Should We Be Surprised?

Matthew 24:11"Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."

It is really quite amazing how many Christians seem surprised by the deterioration of our society. Jesus has given us very specific insights into the last days.  While some preach and teach that the Church or the Kingdom of God will take over and set up a new utopia upon the earth before Jesus returns, Jesus didn't preach that.  Jesus said that "false prophets" will rise up and deceive many and from that deception a "growing cold" will occur.  Where will these frigid waters flow?  In the Church!  Only that which has been hot can grow cold.  The world won't grow cold because it has always been cold.  We must understand that at the core of this weakening of faith among the church is precipitated by false prophets and teachers.  This less than Truth teaching will result in a breaking down of the foundations leading to uncertainty, chaos and lawlessness.  From lawlessness comes backsliding.  

The good news is that regardless of circumstances around us in the world or even in the church, there will be a group that will "endure to the end".  Some have called this group the remnant.  The remnant term has been used for generations.  While some discredit the concept, to me it seems that is exactly what Jesus is saying will happen.  Then Jesus said in verse 14, "and this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."  This remnant or this "enduring to the end" group will be the ones that will preach the gospel of the kingdom and usher in the Second Coming of Jesus.  

Christian Behavior

Why do we do the things we do?  This question has been debated by philosophers throughout history.  Some would say that we live our lives based upon things we were taught as children by our parents, teachers and for some, the Church.  Our conscience was shaped and trained by early instruction.  Then we eventually go through an adherence to that formed conscience or a resistance to it.  Most form patterns of living their lives just doing what they "like to do" as their circumstances allow. Some people only eat meat, potatoes and desserts.  If you don't believe it just look around casually the next time you are in a restaurant.  See what the majority of folks eat. They eat what they want!  I know that sounds silly because after all, isn't that what we all do?  Not really.  I will order just what I want on occasion, but mostly I will eat a mixture of things I want to eat and things I need to eat.  Every time I go through a salad bar (which is a choice in itself) I will always come to the broccoli bowl.  Hmmmm....choices!  Should I lessen my enjoyment of my salad by adding broccoli?  After all, I really don't like it.  Most of the time I end up adding it and eating it because it is good for me even if it isn't good to me.  Also how much I eat is a part of that "choice process."  So what then is motivating "what I do?"  What is behind my choices?  Knowledge.  Knowledge narrows my choices.  Of course, that is true only to the degree that I have disciplined myself to follow knowledge in daily life choices. Then there is knowledge that comes from knowing the Scripture and more importantly having what the Bible calls the mind of Christ.  1 Cor. 2:16 tells us that "we understand...for we have the mind of Christ."  Having the mind of Christ is synonymous with the knowledge of the Scripture. Only those who have received Christ as Savior and Lord have this new dimension of knowledge called the Mind of Christ.   Yet, this increased knowledge for living life successfully requires a choice.  We may reject it and do the opposite while Truth is screaming on the inside to do right.  God has given us that ability to choose or reject.   

So, we are back to our original question.  "Why do we do the things we do?"  Our actions are determined by our level of knowledge and our choices regarding that knowledge.  As true Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ we have the innate ability, unlike the world, to not only make the right choice but to remain faithful to that choice.  Actually, the simple natural action to choose rightly activates God's power to strengthen our faithfulness.  

Resuming Blog

I am looking forward to resuming the blog next Monday, August 18.  For several weeks I will deal with current challenges in the Christian life, obstacles to our success and our call to be 
OVERCOMERS.  I hope you will join me next Monday.  Encourage others to sign up to receive the blog each week. 

Thanks and Blessings!
L. A.

Taking The Summer Off!

I am taking the summer off from blogging.  Have a wonderful summer and rejoin me in the Fall!

Love and Blessings!

