"You are the salt of the earth!"

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.”

 

All my Christian life as I have read these words of Jesus, I have always thought that the way we would lose our “saltiness” or our evangelistic influence in society would be to become so weak in our faith and practice that we would walk away from Christ and disappear into the sinful world.  However, there are other ways that we, the Church, can lose our ability to influence the world for Christ.  Losing our saltiness is done primarily when we start believing, talking and acting like the world and no longer like Jesus.  

 

I have been intrigued by the Christian Church in Nazi Germany and always wondered how was it possible to embrace Adolf Hitler and his ungodly self-promoting schemes to rule the world.  It happened through, as all things do, a process.  Germany had lost World War I and were forced to pay very expensive reparations for their war crimes.  After the shame of the war the German Church were now mixing their thinking with Christian thought and Nazi thought.  They were embarrassed by their nation’s failure in the war as much as the non-Christian culture. There came a mixture of thought in the church which included both Christian doctrine and politics.  The line blurred between loyalty to Christ and loyalty to National interests. Then, when Hitler rose to power there were concerns at first but then the 1920 Nazi Party platform put them at peace.  This is the part of that platform that brought about an embracing of the Nazi system by the Church both Catholic and Protestant:

"We demand the freedom of all religious confessions in the state, insofar as they do not jeopardize the state's existence or conflict with the manners and moral sentiments of the Germanic race. The Party as such upholds the point of view of a positive Christianity without tying itself confessionally to any one confession. It combats the Jewish-materialistic spirit at home and abroad and is convinced that a permanent recovery of our people can only be achieved from within on the basis of the common good before individual good."

 

The statement that bought the loyalty of most of the church was the first, “we demand the freedom of all religious confessions in the state…”.   Remember, these were the words of Adolf Hitler and his regime.  But in accepting that statement the Church also embraced the statement about “combating the Jewish materialistic spirit at home and abroad…” resulting in time of the murder of over 6,000,000 Jews.

 

Certainly, there were parts of the church in Germany that resisted selling out to the Nazi political system.  The most famous resistance came from the protestant theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer who was executed for his actions against Hitler.  But by in large, the church cooperated and even gladly aligned itself with the political movement at the sacrifice of their Christian influence.  They lost their “saltiness” and would never regain it as they had known it during earlier times. 

 

 

 

This picture should bring concern to all believers.  As the Church of Jesus Christ living among society, we must not lose our influence upon a lost world.  They must not see us and our Mission as the same as a political mission.  The unbelieving world will always disdain us as followers of Jesus but that will never rob us of our spiritual influence. Our faithfulness to God during difficulty actually strengthens our influence.  We lose our “saltiness” when the world sees us aligned with political systems above our Christian convictions.  The earth is stained with the blood of Christian martyrs that would not look the other way and compromise their Faith for expediency. May God give us wisdom and discernment and great courage as we walk in these very stressful end times.  Our world needs more salt!

 

 

A Teachable Spirit

I have been asked many times what I regarded as the most important characteristics of a developing leader.  That is a difficult question to answer as there are so many areas of life and character that are necessary to be a servant of God. A servant's heart is critical as well as humility.  Of course, the Call itself should be essential and is a mysterious thing. It is something the burgeoning leader must know for certain they have heard from the Lord.  When the true call of God has been heard then little can stop the journey of Christian ministry though avenues of preparation may be varied.  However, when I am pressed for one critical part of ministry qualification I must always answer that it is teachableness.  Teachableness coming from a motivation of the heart is a pure and beautiful thing.  Nothing motivates me more as a minister in my 70's than to be asked to mentor a younger minister.  I like to know them before I commit and see the motivations of their heart.  If they are on a career path primarily and just trying to gain knowledge or reference for their resume, I try to graciously decline.  However, if I see humility and a desire to grow in their knowledge and effectiveness in God in order to serve God's people, I am always blessed to be a part of their journey.  

We all in ministry embark on that journey as a servant of the Lord.  The child like pliable mentality that we had at the beginning of our journey must remain with us our entire life.  Recently I asked a Christian, "so tell me what is the Lord dealing with in your life these days?"  Their response seemed to be one of surprise and perplexity.  They said, "the Lord dealing?"  I thought by now you would have it!"  In other words you should get to a point in your walk with the Lord where you don't need His dealing and adjusting.  That would be nice, I suppose,  but it doesn't work that way.    God never shows us the completed picture of our lives.  He never shows us all that will be required, all that will need to be changed in our lives.  It would be too much!  We couldn't take the shock!  His plan to guide us along His path is one of ever increasing personal internal formation from glory to glory. Conforming us every day into the image of Jesus.  It is a slow but certain process.  Only the teachable can see it an only the humble will allow it.  The proud stop hearing the voice of change along the way.  They think sermons are for others and discipleship is something for the less mature.  This is probably even more important for leaders because we are tasked with caring for the Church, the Bride of Christ. We must deal with her gently and with compassion as Jesus himself does.  Regular adjusting by the Lord is the only way we can remain in tempo with the Lord and His mission in the earth. 

I pray today for humility to find us through personal repentance and that a teachable spirit be restored to us His Church. 

Teaching and Preaching

Matthew 4:23 "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people."

