Prophetic Voice

The Nature of Faith, Part 9

2011-08-07T05:36:00.001-07:00

Therefore, having been justified by faith
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom also we have access by faith
into this grace in which we stand,
and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Romans 5:1-2, NKJV

Faith is what saves us, at least as far as our part is concerned. We don't have to work for our salvation; it can't be bought or earned. We don't have to provide it for ourselves; that was done through Jesus Christ and His redemptive sacrifice on Calvary's Cross. We don't have to do anything to save ourselves; we only have to believe.

The Bible says that whoever believes, the same shall be saved. And what must be believed? That Jesus Christ, the real and unique Son of God, who was miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, who was God made flesh to dwell among men, who lived a completely perfect and sinless life, died for us. That He was buried, and that after three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, He was resurrected, never to die again.

After belief comes confession--that Jesus Christ is Lord. That Jesus Christ is the everlasting God, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the Master of the Universe, the Ruler of Everything. Belief, confession, and submission to who He is in a personal way. That's what saves us, and it starts with faith.

Because Abraham believed, he was counted righteous. Because he acted in faith upon what God had said, he was counted righteous. Because he lived by faith in the Living God, he was justified by that same faith and counted righteous. The same is true for us today. If we believe and live in faith in this same God, we also shall be counted righteous by Him. We shall be justified from our sins, and we will become as "just if I'd" never sinned. Jesus did all the work, paid the price, and offered salvation freely to all. The one and only thing we have to do is believe and live by that faith.

When we believe and are justified, we have peace with God through Jesus Christ. The enmity, the hatefulness of sin is put to death, and God receives us as children and friends, accepted and adopted through Jesus Christ. When we believe and are justified and accepted, we have access into grace, the unmerited favor and undeserved blessing that is the free gift of God. We can enter in and be safe in grace, we can stand in grace before God, completely forgiven and whole, saved by grace through faith that comes not from ourselves, but which is given to us by God. Even when we fall, we fall in grace and can again receive forgiveness to keep standing in grace.

And when we stand in grace, having believed and been saved through our faith, we can also rejoice in hope, that hope being that the glory of God, the manifested excellency of His person and power has been made real in us, is being made real in us, and will ultimately be made real in us when we become like Christ in life, in death, and in resurrection!

This is our hope--Christ in us, the guarantee of God's glory!

The Nature of Faith, Part 8

2011-08-05T10:55:00.000-07:00

...and being fully convinced
that what He had promised
He was also able to perform.
Romans 4:21, NKJV

What are the keys to living by faith and receiving the promises of God?
First, you have to believe.
Second, you have to maintain your hope, even when things look hopeless.
Third, you have to keep your eyes on Jesus, not on your circumstances.
Fourth, you have to strengthen your faith through remembrance and declaration.
Fifth, you have to give glory to God continually as you wait.

But there is an element we must not forget. If God is the one who said it, we have to be fully convinced that what God promises, He is also able to perform. What God promises, He is also willing to fulfill. What God promises, He will absolutely do...in His own good time according to His own special purpose.

The mistake too many people have made when it comes to faith is the faulty belief that God has to do whatever we tell Him to do "in Jesus' name." As if the name of Jesus is some kind of magic quarter that we can drop in the machine and press the button for what we want. Yes, Jesus did say ask whatever we will in His name, and we can expect to receive. But that one verse separated from the entirety of Scripture leads to arrogance and presumption, and false religion. We must first be abiding in Christ, and letting His words abide in us. We must also know and understand the will of the Father regarding our request, whether what we are asking is pleasing to Him. We must also have good and righteous motives in asking so that we do not ask amiss. There are governing principles in everything spiritual, and we need to learn them.

And when taking a stand in faith, we need to make sure that we have heard from God, that we remember correctly what we have been told, and that we don't add to or take away from God's word to suit our own desires. Like Abraham...God promised him descendants, property, and blessing, so that he could be a blessing to the whole world. Abraham had no problem asking God, "Did you really say thus-and-so? Did I hear you right? Would you confirm your word to me? How will I know that this is really from you?" And God wasn't offended at all that Abraham sought clarification. Rather, God continued to confirm His promise to Abraham, and Abraham continued to be strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, being fully convinced that what God had promised, He would also do.

If you hare attempting to live in faith, especially regarding a promise, be certain of what God has said. Be obedient to God's direction. And trust in God's word. He is faithful and true, and not a man that He should lie. He will not fail you and He does not change. If God has said it, you can believe it. And wait patiently to receive the promises of God.

The Nature of Faith, Part 7

2011-08-02T21:32:00.000-07:00

He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief,
but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God...
Romans 4:20, NKJV

Abraham never doubted that God would fulfill His promises. This is evidenced in Genesis and emphasized in the New Testament. Abraham believed God--the Bible says so over and over again. When God showed up and said, "I'll give you a son, and a country, and descendants as uncountable as the stars, and blessings beyond measure, and I'll make you a blessing to everybody everywhere," Abraham took God at His word. He never doubted God's promises, even if he did question God's procedures.

Maybe his descendants would be through his nephew Lot, whom he brought along to Canaan as a foster son after Lot's father died. But God said, "This is not my plan."

Maybe his descendants would be made through the adoption of people born in his household, servants would become sons and thereby fulfill God's promises. But God said, "This is not my plan."

Maybe his descendants would be made through the womb of a surrogate mother, one Hagar of Egypt, and Abraham fathered a son through a concubine. But God said, "This is not my plan." Even the six sons he fathered later through Keturah were excluded from God's plan, for God said, "In Isaac your seed shall be called."

People can say what they want to about Abraham, but he never doubted in unbelief. He was the father of faith, the friend of God, the man who believed God and was counted righteous because of it. He did not waver concerning the promises of God. If anything, he erred in good faith, thinking he knew how to help God out and make the promises come true.

And he strengthened himself in faith, giving glory to God.

If God has made us promises, we need to learn a lesson from Abraham and do the same. We need to strengthen ourselves in faith. We need to remind ourselves of all that God has promised, and all that God has done thus far. We need to remind ourselves that God is faithful, that He will not lie, that He does not change, that His word is absolute and it is true. We need to remind ourselves that what God has promised, that will He also do. What God has started, He will be faithful to complete in me and you. We strengthen ourselves in faith by reminding ourselves and giving testimony about it, speaking in faith even when it hasn't happened yet. We continue to pray, we continue to obey, and we continue to believe.

And through it all, we give glory to God! We praise the Lord in good times and in bad, when times are easy, and when times are sad. We praise the Lord for what He's done, and we praise Him for who He is, because He is worthy of our praise whether He has done something or not. We need to keep on trusting, and we need to keep on singing. Sooner or later, God will do as He said He would, and I better be found strong in faith and giving glory to God!

The Nature of Faith, Part 6

2011-07-18T09:06:00.000-07:00

And not being weak in faith,
he did not consider his own body, already dead
(since he was about a hundred years old),
and the deadness of Sarah's womb.
Romans 4:19, NKJV

What do you do when the promises of God say one thing, and the reality of the situation says another? This is where the rubber of our faith meets the road of God's faithfulness. I use that analogy because the road is constant. It is solid and firm, and though winding, it will get you where the map says it goes. But my faith is ever turning, and my tires aren't always consistent. They get bulges and bald spots. Right now one of the tires on my truck has a slow leak that I have to keep refilling until I take the time to have it fixed. If a tire sits in the same position too long, it gets misshapen and rots. Are there lessons to be learned there? If anything, faith needs to be active.

Take Abraham for instance. He was "about a hundred" when God showed up at the door of his tent for a conversation. Among other things they discussed, God told Abraham that Sarah was going to give him a son. The first time God said it, Abraham laughed. The second time God said it, Sarah laughed. But it is God who laughed last, for when that boy entered the world, they named him laughter. That's a good way to put another spin on your faith.

Abraham was ninety-nine, Sarah was ninety. People may have aged differently back in the patriarchal days, for they lived much longer. Sarah died at 127, Abraham at 175. I've often tried to think of it in relative terms, comparing their lifespans to ours. In other words, Abraham and Sarah were middle-aged. She had likely gone through The Change, and Abraham probably experienced some Dysfunction. They weren't young people anymore. He didn't have the toned muscular physique of his prime. She was still beautiful, but perhaps that perfect hourglass figure had broadened and softened a bit. The pitter-patter of their hearts wasn't attraction and infatuation, it was atrial fibrillation. Their hair was gray, their faces wrinkled, and let's face it, a lifetime of nomadic tent dwelling could not have been an easy one. The years had taken a toll on their bodies.

So when God showed up and said they were going to have a son, it wasn't the easiest thing to believe in. God had to repeat Himself several times and endure some mental jesting from his two chosen servants. Finally, he said, "Is anything too hard for the LORD?" The obvious answer being no, that put an end to the discussion.

Abraham was a man of faith, a man who had always put feet to his prayers. When God said get up and go, he got up and went. When God said pack your bags, Abraham was ready. He did not consider the lifelessness of his own body, nor the lifelessness in Sarah's womb. I've got a sneaking suspicion that these two people, who had lived and walked by faith for a quarter-century in following God, acted upon that enduring faith regarding this promise too. After dinner that night, I'm pretty sure they had a little private alone time that we won't speculate on here.

And the wheels of faith kept on turning.

The Nature of Faith, part 5

2011-07-16T08:57:00.000-07:00

who, contrary to hope, in hope believed,

so that he became the father of many nations,

according to what was spoken,

"So shall your descendants be."

Romans 4:18, NKJV

It seems I still have this lesson to learn, that when God makes a promise, He's good for it. If God has said He'll do it, He will. If God has said it will happen, it will. If God has said you'll get it, you will. No matter what. God doesn't make promises that He can't make good on.

Take Abraham for instance. Abraham was seventy-five years old when God started making promises to him, promises about a hope and a future for him and his descendants forever. God promised Abraham a new home and country, a land that he could call his own, and He promised Abraham children and family, heirs of the promise. Those promises were repeated to Abraham over and over again through the course of the next quarter-century. At one point, God showed up and personally made a covenant with Abraham--the most sacred of ancient agreements two people could make--and demonstrated that He Himself would uphold both His end of the covenant, and Abraham's. God was swearing by Himself, and then He said, "Look at the stars and count them if you are able. So shall your descendants be."

