The Right Spirit (12/27/10)

Shalom,

 

    Please begin by reading 2 Tim 1:7.

 

    It's amazing how many things people are afraid of.  I went on-line to find a list of phobias.  It was huge.  I can't imagine that people would actually fear some of these things, but clinical psychologists have found things like this:

    Ablutophobia - fear of washing or bathing.  I know some children who act like they fear this.

    Belenophobia - fear of pins and needles.  I know people who don't like getting shots at the doctor's office.

    Chionophobia - fear of snow.  I know many people who have a definite dislike of it.

    Didaskaleinophobia - fear of school.  Again I could name some children who act this way.

    Lutraphobia - fear of otters.  Now this is defnitely an odd one, and I can't believe it could be very widespread.

    Phobophobia - fear of phobias.  Now we're getting really wierd.

    Eleuthorophobia - fear of freedom.  Some people just want defnite limits and boundaries to the extreme.

    Hypegiaphobia - fear of responsibility.  I've definitely run into people who acted this way.

    Neophobia - fear of anything new.  This must connect to our common dislike of change.

    Peccatophobia - fear of sinning.  This should be stronger than I find it to be in most people.

    Stygiophobia - fear of hell.  I would certainly hope this would be a problem for many.

    Ouranophobia - fear of heaven.  I don't understand how you can be afraid of heaven.

 

    We all face situations and issues where we feel timid or fearful.  What causes this sensation within us is different for everyone.  What we need to learn and understand is that Yahweh never puts fear on us, at least not the kind that weakens and hinders us.  Our heavenly Father provides power, love, and a sound mind.

    The devil wants us to be terrified, to be afraid of all the things that can go wrong in our world.  If we walk around worrying about what can go wrong, we end up being confused and afraid to act.  We limit our ability to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit and receive his guidance.  Yahweh has been at war with the ultimate terrorist since the Fall of Adam and Eve.  1 Pet 5:8 says Satan goes "around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."  A lion roars to terrorize its prey and throw them into confusion, causing them to run.  Then he picks of the weak, those straggling behind.  But we need to be reminded that Satan is only "like" a roaring lion.  He can only devour people who gives themselves over to him.

    Modern day terrorists use fear as a terrible weapon.  When they attack fears come with horrific, paralyzing, and shocking effect.  People walk around stunned and unable to think straight after terrorists attack.  Of course we don't really need the terrorists help to feel afraid.  Many people struggle with worry or stress or that underlying sense of anxiety and dread about all the "what if's" in life.  Many people are so fearful they don't act in ways that are beneficial to themselves and those around them.  They fear what can go wrong instead of looking for what can go right, and thereby limit and hinder themselves from being truly helpful.

    As Christians we're supposed to look at the future with optimism and hope.  If we're not doing that, the devil is robbing us of the joy of our Lord.  Worries and anxieties often steal the peace that's freely offered to us by our Lord Jesus.  We're not talking about healthy fear which works to keep us safe, but unhealthy torment that only works negatively.  If we have confidence in our Lord God Almighty to "work all things for our good" (Rom 8:28), then we should be able to overcome the things which keep us from acting bravely for our Lord.

 

    If your life is more stressful and worrisome than Yahweh wants it to be, there is real help.  He wants to take away the negative influences which induce fear and replace them with precious gifts.  First, he offers us power.  This is strength to overcome our fears.  It's the word dunamis, which means supernatural ability and power.  To help us understand how strong a word it is know that it's the root of dynamite in English.  Yahweh gives us the power fo dynamite when we work for him and his purposes.

    When we're doing our Lord and Master's work, proclaiming his Word and representing his Kingdom - we have his power backing us.  This isn't power to increase our status, but to increase his glory.  When we're on an asignment for our Sovereign Lord God Almighty, we're completely safe in his hands.  Luke 10:19 says, "I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy, nothing will harm you."  What we need to trust in is that none of these things can harm our eternal soul.  Our eternal lives are completely safe in the hands of our loving Father as we do his work.

    If we trust in our Lord to take care of us, we'll be more bold and brave working for his Kingdom and his purpose.  Psalm 34:4 says, "I sought Yahweh, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears."  If he did this for David, he'll certainly do it for us.  Whenever we feel afraid we can run to Yahweh for protection and an infusion of courage.  We all need this boost from time to time.  And the more we trust him in tough situations, the more confidence we'll ahve the next time we face one.

 

    The second thing offered to us is love.  1 John 4:18 says, "There is no fear in love.  But perfect love drives out fear."  How does love counteract fear in our lives?  When we know that the Almighty Creator of the Universe loves us and is seeking to do what's best for us, we have an assurance of his loving-kindness.  He relieves our fear by showing us how much he cares for us.  We don't have to overcome the hate thrown at us by the devil and his world system.  We have Yahweh's wonderful love to lift us above all that.

    The basis for most fear is self-preservation.  Yahweh has blessed us with the mental and physical mechanisms to help our self-preservation - like adrenaline and our conscience.  But when we become obsessed with self we become vulnerable to all kinds of unhealthy fears.  When our focus is no longer on Yahweh, we're reliant on our personal ability to protect ourselves.  When we encounter dangerous situations our physical body is boosted by the flow of adrenaline which increases our strength, and mostly our ability to flee and avoid danger.  When we trust in our conscious to help us discern right from wrong, Yahweh's influence helps us choose the path of safety.  When we get caught up in worldly fears, these benefits are lessened and we struggle in areas we shouldn't.

    We need to spend more time trusting in what our Lord has provided and less in our personal ability to protect ourselves or to find some other means of protection.  That's why we need his love.  When love dominates and motivates our lives fear is removed.  Instead of being overly focused on how every little detail affects us, we gain a broader perspective, a heavenly vision.  When we focus on pleasing Yahweh, our survival and protection is in his hands.  We remove the stress of being responsible for our safety and place ourselves securely in our loving Father's hands.

 

    The third thing made available to us is self-discipline or a sound mind.  The literal translation of the Greek is safe thinking.  It points toward sound judgment, disciplined thought patterns, the ability to make right decisions.  It contrasts with our dangerous humanistic thinking, the kind where we don't consider our Creator's guidance as valid or important.  When we're thinking safely or rightly, we keep the world in right perspective and fear won't dominate our lives.  He wants us to have a calm and self-controlled mind instead of giving into the panic and confusion caused by our fear-inducing world.  Our Father wants to bless us with his amazing peace.

    If our decisions are all guided by the Holy Spirit's advice, we won't be so worried about what might go wrong.  If we think about pure and right things instead of the corrupted garbage offered by our world, we can stand secure while others give in to stress and fear.  When we focus our thoughts on Yahweh and his right and good and just ways of dealing with us, we can be more self-disciplined and avoid things which could draw us away from his security.  When our thoughts are disciplined our ability to make right choices improves greatly, and we avoid getting caught up in issues which cause us grief.  The sound mind our Lord gives us is part of his great peace freely given to us for our good.

    If we're using safe thinking, we'll have sound judgment because of our Lord's influence.  His advice will matter to us and we'll be greatly helped in all our choices.  Yahweh wants to help us make wise choices every time.  He wants us to be wary of the devil and his schemes.  He's trying heard to help us avoid trouble and pain.  We all need our Creator's help to navigate this world safely and securely.  The sound judgment we gain through our trust in him is an amazing and great gift.

 

    Something we need to remember is that we don't need to accept what doesn't come from Yahweh's hand.  We don't have to walk in a spirit of fear.  We can humbly receive and walk in his power, his love, and have his ever-ready help in making sound judgments.  Anybody have a good reason to reject this offer?  Anybody feel they can do better on their own?  Unfortunately many people do.  Don't be one of them. Allow your loving heavenly Father to work his blessings in you.  Allow him to minister to your heart and mind with his astounding peace.  Let him remove your fear and replace it with confidence in his ability to inspire and empower you to do Kingdom work.