We use the terms preaching and teaching interchangeably in most churches today. Actually, the word preaching has disappeared in many circles as the word teaching and the practice of teaching has become more in vogue. Preaching has become a word that speaks of a style rather than a word with a purpose.  In the verse above it clearly says that Jesus taught and preached.  When we examine the word teaching in the Greek it has the implication of discourse.  It carries with it a picture of one explaining a topic and allowing questions or discussion about the subject.  The word preaching is defined as the "heralding" of a message.  When a message is heralded there is no discussion among the audience.   In olden times a herald would receive a message of importance from an authority, often the Monarch, and the herald would shout forth the message of great importance that directed the behavior of the people under the lordship of that Monarch. Certainly after the herald delivers his edict there is a place for the teacher to give more explanation to those hearing the herald to assist them in their obedience.  But there is not a discussion for the audience to decide if obedience to the command is warranted. As followers of Christ there is a place for both preaching and teaching but there is not a place of rejecting the message of Scripture.  

This brings us to the question, will the preacher be heard in our day?  Is there a place in this hour for the one called to "preach" the Gospel of the Kingdom?  Will the herald be heard? Will the "crier" be obeyed?  A few years ago I wrote about what I felt had become an idol in the American Church.  That idol is "understanding."  "If I understand then I will obey."  God doesn't always give us understanding before He requires us to obey.  The scripture says that Abraham went out (obeyed) not knowing.  That is true faith.  Obedience is not to a man's voice but to God's voice, His Word! I'm not implying that believers should obey everything that comes out of the mouth of the preacher, but we need to lay hold of those sacred Words of Scripture heralded by mere men as they are the very word of God and receive them and obey they without offense if it requires discomfort to us.  There is a place for preaching in all seasons and all generations.  Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:2 'Preach the Word!"  As members of the Body of Christ may we raise our preference beyond the pleasant easily received, easily understood words to also be open to the Truth that is simply declared with an expectation to obey!  Then the Scripture says that after that teaching and preaching of Jesus, "AND HEALING ALL KINDS OF SICKNESS AND ALL KINDS OF DISEASES AMONG THE PEOPLE." Something happened when people heard and obeyed the word of God that had been taught and preached.  It still can today and we should expect it in faith.

                      

and healing all kinds ofMark 1:34; Luke 4:40; 7:21; Acts 10:38and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. 39:39 39 ch. 9:35; 13:54; Mark 1:21; Luke 4:15; Johch. 24:14; Luke 4ch. 8:16; 14:35, 36; Mar

Repentance and Healing

2 Chronicles 7:13[ch. 6:26, 28]When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, 14if my people who are called by my name [ch. 12:7]humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

In this post I would like to amplify one small section of this very popular portion of Scripture. That section is "turn from their wicked ways."  The ones being addressed in these two verses are God's people.  In our day that is the Church.  I have stumbled around and over this verse for many years.  I would think, God is asking us, His Church, to identify with the lost and ungodly world to repent in some way of identification.  As we take on the responsibility for the world's sin in some substitutionary way then God will hear and heal the land.  I could never pray a strong prayer of faith here because God wasn't asking us to repent for the world, He was asking us to repent for our sins.  What sins would those be?  Sins of abortion and racism that we are hearing so much about today?  Certainly, but it is bigger than that. We can embrace the current highlighted sin of the larger Nation and still not satisfy the sins God is calling for here.  God is calling on individual Christians to search their hearts or simply be aware of their hearts and repent and walk in personal purity and obedience before God.  All of us in the Church must not think of ourselves as being outside the sin problem. We are forgiven but we are not finished with repentance when we are converted.  Just because we haven't been directly involved in some sin like abortion or injustice we feel apart from the sin problem affecting our Nation. We don't relate to God's command to "turn from their wicked ways." That's the world out there that is hindering the healing of our Nation.  But God is a personal relationship God.  He deals with people before He deals with Nations. We must be willing to walk in personal repentance for everything God puts his finger on and we will see healing.  All of our individual sins against God are hindrances to healing and revival in America.  When I resist the Lord convicting me about the lack of forgiveness or when I feel badly about a habit but do nothing. When He touches an area of my life and I callously take my mind to a different, happier place, I have added to the problem.  Each time I do this I delay revival and the healing of our land.  We must stop reading these two verses in regard to it applying to the world or mostly major issues and begin allowing the Holy Spirit to convince and cleanse each of us right where we are.  Then the corporate repentance can arise from our individual honesty, repentance and cleansing and set us in motion for revival and healing.

  

Psalm 51:10. "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me."

Shaking to Strengthen Us

       As I write this most of us have been in some kind of quarantine for about 3 months now.  A worldwide affliction has come upon us with pressures and limitations, the kind of which, we could never have imagined.  Some limitations have now visited our country, though for most of us they have been more of an inconvenience than anything else.  We Americans are used to living in the “land of plenty.” I’m now in my 70’s and I never remember shortages of groceries except for a short time during the Cuban missile crisis and then nothing like those during World War II.  Yet, our affliction is often more internal than external.  We don’t like being told what to do, where we can’t go and what and where we can eat. For the vast majority it seems we have done well.
         My first observations of people when this all began were a kind of nervousness or anxiety that lay just below the surface.  There have been cases of anger and violence coming from some who have been pressed beyond their tolerance but that is the exception.  As time goes by more “shaking” seems to be happening.  Businesses are struggling to make it back as tremendous limitations have been placed upon them.  Now we come to the Church, the people of God.  How are we doing? We have to deal with all the same external pressures of the non-believing world. Yet, we have within us the “Hope of Glory!”  What, or I should say, "Who" is on the inside must be greater than all that is on the outside.  I keep thinking, as I’m shaken as well, “we hold this treasure in earthen vessels.” Jesus is the Treasure and I’m that weak and fragile clay jar.  Recently, I was reminded of just how weak I am and how much I am really being shaken by all this.  In a public situation, I was offended by someone and on the spot I reacted negatively! Yep!  Me! Man of God.  Representative of the Kingdom! I reacted in anger!  Oh, I repented and apologized immediately but the mourning over my sin went on for a while.   Why am I telling you this? Because my experience was a revealing of my condition.  It was a building inspection for me personally.  Building inspections are designed to reveal and fix smaller problems before they cause larger ones. 
         Isaiah 28:16  tells us, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste."  The shaking is not supposed to remove us from the strength of the strong foundation of Jesus. Too often we can become deceived into thinking that our strength is something that is fixed in us or that we have “arrived”, and in truth,  it is only fixed in Him.  We can shake and fail.  During these shaking times may we all take a deep breath and return to him as little children dependent upon him for our every breath and every action.  May we worry less about this season passing and more about standing strong in Him for the duration.  “Whoever believes will not be in haste.” May we also remember, 1 John 4:4 " for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."

