The Privilege of Church Inclusion

2 Timothy 3:1 “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.”

Recently I was speaking in a church on the Presence of God and our need to live daily in the enabling power of His Presence.  A week later a sweet lady came to me and said, “I’ve been struggling to understand what you meant by “avoiding such people.”  Certainly we are to be kind and longsuffering with everyone in an effort to reach people with the love and forgiveness of Jesus, right?  Yet, here in black and white we read that there is a time when we “avoid” certain people.  That sounds like shunning doesn’t it?  How could that be possible?  We have to take this verse, as we always must, in context with the rest of the passage.  Paul is address the atmosphere of the church in the last days.  He says in the King James Version that it will be “perilous” times.  Here in the ESV it says “times of difficulty.  It will not be a good time or atmosphere.  We are talking about the condition of the church.  The Church throughout history has had more threat to its life and mission from within than without.  Outward enemies cause the Church to persist and prevail.  Inward enemies can cause the church to decay and implode.  Therefore for the sake of the Body of Christ there are times when some people must be avoided. 

We don’t value the honor, blessing and power of being a participating part of the Body of Jesus, the Church as much as we should.  We don’t understand fully the dynamic potential of being one of the members where every part contributes.(Ephesians 4:16) 

Paul is addressing those who have been a part of the church but are not living under the Lordship of Christ. They are out of control! They look and talk about religious things but deny the Power of the Gospel to save and set the captives free.  They are “spies in the camp” who weaken and undermine the faith of the Church.  These people are unwilling to repent.  They are unholy and live only for themselves.  These are the ones that Paul says, “avoid such people.”  We are not to arrive at this quickly.  It should come after a clear understanding of the true identity of these false brothers and sisters.  We see their potential of harm to the church.  It makes me uncomfortable to even write about this but there is a time when we must do this. Being a member of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is not a right it is a privilege. 

Looking Unto Jesus

There is a theme in Scripture that what we behold we become.  When we have a target we will move toward it.  Hebrews 12:2 exhorts us "Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our Faith."  Just as Jesus the Messiah is the author of our faith, only he can continue to build upon it.  There is a danger in this regard.  If we hear a certain doctrine that excites us, it is only human to want to pursue it.  I remember a decade in the church when it became popular to always have a "new teaching".  Teachers everywhere it seemed were unfolding new ideas, explanations to old truths or "new light" and understanding of old teachings.  One traveling preacher said of those days, "if you started preaching a known doctrine it seemed as if the congregation would just tune you out with the attitude, "oh, we have heard that!"  Pressure was placed on ministers to bring forth "fresh manna."  That kind of pressure is really dangerous for the teacher as well as the hearer.  It draws attention away from Jesus and focuses on revelation.  It also develops a pride and arrogance in the teacher when he thinks he has found a new revelation.  If you stop and think about it, it is very arrogant to think that after thousands of years of laboring over the Scripture in the light of the Holy Spirit that I now understand something that has never been seen!  Really!!  Certainly new revelation can be uncovered as we near the second coming of Jesus.  But the rarity of such an event needs to be considered carefully by the teacher.  He needs to be willing to submit the "new thing" to seasoned teachers of the Bible for judging and confirmation.

The moment we begin to place our vision upon a doctrine, teaching or philosophy, we of necessity must take our full vision off Jesus.  The proper perspective is to realize that interpretation of Scripture requires comparison with the entirety of Scripture.  Jesus is the fulfillment of the Bible.  The more we study the Scripture the more we gain insight into a more complete understanding.  When we open the Bible we need to ask Jesus to open His eyes in us to comprehend Truth.  We need to walk in humility as we journey through the Word of God without a hint of a desire to impress with our teaching.  A.S. Worley was a humble man who taught the Bible with great power and authority.  After sitting under his teaching a few times I was struck that when he left us that our focus was not on the gifts of a man but the power of the Word of God.  Lord, deliver us from pride of understanding some new thing and help us to look to Jesus and may He develop us along the lines of Your Truth!