    Fear and timidity will keep us from using Yahweh's gifts and we won't fulfill his purpose for our lives.  Yahweh's gifts are for much more than helping us make money or be entertained or be comfortable.  He wants us to use his gifts to touch people with his grace and help those in need.  Don't act cowardly, be brave and bold because your Lord offers strength to help us do his work.  Take his power and love and safe thinking with you wherever you go.  Help others overcome fear by showing forth your Lord's precious gifts of grace.

    Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself."  We Christians can do even better than that.  Walking in the power, love, and safe thinking Yahweh provides for us takes us even further.  We can say, "We have nothing to fear but Yahweh."  Be overcomers.  Fight off your doubts and fears and let the Holy Spirit guide you to magnificent spiritual victories.

 

    Blessings & Peace,    Mike

The Spirit of Giving (12/20/10)

Shalom,

 

    Please begin by reading 1 Tim 6:17-19.

 

    This thing we call Christmas has become more and more worldly as time progresses.  The greed seen in the shopping and gift exchanges just seems to be getting worse every year.  The Church isn't helping by allowing pagan mythology into the story of the birth of our Lord Jesus.  I can only hope that more and more people become aware of what spirit they're allowing to control their Christmas thinking.  The "Spirit" of Christmas is supposed to be the Holy Spirit, not some of these sentimental and traditional things we equate with feeling good at this time of year.

    Many of our retail stores tell us that Christmas is the "Season of Giving."  Even the crusty, ill-tempered people of our world have a tendency to soften in response to the "special" feeling that Christmas brings.  Our favorite Christmas movies remind us of this year after year.  But this "special" season shouldn't be different than any other time of the year for Christians.  We should have a heart for giving all year round.

    Giving is one of the least talked about subjects in our churches today.  I believe it's because people are overly self-conscious about their money and are a bit afraid that Yahweh is going to directly ask them to give something they don't want to give.  Many people complain when a "giving" message is preached because they get offended that their preacher wants more of "their" money.  But giving is mentioned 2,285 times in the Bible.  That's more than faith or hope or love are mentioned.  Do you think our Creator knows his creation well?  Of course he does, that's why he wants us to know how important our giving and our attitude about giving are.

    The fact is that Yahweh gives very generously and expects the same from the people who claim to belong to him.  We received the best possible gift from him in the form of the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus.  It's only right that Yahweh's children give like their Father does.  Everything belongs to our Father.  If we hoard it and keep it for ourselves, we won't get a good return.  The scriptures clearly tell us to be generous so that we'll have more to give.  Check out 2 Cor 9:10-11.

    So giving makes us more like our Father.  Some will say that the verses we read to begin with aren't meant for them because it says "command those who are rich."  Everyone who's a Christian is rich.  Our Father says we can have what we need if we trust and obey him.  Since he owns everything, I believe that makes us rich.  And as far as the general population in America is concerned, when compared to many other parts of the earth, every one of us is rich.

 

    The full direction is "to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share."  That means we're supposed to do good things because we're Christians.  We don't need to do good things to make our hearts feel better, or to impress our Father.  We're rich because we've connected to Jesus.  We're told to share the wealth that we have.  This means spiritually and materially and any other way we possibly can.  We're to seek the direction and guidance of the Holy Spirit in our giving, and then obediently do what we discern.

    The proper spirit of giving is to share what we have for the cause of the Kingdom of our Lord and Master.  If we aren't willing to give when instructed to by the Holy Spirit, then money and possessions have too strong a hold over us.  There are plenty of illustrations in the Bible about what we should cherish.  Several tell us to make a choice between Yahweh and money.  Our Lord is likely to put us in situations where we'll have to decide what's more important to us.  Matt 6:21 pointedly tells us, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will also be."

    Giving will also draw us closer to our Lord because it makes us more like him.  If our treasure lies in our material possessions, then our hearts won't be drawing closer to Yahweh.  Our focus needs to be on him instead of all our material stuff.  Yahweh has provided everything we possess.  How are we using it all to bring glory to his name?  Are we serving as stewards and managers of what he's provided, or have we taken possession of it for ourselves?  Remember what 1 Tim 6:10 says.  "The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.  Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."  Listen to our loving Father's warning and avoid many sorrows.

    For biblical Christianity our giving begins with tithing.  There are Christians who refuse to tithe.  They give many reasons, but none of them stand up to the test when the full biblical context is used.  Giving and tithing are clearly taught in the New Testatement.  If we refuse to tithe, we're refusing to give to Yahweh what he's spoken is expressly his.  It means we're being greedy and selfish to hold on to what he's said is to be used for supporting Christian ministry and providing for works of service in his Kingdom.

    If we continue to ask Yahweh to support us, while refusing to support others, how do you think that will work out?  Aren't we living a double standard when we expect support without giving it according to Holy Spirit guidance and biblical instruction?  And please know that giving goes beyond our money and possessions.  Don't forget about offering up your time and talents for Yahweh's Kingdom.  2 Cor 9:8 encourages us.  "God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."  "In all things."  "At all times."  "Having all that you need."  Don't withhold what you've been given.  Obediently use all your resources for Yahweh's Kingdom.

 

    When it comes to Christmas, we all too often give people what we think they want instead of finding out what they really need.  We think that by giving them a nice present we can help them overcome their loneliness, insecurity, or low self-image.  If we really took the time to listen to them talk we could find ways to truly help and bless them.  Just listening, really listening to them, is a major move in the right direction.  Depression hits some people extremely hard during the holiday season.  They have regrets or hurts or emptiness that they struggle to deal with because everyone is expected to be happy and cheerful during Christmas and they're not.  Maybe we need to share some compassion instead of the kind of stuff our stores stick in the middle of the aisles, providing us with cheap but nice gifts for the people we love.

    There's an old saying: It's not the gift, but the thought that counts.  Jesus would much rather have our heartfelt thoughts and prayers than our money.  The money already belongs to him anyway.  The money isn't really ours to control, it should already be under his control through our surrender.  If we would invest more of ourselves into our gift-giving we just might be able to share our faith more often.  If people saw our sincere efforts to bless others in the name of Jesus, they just might appreciate hearing about how good it is to serve him.

    Now there are many ways to be more creative in our giving, but that takes some extra thought and prayer on our part.  It takes effort to go out of our way to meet the needs of those around us.  It takes the love of Jesus to be able to put ourselves down while lifting others up.  Be encouraged by how good it feels to have the joy of our Lord filling our hearts after we've blessed someone.

    Proper giving will also strengthen our faith.  The fact is that we often look at our churches and wonder why Yahweh seems to be removing his hand of blessing from them.  We want him to bless our churches to enable us to support more missionaries and we expect our Almighty God to send us lots of money to do that.  But not enough people inside our churches are being obedient in their tithing and giving.  Yahweh's fire will remain low until the whole Church is being obedient.  Partial obedience is still actually disobedience.

    Yahweh has called us to be givers, to meet the needs of others and to do it cheerfully and willingly.  Can you imagine what Yahweh would do with a church that's fully devoted to him with its money, time, and talents?  Wouldn't you like to be in that church and find out?  Our lives can be completely changed.  Our ministry can be much more effective.  Our Lord can be glorified and magnified by everyone we come in contact with.

    Our giving should never  be tied to the earthly value the gift holds.  It should be connected to the eternal value it holds.  Aren't the simpler gifts often the best ones?  One company used to advertize: Give the gift that lasts.  I think Jesus fills that description best of all.