L. A.

The Release is found in Rest

The concept of living in the state of rest for the Christian may be the most challenging discipline of all.  Our natural man is a working man, a self sufficient man.  He rises to every challenge with a plan of action to bring a solution to every situation.  When you add the gift of leadership to the picture you have created a person for whom the demeanor of rest seems nigh impossible.  With a hunting dog like a retriever, when the bird falls every fiber of his being wants to run and do what his instincts and training have prepared him to do.  Yet, the hunter sees from a different vantage point, one which the retriever can't see.  The dog's very existence could be dependent upon his obedience when the gun is fired.  If he simply runs on instinct he could run into danger.  He must put his instinct and training under the command of the master who must give the command to retrieve.  He must sit and rest at his master's side even if it means the command to retrieve never comes.  It is an unnatural thing.  When the gun powder is in the air and the bird falls back to earth everyone agrees with the instinct of the dog to rush and retrieve.  The other hunters agree, the other dogs agree but the retriever has been trained to only move when his master has given the command.  While his sitting may be painful and though every muscle may quiver, he must sit in rest.  If the command doesn't come then he must learn to find his peace and fulfillment, not in the accolades of peers but in the approval of his master.  

There are puzzling examples in the Scripture that appears to be contradictory at first glance.  Jesus is asleep on the boat in the middle of a great storm and his disciples awake him and question his concern for their lives.  Jesus rebukes the storm and then the disciples for their lack of faith.  Then, in the garden the night before Jesus was arrested he finds his disciples sleeping and he rebukes them for resting!  What is the difference?  On the boat when Jesus was sleeping, he was asleep and at rest in faith and doing so in the will of God.  When the disciples were asleep they were doing so in disobedience to His Word and in a state of depression and anxiety.  The difference is found in the will and Word of God.  While there is a place of rest where we can learn to abide, we must remain alert even in our rest.  We must rest in faith and be ready to obey, not the crying out of our natural man, not the demands of men, but the voice of our Master.  There may be times when the order doesn't come and the crowds are stunned because Lazarus dies.  Yet, in the timing of the Lord he will rise.  The release is always found in rest.  

Laughing With Jesus

Relationships go through a number of steps as we get to know each other better. We first meet people and we are usually friendly but not too warm.  We are a little reserved at first.  We evaluate the other person in an effort to get to know them and decide at what level our relation finds itself.  We walk away from an encounter processing and we usually make a decision if there will be any future reaching out to the person.  Are they similar to us in attitudes or beliefs?  Did we find them interesting or intimidating?  Often we will get in our cars and we may say to our mate, "I really liked them, maybe we should get together."  Or we might say, "don't even think about it!"  However, when relationships grow they evolve through relational processes.  We move from the first meeting to a second meeting where to get to know them at a deeper level.  If it all goes well true friendships follow.  One of the signs for me of real friendship is the comfort level of the friendship.  Am I comfortable with the person or is it just tolerable?  I think one of the deeper levels of friendship is humor.  How much do we laugh together?  I don't mean social or party laughter, I mean real enjoying each other's company laughter.  The better the friend, the more the laughter!  Oh, I know true friends also share pain and disappointment.  That is a part of real relationships too.  But I'm talking about healthy laughing and joy!  Who do you laugh with?  Certainly your personality has a lot to do with it.  It seems to me that the freer and happier a person is with their own identity, the freer and happier they are with others.  Those kinds of folks are fun to be around.  I have found in the last decade or so that Jesus is much more like that than I first thought.  He is my Savior, my Lord, my Healer and my Deliverer.  Yes, I'm not taking away from that but He is also my Friend.  My relationship with Him has come to a place of great joy and laughter!  Yes, I laugh with Jesus!  If you think I need to see a Doctor after hearing that, just leave me alone and let me enjoy! :) Why did it take me so long to learn to laugh with Jesus?  I think it was because I didn't know Him that well.  I knew Him within the religious confines of knowing "God".  He certainly is God!  He is also a joy to be with.  At times I weep in His presence and at times I laugh and rejoice in His presence.  I think one of the reason we enjoy the company of some more than others is that we believe certain people like us more than others.  I have found that Jesus likes me quite a lot!  Oh, yes, he loved me so sacrificially that He gave his life on the cross for me but...He also likes me a lot too!
He likes you a lot too!  The next time you pray or worship, just go ahead and drop the religious walls that keeps you from intimacy with Him and dare to enter into a special place of friendship with him.  As the relationship deepens, before long,  you will find that you too will be laughing with Jesus!

