What Will Ye Do In The End?

“The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?”- Jeremiah 5:31

          When I think about man's inability to contemplate the end of something it strikes me that when it comes to building our kingdoms here we often can look towards the end. Think of the Olympic athlete who is training now for something that comes four years from now.  Think of a commercial developer buying land for something they may build years in the future.  Why, just this week the Georgia port authority announced a multi-million dollar project that was begun in efforts to increase capacity—looking into the year twenty thirty.  Elon Musk is trying to look hundreds of years down the road to put mankind on mars.  The investment banker puts millions into a company in hopes to receive millions more in the long-term future.  If it is a matter of temporal gain, personal wealth, or collective triumph, we don’t struggle with future planning. However, when we begin to speak about eternity it seems the brain short circuits. Many people go through this life neglecting this great consideration.  Perhaps the devil steps in and clouds our judgment.  And yet, a certain death is coming. It is the devil’s business to busy us about anything else, and keep our minds on this temporary world. However, it is the role of the Spirit to turn our hearts and minds to the end. The spirit does this through preaching, teaching, Bible reading, church services, and even funerals. The wisdom of Solomon says that it is better to go to the house of mourning than feasting, because in the house of mourning we must face the end.  Why is it so hard for mankind to face his end?  Perhaps it is scary, perhaps it is so final and so daunting it’s better to ignore.  Perhaps we don’t believe what we sometimes say we believe: that there is a heaven, and there is a hell— that there is something beyond this life. It is all these things, but I also feel through the instruction of this scripture in Jeremiah that it is because we love to have it so.  We love to have the here and now. We love to have the natural world surround us, consume us, comfort us, and invite us to playfulness.  We love to have it so, and to consider that it will all end is to challenge that love.  We must cast down our idol of playfulness and turn our attention to the sobering reality that we are mortal and God is eternal. 

 Herein is the responsibility of the Christian— to fix our hearts on eternity and warn the people to flee from the wrath to come; to give a more earnest heed lest we let them slip; to live with eternity’s values in view and remain a pilgrim here on earth.  Through prayer, reading, witnessing, testifying, assembling together, we can find the strength and insight to do these things.  In short , through the Spirit we can live with the ultimate end in mind.

The Holy Spirit

 

“But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”  -Romans 8:9

“Are you sanctified?”  I asked.  “What do you mean sanctified?” an honest response.  “Do you have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit?”  I followed.  Then came their follow up: “What is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit?"

It is entirely possible that many people around us are never prompted to explore the meaning behind the words “the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.”  Perhaps some, are outwardly (or inwardly) asking “what is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit?”  Or “what do they mean by sanctified?”  While we, I, continue completely unaware that the word is tragically foreign to them. So, what is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit?  In the first place the Holy Spirit is not tangible or natural.  He cannot be seen.  He cannot be bottled, manufactured, or marketed.  He is a person.  The third part of God the Father and God the Son.  Like the wind, He does not go where He is not sent and does not stay where He is not welcome.  He is God.  He is Christ, and He testifies of Jesus Christ.  He reproves sin and makes holy that which He baptizes.  He makes holy wherever He abides.  He is called in scripture the: Holy Ghost, the Spirit, the Comforter, the Spirit of God, Living Water, the Spirit of Truth.  He is the second coming of Christ.  The fulfillment of Jesus’s prophecy that he will come again and receive us unto himself.  The Holy Spirit is the establishment of the New Testament church, and the keeper of the New Testament Christian.  He is why we can live holy.  When the Holy Spirit shows up, things happen, they change, you change, you take on the character of the Holy Spirit, which is holiness.  You die to the old way of living, which is sinfulness, and you are raised into a new life of righteousness.  No one can go to heaven without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is what invades a willing heart and purges out the “want” to sin.  Furthermore, it implants a seed of love in your heart; love towards God and man, perfect love; true holiness: Sanctification.  It is Jesus on the inside; it is why I believe we can live without committing a willful transgression against God, because the Holy Spirit can keep us from sin.  Christ promised he could, he would and then sent the Holy Spirit to give us the power to live free from sin.  Our will is God’s will as long as we yield to the instruction of the Holy Spirit. 

“Indwelling.”  The Holy Spirit is not like a house cat.  He does not go and come on a whim.  He will abide, but he will not stay where he is not welcome.  He will not enter where he is not invited.  If you can imagine your heart as a throne room, where the ruler of all your desires can be found, on that throne sits the devil if you are not sanctified (meaning you don’t have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit).   Only when you, with all sincerity: repent of your sins, and ask God to send the Holy Ghost to throw out the devil and take the throne; only then will he come.  He will come, he will dwell, and he will guide, if you are obedient.  He will change your desires and make your heart and life anew.  What a blessing! What peace! What a comfort! What a joy to have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  Do you have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit?      

A Worldly Marriage

“In those days also saw I Jews that had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab: And their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews' language, but according to the language of each people.” –Nehemiah 13: 23-24

The consequence of an action will not always immediately follow the action itself. In many cases, consequences come much later. After the action or decision has remained in the annals of time. It is then we look back and see the error of our ways and grasp the realization of our mistake. Only to desperately hope there is time for reconciliation.

The scripture tells us that the Jews had married the wives of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab; “and their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod and could not speak in the Jews’ language.” God has always wanted a separate people. Unlike certain clubs and organizations, the separation is not for pride or arrogance’s sake, but for the sake of love, goodness, and holiness. Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab were pagan lands, with pagan beliefs and practices. The Jews were a people of one God. The true God, and their beliefs and practices reflected the desires of Almighty God. The language they spoke, the food they ate, the way they: lived, dressed, and believed were in total contrast to the nations around them. They were peculiar people. Within these beliefs and practices it mandated that they could not marry “strange” women, meaning women of other nations. Marriage is an intimate relationship. It is the most intimate relationship that exists on earth between two people. When two people are grafted together, they will undoubtedly take on the characteristics of one another. It is like two fruit trees that are grafted together. The union formed in hopes of creating a better overall variety (though it does not always), but when they bear fruit, the seeds of that fruit will not reflect the parent type, how can it? The union was not ordained by God, only man. So it was, the children of these unholy unions within the Jewish nation did not reflect their parent type, i.e., God. They reflected the marriage of the church and the world. They were a lost generation, torn between the world and the church. A casualty of choice by those gone before, who loved the world. Why did they love the strange women so? Was it their exotic dress? The liberal lifestyle? The promise of extravagance? The scripture does not say, but this we know, they were lost, and their children were lost. Therefore, this action of worldly marriage was met with stern rebuke and exhortation to change. Desperately hoping for a realization of the consequences of their actions, and a resolve to hastened towards immediate reconciliation. The people of God cannot expect to be intimate with the world and there not be consequences. The Apostle Peter tells us that sanctified people are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people. When the Holy Ghost convicts you, forgives you, and sanctifies you; he calls you out of the world. You cannot love what they love, go where they go, and worship what they worship (i.e., lust of flesh, of the eyes, and pride of life). When you become filled with all the fullness of God, your heart cleansed from all sin, and you are called to daily walk in the light.  What draws you, excites you, occupies you, and affects you is a direct reflection on what lives within you.  A product of what you have wed yourself too.  The fruit of your union is the conversation of your life.