 

    What we need to get through our heads as children of our heavenly Father is that the Christmas spirit should last all year round.  It's easy to get in the giving mood at Christmas because the majority of people we come in contact with are giving gifts.  But as Christians our motive shouldn't be so easily influenced by the mob mentality of the secular Christmas.  Our motive should be driven by the fact that our Father God is always in a giving mood.  He's our Father, and children have a way of turning out like their parents whether they want to or not.

    Now honestly, how many of us pursue the celebration of Christmas with high intensity, both spiritually and materially?  After the Christmas Eve service, is our Lord's part of Christmas forgotten or set aside?  Is Christmas Day devoted exclusively to exchanging presents and gorging on big dinners and tables full of goodies?

    If you answered yes to any of those questions you need to listen up.  Spend more time expressing love and concern for your family and friends.  Replace the Christmas rush with the peace and calm that's supplied by our Savior.  The most precious gift we can offer to anyone is a relationship with Jesus.  Spread him around.  It's the gift that keeps on giving because there's always more to share.

 

    Blessings & Peace,    Mike

Sin, The Great Thief (12/13/10)

Shalom,

 

    Please begin by reading Rom 7:7-12.

 

    The Law was given to mankind by Yahweh to show us what sin is.  It reveals the wickedness of our hearts, and as the words you just read point out, "I would not have known what sin was except through the law."  Sin is something we must all deal with.  Sin is something that confronts us as soon as we realize that there is truth and a Creator God.  Sin, like the proverbial Pied Piper, leads all of us into believing that we can keep the Law by our own strength.  Because of our sin nature, we actually believe we don't need our heavenly Father's help to overcome its consequences.

    The major problem we face is that Yahweh does want us to deal very directly and completely with our sin.  Yahweh's desire is to bless us.  He wants us to be successful and effective men and women of destiny in his Kingdom.  He has an inheritance for us on this earth, just as he did for Adam.  But we, like Adam, will find sin to be the factor that causes us to lose the blessings of our heavenly Father.  Sin steals what is good and replaces it with emptiness and despair.  It's a great thief because it always sucks the life out of what is good, leaving us with nothing but want and need.  As scrripture says, sin is pleasurable for a season.  It may seem like we're gaining something at first, but that's the deception of sin.  Our ongoing sin can never keep us satisfied, only a relationship with our Creator can bring us ultimate satisfaction.

 

    Sin has a profound effect on our being as a whole.  Sin leads to death, both physical and spiritual death.  The Law was given to show us this inherent weakness and inability to reach our loving Father on our own.  The Law proves to us we need a Savior who can wipe away the stain of our sin and actually fill us with righteousness.  Sin does many things to us.  We'll look at a couple of its evil influences on our lives.

    Sin scatters.  When we sin, pieces of the person Yahweh intends for us to be are left behind.  We trade something our loving Father intended for us (a blessing, peace of mind, self-respect, intimacy with Yahweh and those we love, and many other things) for a sin we have committed.  Parts of the blessed, whole, successful person our Lord meant for us to be are left scattered along the paths of our lives.  And they remain there until we repent and enter into a right relationship with our Creator, and those we've sinned against.

    Scattering has devastating effects.  Our relationships, both with Yahweh and others, may be more difficult, or we may have experienced totally broken relationships due to our sin.  Our paths may become unclear, and we seem to flounder around looking for something good, hoping for some helpful advice or direction.  Because of scattering we're not firmly rooted in who we are in Christ which causes us to be easily tossed around by new doctrines, or simply unable to stand for what we know is right.  We may move around quite a bit looking for the perfect job, perfect spouse, or perfect place to live hoping those things will bring us happiness.  But as long as we don't hold on to our heavenly inheritance through obedient living in accordance with our Father's will, instability will rule instead of peace and hope.

    Scattering produces an unsettling, dissatisfied feeling within us.  We know there must be more to life, but true success always seems just out of our reach.  Scattering is a wasting of the good seed Yahweh provides for all his children, and it makes it very difficult for us to reap any good fruit.  Yahweh can bring our seed back in for proper use if and when we seek his forgiveness.  He can bring the pieces of our lives back together, making us whole and healthy followers of our Lord Jesus.

 

    Sin steals our freedom.  When I know that I'm obeying Yahweh, I walk in freedom.  When I know that I am in sin, I am actually in bondage.  It's that simple.  Even though our human tendency is to think freedom comes without rules, the only true freedom we have is found in walking within the boundaries and limitations set forth by our loving heavenly Father.

    For instance, if I've filed an honest tax return, I don't have to think about it much past the final filing date, April 15th.  However, if I know I've cheated, I must wait to see if I'll get caught, sometimes years.  I have to wonder if the IRS will audit me and find other problems resulting in more taxes, penalties, and interest payments.  My cheating has put me in bondage, first to my own thoughts of getting caught, and then to the IRS for a lot more cash than I would have owed if I'd been honest in the forst place.

    With Yahweh and the spiritual realm, we don't have to wonder if we'll get caught.  We already are.  We can't walk in the same freedom in our relationship with Jesus because there's something blocking full intimacy.  Any sin we commit is first and foremost an offense against our Lord, and until it's made right we can't expect to have an intimate relationship with him.  If we've sinned and stepped outside our Lord's protective limits, we're vulnerable to further attack and injury until we seek forgiveness and return to the safety of his boundaries.

 

    Sin moves us out from under our covenant protection.  Another bondage that sin produces is an open door or legal right for Satan to steal what Yahweh has for us.  When we choose to sin, we trade our spiritual protection over that portion of our lives for the sin.  This is an aspect of the law of sowing and reaping, and it works in all areas of our lives.  If we obediently walk with our Lord, keeping his commands, we receive his protection and we can't be eternally harmed.  Our souls are completely safe in his care.  When we disobey, we lose his covering, and Satan has permission to "steal and kill and destroy" (John 10:10) whatever we've removed from Yahweh's protection.

    For instance, tithing is the biblical command and principle to guide our giving.  The first 10% of all our increase belongs to Yahweh whether we give it to him or not.  To choose not to tithe can open us up to a spirit of poverty that can keep us from having enough or causing us to fear we won't have enough.  The promise of Yahweh is that if we tithe he "will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit" (Mal 3:11).  With this protection it's likely that the 90% we keep out of obedience to our Father's Word will take better care of us than the 100% we disobediently hoard from him.

    The spirit of poverty will cause us to rationalize that there's not enough or may not be enough for a full tenth of our income to be given away, much less anything over and above that.  As the cycle continues, the spirit of poverty gains more and more control over how we handle our finances in general.  Fear of poverty may not only keep us from tithing, but may even result in other forms of sin such as stealing, cheating, or compulsive gambling to "take care of our needs."  We must align ourselves with Yahweh and be keepers of his covenant to overcome our tendency to wander away from his protection.

 

    Sin builds a new belief system within us.  When we sin, we begin to move away from the heart of Yahweh and from the principles he gave us for right and blessed living.  As we move farther away, Satan has opportunities to affect our belief system so that those things which were once black and white to us become various shades of gray.  We may come to believe that those little white lies aren't so bad, or some other "little" indulgence is also harmless.  Our minds and our judgment become affected so that we rationalize our behavior rather than confessing it as sin before our Creator.

    When we wander into this trap we begin to sort out the scriptures according to our personal preferences.  We pick and choose what does or doesn't apply to us.  We begin to form our own theology and doctrine, and the spirit we're listening definitely isn't Holy.  Fellowship with the saints becomes less desired and self-righteousness becomes prominent.  If you can't sit in agreement with other believers, you are placing yourself outside the protection our Lord freely offers and you may have to stand on your own before both the devil and Almighty God.

 

    But there is hope for us.  Titus 3:3 says, "At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived, and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures."  Notice it says "at one time."  Christians used to have a lot more trouble with sin than they do now.  We all have to face up to our sin and repent.  And even after we become Christians we need to continue to live a life of repentance.