Barking At The Moon!

So much energy is expended complaining about the deterioration of our society.  Oh, don't get me wrong, it bothers me greatly.  I am angered by the Supreme Court striking down laws that citizens have voted into place in various States.  I am bothered greatly when people are penalized for making statements and ordered to take sensitivity training when others can say about anything about a Christian or the Church and it seems it's just fine.  Why, I even remember Jane Fonda in an enemy camp speaking against our Armed Forces and it was legitimized as freedom of speech.  What about us?  What about our freedom of speech?  Truthfully, we are never going to bring much change ranting from our position.  We are a minority and it seems to be shrinking.  The more we become angry and the more we cry out, it seems it only works against us.  What are we to do?  How do we make a difference?  There can be only one answer, "live the Gospel!"

I heard just today that as many as 250,000 people are becoming Christian each week in China.  It seems that the government there is softening a little and it is not because of public outcry or marches in the streets.  Why?  Because society there is seeing that these Believers are better workers and citizens.  That speaks loudly!  I'm not saying that we shouldn't be involved and thank God our system here in the U.S. allows us to be involved, vote and bring influence to bear through our process of government.  However, living the Gospel is much more powerful than demonstrations and outcries.  We must train our people that it is not enough to act like Christians, we must actually live and be what we say we believe out there in the workplace.  When everything seems to be against us we must stop barking at the moon and make a difference through living the Gospel and follow the example Jesus set for us.  

Feelings Are Real

Heb. 4:15 "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin."  

When we read this verse in the King James version it says that our High Priest (Jesus)  is touched by the "feelings of our infirmities".  He is touched or He feels what we feel.  He feels the feelings of our infirmities.  that word "infirmities" or "weaknesses" literally means in the body or the MIND.  As a matter of fact most of our weaknesses originate in the mind or our thought life.  While we strive for perfection in our walk with Jesus, "we hold this treasure in earthen vessels."  While we don't want to give ourselves excuses for not improving, we still need to walk in grace toward others and ourselves. Too many people seem to extend grace and forgiveness externally more than internally.  I believe that the time it takes to forgive oneself says a lot about our level of maturity in Christ.  I'm not talking about cheap grace here.  Grace was terribly expensive, but it was paid in full by Jesus and His efforts, not by ours.  The quicker we forgive ourselves the more we understand the forgiveness of God.  How quickly should we forgive others?  Instantaneously!  How quickly should we forgive ourselves?  Instantaneously!  The "feelings" that we need to take some time to forgive so that the person being forgiven learns their lesson are not feelings of God.  We are playing God trying to "teach them a lesson."  When we delay forgiving ourselves we are in the same way denying the forgiving power of Jesus.  Jesus paid it all!  Certainly, "Godly sorrow brings repentance" but that doesn't have to be a protracted process and certainly not a process brought about by human works.  Forgiveness is a miraculous act of great Grace that comes from Jesus in and through us externally toward others and internally toward ourselves.  While we are talking about feelings, feelings have nothing to do with forgiveness.  Forgiveness is an act on our part, an act of obedience that releases the supernatural power of forgiveness.  Feelings follow obedience and not the other way around.  

