practice certain spiritual disciplines, adopt a particular set of beliefs and values and walk in obedience to His commands.  The terms of the covenant relationship that we have with God promise that as we do our part God will be faithful to do His part.

How this plays out, and how we many times end up in trouble or frustrated, is we don’t always discern properly what is God’s domain and what He has made our responsibility.  If for example, we are praying for a loved one to be saved or a friend to be healed, we can drift into the belief that if we pray hard enough, long enough, with enough fervency and faith, with the right kind of prayers that we can convince God to do what we ask.  The underlying assumption is that we know what is right and maybe even know better than God what is the best outcome for this particular situation.  In other words, we try and take God’s place in deciding who should be saved and who should be healed, decisions He has clearly reserved for Himself.  Desiring, or assuming, this level of control is both futile and exhausting.

Maturity on the other hand, growing up to be Christ like men and women, is clearly our responsibility.  Often we pray that God will change other people and our circumstances to make the frustration or pain go away.  But what God desires, and the reason for which we are experiencing the circumstances in the first place, is that we grow in maturity and fruitfulness to the point that we can actually love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44).  When we are in this position we are asking, sometimes begging, God to do something He is never going to do because He expects us to grow in maturity.

If you find yourself frustrated, tired or even angry about your relationship with God you may want to ask yourself, “is this issue God’s domain or my responsibility?”  When we try and take God’s place we will find that we have God as our opposition rather than our advocate.  And when we shirk our responsibility for growth in maturity we will find that circumstances are slow to change.  God desires that we live the abundant life, where we experience the blessing and resultant joy that comes when He moves sovereignly with authority and power in our lives.  But He won’t do it at the expense of our growing in maturity and fruitfulness for our benefit and the advancement of His kingdom.  Realign yourself with this important truth and you will grow in your experience of the abundant life Jesus promised and died to give us.

With the pace of life, and the number of distractions we all experience, most of us have great difficulty slowing down and quieting ourselves on the inside in order that God may speak with us.  We sometimes are uncomfortable being alone with our own thoughts and surround ourselves with the background noise of television, radio and audiotapes.  At other times we believe ourselves too busy to indulge in such luxury.  Yet, we read in the Gospels that this withdrawing for the purpose of spending time with the Father was integral to the life of Jesus (Matthew 14:23; Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16; Luke 6:12).  Normally this was for the purpose of rest, renewal and discerning of the Father’s will but on occasion these times of solitude became times of testing (temptation).  For example, in Matthew 4:1-11 we read of Jesus being led out into the wilderness by the Spirit of God in order that He might be tempted by the devil.

The idea of the Spirit of God leading us into the “wilderness” is a thought that runs counter to most Christian teaching today especially when you consider that the wilderness is not a pleasant place.  In Jesus’ day, the wilderness, or desert, was a place of extreme heat during day, bitter cold at night, very little water and was occupied by poisonous snakes and scorpions.  It was not 40 days at the beach. We must remember that part of the discipline of solitude is “crucifying the flesh” (Romans 8:12-14) in order that we might be led by (hear) the Spirit of God. 

It is also good to remember that life presents many distractions that lead us away from a life of faith and intimacy with God.  We must recognize that these distractions are not always evil or sinful, and sometimes come in the form of serving God.  Our priority must always be our relationship to God through Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God, not the accomplishment of individual goals and agendas.

The example of Elijah in 1 Kings 19 highlights the importance of scheduling periods of solitude, especially following extended periods of ministry.  Elijah experienced a great victory over the 450 prophets of Baal, with all Israel turning in repentance, but then feared for his life and fell into depression when threatened by Jezebel.  When we are physically tired, emotionally spent or drained spiritually we are vulnerable to the enemy’s attacks and must pay careful attention to the disciplines of silence and solitude.

Foster in his book, Celebration of Discipline, also makes the following points.

As with the other disciplines, the discipline of solitude needs to be an inward reality that expresses itself in our lifestyle.  It is not so much a place but a state of the mind and heart.

“The purpose of silence and solitude is to be able to see and hear.  Control rather than no noise is the key to silence.”

Steps into Solitude

• Take advantage of the little solitudes.

• Find a quiet place for silence and solitude.

• Discipline your speech and become known as someone who has something to say when they speak.

• Schedule a half-day retreat 4 times per year for the purpose of reflecting on life goals.

Application

1. What steps could you build into your life that would allow you to take advantage of the little solitudes that occur in your life each day?

2. Do you have a favorite place that you like to go to be quiet, pray and reflect on your life with God?

3. Make a point to evaluate your speech and see if there would be ways to say less.

Jesus declared that He came not to be served but to serve.  Jesus also taught that any who would be His disciple would follow His example because “the servant is not above his master.”  Like many of the spiritual disciplines this one flies in the face of the accepted values of our culture.  The natural order of things says that to be served, to have others meet our every need, and whim, is what it means to be great.  But greatness in the kingdom of God is found by serving others through the meeting of their needs, often at the expense of our own needs and desires.  We also recognize that it is possible to perform many of acts of kindness without them issuing from a servant’s heart.

Richard Foster on Service

As the cross is to submission, so the towel is the sign of service.  When Jesus gathered his disciples for the Last Supper they were having trouble deciding who was the greatest. This was no new issue for them.  “And an argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest” (Luke 9:46).  Whenever there is trouble over who is the greatest, there is trouble over who is the least.  That is the crux of the matter for us, isn’t it?  Most of us know we will never be the greatest; just don’t let us be the least.

• Self-righteous service comes through human effort.  It expends immense amounts of energy calculating and scheming how to render the service.

• Self-righteous service is impressed with the “big deal.”  It is concerned to make impressive gains on ecclesiastical scoreboards.

• Self-righteous service requires external rewards.  It needs to know that people see and appreciate the effort.

• Self-righteous service is highly concerned about results.  It becomes bitter when the results fall below expectations. 

• Self-righteous service picks and chooses whom to serve.  Sometimes the high and powerful are served because that will ensure an advantage.  Sometimes the low and defenseless are served because that will ensure a humble image.  True service is indiscriminate in its ministry.

• Self-righteous service is affected by moods and whims.  It can serve only when there is a feeling to serve (“moved by the Spirit” as we say).  Ill health and inadequate sleep controls the desire to serve.

• Self-righteous service is temporary.  Having served it can rest easy.

• Self-righteous service is insensitive.  It insists on meeting the need even when to do so would be destructive.

• Self-righteous service fractures community.  In the final analysis, once all the religious trappings are removed, it centers in the glorification of the individual.

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

• Do you think Foster’s description of self-righteous versus true service is accurate in its reflection of Biblical teaching and values?

• How would you describe your service to others?

• Is there an individual or people group that God would have you serve? 

The discipline of submission is another of the disciplines that seems to be so out of touch with the world in which we live.  The cry of our culture is that we “deserve” to have our every need met, we should never be in pain, of any kind, and that we should never have to wait.  Instant gratification and exaltation of the individual’s rights and desires are societal norms that are never to be questioned.  Yet the Scriptures present a much different ideal for those who would be disciples of Jesus Christ and it is expressed in the synonymous terms of surrender and submission.  We are not to rise up and demand what is coming to us but in love and humility voluntarily surrender our rights for the good and benefit of others.

The following definition from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia helps us to begin thinking rightly about this important discipline.

The primary meaning of both “subject” and “submit” has to do with subordination, ie. being placed under the control or authority  of another.  Subordination can be either voluntary or enforced…The most common NT term rendered by “subject” and “submit” is Greek hypatasso.  The active voice (usually rendered “subject” or “put in subjection”) means “place under” and denotes an enforced subordination….the situation is different, however, where the middle or passive of hypatasso is used to describe the attitude that Christ has toward God (1 Corinthians 15:28) or that Christians are to have toward God (Hebrews 12:9; James 4:7), toward civil authorities (Romans 13:1, 5; Titus 3:1; 1 Peter 2:13), toward church leaders (1 Corinthians 16:16; 1 Peter 5:5), and toward one another in general (Ephesians 5:21)…As many exegetes have observed, such subordination is an action of free agents.  It does not involve a breaking of the will or servile submission to another’s rule; rather, the verb “describes a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility and carrying a burden (highlighting mine) (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. IV, 643-644).

It is imperative that we understand, and practice, the voluntary aspect of the discipline of submission if we are going to avoid the abuses that are often associated with this discipline.  Submitting to God, practicing mutual submission and submitting in love and humility will all go a long way toward keeping us on the Biblical path of dying to the various expressions of self will and selfishness.

Richard Foster on Submission

Submission is a concept as broad as life itself and a Discipline found throughout Scripture.  It raises issues that are deep and difficult: issues of submission to the ways of God, issues of submission to the state, issues of submission to the Christian fellowship, issues of submission in the Christian household and much more.  As we hammer out our understanding of these matters, we will always want to hold before us the life and death of Christ as the divine paradigm by which all the verbs of Christian submission are to be conjugated. (Study Guide for Celebration of Discipline, Richard J. Foster)

I said that every Discipline has its corresponding freedom.  What freedom corresponds to submission?  It is the ability to lay down the terrible burden of always needing to get our own way.  The obsession to demand that things go the way we want them to go is one of the greatest bondages in human society today.  People will spend weeks, months, even years in a perpetual stew because some little thing did not go as they wished.  They will fuss and fume.  They will get mad about it.  They will act as if their very life hangs on the issue.  They may even get an ulcer over it. 