Living on the Frontier

Recently I watched as a rocket exploded on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral.  The Space X rocket is a part of private industry working to make space travel less expensive and more attainable.  As I watched I thought how I might feel if those billions of dollars belonged to me!  I wondered if I would be willing to try it again. A few days later I was watching the morning news when a scientist was asked about the explosion and the negative impact it might have on future efforts.  He surprised me when he said, "it's a good thing!"  Really!!??  Then he said something that grabbed me.  He said "any entity that is unwilling to experience failure is not living on the frontier."  Wow! I wonder how many times we have stopped after failure because it cost us our pride or our reputation?  I wonder how close we were to success or a miracle  and missed it because we couldn't (or wouldn't) pay the price of fully funding the adventure of faith?  It probably isn't too late.  You could be one attempt from success.  Just continuing to struggle toward a dream or vision is much better than living in disappointment over failure.  A lot of people are immobilized by the fear of failure so much that they never actually start.  Since my retirement from serving as a pastor of a church I have experimented with painting.  People told me how relaxing it was to them.  Not so with me!  My painting experiences have been filled with anxiety.  My perfectionism (a weakness) has taken the joy out of painting.  The fear of failure has stopped me in my tracks.  A good friend is an avid painter.  I look at his work and I think, "that's not perfect."  As a matter of fact, some of his work is unrecognizable because it is abstract.  People pay money for his art!  He didn't allow his own fear to stop his ongoing attempts.  He is an artist living on the frontier!  He has motivated me to get back at it with a motivation of enjoying the effort. What area in life will you give another attempt?  What thing will you dust off and try again?  Faith is just such and effort.  Believe again!

Grace to Obey

Luke 1:38
And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

Here is the beginning of the Christmas story.  The angel of the Lord speaks to a young virgin girl from a little unimpressive location and tells her she will conceive and give birth to the Son of God, The Messiah.  As the angel tells Mary of God's intentions all of Heaven pauses awaiting her response.  It is an amazing thing that we mortals often hold the key to unlocking immortality.  Certainly, only God can work miracles but we must cooperate with an obedient will.  If Mary had protested or allowed her understanding to be the lord of her life, what would have been the outcome?  Only heaven knows.  Everything about this conversation challenged Mary to her core.  Myriads of thoughts had to have rushed through her mind about what people would think and the outcome of such circumstances. Certainly she knew the course of her life would be changed forever.  Her answer is the true test of Lordship for us all.  First, she address her identity.  To ask first, "what will people think of me", is a clear declaration that what people think is a major part of personal identity.  She declared her identity:  "I am the servant of the Lord."  She was a humble and obedient servant of God.  That identity was a major part of why she had been chosen.  Then came the real meat of her surrender.  "Let it be to me according to your word."  She was saying, I submit to what you have declared will happen to and through me. The resulting success, failure, shame or glory I lay down to simply obey the Lord.  Then the Word says, "and the angel departed."  The angel came representing the power and authority of God to fulfill the prophesies of old.  Within the will of this young virgin was held the key to releasing the greatest power and gift the world will ever know.  The Messiah, Emmanuel, God with us!  

As we approach a new year, may we submit afresh to a new and deeper level of humble submission to the Word of God without reservation.  New power and grace will be released from our unquestioning obedience.  

The Healing Power of Transparency

I still marvel at how transparency opens the flood gates for healing.  There is something about sharing a private weakness or need in a safe place that puts us in position to receive healing.  I remember living on board ship when I was a sailor and being at anchor in different ports or sailing in differing waters.  I was in the Navy during the Viet Nam war so there were enemies that would have loved to do us harm. I remember when we were inside San Diego Bay we felt safe and secure.  It was easy to rest there.  I can remember being in the waters near North Korea when we remained at General Quarters or at combat readiness around the clock.  You could never feel completely comfortable in combat dress.  Friendly waters was a place of peace and rest.  