    1 John 1:8 says, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us."  We must admit to our sin and sinfulness.  This isn't meant to condemn, but to set us free.  When we know where our help comes from, we hopefully will be more ready to avail ourselves of it because of our knowledge.  Our heavenly Father loves us and wants us to be cleansed fom our sin, not wallow in guilt.

    1 John 1:9 continues, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."  The promise of our Savior Jesus is that he'll cleanse us and make us righteous.  The inheritance he's provided for us is wonderful and filled with blessings.  But we must overcome sin to receive his riches.  1 John is written to Christians.  These two verses inform us that we must continue to seek forgiveness and cleansing.  Yahweh didn't say these things to make us feel bad, but to help us feel good because we've availed ourselves of his remedy for our sin.

    Yahweh speaks these things to help us, not to tear us down.  Let's pursue his riches by always seeking his forgiveness and cleansing.

 

    Blessings & Peace,    Mike

Revival (12/6/10)

Shalom,

 

    Please begin by reading Isa 62:1-5.

 

    What do you think of when you hear the word revival?  Edwin Orr is called an "authority" on the subject of revival.  He reported having seen two churches in a town in America that were both advertizing revival meetings.  One displayed a sign saying "Revival here every Monday night!"  The other had this sign: "Revival here every night except Monday!"  This is one example of how loosely the term revival is used today.

    We must consider the fact that a true revival begins within the Body of Christ.  Lost people can't be revived, they were never spiritually alive in the first place.  Only people who have been alive in Christ can be revived.  The great blessing of revival is that it usually spreads to the lost with an awakening of their need for a Savior.  When the people within the Church show forth the fruit of repentance and the joy of their salvation, the lost are likely to get caught up in or drawn toward the improved spiritual atmosphere.

    Church historian James Buchanan defined revival as "the imparting of life to those who are dead, and the imparting of health to those who are dying."  But that comes short, it's not enough.  Jonathan Edwards, part of the First Great Awakening in America, explained it as "God's major means of extending his Kingdom."  Edwin Orr probably came closest to getting it right: "It's a movement of the Holy Spirit bringing about a revival of New Testament Christianity in the Church of Christ and its related community."  I agree that a revival within the church should also affect the surrounding community.

 

    One thing is clear, almost as soon as you try to define the word revival, you find yourself trying to describe what a revival is.  This at least shows that revival isn't only a theoretical thing.  It's also and most certainly not a theological idea for academics and historians to debate over.  Revival is intensely practical and it always has drastic and profound results in the places it happens.  A man involved in the Azusa Street Revival described it simply as "a community saturated with God."  Even though a true revival is in the hands of the Holy Spirit, almost every person alive has their own definition of what one entails.

    In Isaiah 62 the prophet declares that he'd go on preaching until the city that's now indistinguishable from the surrounding nations and peoples becomes "a royal diadem in the hand of your God."  He also said "the nations will see your righteousness."  A place where Yahweh has been ignored and rejected will eventually return to being filled with his glory.  Verse 1 offers a beautiful picture.  "I will not keep silent... till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch."  These are glorious visions of what can be, and should be when we seek the Lord our God with deep longing and passion.

    There's no hope for revival in our midst if we don't recognize that Isaiah is preaching to us.  Outwardly there may be many good things in the Church today, but inwardly there is a rottenness based in love for the world and its ways.  Within too many of our churches there's a general carelessness, a lack of deep surrender, and a trivialization of holy things.  Our churches are divided and quarrelsome, arguing over fine points of doctrine and personal distinctives.  Too many of our leaders are overly proud of their reputations and working hard to build their own empires instead of Yahweh's.  Generally speaking, Christians think and behave like the world and are afraid to act differently so as not to be considered a "fanatic."

 

    Psalm 85:6 says, "Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?"  David's asking for a revival.  He distinctly asks for Yahweh to revive Israel.  He wanted a divine work to be done as opposed to a human effort.  He didn't want Israel to stir itself up, he wanted Yahweh to send down a work of his Spirit.  This should be the focus of our prayers, too.  If we depend on a traveling evangelist to show up and raise the spiritual atmosphere we've pinned our hopes on human strength.  We need to prayerfully seek the Holy Spirit's intervention and manifestation within us and throughout our communities.

    Many of us have been brought to salvation in Christ and into the Church through some kind of revival.  Even where we can't say this there's definitely evidence of a refreshing or renewing.  But in various ways we've all been affected and benefitted from genuine revivals.  Some historians say that English society was saved by the Wesleyan Revival in the 1700's.  What came about due to the diligence and passion of John Wesley and his fellow workers brought peace to the land and avoided chaos.  Our world needs the same kind of work done today, or we may find ourselves slipping into some very evil times.

    The Church of Jesus Christ should believe in revivals.  Many have been born into the Kingdom through their effects.  Many have been nurtured and matured, raised to higher spiritual levels through them.  Nothing can stand in the Church's way when revival power comes, bringing refreshing and recommitment to the believers, and pouring out salvation and awakening on our communities.  In a true revival both saint and sinner are affected.  Even sinful institutions have been changed.  Real revival brings glory and power to the whole community.

    Early American Methodist preacher Peter Cartwright said: "The glory of Methodism has ever been the revival.  If she forfeits that, she has lost her peculiarly distinguishing feature as well as true work and noblest heritage, and becomes poor indeed.  Giving up this she will cease to be blessed in herself and a blessing to others.  There are few more painful sights than the spectacle of a Methodist congregation patterning in various ways after some cold, worldly, ritualistic church.  It argues the forgetfulness of her origin and training, the ignoring of the secret of her past success, and the laying down of her mighty weapon of glory and victory."

    Couldn't we lament this way over many of the churches that surround us.  Where is the hunger for the presence of the Father, Son, and Spirit to be manifested in our midst?  Where is the desire to see the lost saved and backsliders returned to active faith?  Why do we think that the things that attract crowds in the world should be used in our churches?  Have we also "ceased to be blessed.. and a blessing to others?"

 

    Authentic ministry can get very messy.  You know, we might start to attract the "wrong" kind of people.  Alcoholics and prostitutes and various sorts of ungodly sinners may begin to attend our services.  The church floors might get more dirt and spills on them.  The parking lot might get full, and litter may be scattered about.  But then how do you explain that we're called to be shepherds and that sheep are messy critters?  If we're really going to see people changed and transformed by their encounter with Jesus we're going to have to get a little, or a lot, dirty.

    Talking so openly about sin just might make some people uncomfortable.  But then that lack of tolerance for real ministry must also be overcome.  People will ask, "what about added noise and congestion?  Can you imagine that people who supposedly have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb would try to keep other sinners from finding the same relief and peace?  But the complaints continue:  Someone might park in "my" space.  Someone might sit in "my" pew.  Someone might do something "out of order."  Oh my.

    How have we gotten so far off track?  Why do we struggle so with the Holy Spirit's activity in our midst?  Don't focus on what could go wrong, look at these possibilites: Someone might get gloriously saved.  Someone might get miraculously healed.  Someone might experience Jesus in an exciting new way.

 

    Prayer is the key here.  If we want to see revival and spiritual awakening, we must pray.  We must seek Yahweh's vision for the work in our areas.  We must cry out for the salvation of the lost.  We must stand against demonic strongholds, maybe we just need to admit that we have to fight against these evil principalities.  We need to ensure that we've done all we can to be fully cleansed and made righteous through our relationship with our Lord Jesus.  To have a true revival we need the Holy Spirit's help, and that's best obtained through strong prayer efforts.