Stubbornness, Ignorance and Pride

I can't think of any more deadly characteristics than Stubbornness, Ignorance and Pride.  Any one of these in our life has the potential for failure.  When you put them all together it is only a matter of time before disaster strikes.  Each of these traits enables the other.  Stubbornness enables and strengthens pride.  I have watched when some who profess to be followers of Jesus, blink and resist Truth when it isn't convenient for them.  They try to reason and reckon their way around Truth with their version of convenient truth.  One time as a pastor, an aspiring young preacher came to me to tell me his latest revelation about Jesus.  He took a portion of Scripture terribly out or context to accommodate his recent "revelation" that he wanted to preach.  I told him that he was wrong but I don't have any idea if he preached it anyway.  Pride can blind us to obvious Truth in order to prove our point.  When trying to help people with Truth, you can actually see the process when delivering that Truth, when that Truth collides with stubbornness and pride enables it.  Prides often resists Truth.  Ignorance is another one of those fruits of the flesh that turns stubbornness and pride into a deadly combination. At times we run into folks who are in places of authority who are ignorant in a certain area.  It must be said that all of us, beginning with me,  are ignorant in some areas.  We can't blindly pretend that we are experts in every field.  As a young pastor I felt great pressure to give people that came to me answers to many different areas of concern.  I gave advice to  almost every area of life.  All too often I gave it in ignorance because I didn't want to say, "I don't know!"  Certainly, as leaders and believers, we can hear from God in areas when we simply don't know.  That is wonderful when it happens.  However, that requires the hearing of God's voice in the moment.  I have experienced that many times and I was surprised when I heard answers come from my mouth that did not come from my intellect. Through the years I learned that it is best to say when I don't know, "I'm sorry but I don't know.  However, I will pray and seek council regarding your question."  There are also times when we won't get the answer to everyone's problems because the Lord wants to reveal Himself to the one seeking answers.  It has been said that God has no grandchildren, only children.  Every believer must come to a place of hearing God's voice and obeying.  Leaders, pastors and mentors are all wonderful gifts from the Lord but they cannot replace a personal, living relationship with the Lord.

May we all search our hearts today courageously making Stubbornness, Ignorance and Pride our enemies and seek God to give us His power to evict them from our lives.













Proverbs 29:1 (NLT) "Whoever stubbornly refuses to accept criticism

will suddenly be destroyed beyond recovery.

Does The Church Ever Isolate?

Is it right for Christians to isolate from the world?  What a far reaching and complicated question.  The heart of an evangelist and frankly, my heart, says, "Never!" But is that personal motivation of the heart always the correct answer?  Once again, is it ever right for Christians to isolate from the world?  The easy answer is that it is right if God says to do it.  Would God ever say to do it?  Certainly, He has in the past and may in the future.  When the Lord was ready to bring judgment upon the earth in Noah's day He instructed Noah to build an Ark.  Then the day came when the Lord said to Noah, go into the ark with your family and the door was shut.  Actually, Genesis 7:16 tells us that "the Lord closed the door behind them."  What followed was the judgment of God, the cleansing of the wickedness of mankind from the earth and the protection of the people of God.  That seems to be a biblical pattern.  Another prophetic and even Messianic directive of the Lord came to Isreal as they lived in the bondage of the Egyptians.  When God's day of judgment for Egypt and deliverance for Israel came, there were specific instructions.  Each family was to take an unblemished lamb(paschal lamb), slaughter it and put the blood of that lamb over their doorpost of their house with hyssop.  When the death angel passed over, the first born child of every family would die except for the houses with the blood over the doorpost.  The blood over the doorpost determined judgment or deliverance and safety for those living under the blood!  Later as Israel is released from the bondage of the world, the Egyptians took chase to put them into bondage again.  This time the Red Sea opened, Israel walked through on dry ground and the Egyptian army was destroyed by water.  Again, cleansing came upon wickedness and the people of God were protected by God.  This process relied upon the timing of God and man's obedience to God's voice when that time came.  Some would argue but judgment still comes even in our modern era.  Romans 1:18 "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth."  Ephesians 5:5  "For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience."  