In the Discipline of submission we are released to drop the matter, to forget it.  Frankly, most things in life are not nearly as important as we think they are.  Our lives will not come to and end if this or that does not happen.

The biblical teaching on submission focuses primarily on the spirit with which we view other people.  Scripture does not attempt to set forth a series of hierarchical relationships but to communicate to us an inner attitude of mutual subordination.

In submission we are at last free to value other people.  Their dreams and plans become important to us.  We have entered into a new, wonderful, glorious freedom- the freedom to give up our own rights for the good of others.  For the first time we can love people unconditionally.  We have given up the right to demand that they return our love.  No longer do we feel that we have to be treated in a certain way.  We rejoice in their successes.  We feel genuine sorrow in their failures.  It is of little consequence that our plans are frustrated if their plans succeed.  We discover that it is far better to serve our neighbor than to have our own way.  (The Celebration of Discipline, 111-112)

Seven Acts of Submission

The Triune God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit; we yield our body, mind and spirit for his purposes.

The Scriptures; we yield ourselves to first hear the Word, second to receive the Word, and third to obey the Word.

The family; freely and graciously the members of the family make allowances for each other.

Our neighbor; if they are in need we help them.  No task is too small, too trifling, for each one is an opportunity to live in submission.

The body of Christ; if there are jobs to be done and tasks to be accomplished, we look at them closely to see if they are God’s invitation to the cross-life.

The world; we make a determination to live as a responsible member of an increasingly irresponsible world.

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

In what ways has the discipline of submission been abused?

Are you currently experiencing the freedom of Biblical submission?

Which of the seven acts of submission represents the greatest challenge for you personally?

Chapters 37-50 of Genesis record the life of Joseph, one of the four patriarchs.  Prayerfully consider each of these chapters, especially 50:15-21, and reflect on how Joseph’s response to life provides a model for godly submission.  How did the events of his life prepare him for God’s chosen time and place for service, and for reconciliation with his brothers?

Take Lord and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding and my entire will, All I have and call my own.  You have given it all to me.  To you Lord I return it.  Everything is yours; do with it what you will.  Give me only your love and your grace, that is enough for me.      (Ignatius of Loyola)

God would also show me over the course of the weekend that this oversight is often played out in our daily walk with Jesus as well.  We express a desire to live for the will of God and to be filled with His Holy Spirit in order that we might be used of God in ministry but if we examine our lives closely we find that there is no room for God.  First, there are all the activities that we choose to get involved with, some of which may even be ministry related. We choose to be busy with a great many things, such as work, family life, church functions, our children’s activities, personal recreation, vacation, travel, a variety of hobbies, socializing with friends and a host of other activities.  While none of these activities is inherently sinful, we must be careful to recognize that they are, for the most part, pursuits of our own choosing.  Further, we must recognize they may not represent God’s will for us and we shouldn’t automatically expect that God will bless them.

In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 the apostle Paul reminds us that our lives are not do with as we please, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?  For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”  Jesus expresses the same truth in Matthew 10:38-39, “And he who does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.  He who has found his life shall lose it, and he who has lost his life for my sake shall find it.”  At the heart of all sin is our will asserting itself saying, “I know what is best for me.”  When we live our lives based upon what we want to do, when we want to do it or in the way that we want to do it, we quench the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives through our sin and rebellion.

On this last retreat one of the areas of life we considered was have we fully surrendered our lives to the call of Christ the King.  Have we so re-ordered our lives that we can say with Jesus that “I live only for the will of the Father” (John 5:19).  The whole hearted response that Jesus is looking for is found modeled for us by Peter, James and John in Luke chapter 5.  Jesus and Simon are standing on the shore of Lake Gennesaret while Jesus is teaching the crowds from the Word of God.  In order to gain some relief from the crowds Jesus gets into Simon's boat and tells him to put out a little way from shore.  From there Jesus sat down and taught the crowds who had gathered to hear Him.

When he was done speaking He tells Simon to "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch".  Simon answers and says "Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but at your bidding I will let down the nets".  At first glance it appears that Simon is simply being obedient to Jesus' request, but in reality Simon is telling Jesus that they, experienced fishermen, have just spent the entire night fishing and caught nothing and now it is midday and you think you are going to catch fish?  Simon's compliance is merely an act to humor Jesus.

We know from the rest of the story that upon letting down their nets they capture a great quantity of fish.  So great in fact, their nets begin to break and as they begin to take the fish into their boats, the boats begin to sink.  Simon Peter's response is to fall at the feet of Jesus and say, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord" (vs 8).  Peter's confession is both accurate and immediate.  His confession, as ours should be, is not a singular occurrence that happens at the beginning of his following Jesus but is a first step in his daily walk with God.

Have we made room for God? Is it a question that we answer only once or twice per year?  The fullness of the Christian life is found as we make room for God every day of our lives and not just the unique occasions like a retreat weekend.  Take some time today and consider how you have answered this call of God upon your life, your life will be the richer for it.

We live in a culture that promotes dissatisfaction and a lack of contentment with what we have in life, especially as it relates to material possessions.  As a result, many times our possessions own us and control the way that we direct our lives.  If we are to live as disciples of Jesus Christ, we must learn to relate to the physical world around us in a proper way.

1. God is jealous for the affections of His people and fully expects that our highest priority will be spending time with Him in pursuit of righteousness and the expansion of the kingdom of God. All other pursuits in life should pale in comparison.    (Verse 33; Exodus 20:2-6; James 4:1-4)

2. We are not to be anxious over the basic necessities of life, such as food and clothing, because God has promised to provide for our every need. In fact, our anxiety betrays our lack of trust in God’s ability to provide in spite of His demonstrated ability to provide for the lowest in creation. It also may reflect our desire to not be dependent upon God in order that we might direct our own life.

Richard Foster in his book, Celebration of Discipline, makes the following points:

• The Christian discipline of simplicity must be an inward reality that results in an outward life-style, and any attempt to change the outward life-style without the inner reality will result in legalism.

• This is one area where the church has lost its battle with the world. Our need for security and our lust for affluence have made the Biblical ideal of simplicity an unachievable goal. “This discipline directly challenges our vested interests in an affluent life-style.”

• The inner reality of simplicity is characterized by 3 attitudes about our possessions; all that we have is a gift from God (stewardship), what we have is to be cared for by God and all that we have is available to others. When we are actively seeking the kingdom of God, these 3 attitudes will characterize our lives.

• The discipline of simplicity is not concerned only with our possessions but also includes our preoccupation with status, position and power. It includes any unhealthy needs within us to have the recognition or approval of others and invites us to use plain and honest speech.

• Buy things for their usefulness rather than their status.
• Reject anything that produces an addiction in you. 
• Develop a habit of giving things away.
• Refuse the temptation of modern gadgetry.
• Learn to enjoy things without owning them.
• Develop a deeper appreciation for creation.
• Avoid the use of credit to defer payment.
• Obey Jesus’ instructions about plain and honest speech (Mt. 5:37).
• Reject anything that breeds the oppression of others.
• Shun whatever would distract you from your main goal.

 Application

Read through Matthew 6:25-33 and consider the following questions.

• Does this describe your present experience? Do you wish that it did?

• Do think that it is possible to live without anxiety about material needs? What would that require? What is God’s promise to you?

• What would your life look like on a daily, weekly or monthly basis if you sought first the kingdom of God and His righteousness? Be specific.

• Do you consider your possessions to be available for others use and enjoyment?

• Can you honestly say that the 3 attitudes that Foster describes as essential to the spirit of simplicity are characteristic of your life?

• If you had to choose one word that describes the highest value in our culture today what would it be? (Success. Money. Sex. Materialism. Pleasure. Entertainment. Power. How about the word more?)

Many within the church today are Biblically illiterate and have based their understanding of God upon a variety of sources that may or may not be correct. “Although most Americans believe they already know the fundamental truths of the Scriptures, the Barna Research Group has discovered that fewer than 10 percent of American Christians (bolding mine) actually possess a Biblical worldview, a perceptual filter through which they see life and its opportunities. Lacking that filter, most Christians make important decisions on the basis of instinct, emotion, assumptions, past experience, external pressure or chance…In short, the spirituality of Americans is Christian in name only. We desire experience more than knowledge. We prefer choices to absolutes. We embrace preferences rather than truths. We seek comfort rather than growth. Faith must come on our terms or we reject it” (Barna, The Second Coming of the Church, 23).

In order to live the abundant life, one must accurately understand the nature and character of God, the events of life that are taking place around us and finally, we need to understand ourselves. If we are to live as God intended, and withstand the spiritual attacks of the world, the devil and even our own flesh, we must be firmly grounded in God’s truth. The study of the Word of God will enable us to develop a Biblical worldview and rightly understand what God requires of us as a response to the grace that we have received in salvation. But we first must come to grips with the fact that most of us have developed our understanding of God from a collection of sources including; sermons, Sunday school, friends, the media and personal experiences. These understandings may not reflect Biblical teaching and need to be brought in line with the teaching of Scripture.