Abraham was almost halfway through the length of his life when he received that promise from God. He was getting older, his body was starting to suffer the consequences of advancing years, and his wife was aging as well. The situation didn't look good from the start, and at seventy-six, he still wasn't a father. At eighty, he still wasn't a father. At eighty-six, he took matters into his own hands and tried out Plan B; that didn't work so well, even though he fathered Ishmael through it. But God had something different in mind for Abraham. At ninety-six, ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine he still had not received the fulfillment of God's promises. By then, his situation looked, to his natural eyes, impossible. "God," he said, "I'll just be satisfied with what I have. I have Ishmael, and that's good enough for me."

Let me pause here for just a minute.

Many times, we receive a promise from God and expect immediate fulfillment. We expect to see the promised blessing materialize out of thin air right before our eyes just like that (snap fingers here). And sometimes, God does things that way. He speaks, and BOOM, just like that it happens. But other times, God takes some time. He has good reason for it, I'm sure. He's getting us ready to receive. He's moving us where we need to be. He's bringing others into place. He's working on our behalf, working out all things for the good of those who love Him, who are the called according to His purpose. He's always doing stuff, even when we can't see. To us it takes along time, but God has a different perspective.

Let me put it this way. The Apostle Peter wrote that with the Lord, one thousand years is as one day, and one day as a thousand years. Now I'm not certain as to the mechanics and dynamics of that statement, but if we take it most literally, the twenty-five years that passed in Abraham's life--from seventy-five to one hundred--was about thirty-six minutes on God's watch.

Sometimes we get in a hurry. Like Abraham did at minute sixteen in the time frame of God, sometimes we get impatient and try to handle things ourselves. We get ahead of God's unfolding plan, skip steps, skim passages, going forward by leaps and bounds when God wants us to take small, cautious steps. We've got the end in mind when God is working through the journey. And every time we get ahead of God, we get an Ishmael--an ill-conceived, illegitimate, unruly product of our work instead of our faith. What's even worse is that sometimes we delight in the bastardization of God's plan and cease hoping for something better. We think we have what we wanted all along, and it is enough.

But God's plan is still in motion; God's promises are still faithful and true. He's not going to let us down, and he's not going to leave us with broken dreams or broken hearts. Abraham may have been happy with Ishmael; he may have even been happy with Hagar. And perhaps they were happy with him. But one person not happy with those circumstances was the instigator of Plan B, Abraham's wife Sarah, who thought she was helping God out by providing a surrogate. Sarah had always been part of God's plan; Hagar was not the way. And now Sarah was being excluded from fulfillment while Abraham played with inadequacy.

So when Abraham was ninety-nine years of age, and Sarah was ninety, at 34 minutes and some seconds past the hour of God's promise, God Himself shows up again, twice, and makes covenant with Abraham again. This time, though, He cuts covenant with Abraham in his manhood, instituting circumcision as the sign of covenant, forever marking what would likely have been considered the symbolic representation of Abraham's vim, vigor, and vitality. And then God says, "Sarah your wife shall have a son."

It wasn't logical for Abraham and Sarah to expect to have children. It wasn't normal. their contemporaries were likely enjoying grandchildren and great-grandchildren. They were past their prime. The time for hope was gone. And yet when God spoke, reiterating the promises He had been making all along, the Bible says that Abraham, contrary to hope, in hope believed.

Sometimes that's a lesson I still need to learn.

The Nature of Faith, part 4

2011-07-14T08:29:00.000-07:00

Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace,

so that the promise might be sure to all the seed,

not only to those who are of the law,

but also those who are of the faith of Abraham,

who is the father of us all

(as it is written, "I have made you a father of many nations")

in the presence of Him whom he believed--God,

who gives life to the dead

and calls those things which do not exist as though they did...

Romans 4:16-17, NKJV

Faith is belief.
It is conviction.
It is persuasion.
It is trust and hope and confidence.
Faith is not science or philosophy or politics.
Faith is not opinion.
Faith is not imagination, although some would call it a delusion.
Faith is the substance and reality of hope , the evidence and proof of things unseen.
Faith is a choice.

On a day that is not thoroughly described in Scripture, Abraham made a choice. The Bible says that Abraham heard the voice of God--a voice, we might assume, he had never heard before, belonging to a God he did not worship--that told him to leave his homeland and family and go to a land that God would show him. He was given promises of becoming a great nation, and of being infinitely blessed by both God and man, and of providing a blessing to all the people of the earth. Based apparently upon that revelation, Abraham made a choice; he chose to follow the voice.

In what did he place his faith? In whom did he trust? The Bible shows that Abraham believed in the God who created all that is, who formed the original man from the dust of the ground and fashioned that man to look like Him and to be like Him. Abraham believed in the God of his forefathers, the God that Adam knew personally, that Abel worshiped, that Seth and Enos called upon, that Enoch walked with, that Noah obeyed. How Abraham's family strayed from the true faith to become idol worshipers in Ur of the Chaldees, and how Abraham was restored to that faith, we are not told. What we are told is that Abraham heard the voice, listened to its commands, and made the choice to believe and follow.

And therefore it was accounted to him as righteousness.

But in whom did he believe, and who are we to believe today? The Apostle Paul said that Abraham believed in the One who gives life to the dead and creates by the power of His word. In other words, Abraham believed in the God who can do anything, everything, whatever He pleases.

God brought life to the deadness of Abraham's spirit when he called him from idolatry to serve the One True God and live in newness of life.

God brought life to the deadness of Abraham's and Sarah's aged bodies, enabling them to conceive. God did such a good job on Abraham, that he went on to father six more sons in his old age.

God brought life to the deadness of their hopes and dreams for an heir and a legacy, demonstrating His own faithfulness to His word and His promises, which are faithful and true.

God brought Isaac symbolically back to life when He prevented Abraham from sacrificing him and provided a ram in his stead.

And God will bring life to Abraham again when he is resurrected to walk in eternal life.

God called Abraham the possessor of Canaan, though he never owned anything more than a burial plot for his people.

God called Abraham the father of many nations before he ever fathered a son.

God called Abraham a blessing to the whole world before Abraham ever even followed the Lord!

That's the God I serve today, the God we all can believe in, the God in whom I have placed all of my hope, my confidence, my trust, the God in whom I have put all my faith. He has demonstrated His great faithfulness to me again and again, and I am persuaded that He will continue to be faithful to what He has said.

The Nature of Faith, Part 3

2011-07-06T10:27:00.001-07:00

For we walk by faith, not by sight

2 Corinthians 5:7, NKJV

If I've said it once before, I've said it a hundred times. It's easy to live by faith and walk by faith when everything around you is aligning with that faith, when all things are going according to plan, and life looks like it's going to turn out the way you've been believing. But when times are tough and the way is rough and nothing seems to go right, living by faith is not always the easiest thing to do.

When the storm is raging, the battle fierce, the night grown dark and foul. When the hand of every man is against us, and our hand against every man. When we are bruised and battered and badgered, besieged on the right hand and on the left. When we are pursued without escape, pressured without relief, struck down and kicked around. When we cry and pray every night and every day, and yet no answer will come. When our sight is blinded by blood, sweat and tears. When our heart is breaking into a thousand separate pieces. When our guts are wrenched by the pain and agony of our own personal suffering. When failure seems to be our constant companion, and success the dream that flees when we wake. When it feels like the weight of the world is on our shoulders alone, and there is no help within reach.

It's easy to get our eyes on our surroundings, our circumstances, our difficult situations and our failing selves. And when we do, we begin to feel like there will never be an end...unless we give up. Unless we surrender to the darkness, wave our white flag in the face of adversity. Then it will be over and we can die in peace.

But the Bible says don't do it! Don't look at your setting; look to the Savior. Keep your eyes fixed upon Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. He is where you will find the courage and the strength to carry on. He is where you will find the hope to believe in what you have been promised, and to trust in the one who promised it to you. He is where you will find the faith to persevere.

Whenever I find myself in difficult circumstances, I like to turn my thoughts to those men and women of faith who have gone before, to see how they handled themselves.

Abraham left everything behind to follow the high call of God, received promises of an heir and an inheritance, and looked beyond this life to a city that has foundation, whose builder and maker is God. It was only when he took his eyes off God and started trying to figure things out for himself that he got in trouble.

Moses had nothing but a stick and a commission, but he spoke with the authority of the Great I AM and followed through on everything he said. It was only when he took his eyes off God to strike the rock instead of speak in faith that he got in trouble.

Gideon could see nothing but his own short stature, his own insignificance, his own inabilities, his own inadequacies, but God saw something more. And when Gideon decided an army of thousands was just what he needed, God made him fight with just 300 men armed with bugles and flashlights. He saw what God could do.

David looked past a giant to see his God and won the victory.

A widow woman looked past the empty jars of meal and oil to see her God, feed a prophet and receive more than enough for as long as she needed it.

Elijah looked past the 850-to-1 odds to see his God and started a revolution.

Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego looked past the flames of death to see their God and find life in the presence of their Lord.

Daniel looked past the hungry lions to see his God and a night of sweet deliverance.

Philip had his eyes on five tuna fish sandwiches and a hungry crowd of thousands, when he was standing next to the provider of all things.

Peter had his eyes on the waves when he was walking on the water with the master of the wind.

Martha had her eyes on the impossibilities of death and the grave when the Lord of life spoke and said, "roll back the stone."

The disciples were crippled with grief and despair by the finality of the cross, but they forgot what Jesus had said. Destroy this temple and in three days, I will raise it up!

As one preacher said, "You can't go by what you see; you gotta go by what you know!"

Walk by faith, not by sight. Reality is not what you see around you, but what is happening in you. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your path!

The Nature of Faith, part 2

2011-07-02T08:23:00.001-07:00

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,

the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1, NKJV

I have always loved this verse. Ever since I began seriously studying the Bible and discovered it, I have been unable to forget this singularly powerful statement on the nature of faith. I remember first finding it after a particularly frustrating conversation in Honors Biology with a fifteen year old atheist who demanded proof from me that God created the universe. Before I could answer, my best friend (who had also been playing devil's advocate) snapped, "He doesn't have to prove it; he has faith!" Even though I wanted to smack him for having fed the fire, I did greatly appreciate his declaration.

That was back in the day when I proudly carried my very large New King James Study Bible to school with me, when I helped lead the discussions in the High School Bible Club we had during lunch on Tuesdays, when everybody knew I was the son of a preacher man. But I have to admit, my mind was reeling from the dizzying lunacy of this beautiful creature who boldly declared there was no Creator, that the entire universe--from its far flung cosmic dust right down to the tiniest details of infinite precision--was, in fact, the result of accident and coincidence. It boggled the mind. It still does.