If the only Christianity that the generation coming behind us sees, is one that is married to the world; then they will see no Christianity. What is worse, if the only Christianity that the generation behind them sees, is one predicated on the worldliness they saw in us; then that generation will think that is Christianity. This is the consequence of a worldly marriage. 

Gift Of Faith

“Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.”- 1 Peter 1:12

 The scripture tells that we are saved by grace through faith.  “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph 2:8-9) Salvation which God so freely offers, and Christ willingly died for, is offered through faith.   Of all of God’s creation, this realm of faith that we live in is only experienced by mankind.  No other creation has or needs this salvation by faith.  We are the only ones who will ever know God in this way. 

 The angels live in the presence of God.  They know and see Him in the realm of the spiritual.  A realm we cannot totally experience while living in this physical world.  Therefore, angels are without faith and the necessity of faith for salvation.  They desire to “look into” but cannot fully see.  The animals, plants, trees, etc. are all physical.  They have no spirit. No concept of eternity.  No free will.  No opportunity to serve God, love God, or be in judgment before God.  It is not murder for a lion to kill.  Nature exists in a purely carnal sense, with no concept of sin and righteousness.  Therefore, they have no need or experience of salvation through faith.  Of all the created beings that God made, humanity is the only creation that lives in the realm of faith.  What a thing this is.  That we can know God in this way and speak to him in this language.  Experience Him in this manner.  The Bible says that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Heb 11:1) Which means we have a hope that is unique to us.  A hope that has been prepared for us, by the Christ who died for us and gave us access to the Father through faith.  This faith cannot be commercialized or monetized.  It is not subject to our adulteration or censorship.  It is a gift from God and rooted in love and devotion.  It is both our ultimate hope and our only hope.  Simple faith, faith in the risen Christ Jesus.  Faith that cleanses, redeems, and restores us into the right relationship of holiness with God.  Faith that, through the Holy Ghost, binds us to the one true Savior Jesus Christ.  Giving us the earnest of the Spirit, our confidence of eternal life.  If we keep the faith.  It calls and unites us into a body of believers and brings to us a profound sense of belonging.  Regardless of race, color, or social status.  Without it, it is impossible to see God.  With it is it possible.  When we believe that God is and is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him, we can see Him through the eyes of faith; and one day see Him face to face.  We are the only ones who are afforded the opportunity to do so.  It is a shame that so many squander this opportunity to live for the carnal.  For the temporary.  Devoted to the natural instead of embracing the spiritual.  Do you not know that this natural realm will soon pass away?  We are here for such a short time, and then we are soon gone. Furthermore, we will only pass this way but once, and to live our lives fixed on the world while rejecting Christ is criminally shortsighted.  How pitiful is this?  Especially when you consider that we are so privileged to know and experience God through this precious gift of faith.

The angels desire to look in.  I am reminded of photos of a crowded Fenway Stadium in the early 1900’s.  The sold-out stadium was so packed that it showed some climbing the grandstand and perched on the water tower to get a glimpse of baseball’s best.  The angels, the angels desire to look in.  They would like to see and know God as we do.  We will never pass this way again.  Our opportunity is swiftly passing by.  It would be a shame to waste it. 

Humble Yourself

“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” – 1 Peter 5:6-7

“Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18) Humility is a defense, therefore pride is a weapon of the devil that he uses liberally.  The carnal heart is infected with pride because it is a pillar of carnality.  A man’s pride chains him to the undue estimation of himself.  Furthermore, it banishes the humility that would invite the character, direction, and hand of God in his life.  Opening the door of access to Christ.   

Jesus Christ said, “I do nothing of myself.”  This is totally contrary to the way the world and Satan.  Satan would have the sanctified, Christian believer, do everything of themselves.  The trials, tribulations, and challenges of life must be met, necessities must be met, and most of us have creature comforts that we feel we must maintain.  In addition, there are goals, ambitions, and wishes that we feel compelled to perform.  All of this brings care, stress, and anxiety.  Take something as simple as cutting the grass.  Apparently, it is unbecoming of a neighbor to have an untidy lawn, so we labor to keep it tidy.  In that process we procure a mower, weed eater, and broom or leaf blower; or we simply pay someone who has that already.  Regardless, we are then in need of gainful employment that will provide the money to pay or procure tools to cut the grass.  Is grass cutting a source of anxiety in our life?  Most likely not, however, it is a stressor.  It brings a cause of care to our little kingdom.  Depending on the size of your kingdom it may be one of the one hundred things that cause care and worry.  You may feel like you are adequately managing the kingdom or totally failing.  In either case, if you have the mindset that you are doing it, that you are in charge; then you are setting yourself up for destruction.  The devil is moving you into the danger zone, setting up pride as an idol in your own heart and letting you believe that “you got this.”  True, it may all be “under control” today, but there is coming a day when it’s not.  There is a day when you need a Savior.  To some it may come sooner rather than later, to a few it may come later, but to all it will come.  The show may go on with a confident smile; but when death comes, nobody can pass judgment without Jesus.  If pride is cemented in your heart, you will not pass judgment.  Therefore, in all things we must “do nothing of myself.”  We must humble ourselves and cast all your care on Him for he careth for you.  Pride can be destroyed in the human heart as surely as sin can, but the world, flesh, and the devil will constantly try to resurrect it.  Therefore, we must die daily and cast it all on Jesus.  Humble ourselves and let him lift us up.

Humility is the silver bullet to the temptation of pride.  Pride leads to care, anxiety, worry, and fear.  Humility firmly puts Jesus Christ in the driver seat.  You don’t have to have it all figured out.  You don’t have to have to be “owning life”; but you do have to cast all your care upon him.  We all must humble ourselves.  When we do, God will lift us up and take care of us; he will keep that which is committed unto him “against that day.”

The Essential Office

“When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.”-2 Timothy 1:5

Without question, one of the most underappreciated and overlooked roles in America right now, is the Christian housewife.  It seems our society with its obsession with progression took us from gender roles, to gender neutrality, to gender fluidity.  In so doing, we never stopped thinking about what was being sacrificed to fuel our progression.  While everyone should have equal opportunity, if it is a woman's ambition to be a wife, mother, and housewife; you will scarcely find a nobler calling. 