Since the Bible tells us in these verses and others that there is coming an end to this age, this life as we know it, what then should be our preparation for a day such as this?  It is important to know that we can't prepare when the crisis is upon us.  Israel, as with Noah, had to make preparation out of obedience prior to the judgment. We must live prepared ahead of time.  Of course when Jesus returns, the door of salvation will be closed and opportunities for avoiding eternal judgment will be over.  Yet there will be other times before the coming of the Lord that will bring judgment.  These will be times of God's love in dealing with the rebellous and giving opportunity to turn away from their sin and rebellion against God in order to be saved. Then, just as in Noah's day, God will separate his people, those who have prepared themselves with the Blood of Jesus and obedience to God's Word, and they will be saved from disaster of the judgment of God.  Ephesians 5:6 makes it clear that "the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience."  God is loving, merciful and long suffering but there will be a day of reckoning.  There will be a day when mockers and the rebellious will be caught off guard as surely as in Noah's day.  Then, the Lord Himself will shut the door.  

May God give us anointing, wisdom and boldness to convince as many as possible before the hour of grace ends. 

To Aspire To Live Quietly

1 Thessalonians 4:11 (ESV)...aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs"

It has been very interesting to participate in and observe the reactions of people to social distancing and isolation due to the Covid-19 virus.  It is a quieter world in some ways.  If you remove the panic and anxiety of some, you sense a peace and stillness that isn't our modern norm.  A lot of things are being uncovered.  Addictions are surfacing for what they are.  Addictions for the Christian are idols of the soul.  They are things that share the throne of our spirit man with Jesus.  King Jesus wants to reign in our lives from our hearts without competition.  Certainly, as a spirit, mind and body creation, we are interested and involved in many different activities that are good and healthy.  But none of those things can become idols to us. They can't become things we just can't live without.  Feelings of withdrawal are cracks revealed in our devotion to the Lord. I've noticed that liquor stores are offering to deliver you alcoholic beverages right to your door!  How convenient.  That would only be critically important to the one with an addiction.  But what about other idols of the soul?  What about the noise of activities, the distraction of entertainment, the illusion of service to God by many good works.  Our verse above, the words of the Apostle Paul, tells us to "aspire or set as a goal a quiet life." At least make as an aim a quieter life.  The life of a follower of Jesus, a disciple, is to first hear and then obey the voice of the Holy Spirit.  Hearing and obeying...that's it!  A great man of God that had accomplished much was once asked what was the secret of his success.  He said, "I pray and I obey." Aspire to live  quietly Paul says.  It is in that quiet life that a controlled life is found.  It is within this sanctuary of worship in our spirit that we can actually hear the voice of God.  It is difficult to hear His Voice as a prisoner of entertainment.  It is difficult to hear his voice in the clamor of social interaction.  It is even very difficult to hear his voice in the crowded life of Christian ministry. I know.  I've lived there.  I've had to fight the ongoing war of clearing my life to hear God's direction and instruction.  We often become desperate because we have stopped hearing and get into trouble.  We stop everything, cry out to God and we hear!  He's always speaking.  We only heard because we removed ourself from the whirlwind and entered the spiritual sanctuary of His presence.  

Today, cast aside the anxiety, the uncertainty of the current crisis.  But please, may we all learn from this time of shutdown about "aspiring to live quietly." May we all evaluate our addictions, remove their power over us, and reestablish King Jesus on the throne of our hearts once again.

Isaiah 26:20 "Come, my people, enter your chambers,

and shut your doors behind you;

hide yourselves for a little while

until the fury has passed by."

Panic, Faith and Actions

As I write this I can hear the Harley Davidson motorcycles rumbling down the road where I live.  I live in St. Augustine Beach, Florida, a favorite spot for bikers during Bike Week in Daytona.  St. Augustine is also the headquarters for the Professional Golfers Association.  Their very special event, The Players Championship in Ponte Vedra has been cancelled after only one round of play.  I'm sure the leaders of that enterprise are getting a lot of criticism for their decision.  Sporting events as well as other larger gatherings all around the world are being cancelled or postponed because of the Corona Virus.  Last night we learned that a Biker from New York on his way to Daytona became ill here and has tested positively for the virus.  Now it is in our little town with scores being affected that  have been in contact with him.  People are wrestling with decisions around the world.  People are asking, "should we cancel our event or should we close our business, should we have church services?  What do I do with my 401K or retirement funds that are in the stock market?"  I'm being asked some of those questions.  One stock broker said this week that the average Wall Street investments had fallen around 35% at one point.  We had the largest single day decline in history.  What guidelines should we follow as Christians in making decisions about  these and other things.  Here are a few thoughts on all of this.

MAKING DECISIONS AS A CHRISTIAN

1.  Don't Panic- Many years ago I taught a message on "Panic Kills Divers!"  It was based on actual event that happened to me while scuba diving.  The summary of that message was that panic can paralyze you with fear and can cause you to make bad decisions and ultimately get you killed.

I had a heart attack once and while getting tested in a Doctor's office, the Doctor said, "he's having an event right now!  Get him to CICU immediately for a heart Cath.!"  I said, "no, I won't go."  He took me out front and in front of his staff and a cardiologist he said, " I told this man to go to the hospital and he refuses.  Make note that he might not make it home alive!" I told them thank you but I would go home and I would come back to the hospital.  They weren't happy but they were telling me the best information they could give. Why would I do such a foolish thing? (I don't advise anyone to do this!) My reason was that I was in a state of fear and panic.  The Bible teaches us that "anything that is not of faith is sin."  I would not submit to any procedure in fear.  I had to get into a place of faith before I submitted to tests and procedures.  I went home, had a bite to eat, walked around in the yard praying and meditating on the Lord and then had Teresa drive me to the hospital.  When I walked in the Intensive Coronary Care Unit they said, "well, we haven't seen anyone WALK in here before!"  I had to get into a faith posture while in a time of panic and fear.  I had to do the same thing a few years later before I would agree to Open Heart Surgery.  I did it from a position of faith and trust in the Lord.  Get into a place of peace and out of panic before making decisions.  ALL DECISIONS!