I'm a part of a small group of men that have been meeting weekly for several months.  We pray and discuss chapters from a book we are reading.  When the group first started there was a bit of discomfort and sharing feelings of the heart were more guarded.  It was like "General Quarters."  As the months have gone by the group has been secured from General Quarters and now we seem to be sailing in more peaceful waters.  Not a week goes by that someone doesn't receive some form of healing.  You can see it in their eyes.  They have chosen to relax and trust the safety of the harbor of friendship.  James 516 tells us, "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed."  This powerful verse tells us that if we make ourselves vulnerable to others then healing can flow as they pray for us.  However, you need to be very, very careful where you share your sins or weaknesses.  Not all waters are safe waters.  It takes time to develop relationships where you will be loved regardless of your weakness.  Covenant love is a powerful force in the Kingdom of God.  To betray it is a great spiritual crime.  To protect covenant among believers is a sign of our conversion and sanctification.  May the Lord help us value and protect the safe waters of Christian Brotherhood and in doing so maintain a safe harbor of healing.  

St. Augustine Update

Greetings All!

I haven't written an update in a long time and thought that a report after Hurricane Matthew might be in order.  We are very busy here in St. Augustine after the storm.  The Island is abuzz with cleanup.  Our home church here, Anastasia Baptist Church is very involved in "St. Augustine Rebuild."  They are joining teams from around the country in working to get things back in order.  It is very encouraging to see the Body of Christ involved, as it should be, in the works of Jesus in caring for those in need.

I had gallbladder surgery on Wednesday morning at 9:30, October 5 and we were ordered to evacuate Anastasia Island that afternoon!  It was one of those times when you grab what you can and wonder "what will be here when you return?"  I don't remember much about it but Teresa loaded me up in the car and drove me to Tony and Barbara Kurtz's home in Lake City, Florida.  We spent three nights there before returning.  As we drove home we remarked that it had been like a vacation with friends!  We were cared for like family by Tony and Barbara.  We had to navigate our way home, keeping tabs on which bridges were open and which ones were closed.  We arrived after the major rush to come back to the island.  When we arrived home, other than a few palm fronds in the street, everything looked normal.  There is a lagoon about 20 feet from our back door so I had more than a few thoughts about that.  We live on the first floor.  Everything was normal!  Then the news began to come in about the rest of the First Coast.  Many lost something and some lost their homes and all their possessions.  We didn't hear of anyone who lost their life here in our area.  Everyone realized that we were so blessed!  Later after looking closely at the track of the storm the track took the storm to the East, away from the coast right at the center of Anastasia Island.  Teresa had been praying for the Lord to take His Hand and push the storm to the east!  It's always hard to understand why some lose nothing and some lose all!  Yet, we are grateful to God for His mercy in sparing lives.

Ministry has been picking back up of late.  We ministered at New Life in Saginaw, Michigan in September and at Christian Heritage in Lake City, Florida in early October.  Thank you for your love, prayers, concern and support through the years.  May the Lord continue to use us as He sees fit and May his rich blessing follow you!

Love and Blessings!
L. A.

Faith, Righteousness and Eternity

Pride and humility are two things that we believe we can easily identify.  We think of pride as loud, arrogant and "me" centered.  Humility on the other hand is quieter, self-effacing and willing to be unseen.  It sounds easy enough but the truth behind humility and pride are deeply rooted in the motivation of the heart.  For example, what if you heard someone say, "I can do anything!" What would be your impression?  It would probably be, "what arrogance."  In the same way if you heard someone say, "without the Lord I can't do anything!"  Certainly that would be humility!  Not necessarily.  The first statement was essentially what the Apostle Paul said in Phil. 4:13, I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me."  Certainly he added, through Christ, but still he  believed that the Lord could accomplish anything through him.  The second statement, "without the Lord I can't do anything", could really be pride.  It is all about the attitude of the heart.  In reality the only two people that know the attitude of the heart would be the person making the statement and God.  Only God knows our hearts.  There are even times when we don't truly know our own hearts.  We often deceive ourselves in order to move forward with something we want or want to accomplish.  