Our worldly culture today exalts education, business, and enterprise.  It champions free thinking and “me” first discovery.  You can be what you want, do what you want, and marry whomever you want.  The militant message is that the Bible, the home, and the title of “housewife” is simply a way to keep the women in her place.  It is pushed that modern women are not so one dimensional.  She can do, say, and go wherever she pleases; and being a mom can simply be one of the many hats that she can wear, and the men are there to support her in this endeavor.  In all this, the result can quickly become that we are all too encumbered to stop and ask: who is guarding the home?  Who is guiding the home?  Modern day parents are working 60 hour a week jobs, paying babysitters, and virtually killing themselves so they can send their kids to top universities, and have the American dream.  Debt riddled families are sacrificing time with their kids to pay for things they purchased to impress people they don’t even know.  Diligently saving what remains to send their kids to the same universities that will teach them this same “me” first thinking; never realizing that the greatest university in the world is a solid Christian home.  The most valuable teaching facility in America is a Godly home, guided by a sanctified Bible believing husband, who is supported by a God-fearing wife.  The most important lessons will not be taught in a classroom, but in the living room.  While businessmen and women make products for profit, mothers mold lives.  Teachers and educators instruct students; mothers fashion the character of future generations.  To stay at home and dedicate your life to a singular purpose of raising children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord is no small task.  How much more to do so with her words and her life and “give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.”   The world doesn’t champion it, and our culture doesn’t exalt it, but the gospel is generational, and mothers are instrumental in passing the torch from one generation to the next.  Think of those who influenced you the most, those who taught you about Christ, those who you wish to emulate.  Odds are a Godly mother or grandmother is in that group.  Admittedly, not everyone is afforded this great blessing, but no one should be robbed of it because of stereo-typical cultural or world views.  When kids see their parents and grandparents’ faith it builds their faith.  When children are raised and guided by consistent, compassionate, determined, God fearing women; accompanied by a husband who loves Jesus and accepts his role as the chief servant in the hierarchy of the household, it effectively prepares the soil so that one day the Word of God can take root. 

We live in a world that has so many opinions and “movements” it’s easy to lose sight of what matters.  Please don’t misinterpret, it is not my intention to tell anyone what they should do or how they should live, rather, call attention to the value of one of the most essential offices a person can hold on this Earth: The Christian mother and housewife.  The future is not determined by those who we elect, educate or appoint; but by those who raise them.  Let the Church rally around those who embrace this calling.  

Will ChatGPT Do Your Preaching?

 “And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”-1 Corinthians 2:4-5

The buzz around artificial intelligence is real and rampant.  As the pros and cons are laid before us (whether we like it or not), one cannot help but wonder what will come from this new technology.  While mankind rarely misses an opportunity to find ease and convenience, one cannot help but wonder where this will fit into the life of the Bible believing Christian and the role of preaching the everlasting gospel.

In first Corinthians two, the Apostle Paul makes plain the driving force of his preaching.  What moved people to convert and come to Christ was not a matter of powerful oration, or a calibrated sales pitch.  Nor was it his sound presentation of facts or logic.  It was something, but it wasn’t that!  Then what was it?  It was the power of God.  Herein the Apostle Paul confesses this so that our faith will not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.  If preaching was merely the presentation of facts, then AI could rally them together and populate a page within a fraction of a second.  It could search the Bible and scavenge the web to synthesize the key pillars of doctrine and present them to the reader.  However, God did not choose the foolishness of presentation, he chose the foolishness of preaching.  Preaching is not in man’s wisdom.  The Word must go forth with power.  There is something supernatural that must accompany the proclamation of the Word of God which can only come from an intimacy with God.  Many a man has walked into the pulpit or sat down with a pen and paper, trusting in his personality to make up for his neglect of the prayer room.  His charisma, mixed with a few positive scriptures to patchwork together a “message” for the people.  While the hearers may have been instructed, they were not converted. As Lenord Ravenhill once said: “preaching is thirty minutes to raise the dead.”  This cannot be done with charisma or human personality, only by the Spirit, and no matter the sophistication of the chat bot, there can be no connection between the bot and God.  You cannot circumvent the personal time with God.  As Moses ventured up the mount to sit before God, we must go up.  As Christ prayed and fasted on a mountain side, we too must take our station there “and wait for thee”.  It is not to say that words have no place in preaching.  For even Christ himself said: “heaven and earth shall pass but my words shall not pass.”  What the Apostle is saying is that the message is as much about the man, as the message.  Not the ability of the man, but the surrendering of him.  My speech, my preaching.  He is a man that has surrendered to the reality that the well spring that he received, this water of life, came from a depth much deeper than human wisdom.  It is his only in the capacity that God has called him into the ministry by a sacred calling, and he is blessed to labor as such.  It came from God, delivered by man.  Preaching is as much about the man as the message.  He sat with God, and waited for a word from God.  Then preached it to the people and it saved them that believed. This will never change, and this is what is foolish to the world.

While many an orator would never measure up to the sophistication of the chatbots and the brain of millions training them, the ones who employ these bots to build sermons will never measure up to the power of the preacher who waits before God.  The sophistication of the bots and the brains of millions will never come close to the agent of the Holy Ghost and its fruitful working within the heart of man.  So, will ChatGPT do your preaching?

Trust Him With The Outcome

“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”-Matthew 6:34

The sanctified life is a surrendered life. A life completely resigned to the outcome of God’s will in your life. This message is told and reinforced repeatedly in scripture. Brilliantly epitomized by our Savior: “take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”

One major difference between a country mile and a city mile is in the country you can see the whole mile in front of you. Your way laid out before you unobstructed. In a dense city center, you cannot see the whole mile. As you snake through the labyrinth of streets and alleys, the mile is the same, but the total view is completely impossible. One must follow directions turn by turn. Christ calls us to live this life a turn at a time. We must trust God with the moment and recognize that we are not going to see the whole plan. We must trust God for every outcome, even when you cannot see. Or you have seen it and cannot understand it. Trust as Noah trusted building the Ark before they knew what rain was. As Abraham trusted, leaving all that he knew, going out into the unknown. As Gideon trusted, taking on an army of thousands, with just three hundred (and without conventional weapons!). As Ezra trusted, refusing the protection of the king, while he transported the king’s own money hundreds of miles through highways and byways filled with robbers and bandits. Testifying “For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him.”  As Jerimiah trusted, preaching the word with faithfulness even though he met with persecution and dwindling crowds.  As Christ trusted, always doing the will of the father even to the death of the cross. As the early Church trusted, and countless saints through the ages. We are not in management, but in labor. Walking in faith and obeying God no matter what. This is the life of the Christian.