In spite of the Bible being the best selling book in America, the general public, and the church of Jesus Christ, are woefully ignorant of its contents. Further, there is a serious lack of understanding when it comes to studying the Bible as God’s living Word to us. We believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God, without error in the original manuscripts and wholly sufficient for life and faith. Yet, our interpretation and application of the Word often disregards the intended meaning of the author, the original meaning of words, as well as the context and literary form being used. The end result is we bend the text to say something the author (the Holy Spirit) never intended. 

How to Study the Word of God

• Prepare Yourself – Worship, confession, prayer (guidance of H S), obedience

We dare not underestimate the importance of preparing ourselves spiritually to receive the Word. To spend time in personal worship, reading one of the psalms or singing several verses of a hymn or chorus, along with a time of Spirit directed confession helps to insure that our heart is open and ready to receive God’s truth. Further, we must determine in our hearts that we will obey whatever God reveals and then ask for the guidance and ministry of the Holy Spirit. It is God’s Holy Spirit who authored Scripture and He is the one best able to help us understand both the meaning of an individual text and its application for us in our current situation.

• Read through the Bible once each year.

• Read in different translations for new insight and discovery.

• Read several chapters repetitively looking for major themes, teachings.

• Seek first to understand what the author is saying

• Determine the intended meaning of the author (human and Holy Spirit)

• What does the Bible mean by what is says?

1. Avoid spiritualizing, superficial interpretations and reading into the text.

We must be careful to let the text speak and not bring to the text our preconceptions as to its meaning and application, even, maybe especially, if we have looked at it before and believe that we understand it. Some texts are self evident, others are less clear and still others require significant study and reflection to grasp their meaning. Allow yourself time and don’t just guess at the right meaning to a text. If you don’t understand it, say so and seek outside help to bring clarity and understanding.

2. Bridge the gaps of language, culture, history etc. with outside resources.

In most study Bibles now there are a host of helps that enable us to get at the original setting for every text. We must stop and make sure we know whom the author is and what their situation was like. To whom were they writing and what do we know about that individual or class of people that might bring additional insight into the text. Finally, we must pay strict attention to the usage of words and their meanings respecting both morphology (word form) and syntax (word order). Words can have multiple meanings (ie. sarx which we translate flesh, Galatians 2:20; Galatians 5:19) or nuances of meaning but never violate the base sense of their meaning.  We must grow familiar with the use of concordances, grammars, Bible maps, commentaries and supporting historical works. 

3. Interpret within the immediate context and the unity of Scripture.

Context determines how a particular word might be translated and we recognize that Scripture will never contradict itself. To insure that we are interpreting within the original context we must read and consider, as a minimum, the preceding and following verses, with preferably the whole chapter or book in view. Without respect for this rule we can make a text say almost anything we want.

4. Respect historical context, grammatical principles and types of literary genre. 

We have already touched on this a little in number 2 when we discussed the bridging the language and culture gaps between the authors of Scripture and ourselves but to drive home the point I am talking about the fact that Scripture uses a wide variety of literary devices and literary forms to convey its message. In Matthew 18:1-10, Jesus uses hyperbole in His teaching to the disciples about humility. And in doing so states that if our hand or foot should cause us to stumble we should cut them off, or in the case of our eye causing us to stumble to pluck it out. These are not literal instructions for dismemberment but the use of language to bring home the point regarding humility and the reception of children.

Further, we must recognize that the Bible includes a wide variety of literary genre including; proverbs, prophecy, poetry, idioms, parables, Biblical narrative (history) and epistles, with each group having their own specific rules of interpretation. If we consider the “accepted” interpretation of Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it”, people generally believe that this is a “promise” or universal “law” that guarantees success in parenting if the right pattern is followed. Yet, a proverb is a short pithy saying that expresses a wise, general truth about life and in no way “guarantees” a given outcome. We must be careful to respect the type of literature we are studying if we are going to hear clearly and accurately God’s voice.

• Meditate upon what the Holy Spirit reveals to you.

• Memorize key verses and passages that are meaningful to you.

• Journal to detect recurring themes and life issues.

There is power in the act of writing down those truths that God reveals to us, for it enables us to clarify our thinking and get specific in our application. Journaling also allows us the opportunity to go back and refresh our minds regarding discoveries from previous times of study. Be sure to jot down words, phrases and concepts that you do not understand in order that you can go back later and resolve these questions. 

• Put into practice that which you discover.

The apostle James warns us of the danger of studying for the sake of accumulating knowledge, “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does” (James 1:22-25).

• Teach what you discover to someone else.

While there is an admonition to be careful about becoming a teacher (James 3:1), there are also tremendous rewards to sharing our discoveries with others. Teaching others keeps us fresh in the word and forces us to truly understand and apply each truth before sharing it with someone else. Our level of understanding is expanded and our rate of retention is increased many times. 

• Find a coach (spiritual guide) to encourage you and keep you accountable.

Final Thoughts Concerning Study

• We need to be diligent in our handling of the Word of God recognizing that it is God who either approves or disapproves of our work. When we are finished with our study of the Word we need to be certain that we have accurately reflected the intended teaching of the Holy Spirit.

• The Holy Spirit, who is the author of Scripture, is also the one who will lead us into a correct understanding of His intended meaning. As we begin, we need to pray for the illumination of the Holy Spirit, and for hearts that will receive God’s truth when it is revealed.

• The Word of God is sufficient to lead us into a life of godliness, ministry and service. As such it is authoritative in all areas that it addresses, and should be received with humility of spirit.

• The Word of God is the primary means of grace and lasting life transformation takes place as our minds are renewed by the truth of the Word of God. Feelings and experiences are an important part of our walk with God but must remain subject to God’s Revelation, the Bible, as we seek to understand God and the world around us.

• Also, we need to act on Foster's suggestion that we begin to study "non verbal" books.  He rightly points out that we can learn much about God and the spiritual life by studying nature, human relationships and ourselves.  In the process of self-examination we often discover the fears, circumstances and situations that control us.

Sometimes we are like that “obedient” mule.  We desire to live in submission to God’s will but He often has to get our attention first through a crisis, a painful event or another form of discipline before we become teachable (Hebrews 12:6).  The old nature likes to be in charge and our culture promotes as one of its highest values, the autonomy of the individual. For most, the highest authority is self, and all activity is judged by whether it is pleasurable, profitable or supportive of individual life goals.  But there is a better way to live, it is to live as Jesus did, in total submission to His Father’s will.

Submission is a Biblical principle that leads to genuine freedom in the Spirit.  Consider the following verses from the New Testament.  “And He (Jesus) was saying to them all, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it” (Luke 9:23-24).  The apostles James and Paul extend Jesus’ teaching in their letters to the churches when they remind their readers that they are to “submit therefore to God” (James 4:7a) and “be subject to one another in the fear (reverence) of Christ” (Ephesians 5:21).  We begin by submitting to God and His Word and then by living in submission to one another, following the higher value of love.

Because we have been lied to by our culture submission is generally considered to be an outdated idea that is foolish and maybe even dangerous.  In reality, submission actually is another of those paradoxical truths that runs counter to our natural sense and the teaching of our culture.  Yet to faithfully embrace the discipline of submission, toward God and others, we must dispel any inaccuracies in our understanding.  True, Biblical submission cannot be forced or coerced but remains the choice of the one submitting.  The following discussion comes from International Standard Bible Encyclopedia and it highlights the voluntary nature of Biblical submission.

The primary meaning of both “subject” and “submit” has to do with subordination, ie. being placed under the control or authority  of another.  Subordination can be either voluntary or enforced…The most common NT term rendered by “subject” and “submit” is Greek hypatasso.  The active voice (usually rendered “subject” or “put in subjection”) means “place under” and denotes an enforced subordination….the situation is different, however, where the middle or passive of hypatasso is used to describe the attitude that Christ has toward God (1 Corinthians 15:28) or that Christians are to have toward God (Hebrews 12:9; James 4:7), toward civil authorities (Romans 13:1, 5; Titus 3:1; 1 Peter 2:13), toward church leaders (1 Corinthians 16:16; 1 Peter 5:5), and toward one another in general (Ephesians 5:21)…As many exegetes have observed, such subordination is an action of free agents.  It does not involve a breaking of the will or servile submission to another’s rule; rather, the verb “describes a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility and carrying a burden (bolding mine).

As Christians, we recognize that we have the freedom to follow the example of Christ and live for the will of the Father, or live like the farmer’s mule.  The first brings God’s blessing and the latter is to invite His correction.  We also recognize that true tests of the discipline of submission do not come in the normal seasons of life but when God’s ways and purposes are hidden.  Consider John Milton, author of Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained and considered to be one the great writers of the English language.  His driving passion was to become an epic poet given completely to God’s service.  He was schooled in the classics, competent in Latin, Greek and Hebrew and a skilled orator but his eyesight began to fail as he entered the prime of life.  He would be completely blind by age 43.  All he wanted was to do something great for God, what he learned was God does not need our work or gifts.  We are valued because we are His.

In coming to understand the discipline of submission I have found praying the Serenity Prayer of Reinhold Niebuhr to be helpful.  Each petition highlights a different aspect of the discipline of submission. You may want to make it your prayer over the next month(s), as you ask the Lord to help you cultivate the discipline of submission.

God, grant me the grace to accept with serenity things that cannot be changed; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.  Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him forever in the next.  Amen. 