    Don't be afraid of the power of prayer.  Many people are afraid for one of two reasons.  1) They worry that they won't hear Yahweh's voice.  2) They worry that they might hear Yahweh's voice.  If you're concerned about not hearing, repent and seek him with all your heart.  If you're afraid of what you'll hear, that Yahweh may expect you to do something unusual or out of the ordinary, repent and seek him with all your heart.

    We need spiritual discernment.  Bringing together all the data and debating the issue is about personal power and influence.  That's the way too many of our church boards and councils operate.  Discernment is about surrender.  Discernment says, "It's Yahweh's Church, so he gets the final say."  Our Father in heaven also has veto power, he can overrule our human plans.  Voting promotes winners and losers.  Discernment is about hearing the Spirit and obeying the directions we perceive.

    It's not the pastor's or the leader's job to have a vision for the church or fellowship.  Yes, the leadership should be leading in the discernment process, but Yahweh gives the vision and the whole fellowship needs to discern it.  It's not about whether it's likeable or acceptable to the majority, but whether or not it's true to what Yahweh desires for us as a body.  Does Yahweh desire to bring revival?  Of course he does.  He knows best.  Let's not try to bring it about in our own strength or through our personal efforts.  Let's trust our Father to guide us and speak to us through the Holy Spirit.  Then let's obediently follow these heavenly instructions to bring about revival and awakening.

 

    Blessings & Peace,    Mike

Recognizing Yahweh's Voice (11/29/10)

Shalom,

 

    Please begin by reading John 10:22-27.

 

    Jesus speaks very clearly in this passage.  His sheep follow him because they know and listen to his voice.  It's an extremely easy concept to figure out.  The better we know his voice, the better we'll be able to follow him.  But remember, the reverse is also true.  If we don't know his voice, we'll have much trouble following him.  Listen means to hear and obey, to pay attention and respond.  This is the way the servant is supposed to respond to his master.  The word translated as "know" is also very strong.  It means to have deeply intimate knowledge of, even to the level of sexual intimacy.  The best way to know the voice of our Lord Jesus is to be intimately connected to him.

    It's typical in our Western mind-set to want a clear formula for how to get to know the voice of Jesus.  We tend to think there must be at least one obvious and direct instruction as to how to do this in the Bible.  Many people have attempted to wring one out, but it's just not there.  The only way we can come to intimately know the voice of our Lord is by spending time in his presence.  There are no shortcuts, only experience will help us achieve this clear recognition of his voice.

    One of the basic characteristics of true love is communication.  It's natural for lovers to share everything.  The more we love our Lord, the more we should be drawn into his presence, and it's there we'll get to know his voice.  Don't settle for anything less than a true and holy intimacy with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Don't just accept what others have to say about what Yahweh is speaking, get to the place where you personally hear what he's speaking.

    James 4:8 says, "Come near to God and he will come near to you."  Isn't this a great promise?  And think about this: Much of what our Lord says to us isn't only meant to convey matters of great eternal or strategic significance.  Most of what he says is like the communication between lovers it's likely to be deeply personal.  This is likely to be difficult for us to grasp and learn because we struggle to perceive our God in this manner.  In spite of our flaws, our mistakes, or our failures - Yahweh really just wants to talk, to share his deep love for us.

 

    There are many ways to hear the voice of our Creator God.  We're only going to cover two of them.  The first way is to know Yahweh's Word, the Bible.  Every Christian can discern biblical truth as surely as the most educated theologian.  It's not a matter of our level of education, but it's about the level of passion in our seeking.  Discernment doesn't necessarily come through education.  Education helps, but a seeking heart is the biblical requirement.

    The devil has tried very hard to keep Yahweh's truth from the "common" people.  He's conspired to put it exclusively in the hands of a limited number of "professionals."  Some say that we must attain to a certain depth of knowledge or education and also understand the science of biblical interpretation before we can properly discern the meaning of the Scriptures.  Jesus himself said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children."  Jesus knew that the elite Jewish scholars knew a lot, but not the basics that even little children understand.

    1 Cor 8:1 warns us that "knowledge puffs up."  Worldly knowledge can give us a big head, an overblown ego.  We tend to rank one another on the basis of man-made standards of education.  Hos 4:6 warns us, "my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge."  We must be aware that pursuing truly biblical knowledge is what keeps us close to our Lord God.  We must continually seek our Lord and his grace, knowing we depend on him for absolutely everything worthwhile.  We especially need his grace to remain humble as we pursue and seek the knowledge of his Word.  If we don't, the knowledge that should set us free can bring us down because of our pride.

    Only when we keep our sensitivity tuned to the Spirit's presence will we be able to receive proper biblical knowledge without being puffed up or arrogant.  The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives must be as important as our knowledge of biblical truth.  The daily activity of spending time in the presence of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit will keep us from getting too big for our britches and feeling overly proud of our level of knowledge.  And anything we think we're hearing from our Lord must be rightly aligned with what we know of his Word, or we need to reevaluate who we're listening to.  Yahweh may speak things to us that we can't find direct mention of in our Bibles, but what he speaks to us will always be in tune with the concepts and standards laid out for us within his Word.

 

    The second way to hear Yahweh's voice is to work at listening to the ongoing guidance of the Holy Spirit.  The Bible was never meant to replace the Holy Spirit in our lives, and the Holy Spirit wasn't meant to take the place of the Bible.  They both have different functions in leading us to Yahweh's truth and keeping us knowledgeable of our Father's will.  We have too many churches and individual Christians who lean more on one aspect of this truth than they should.

    The Bible alone is used for establishing doctrine and standards.  The "voice of the Lord," the Holy Spirit, is to give us day-to-day guidance as well as revealing the strategic will of our Lord to us.  The Bible doesn't cover every decision we must make in our lives with the depth we'd like.  Whom should we marry, our choice of profession, where we should live, and other life decisions aren't directly covered or revealed.  These decisions have a fundamental impact on us, so we do need our Lord's counsel which is what the Holy Spirit provides for us.  The supernatural effects of what the Bible teaches us are enhanced by the ongoing instructions we receive from the Holy Spirit as we seek and pray for guidance.

    We can read that Jesus wants us to know his voice, but some of the Protestant theologies currently adhered to not only hinder this, but actually prohibit Christians from knowing their Lord's voice.  These theologies can be traced to the extreme interpretation of the prime Reformation motto, SOLA SCRIPTURA.  This means Scripture Alone.  This was first written in reaction to the Catholic teaching of the Pope's infallibility, that his word exceeded the authority of the Bible.  The Protestant motto can be credited as the primary force that broke the dominance of the elitist clergy during the Dark Ages and began the release of many spiritual advances.

    The Reformation believed that a Christian should never accept a doctrine that's in conflict with the written Word of God.  But they carried it too far.  This important truth was never intended to imply that we don't need to know the voice of our Lord for personal guidance.  Christianity is far more than just knowing accurate doctrinal positions.  It's much more than just knowing some Bible facts so you can get confirmed or become a member of a church.  True Christianity is a restored, living, intimate relationship with our Lord God Almighty.  This is much more than knowing what the Bible reveals about him.  It's knowing him and being able to recognize his voice when he speaks to us.

    Even in the Old Testament, what we call the time of the Law, each person was required to know and obey the "voice of the Lord/Yahweh."  I found four instances when Yahweh specifically spoke to his people about their need to hear his voice or their failure to listen to his voice.  Ex 15:26 tells the Israelites that they need to "listen carefully to the voice of Yahweh and pay attention to his commandments."  Ex 19:5-6 says, "If you will indeed obey my voice and keep my commandments."  Get the picture.  It's not just about obeying the commandments.  They also needed to listen to their Lord and Master's voice.