In first Peter chapter five the great Apostles instructs us in holy scripture: “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”   What might seem like an oversimplification is in fact a tremendous blessing when applied. We are commanded to offload all that care and worry which the world brings, and the devil amplifies towards us; centralizing our entire life around this one statement
“thy will be done;” refusing to evaluate the outcomes and pander for validation.  Whatever the calling, and whatever the cost we take up the gospel of Christ believing.  Taking no thought for the morrow, trusting God with the outcome. 

If It Be Marvelous

“Thus saith the Lord of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the Lord of hosts.” - Zechariah 8:6

            In days past, revival came by careful, humble, sacrificial living from God’s people. Only God himself can send revival, and only God himself can accomplish it. Revival will not come through man's ingenuity. Revival cannot be orchestrated; it cannot be commanded. True, genuine, Holy Ghost revival is a function of God himself. Therefore, it lies in God’s people seeking, serving, and believing God himself.

In the eighth chapter of Zechariah, the Word of the Lord came to the prophet in the second year of Darius king of Persia. Zechariah is prophesying at the same time as Haggai who said, “Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste?”  Also, Ezra the scribe is back in Jerusalem working to rebuild the temple (the Lord’s house that lies in waste). The Word of the Lord comes to Zechariah and tells him that God is jealous over Zion, and over Jerusalem. He tells him that He will dwell in Jerusalem.  That the aged men and women will walk the streets once more, and the streets of the city will fill with children at play. Then the Word of the Lord says, if it be marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvelous in mine eyes? Take a moment, imagine Jerusalem in desolation, imagine the temple in ruin and God’s people removed from that country.  Consider that just a few are left there. Now, can you imagine the faith it would take to believe that God would be there? That men, women, and children would be together in the streets: safe, secure, and happy? God says if it be marvelous in your eyes, it will be marvelous in mine. God says, if this scene is marvelous, wonderful, incredible to you; it will be to me. This is the message from God to God’s people. When you look out at our land and country today, if holiness people think of themselves as just a remnant living in a desolate decaying Jerusalem, and that is all there is; we will never see revival. Worse still, if we love Babylon (i.e., this world), and long for it, what hope is there for revival to become marvelous in our eyes?  What is marvelous in your eyes? What is incredible to you? What gives you pause, causes you to stop and look? Is it someone who has lots of money? Someone who possesses an abundance of talent? The newest trend, latest fashion, coolest gadget? Do we really want to see a sinner break with the world and fall in love with God; or do we just sing about it? Would we rather see the Holy Ghost grip this nation and turn us back to holiness, or simply talk about it?  Jesus told of a parable of the unjust judge who totally ignored a widow woman that was wronged by an adversary. The Word says by her “continually coming” she persuaded Him. If the unjust judge did right, how much more would the Judge of all the Earth? How much more would God in heaven if we humble ourselves, continually seek His face, and make holiness marvelous in our eyes? 

There is a cross for us to bear, when we get to the place where we want to bear it, we love to bear it; we desire God’s conviction and direction over everything else; we crave the burden of revival in our own lives and we are willing to sacrifice to see it.  Thereby making the vision of revival marvelous in our eyes.  I just believe God will honor that. Revival starts within, not without. As in the days of Josiah the King, we must look to our own house and ask God to clean out the rubbish and clear out the “shelf behind the door.”  Read His Word, commit to prayer, and be honest with God. When he answers by fire in our heart, it will make revival marvelous in our eyes, consequently in His, and by God’s grace he will make it marvelous to the world. 

Guide Me With Thy Counsel

 

“Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.”-Psalms 73:24

Once upon a time, back in the olden days, you know, before the invention of the smart phone, you had to navigate on your own. At times, it was necessary to buy a map, or consult written directions, or even ask for directions! Personally, I always preferred the tried-and-true method of following someone. But not just anyone, someone who has been there before. Who knew where you wanted to go and could guide you. Leading you all the way to your destination.

A guide can lead you because they have knowledge, wisdom, and experience. Christ came into this world and put on flesh. He walked, talked, slept, sweated, bled, cried, and experienced all human emotion. Furthermore, the scripture says that he was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. I once had a professor in college who taught international business who had never left the country. He went from high school to college, to master’s, to doctorate, to teaching. He had studied business but never owned a business or worked in an international business setting. He had studied the theory but knew nothing of the practice. Christ knows in both theory and in practice. He came to declare the mystery of God and guide us with counsel. When you have the Word of God, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, you have at your disposal the counsel of God. You have access to someone who knows all. How confident would you be with your investments if you knew the outcome of the stock market for the next fifty years? Christ has gone behind and before us. He is there as an intercession for us, a counselor, and a guide. Yet, how p people reject Him and opt for their own unique plans and wishes? Deciding to be the experts and leaders of their own life at great peril. There is no counsel in this world that can lead you out of sin and receive you into glory. The counsel of this world will only lead you to doom. While hindsight is 20/20, foresight is blind, you cannot know but you can yield to Christ. Yield to Him and let Him be your guide. Led by the one who knows all and knows best. This is the life of faith, the life of the Christian. Walking in the confidence, guidance, and all the counsel of God.

The Psalmist said guide me with thy counsel and after receive me up into glory. If heaven is your destination, then you must follow the man who has been there, that came from there, that holds the keys and will guide us to there.

Ye Fathers

 “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”-Ephesians 6:4

Often you can gauge what is going on in the home by watching the actions and reactions of the children. What begins as conscious (or unconscious) modeling behavior, soon turns into learned behavior. Kids absorb everything and gradually become a reflection of their environment. The home being their most prominent environment. In this way our children rise up in judgment against us, as they are a true reflection of who we are. They see what (almost) no one else does.