I'm not a scientist. I'm not a philosopher. I'm intelligent and well-read, but I wouldn't consider myself a great thinker. I used my Study Bible to look up some verses on faith, and found this one. I wanted to prove the existence of God. I wanted to find the answer to that girl's challenge. I wanted to be able to wave my enormous Bible in the air and shout for all the world to hear, "You want proof? I got your proof right here!" I wanted something that would change her. Instead, I found something that changed me.

Faith is the substance. Faith is the reality. It's not that I needed proof, but rather I needed to realize that faith is the proof.

Faith. Belief. Conviction. Persuasion. Certitude. Hope.

I have never been the kind of guy who needed evidence of God shown to me. I don't need scientific proof. I don't need Him to show up in person and speak in a big booming voice in order for me to believe. I don't need a seven-foot angel with a telegram on the end of a flaming sword to be convinced. I have faith, and it seems I have always had faith. It was instilled in me from my childhood, from before I could even read. I learned about it through my mother's fervent prayers and my father's bold witnessing. I've never wanted to believe in anything else; I've never needed to question it. It's been challenged, sure, put to the test. It hasn't always gotten me what I wanted. Nevertheless, it is the foundation of my being.

Without faith, there can be no hope. I asked a friend one time--a former believer who had exchanged his faith in God for faith in himself--what the point to life was, in the absence of God. He told me that the point was to live a good life, be nice to others, and make yourself happy. His standard of goodness was not only low, but very movable, and he is one of the most miserable people I've ever known. Without heaven or the promise of eternity, life is void and empty, and hopelessness is the common fare of those who do not or will not believe.

Some people want to see, hear, touch, taste or smell before they will even think about believing. What would they really do if they actually encountered Almighty God in all his power and glory? For me, faith is the substance. Faith is reality. And the things I hope for, I believe I will receive through faith. Some say, "Make your own dreams come true." God says, "Delight yourself in Me, and I will give you the desires of your heart." And since He's done it repeatedly throughout my lifetime, I have no doubts about the future. Faith lends credibility to hope.

And though I cannot see my God with earthly eyes, faith is all the evidence I need. And it is enough.

The Nature of Faith

2011-07-01T09:57:00.000-07:00

For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? but if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

Romans 8:24-25, NKJV

I've been thinking about the nature of faith, and in my little red book I have jotted down some Scriptures to remind me of what the Bible says about faith, and its constant companion of hope. Even now as I read back over them, I am moved with a deep stirring of something more than just emotion. Here is the bedrock, the foundation of everything I am and want to be, the cornerstone of belief and practice. Here is where everything begins and ends for me.

I believe in something greater than myself, something I cannot even see.

I believe in something authoritative and final, something ultimate and all-powerful.

I believe in something full of love and benevolence and kindness and generosity, and which directs those gifts toward me.

I believe in something which is both understandable and beyond comprehension, both infinite and yet tangible, something immeasurable and indescribable--and yet I want to try.

I believe in something which speaks, sometimes audibly, sometimes almost imperceptibly, but which wants me to hear what it is saying.

I believe in something that guards and guides me, protects and provides for me.

I believe in something that watches over me at all times, and in always has my best interests at heart.

I believe in God.

I believe in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who put off heaven and came to earth to live a life of example for me, to die a death of substitution for me. And I believe that after his death, He rose again immortal, so that I might have immortality through belief in Him.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, who is God's presence and power working in me, the precious promise of the Father received as a gift by the Son and poured out on me in overflowing abundance.

I believe in heaven, and in an eternal place of abode for the saints and their Savior.

I believe in my need for salvation, and His unfailing desire and ability to save me.

I believe in His many great and precious promises to me.

And none of those things are things I can see with my natural eyes. I cannot fix my eyes on the sky, raise my finger to a particular position in the starfield and say, "There! There is God. There is heaven." I've never been there. I've never seen this God I believe in, this God who loves me, this God who has saved me, and which God I serve. I've never seen Jesus Christ, in a vision or otherwise. I've never seen an angel, though I might have seen evidences of one once or twice. I've never seen the Spirit, for He is like the wind moving through the trees; I don't know whence He comes or wither He goes, but I can clearly see what He does.

I believe in what I cannot see. And that is the nature of faith. Faith doesn't need proof, although faith is eventually rewarded with sight. Faith doesn't need verification or validation. Faith is powerful, and it is personal, and either one has it, or one does not. Faith is a choice to stand still and put one's hope and confidence and trust and belief in that invisibility which is infinitely greater than anything I can see.

And then I wait.

If I can see it, if I can touch it and hold it and handle it, then it is no longer faith; faith has become sight. But if the things I wait for are still unseen, not yet visible, not yet revealed, then I simply continue to hope. And because of my faith in a God who has never let me down--not once, not ever--but has continually demonstrated His goodness toward me, I wait eagerly for the fulfillment of all His words and promises to me. I know that what He has promised, that will He also do. What He has started, He will be faithful to complete in me and you. And I also wait in patience, in perseverance, and in hope. For hope in Him is a hope that does not disappoint.

If God Asks

2011-06-26T15:32:00.000-07:00

Sometimes God asks His people to do really strange things.

Like build a boat on dry land in preparation for a cataclysmic rainstorm that is going to flood everything...when it had never rained before.
Like leave your homeland and family, pack up everything you own, and move...without knowing where you're going.

Like add a nursery onto the house...when you're 99 and your wife is 90.

Like throw down a stick, or lift it up, and witness a miracle...when all you have is a stick.

He might tell you to go forward where there's no place to walk (yet). He might tell you to make a pan of cornbread with the last handful of cornmeal and the last drop of oil...and give it to someone else before you make another for yourself. He might tell you to prepare for rain, when it hasn't rained in months and there's not a cloud in the sky. He might tell you to capture a city by taking a walk. He might tell you to kill a giant with a slingshot and a rock. He might tell you to fight an army with a choir and a song of praise. He might tell you to ambush the enemy with a bugle and a flashlight.

With so many prophets running around these days, we need to keep in mind what God had some of His prophets do. Like preach in the buff (Isaiah). Like preach with a yoke around your neck (Jeremiah). Or wear your underwear on the outside of your pants (also Jeremiah). Like shave your head and do odd things with your hair (Ezekiel). Or save your poop to cook with (also Ezekiel). Or tie yourself to the ground for 430 days (Ezekiel again). Like marry a prostitute (Hosea). Then when she runs away, do it again. And again.

He may tell you to quit your day job, sell everything you have, and go to the mission field. He may tell you you to resign your comfortable position and do something else, something new, something everyone is warning you against. He may tell you to do the craziest things.

He won't tell you to do something that violates His word or causes you to sin. But He may tell you to do something that's against your better judgment. He sometimes makes adjustments to His instructions or gives you fuller understanding. But whatever He tells you to do can be trusted. Whatever He tells you will work out according to His plan and purpose. Just have a little faith. He won't let you down.

If He tells you to assault the gates of hell, take your water pistol. If He tells you to go catch Moby Dick in a rowboat, take your tartar sauce. If He tells you you're going to the other side, don't be concerned when the boat fills with water; it's not going under. If He tells you to rise up and walk, leap to your feet! Whatever He tells you to do, do it in faith, and do it with all of your heart.

God knows what He's doing, and everything is gonna be alright!

What Our Prayers Say About Us

2011-05-19T10:31:00.000-07:00

For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you.

Romans 1:9-10, NKJV

It's easy, when your goal is to read and grasp the meaning of whole chapters, passages, or books, to miss the significance of small phrases. Paul's whole prayer, at this point, was specific to the Romans--I don't think he is praying now for an opportunity to come see me. But today in looking at these two verses, something else grabbed my attention.

FOR GOD IS MY WITNESS--and then Paul defines his relationship with God.

WHOM I SERVE--recalling that his whole identity was as a bondservant. No matter that he is an apostle, no matter that he is God's ambassador to the Gentile world, entrusted with preaching the gospel to all nations. no matter what else he is or does, Paul is still a servant to the Most High. He lives to obey, to fulfill his God-given purpose, to do what he was called and assigned to do. A life of service is a life of submission to the one you serve.

WITH MY SPIRIT--I cannot define what Paul had in mind when he used this phrase, because I'm not sure if his idea of spirit is the same as mine, but it would seem that Paul was saying, "I serve God with everything that is within me." To serve God with his pneuma was to serve God with his mind, his will, his heart, his soul, his breath. His very essence was committed to serving God.

IN THE GOSPEL--Paul's assignment, his primary duty and responsibility, was to preach the good news about Jesus. In the fulfillment of that responsibility, he did lots of other things too--such as the writing of this letter--but it all came back to the gospel and its proclamation.

And two more observations--that Paul prayed WITHOUT CEASING. Paul's prayer life was such that so many random thoughts, so many idle words were a waste of time. I think he turned every thought into a prayer, and in that way he prayed without ceasing. And he made no plans without consulting THE WILL OF GOD.

A Prayer for Us

2011-05-18T09:48:00.000-07:00

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.

Romans 1:8, NKJV

I love that Paul recorded his prayers for the believers on paper, because that means that under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, Paul was also praying for me, for us, today! Every time I read one of Paul's prayers for the church I try to hear him praying those words over me. And since all of our prayers are stored up in vials in heaven, and are brought out from time to time and poured over the altar there, it is just possible that whenever I read it here on earth, it is being heard in heaven again, on my behalf.

It's just a thought.

And Paul's prayer here begins with thanksgiving--a good way to start--over the faith of the Roman believers.

The Roman church was not started by an apostle on a missionary journey. Paul hadn't gotten that far; Peter was still itinerating in Asia Minor and Greece. The Roman church was apparently pioneered by believers possibly present at Pentecost in Acts Chapter Two who carried the gospel with them back to Rome. Paul had lots of friends there--Priscilla and Aquila not the least among them--and kinsmen as well. But he himself longed to go to Rome for ministry.

I wonder, if Paul was praying for me, what would he have to say about my faith? If Paul was praying for my congregation, or the church as a whole in their community, what would he be able to say about our faith?

2000 years ago, Christianity was a novelty, a growing phenomenon taking the world by storm. And Rome was the greatest city on earth, the capital of the world. Faith in that city, in that culture, was something indeed to talk about!

Such a testimony should be an inspiration to us, an encouragement, a standard. How can we impact the world around us? How can we affect our community, locally, nationally, and globally? Can we touch the world in such a way that our faith is spoken of throughout the world?