Some Scriptures on Fasting

Matthew 6:16-18; Isaiah 58:1-12; Acts 13:1-3

The complementary nature of fasting and prayer is highlighted by Jesus’ comments on fasting in Matthew 6:16-18 immediately following His instructions on how to pray (verses 9-13).  In His stating of “whenever you fast,” Jesus assumes that everyone present is already practicing the discipline of fasting.  While Jesus does not command fasting specifically, it is assumed that everyone is already doing it.

And the practice of fasting, like prayer, is not to be an outward demonstration of our piety, but in inward act of the soul directed exclusively God.  The goal of fasting is not the physical benefit or the increased effectiveness in prayer, but rather coming to know God better.  Motives always matter to God and we dare not fast as an attempt to manipulate God into doing our bidding.

Isaiah 58 further illuminates the fact that fasting is to produce heart change that issues into the transformation of one’s life.  Verses 3-4 clearly condemn any who would outwardly fast and yet persist in a life of disobedience to God’s will (Word).  Elmer Towns in his book, Fasting for Spiritual Break Through, suggests that verses 6-8 of Isaiah 58 reveal 9 purposes that God has established for fasting.  “Each fast has a different name, accomplishes a different purpose and follows a different prescription.”

• The Disciples Fast- “to loose the bands of wickedness” (breaking free of sin)
• The Ezra Fast- “to undo heavy burdens” (solving problems)
• The Samuel Fast- “let the oppressed (physically/spiritually) go free” (evangelism)
• The Elijah Fast- “to break every yoke” (conquering mental/emotional problems)
• The Widow’s Fast- “to share our bread with the poor” (caring for the poor)
• The Saint Paul Fast- “allow God’s light to break forth” (decision making)
• The Daniel Fast- “thine health shall spring forth” (healing)
• The John the Baptist Fast- “your righteousness will go before you” (testimony)
• The Esther Fast- “the glory of the Lord will protect us” (protection from evil)

While never commanded in Scripture, it is clear that Jesus and the authors of Scripture assumed that believers would fast.  Instead of being seen as something only the super spiritual or religious fanatics engage in, Scripture portrays fasting as a normal part of the spiritual life that is a complement to prayer and often brings spiritual power to reach the lost, conquer sin, receive guidance and loose the powers of physical healing.

• Fasting is counter cultural, and its validity for today is questioned by many within the church.
• Fasting is good for the body but Biblical fasting focuses on spiritual purposes.
• Fasting is generally defined as the abstaining from all food, but not water, though there are examples of partial fasts (Daniel).
• Fasting is normally a private matter between an individual and God, though there are occasions where we are called to corporate or public fasts.
• Fasting is not a means to get what we want. “Fasting must forever center on God. It must be God initiated and God-ordained.”
• Fasting reveals the things that control us.
• Fasting is a means of humbling ourselves before God.

Practicing the Discipline of Fasting

1. Work through what you believe the Scriptures teach about the discipline of fasting for New Testament believers today? Are you to fast, how often and in what way?

2. If you choose to begin consider are there any habits or besetting sins that you have been unable to conquer? Is God calling you to combine prayer and fasting to find freedom in this area of your life?

3. Remember always our motivation is to know God better, not manipulate Him for our own ends.

4. Contemplate ways to make fasting a regular part of your life, not just a one-time event.

5. Seek medical advice if you have any question whether you can fast safely?.

6. Read Foster’s chapter on fasting, or another source on the practical aspects of fasting, and begin with a partial fast one day per week.

In Matthew 6:5-15 Jesus makes the following points.

1. Jesus warns us to not practice our piety before men as religious folks are often tempted to do. The fact that we pray, the length of our prayers, the words we choose and the objects of our prayers are to be our heart felt desires directed at God alone. Praying to impress others is hypocrisy and is soundly condemned. (Verses 5-6)

2. We are to avoid the temptation to ramble and keep our prayers short and to the point. The use of many words does not impress God, nor does it make our prayers more effective. (Verses 7-8)

3. When in doubt how, or what to pray, we can meditate upon the various petitions within the Lord’s Prayer and allow God’s Holy Spirit to direct our prayers. (Verses 9-13; and Romans 8:26)

From the other texts we learn:

• We go without because we fail to ask God
• We are to be persistent in prayer (praying for the same concerns)
• We are to pray without ceasing (always)
• We are to offer our prayers with thanksgiving
• We are to pray in faith, without any doubting
• We are to pray in accordance with God’s will
• Prayer is the answer for an anxious heart
• Prayer brings the peace of God, that surpasses human understanding, and will guard our hearts

“Of all the Spiritual Disciplines prayer is the most central because it ushers us into perpetual communion with Father.  Meditation introduces us to the inner life, fasting is an accompanying means, study transforms our minds, but it is the Discipline of prayer that brings us into the deepest and highest work of the human spirit…To pray is to change.  Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us.  If we are unwilling to change, we will abandon prayer as a noticeable characteristic of our lives…In prayer, real prayer, we begin to think God’s thoughts after him: to desire the things he desires, to love the things he loves, to will the things he wills” (Foster, Celebration of Discipline p. 33).

In his book, Celebration of Discipline, Foster also highlights the following:

1. Prayer is the deepest and highest work of the human spirit. There is nothing more important in life than to pray.

2. No matter where we are in our walk with God, we need to learn how to pray.

3. We need to pray with expectation, believing that God will answer.

4. Listening is as much, or more, a part of praying than talking.

5. Effective prayer focuses on the needs of others, and becomes even more effective when connected to a compassionate heart.

6. The imagination is a powerful tool in the work of prayer.

Our primary text for reflection comes from the Sermon on the Mount and it is Jesus teaching His disciples to pray.  The prayer that He gives them we know as the Lord’s prayer, or the Our Father.   It is likely many of us could recite it from memory but have we ever really studied this prayer of Jesus, let alone the meaning of each petition and its value as a model for a life of prayer.  In the next few paragraphs I want to break it down just a little bit and offer a few suggestions for your reflection.

As a reminder these instructions on how to pray are given in the context of a more extended teaching on what it means to be Christian and what one’s life should look like if they are living within the kingdom of God.  In the preceding verses Jesus has taught on love, forgiveness, sins of the heart and the high standards of life within the kingdom of God. 

In verse 1 of chapter 6 Jesus warns of practicing our righteousness before men and then in verse 5 of praying as the hypocrites do, standing on the street corners praying in order that they might be seen by men.  The example of the Gentiles is also to be avoided in that they thought they would be heard for their many words and meaningless repetitions.

The prayer begins with an invocation, “Our Father who art in heaven” and then has 3 petitions that are God focused, “Hallowed by Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as in heaven.”  These petitions are then followed by 3 (or 4) more petitions that focus on our needs, “Give us this day our daily bread”, “forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors”, “and lead us not into temptation,” “but deliver us from evil.”

 The benediction is not included in the most reliable manuscripts and may not have been a part of the original text.   The prayer directs our attention first to the holiness of God, the establishment of His kingdom and the fulfillment of His will and then moves to ask for meeting of our needs as His creatures.  The order is important because it takes our eyes off of ourselves and our situation and puts them back where they belong; on God, His purposes and His abilities.

Beginning in verse 9 Jesus says, “Pray, then in this way:”

Our Father, who art in heaven

We begin by recognizing God as our heavenly Father, a prayer of relationship that comes to us by virtue of our faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.  We do not pray to an abstract or impersonal God but the Creator of the heavens and the earth who is also our Father.  As such He cares about our every need, is personally interested in every aspect of our lives and will always act in a way that is consistent with our best interests.  And His residence is in heaven, a place of majesty, authority and power.  It is recognition of our belonging but it rightfully goes only to those who have personal faith in Jesus.

Hallowed by Thy name

The word hallowed is one that may be confusing for us in that it is not a commonly used word today but it comes from the Greek word “hagios” which is to make holy.  Therefore when you pray “hallowed by Thy name” you are setting God apart in your thinking and feeling and treating Him with all the respect that is due His character.  It is a positive restatement of the second commandment that says that you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.  The person that hallows God’s name lives in such a way that the essence of God’s nature is on display in how we act and talk and respond to life.

Thy kingdom come

In praying for the Lord’s kingdom to come we are praying first of all that God would reign in our lives as individuals.  That God would come and rule over us, and all creation.  We are asking that the rule of God would be over all the earth and that His plans and purposes would be fulfilled among us.  It is also to pray for Jesus return to earth and establish His rule and unhindered authority for all time and eternity.  We look forward to His coming again and establishing a new heaven and a new earth.

Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven

In this petition we are asking that God’s will would be done in our lives, that His revealed will in the Word of God would become our will and that His plan for our lives would be realized whatever the cost.  When we were saved by God’s gracious activity in our lives, we were also given gifts, talents and abilities that would enable us to accomplish the plans and purposes that God has for us.  Elmer Towns in his book, Praying the Lord’s Prayer for Spiritual Breakthrough suggests that we are praying at least four things when we pray this petition.

1. Help me find Thy plan
2. Help me understand Thy plan
3. Help me submit to Thy plan
4. Help me to accomplish Thy plan

It is at its heart a prayer of surrender to the will of God, it is a request that God’s will be done in your life.

Give us this day our daily bread

Virtually all the commentators that I looked at believe that the expression daily bread is symbolic for all our physical needs.  So when we pray for daily bread we are praying for food and clothing, shelter and all that is required to sustain our physical life.  I believe that we are also praying for physical health and all the resources necessary to fulfill God’s plan for our lives.  When we are living our God’s plan we can fully expect that He will provide all that is required to carry it out.