Not long ago my wife warned me off killing a hornet’s nest, saying “it is best not to provoke them.”  To provoke means to deliberately make someone angry or annoyed. It can also mean to incite or give rise to emotion. The scriptures command us fathers provoke not your children to wrath. How quickly we can be guilty of this if we are not dependent on Christ. In the first place we can provoke them by modeling the behavior of wrath in front of them. If they see us yelling, overreacting and unable to control ourselves, then they will do the same. If our response to wrath is wrath, then they will emulate that response. Furthermore, we can provoke our children to wrath by executing wrath upon them. Through rash behavior, overly harsh punishments, and unkind words. Long on punishments, and short on mercy. Every parent knows that nothing will burn your fuse quicker than your kids (an odd paradox, but truer than most care to admit). Although we love them more than ourselves (or at least we should), there are days they find our last nerve and stomp all over it. Then we react in a manner that is far too harsh and provoke them to wrath. Knowing how and when to execute judgment or mercy is wisdom we must receive from God. Another way we can provoke our children to wrath is to be on the edge of wrath ourselves. By remaining under the influence of the world and worldly things, and not under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Under the influence of stress and worry. Allowing the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches to choke the word and it becomes unfruitful in us. A father that neglects his prayer closet, and devotional time will soon neglect his children, provoking them to wrath. It is not enough that we refrain from provoking them, but we must also “bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”  Nurturing is to care for in the growth and development of--like growing tomatoes children are to be trained along to grow into the set of standards and guidelines found in scripture. They must be pruned and promoted at the perfect time. It is a delicate balance of care. Too much can stunt the growth, too little can cause the plant to grow wild and unruly. I see a great lesson here in raising of children. What a challenge! What a charge! God said to Noah: “Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.”  Noah would preserve righteousness in the earth and save his household, because of the righteous, good father that he was.Of Abraham God would proclaim that he would not hide from him the things which God does because God knew that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord.  The Lord would judge the priest Eli testifying that “he restrained not his sons.”  In the scripture we have examples of good fathers, and the blessing they can be. As well as bad fathers, and the reproach they can bestow upon themselves, their children, and the work of God.

If left to us, we would fail to fulfill this commandment in Ephesians six, but thankfully we have a Father in heaven that cares for us. One who will sanctify us and guide us so that we might guide our children. I thank God that he corrects us and in correcting he shows us how to correct our children. In loving, how to love.  In teaching how to teach. In instruction, how to instruct. Of this I am convinced; that fatherhood is a blessed calling of God and only through His wisdom can we hope to fulfill it in the order and calling God intended.  May the Lord help me, and any man who would assume the mantle of father, because fathering a child does not make you a father. 

Guest Week: Riah Collier

 John 3:34-35

For he [Jesus] whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.

35The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.

This passage of Scripture is easy to overlook, sandwiched between the well-known stories of Jesus's interactions with Nicodemus at the beginning of John 3 and the Samaritan woman at the well in chapter 4.   However, these verses have a lot to say. 

I love Scripture texts that bring together the mystery of the threefold Person of God.  The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one Being, but three Persons.  I heard someone recently explain that "being" explains what you are, "person" explains who you are.  This really helped me as I meditated on this passage.  How does God "give" the Spirit to the Son, when all three of Them are simultaneously fully God?  I don't pretend to understand it completely, but this distinction is helpful . . . the person of the Father gave the person of the Spirit to the person of the Son.  And He didn't do it "by measure" (a limited amount) . . . and because it wasn't a limited amount, Jesus's words were the words of God.

In contrast, the Spirit would come in limited amount upon the prophets from time to time to deliver the Word of God to God's people.  Not so with Jesus . . . limitless access to the Spirit was granted to Him as the incarnated Son of God on the earth.   

Furthermore, He received that Spirit on our behalf.  As the Father sent down the Spirit on the Son when He was baptized in the river Jordan, so the Son now baptizes those who seek Him with that same Spirit.

We have access to the boundless depths of God through His living Holy Spirit within us.  Think about all the operations of God's Holy Spirit in mankind that the Scriptures describe . . . He sanctifies us, guides us, unifies us, gives us joy unspeakable, gives us power over sin and temptation, fills us with love for God and our fellow man, heals our hurts, communicates our unspeakable struggles and pain to the Father, fills our mouth with words to speak the Gospel to people, helps us understand God's Word, bears witness between the hearts of fellow Christians . . . 

I thank God that He gave His Son His Spirit without measure in order that He could pour it out on undeserving people like me.  What a wondrous plan of salvation.

Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:

11Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.

12Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

I Give You Good Doctrine

 “For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.” – Proverbs 4:2

The prophet Isaiah said: “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”  In our day and age, it can be hard to know who to trust.  Although we have more information available to us than ever before, and you can get a thousand answers in fractions of a second, that doesn’t mean that you have a thousand right answers.  Society seems to be laboring under the delusion that being first is more important than being right.  We cannot always know what to trust or who to follow; however, at some point, you must trust something.  The question then becomes, where is good doctrine, and what do you call upon to guide you? 

What you believe will define you.    If you don’t believe in eating meat, it’s unlikely you will become a cattle farmer. If you believe that being a good father is important, then you will show up and be a good father.   If you don’t believe the law applies to you, then it is likely that one day you will find yourself in prison.  When Jesus said, “I came not to bring peace but a sword.”  He understood and helped us to understand that His doctrine would divide humanity.  It would do so because what we believe defines us, and when we believe in Him it will cause us to do and not do certain things.  It will cause us to go and not go to certain places; and it should cause us to behave and not behave in a certain way.  When you really believe in Jesus Christ, it should fundamentally change who you are.  We all believe in something, the question is not if you believe, but what do you believe in?  Jesus Christ gives us good doctrine.  His message and teachings are for our benefit and the benefit of others, and that is good.  The doctrine is true and perfect, and that is good.  Finally, it is backed by absolute authority and all those who believe in it and live it will find blessings and peace, which is good.  Jesus called for witnesses.  Witnesses who live it out, and testify it out, and as the Lord blesses (which he will do) witness to the goodness of his doctrine.  We witness with our lives and our lips, while we vote with our feet.  Jesus Christ proves himself in the believer, and He will prove himself, and that will glorify the Father.  “It is not in a man that walketh to direct his steps but the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.”  His doctrine is good, it is good for you, it is good for me, and it is good for mankind. 

When you believe in Jesus and make him Lord of your life you are believing in love, you are championing love; not the superficial love that we find in movies and television.  No, this is a greater love: real, genuine, self-sacrificing, life changing, and all inspiring love that only Christ can offer.  A complete and perfect love that is the birth right of all mankind, regardless of: race, creed, sex, or economic status.  This has been given to us, and we are the ones who are to profit from believing this good doctrine and forsaking not the law of God.  The Christian life is a blessed life, a life of love.  This is the good doctrine, a doctrine worth believing, and a doctrine worth living.          

Your Best Friend

 

 “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. “- John 15:14

At the end of the school year, our seven-year-old daughter told us that she has eight best friends; then proceeded to list each one.  “It’s easy” she says.  Or more likely, the standard of friendship at the age of eight is much lower than at thirty- eight or sixty-eight.  Friends, true friends, have a way of becoming scarce as you advance through life.  Either through death, betrayal, life choices, or a collection of many little things piling up between you; you find you lose friends.  Consequently, the value of a friend grows as you grow older, and you truly appreciate a best friend. 