I don't know--but I at least want to try!

To Them...and To Us!

2011-05-17T10:43:00.000-07:00

To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 1:7, NKJV

I have always loved the way Paul addresses his letters. He is specific about his audience, but he also addresses it in such a way that it can be applied to any reader, anywhere.

This letter to the Roman church is also addressed to us--those who are beloved of God and called to be saints. And I think it's important to remind ourselves from time to time just who we are in Christ.

We are the beloved of God.

We know that God loved us because he sent Jesus to us.

We know that Christ loved us because He died to save us.

When we were still sinners--unloving, unlovely, and unlovable--Christ died to save us.

And now we have become God's children, His own special possession! He may chasten those He loves, but He will never abandon us to the world or the devil! We are His people, His sheep, His treasure! We are His creation, made in His image and after His likeness.

Not only are we beloved of God, Paul also returns to the subject of our calling. We are the called of Jesus Christ, called to be saints!

We are called to be holy people--holy in our behavior, sanctified in our hearts. We aren't called to be whoever and whatever we want; we are called to be who and what He wants!

Saints aren't the dead people who served God long, long ago. Saints are the people who are living to serve God today.

And to those Paul utters a blessing, present in all of his writings: Grace to you, and peace.

Grace--the unmerited favor of God.

Peace--the perfect presence of God.

You can't have peace until first you have received grace.

And those two things--grace and peace--can only be found in relationship with Jesus Christ, and His Father, our God.

Again, juts a simple statement, but filled with such meaning: you can't have God without Christ, and you can't have Christ without God.

The Called of Jesus Christ

2011-05-16T09:53:00.001-07:00

Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among the nations for His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ.

Romans 1:5-6, NKJV

Among the nations. This faith that we have, this gospel we have heard, this grace we have received--it is not a personal individualized faith. We're living in a world that wants to make faith a matter of one's person, a personal set of belief systems and values in which each one of us can determine for ourselves what our faith is about. This is the eternal fallacy--for we cannot decide for ourselves. It is not in our purview. Faith and belief--religion--is not a matter of personal fulfillment, because it's not about us.

Salvation is not about the saved; it's about the Savior.

The Savior came to save us, yes. But the Savior came to save everybody.

Some have taken this thought, this idea, and developed a heresy that the Savior WILL save everybody, regardless of faith. But that's not true either.

Salvation has been provided for everyone through Jesus Christ; but only those who receive Christ can receive salvation.

Our faith must be lived out among the nations--proclaimed and demonstrated to all people everywhere! This is the great mission of faith that must be obeyed among the nations--for it was from among the nations that we were called. the gospel is eternal and universal in its application to all nations. It's not cultural, and it's certainly not personal. It is intentional!

And regarding our salvation, Paul says, "You are the called of Jesus Christ." That calling is something he will return to again and again.

Paul himself, a bondservant, was called to be an apostle. That was the assignment he received from the Master! His calling was specifically to be an apostle to the Gentiles.

What's your calling? It's certainly not to warm a pew 'til Jesus comes.

We have been called to obedience among all nations, because we were called from among the nations into salvation! Just as Paul's first ministry was in Damascus, we need to be witnesses in our world, starting right where we were when God called us and going from there.

Obedience to the Faith

2011-05-14T10:30:00.000-07:00

Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ.

Romans 1:5-6, NKJV

We have received liberty and authority, as slaves of Jesus Christ, to choose obedience. Only it's not obedience to the law; it's obedience to the faith.

In Paul's Judaism, salvation came from being a Jew and obeying the law of Moses. In Paul's Christianity, salvation came from believing in Christ (faith) and obeying Christ. The the obedience is still the same, the law is still the same. But the source of salvation has changed. Before, it was salvation by works--if you're good enough, you'll make it; if you're not, make a sacrifice. After Christ, it was salvation by faith because no one was good enough, and no sacrifice was sufficient to save from sin.

Now, our obedience is not to a law or set of commandments. Our obedience is to the faith--our faith in the Son of God. We are obedient to His words, yes. But we are also obedient to His will, His Spirit. Faith truly requires more than law, because law is about doing; faith is about being. Law is about body; faith is about heart. law is about outward appearances, doing what is right. Faith is about inward realities, being what is right.

We have received grace and apostleship.

We have received them so that we can be obedient.

Obedient to the faith.

Obedient among all the nations. Jesus' Great Commission was about taking the gospel...to all the nations, to every creature, into all the world. It is a universal gospel, universal in its power and meaning to all people everywhere. It accepts anybody, because it was given for everybody. And the gospel must be preached and our faith must be lived out among all nations.

Obedient for His name. Our obedience is not really about us, and neither is our faith. It's all about Him--Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of God! Our obedience is not for us either; it neither saves nor rewards. Obedience is our responsibility, our obligation, not our gift to Jesus. it is our life being offered in service and gratitude to Him, to bring honor and glory to Him, to make Him well spoken of in all the world! our obedience to the faith among the nations, is for Him!

The Grace to Obey

2011-05-13T09:50:00.000-07:00

Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ.

Romans 1:5-6

Jesus Christ is the only source in the universe able to impart grace to us. Grace--that unmerited favor, that undeserved blessing, that merciful acceptance of a fallen creation by its compassionate creator. God's Riches At Christ's Expense--GRACE! It is through Jesus Christ, His earthly mission of self-sacrifice, and His powerful defeat of death, hell, the grave and the devil at his resurrection--it is through Christ that we have even received grace! And Paul adds for himself--through Him we have received apostleship.

But why have we received these things?

Notice Paul said, "we have received...apostleship." He was called to be an apostle, an ambassador, emissary, and personal representative of Jesus Christ. But he says, WE have received apostleship. This doesn't necessarily mean that we are all apostles, in terms of office or calling. But just as Paul instructs Timothy, "Do the work of an evangelist; fulfill you ministry," I believe Paul is saying to his readers "we have received BOTH grace and apostleship." We are all saved and called to be Christ's Ambassadors, emissaries, and personal representatives. We all have grace and apostleship!

And why do we have grace and apostleship?

For obedience. Grace does not give us the freedom to "do what we want." and apostleship does not give us the authority. Yes, we now have the freedom from the penalties of law--at least in this life. But there are still laws in place to govern us. There are still commands in place for us to follow. Jesus is still issuing orders to his servants. And we have been given grace and apostleship for obedience.

Obedience to the faith.

Obedience among all nations.

Obedience for His name.

I am not free to live as I choose. I am a slave, an emissary, of Jesus Christ. I have received grace so that I can obey--not out of compulsion, but out of choice. I must choose to obey.

Declared to be the Son of God

2011-05-13T09:39:00.000-07:00

concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

Romans 1:3-4, NKJV

It was the gospel--good news--concerning Jesus Christ.

God's son.

Our Lord.

It was good news because of who He was, and His identity is found in the meaning of His Name:

Jesus: Yahweh (the covenant keeping name of God) is salvation

Christ: the anointed, chosen and appointed one

In the flesh, He was the Son of man, more specifically the Son of David--the shepherd-king, Psalmist, and man after God's own heart. He was the heir of David's kingdom and throne, the fulfillment of God's promise and covenant with David. That's who He was born. But it was not all that he was.

In the flesh, He was born of the seed of David. But before he was flesh, he was already God! and after His earthly assignment ended in His death, He was still the son of God.

He was born of the seed of David, but He was declared to be the Son of God.

Gabriel declared it to Mary at His conception, and to Joseph in a dream.

Angels declared it to shepherds, and the stars declared it to kings at His birth.

scholars declared it to Herod.

The Spirit declared it to Elizabeth.

he declared it to Mary and Joseph at the age of twelve.

God declared it from heaven three times--once at His baptism, later on the Mount of Transfiguration, and thirdly just before His crucifixion.

Peter declared it in faith.

Pilate and Herod declared it in ignorant unbelief.

The High Priest declared it in derision.

The thief on the cross declared it in hope.

The soldier declared it in revelation.

But the greatest declaration of all was made in the grave, after Jesus' body had lain dead in the tomb for three days and three nights. When the power of the Spirit of holiness breathed life back into the mortal body, giving Jesus the son of God victory over death--and immortality!

Good News

2011-05-11T09:50:00.000-07:00

...separated to the gospel of God which He promised...concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

Romans 1:3-4, NKJV

I think sometimes we lose focus of the gospel. We concentrate on good teaching and sound doctrine and effective communication skills. we want to lead people in experience and growth as believers. In church we direct our energy and resources to buildings and programs. And in all of the good stuff, I think it is sometimes easy to lose track of the right stuff--the gospel is really our reason for being! Everything else is secondary to that.

It is God's good news to His creation.

It is God's promise through His prophets.

It is God's message about His Son.

And if the gospel--the good news from God to creation--must be the central focus of our existence and efforts, then even more important is that Jesus must be the central focus of the gospel.

God help us if, in all of our preaching and teaching, we forget to proclaim Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Nothing else matters. Without Christ, everything else is foolish and irrelevant. it's not about how we live, it's about who He is! He is everything! he provides the definition and the meaning for the gospel. He is the living Word, the spoken Word, the written Word.

And Jesus' place in the gospel--front and center--is not based (entirely) on what He did, bur rather on who he is.

He is the Son of God!

He is eternally existent with God, and as God.

He is the extension of God in physical form.

He is the body of God.

He is the representative and emissary of God, but He is still god Himself.

You can find Him on every page of the Book, in every story, every lesson, every event.

The gospel message, the message of salvation, is meaningless without Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

He wasn't merely a man; He was the Son of God, the only begotten, conceived by the power of God, delivered through a human womb, but born what He already was!

Promised

2011-05-10T07:45:00.000-07:00

...separated to the gospel of God, which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures...

Romans 1:2, NKJV

At various times in his writings, Paul will refer to his calling as being from his mother's womb before he was born. It is a thought found also in David, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, and it implies a predestined purpose for individuals. For the first thirty years of his life, Paul's purpose was not realized in him. It took the encounter with Christ on the Damascus Road to set him on his way. Though separated eternally in the great plan of God, Paul was now in actuality separated from all other considerations save one--the gospel of God.

Note that it is here called "the gospel of God." God is the author of the good news. God is the source of the good news. He is the one who promised the good news before the message became reality. The prophets saw it afar off; they wanted to receive the revelation of grace and the gospel, but God reserved that revelation to come to mankind through Jesus Christ.

The gospel was a promise. God was the one who made the promise. The prophets communicated the promise. But we have received the promise.