Forgive the Saint

It seems that it is much easier to forgive an outright sinner than a saint among us in the church.  We have a tendency to extend compassion and forgiveness to someone outside our community of faith more than within.  The difficulty with forgiving believers is that we know too much.  One of the things we know is that they should have known better!  After all, we are in the same church and hear the same sermons and "I didn't do it!"  True, but that very thought is in itself a sin too.  It's called self-righteousness.  We all have tendencies or inclinations toward certain sins.  For some it is lust and others it is greed.  Some struggle with lying and others with feelings of superiority and pride.  We all have them.  These inclinations are the potential for sin and maybe even a fall.  The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Cor. 10:12, "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!"  Walking in an attitude of forgiveness helps us in our Christian walk.  There are a number of reasons why this is true.  Primarily we are setting into motion an atmosphere of grace and forgiveness around us.  We are sowing seeds of forgiveness that keeps bitterness at bay.  These seeds will come back to visit us in the form of forgiveness when we need it for ourselves.  I once knew a believer that had pride about their faith for healing.  When someone was sick around them, they had a tendency to be harsh and judgmental toward the suffering one.  Rather than showing compassion they would quote Scripture that the sick one should be "claiming".  One day the "faith person" became very sick.  When they needed compassion they didn't get it.  People responded to them much like the seeds of harshness they had sown.  "Stand on the Word", people told them.  It was harvest time!  From that experience the suffering "faith person" learned to show compassion to others.  In a way, walking in grace and forgiveness even works when people don't act in faith like we think they should.  We are in essence forgiving them for not walking in their faith life perfectly.  Pride in any setting is always wrong and ugly.  Grace extended is a beautiful thing. 

Forgive the Sinner
Part II

In our last blog we discussed the forgiveness, reconciliation and restoration of a sinner guilty of incest who had been excommunicated from the church. (I Cor. 5) I made the statement that restoration is more difficult for us than excommunication. That may sound harsh but I believe it to be the case.  Just as those who rushed to judgment of the “woman caught in the act of adultery”,

Religious humanity rushes to judgment as if we are incapable of such sinful action.  Paul made it clear that “we are what we are by the Grace of God.”  It is at this point that we face the question, what then is the process of restoration?  The process of restoration is dependent upon the sphere of the offence.  Who has been impacted by the sin and what is the cost of the sin to others.  It is an easy thing for Christians to simply say, “Forgive and forget.”  Of course we must forgive and yes forget but that doesn’t mean that there is not a cost to the sinner for their sin.  Forgiveness is instantaneous but restoration is a process. Sin not only breaks the laws of God, it also breaks the hearts and trust of people.  Forgiveness helps bring healing to those forgiving but trust is something that must be rebuilt by the offender.

For example, if the man who was caught in the sin of incest in I Corinthians 5 was forgiven and received back in the church, is he instantly eligible to resume any leadership activities?  Can he keep the nursery?  May he keep your grandchildren? Can he teach the day he returns?  Can he preach?  Certainly not!  Why?  I thought we had forgiven him!  Yes but for his good and the good of the church we must allow a process of healing for the offender as well as the church.  Repentance opens the door for forgiveness and reconciliation and reconciliation opens the door for restoration.  All this process takes time.  There is also a cost involved that doesn’t guarantee that the offender will ever attain his earlier status in ministry.  He may, but that is in the hands of God.  Our heart must be one of forgiveness and restoration.  However, only the Restorer can accomplish true restoration. May the Lord give us wisdom as we navigate these waters. 

Forgiveness for the Sinner

Part I

2 Cor. 2:5 I am not overstating it when I say that the man who caused all the trouble hurt all of you more than he hurt me. 6Most of you opposed him, and that was punishment enough. 7Now, however, it is time to forgive and comfort him. Otherwise he may be overcome by discouragement. 8So I urge you now to reaffirm your love for him.

9I wrote to you as I did to test you and see if you would fully comply with my instructions. 10When you forgive this man, I forgive him, too. And when I forgive whatever needs to be forgiven, I do so with Christ’s authority for your benefit, 11so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes.

What a powerful force is forgiveness!  It is most powerful when God extends it toward us but it is also powerful when we extend it to others.  When God forgave us, an He did so completely through Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the Cross, He did so by a decision.  He did not forgive us based on our actions.  He simply but profoundly forgave us without reservation.  He did it without measure.  If it had been done because of our actions then redemption would not have been necessary.  He simply gave to all who believe on the work of Jesus His full forgiveness and reconciliation. 