Abraham was called a friend of God.  Moses talked to God face to face “as a man talketh to a friend.”  These men and select others were brought into a special fellowship with God that few enjoyed.  A closeness and intimacy that cemented them in the history books of time and foreshadowed a fellowship that was to come through Christ.  Christ would come walk this earth and teach us, showing us the way of righteousness.  Living and preaching the gospel; dying for us and ushering in the New Testament church through the power of the Holy Spirit.  That we might have “life and life more abundant.”  In this new dispensation he would call us who believe in Him “friends.”  How remarkable a thing that is, that the Lord of Lord and King of Kings would grant us a relationship status such as that.  To have a friend as He and be a friend of God and Christ.  To be brought into such a close kinship with such a high and powerful one as Jesus Christ.  His grace towards us extends to saving and justifying but still further into friendship.  What a thing this is!  To be able to open the windows of your heart and pour out your deepest cares to your friend.  To draw near to Christ when the way is dark, and the road rough and ask your friend for guidance.  To sit in fellowship, enjoying the Word of God, and communing with your friend.  To have someone you can trust completely, lean on entirely, and turn too urgently.  “What a friend we have in Jesus!  What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!”  How careful we must be not to put this friendship in jeopardy.  When you have a best friend, a close friend, a trusted friend, you would not lie, or cheat, or wound that trusted relationship.  If you hope to stay friends.  So, it is the same with your friendship with Jesus, and much more so!  For he is not just another peer, but the Lord of glory!  The Creator himself!  When Christ calls us friends, and we Him, we enter a covenant with Him.  To love, serve, sacrifice, and obey.  This covenant requires you to live separately.  Separate from the world and sin.  It is not a requirement of tyranny, but of prosperity.  Moreover, if we are in friendship with the world, God calls us enemies.  So, with whom do you want to be associated with?  I ask you to consider.  Who can we confide in when things are tough?  Who will give light, when times are dark?  Who will carry you and I across the gulf of time, and into the halls of heaven?  Where can you find a friend like this?  Not in this beggarly world with all its lust and pride.  Only in the confidence of Christ.   

The more you align with this world and place your trust in it, the more you push Christ away and make him your enemy.  Inversely, the more you place your trust in Christ, the more you push this world and sin away.  Thereby making Christ your friend.  Your true friend, your best friend.

Learned Their Works

 “But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works.  And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them.  Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood.” – Psalms 106: 35-38

As a house is built, life is constructed.  Every choice, every decision, adding to the foundation; shaping, molding, and defining who we are.  Slowly we are building the character of ourselves and leaving behind a pattern of choices testifying to that character.  As “mature” adults some would like to think that the adult world and the child world are segregated.  What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right?  Wrong.  The sinful lifestyle you choose to live cannot be segregated from those around you, children included.  In fact, when one “mingles among the heathen, and learns their works.”  They are unintentionally offering up their sons and daughters to devils.  They are sacrificing their children to the idols of the world.

Of all the things we think we own (cars, homes, clothes, health, etc.), we in fact do not own them at all.   Of the things people wish to ignore (consequences, choices, responsibility, eternity) we are guaranteed to face in the end; and at the end it is all God’s.  When we die all our stuff is going to someone else and the only thing that will matter is what we have chosen to do with our lives.  Have we chosen to serve God or ourselves?  The devil would tempt us to believe that a man is an island unto himself, and the sinful choices of life remain nested in his life.  A life he can manage and consequences he can embrace or at least endure.  Yet, the price of sin is further than your own life, it infiltrates the lives of your children.  As a preacher once said: “if you send your kids to Caesar's household, don’t be surprised when they come back Romans.”  The devil has found a way to infiltrate our homes, so we don’t send them away to Caesar anymore, we bring Ceasar into our homes.  We invite the world in, and the cost of our indulgence isn’t always realized at face value.  How careful we ought to be in word, conversation, and deed.  For we are ambassadors for Jesus Christ!  So, not only do our choices affect ourselves, and those around us, but they are the very representation of Jesus Christ. 

The life you lead will lead others, either too good or too evil.  Closer to Christ or further from Him.  Let us consider our ways, not just for our own sake, but for those coming behind us.  When you (speaking to those in the faith as well) mingle among the world and learn their works, chase after what they chase after, long for what they long for, and serve their idols (and there are many).  It will be a snare unto you, and you will be sacrificing not only your own spiritual well-being, but the spiritual well-being of your children.  Are the things in this world worth it?       

Not In Word, But Power

“For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.” – 1 Corinthians 4:20

We sing a song in our church that says: “God’s promises were never known to fail.  No power of darkness over them shall prevail.  They are builded sure and strong for the conflict with the wrong, God’s promises were never known to fail.” 

In 1787 the United States Constitution was signed by thirty nine of the fifty-five delegates present.  This document would become the supreme law of these United States.  Its authorship, while poetic, was instrumental in defining the laws that govern our land.  However, without the power of the people to enforce it, and conviction to stand behind its principles; it is nothing more than words on a page.  The words found within the covers of the Holy Bible are law and without contestation.  We are called by God to ascribe to its statues and live out its principles.  It is the road map for our souls and the guidebook for our lives.  As the Constitution is to this nation, the Bible is the supreme law for all mankind.  However, unlike the Constitution, it does not need the support of the people to make it valid.  “The kingdom of God is not in word.”  God’s truth’s does not live and die by what we say or what we write, or how well we say or write it.  Though we have the blessing of the scriptures, they are more than just words on a page, they are divinely appointed principles penned, fortified, and enforced by God and His mighty power.  We must never make the mistake of believing that men validate God.  Now, make no mistake, this does not absolve Christians of our duties to live as ambassadors for Christ.  Yet the core of that charge is not based on the merit that God needs us to witness, he calls us too.  He charges us too.  He invites us too.  He gives us the privilege too, but He does not need us to validate His Word.  The validation and impetus from God.  The power of God.  This distinction must be maintained, because it is the power of God that changes lives, the power of God that overcomes the Devil, the power of God that conquers the grave.  Jesus Christ came in power and might.  Though he walked the road of human life, he bled and died as men do but never forget that on the third day it was the power that raised him from the grave.  It was power that conquered sin.  The same power that raised Christ from the grave, can raise us from the grave of sin.  He can raise us right here, right now, because the Word of God promises it so. 

The kingdom of God does not exist in word, but in power and in might.  God does not need us; he wants us; he desires us.  His kingdom exists in power, unimaginable power, and that power can exist in you.  To lift you up out of the grave of sin and make you a new person in Christ.  To make you holy, and keep you holy, through the power of God.

A Great Deliverance

 "Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed?" - 1 Samuel 6:6

God rules in the kingdoms of men with equal authority as he rules in the kingdom of heaven.  He has limitless dominion and power.  To the righteous, there is great comfort and rest knowing that God is in your corner.  To the wicked, only defeat.  So, what hope do you have if you would choose to fight against God?  And what reason to do so, when there is complete and total deliverance available to whosoever will?