2.  Make Decisions In Faith- This is critically important.  Don't make rash, knee jerk decisions.  Don't allow people, problems or panic to force you to make decisions.  Wait upon the Lord in prayer expecting to hear a word, find a Scripture or sense that deep abiding peace before acting.  The Bible, God's inner voice and internal peace are three major ingredients to making decisions for those filled with the Holy Spirit.  WAIT UPON THE LORD!

3.  Walk It Out In Faith- Once we have our direction we now move in faith and we don't look back. That Word, that Spirit led decision, was a marker in the ground in our lives.  When circumstances look bad, we look back by faith at the marker we placed in the ground of faith.  We won't second guess our decision or God.  Even in small matters of purchasing an item I ask the Lord for his guidance. I do my best to follow my peace and decision.  Once the decision is made I won't look back and I won't check prices any longer!  Do the same in making and following our Holy Spirit led decisions.  There are always questions after we hear from God.  That is the trial of faith but real faith is faithful!

4.  Individual and Group Decisions - People have to make their own decisions and leaders of groups must make their own decisions.  As leaders, we must allow people the freedom to follow their own heart in decisions.  As members of groups we must trust our leaders and give them the freedom to make decisions for group matters. For example, if leaders feel a group meeting is supposed to be held in questionable times, then, leaders must allow members to follow their own heart without criticism or judgment.  Likewise, members must allow leaders to make group decisions without criticism or judgment.  We are all human and "we hold these treasures in earthen vessels."

We are living in unprecedented hours right now.  It is not a time for new principles or ideas about making choices and decisions.  We must step back, take a deep breath and get into the Presence of Jesus for his answers and reassurance.

Distractions

My wife Teresa is one of the most disciplined and steadfast people I have ever known.  Her faithfulness has motivated me for over half a century to move to a higher place. It is not my nature to remain focused, it is something that I have to strive to do.  Teresa lives a focused life as a part of her steadfast life.  Which came first? I'm not sure but they certainly work together and are necessary.  If I walk through the room and she is in her devotional time, (Bible reading and prayer time) I've learned not to interrupt.  If I try she often doesn't even hear me! She is able to live, for the most part, above distractions.  I struggle with that. I think at one time I even liked being the problem solver more than the visionary leader.  I have often used the excuse that my years serving as a pastor caused me to be a problem solver.  I see, I engage and at times I conquer.  But more often than not I am distracted from the real mission before me.  Too many times I have been on a God given mission and became distracted by a problem and left the mission for the problem.

When Jesus visited Mary and Martha, Martha complained to Jesus that Mary was lazy and not helping as much as she thought she needed to be doing.  The Scripture puts the finger on Martha's problem. The Bible says she was "distracted." Every time I'm involved in the discussion of Mary and Martha I enjoy saying, "yeah but, it was Martha's house.  Mary didn't even have a house. Martha was a worker!" But...Jesus didn't seem impressed with Martha's attitude in this Divine moment of fellowship with King Jesus!  We can miss the Presence of Jesus and we can miss real revival because of what seems like important things.  In Martha's case, intimacy with Jesus was affected by a wrong focus.

Today I hear talk about a need for revival.  But in all honesty I hear more talk about politics, political parties and elections than I do about spiritual revival from the presence of Jesus.  What if God sends revival to America?  Will the church even know the Lord has visited?  Or will the church of today be more like Martha who was blind to the real life changing spiritual moment for some worldly political argument that will pass away at the return of Christ.  May we be good Americans but may we be better followers of Jesus.  Let's shake ourselves from the distractions of our day and hour and press in to know and follow Jesus as never before!  The presence of Jesus can do more in a moment than man and his systems can accomplish in a lifetime.

Christian Maturity: Who is Responsible?

It used to be said, "I'm leaving that church because I'm not being fed!" Today you don't hear that very much anymore.  Is it because people feel they are "being fed" or because they no longer quantify their spiritual growth? Many Christians seem to be satisfied with living a life of eternal shallowness.  Shallowness in the faith life seems to be too prevalent.  The really scary part is that far too many don't seem to know that there is even a lack and think that spiritual shallowness is all that is required or maybe that it is the norm.  In the past, local churches had as a primary goal beyond salvation, the maturing of their members in their faith life.  Today the local church vision is often servicing the herd rather than shepherding the flock. It appears that personal transformation has evolved into personal mediocrity.  The word mediocre is defined as "ordinariness, common place, lack of inspiration." When I read that, I think, "how boring and how dangerous!"  That description is not what motivated me to become a Christian, live the Christian life or pursue a life of ministry.  My motivation was an internal motivation to truly know the Lord, to grow in that relationship and help others grow as well.  My great blessing was that I was surrounded by others who were on that same quest.  Mediocrity was not in our plan.  In all honesty, many of us walked away from christian mediocrity in pursuit of Christian Passion, Excellence and Maturity.  I'm still on that quest as I hope you are.