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors

In this petition we have one of the more troubling verses in all of Scripture in that we ask God to forgive us as we have forgiven others. These are comforting words if our heart is right toward others in our life but terrifying words if we harbor un-forgiveness, resentment or bitterness toward others.  The unwillingness, or inability, to forgive grieves the Holy Spirit and creates for us a prison of bitterness that will slowly but surely destroy us.  The key is to become willing to forgive immediately, completely any and all who have wronged us.  

And do not lead us into temptation

With this petition we are asking God to help us avoid temptation, to so enlighten our minds and strengthen our wills that we will make life choices that not only strengthen us in a time of temptation but will enable us to avoid those situations where we are tempted.  I believe that the Holy Spirit seeks to warn us long before we find ourselves in a situation where we do not have the strength to stand.  If we are tempted to sit in front of the TV and watch hours of worthless or questionable programming, the Holy Spirit may say get rid of cable or maybe the TV all together.

If the internet is a problem for you he Holy Spirit may say don’t use it unless your spouse or somebody else is nearby to keep you honest.  If debt is a problem and you tend to spend too much money on impulse purchases or needless trinkets, the Holy Spirit may say cut up your credit cards and develop a budget that will allow you to give to others and help meet the needs of the poor.

But deliver us from evil

Here we are confessing that we understand that we are locked in a spiritual battle with our old nature, the world system and the devil and his demons (angels).  We also recognize that we are not able to stand in our own abilities or power but it is God who enables us to stand in the face of supernatural enemies.  The enemy has a plan to destroy you that is tailor made for your life experience, strengths and weaknesses.  And rarely does he come in a full frontal attack but rather it is with half-truths, misapplied truths and deceptions of the mind that appeal to the flesh and seem right to the mind.  (Job 1:6-12; Luke 22:31-32; 1 Peter 5:8)

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

In this the benediction to the Lord’s Prayer, we acknowledge God as the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the one who not only hears our prayers but is able to do something about them.  We acknowledge that we want God to be king in our lives, that He is sovereign over all creation and that all praise and glory belong to Him forever and ever.  Amen.

Learning to Pray

1. Begin by reading through Matthew 6:1-15 and take note of any verses, words or expressions that jump out at you regarding your current experience of prayer.

2. Ask Jesus to teach you to pray and then slowly pray the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13. Take note of what the Lord shows you and record for future reference and use.    

3. Meditate upon each of the petitions and ask the Lord for insight on how to apply them to your own life. Do you really desire to make God’s name holy in your life and sphere of influence? Have you fully surrendered to God’s will as revealed in the Bible? Are you harboring any un-forgiveness toward anyone? Are you obeying all of God’s directives in order to avoid temptation?

4. The Lord’s Prayer can serve as a model for our own prayer life as we gain more familiarity with each of the petitions and their meanings. If you haven’t already commit this prayer to memory in a translation of your choice then practice praying with each of the petitions as your guide.

Now technically we know that his assertion is theologically incorrect because there is nowhere that God is not present. The psalmist writes in Psalm 139:7-10, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to the heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me and Your right hand will lay hold of me.” Further we know that the Spirit of God indwells every believer (1 Corinthians 3:16) and so God is present with us always.

However, I believe his comment does speak to a very important issue in the life of our church today, our experience of God in worship. I am not talking about feelings and emotions necessarily, though worship often stirs our emotions. Rather, I am talking about a life-changing encounter with the living God that comes to us as we confess our sins, offer our praise, receive His Word and pray for the needs of His people and the world. I am talking about the purity of heart that comes about as we acknowledge our dependence upon God, confess our faith, receive His forgiveness and live a life of love with Jesus as Lord of the church.

As I listened to my friend I was reminded of two passages of Scripture that possibly address his experience. First, there is the confrontation that Jesus had with the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 15:1-20 because they had put their own traditions before the commandments of God. Their own interpretations and applications of God’s commands had become so important to them, twisted and self serving though they were, that Jesus rebukes them in verses 7-9 by quoting from the prophet Isaiah, “You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’” The Lord had pronounced His judgment upon Israel, through the prophet Isaiah, for having an outward form of worship that had been reduced to the recitation of words by rote memory and was totally disconnected from the heart. Jesus applies this same proclamation to the scribes and Pharisees for having allowed the external rituals of washing their hands and keeping the Sabbath to take priority over matters of the heart. “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. These are the things which defile the man” (Matthew 15:19-20a).

The second passage comes from Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well in John chapter 4 where Jesus reminds her that that genuine worship is not about place but rather is a matter of the heart. “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24). Once again the emphasis is on worship or devotion that issues from the heart and is in agreement with the commandments of God or the truth of God (Word of God). Our tendency often is to drift into a lifeless formalism that relies upon external rituals and traditions and ignores the greater issues of a heart that is right before God. We prefer activities that make us look and feel good rather than dealing with our sin and acknowledging our dependence upon God. Therefore, it is not only possible, but easy to go to the same place of worship, to sit in the same pew, to sing familiar hymns and choruses, to recite confessions of sin and of faith, to pray the Lord’s prayer and to receive the Lord’s Supper and never truly worship God. Disturbing but true.

Perhaps it is time to consider once again Jesus as Emmanuel, God with us, and what that truth means for a lifestyle of worship. To meditate prayerfully over the invitation of the Lord from Joel 2:12-13, “‘Yet even now’, declares the Lord. ‘Return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping and mourning; and rend your heart and not your garments.’ Now return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in loving-kindness.”

Let us be careful to guard our hearts so that we do not fall into the sins of the scribes and the Pharisees, allowing our hearts to grow cold toward the things of God. Let us encourage one another in these things as we gather for corporate worship that we might have the same experience as Jacob who declared in Genesis 28:16, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”

The story is a delightfully quick paced review of the journey that one must take if we are to realize God’s plan for our lives, a pursuit that leads to both purpose and fulfillment in life. Much of the story’s appeal comes from the ease in which we can replace Ordinary’s story with our own. Our God given desire that will not go away, the temptation to doubt and despair of God’s faithfulness in times of trial and the giants (fear, comfort, security) that must be overcome if we are to experience the dream. Finally, there is that act of surrender when we give back to God the dream that He placed within us, trusting Him with the how, when, and maybe if, of the dream’s fulfillment. The last chapters of the book include many practical tips on discovering God’s big dream for you, how to overcome the obstacles that are sure to arise and avoiding the devastating effect that unbelief has on realizing your dream.

It has been over 10 years since I read this little book for the first time and I have since recommended it many times. I also find myself returning to the basic grid it presents time and again as I continue to pursue God’s dream for my own life. This short little book will inspire you to dream once again and give you the tools required to see your dream become reality.

I have heard him recount many times how he knew early on that the only way for the ministry to grow, and for him to survive, was to train leaders who could also do the work of the ministry. Thus began his emphasis on the establishment of small groups and 1x1 mentoring ministry. God used (and is using even now) Pastor Jack, and others, to bring renewal to the Lutheran Church in Brazil, a continuing movement that has seen several generations of Brazilians come to personal faith in Jesus Christ. 

Jack knew (suspected) that there were many attending the church who did not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. So he preached a Gospel message and gave an invitation for the people to respond in faith. But there was no response. The next week he preached the same message and again the next week. After the 3^rd week of hearing the same message, one of the elders of the church confronted him. He demanded to know why he kept preaching the same message each week and if he intended to ever preach on anything else. Jack responded by saying that he was indeed ready to preach on other important matters of faith as soon as they had responded in faith to the person of Jesus Christ. One cannot build until the proper foundation has been laid down. 

I have reflected on the significance of this encounter many times and have often thought about how this principle might apply to our churches today. While it is true that many within our churches have a personal relationship with Jesus, what about those that don’t? I think especially of the children? Luke 15 demonstrates Jesus’ heart and concern for even “the one” who was lost. Then there is the matter of the many who have deluded themselves by becoming “hearers only” and not doers of the Word (James 1:22-23). People clamor for new truth, new insight and new understanding of the Word without any thought given to living out the truth they already understand. We dare not assume that people have understood or will respond in obedience.

One of the great opportunities for us in the church today is to bring people back to the basics of “trust and obey.” I am thinking specifically to bring people to assurance of their salvation and then create an environment where they seek to observe (live out) the basic instructions of God. We can, and should, teach the whole counsel of God but unless the proper foundation has been laid it will bear little fruit. Let us together join in the Great Commission mandate of making disciples by teaching them to observe all that the Lord has commanded us.

Pastor Leith Anderson, of Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, MN, wrote the following in the Foreward to Aubrey Malphurs book, Pouring New Wine into Old Wineskins: How to Change a Church without Destroying It.

We may want to withdraw to some safe haven where change will never invade and yesterday will live forever. Can the church be our safe haven from change? Hardly! The church is no more exempt from change than business, school, family or government. Like it or not, the church is in the world, and the world is changing. Our choices are few. We can pretend the changes are not happening. We can build walls to keep changes away. Or we can open all the doors and windows and be changed by the changes. None of these is wise or practical. The best choice is to deal with change from a biblical base, incorporating the best and excluding the worst….Neither the issues nor the changes are limited to individual leaders or isolated churches . The challenges facing us are everywhere. The success and survival of the church is at stake. It is not a matter of a single sick church or a misfit pastor. Changes are necessary in the entire system.