Paul here is telling the church at Corinth to restore a sinner among them.  This sinner was of such a sort that his vile sin was that of incest.  He had been put out of the church and regarded as a non-believer because of his sin and his resistance to repentance.   Now the actions of the church in putting him out had accomplished repentance and sorrow on behalf of the sinner.  Now is the time for restoration.  Now is the time to do the harder thing than excommunication.  Now is the time to welcome him back in restoration.  Not only has he suffered and shown fruit of his repentance but he is grieving greatly.  How hard it is to now face the one who has so openly sinned and receive him back as “one of us.”  Yet, that is exactly what Paul was instructing the church to do.  It has been said that “it is human to ere but forgiveness is Divine.”  Forgiveness always begins with a choice.

Part II – Next writing

Kingdom Terrorism

Terrorism is a word that we never heard when I was a boy.  Today we hear it most days.  It has always been a part of warfare from the most ancient days.  The word itself is defined as  "the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims."  Certainly the first century Church endured both violence and intimidation as they sought to extend the Kingdom of God in the earth.  Can you imagine learning that a member of your Church was murdered from sharing their testimony at work?  How would that affect us the next time the opportunity arose to share our allegiance to Jesus?  That is the nature and the purpose of terrorism.  It is designed to silence all opposing views of the terrorist.  That is what Saul of Tarsus was all about.  He wanted to stop the "new cult", later called Christianity from spreading.  Imprisonment and execution was part of his tool box.  Until...he met Jesus personally!  Then the hunter became the hunted.  It was this former terrorist who now proclaimed "There is a wide open door for a great work here, although many oppose me." (I Cor. 16:9)  A lesson to be learned here is that there will always be opposition to the Gospel message.  The level and brand of opposition will vary according to the level of social freedom in a particular place but opposition remains constant.  In the Middle East and other places the opposition is much like it was in Paul's day.  People are still imprisoned and murdered for nothing more than the crime of telling others about Jesus. Let's remember our comrades in the love for Jesus and pray for them.  

A Gospel that has been diluted for personal consumption has implied that God is such a God of love and mercy that He never allows his children to suffer.  They gleefully eat spiritual meals from the pulpit that teach of a God who resembles Walt Disney more than Father God.  Now that doesn't mean we need to return to preaching our own brand of Christian terrorism where we use fear and intimation to get people to live according to our standards but we do need to teach Biblical Truth and perspective.  It is the Truth that not only sets us free but also strengthens us and prepares us for war and terrorism from the enemy.  Notice Paul's attitude.  Opposition was not a surprise for him.  He seemed very much at peace and excited in his work in the midst of opposition or terrorism.   Yes he wrote that "many people oppose me", but his emphasis was on "There is a wide open door for a great work here."

May we live and prepare others to live understanding that opposition WILL be a part of our journey and work as "ambassadors for Christ."

"Let Me Remind You"

There are some things in life of which we need to be reminded.  Jesus tells us that we have an enemy that works to steal away Truth.  The parable of the sower is an example of that.  Jesus said that the enemy would come after truth is sown and try to steal that newly planted seed in an effort to keep it from becoming rooted and grounded in our lives.  Today there are a lot of thieves all around that would like to move us from the foundation of our true Faith.  It is only the Truth that can save us and set us free.  No one can be saved and set free apart from the Truth of the Gospel.  There may be programs that might give people some relief but nothing other than the Gospel can bring total deliverance from the old and radical transformation into the new.  As hard as it might be to believe, we need to be reminded of that fact.  We need to regularly inspect what we are teaching, preaching and talking to make sure we aren't offering a Gospel that is less than truth.  

The Apostle Paul writes the church at Corinth and brings them just such a reminder and a call back to the basics.

 I Corinthians 15:1"Let me now remind you, dear brothers and

sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. 2It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.

3I passed on to you what was most important and what had also

 been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the 

Scriptures said. 4He was buried, and he was raised from the dead 

on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.  

Paul reminds the church of the Good News and a definition of what that good news entails at its root level.  That foundational message is that Christ died for our sins, He was buried and he was raised from the dead on the third day.  The last phrase is also important, "just as the Scripture said."  We must remain true to our immovable belief that the Scripture is true, the very bedrock of our salvation and the salvation of all who hear us declare salvation.  We must regularly and unashamedly preach in our churches that Jesus died for our sins, he was crucified and put to death and he was raised from the dead.  It is a spiritual and historical fact.  If we ever relegate this to fiction even in a passive way, our Gospel ceases to have the power to save the lost.  We must be reminded as Paul reminds us that this Gospel is the very "power of God leading to salvation."