When I think about a promise, it usually means a guarantee for the future--of guaranteed actions or fulfillments. It is a covenant and an oath, a contract, and this one has as promiser the God who cannot lie!

Jesus was the seal of the Promise. The Holy Spirit is the down payment of promise. The Word is the written contract of the promise.

I remember a little chorus I put together a few years ago. It goes like this:

What God has promised

that will He also do.

What God has started

He will complete in you.

For He is faithful and ever true.

What God has promised

He will do for you!

He works out all things

for the good of those who love Him

and are called according to His purpose.

If God be for us who can be against us.

We are victors through the power of His name!

Bondservant and Apostle

2011-05-09T15:52:00.000-07:00

Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God...

Romans 1:1, NKJV

He was Paul.

Not Saul of Tarsus. No genealogy given. No credentials. No history. He was just Paul, voluntarily stripped of all the trappings of a former life. It's important that we should recognize, honestly and completely, that in spite of everything we say and do and accomplish, at the end of the day, at the end of a life, we are still just us. I am just Casey in the morning, and just Casey at night. No more, no less. I am what I am, and that's all that I am.

Paul knew who he was, and he also knew his place in life--first and foremost, he was a bondservant. He willingly recognized that he was a slave for life,bought and paid for by Jesus Christ. We are not our own. Jesus owns us, and has complete authority over us. He can do with us whatever He wants, and He has that right. We can, of course, refuse to serve Him, refuse to obey, refuse to conform, but we do so at our own risk. We are His slaves, His servants, His property!

And as our owner, He has the right to give us any assignment He desires. He calls us to Him and says, "Here, this is your job. This is what I want you to do." In Paul's case, the bondservant was called to be an apostle.

These days so much emphasis is placed on calling and titles and gifts--mostly in terms of positions and authority. It has been my experience that most people calling themselves "apostles" are doing so because they want to be honored and they want to exercise authority over others. But an apostle is simply an ambassador, an emissary, a personal representative. An apostle has authority only when he is under authority. It is indeed a high and holy calling, but also a heavy one.

He was Paul, the slave of Jesus Christ, who had assigned him as an emissary--but one with a purpose. He was separated to the Gospel. Set apart. Sanctified. His service, his calling, his reason for being was found in the good news! Romans is, for all intents and purposes, Paul's gospel, his message of salvation through Jesus Christ. It wasn't a message about Paul, or Paul's abilities, talents or accomplishments.

It was the gospel of Jesus Christ!

He is Able to Open the Scroll

2011-05-02T13:15:00.000-07:00

And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth
was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.
So I wept much, because no one was found worthy
to open the scroll, or to look at it.
But one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep.
Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David,
has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.
Revelation 5:3-5, NKJV

I have neither the time or the space to write a whole commentary on the lamb and the scroll, so let me sum up. John has been caught up to that place in the heavens where God's throne is, to the heavenly temple and the crystal sea. And there he sees the angels of heaven and the saints of earth surrounding the throne and filling heaven with their praises. He beholds God as fire and light, radiant brilliance, brighter than the light of a thousand suns, and out of that light he sees a scroll extended in the hand of the One Who Always Is.

It is a scroll with writing on the outside, mirroring the inscription on the inside. It is sealed with seven seals. It seems to be a title deed or a jubilee will, detailing the final disposition of planet earth. The breaking of the seals and the opening of the scroll will signal the beginning of the end for evil and wickedness and the devil's vain attempt at overthrowing the Sovereignty of God. Unfurling it will unleash the wrath of God on unrepentant humanity. But it can only be opened by the right person at the right place at the right time with the right witnesses present.

And as the voice calls for someone to step forward and open the scroll, no one is found to do it. Not among those angels and saints in heaven, not among the citizens of the earth, not among those unrighteous captives in hell awaiting judgment. No one is worthy to open it, and John weeps.

But then the words of comfort reach his ears. There is one worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals. There is one able to offer redemption for the purchased possession, to reclaim earth and reconcile all things to the Creator. There is one who has paid the price as the kinsman redeemer and who can lay claim to everything that is. It is the Lion of Judah, the Offspring of David, the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world.

It is Jesus Christ the righteous, who died for the sins of the world and was raised for our justification. It is He who was dead, and now lives again to die no more. It is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, the Firstborn of many brethren, the Firstfruits of the resurrection, the King of kings and Lord of lords. And as he stands forward, bearing the scars that are proof of His payment, all of heaven erupts in declarative anthems of praise:

You are worthy to take the scroll,

and to open its seals;

for you were slain

and have redeemed us to God by Your blood

out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

And have made us kings and priests to our God;

and we shall reign on the earth.

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain

to receive power and riches and wisdom

and strength and honor and glory and blessing!

Blessing and honor and glory and power

be to Him who sits on the throne,

and to the Lamb, forever and ever!

I am so thankful for the One who was and is and always will be worthy, and able to take the scroll and to open its seals! Even so, come Lord Jesus!

He is Able to Keep You

2011-05-01T12:29:00.000-07:00

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory
with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior, who alone is wise,
be glory and majesty, dominion and power,
both now and forever. Amen.
Jude vv. 24-25, NKJV

There is an age old discussion regarding predestination and self-determination. Did God choose me, or did I choose God? Is my destiny or fate already decided, or can I make a difference with my own decisions. Is God sovereign, or do I have free will? The answer, I believe, is yes.

That's not a copout. It's not an avoidance. It's not dodging the issue. There just comes a time in certain discussions that we have to realize it is not an either/or matter; it is both/and. God chose us beforehand, from before the foundation of the world. But we have to choose Him in the here and now. God already knows where we will spend eternity, but our destination is determined by the decisions we make in the present. God is absolutely sovereign and does all things according to His will, plan and purpose. But He has given me the ability to exercise my will, presenting me the choices and allowing me the liberty to do as I please.

We cannot sin, and then say, "God, why didn't you stop me?" We cannot make bad decisions, and then ask, "God, why did you let me do that?" We cannot make a mess out of everything and then say, "God, why have you done this to me?" God is not going to violate our will, even if our will leads us to our own destruction.

But Jude says He is able to keep us from stumbling. So how does that compute with the fact that we as believers sometimes do stumble? We falter. We fumble. We fail. And I've got to tell you, I have a way of doing a bang-up job of it sometimes. How can we reconcile God's ability to keep us from stumbling, and our continued ability to stumble in spite of Him?

God gave us His word, which gives us instructions for every day living. God gave us His Spirit, who convicts us of sin and convinces us of righteousness. God gave us His law, which is written on tablets of flesh in the heart of every person. These will keep us from stumbling, if we listen to them. We can deal successfully with temptations, traps and trials if we will live in obedience to what God has said. God does not operate as a restraint; He asks us to exercise self-control God does not reach down and jerk us back by the collar or shove us out of the way; He asks us to be watchful and use wisdom. God does not show up in all of His glory when we are about to take one step too far, shouting at us to stop; He asks us to know His will in His word and follow it.

He is able to keep us from stumbling, if we choose to do what He says. But I'm also glad Jude says He is able to present us faultless before His own glory. He is able to keep us from stumbling, but when we do stumble of our own accord, He is also able to forgive. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. He is able to make all things new, over and over and over again, until we finally get it right. He is able to to strip away all the unruly, uncomely things in our lives, and then sanctify to Himself for service. He makes us perfect by grace through faith when we remain penitent. Forgiven is the most perfect I can be in this life, but it is enough!

And to Him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

He is Able to Save...and Destroy

2011-04-30T22:04:00.000-07:00

There is one Lawgiver,
who is able to save and to destroy.
Who are you to judge another?
James 4:12, NKJV

God has made me no man's judge, nor is any man judge over me. Each of us answers to God, whether we have done good or bad, right or wrong, and God is our judge. Satan is our accuser, pointing his crooked finger while he rages vehemently against us, showing our faults, our flaws, and our failures to God. I'm sure he loves to enumerate my sins in heaven. "Look down there at what ol' Stafford's doing now, God! He really deserves to be fried to a crispy critter. He's transgressed your righteousness. He's trampled on the blood of Christ. He's taking advantage of your grace! Get Him God!" He would be right in his accusation, and God would be right in His judgment if He blotted me out because of my sin.

Except I have an Advocate with the Father who pleads my case, standing there at the right hand of judgment where He ever lives to make intercession for me, Jesus Christ the righteous, who was wounded for my transgressions, bruised for my iniquities, chastised for my peace, and by whose stripes I am healed. He bore all my sins in His body to the tree, the Cross of Calvary. He took the handwriting of transgression that was against me, the accusations of the devil, the condemnation of my sin, and nailed it to the cross, to be remembered no more. And when I confess my sins, He is faithful and just to forgive me of sin and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness.

Bring the charges; God has justified. Go ahead and condemn me; Christ has died for me and risen from the dead! I may be a wretched man sometimes, bearing a body of death on my back that serves to corrupt me, but there is no condemnation for me if I am in Christ Jesus! He has set me free from the law that condemns, for He came to save!

Why then, is it so easy for me to point the finger at someone else and speak like the accuser of the brethren? Why is it such a simple thing for me to pass judgment on other servant's of God?

I'm not talking about proper church discipline, handled the way Christ intended for us to handle those issues. I'm not talking about rebuking false teachers and false prophets, or correcting those in sin. I'm not talking about standing up for truth and contending earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. Those are all things we have the responsibility to do, though we must be governed by love while we do it. What I'm talking about is much more sinister.

Who am I to point the finger at another servant of God and say, "I don't like the way you're doing things; you must be wrong!"

Who am I to look with plank-obscured vision and offer to assist another with the speck of dirt in their own eye?

Who am I to determine what God has said or not said to another who is seeking only to obey what they've received from God?

Who am I to set the standards for anyone else and demand that they live up to me?

I'll tell you who I am: NOBODY! I have no right to do those things, to say those things, to question another's service and devotion to the Lord. I have no authority to sit in judgment, or worse yet, condemnation over the life of another. I have no power, knowledge or responsibility to determine who will make into God's heaven and who will be consigned to a devil's hell. Those things lie within the purview of God and God alone.

It is God who makes the rules, and God who decides when the rules have been broken. It is God who calls rule breakers into question and determines their fate. It is God who judges, who condemns. It is also God who acquits. And there is only one measure He uses for judgment. All are guilty, all have transgressed and fallen far short of His excellence, all deserve condemnation and death. But the standard that God uses, the measure of God's judgment, is found between the nail prints in the hands of Jesus. That is the line, and it is a line of blood.