Who is responsible for the state if mediocrity, the shepherd or the sheep?  Both! The Pastor or Shepherd has to take very seriously their mandate to "shepherd the flock of God" and the believer must take seriously their own primary role in seeking to know God in an ever increasing way.  As a new follower of Christ many years ago I was in a church that was studying the book of Revelation.  I was stunned when we read Revelation 3:15“‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. These are the Words of Jesus!

As we begin this new year may we make the personal decision not to blame a person or a church or even our circumstances for our spiritual lack.  May we turn full faced to Jesus and ask in faith for a fresh outpouring of His love, passion and power!

The Shadow of the Cross Over The Manger

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,2looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

This is an unusual portion of Scripture to use at Christmas.  But today I am stirred by the thought that from the birth of the Baby Jesus in the manger, a dark but real shadow of the Cross was looming.  I know and understand that the Cross was the most positive event in history and the point of the redemption of mankind. Yet, for the son of God to get to that point required the son of man to persevere through all the temptations common to us all. Hallelujah! He did it and his overcoming life redeemed all of us who have believed on His Name! While we don't need to  pay the price for our salvation again, only Jesus could do that, we do need to walk in the overcoming life to finish our race in Him.  What can we learn from the victorious life of Jesus as a man filled with the Holy Spirit?

First Jesus fought through the temptations of the enemy to compromise the will of God for his life.  Then he ran his race with endurance.  One of the primary ways he was able to run with endurance was focusing on the end result of his life mission.  He saw his faithful completion of his task as a point of joy.  Although he despised the shame associated with his assignment, the joy pressed him through the personal cost. His end result was that He was and is seated at the right hand of God in heaven.  

We are all looking forward in life to that point in time when we are welcomed into the Presence of God for an eternity of celebration around the throne of God.  But we have to endure until the end to get there.  As a part of our Christmas celebration, let's use the Christmas story as a motivation for the year ahead.  Let us begin by laying aside weights and sins that have hindered us in the past year.  Then, let us set our sights on Jesus and his finished plan for us.  Let's commit ourselves to winning this race by living a life in the Joy of our salvation for what is ahead.  May we despise sin and temptation around us and pray for deliverance from the traps of the enemy as we persevere toward our prize, the Lord Jesus!

Merry Christmas and a Victorious Overcoming New Year!

Real Faith is Tested Faith

1 Peter 1:7 ... the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

I recently underwent a medical test that required the inserting of an IV in my arm.  The RN that did my prep work was a bright young woman in her mid 30's.  We talked as she worked.  I was surprised to hear that she had visited Normandy France, the sight of the D Day Invasion on June 6, 1944.  My family and I just made the same trip this summer.  We talked about the certain anxiety of the young troops coming ashore on that fateful day. She then said, "I don't believe my generation would make such a sacrifice." I said, "I am hopeful that they would if the need were to arise."  Again she said, "I don't believe they would because my generation are cowards!"  I was shocked to hear her say that.  

As I ponder her words regarding her generation my thoughts go back to what prepared those brave boys and men who went ashore in France in 1944.  They had grown up in the great depression. Testing. They had their character formed on lack, sacrifice and a will to see things improve. Testing. They were optimistic and yes they were brave.  Bravery and honor was a large part of American psyche back then.  The culture itself imparted it into most everyone and it was instilled into those who volunteered for combat duty by the thousands.  Many left high paying jobs, professions and even professional sports positions to do their part for honor and country.  Then, they were tested. Oh how they were tested.  Boys became men overnight and there was no quit in them.  Some fought in Europe, Asia and some on to Korea.  What made them so successful and what gave them such belief in what they were doing?  Testing!  They were tested when they first heard of the war as to whether they would serve. They were tested in their training. They were tested by fire on the battlefield.  They were tested when they returned home.  The result was a generation that has famously been called the Greatest Generation.  However, they proved it again once back on American soil.  They approached life with the same faith and confidence that had led them to see victory "over there."  There are untold thousands who built this nation to a higher level of morality, honor, integrity and self sacrifice.  All results of testing that proved the genuine.  All who would follow are standing on their shoulders.  What will it take to prove faithful to the task?  We must allow trials of our faith to get us to a place of faithfulness regardless of our personal cost.  The verse for today says, "the tested genuineness of your faith".  All faith must be tested to analyze the quality of that faith.  Only tested faith can stand, not merely vocalized faith.  As individual Christians we must make the choice to follow Jesus and remain faithful soldiers of the cross regardless.  We must not stop regardless of hardship or temptation.  We must allow our children and grandchildren to be tested to produce the quality of their faith as well.  There are no shortcuts.  All must be tested and proven.  The wonderful outcome "may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

Isolationism

Proverbs 18:1 

Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.  

After World War 1 and the Great Depression the United States adopted a plan of isolationism.  The pain of both previous experiences caused a national mood of staying out of involvement with foreign nations.  Then came Pearl Harbor and the U. S. was forced into war and a networking with other friendly nations that formed the Allied Forces.  It is a difficult thing for anyone to try to make it on their own.  North Korea has tried it and has suffered greatly for their policy of isolation.  It is hard to fathom that their people can be so blind as to follow their dictator and worship him as a god.  How could it happen?  It happens with church groups and individuals as well, just to a lesser degree.  In almost all cases isolationism is caused by reactionary behavior.  Some negative, painful experience of the past has caused a circling of the wagons and an independence to protect themselves.  I have watched people do it throughout my ministry.  The Christian isolationist will say things like, " I don't need the church.  I love Jesus and that's all I need."  At first glance it sounds super spiritual.  That is until we examine isolationism in light of the Scripture. We were never designed by God to live alone.  From the beginning after Adam was made by God, God said, "It is not good for man to be alone."  Let's now examine the theme verse from earlier, "Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all judgment."  Regardless of the apparent reasons a person pulls away from others, at the heart of it is independence and pride.  "He seeks his own desire."  He doesn't want anyone telling him what to do!  The reason for isolation is to do what we want without anyone being a part of it.  When we do this, we restrict ourselves to ourselves.  We limit our world to our own limited sphere.  What a large world we imagine and what a tiny world we create.  Every individual is so limited and so blind to the larger picture.  Then from that place of tininess and weakness we "break out against all judgment."  We have resisted and insulated ourselves from the greater wisdom of the group.  We are in a downward spiral but are blind to see it.  