Pride can sound like humility when it is faithless and passive and not willing to obey God and risk the possibility of failure, thereby bringing humiliation on itself.  Humility can sound like pride when it is confident of Christ leading and empowering and willing to be aggressive in obedience to the will of God.  Why would such inward musing matter?  It matters greatly and even has a bearing on eternity.  It has been said, "if you can't trust God now in this life, how do you know you can trust Him with the promise of heaven when you die?"  Faith is the "evidence of things not seen."  I once knew a man who truly loved the Lord. He had lived a life of sin and rebellion before the Lord saved him.  Many years after he became a follower of Jesus he would say often, "there is none good, no not one."  It sounded right and very humble.  Yet, it bothered me.  He also liked the quote "I'm just an old sinner saved by grace!"  I would challenge him and say, "no, we were old sinners but now we are made righteous by the blood of Jesus."  I could tell he was very uncomfortable with that statement.  In his latter years he began to express anxiety about heaven.  He would doubt that he could be accepted into heaven because of his past life.  There it is!!!  All those years of words that sounded like humility were really symptoms of a weakness in faith relating to his salvation that comes only by the blood of Jesus.  He was saved but his consciousness had never been fully redeemed by the works that Jesus did on the cross. His consciousness was still stained with a thought that his former life actions had something to do with entrance into heaven.  Our lesson here is to truly accept by faith what Jesus did and abandon every thought of what we did before our salvation.  Our lives before Jesus has nothing to do with heaven. Let it go and grab what Jesus did and never look back!

Ongoing Sanctification (Correction of last post)

2 Thess. 2:13 "But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits[fn] to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth."

There is much debate over sustainable salvation.  Regardless of your beliefs on this subject, we would all agree that a lack of attention to maintaining an ongoing and increasing relationship with Jesus is a dangerous thing.  Let's focus on the last seven words here.  "The Spirit and belief in the Truth."  Sanctification is clarified as an ongoing process that is maintained through two very important things.  First, we see that the Holy Spirit accomplishes sanctification.  We can't sanctify or set apart ourselves or anyone else.  Only the indwelling and active Holy Spirit in us can accomplish this.  Joined and working in conjunction with the Holy Spirit is our faith or belief in the Truth.  We can't believe just anything and be sanctified.  Sanctification only occurs, as we are filled with the Holy Spirit and believing according to the Truth of the Scripture.  Trying to make God adjust His truth to fit our understanding does not release a life changing power.  Coming to God without full understanding is often a true functioning of faith.  I choose to believe God's unchanging truth.  That faith releases the active and ready Holy Spirit to deepen the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  May we open our hearts today and ask the Holy Spirit to complete His work of sanctification in us.  Don't settle for a mediocre existence in God.  Keep pressing toward His full potential in and through you.

Why Me!?

Most of us have used this two word phrase as a question and as a exclamation at some time in life. It can mean that you are happy or upset based upon the inflection in your voice and the attitude of your heart.  I have used it both ways.  After experiencing an unbelievable blessing I have used the phrase in amazement, "Why me!!!"  I didn't really care in that case because I was just happy I received a blessing.  I didn't need to understand.  Then there is the agonizing use of the phrase..."why me?" This is usually when we search for some understanding.

When we ponder the "why" it gets confusing.  Often the negative "why Me's" in my life came after I made some dumb decision, a bad choice.  I set into motion the principle of sowing and reaping and I didn't like the harvest from my actions.  Then there have been the wonderful times of reaping good things and I didn't know why. Why me!  I realize that by now you are getting dizzy trying to follow all this.  I want to point out two important parts of this deliberation.  First, the principle of God's grace comes into view.  There is a sovereign working of God in our lives that is always leading us toward His highest and best.  At times that "best" seems to our understanding as wonderful and it is easily embraced.  At other times that "best" seems to be negative or painful and we don't want to have anything to do with it.  All these things, regardless of how they feel to us, if surrendered to God in faith result in our good, our edification in time.  The older I get the more I come to believe that God does not want to be complicated to us.  He wants to make our approach to Him as easy as possible.  Yet, God and His purposes are much more complex than we can possibly comprehend.  The second thing that is critical to our success is that we must choose ahead of time, even now, that we will trust that He is working things out only to our good in line with His ultimate plan for our lives.  It is impossible for us in our finite understanding to fully comprehend the plan of the infinite wisdom of our loving God.