    There are also some terrible and dire warnings about not listening to Yahweh's voice.  Deut 8:20 says, "you will be destroyed for not obeying the voice of Yahweh your God."  Deut 9:23 says, "you rebelled against the command of Yahweh your God; you neither believed him nor listened to his voice."  The written Word, even with all the commandments of the old covenant, was never meant to take the place of hearing our Alighty God's voice.  They didn't individually have the Spirit abiding in their hearts, but they were to be able to know and recognize the voice of Yahweh as he spoke through the prophets.

    We often attribute the deep problems and troubles Israel faced with their inability to keep Yahweh's commandments.  But these passages clearly show us that the blame lies just as much on their refusal to listen to his voice.  We must be careful that we don't make then sme mistake.

 

    If fundamentalists have come to understand the Bible, it's only because of the grace of our Lord God.  If charismatics have come to know something about the power of Yahweh, it's only because of that same grace.  If pentacostals know anything about combining the written Word with the Spirit's direct guidance, again it should be attributed to grace.  None of these groups has anything to boast about.  All that we receive is by the grace of our Lord Jesus alone.  Hardly anyone has come to a deep understanding of biblical truth without stumbling because they became puffed up with pride by that knowledge.  And few have come to know Yahweh's power without stumbling because of that same issue of pride.  Even so, we need much more knowledge and much more power and much more ability to combine the two than we have right now if we're to follow our Lord where he's taking us.  The road ahead of us will require apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to work together beyond anything we've ever seen in the past.

    We should keep in mind that many of the great spiritual endeavors throughout history were started against the counsel of the time's spiritual leaders.  Most of the men we call the great reformers had to trust that it truly was their Lord God who was speaking to them because the established leadership of their times didn't receive their "new" revelation with pleasure and eagerness.  Without the liberty of the Holy Spirit, we'll often miss Yahweh's will.  Without the Scriptures we'll drift into error.  Both are essential if we're going to stay on the path of life and be Kingdom builders.  Don't allow tradition to be used to condemn what you know your Lord God is speaking to you.

    Hearing the voice of our Lord takes time and effort.  There are no formulas to follow.  There are no programs to enroll in.  There's only intimacy with your heavenly Father and his Son through the presence of the Holy Spirit.  The way we best learn our Lord's voice is to hear him speaking to us on a regular basis.  It's not difficult, it's just that we don't have any human standards to judge it by.  Relax and spend time in your Lord's presence.  Trust him to be there.  He wants to talk to you personally and intimately.

 

    Blessings & Peace,    Mike

Industrious & Faithful (11/22/10)

Shalom,

 

    Please begin by reading 1 Thes 3:6-10.

 

    The tradition of the Pilgrim's first Thanksgiving is steeped in myth and legend.  Few people realize that the Pilgrim's didn't celebrate Thanksgiving after the first big affair.  They went on with their lives with gratitude, but didn't form a tradition of harvest feasts.  Some of their descendants eventually came up with a Forefather's Day, but it wasn't what we've made our modern day Thanksgiving into.  Today our celebration is filled with family traditions and events that don't have much to do with the original day of Thanksgiving.

    Several of our presidents, including George Washington, made one-time Thanksgiving proclamations setting forth a day for the giving of thanks.  The Continental Congress did the same in 1782.  The current holiday, celebrated on the 4th Thursday of November was approved by Congress in 1941.  Prior to that the celebration had been on the "last" Thursday in accordance with Abraham Lincoln's designation.  But due to it's sometimes too close proximity to Christmas, our business people and store owners pushed for it to be set back a little.

    Thanksgiving is a good celebration.  We mostly hold it for the right reasons.  But too many people have forgotten that it's supposed to cause us to focus ourselves on Yahweh for the day, not just on the turkey and goodies and family and football.  It's too bad that we allow our secular culture to corrupt, and for the most part ruin, our days of being reminded of our Creator and his wonderful grace.  Not enough time is spent considering the Father who loves us so very much and how thankful we should be for his blessings.  Too much time is spent considering the sales and bargains we'll find the day after our day of giving thanks.

 

    Governor William Bradford's account of the activities of the Plymouth Plantation discusses how the Pilgrims who landed in Massachusetts and their leaders initially were obliged to follow a socialistic scheme devised by the merchants who funded their expedition.  The merchants maintained that all things be held in common, and that the people would work for the common good.  The merchants expected this would produce great happiness and satisfaction among the people because they would be working together, breeding comradery rather than competition.

    The result of this grand experiment was a tremendous crop failure in the very first year.  Many people were extremely hungry.  Many people were even starving.  In spite of the needs of the people and the fact that many had already died from hunger, starvation, and disease, the following year another crop developed.  But by that time half of the population of Plymouth had died.

    Therefore, in 1623 Governor Bradford declared that from that point on this experiment in community goods would be abandoned.  Every family received a parcel of land for their own.  They would work it and take care of their own family's needs.  When it was a community garden, most of the people thought someone else would do their portion of the work.  When it became their own land and responsibility, people did the required work.  Our God created us to be industrious and faithful in caring for ourselves and our families.  Socialism takes away our desire to work hard because someone else may be the recipient of our hard work.

    If the Pilgrim's hadn't abandoned socialism and embraced private enterprise, it's likely they would have died off and we wouldn't have this yearly feast.  Notice: when socialism was abandoned, Thanksgiving was established!  Today, millions of people enjoy the incredible wealth our nation has without much of a clue of the Christian origins that brought our economic and political system into being.  Socialism doesn't raise up a lot of wealthy people, who can then provide jobs for many others.  There's not much reason to have ambition to achieve great things in that system.  We really should be thankful for Yahweh's hand in guiding our early settlers and founding fathers.  Without their industriousness and faithfulness we wouldn't have nearly as much to be thankful for.

 

    Paul the Apostle worked with his own hands to support himself while he preached the Gospel.  He repeatedly taught the early Christians to work faithfully for their Master, and to care for their own needs.  Of course, the Church of Jesus Christ is to care for the honest needs of those who are unable to work.  But we aren't obliged to help those who are able to work but refuse to.  Personal responsibility matters.  The lesson learned by the Pilgrim's should be taught to everyone again today.  We should each be responsible for ourselves and our own families.  This is what our Creator set forth as policy, so we should trust him and continue to require it for the good of all.

    We live in a country where many seek "something for nothing."  We've trained far too many people to depend and rely on our welfare system.  We must pray for Yahweh's wisdom and direction to overcome this wrong and misguided charity.  Yahweh has solutions for us, even today.  The Pilgrim's were able to make corrections, so we should be able to make the necessary changes, too.

    The Pilgrim's put into practice the admonition of 2 Thes 3:10.  "If a man will not work, he shall not eat."  Notice it says, "will not."  Other portions of scripture teach us to care for those who are unable to care for themselves.  Knowing their deep faith, I'm sure the Pilgrim's searched the scriptures and found instructions like these from the Book of Proverbs.

    Prov 10:5.  "He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son."

    Prov 12:11.  "He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment.

    The result: The people of the Plymouth Plantation went to work with cheerful willingness.  Men who had faked sickness were now eager to get into the fields.  Even the women went out to work eagerly, where before, the idea of women working in the fields was thought of as ridiculous.  Now they took their children with them and happily labored for their own families.

    The result of all this intensive labor was a harvest that was tremendous and bountiful.  The people of the Plymouth Plantation held a celebration of Thanksgiving because their Lord God Almighty had so richly blessed them.  Part of our modern day celebration should include the lesson of changing from socialism to private enterprise.  People are much more fulfilled when they they're working for the direct benefit of themselves and their families.  Our nation could be greatly blessed and maybe even transformed if we would relearn this great truth.