Certainly, there is a price to pay for submitting to living among the group.  There is a proper order and decorum to be observed.  But like enjoying the smell of a rose we must navigate the thorns in order to enjoy the aroma.

May all who have decided to leave God's people, the Church, reconsider today. After all, the Church was and is the plan of Jesus.  May we commit ourselves again to put up with the thorns for the sake of the rose.

Standing Strong Against Life Threatening Culture

James 4:4 "Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." 

What a challenging time to be a follower of Jesus.  We aren't threatened with death yet for choosing to make our loyalties to the Lord but there is a great cost and great danger.  Just as "friendship with the world is enmity with God", in like manner, friendship with God is enmity with the world.  Serving Jesus makes us an enemy of the world, its system and its culture.  We are called to go into all the world and preach the Gospel and that means bringing the Gospel to current culture.  We hear a lot about that today but how far do we go and what does that journey into culture really look like?  It has to do with what is inside us being greater than what is on the outside of us.  It has everything to do with our appetites.  Christians who have a history of alcoholism shouldn't go into bars trying to bring the Gospel.  
Believers who haven't had a true cleansing of sinful appetites still have an attraction to the atmosphere and culture of the world.  We used to call that "worldliness" just a few years ago.  It seems today that it is difficult to discern between the world and the christian.  As soon as I say that I know I lose some who think that is just old fashioned religion that isn't flowing with the church in this hour.  Maybe it is.  But every true follower of Jesus needs to pause and get into the Presence of Jesus and ask for what Romans calls a "renewing of the mind."  You cannot follow Jesus securely without a renewed mind by the Holy Spirit.  It is from that platform of a renewed mind and with renewed appetites that we are directed into the will of God.  

I have seen so many fall away in the last few years.  Some who feel the Church isn't needed any longer.  Others, even ministers have abandoned their faith.  Many of them lessened their pursuit of God and increased their pursuit of the culture of this world. At first they thought it was even a calling to become like the world in order to win them to Christ.  A downward spiral occurred.  Their love for God and His Word lessoned.  I watched helplessly as they washed away from Truth in the river of modern culture and changing morals.  They embraced the LGBT movement believing that was showing the love of God.  They allowed same sex marriages in the church and finally left their own families to live that sinful lifestyle themselves.  Never seeing it as wrong but blindly believing they had made progress and the rest of the Church was wrong.  Culture is an always changing river that is flowing against God, His Truth and His Church.  It is easier to flow with it than to resist it.  It is a river that leads to a love fest with the world and its culture.  To stand in Christ and His Word is difficult and strenuous. There is only one way to stand and that is to make sure we have a strong foundation.  That strong foundation in only found in Jesus and God's Word.  The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco Bay has stood since 1937.  How could anything stand in such powerful Pacific currents so long?  It was built upon a strong foundation designed to stand against all the currents and forces of time.  As we stand strong in Him and His Truth the currents of this world will not move us.  

FATHER OR MOTHER WHAT YOU BIRTH

Matthew 28:18 "And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.19Go therefore and make disciples..."  People today act as if we don't have the right to intervene into the lives of others and try to win their souls to Jesus so that they may spend eternity with Him.  However, we do have the right to do all we can to introduce others to Jesus. The foundation of the Great Commission above begins with the words of Jesus telling us we have the right and the responsibility because He gave us His authority to do so. "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore!"  We have the authority but having the authority doesn't negate good behavior as we seek to help people.  We should't be rude and socially irresponsible as we represent the Lord Jesus. The Bible tells us that Jesus had favor with God and man.  We need to seek to win people to Jesus within that framework of favor.  Often zealous church folks drive people away because they are more focused on a method than on love and the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  One thing that non-christian people are keenly sensitive to is the motive of the one approaching them.  If they sense you are selfishly motivated by anything other than love, the true love of Jesus, they will reject you.  There are rare times when you may be able to lead a stranger to the Lord but even then you must make a friend of that new convert and love them on into the church and a stable place in fellowship with the Lord.  Don't abandon that new "baby in Jesus on the steps of the fire station."  It is not the responsibility of someone else to make a disciple of your convert.  
It is the responsibility of every believer to "father what you birth."It is much easier to birth than to father or mother a person in their early days as a Christian.  Yes, go and make disciples but do it in the loving atmosphere of kindness and gentleness.  Remember that these new converts will follow the same pattern you set for them.  