Justified through the blood, because of our faith in Jesus Christ, we stand pardoned for our sins. Without the blood, we condemn ourselves in our sin. The choice is ours; the judgment is God's. And He who is able to both save and to destroy will do what is just and right and fair.

He is Able to Resurrect

2011-04-29T13:20:00.000-07:00

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac,
and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
of whom it was said, "In Isaac your seed shall be called,"
concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead,
from which he also received him in a figurative sense.
Hebrews 11:17-19, NKJV

I began this latest series of blogs with one about Abraham, and now toward the end we come to Abraham again. By faith, Abraham and Sarah earned their place in the hall of heroes catalogued in Hebrews 11, following God wherever He led, obeying God whatever He said. And in His own time, He gave them a son. Isaac, the child of laughter, brought such delight to the hearts of his parents. He grew and gave them joy. And then one day, God shows up again.

And God asked Abraham for a burnt offering, a sacrifice of worship. He asked Abraham for his son Isaac, the son and heir, the child of promise. He asked Abraham to give up the son he had waited for many many years. He asked Abraham to take that which was most precious to him and put it on the altar of sacrifice. And the most amazing part of this story is that Abraham actually did it. He took the wood, the fire, the knife, and his son up to the mountain to meet God, and there he prepared an altar and laid his only and beloved son on it. Raising the knife in the air, he prepared to plunge it into Isaac's heart or slice it across Isaac's throat.

Could you have done that? If God had asked, could you have given up your only begotten son? We shudder at the thought, yet we must realize that God has the right and authority to ask those things of us. In His sovereign power He can ask anything He wants of us, and be just in doing it. After all, He sent His only begotten son to die for the world, that the world through Him might be saved. God purchased our lives with His very own. He can ask anything He wants of us, and be absolutely right in doing so. And then the question becomes one of our obedience. Will we give to God whatever He asks?

And then we ask: How was Abraham able to do it? Where did Abraham find the strength to do what God required of him? There is only one thing it could have been: Faith.

You see, Abraham took God at His word. He fully believed and accepted the promises of God. God said, "I'm going to give you a son, and you shall name Him Isaac." And God fulfilled His promise. God said, "In Isaac all your seed shall be called." Then God said, "Now give Isaac to me." This wasn't a dedication; this was a sacrifice. "Give Isaac to me as a burnt offering." And Abraham was willing and ready to do it. Why? Because Abraham took God at His word, and if God's word promised Isaac, then even if now God required Isaac to die, He was also able to raise Isaac up from the dead in a glorious resurrection from the ashes of sacrifice. Genesis doesn't fully explain that part, but Hebrews does.

In Abraham's mind, he thought, "God told me I would be the father of many nations, and Isaac would be the source of my seed. If God now asks me to kill Isaac and offer him as a burnt offering, then God will also raise up dead Isaac and give Him life again, because God is not a man that He should lie!" Once again, Abraham believed God...and it was accounted to Him for righteousness sake.

Abraham did not have to kill Isaac and burn him to ashes. His heart was laid bare before the Lord, and the Lord recognized that Abraham would not waver in faith, and would give whatever was asked of Him. And in that moment, God provided a substituted, a ram to take Isaac's place. And after they worshiped God, they came back down the mountain together.

Did you know God is still able to give life to the dead, and call those things into existence that are not as though they are. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Will you bless the name of the Lord anyway? Will you offer Him thanks and praise and say, "Thy will be done? Will you sacrifice your own desires and dreams and answered prayers on the altar of God in an act of faith that only God Himself can reward? Will you say, "All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give"?

If you are willing, then also believe that what God has promised, that will he also do. What God has started He will complete in you. For God's words are faithful and true. They can be trusted. They can be depended upon. They can be acted upon. Because He is able to take what you thought was dead and make it live again!

He is Able to Save

2011-04-28T22:00:00.000-07:00

Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost
those who come to God through Him,
since He always lives to make intercession for them.
Hebrews 7:25, NKJV

I've never saved a life. I don't think I've ever even been in a position to do it. Lifeguards save drowning victims. EMTs save accident victims. Doctors and nurses save the sick and injured all the time. Soldiers save each others lives on the battle field. Policemen save lives. Firemen save lives. Unexpected heroes save lives everyday. But me...I've never saved a life. I'm not even trained to save lives. I suppose if I saw someone in danger from a bus or a train, I would try to pull them out of the way, but other than that...I can't do much more than pray.

But what about the salvation of a soul? The Proverbs of Solomon tell us that he who saves souls is wise. We know that Christ came to save sinners, to seek and to save all who are lost. He came to call people to repentance. He came to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many, so that whosoever believes in Him would have everlasting life. Jesus paid for the salvation of souls with His own precious life, His body and His blood. He did everything He was assigned to do so that we could be saved. But then He entrusted the proclamation of that salvation to His followers, all of His followers for all time. That is our great commission. And this I have been trained to do.

I have been trained, as a Christian, to save souls. But still, it is not really I who saves. Only Christ can save. And He is more than able to do so.

He is able to save liars and thieves and blasphemers and adulterers. He is able to save idol worshipers and atheists, child molesters and rapists, drug addicts, alcoholics, abusers, and gangsters. He is able to save murderers, even serial killers. He is able to save the greedy, the lusty, the angry, the hateful, the bitter, the hurting, the lonely and sad. He is able to save little children and the aged, the mentally handicapped and the physically impaired. He is able to save the sane and the crazy, the happy and the depressed. He is able to save the living, and the dying. He can save us all.

But only if we come to God through Him. Jesus said of Himself, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me." Jesus declared that He was the only path to God, and the Bible continually says that it is only through His name and belief in Him as the son of God and a personal savior that we can be saved. Only through Him.

There is no other prophet who has ever claimed that, no other man in history who has ever declared, "I can save everybody if they just believe in me." What they have done is set up false religions of works, good deeds that outweigh bad deeds, self-sacrifice to the point of martyrdom to save your own life. And in some religions, if you're not good enough you can come back as something or someone else until your own goodness can ascend you into a higher plain of existence, or until you simply blink out of existence and become one with the universe. In some religions, your living relatives can say prayers and burn candles and pay your way into heaven. In some religions, there's no salvation offered at all, just urging to be better and to do better.

But Jesus said, "Come unto me." And not only will He save to to the uttermost those who come, He ever lives to pray and intercede for them. He is on your side! He died for you, and He won't give up on you. If you'll just come to God through Him. It's really that simple, and easy at that.

He is Able to Aid

2011-04-27T11:09:00.000-07:00

For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted,
He is able to aid those who are tempted.
Hebrews 2:18, NKJV

So, there it is. Bright and colorful, delectable and juicy, wonderful to look at, even better to touch, taste and handle. I'm certain it would satisfy this intense hunger and craving, and no one's looking. Who will it hurt? And even though I know it's wrong, once it's over I can repent and then have a testimony about the goodness of God. If I experience this, I can identify more closely with those I want to reach. Doing this simply validates my humanity and the amazing grace of the Lord. Oh, why does it have to hang there on the branch, just within reach, so attractive and available? Why can't it be ugly? Why can't it be somewhere out of reach? Why can't it...

And then I take and eat.

Temptation is common to us all. Unfortunately, giving in to temptation is common to us all too. It was common to Jesus. The Bible tells us of three specific temptations at the beginning of His ministry, and one specific temptation at the end. At the first, the devil tempted Jesus with His own hunger and power, His identity and position, His faith and pride. Jesus resisted the devil with the word, and the devil had to flee. At the last, the devil tempted Jesus with His own life, His authority, His power, position, and pride all over again. "If you are the Son of God...Come down off that cross!"

But Jesus passed the test. He resisted temptation and died for the sins of all. He who knew no sin became sin for us. When speaking of Him as the great high priest, the author of Hebrews says that Jesus was tempted and tried in every way that we are, and yet without sin. Tempted and tried in every way, the same as me? Really? Do you ever wonder about that?

Was Jesus ever tempted to fry His enemies with fire from heaven? I know the disciples wanted to.

Was Jesus ever tempted to make a deal with Judas so they could split the profits of a miracle ministry?

Was Jesus ever tempted by the fragrance of Mary Magdalene's perfume?

Was Jesus ever tempted to go back to Nazareth and be a nail-pounder, get married, have a couple of kids, and live out his life in obscurity?

Was Jesus ever tempted to wash his hands of his hard-headed, stiff-necked, dull-minded disciples?

Was Jesus ever tempted to deny who He was so that He could escape the sorrow and suffering that awaited Him?

Was Jesus ever tempted to roar with divine authority and put the universe out of its misery?

Was Jesus ever tempted to tell God, "No"?

Even though none of that is recorded, nor any other specific temptations, the Bible says that He was tempted. He was tempted in every way the same as me. Tempted by lust, greed, pride, anger, hurt, rebellion. He was touched with my infirmities. He carried them in His body, bearing our griefs and our sorrows along with our sins to Calvary's cross. But He did not give in to them. He endured, He persevered, He triumphed over all temptation and thumbed His nose at the devil, making his enemies a public spectacle as He died that sinless and sacrificial death for my sake.

And because He was tempted, yet without sin, He is able to help me in the midst of my temptation, trial, and trouble. The Bible says there is no temptation that comes upon me except that which is common to mankind. It also says that God will not place upon me more than I can bear, but will always provide a way of escape. And Jesus will be my help in present time of need. Jesus will be my strong tower, my shelter, my shield, my refuge, and my guide. Jesus will stand by me and assist me out of the hole I've dug for myself, or the trap that was set for my feet, or the crisis I've created because I just couldn't keep away from that stupid apple.

But more importantly, He is able to help me avoid temptation altogether, or resist it when it comes up against me. He is able to aid me...if I'll just get out of His way and let Him do what He wants to do.

He is Able to Keep

2011-04-26T09:01:00.000-07:00

For this reason I also suffer these things;
nevertheless, I am not ashamed,
for I know in whom I have believed and am persuaded
that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him
until the Day.
2 Timothy 1:12, NKJV

Ridicule. Riots. Accusations. Imprisonments. Whippings. Beatings. Assassination attempts. Stoning. Sickness. Shipwrecks. Snakebites. Innumerable perils and persecutions. Poverty. Exhaustion. Heat. Cold. Homelessness. Hunger. Death.