The changes that have come to our world over the last 20 years, and therefore the church, are many. In the lines that follow I would like to mention a few of those changes that I believe have had some of the greatest impact on the local church. First, we are a much more mobile society, willing, even expecting, to drive greater distances to find a job, home, church or recreational experience that meets our felt needs. Second, it is now the norm, rather than the exception, that both husband and wife work, putting a greater premium on time and limiting the availability for meetings, events and social gatherings that don’t meet a specific goal or purpose. Third, children are involved in a larger number of organized school and community based programs that demand an ever increasing amount of their, and their parents, free time.

Fourth, the explosion of faith-based media makes it possible to hear nationally recognized teachers and preachers virtually everyday of the week and has raised the standard for the worship service of every local congregation. Fifth, in spite of the Bible being the best selling book year after year, the majority of Americans, including regular church attendees, are Biblically illiterate. Finally, there is a growing segment of our population for whom there are no absolutes, truth is defined by their current situation and they have little need for a Savior because they do not believe they have anything to be saved from. Our world has changed indeed! 

My point here is not to try and detail a congregational strategy for change for we will soon be in a strategic planning process that will help us with that process. Rather I hope to raise people’s awareness of the issue and have us begin asking, what adjustments do we need to make in our church in order that we might continue to reach people with the Gospel message of Jesus Christ?   It is not an easy question to answer and a season of prayerful reflection is required if we are going to keep in step with what God is doing in the world today. May God grant us the wisdom and the courage to make the changes required to remain an effective witness for the kingdom of God and personal faith in Jesus Christ.   

On Sunday, April 5, 2015, we will celebrate once again the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Throughout America there will be sunrise services, Easter breakfasts, dramatic re-enactments, magnificent choirs and thousands of messages proclaiming the importance of one of the most significant events in all of world history, Jesus Christ raised from the dead in accordance with the Scriptures. Yet for many that message, and its varied applications, will be forgotten by the end of the day and it will be back to the normal routine on Monday morning. Resurrection Sunday will be but a distant memory.

Pastors and longtime church members will identify with the truthfulness of these remarks, as they have lived them many times.  But the obvious question is why does this happen? How is it that people can hear the Good News of the Gospel and remain indifferent or reject outright Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? 

It has been suggested that to know God as He truly is, is to love Him. In other words, it is impossible to know God accurately and completely and not love Him. In a like way, I believe people reject Jesus, and His claims upon their lives, because they do not really know Him.. Their understanding of Jesus is distorted and/or incomplete. I would add to that they do not fully appreciate their own condition, as fully incapable of meeting God’s standard for righteousness, and the consequences of their refusal to believe in a personal devil and a literal hell. Only when we know God as He truly is, understand our true condition apart from Him and acknowledge the results of our choices can we make good decisions.

In a classic "Twilight Zone" episode from 1960, an American on a walking trip through central Europe gets caught in a raging storm. Staggering through the blinding rain, he chances upon an imposing medieval castle. It is a hermitage for a brotherhood of monks. The reclusive monks reluctantly take him in.

Later that night, the American discovers a cell with a man locked inside. An ancient wooden staff bolts the door. The prisoner claims he is being held captive by the "insane" head monk, Brother Jerome. He pleads for the American to release him. The prisoner's kindly face and gentle voice win him over. The American confronts Brother Jerome, who declares that the prisoner is actually none other than Satan, "the father of lies," held captive by the Staff of Truth, the one barrier he cannot pass.

This incredible claim convinces the American that Jerome is indeed mad. As soon as he gets the chance, he releases the prisoner—who immediately transforms into a hideous, horned demon and vanishes in a puff of smoke! The stunned American is horrified at the realization of what he has done. Jerome responds sympathetically. "I'm sorry for you, my son. All your life you will remember this night and whom you have turned loose upon the world." "I didn't believe you," the American replies. "I saw him and didn't recognize him"—to which Jerome solemnly observes, "That is man's weakness…and Satan's strength." (Kevin Stump, The Plain Truth, (Mar/Apr 2001)

Hitchcock’s dramatization of the American’s encounter with the devil is just one of thousands of representations that have left the undiscerning American confused and reluctant to take seriously any discussion of a personal devil. Yet, there is as breadth of life experience that validates the Bible’s teaching on the existence of hell and the torment that awaits those who go there.

In his book, To Hell and Back, Maurice Rawlings M.D., writes of his experience as a cardiologist at the University of Tennessee. In the course of their emergency room work, Dr. Rawlings and his colleagues interviewed more than 300 people who claimed near-death experiences. What made Rawlings' study distinct is that the interviews were not conducted months or years later but immediately after the experiences had allegedly occurred—while the patients were still too shaken up in the immediacy of the moment to gloss over or to re-imagine what they had experienced.

Nearly 50 percent of them reported encountering images of fire, of tormented and tormenting creatures, and other sights hailing from a place very different from heaven. In follow-up interviews much later many of these same people had changed their stories, apparently unwilling to admit to their families, maybe even to themselves, that they had caught a glimpse of something like what the Bible calls hell. Dr. Rawlings concludes, "Just listening to these patients has changed my life. There is a life after death, and if I don't know where I'm going, it is not safe to die.” (Daniel Meyer, Preaching Today)

Healthy people may think that it is nice that there is a cure for cancer but those that have cancer want all the details about the cure, including where to sign up for treatment. For most Americans the resurrection of Jesus is a nice bit of information but of little personal interest because they are unaware of their spiritual cancer and its consequences. We would do well this Easter Sunday to remind people of their true spiritual condition apart from Jesus, and the fate that awaits those who remain indifferent to the Gospel, before we proclaim the glory of the Resurrection. In doing so the Resurrection of Jesus will become a truth worth remembering every day of the year.

One of those texts was the account of Mary and Mary Magdalene encountering the angel at Jesus’ tomb in Matthew 28:1-10.  Stricken with grief, the two women approach the tomb.  There is a violent earthquake, and an angel from heaven comes and rolls away the stone to the tomb and sits upon it.  The angel then says to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He is not here; He is risen just as He said.  Come and see the place where He lay” (Matthew 28:5-6).  There is so much being communicated in those 2 verses and its teaching holds many implications for our lives.  The words “just as He said” are a reminder that Jesus predicted His own death, including the details surrounding it.  And His resurrection from the dead is the verification of the authenticity of His teaching.  Jesus was who He claimed to be, the promised Messiah, the only Son of God, and all He has predicted has or will come to pass.

For us as believers in Jesus Christ, the certainty of the resurrection provides confidence for life today and hope for the future.  We know that His claim in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth and the life” is validated in the resurrection, and that we can follow His teachings with conviction and freedom from doubt.  We are also filled with hope, for we know that all Jesus promised for the future will become manifest in His perfect timing.  We look forward to a glorious inheritance knowing that Jesus has prepared a dwelling place for each of us.

In Matthew 25:31-32 Jesus partially describes His return to earth, “when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His throne in heavenly glory.  All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people from one another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”  At Christmas time we remember that Jesus came in meekness and humility in the form of a little child.  But at His second coming, He will come in glory and power, accompanied by the angels of heaven.  It is a day that we look forward to with anticipation, for in that day the Lord will establish a new heaven and a new earth that is described for us in Revelation 21.  It will be a marvelous day for all those who have put their faith and trust in the person of Jesus Christ.  I am told that Pastor Maynard Force, one of the early leaders of the Lutheran Evangelistic Movement, lived with an unusual sense of Jesus’ imminent return.  He would begin each day with the question “Maybe today?”  Oh, that we could live each day with that same sense of expectation and hope.

Yet, there is another truth revealed in the Matthew passage that needs to be considered as well.  That upon His return, Jesus will judge the people of the earth, separating them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from goats.  That separation will take place on the basis of how each one has responded to Jesus, whether it be faith or unbelief.  Matthew also describes this life of faith when he says that those who believe will be characterized by their care for the hungry, the poor, the sick, the naked and those in prison.  It is the kind of faith that the apostle James describes to the Christians of his day.  “This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of God and Father, to visit widows and orphans in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world” (James 1:27).  In short, it is a life of faith that is active, alive and expresses itself in sacrificial love toward its neighbor

In 1 Corinthians 15:19 the apostle Paul reminds us that “if Christ has not been raised from the dead” we are to be pitied above all men, for if Christ has not been raised there is no forgiveness of sins and our faith has been in vain.  But the historical evidence confirms what the angel declared, “He has risen, just as He said.”  Our profession in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is not a meaningless theological affirmation but the cornerstone of a life of faith.  The resurrection reminds us of the temporal nature of this life and puts into perspective the challenges, disappointments and frustrations of the daily grind.  The resurrection brings clarity to the discussion about what is truly important in life, for only those who have trusted in the person of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and are living a life of faith will enter the kingdom of heaven.  The resurrection validates the life of Jesus, and all that He taught, enabling us to pursue the promises of God without fear of disappointment.  The kingdom of God is not the fantasy of some theologian’s imagination but a present reality for all who acknowledge Him.  Jesus Christ is coming again and His return is imminent.  We know this is true because “He has risen, just as He said.”