Understanding can be the Lord and Master of our lives.  When understanding rules, we live very limited lives.  We might be saved and going to heaven but lives here on earth can be restricted to what we can understand rather than what we can believe.  Jesus was addressing this dilemma in Matthew 19:26 "But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” When Mary was confronted with the Truth that she would be the one chosen to bring forth the birth of Jesus she didn't understand but she responded with, "be it unto me according to your Word."  May God grant us grace to live by faith beyond our understanding.  

Live Looking!

"He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him." ( Hebrews 9:28 NIV)

Hebrews chapter 9 tells us that Jesus is our High Priest, the only priest that could settle the sin problem once and for all.  He settled your sin problem and my sin problem.  The ransom for our salvation was paid when Jesus cried out, "it is finished."  No longer would an earthly priest need to go every year into the earthly Holy of Holies to offer up a sacrifice for the atonement for sin.  Jesus was the mediator of a new covenant that was much better than the old.  After he finished the work on the cross and fulfilled prophecy by his victorious resurrection from the dead, he ascended back to heaven and took his seat as Victor at the right hand of the Father.  What is our part in this story of redemption?  As simple as it sounds, our part is to believe that the price Jesus paid is enough.  There is an old chorus that says, "there's nothing else that I can do for Jesus did it all!" Remaining faithful to that faith commitment is a big task.  Not that we lose faith but faith and faithfulness are two very different things.  Faith can be a spontaneous thing and faithfulness is a moment by moment decision to believe and remain steadfast in our walking out our commitment.  Faithfulness is a never ending journey!  That doesn't mean that we don't have struggles in our faith.  That doesn't mean that we don't have to pray the prayer, "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief."  The final faithful tests comes on That Day when Jesus returns and we are still "fighting the good fight of faith."

Our text today tells us clearly that, "He will come again!"  Hallelujah, He is coming again.  When He comes He won't come to deal with our sins.  That has already been completed.  Yet, there is a final step to our salvation process that will prepare us to live in the Presence of God for eternity.  Our total salvation transformation will come when we SEE HIM!  That means that while some will be caught off guard by the second coming of Jesus, the Messiah, it won't catch true believers off guard.  Our daily faith gives us a daily awareness of His Presence and it will be an alarm that will alert us to His pending arrival.  This verse tells us that this final step of heavenly preparation will come to those who are "eagerly waiting for him."
Don't let that bother you.  That doesn't mean that we should be sitting in the park passing each day with our natural eyes straining toward the sky.  A living daily faith allows us to be faithful in our daily lives while our spirit man remains on watch for His appearing.  If you are living by faith in a living relationship with Jesus, you are prepared for His Appearing.  Like a radar screen scanning the skies so is your spirit ready for that day.  Are you ready for Him?  It is all about your living relationship with Jesus.  If He is alive in your heart, you will see Him on that day!

Too Soon Old Too Late Smart

I'm tempted to believe that the most intelligent people are the quietest people. Of course those of you that know me personally know that I talk way too much.  I'll leave the conclusion in your hands!
My point comes from an observation through a lifetime of people watching.  Of course we must introduce wisdom into this conversation.  I have met many really intelligent people who had very little wisdom.  Wisdom is a balance of intellect and experience that hopefully brings a person to wisdom.  Wisdom then when drawn upon makes the right decision.  What causes a person to get the right answer from the formula experience+intellect=wisdom.  I believe it is discipline or self control.
A disciplined person must take the right answer and apply it in life.  Our world is filled with people whose problem was not that they didn't know what was right, they just didn't have the self control to do the right thing.  Then there are even Christians who have Jesus inside and still reject doing right because they have never trained themselves to chose rightly and act in obedience with that choice.