 

    Are you "industrious and faithful?"  Poverty isn't avoided just by chance or luck.  It must be diligently guarded against and fought off.  Proverbs tells us it's like a prowler or an armed man.  These statements in the Book of Proverbs are great and eternal truths.  They're truth which can equip us for day-to-day life.  If they're not working for you, there's something wrong with you.  They come from Yahweh's Holy Word.  We can't use them as some sort of magic cure-all.  Quoting them is good, but living according to these principles is much better.

    We should be thankful every day when we consider how blessed we are, but we have a tendency to forget that all too easily.  Isn't it great to have a special day to remind us of our need to be thankful.  Let's be mindful of how our heavenly Father wants to bless us.  He wants to bless us through, and as a result of, our faithful efforts to live out his design and plan for our lives.  The Pilgrim's didn't have anything to be thankful for until they ventured out on their own.  Community property didn't bring them prosperity, working their own land with their own hands did.

    As you gather with family and friends on Thanksgiving, remember the goodness of your loving heavenly Father.  Praise him for his faithfulness, and for his insistence that we work for what we eat.  Pray that our society can see Yahweh's truth and then be willing to make the necessary changes to keep from completely turning away from our Creator.

 

    Blessings & Peace,    Mike

Plain Preaching (11/15/10)

Shalom,

 

    Please begin by reading 1 Cor 2:1-5.

 

    Paul the Apostle knew about the power of persuasive speaking.  He grew up in Tarsus, and one of the most popular Greek philosophers of the time made his headquarters there.  Paul would very likely have been influenced by this philosophy as he grew up.  He even quotes from some Greek philosphers in his biblical writings (Acts 17:28, Titus 1:12, & 1 Cor 15:33).  Paul was a well-schooled man, both in the secular and religious realms.  For him to set aside this indoctrination would most likely have been difficult, but we see he "resolved" to trust only in Jesus' crucifixion.  He was determined to overcome both his Greek and Jewish educations to know his Savior above all other philosophies and teachings.

    We're coming upon a new year when many people will make resolutions.  They often make them in hopes of improving their health, their finances, their lifestyle, their job situation, their love life, and on and on.  The problem with this is that the resolve to accomplish these changes depends on human inner strength and attitude.  Too many resolutions last only for the first couple of weeks of the new year, and then busyness or weakness gets in the way.  There just doesn't seem to be a large enough level of resolve to carry most people over the obstacles they encounter.

    The word for resolve used in the scriptures refers to a court decision being made and a ruling set forth.  The implication here is that the resolve Paul had isn't just his inner strength, but a definite choice has been made and a decision set forth to complete the action.  His resolve was to preach plainly and directly about his Lord and Savior.  He wasn't going to try to overwhelm his listeners with his eloquence or superior wisdom.  He was only going to present them the facts about Jesus and how the prophecies were fulfilled by his life, death, and resurrection.

 

    Eloquence means the use of profound and pompous words.  It's the attempt to speak over people's heads so they'll accept what you're saying because it is so profound and high-sounding.  It's a snobbish way to get people to listen to you, which is rather strange because in actuality you're trying to speak in a way that they don't understand.  It's possible to be eloquent without condescending, but this usage points directly to someone trying to bully their way to influence by overwhelming people with words or concepts beyond their capacity to discern.

    Speaking with superior wisdom is speaking in a way to show your superiority over others.  People are supposed to think you're authoritative because of your superior attitude and exalted speech.  Again it's relating to the snobbish way elitist individuals speak down to the "common folk."  It's all about control and manipulation when people use this way of speaking.  It's meant as a way to separate yourself from the masses and keep them from questioning you because they don't fully understand what you're talking about.

    How much better could we do in spreading the Kingdom of our Lord if we resolved to speak the plain truth about Jesus?  We should always make choices that improve our ability to become more trustworthy stewards of Kingdom power and authority.  It's not about a gaining of status for us, but for our Lord God Almighty.  We should also be so surrendered to our Lord Jesus that Kingdom power and authority aren't strange or unusual to us.  The use of them should be the norm.

    We need to purpose in our hearts, with our Lord's help and guidance, to make spiritual resolutions that pave the way for fresh expressions of Kingdom power, authority, and fruitfulness.  Our goal should be to become as effective as possible in sharing the Gospel of the Kingdom as we possibly can, to resolve to be very plain in our proclaiming of the Gospel so more people will be able to grasp what we're saying.  A. W. Tozer made the following five personal resolutions.  They helped him know Yahweh better, and can help us to gain spiritual balance and direction, too.

 

    1) Deal thoroughly with sin.  That may sound too simplistic, but our society has extremely watered-down the issue of our sin.  We use buzzwords and psycho-babble to cover or remove our responsibility for our sin.  We say we didn't sin, but that we made a mistake.  It's not a sin, it's a weakness.  You get the idea.  It's called minor, not something that actually denies our heavenly Father.  Instead of acknowledging our sin, we say we're made this way and can't really be to blame.  This denies that sin is rebellion against Almighty God.  This is blasphemy because it puts the blame for our sinfulness on our Creator.

    As a result, many people don't take their sin to the cross and seek Jesus' forgiveness.  The simple truth is, too many people continue to deal with their sin too lightly.  Brutal honesty is the best policy here.  Heb 4:13 says, "Nothing in all creation is hidden from Yahweh's sight.  Everything is uncovered and laid bare."  We can't hide from Yahweh.  Open acknowledgement of our sin allows us to receive grace and remove spiritual strongholds and dominions from our lives.  This is the kind of plain and direct truth we need to hear.

    2) Never own anything.  This isn't talking about our buying habits, but our mind-sets.  What motivates our stewardship of what Yahweh has entrusted to us?  We own houses, cars, and lots of other things.  But the spiritual concept we're dealing with says: don't allow anything you possess to possess you.  We need to fully let go of "ownership" and grasp that all we possess actually belongs to our Lord.  It's his stuff, given to us for the furthering of his Kingdom.  Do we really understand that whatever we earn is a blessing from our Father?  Deut 8:18 says, "Remember Yahweh your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth."

    3) Never defend yourself.  This one is very hard for most of us humans.  We're endowed with instincts for self-preservation and survival.  But Yahweh says we're to be fully surrendered and yielded to him.  Our life and our reputation are in his hands.  We can stop Yahweh from defending us by insisting on defending ourselves.  If we waste our efforts justifying and defending our personal positions, we're not thinking about spreading the Kingdom.  Let Yahweh defend you by standing and proclaiming his Truth and Kingdom.  Remember Phil 3:8.  "I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.  I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ."

    4) Never pass anything on about another person that will hurt them.  Loving others is one of our primary responsibilities.  Yahweh places an emphasis on fulfilling this by placing it in the scriptures in many different places.  When we're trying to share the Gospel with unbelievers we may have to speak against their sin, but we shouldn't pass along gossip we've heard about them.  We need to be extremely sensitive to the Spirit as he guides us in speaking to their need of Jesus the Savior.  Don't be unnecessarily rough or crude, just obediently do the work of an evangelist.  True fellowship in the Body of Christ takes setting aside personal preferences and seeking the best for the whole body.  To be united in Christ will mean working at building and strengthening relationships.  This is common sense.  This is true and direct.  The shame of it is this isn't easy to follow.  Don't gossip and don't speak "the truth in love" selfishly or in a superior attiude.

    5) Never accept any glory.  Isa 42:8 says, "I am Yahweh, that is my name!  I will not give my glory to another."  These are strong words.  They should help us understand that all glory is Yahweh's alone.  When the Holy Spirit uses us to advance the Kingdom, we don't deserve any glory.  It's a privilege to participate with the Holy Spirit.  He's building a spiritual house and he's best able to use humble people in this process.  Yahweh blesses us in allowing us to be part of his mission to save the world.  We'll be glorified after we give our Creator all the glory.  Be very mindful of the words of our Lord Jesus in Luke 14:11.  "Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

 

    Living out these plain and true and direct instructions would be good for all of us.  We need to speak the simple truth of the Bible so more people can hear and understand it.  Too many in our society and world see Christianity as complicated by rituals and doctrines.  It's up to us to show them the simple truth of a Creator God who loves them deeply and came to them in simplicity.  Our job isn't to be persuasive, but to be direct.  Show them Jesus.  Show them his Truth.