By the end of his 35 year ministry, Paul had suffered incredibly for the cause of Jesus Christ. And as he dictates the last letter of his life, he knows that he is living on limited time. At any moment they could come for him and lead him out the Appian Way to his beheading. Yet He knows why he has suffered. He has known since the very beginning all the things he would have to endure because of the call. Maybe it was a long awaited harvest of the seed he had sown while persecuting the church. Maybe anybody who had this kind of ministry would have faced such things. Maybe God knew Paul was the only one with intestinal fortitude enough to stick it out. But when Paul gave his life to Jesus, he did so with full knowledge of all the things that would happen to him as he followed the Lord. And it had come to this. A dark, dank prison cell. A lone companion. And a chopping block.

Yet Paul says he has nothing to be ashamed of. He knows in whom he believes.

What confidence! What hope! What faith! To have all your eggs in one basket, so to speak, and to know that they are all going to be preserved. There is no room for spreading our faith around in several belief systems, and no sense in putting our trust in our own selves. When I trust myself, I find fail too often to be trustworthy. I can't make it on my own. And when I spread my trust around, I find myself constantly torn and tossed about. But when I put my trust in Jesus, that's when I find the most peace.

Paul took everything--his fears, his hopes, his dreams, his desires, his infirmities and failures, his successes and triumphs, his livelihood and his life, his past, present and future--and put it all in the hands of the Master whom he served. From that point on, it didn't matter what he did or what got done to him. It didn't matter what happened to him or around him. He summed it up best while on board a sinking ship--This night an angel of the Lord stood by me and said do not be afraid! When God's got you in His hand, God is also going to keep you, and see you through to His appointed end.

And when we get there, we will find that God has also preserved everything we have committed to Him against that Day. The world around me may fall apart; in fact, quite literally to hear some predictions. Storm winds may blow; battles may rage. The fight may be long, the valley deep, the mountain steep, and the night dark. But I have taken hold of the hand of God, and He's not going to let go. He is leading, He is guiding, He is directing. I'm telling you, God is totally in control--whether you want Him to be or not. So we can either hold to God's unchanging hand, or try to do this without Him.

But I know in whom I have believed. He has proven Himself faithful time and time and time again. He has never let me down, He has never left me alone. Though I have often failed and been faithless, He remains faithful. His grace is sufficient. His word is enough. His love covers a multitude of sin. His mercies were new again this morning. And everything I have committed to Him is safe. My dreams, my desires, my goals, my needs, my weaknesses, my strengths, my triumphs and tragedies, my past, present and future--all these things are well kept in the Almighty hand of God, and I know He will continue to faithfully keep them until the Day.

He is Able to Subdue

2011-04-25T11:56:00.000-07:00

For our citizenship is in heaven
from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ,
who will transform our lowly body
that it may be conformed to his glorious body,
according to the working
by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.
Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren,
my joy and crown,
so stand fast in the Lord, beloved.
Philippians 3:20-21, 4:1, NKJV

Jesus is in heaven, and I'm here on earth. One day, Jesus is coming back for me, and I'm going back to heaven with him. I will no longer be bound by the world or this flesh, no longer beset with temptation and trial, no longer living in the shadow of death. This mortal flesh will be cast off for immortality, this corruptible flesh cast off for incorruption. When Jesus comes back for me, I will truly and completely be changed forevermore.

Down here, I have been born again. Old things have passed away; all things have been made new. I'm a new creation. My old self, my old life, my old ways--these have died, and my life is hid with Christ in God. In Christ I am a new creature. In Christ, I have been put to death on the cross; crucified, and yet I live. Not really me, but Christ who lives in me, and this life that I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God. I am walking in faith, walking in the Spirit, walking in the liberty that salvation brings. I am walking in life, and that more abundantly.

But I am not perfect. If anybody knows that, I certainly do. And God knows. God knows when my mind wanders, when my heart strays, when I kick against the goads. God knows when I'm in His will, and when I'm trying to step out of it. And still He loves me. Still He strives with me. Still He reaches out to me, for God is not willing that I should perish, but that I should live in repentance and have eternal life. He is long-suffering, and thank Him that He is. I need alot of patience from Him sometimes.

His power is at work in me now, giving me strength to do what needs to be done. His Spirit is at work in me now, greater than anything that is in this world. His Word is at work in me now, alive and powerful and sharper than any sword, cutting away the things that don't belong, exposing the things that need to be excised and removing them from me. He renews my mind, He restores my soul. He is changing me one day at a time, drawing me closer to be conformed to His image and likeness. In this life I will never be complete, but the day is coming when this life will be over and done with. Either through death or the rapture, I shall escape this mortal coil and enter into life everlasting in the presence of my Lord. And then I shall be complete. Then I shall be perfect. Then I shall be whole.

Until then, I will put my faith, my hope, my confidence and trust in the One who works in me, who by His power and authority is able to bring all things under control. By His almighty hand, He will subdue all things to His will, and I know that my existence will be much simpler if I choose to submit myself to Him now, rather than having to do it later. So Lord, I give up. Again. I surrender myself to You, to Your will, to Your way for my heart and life today. Whatever You're doing, I know You'll do it well--far better than I myself could.

And there I will stand.

He is Able to Do More

2011-04-22T19:18:00.000-07:00

Now to Him who is able to do
exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think,
according to the power that works in us,
to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus
to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21, NKJV

This might very well be my favorite "He is able" Scripture. I know that God can do anything, or as Job says it, "My God can do everything". I have seen Him do alot of really cool stuff. I've seen healings and witnessed miracles and experienced His power and presence personally. I've received answers to my prayers, provisions for my needs. I even met a man who had been raised from the dead. I understand God's ability on an intellectual and experiential level. But what about the things I haven't seen or experienced? What about the things I'm still waiting on God for?

The Apostle Paul writes that God is able to do exceedingly abundantly more, immeasurably more, infinitely incalculably more that all that we ask or think put together. More than ALL we ask or think. I've asked God for alot; I'm still asking God for alot. And I have a vivid imagination. I can explain to Him how He ought to do it. But this verse says that as much as I can ask, as much as I can dream, God can still do more. So much much much more.

And He does it by the power that is already at work within us, the wonderful power of His Holy Spirit, which has already done an immeasurable work in me. The Holy Spirit has brought us to God, led us out of darkness into the Lord's marvelous light, out of bondage into freedom, out of sinfulness into sanctification. He has transformed us, changed us from the guttermost to the uttermost. He has done a mighty work in us. And it is through the Holy Spirit that God will do far above what He has already done. It is through the Spirit that God will blow our minds and our imaginations. It is through the Spirit that God will accomplish more than we thought was even possible.

Do you need something today? Is something no earthly power can supply? My God is able.

Do you have question no one can answer? My God is able.

Are you facing a difficulty beyond your wildest nightmares? My God is able.

Is there a mountain in your way? My God is able to move it. How about a river deep and wide? My God is able to cross it. Storms in your life? My God is able to still the winds and calm the seas. Dealing with deep-rooted problems? My God is able to pluck those trees up by the roots and cast them into the sea!

Are you looking an impossibility right in the eye? Those impossible situations are just opportunities for God to show up and show off for His glory. He loves to do that! Just ask Moses, or David, or Daniel, or Shadrach and his friends. Ask the heroes of faith. Ask the apostles. Ask Lazarus, whose situation couldn't have gotten any worse. He was dead and four days buried when Jesus showed up and said, "Roll back the stone!"

I know a God who is more than able, more than willing, more than ready to do good to them that love Him. He works all things out for His glory and the good of those who are called according to His purpose. He works all things according to the counsel of His own will, and none of His purposes are withheld from Him. I think a God who holds the entirety of existence in the palm of His hand is vastly more capable than I could possibly imagine to do what I need Him to do.

I just need to believe, and wait for Him to act. Because when He acts, He does all things well!

He is Able to Make All Grace Abound

2011-04-21T14:26:00.000-07:00

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you,
that you, always having all sufficiency in all things,
may have an abundance for every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:8, NKJV

God is a giver. If we don't understand anything else about God, we need to get that. God is a giver. He gave us His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life. He loves us, and knows how to give good gifts to His children. The Bible goes so far as to say that if He did not spare His only Son, what more will He withhold from us. Which is why the Bible tells us to ask Him for the things we need, and even the things that we want. In His will, in His time, He will give us every good and perfect gift.

God is a giver, and He modeled it very well for us throughout the entirety of Scripture. From the sacrifice that provided skins for Adam and Eve to the ark of safety that preserved humanity in eight souls; from Noah's rainbow to the ram caught in a thicket, prepared there to be a substitute for Isaac. God gave bread and meat and water and shelter and strength to Israel in the wilderness, and then He gave them the Promised Land. He gave the cities into their hands, and houses and crops and wells and riches. He gave them a king when they cried out for one. He gave them His word, His covenants, His promises. He gave them hope and a future. He gave them the Law first, and then the Gospel first. As I said before, He gave His Son Jesus Christ as the ultimate gift.

God is a giver, and He has demonstrated it multiple times in my own life. Not that I have ever truly been in need, as in destitute, starving, homeless or helpless, but there have been times when I needed something from God. I needed a new pair of glasses one time and couldn't afford them. That week, a refund came in the mail that I never even expected. One day I was praying the Lord's Prayer and asked for "daily bread"...not that I was without food, but I was just wondering if God was truly going to meet all my needs. When I walked out to the mailbox that morning, there was a ham and cheese sandwich laying in there...which I thanked God for and ate. No kidding! God has recently provided enough cashflow into my pocket to take the place of a second job...and if I need a third, He is also able to supply that. Over and over and over again, God has provided so many wonderful things in my life. Because He is a giver.

He also wants me to be a giver. This beautiful verse about making all grace--all gifts and favor--abound toward me falls in the middle of Paul's great treatise on New Testament giving. People want to point to the Old Testament and say that tithing was for the Law, and that now we are not bound by the law to give ten percent. I would agree. Now we are bound by a covenant with Christ to give God our all, everything that we have. So that if God tells us to sell everything we have and give it to the poor, we should do it. If we see our brother in need and have it in our hand to help, we have the responsibility to give. If we are nourished spiritually through the ministry of someone else, we should also share physical nourishment with them. Under the Law, you only had to give the tithe in various forms. Under grace, you may have to give it all away. So I always tell people...tithing is a good place to start.

You see, God wants His people to be generous. He wants His people to give. He wants His people to do good to others. And God, who is able to make all grace abound toward us, will give us everything we need to do everything He wants us to do, so that there is no lack anywhere, and we will have more than enough to do as He asks.