Hebrews 5:14 (ESV) "But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil."  As followers of Jesus we improve as we go by obedience.  Notice the phrase, "trained by constant practice."  I love that!  The more we hear and obey the better we become at "distinguishing between good and evil."  That should bring wisdom.  Wisdom comes from seeking after wisdom out of our experiences.  Then, the more we learn, the quieter we seem to get.  I asked a lady about 90 years of age, "what have you learned in your long life?"  She quietly said, "too soon old, too late smart."  I hear volumes of wisdom in those 6 short words!

Living On Auto-Pilot

Many years ago I was flying with my friend 

S. C. Barker in his private plane. He was making some short ministry trips with me and spoiling me with custom air service. We made several great trips together. On our first trip he demonstrated his computerized auto-pilot capabilities. It was amazing to see how after take off you could set the auto-pilot to a specific destination and it would take us there with ease and accuracy. One day while leading a marriage counseling session I thought about my experience with the auto-pilot. The couple with whom I was working had been married quite a few years. Now after years of smooth sailing they had hit a rough patch. They made a common mistake of thinking they had navigated the tricky waters of marriage formation and now it was all clear sailing ahead. They had wrongly assumed that marriage could be put on auto-pilot and therein was their error. No marriage or life in general can ever be put on auto-pilot. Whether it's marriage, life or business the auto-pilot mode is a crash waiting to happen. Many years ago I adopted a life slogan that has worked well for me. "The thing that made you successful will keep you successful." As soon as you stop investing into your marriage and/or endeavor you begin to deteriorate. That is critically important in marriage and certainly in your relationship with the Lord. Maybe it is time for you or someone you know to turn off auto-pilot and get back involved in flying the plane. 

Refiners Fire

Romans 8:28And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 

This verse may be one of the most quoted verses in the Bible.  We love to make placards of it and place it in our homes as a decoration. It makes us feel good!  Yet, a closer observation shows that the verse begins with "And".  That is a word we use to continue a thought or to give more explanation to a thought.  We must back up and get the full meaning of Paul's thought.  Just prior to this verse the words tell us that the Holy Spirit helps us with our weaknesses. Paul tells us that we don't even know how to pray but the Holy Spirit helps us even in our praying.  The true meaning of this verse is not one where we can simply pick it out and in our human filtering think that it means that all that the Holy Spirit allows and causes will feel "good."  It says it will, in the end, work together for good.  Then a few verses later we read that the real purpose in all this is to conform us to the image of Jesus.  Taking a carnally minded person who cries out to God, "make me more like you", and conform them into the image of Jesus is a life long, often painful process.   We get a glimpse of how the Lord accomplishes this task in Mal. 3:3 "He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."  He causes the fire of circumstances in our lives to burn away the impurities and all that does't look like Jesus until He sees his reflection in us. Our part is simply to allow the fire and the dealing while we are in process.  God give us the faith and patience to trust you especially in difficult days.

He sat by a fire of seven-fold heat,
As He watched by the precious ore,
And closer He bent with a searching gaze
As He heated it more and more.
He knew He had ore that could stand the test,
And He wanted the finest gold
To mould as a crown for the King to wear,
Set with gems with a price untold.
So He laid our gold in the burning fire,
Tho' we fain would have said Him 'Nay,'
And He watched the dross that we had not seen,
And it melted and passed away.
And the gold grew brighter and yet more bright,
But our eyes were so dim with tears,
We saw but the fire--not the Master's hand,
And questioned with anxious fears.
Yet our gold shone out with a richer glow,
As it mirrored a Form above,
That bent o'er the fire, tho' unseen by us,
With a look of ineffable love.
Can we think that it pleases His loving heart
To cause us a moment's pain?
Ah, no! but He saw through the present cross
The bliss of eternal gain.
So He waited there with a watchful eye,
With a love that is strong and sure,
And His gold did not suffer a bit more heat,
Than was needed to make it pure.