The Word Above Conscience

Our conscience is a powerful help in life. The conscience sets guidelines for living and acts as an alarm when we begin to stray from the right path.  To delve into a discussion regarding conscience would be an almost endless debate.  For example, where does a persons conscience originate.  Is it derived from nature or nurture? The Bible tells us that there is a knowledge of God within all of us when we are born.  Even nature declares his glory.  Then as we develop we are taught from an early age what our parents feel is right and wrong.  Then, if and when we become Believers in the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes within and becomes the greatest influence upon our conscience.  It becomes difficult to distinguish between the inner voice of the Holy Spirit and the voice of our conscience.  

As we grow in our walk with the Lord our conscience can change.  It changes in differing ways.  It may change by becoming more strict in some areas of living and more flexible in others based upon the Light of the Scripture and the working of the Holy Spirit within us.  The Bible tells us that some people can't eat meat or drink wine because their conscience is weak and that we shouldn't try to lead a person beyond the sphere of their conscience.  That stance could change in them through time.  How then can we trust our conscience?  Generally speaking, our Holy Spirit led conscience is accurate and can be trusted.  However, our conscience is not fool proof.  Only the Scripture and the Holy Spirit are infallible.  For example, if you are around people who practice things that are against your conscience, in time you may embrace what you formerly felt was wrong.  The change could be correct and it could be wrong.  How are we to know?  An old saying tells us to "let your conscience be your guide."  That is not an absolute truth.  We must know and choose the Word of God above our conscience.  The Word is the Word of God and it "changes not".  The Word and the Spirit are in fact God.  If there is a conflict between your conscience and the Scripture,  ALWAYS CHOOSE THE SCRIPTURE.   Proverbs 14:12 says, "There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death."
No matter how right if may seem or feel, The Word always must triumph over feelings. 

He Is Faithful

I am thankful that God's faithfulness is not contingent upon my faithfulness! While you and I as believers are committed to faithfulness, God is Himself faithful.  There is a difference between a commitment to faithfulness and the essence of faithfulness.  With a commitment, though well intended and truly meant in the heart, there is a breaking point in most of us.  If enough pressure is placed upon us and the cost becomes so great, humanity will usually break.  Like Peter who loudly proclaimed that he would never deny Jesus, when the pressure became great enough he retreated from his commitment like a frightened child.   Yet, I am convinced he was as serious as he knew how to be.  It would be easy to say here, "Oh, that was before he received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit!"  True, but even in the power of the Holy Spirit, there is great temptation.  Where then is our confidence if not in our faith and faithfulness?  Faith in human faithfulness is a fragile foundation, sinking sand.  Our confidence is not in human commitment, faith or faithfulness but in the Faithful One.  It is difficult for us to comprehend the faithfulness of God because we think in terms of human abilities to "act" in a faithful way.  God is not acting, He Is Faithfulness.  It is a part of not only his nature but his Very Being.  For you and me, faithfulness is a commitment we will hopefully follow while for God it is as much a part of Him as the color of our eyes.  As we can't change our biological composition, nothing can change the faithfulness of God.  

That means that we must continue to walk out our commitment to the Lord in daily life while never believing that our faithfulness is all on our human shoulders.  I love the New Living Translation of
 I Corinthians 1:8-9.  "He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."  That is exciting news!  He will keep you and me strong to the end…"FOR HE IS FAITHFUL TO DO WHAT HE SAYS…"  There is the confidence in our faithfulness.  I know that I will be faithful until the very end, no matter the cost, no matter the pressure, not because of my great commitment but because of His great faithfulness to keep me strong.  It is his Word and He says that He will keep us to the very end!  That strength is made possible daily for us because we are in "partnership with Jesus Christ our Lord. "

May we take these verses and save them onto the hard drive of our spirit man and live out all the days of our lives with this confidence.