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.

Praying With Our Caps On

1 Cor 11:4 - Every man who has something on his head while praying, or prophesying, disgraces his head.

When it comes to Law, we can find both big rules and little rules. But, breaking a "little" rule is still breaking the Law. For example, it is common to see men remove their hats and caps whenever they are in prayer. 1 Cor 11:3, 7 and 8 provide a justification for this supposed rule. The justification itself is based on a spiritual principle and not on custom or culture. A related "rule" in the same section of Scripture, based on the same spiritual principle, states that women should not pray without a head covering. So, does wearing a hat while praying invalidate a man's prayer and place him in a state of sin? Is a woman in sin, if she never wears a head covering whether she is praying or not?

There are many, many possible rules that can be extracted from the New Testament. "Owe no man anything..", "A woman must remain silent in church..", "Greet one another with a kiss of love.." and whatever rule is your favorite. Yet, it is clearly stated and a basic principle in the New Testament, that the keeping of rules, the maintenance of appearance, and the mere saying of right words is of little or no value. What does matter, with infinite importance, is whether one is a new creation by the Holy Spirit.

Whether we speak or keep silent, wear our cap or remove it, and go in debt or not, is not right or wrong based on rules. These things are right or wrong based on Godly love. Godly love is the type of love that Jesus spoke of when He said, "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you." We are clearly called to die for one another. In fact, we are called to die to self -- daily. As one small example, I personally believe that it is best for men and especially myself to not drink alcoholic beverages. But, a few years ago, my bride and I were visiting a family in China who were not believers. As a sign of hospitality, the elderly father offered me a drink of liquor. There have been many times over the years when I have turned down offers of beer, wine or whiskey. In this case, however, I sensed that rejection of his sign of hospitality would create a significant obstacle to the Good News. So, I accepted his offering, drank and expressed gratefulness. And, indeed, I was sincerely grateful for his generous spirit of hospitality.

In a way, the flesh prefers rules. By picking and choosing the rules to be obeyed, it is possible to create a framework wherein the flesh can justify itself to itself. Our salvation, however, is not dependent on our ability to obey one, ten or even hundreds of rules. Salvation is possible only through the cross of Christ and it is dependent on only one thing -- whether, by God's grace, we are a new creation in our spirit. It is by God's Spirit leading us to walk in the way of genuine love that we realize the proper behavior in a specific culture, context or situation. It is in the context of love of God and love of neighbor that the letters in the New Testament were written. And, the Way of Love is still the way to discover the behavior that will be best for spreading the Light of Christ, the Good News of Jesus and God's Kingdom into any environment or community. So, as children of God and followers of Christ, whether we pray with our caps on or off, let us choose the action which is motivated not by rules but by faith working through the love of Christ which is alive in our hearts.

Rom 13:10 -- "..love is the fulfillment of the law"

Gal 5:6 -- "..faith working through love"
Gal 6:12-16
Gal 5:14 -- "..the whole law is fulfilled in one word.." Rom 14.23 -- "..whatever is not from faith is sin."

Outside the Velvet Cage

"Go.." Matthew 28:18+

God calls ordinary people like you and me to heroic accomplishment for His Kingdom. The astonishing fact is that He will work this through weakness. To say, "I can't but I will try and see what God does" is to open the floodgates of God's power into this world. But, too often, I stop at the "I can't" and implicitly believe Satan's lie that God is either non-existent or un-interested. Tiny steps of faith are the keys to God's storehouse of power. The programming of our lives to fit the cultural norm is one way that we limit God's power. It is a little scary to be different. The programming of church services is one manifestation of this fear of risk. Many church services could keep on going week after week even after the Holy Spirit has stopped showing up. Most of us have been careful to eliminate the spots in our lives and churches where we might actually have to be dependent on God's power. In the book of John, Jesus said that we must abide in Him or we would accomplish absolutely nothing. The sad thing is that we can satisfy ourselves with the apparent security of busy-ness while achieving nothing, nada and zip. So, we have lives and churches that are like mice running in tiny circles within the security of a cage. The cat won't get us but we will die of hyperactivity and old age without ever getting anywhere. Lord, help me and all those reading this to hear your voice and to take the first tiny step of faith. Let's each ask God for some tiny amount of guts and faith in Him to say, "I can't but I will trust and try" and take some steps outside of the comfortable, velvet cage.