February 18 is Ash Wednesday and the official start of the Lenten season. Historically, Lent has been a time to enter into a season of more focused reflection, prayer and fasting in preparation for the celebration of Resurrection Sunday. As we begin this Lenten season I am going to suggest that we read, and re-read, Revelation 2:1-7 while considering the following reflection points.

1. What was your relationship with God like when you first believed? What is it like now? What was it like to pray, to spend time in the Word and to fellowship with other believers? 

2. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any places in your life where your thinking does not line up with the truth of the Word of God. Are there any sins that have crept into your life for which you need to confess and repent?

3. What are the things that you did when your relationship with God was vital and alive? Why aren’t you doing them now? When will you start doing them again?

4. Our bearing witness is the natural result of being in a vital relationship with Jesus. Who has God place in your life that needs to hear of God’s great love and of the forgiveness that is found in Jesus Christ and Him alone?

“The Lord continues to deal with me about my critical spirit, convicting me that I have been wrong to judge any person or situation: ‘Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you (Mt. 7:1-2). One morning last week He gave me an assignment: for one day I was to go on a fast from criticism. I was not to criticize anybody about anything….For the first half of the day, I simply felt a void, almost as if I had been wiped out as a person….I listened to others and kept silent….Bemused, I noticed that my comments were not missed. The federal government, the judicial system, and the institutional church could apparently get along fine without my penetrating observations. But I still didn’t see what this fast on criticism was accomplishing- until mid-afternoon.

That afternoon, a specific, positive vision for this life (a man for whom she had prayed many years) dropped into my mind with God’s unmistakable hallmark on it-joy. Ideas began to flow in a way that I had not experienced in years. Now it was apparent what God wanted me to see. My critical nature had not corrected a single one of the multitudinous things I found fault with. What it had done was to stifle my own creativity- in prayer, in relationships, perhaps even in writing-ideas that He wanted to give me….What He is showing so far can be summed up as follows: 1) A critical spirit focuses us on ourselves and makes us unhappy. We lose perspective and humor. 2) A critical spirit blocks the positive creative thoughts God longs to give us. 3) A critical spirit can prevent good relationships between individuals and often produces retaliatory criticalness. 4) Criticalness blocks the work of the Spirit of God: love, good will and mercy. 5) Whenever we see something genuinely wrong in another person’s behavior, rather than criticize him or her directly, or-far worse-gripe about him behind his back, we should ask the Spirit of God to do the correction needed.

Convicted of the true destructiveness of a critical mind-set, on my knees I am repeating this prayer, ‘Lord, I repent of this sin of judgment. I am deeply sorry for having committed so gross an offense against You and against myself so continually. I claim Your promise of forgiveness and seek a new beginning.’ (Catherine Marshall, A Closer Walk Old Tappan, NJ: Chosen Books/Revell, 1986).

Intriguing to think about isn’t it? How often does criticism invade our thoughts and roll off our tongue? And maybe even more important to consider is what are we missing out on in life because of a critical spirit?   In this season of fasting and reflection God is calling each of us to repent, to change our tolerance, even satisfaction, for criticism and judgment that we might be released into creativity and joy. Are you willing to experiment and see what God will do?

In January of 1986 my dad had a massive stroke that left him paralyzed on his right side and without the ability to speak. It was to be my introduction to the world of heart disease and the devastating effects of what are sometimes called the silent killers of hypertension, stroke and heart attacks. In general, these conditions are either created, or exacerbated, by a poor diet and a lack of aerobic exercise. They are called silent because they most often go undetected until it is too late.

Over the years, I have discovered a kind of spiritual heart disease that is also created by a poor diet and a lack of exercise. And it too is often a silent killer. This is because we either don’t recognize its existence or consider it to be a natural part of the human condition. Therefore we don’t do anything about it. In any case, we seldom realize the devastating effects that it has on our faith and our ministry to others.

Doubt is the heart disease that I have in mind here. We know that we are called to live by faith, trusting in the character and promises of God, but doubt always seems to rise up, especially in the midst of adversity. The discovery part for me took place when I looked back in my own life and saw how tolerant I had become of doubting the Word of God. It was almost like I believed that there wasn’t any way to live without some level of doubt and that God didn’t really expect me to be completely free of doubt. It was a belief that I had never articulated but it existed nonetheless.

Over the next couple of weeks the Lord took me through some verses that have really helped me in my battle with doubt and unbelief. The journey began in Mark 11:22-24 when Jesus tells His disciples, “Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it shall be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they shall be granted you.” It is clear from what Jesus says here that it is not only possible for us to believe without any doubting but that doubt puts the answers to our prayers in jeopardy.

This truth is reinforced, and amplified, by the brother of Jesus in James 1:5-8 when the apostle James writes, “if any of your lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all men generously, without reproach. But let him ask in faith, without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man expect to receive anything from the Lord, being a double minded man, unstable in all his ways.” No doubt James had heard Jesus teach on, and then demonstrate the power of, having faith in God and he tells us that when we are walking in doubt we should not expect to receive anything from God. Though hard to hear, this admonition brings to mind the words of Hebrews 11:6, “and without faith it is impossible to please God.”

For many of us who battle doubt and unbelief these words of Jesus and the apostle are difficult to receive because we know that we are not able, in ourselves, to believe and not doubt, especially when living through the storms of life. In His grace, the Holy Spirit brought to mind another passage of Scripture. It came from Matthew 14:22-33 and it is the account where Jesus walks on the water and invites Peter to get out of the boat and join him on the water. “And Peter answered Him and said, ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water. And He said, ‘Come.’ And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, ‘Lord, save me.’  And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

The contrast is clear as crystal. When Peter responded in faith (believing that if Jesus commanded him to come that he could walk on water), he was in fact able to walk on water. But as soon as he took his eyes off of Jesus and looked at the wind (and the waves) he became afraid (doubted) and began to sink. In practical terms this means that we must have a good spiritual diet and we must enter into opportunities to exercise our faith. We must become people of praise and thanksgiving who recognize that Jesus is the answer for every situation in life. We need to meditate day and night on the Word of God (Joshua 1:8) and allow God build our faith in His goodness, His faithfulness and His ability to answer our prayers. We must avoid filling our minds with the values, beliefs and discontent of our culture that comes with watching hours of television, reading newspapers and surfing the Internet. Finally, we need to get out of the boat, where life is comfortable and secure, and we need to respond to the invitation of Jesus to walk on the water. May we together grow in our trust for Jesus and His word, leaving no place for doubt, a silent but ruthless enemy of our faith.

What kind of memories does the singing of that song bring back for you? Have you reflected on the meaning of the words of this great hymn which speak of the virgin birth, the deity of Jesus and the transforming power of Christ in the lives of all those who believe? To sing this great hymn of the faith, while reflecting upon its meaning, is to align ourselves with our true purpose in life as ambassadors for Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5:20). During the season of Advent we have a special opportunity to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ, not only that He has been born a child in Bethlehem some 2000 years ago, but that Jesus is coming again very soon to claim those who belong to Him and to sentence those who have rejected His offer of eternal life. 

For the most part, the people in our world move along in life oblivious to the fact that they are moving ever closer to a cataclysmic life event. Unlike the many calamities the media warn us about that never materialize, the Second Coming of Christ is both certain and imminent. Jesus offers sound counsel to His disciples while sitting on the Mount of Olives when He tells them the story of the 10 bridesmaids who went out to meet the bridegroom. Five were considered wise because they brought extra oil for their lamps, while the remaining five were considered foolish because their lamps were out of oil when the bridegroom appeared. In a summary statement Jesus tells His disciples, “so stay awake and be prepared, because you do not know the day or hour of My return” (Matthew 25:13, NLT). Our task and privilege this Christmas season is to help others prepare for the Lord’s return by calling them to repentance and faith. We know that the significance of the Christmas season is not found in the giving and receiving of gifts but in remembering the birth of Jesus the Christ-child and in preparing ourselves for His return. However, many who are close to us have yet to make a personal profession of faith and are unprepared for Christ’s return. By God’s grace, let us make the most of every opportunity that He provides for us to share the Christmas story with others and with the angelic host sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”

Then it was off to Bible school and seminary where I received extensive training in studying the Scriptures and developing skills for ministry, such as preaching, teaching, counseling and conducting weddings, funerals and baptisms. Six years, and 2 degrees later, I still had a sense that if God didn’t move nothing of spiritual significance would happen. But I also knew that I had been called, trained and equipped in the ways and purposes of God. I now had some ability and the temptation was to trust in those abilities to study, craft a sermon, win souls, disciple people and administrate the affairs of the church. I was no longer as desperate as I once had been.

In my first call it was time to be released and watch God change many lives in the congregation I had been called to serve. Six months later, after giving the congregation all that I had to give, I sat before the church council, desperate and broken, and asked them to re-affirm my call as their pastor. There had been no significant change or growth, only criticism, conflict and overwhelming human needs left unfulfilled. Once again, I didn’t know it but it was a great place to be.

Our sense of desperation, or dependence upon God, is a really a great gift because it strips us of our self-sufficiency and makes us aware of our dependence upon God’s grace in new ways. It also brings clarity about our ministry responsibilities, and allows God to do what only He can do. However, our desperation must not be allowed to turn to discouragement, which is what desperation becomes without God in the equation.