 

    Blessings & Peace,    Mike

Overcoming Regrets (‏ (11/8/10

Shalom,

 

    Please begin by reading 2 Cor 7:8-11.

 

    Don't you sometimes wish you could go back and replay the past?  I believe every single one of us has this dream occasionally.  Don't you daydream about going back and talking yourself out of a bad choice or into a good one?  I don't believe any of us would turn down an opportunity to go back and warn ourselves against taking the bad turns we've chosen on the road of life.  This is because we've all experienced regret in our lives, and regret takes many forms.

     Regret over marriage.  Too many of us try to imagine how much happier life would have been if we'd married someone other than the person sitting next to us.  Or what if we'd never married that person we're divorced from?

     Regret over all kinds of broken relationships within our families and friends.

     Regret over bad career moves, missed business opportunities, poor vocational choices.

     Regret over mistakes we've made in raising our children.

     Regret at not following Yahweh's call to ministry, his call to be a missionary, at not answering his call to salvation sooner.

    I hope I haven't caused you to have a relapse in overcoming these feelings.  If you do spend too much time rehashing the "what if's" and "if only's" about your life, you're not trusting Jesus enough.  He wants to set us free from these hindrances.  He wants us to use these painful memories to improve ourselves and to cause us to earnestly do better from now on.

 

    Now, as we read, sorrow over sin can be healthy, up to a point.  It can help us learn from our mistakes so that we don't repeat them.  Hopefully, we've all experienced the good side of the "sadder but wiser" syndrome.  This can lead us to repentance and forgiveness.  When we allow the Holy Spirit's conviction to lead us to healing and deliverance, we'll be blessed and drawn closer to our Savior.

    However, regret is anything but helpful or healthy.  It's destructive and debilitating.  It allows the sins and mistakes of the past to reach out and poison our present.  It causes us to look back at what went wrong instead of seeking our Lord's guidance and direction to a better future.  And if it's not handled properly, it will just lead to more wrong choices and more regret.  It can become a very vicious cycle.

    2 Cor 7:10 says it well.  "For God can use sorrow in our lives to help us turn away from sin and seek salvation.  We will never regret that kind of sorrow.  But sorrow without repentance is the kind that results in death."  For instance, people will respond to regret by trying to undo the consequences of their past choices in ways that are illegitimate.  A man or woman decide they've married the wrong person, so they divorce their spouse and marry someone else, leaving a shattered family behind.  Often, they'll find that the second spouse isn't the "right one" either, and many even continue repeating this vicious cycle of divorce and remarriage.

    How about a couple having sexual relations outside of marriage and the woman becomes pregnant?  They're scared and filled with doubt about the future so they listen to the lies from our culture and seek an abortion.  They try to undo what they've done through an abortion, even though in their hearts they know what they created together is a real human baby, not just a mass of cells.  And so the abortion creates more guilt and more regret.  The problem is that we can't undo our past, and we usually just make things worse when we try to.

 

    Regret is especially unhealthy when it leads to an attitude of hopelessness.  "What difference does it make anyway?  I've already messed up.  I've already destroyed God's plans for my life.  No matter how hard I work, I can never have anything better than second best.  So why even try?"

    The result of this kind of thinking is often a giving of ourselves over to sin.  "Why obey God?  Why follow him, or try to keep his commandments?  The good life he planned for me is out of reach, lost forever because of my sin.  I might as well get as much out of this life as I can."

    This kind of hopelessness is what the devil wants us to dwell on.  He keeps lying to us about how Yahweh can't forgive us anymore, that we've gone too far.  Don't believe him!  Our loving heavenly Father is waiting for us to come back home to him, just like the father of the Prodigal Son.  Read this parable again and encourage your soul.  Luke 15:24 shows us Yahweh's great love and mercy.  "This son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found."

    Regret can also lead to apathy, paralysis, and an unwillingness to seek Yahweh's blessing in our marriage or job or faith walk.  Why try to love your husband or wife or children when you know you've messed up Yahweh's perfect plan?  Why try to honor Yahweh with your career when you're in the wrong job anyway, when you know you should have obeyed the Spirit's call years ago and didn't?  We ask, "How can God bless me when I can never get back on the path of his will for my life?"

    Is that how you feel?  Do you worry that your sin has hopelessly ruined your "testimony," that the story of your life can never become what Yahweh intended?  The good news is that we don't have to be paralyzed by regret.  We don't have to let it rob us of the joy and hope Jesus promised us as our right and privilege as his followers.  There are promises of full and abundant life and joy for all followers of Jesus.  And they're not just for those who've never made a serious error in judgment or never committed a sin.  These promsies are for all Christians, whatever our past contains.  By the way, there are no perfect Christians, just a perfect Savior.

 

    So how do we get past our past and keep it from greatly hindering us?  How do we avoid being paralyzed by regret?  How do we stop grieving over what's wrong and get on with our lives?  Here's a prescription from Yahweh's Word.

    To begin with correct your theology.  Many people think that Yahweh has only one perfect plan for their lives.  They believe that as long as they stay on that perfect path by walking in obedience and seeking the Spirit's ongoing guidance for all major decisions, they'll enjoy Yahweh's best.  But if at any point they mess up badly enough, by sinning or making a foolish decision, then they believe they're out of the Father's perfect plan and they can never again enjoy his full blessing in their lives.

    Let me give you a highly intelligent theological response to that idea.  BALONEY!  That's not how it works.  Yahweh knows us intimately.  He knows everything about us.  He isn't surprised about anything we do because he's the one who gave us free will.  He knows we're going to mess up.  He knows we're going to sin.  He's already prepared to make adjustments and continue to call us to follow his perfect will for our lives.  He has an infinite number of perfect plans that begin at the next decision point.  Because each time we confess our sin and he forgives us, we have a clean slate which includes his perfect plan from that point of our lives.

    Yahweh's purposes are eternal.  His purposes for this world are eternal.  They don't change.  They aren't altered or voided because of our sins or our bad choices.  Even the worst, ugliest sins don't alter Yahweh's plans for his disciples.  Yahweh uses sinners (redeemed ones) to accomplish his purposes, because that's all he's got to work with.  He doesn't expect to find perfect people to carry out his plan, he transforms all us less than perfect people into righteous instruments in his hands.  What he wants is for us to strive to be perfect, to make our best effort at full submission and obedience to him.

    Yahweh is so much bigger and smarter and better prepared than any of us there's just no comparison.  When we get off the path of his will, he'll work hard to get us back on track.  Yes, we've all lost some ground and missed some opportunities.  But when we confess our sins and get back on track we're back in his will.  Doing his perfect will is what he always desires for us.  And when we're on track he's not hounding us about our past failures, he's encouraging us to stay the course.  The devil is the one trying to remind you of your failures.  Yahweh is trying to give you vision for a better future.

    The testimony of your life hasn't been ruined.  Yahweh's plan for your life isn't buried under the mistakes of your past.  He still has a wise and loving and God-honoring plan for each and every one of us.  Be free of your past, no longer weighed down by regret.  Remember, Paul said he was happy because the Corinthians "sorrow" led them to "repentance."  Don't wallow in the pain of regret over any part of your past, let the healing touch of your loving Father set you free with his grace and mercy.

 

    Blessings & Peace,    Mike