Liars Telling The Truth

Romans 12:2 - "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed.."

Human beings are very good at conforming. Instead of being who we really are, we modify our external appearance and behavior to conform to external pressures. The pressures could be cultural. Recently, I saw our Secretary of State wearing a head covering because she was in a country where this was expected of women. But, it was obviously not a permanent change. The pressure could be job related as when we must arrive at a certain time. We might even be required to smile. When I was in college, on my first interview trip, I felt pressure to order a alcoholic drink in order to seem more sophisticated. Since I didn't know what I was doing, I ordered and drank something that was not appropriate for lunch for an interviewee. My attempt to look sophisticated was a disaster. Conforming means we give in to the pressure and adopt a behavior that is not connected to who we really are internally. As all parents soon learn, behavior and appearance can be temporarily modified by external pressure. But, when that external constraint is removed, the genuine inner person will soon be manifest.

The incredible good news of Jesus is that we are no longer stuck with being a born loser trying to conform to the image of a winner. When we trust Jesus as the sacrifice for our sin and cling to Him as our only hope, as our Lover, and as our Lord, we receive His Spirit as a gift. We instantly receive the spirit of the Eternal Victor. There is no longer the need for God to surround us with fences, regulations and dress codes. Our deepest desires are changed so that we genuinely want to know and do the will of the Father. This change happens in our spirit and begins to percolate through our whole being. This leads to struggles between the desires of the new spirit and the nasty appetite of the old flesh. As Bonhoeffer said, "It is better to be a honest man who tells a lie, than a liar who tells the truth."

God commands us to love Him. Yet, it is impossible to have commanded love. No bride wants her husband to show love because it is an obligation. The only way we can genuinely love is to have the spirit of love. To give because it is a requirement is a waste of the gift, "for God loves a cheerful giver". The movie, "The Sound of Music", shows the change in a family that goes from rule conformity to living in love. At first, the children responded quickly to the whistle and acted like well trained, little soldiers. Later, the father experienced their genuine love and hugs. No father or mother wants a hug that is given out of obligation because it is basically a lie. A loving son can break many customs and rules and still have an obedient attitude. But, a son with a rebellious attitude can never keep enough rules to communicate love. "So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God." The truth of who we are in the depths of our being as a person, a family or a church is infinitely more important than the appearances, rules and obligations to which we conform. May the Lord Jesus be our focus, our love and our hope such that we are genuine sons of God rather than just liars who have learned to tell the truth.

Joy Seed

So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;
and should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up,
he knows not how.

No man is satisfied with who he is. Every man or woman wants change in some way. Being braver, wiser, more knowledgeable, more influential, or more Christ-like are just a few of the ways we might want to change. Anyone who wants their life or a relationship to go to a new level must personally expect and experience internal change. If anyone wants to change, they must first change their thinking. In the parable of the sower, Jesus described four types of soil and the response to the seed. The seed was God's Word. As we take in God's Word, it will sprout, grow up, and begin to produce everlasting fruit in our lives. As we act on our changed thinking and encourage others to take in the Word of life, we will sometimes be surprised to see how new life springs up in them. But, without the seed, the fruit can not even begin to grow.

A man may hope for his children to be spiritually strong. He might want a strong marriage with a partnership in meaningful ministry. As life draws to a close, a man may want to be able to look back and see lasting results from his life. These things don't happen by accident. These fruits require good seed. But, many men fail to cast good seed into their own soul let alone the souls of those in their family or sphere of influence. There is another type of seed. Bad seed that comes from the world system and it produces temporary fruit like riches, status and pleasure. If we're not careful, the bad seed of wrong values, poor priorities and self-focus can and will choke out the fruit we really want in our families and in our selves. When we experience the fruit that God wants in our lives we will be filled with joy. But, are we planting weed seeds or joy seeds?

May God help each of us to daily get His Word into our souls.

Mark 4:26+, Matthew 13