An Opportune Time

Luke 4:13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

After Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit and led by the Holy Spirit from within into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil He came to a temporary place of victory and respite.  That last phrase is a bit troubling.  It says that the devil departed from him until an opportune time.  Jesus had won this battle and He would ultimately win the war on the Cross but this would not be the last temptation of Christ.  Satan would dog his every step trying to stop the mission of the Lord.  He would always be looking for that "opportune time."  What does the Scripture mean when it says, "an opportune time?" One of the Greek definitions for this is, "the time when things are brought to crisis."  A crisis is the point in a process of events that will determine the outcome good or bad.  Certainly our daily lives and the events in our lives are no different than that of our Lord.  Because He abides in us we are targeted for battles by that same ancient enemy. We must win as He did but not by our own efforts or our own goodness but by His power and might.  When will these attacks come against us?  There is no way to know for sure but they will come! What would constitute an opportune time for Satan?  Very good times and very bad times would be times when an attack might be launched against us.  Good times may find us too casual and spiritually lethargic to be prepared.  Jesus always warned to be alert as one in combat. Too much ease can cause us to lose our focus of spiritual things and our Kingdom position.  Difficult times are equally important to guard against.  While we may be alert in hard times we are also apt to get weary.  Depression and surrender are temptations of difficulty.  We can never give up!

The answer is certainly not that we need to live in fear and anxiety.  We need to live in the joy of the Lord while remaining steadfast in faith and mission.  We never stop our purpose in the Lord and His Kingdom.  

1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

What Must I Do?

When Peter was preaching on the day of of Pentecost, the people listening were so moved by conviction and revelation that they cried out, “Brothers, what shall we do?”(Acts 2:37). What was the motivation of the people to do whatever needed doing to make sure they were right with God?  The preceding verse says that those listening were "pierced to the heart."  That word pierced is defined in the Greek as "to pain the mind sharply; to agitate it vehemently and the emotion of sorrow." I said earlier that they were moved by conviction and revelation.  What was the revelation?  Peter's sermon brought clear understanding of who Jesus was, his death and resurrection and this crowd's part in His death.  Those words and the power of the Holy Spirit present brought about an atmosphere wherein those present were desperately wanting to be saved from sin.  From their place of desperation accompanied by hope they asked the question, "what shall we do?"  

I wonder why these kind of scenes are not seen much these days. Is it because people are smarter now or better educated perhaps?  Maybe the preachers are more sophisticated.  Maybe, but mostly I believe it is because of a lack in our churches and meetings. What kind of lack?  It is not a lack of technology or buildings or good parking or talent.  We have some of the greatest talent that the church has ever seen.  It is certainly not a lack of organization or structure.  Most Christian services today are well oiled machines.  If we have it so much together today then why aren't we seeing even greater fruit of true salvations and disciple making than the early Church? 

Why aren't more people running to altars crying out, "what must I do to be saved?"  If we are honest we must conclude that something certainly is missing.  Maybe it is the Pentecostal experience that is missing.  No, I preach in those churches too and I'm not seeing it there either.  

Certainly prayer is a big part of the equation.  However, not just any prayer but a specific kind of prayer. A prayer of faith believing and expecting the lost to come, repent and truly be converted to the Lordship of Christ. 

We must live our lives, work our jobs, come to church and preach our sermons expecting the Lord to do the work of conversion among us and be willing to allow Him to do it in whatever format He chooses.  Yes, there will be some painful conviction of the Holy Spirit clashing with self-will  and the sinful nature of man in our churches and it might not be calm and pretty.  As when Peter preached, I pray that in your church you will begin to see people cry out, "What must we do?"

The Problem With An Emphasis

A fresh new revelation from God and His Word is amazing!  Maybe we have read the same verse a hundred times or maybe we have preached it many times. Yet, on this day something happens as we read it and a kind of spiritual explosion occurs. How come we have never seen this before?  Then as we put this new revelation into practice we see fantastic fruit in our lives and the lives of those to whom we teach it. Then, more and more shared revelations come forth from different members of our group and before long our new revelation has grown into an emphasis that is spreading!  You begin to hear "your emphasis" being repeated by others just like you first stated it. Now it's gaining momentum. As wonderful as these things sound I have seen many, many emphases falter down the stretch and seen many left broken on the side of the road.

What could possibly go wrong with a new Biblical emphasis?  The fact that it is an emphasis makes it a limited perspective of truth. But look at all the people that have been helped and all those on board. An emphasis in one area means we have a limited vision on other fronts. As we gain more people on our journey we can easily encourage each other in our spiritual impairment and not even know it. Then it is difficult to avoid becoming proud over our new movement.  When other voices speak to us of balance or a different view of our emphasis we cast them aside and reject their input. After all we are certain that our original revelation came from God. Yet, no revelation in and of itself has ever been a complete stand alone doctrine. They have all had their blind spots. If we stare intently at one thing for very long and then look at another object, we cannot look at the new without seeing the old object superimposed over the new.  This is dangerous when we understand that people pattern their lives after doctrines that is believed to be true and complete. They can become blinded to the real Truth by partial truth.

We need to be thankful for a new revelation of old Truth. Remember that there is no new Truth just things others have seen that we are now discovering. When we see or hear new truth or a new emphasis we must bring it straight to Jesus for a more complete view. Let it sit as we pray and ask the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom as to how we should handle this new found treasure. Certainly don't start teaching this yet. Others may get on board too soon before the full measure of the Lord's light has revealed any possible darker side of the emphasis.  Then submit the revelation or emphasis to more mature believers and/or leaders for their perspective and discernment.  Once it has been reviewed by mature believers outside our group it is now ready to be slowly imparted to others.  No truth should ever be above evaluation by others using the full overview of Scripture.  May we be zealous to hear from God and just as zealous to represent his Truth in the fullness of His Light.  .