Are you desperate for God’s presence and empowerment for living? Do you live with a sense that if anything of significance is going to happen through you spiritually that you must be abiding in Jesus daily? Being desperate for God is a great gift, it will bless you and the people you serve.

Several years ago just before Christmas the topic of conversation was a local church that was raffling off the front pews for their very busy Christmas Eve service.  For a donation of $1,000 you and your family were not only guaranteed a place to sit but front row seats without the inconvenience of having to arrive early.  As you might imagine the practice was causing quite the stir in the congregation and the community at large.

Much of the conversation was predictable with many noting that the money was going to support the school that was associated with the church and therefore the ends justified the means.  Others pointed out that the church should be the one place where money shouldn’t be able to buy privilege.  Still others didn’t see any distinction between this and other forms of fundraising done by the church such as bake sales, bingo and church bazaars.  Opinions abounded.  Some were outrageous, others were well thought out and carefully presented but virtually all missed the significance of what was taking place.

None of this is news, of course, but I was struck with a particular point in the program.  A female listener called in and informed the radio hosts that they need not wonder about the correctness of such a practice or what God would think because the Bible had specifically addressed this very circumstance.  She then read from James chapter 2, verses 2-6a,

For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes and say, ‘You sit here in a good place’ and you say to the poor man, ‘You stand over there or sit down by my footstool,’ have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil motives?  Listen my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?  But you have dishonored the poor man.’

No sooner had she read these words and the host responded with, “You don’t think the pastor has read the book of James?  He obviously has a different interpretation.”  The point was discredited, dismissed and the discussion moved on to more of the same.

The incident had several points of application for me.  The first was the reminder that the majority of the world does not share our world-view or our understanding of the Bible as God’s Word given to us for our instruction.  And they certainly would not afford the Bible the same level of authority that we give it, that it is the final authority in all matters of life and faith.

This reality holds tremendous implications for our interactions with those outside the faith, especially as it relates to evangelism.  We need first of all to inform people of what the Bible says about God, the fall of mankind and of the person of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Then we need to show them why they should believe the Bible is true.  And finally we need to convince them that all of this applies to them and invite them to respond in repentance and faith.  There is much work to be done before presenting the Good News of Jesus’ love and forgiveness.

A second, and more personal, application was to consider what level of authority the Bible carries in my own life.  Normally, this is understood in a negative sense such as applying to the commandments of God to inform our behavior.  While this is a proper application, it is only half of the story.  We must also declare the truthfulness of those statements that are made about the unconditional love, the extravagant grace, the abounding mercy and the unending forgiveness of the God of the Scriptures.  These truths rightly define God’s character and His disposition toward us as His creatures.  Our ability to think and act correctly in the myriad of life circumstances that will come our way depends upon our understanding and really believing the promises of God.  When life doesn’t make sense and circumstances are pressing in against us, tempting us to doubt and unbelief, we must stand firm on the truthfulness of God’s Word and the character of God.

As a response today you might ask yourself some questions.  First, what is God saying to me right now?  Is He bringing a word of comfort or a word of challenge?  Am I allowing the Word of God to be the final authority in every area of my life?  Or only those areas that are comfortable for me?  Second, what is calling me to do about what He is saying to me?  What specific actions do I need to take in order to walk in obedience to His revealed will?  To do nothing invites a hardening of our hearts that will ultimately undo us spiritually.

As people we want our lives to count for something, that in the end we would know that we had made a difference with the life that we lived.  As our culture continues its drift into increasing levels of lawlessness and rebellion it is our opportunity to make a difference.  To take a stand in a graceful way and declare both the errors of the general culture but more importantly the goodness of God that will lead people to repentance.  It is a high calling to be salt and light in a world that walks in darkness.  Are you standing on the promises of God?  

Beginning Sunday morning November 16 at 9:30 am in the Heritage Sanctuary I will begin a four week study on the Bible.  We will be looking at issues like, where did the Bible come from? Can I really trust the Bible?  Why should I listen to what the Bible says about anything?  How do I make any sense of the Bible and more importantly make application to my life?  If you struggle to know what to do or what to say about many of life’s challenges this will be a great opportunity for you.  Hope to see you there. 

I have heard him recount many times how he knew early on that the only way for the ministry to grow, and for him to survive, was to train leaders who could also do the work of the ministry. Thus began his emphasis on the establishment of small groups and personal mentoring ministry. God used (and is using even now) Pastor Jack, and others, to bring renewal to the Lutheran Church in Brazil, a continuing movement that has seen several generations of Brazilians come to personal faith in Jesus Christ and grow as disciples who are representing Him to the world. 

Jack knew (suspected) that there were many attending the church who did not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. So he preached a Gospel message and gave an invitation for the people to respond in faith. But there was no response. The next week he preached the same message and again the next week. After the 3^rd week of hearing the same message, one of the elders of the church confronted him. He demanded to know why he kept preaching the same message each week and if he intended to ever preach on anything else. Jack responded by saying that he was indeed ready to preach on other important matters of faith as soon as they had responded in faith to the person of Jesus Christ. One cannot build until the proper foundation has been laid.

I have reflected on the significance of this encounter many times and have often thought about how this principle might apply to my life and ministry today. While it is true that many, maybe even most, within our churches have a personal relationship with Jesus, the majority are not experiencing the fullness of life that God has for them. And what about those that have never personally experienced the forgiveness of God, especially the children? Luke 15 demonstrates Jesus’ heart and concern for even “the one” who was lost. Then there is the matter of the many who have deluded themselves by becoming “hearers only” and not doers of the Word (James 1:22-23). People clamor for new truth, new insight and new understanding of the Word without any thought given to living out the truth they already understand. We dare not assume that people have understood or will respond in obedience.

One of the great opportunities for us as followers of Christ is to bring people back to the basics of “trust and obey.” To bring people to assurance of their salvation and then create an environment where they are encouraged to observe (live out) the basic commandments of God and thus fulfill the law of Christ We can, and should, teach the whole counsel of God but unless the proper foundation has been laid it will bear little fruit. Let us work together to bring people into an authentic experience of the Father’s love, help them respond in personal faith and then teach to observe all that the Lord has commanded us. Freedom and the resultant fullness of life is not found in living however we please but in understanding and embracing the teachings and principles that govern life in the Kingdom of God.

On the last Sunday of this month we will celebrate the first Sunday in Advent. It is a time in the church year when we remember that Jesus, the Son of God, broke into our world by taking on flesh and living among us. In fulfillment of prophecy, the long awaited Messiah came and established His kingdom among us. It is a majestic truth, worthy of our grandest celebrations.

Yet, there is another dimension to the season of Advent that receives less attention but carries even greater significance for us, and the history of the world. I am thinking of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, that day in the history of the world when Jesus returns in glory with His angels to judge the nations of the earth. It is a day fixed in the future, known only to the Father, when Jesus will return visibly to earth. He will raise the dead, judge the nations according to His word, create a new heaven and a new earth, take His children to be with Him and establish His reign as King, forever. For the righteous it will be a glorious time. However, for those outside a covenant relationship that comes by faith, there will be wailing, weeping and the gnashing of teeth as truth descends upon them and God proclaims His judgments. It will be Judgment Day.

This truth has largely escaped the world in which we live, and many times even within our churches it remains one of those obscure, seemingly irrelevant, teachings that is covered in confirmation class and promptly forgotten. Yet, Jesus warns us in Scripture to be alert and to prepare ourselves for His coming, for there will be many who are caught off guard and unprepared. In Matthew 7:21-29 Jesus refers to “that day” when many will call out to Him, “Lord, Lord” but they will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus describes 2 groups of people who will be surprised and rejected and he also details the way to prepare to enter the kingdom of heaven.

In verse 21, Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.” For these words to have their true impact, we have to remember that Jesus is not addressing an irreligious group of people but the covenant people of God who had been entrusted with the law of God. Jesus is talking about people who know what to say, and say it piously, but they do not live in obedience to the Lord’s commands.

The second group of people is addressed in verse 22 when Jesus says, “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord’, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?” But Jesus rejects their empty expressions of faith and their religious works with the response, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.” This group of people appeals to the good works they have done in Jesus’ name but are rejected because they continually practice a life apart from (or in contradiction to) the law of God.

Finally, in the parable of the 2 builders Jesus declares we prove ourselves to be members of the kingdom of God, and prepare ourselves for the coming Judgment, by hearing, receiving and obeying God’s Word. Specifically Jesus has in mind here that we would obey all that He taught the multitudes beginning in chapter 5:3 and concluding with chapter 7, verse 23. Our love for God is expressed in a life of obedience to His revealed will and in practical expressions of kindness to our neighbor. It is the cycle of our receiving God’s love and responding in obedience that enables us to live life in the kingdom of God.

It is my conviction that the 2^nd Coming of Christ is the oft forgotten message of Advent. Some have never heard the message that Jesus is coming again in judgment and they are unprepared for “that day.” While others who have heard, are hoping their empty professions of faith and religious acts will get them into the kingdom of heaven. They too are unprepared for “that day.” Finally, there are those that think somehow they will be able to avoid the coming judgment or that it somehow won’t be that bad. They too are unprepared for “that day.” However, each is similar in that they will be brought to the place where they will say, “If I had known…”

As we celebrate Advent, let us commit ourselves to sharing the whole message of Advent with someone who is unprepared to meet the King. Our celebrations will be more festive and all heaven will rejoice with us.