The Jews spent four hundred years as slaves in the land of Egypt.  Cruel bondage, and harsh labor; serving under Pharaoh.  Then one day, God instructed Moses to go down to Egypt and lead them out.  Moses obeyed, but when he arrived Pharaoh protested (no surprise there).  Moses then went back and told God that Pharaoh was not going to let His people go.  Pharaoh stood in absolute defiance to God Almighty and God responded with a miraculous show of force.  Pharaoh was hardheaded, but by the time the showdown was done, he let the Jews go, in fact, the Egyptians were begging them to leave.  God’s deliverance was so great that generations upon generations would hear and tell of the mighty Exodus out of Egypt and the full deliverance into Canaan land.  The analogy is such to our spiritual lives.  When you live in sin, it becomes slavery.  Hopefully, there comes a point where you cry out to God because you just want to be free.  The scripture tells us that if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  This is a deliverance that God has prepared for you and a grace that he is willingly offering you.  The devil would have us continue in bondage, blind, deaf, and laboring in our sin.  Slaving away with hard hearts, denying the wonderful works of God.  Rejecting the full deliverance in Christ.  When you decide to follow him, he will bring you out of bondage and it will not be a half-way deliverance.  Moses didn't know how he was going to even speak to Pharaoh, at first, and the Jews didn't want Moses’s help, the entire mission seemed impossible, but God majors in impossible.  God swooped in, delivered them, and the power of God was mighty in their lives.  So mighty, in fact, that it became a rallying point to the Jews and a terrifying reminder to their enemies.  God can deliver you from sin in such a fashion that it will resonate with the world around you.  In the past, you may have only been living in defeat and enslavement; a consistent and reoccurring state of “I can’t help it.”  However, when Jesus shows up, with great power, the deliverance is so wonderful and drastic that you change and those around you begin to say, “there is something different.”  It’s Jesus!  The only thing that made the Jews God’s chosen people was that God chose them.  When Jesus went to the cross, he chose you.        

The Hebrew writer asks: “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation;” Why would you neglect so great a salvation?  So great a deliverance? He can and will be a saving force in your life, he will be the greatest force in your life.  Jesus Christ can bring a great deliverance, and when he does: you will know it, the devil will know it, and everyone around you will know it.

Nothing Leaves Jericho

“When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.” Joshua 7:21”

Leon Stewart, a godly man and gifted preacher, once said: “An excellent spirit gives us humility in triumph and courage in defeat.”  The excellent spirit must come from, and it can only be the Spirit of God.  Even in victory we must be careful to give the glory to God and obey the Lord in all humility.

In the sixth and seventh chapters of the book of Joshua we find the recording of the battles of Jericho and Ai.  The children of Israel (descendants of Abraham; God’s chosen people) at this time were led by Joshua.  He is the successor to Moses and a mighty man of war.  They first enter Canaan land (the land promised to children of Israel) only to find the city of Jericho.  It was a mighty city and a seemingly impenetrable fortress; but Joshua and his army defeated Jericho by obeying God.  Which brought them to the next battle, the battle of Ai.  All things considered, Ai should have been an easy win for Joshua and his army.  Ai was considerably smaller, and less formidable, but little did they know that there was another enemy, not without, but within, and the great victory of Jericho was soon overshadowed by the defeat at the hands of the Amorites in Ai.  This left Joshua grieved in his heart, his mind wondering why.  Why did they fail?  Why would God deliver mighty Jericho only for them to fall to little Ai?  God would make it plain before them that it was because of Achan and his disobedience.  Achan was a man in the camp of Israel who disobeyed God by taking spoils from Jericho.  Achan took a Babylonish garment and some money, and he hid it in his tent.  All the wealth of Jericho was to be left in Jericho; it was to be consecrated to God.  However, the pride of victory filled his heart, and he took a little for himself.  A little disobedience is disobedience.  Are we not in danger of doing the same thing?  Often, we are defeated, not because of the strength of the enemy, but because of the condition of our heart.  If we are engulfed with pride, by and by, we begin to think that the victory was won not by God, but by us.  We must remember that God wins the battle, and he gets the glory.  It is not always the big things that defeats us, but many little things that we do not consecrate to God.  Take for example the man or women who comes to God broken and obedient.  God then gloriously saves them from sins and changes their heart making them a “new creature in Christ” (2 Cor 5:17).  A great victory won, but by and by the cares of this life swept in.  They forget to pick-up the Bible, don’t take the time to engage in prayer, and their lives become so busy that they can’t even carve out a few hours a week to attend church to praise Him who hath called them “out of darkness into the marvelous light.” (2 Peter 2:9) The failure to consecrate takes its toll on their soul, and then when a convenient day comes temptation appears, lust conceives, and sin enters the camp.  If your soul is for sale, the devil will find the price and make an offer.  

Therefore, nothing leaves Jericho.  “All glory to Him I bring.”  It is God’s fight, God’s glory, and obedience towards him in every way.  Obedience in all things, and in every situation.  Triumph or defeat.   

The Pile Of Fish

“So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.” – John 21:15

What we do, what we believe, where we go, where we work, who we are around, what we drive, etc.  Many, many things are thrown in this blender of self to create our identities.  These identities define us, and many will fiercely guard them if threatened. 

Before the Apostle Peter was the Apostle Peter, he was a fisherman.  He had a boat, a business, a reputation, he had an identity.  These were things of this world that defined Peter.  When Jesus called him, and when Peter chose to follow Christ, Peter’s identity changed.  He was no longer Peter the fisherman, he was Peter the disciple.  His identity was totally wrapped up in Christ.  Then Jesus is convicted, condemned, and crucified; they lay him in the grave and it’s over for Peter, right?  He trusted in Christ, he followed Jesus, and now Jesus is dead.  However, three days later Mary comes baring news that the Lord has risen, and it is not long until they get to see and hear it from Christ himself.  Now we must understand that after the resurrection, Jesus was not walking around with them all the time like before.  He would appear for a time and then leave.  Sometime in Jesus’s absence Peter decides to go back to fishing.  He reverts to his old trade, his old identity, and with the Lord’s instructions he brings in many fish.  It is crucial that we appreciate the scene that is playing out here.  We have Peter and various other disciples, sitting with the resurrected Christ eating on the shoreline, and somewhere nearby flips and flops a pile of “great fish.”  Then, perhaps sometime after the initial joy and elation of seeing Jesus, Jesus turns to Peter and asks him “Simon, lovest thou me more than these?”  He presents this question three times: “lovest thou me more than these?”  To this Peter says “Yes” and Christ tells him to “feed my sheep.”  You see, to Peter, there was a whole lot more at stake than a pile of fish.  The fisherman inside of him had probably already calculated the payout at market, the humanity within was already wrestling with where to spend his recent earnings.  The blessing from God could very quickly become a tool of temptation for the devil, because it was more than a pile of fish to this man, it was elements of his old identity.  I imagine before he met Jesus he spent nights dreaming about a haul like this; it was why he got into fishing in the first place!  To catch fish!  Now here he was sitting with the risen Christ, and his old dream was realized, his two identities called into question.  To this question Peter gives no hesitation: “You know I love you.” 

