The Three P's

I wonder how often I've missed opportunities to follow Jesus as Lord because I was afraid to lose something of worldly value? Once our family was invited to serve in an orphanage in Russia. I did not see how we could raise the money and I was fearful about resigning my job. So, I wonder whether I truly sought for God's will in deciding to not go.

• "they did not enter into the Praetorium in order that they might not be defiled, but might eat the Passover." -John 18:28

There are many churchgoers who are very concerned about how things are done in their church. Are the correct procedures, traditions or doctrines being followed and taught? The religious leaders who brought Jesus to Pilate were very concerned that they not defile themselves without realizing that they were trying to kill the very One who was at the core of their religion.

• "We have no king but Caesar." -John 19:15

In exactly the same way, we can be focused on appearances and hardly recognize that our life is actually based on "We have no king but Caesar". Instead of being genuinely open to following Christ in our profession, entertainment and thinking, we may only be rationalizing our fear to risk things of only worldly value. When our lips say, "Christ is Lord!", where is our heart? Are we actually open to handing over our position, prestige and pocketbook to the Lover Of Our Soul?

Hungry for Love Letters

There have been many books written about the power of our thoughts. Our feelings flow out of our thoughts. Thoughts lead to words and actions. If the thoughts we entertain are true, courageous and right, then our lives will tend in a positive direction. If my thoughts were to focus on lies, deception, self or fear, then the resulting emotions, words and actions would move my life and relationships in a very negative direction.

"I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one." --1 John 2:14

This verse from 1 John reveals some of the power of having God's Word abide in our thoughts. Through His Word, we get God's perspective and we have light and truth flowing into our lives. If we genuinely hear, His Word will change our thinking and give us power to overcome the lies and fears that the world and the evil one constantly throw at us. Many of us try to have a good diet or take supplements to bring good nutrition in to our bodies. It is many times more important to bring the spiritual power and nutrition of God's Word into our thinking.

When I get a letter from my lover, I do not read a sentence or two each day. No man says that he HAS to spend five minutes each day reading a letter from his sweetheart. A letter from our lover is devoured. It is read and re-read. We don't have to read it. We get to read it. We hunger and thirst to read it. God, the Lover of our soul, has written us a love letter and it will give us power as we let it soak in and change our thinking.

Spiritual Maturity

In 1 John 2:12-14, John lists the different parts of the audience for which his letter is intended. It is also a definition of different levels of spiritual maturity.

Spiritual Children
- Their sins are forgiven
- They know God as Father

Spiritual Young Men (or Young Women)
- All the above
- They have strength of spirit and character
- They have overcome the evil one in their lives
- They have God's Word "living" in their souls

Spiritual Fathers (or Spiritual parent)
- All the above
- Being a father or parent implies that they have reproduced spiritual children
- They have an intimate knowledge of Christ, the living Word, who was from the beginning (1 John 1)

May God work in each of our lives and give us grace to grow into higher levels of spiritual maturity. May He also give us grace to encourage growth in those under our care.

Eyes

Do you have your ticket for heaven? I used to have a ticket for heaven -- or so I thought. In my mistaken understanding, there was a formula by which one earned a ticket to heaven. And, I had gone through the formula and completed all the rituals. Once I got my ticket, I only needed to be more or less good and I could just enjoy this life. As Paul indicated in these verses from Philippians, my focus and guide continued to be my Appetite -- my various desires for pleasure in this world. It seems possible that Paul was warning that, sadly, there are supposed Christians who are not actually citizens of heaven. These people, thinking like I used to, are still citizens of the world who believe they have a ticket to heaven.

The ticket trap is subtle but deadly. A follower of rules, regulations or formulas is not the same as a follower of Christ. Rules and laws are for citizens of the world who are still motivated by self-focused desires. In contrast, when one hears with faith and becomes a new creation, he is motivated and empowered to do whatever is right based on love for his heavenly Father and love for his neighbor. Laws are not needed to guide or constrain the activity of sacrificial love. We are called to shine as lights but service to our neighbor should not be a result of a program, peer pressure or a sense of duty. We should not be punching a service, attendance or salvation ticket. Our service and, in fact, our whole life will only be meaningful as it flows out of God's love that has come alive in our heart.

There is a dramatic and fundamental difference between citizens of the world and citizens of heaven. A citizen of heaven has been through a crucifixion and has been made a new creation. So, where a citizen of the world is guided and powered by self-love and keeps his mind set on things of the earth, a citizen of heaven is guided and powered by selfless-love. A citizen of heaven has goals and visions that focus on heavenly things. My own eyes began to be opened when, by God's grace, I saw a glimpse of the reality of my earthly focus. A citizen of heaven no longer finds his identity and purpose through earthy status of being rich or poor, free or slave, male or female, country boy or city boy -- he is now an adopted son of the Creator of all things. He has become an alien but also a representative in this world who is on a mission. His mission is to make Christ visible, to announce the good news of redemption, and to help his neighbors also become citizens of heaven. It is vital to see with the eyes of a loving son of God rather than those of a worldly, salvation ticket holder. "Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven..."

For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven... Phil 3:17+

Barrier Breaker

I ... was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. Gal 1:14

Paul was zealous and, sadly, we can also be zealous for traditions rather than God. Paul thought he was being true to God's calling but he was only trying to protect a form of religion that had been given to him by his ancestors. Those who are filled with zeal for Jesus will always be trampling on the toes of those who are zealous for traditions. We read of how the Pharisees reacted to Jesus and we think, "I would not have reacted that way." But, it is very, very easy to find ourselves in the place of a Pharisee. A Pharisee is not as concerned with people as with his idea of the law. Jesus touched lepers, he conversed with a Samaritan woman, he let women be his followers and sit at his feet with the men, and he even healed on the Sabbath. The Pharisees thought it would be better for the people to continue in their suffering rather than be healed by Jesus in a way that conflicted with their tradition. Lord, where is my heart? Jesus broke through all kinds of barriers of custom, tradition and culture in order to reach needy people with good news, healing, hope and God's love. In our culture, it is becoming more and more difficult to even speak Jesus' name. May God give us hunger, thirst and zeal to follow Jesus wherever and however He leads even if we feel uncomfortable breaking through some barrier of culture, custom or tradition.