What is your identity today?  Are there things in this world that you acquire to build up yourself?  How will you respond when everything that you are, has been called upon by the Lord to forsake?  When Jesus looks at you and says: “Lovest thou me more than these?”  Do you love Jesus more than the praise of men?  Do you love Jesus more than a promotion, business, bigger house, etc.?  Lord helps us to live in such a way where Jesus Christ is our identity.  To live in such a way that there is no doubt, no question, and no hesitation: “Yea Lord you know I love you.”  Jesus does not want us to guard who we are but give up who we are.  The Apostle Peter would have never been “the Apostle Peter”, if he loved the pile of fish.        

That There Be No Divisions

“Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” – 1 Corinthians 1:10 

Harmful segregation and costly division remain at the heart of the devil’s business.  These divisions can define us, drag us down, entertain us and categorize us.  In all this we must remember that as Christian’s what is true for the world cannot be true for us.  When it comes to ungodly segregation and division, from this we must remain separate.

Paul the Christian, now converted, writing back to the new Corinthian sanctified believers saying: I am hearing that there is division among you.  I hear that some of you are saying you are of Paul or Peter or Apollos.  What is this?  Is Christ divided?  His point was/is, why are we picking sides?  There is one team, one Lord, one Captain, and we all march under his banner and follow his instruction.  Jesus Christ is our Lord, and we follow his order.  Who cares if you were baptized under Apollos or heard the gospel from Peter?  This is irrelevant.  Do not so love your heritage that you forget who saved you.  Do not so love your social group that you forget that you were once an outcast.  Love Jesus, preach Jesus and worship Him alone.  Paul was aware of the dangers of harmful division and was trying to cut it out.  Like a cancer, division can harm from within the body and kill off that which is healthy being disguised as that which is healthy.  Christ is the head, and we are the body, and there are times when the brain will instruct the body to divide but only to preserve both.  It is thus in the body of Christ; there are times when we must exhort in the Spirit, to preserve the body.  However, if you spend all your time cutting new folks down that come into your church because they don’t have the right dress, or the right theology, or the right family, you’re not preserving the body; you’re simply without faith in the head of the body.  Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.  You cannot win your neighbor to God without first loving them.  When we have faith that Christ can save and keep anyone, anywhere, it takes the pressure off you and me.  We find it gives us the liberty to live, preach, and teach holiness.  When we look to Jesus and have faith that he will diligently and dutifully instruct the body, this perfects the joining and ensures the preservation of the body.  Understanding and accepting that love toward Christ and God is the answer to it all.  We are instructed to love God with all we got and love our neighbor as ourselves.  To quote a sister in Christ I deeply respect: “think of a person in your life that you are close to who is lost.  A person you love and care for very much.  It could be your brother, cousin, son, someone special to you.  Think of that person’s face and put it in front of your mind.  Now put that person’s face on every stranger you come in contact with and treat that stranger like you would that person you love so much.” 

God wants us to segregate ourselves from harmful segregation.  He wants us to divide ourselves from unholy division.  Within the body, we look to Christ, we love and serve Him the most.  Sometimes the most difficult thing to part with is your idea of how you think things should be.  If we look to Christ, he will join us together and help us to bring others into the fellowship.  We cannot love our past so much it paralyzes our future.  We cannot love our folks more than other folks.  Division within creates division without, and this gospel is too important and our charge too great to cripple its advances with costly division.  God loved you and he loved me, when we were unlovable.  Lord helps us to never forget that we were once without, until someone, somewhere, reached out. 

He Went Out

 “For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.” – Proverbs 2:21

Abraham, the patriarch of the Jewish people, was a man called by God to leave his place of certain dwelling and asked to “go out not knowing where he went.” He did so, trusting in God to lead him to a land of promise, Canaan land.

In the Bible, Canaan land was/is the land that God promised to Abraham and his descendants. Canaan was prepared for Abraham, and in a way, Abraham was prepared for Canaan. The man of faith, the man of righteousness, the upright and perfect man; that was the man who could dwell in Canaan. It was his people who would one day enter in and possess the land. God gave for us the scriptures on the land of Canaan so that we might understand and experience the spiritual Canaan land. We live in a world of natural things, but God calls us to leave off the pursuit of the natural and dwell in the spiritual. The natural man looks, touches, reasons, and uses logic to govern his life. He lives for himself, and the things that he cares about. When God called Abraham, he was living in a city of commerce, he had a family and extended family. His situation was one of comfort and stability. It was everything that the natural man aspires after. It was the equivalent of a modern-day house in the suburbs, with kids, cars, and a healthy portfolio of investments and real estate. God called Abraham and told him to “go out;” to leave all that he had and trust that God would bring him into a better land. This was a step of tremendous faith. Those who live in Canaan land will always be a people of faith. A person who shuns the natural and seeks spiritual. A people who “go out;” following the will of God over and above everything else. It takes faith to get into Canaan land, and faith to stay in Canaan land. Faith to follow the will of God and remain in the will of God. The people of Abraham, the people of Canaan, the people of Jesus Christ; are a people of faith. Canaan is now a spiritual dwelling place, where we can live with God and His Son Jesus. When you are cleansed from all sin, it is a burden lifted, but you must seek the Holy Spirit, to become sanctified, and to be brought into Canaan land.  If you are to become sanctified and remain sanctified, then you must “go out.”  You must leave your old life, old ways, and old wishes; you must die to your idea of everything and trust in God completely. God will bless this sacrifice and give you his Spirit, not by measure, no, rather by promise. The Holy Ghost will come and dwell within your heart bringing you into the land of Canaan. This is why the upright shall dwell in the land and the perfect shall remain in it. It takes faith to get into Canaan and faith to stay in Canaan. Faith becomes your new operating principle, forsaking your own way and following His way. This is living in Canaan.

It is a good land, the land of Canaan. When you become sanctified, you find the same marvelous truths that Abraham found, which is, serving God is far more wonderful than serving anything else. The way of faith is far better than the way of sight. The spiritual, better than the natural, and the land of Canaan is and always will be the land of promise. God’s promises never fail; if you trust him, he will comfort and keep you. For the upright dwell in the land, and it is good land.