He is Able to Establish You

2011-04-20T10:36:00.000-07:00

Now to Him who is able to establish you

according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ,

according to the revelation of the mystery...

according to the commandment of the everlasting God,

...to God, alone wise,

be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.

Romans 16:25-27, NKJV

The God who loved us enough to send His own Son to die in our place, to take all of our punishment in His own body and put to death the law that required it of us, who forgave us our sins and did everything necessary to save us forever, is also able to do so much more than that. He is able to establish us in strength, in wisdom, and in the power of His Holy Spirit. He is able to ground our feet solidly on Himself, anchor our hearts safely in Himself, and hold us securely to Himself. After all, He who began a good work in you is faithful to complete it, and also faithful to fulfill all of His promises and His word.

But how does God establish us? What method does He use to make sure we stay standing where He stands us, that we remain where he places us? In these closing verses of Romans, Paul says God does the establishing via three vital instruments. First is the preached gospel. Second is the revelation of mystery. Third is the everlasting commandment.

Paul, especially in Romans, is all about the gospel of Jesus Christ, the gospel of salvation by grace through faith, the gospel of power and righteousness to them that believe. He says messengers must be sent to preach the gospel so that unbelievers can hear, and then believe, and then call upon the Name of the One who saves, the only Name given under heaven by which we can be saved, Jesus Christ the righteous. The gospel message, the good news about Jesus Christ is the only thing capable of changing people's hearts and lives forever. And it is through this good news, this gospel message, that we are first established by God.

But after the preaching of the gospel, there must be revelation knowledge, the unveiling of mystery to those who receive the gospel. He's not talking about secret wisdom sought by mystics, nor anything hidden from our sight. The gospel is plain to see, simple to comprehend, but it must be received in faith. It must be taken to heart in faith. And once we have believed, the Holy Spirit comes into our life to dwell. The Holy Spirit opens up the Word to us, enlightening our hearts through the prophetic Scriptures. He brings it to our remembrance, tells us what to say, shows us how to use it, and tells us about the things that are to come. He leads us and guides us in all truth.

And once we receive the truth and the Holy Spirit begins to give us understanding, we also have the everlasting commandments of God in which we will be established when we follow them. Jesus said, If you love me, keep my commandments. But Jesus wasn't talking about a codified set or rules and regulations. Repeatedly when asked about the importance or the priority of the commandments, Jesus would reply with two statements: Love God. Love everybody else. That is the everlasting commandment of God. Everything else falls into place beneath this all-encompassing love.

So how does God establish us? God establishes us with His truth. God establishes us with His Spirit. And God establishes us with His love.

To Him be glory forever and ever, through Christ Jesus. Amen!

He is Able to Make You Stand

2011-04-19T00:39:00.000-07:00

Who are you to judge another's servant?
To his own master he stands or falls.
Indeed, he will be made to stand,
For God is able to make him stand.
Romans 14:4, NKJV

There are alot of things left up to the conscience of the believer. Paul talks about eating meat and observing special days, and informs his readers that the one who eats the meat in good conscience should not look down on the one who doesn't eat, and that the one who doesn't eat shouldn't despise the one who does. And whether we observe special days or not, we should do everything as unto the Lord. For the Lord is our master, and the one we should seek to please.

There are alot of choices the Lord gives me, alot of areas where He says, "You know my word, You have my Spirit, and You hear my voice. What are you going to do with them?" I'm not talking about sin, the obvious Thou Shalt Nots, or the commandments of the Lord. I'm talking about other things, the things that aren't of eternal consequence. I'm not going to start naming them; that's not the point. The point is, each Christian must make up their minds what they will allow and what they won't allow themselves to do in matters of conscience.

And then live by faith and grace, demonstrating devotion to God and love for others.

We spend too much time trying to get everyone around us to conform to our standard of "holiness" and "godliness". We draw a line that indicates where each person must measure up, and then we shake our heads and cluck our tongues in dismay when they don't. But this is exactly the thing Paul was talking about, and exactly what Jesus was talking about when he said, "Judge not, lest ye be judged." They weren't talking about upholding good, Biblical godly standards; they were talking about setting ourselves as the standard.

And the thing Paul wants us to understand is that the One who measures us is God. The One we must please is God. Each person must determine how they themselves are going to do that, and let everyone else do the same. And if a person stands or falls, he does so to God, not to me. We get so disappointed with people when they fail to live up to our expectations, but is God whom they are serving. We critique, and even criticize, the walks of others, when we really need to realize that God is the only one who can judge the sincerity and integrity of a person's heart.

If they stand, they stand for God and with Him, and by His grace. If they fall, they fall in His presence upon His grace. We could learn alot by remembering that we do the same, that we fall--or stand--by the boundless grace of the Divine. That He is our help, our support, our strength, our safety. He is our shelter, our defense, our healer, our shield, our source, our supply. He is our provider, our protector, our sustainer, our savior. And He alone is able to make us stand!

He is Able to Perform

2011-04-17T07:51:00.000-07:00

Abraham did not waver

at the promise of God through unbelief,

but was strengthened in faith,

giving glory to God,

and being fully convinced

that what He had promised

He was also able to perform.

Romans 4:20-21, NKJV

Have you ever received a promise from God, and then watched Him fulfill it? It's a wonderful feeling to hold in your hand the answer to your prayers, the satisfaction of your dreams and desires, the fulfillment of good things God told you He would give or do--and to know that God is the One who did it. He was the only one who could, and He came through for you.

It may have been at the last possible moment, but He came through. It may have not come in the way you imagined, or told God it should, but He came through. It may have been a long time coming, a seeming eternity in which you had to wait patiently and believe. It may have looked impossible, out of reach, like it was never going to happen, or that it never would. Maybe you thought God had forgotten you, or what He said. Maybe you thought God had changed His mind, or that you had messed up so badly that He decided you weren't worth the promise. Maybe you thought you heard wrong, that you misjudged God, that you had held on to a pipe dream or a vaporous mist that vanished with the dawn. Maybe you thought the day would never come.

Maybe you feel like that today.

Abraham received a promise from God when he was 75 years old. God told him, "You and your 65 year old wife have been married a while and have no children, but I promise you your descendants will number as the stars in the sky and the sand on the shore." Hooray! Just what Abraham wanted: a son to carry on his name and receive his inheritance. In fact, many sons. Maybe Abraham went right home and started doing his part to bring about the promise of God. But something wasn't working right, because it didn't happen. It didn't happen that year, it didn't even happen that decade. But Abraham did not waver in unbelief concerning the promise of God. He knew what he had heard.

So he kept believing, kept rejoicing, kept strengthening himself in faith, and kept acting on the promise. Maybe he built a nursery. Maybe they bought all the furniture. Maybe they had a trunk full of baby clothes. But still there was no baby.

They thought they'd help God out and give Abraham a substitute wife. But that didn't work out real well either (and those battles are still being fought in the Middle East today).

And then when it looked impossible, when time had passed and the bodies of these two old people weren't working like they had in their youth... Sarah's womb was dead, and Abraham's body lifeless. What had God said? And then God showed up. And lifelessness returned to life, deadness was resurrected, and these two old people received strength to conceive, and Sarah brought forth a son!

The thing we have to realize is that it was never up to Abraham and Sarah to fulfill God's promises. It was God's to do. And God who promised it proved Himself faithful again, because He who promised is also able to perform it!

If you are waiting on promises from God, just keep living by faith. Keep rejoicing. Keep reminding yourself and God what He has promised. Keep acting upon your faith. Because one of these days, God is going to say, "The time is now; it is done!" And you better be ready to receive it, because it is coming in full!

Storm Clouds Rising, Part 8

2011-02-12T14:26:00.000-08:00

Aftermath

The question has often been debated in modern prophetic circles: Will the enemies of Israel really ride on horses and be armed with swords, bows and arrows, and spears? Or is this just the only description a prophet from 2500 years past could lend to what he saw? There are scenarios being suggested today in which a nuclear-induced electromagnetic pulse could render modern technologies useless in warfare, as well as in every day life. I’m also reminded of the words of Albert Einstein: “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” Will the war of Gog and Magog employ primitive or modern weapons, literal bows and arrows, or Arrow Missiles? I suppose it could happen either way, and I suppose that neither really matters that much. We simply know that the war will be fought, with devastating consequences and a horrible aftermath that paves the way for the end of everything as we know it.

Whatever the nature of the weapons used by Gog’s Horde, Ezekiel tells us that those who dwell in Israel’s cities will go out and collect the weapons, set them on fire and burn them for seven years. They won’t need to cut down any trees or take wood from any forests, because they will make fires with the weapons of their enemies. Some have gone to great lengths to describe modern weapons being made from wood or other combustible materials. Others have suggested that the fuel from modern war machines is what is burned. Again, it doesn’t really matter, except to understand that the entire nation of Israel will plunder and pillage those who wanted to do it first to them, and that the spoil will provide them with fuel for seven years. It is possible that this will be God’s way of supplying fuel for His people when Antichrist cuts off the fossil fuel supply to the world.

There will also be the disposal of the bodies to consider. Long ago, Ezekiel saw God’s solution to the clean-up in the aftermath of Gog’s invasion of Israel. The birds of the air and the beasts of the field will be supernaturally summoned to the battlefield, gathering from all sides to feast on the sacrificial meal provided them by the Lord. Following the feast of the earth’s scavengers, the entire population of Israel will join in the clean-up work. Ezekiel says the burial process will last seven months. There will be no logistical way to bury the dead in individual graves, and someone will make the decision to have one mass grave, a valley somewhere in which to bury the remains of their dead adversaries.

That valley will be found in the newly acquired lands of Edom, east of the Jordan River. The ancient road known as the King’s Highway passes through the Valley of Abarim parallel to Jordan and the Dead Sea, and it will be in this valley that the bodies are interred, and afterward it will be called the Valley of Hamon Gog, which means the Valley of the Gog’s Horde. A city there will be named Hamonah, and whenever remains of any of the fallen are found afterward, they will be marked for collection and burial. In this way, the land will be cleansed from the stench of death.

Finally, in Ezekiel 39:21-22, God says, “I will set my glory among the nations; all the nations shall see My judgment which I have executed, and My hand which I have laid on them. So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day forward.” In the aftermath of these devastating wars that revolve around Israel, the whole world will know that God is indeed the Lord. In Israel, they will worship Him, but in the rest of the world they will despise Him, because the world has always hated Israel and their God. From that day forward, it is a race against time to another battle, the battle that will settle once and for all who is God and who is not—the Battle of Armageddon.

Storm Clouds Rising, Part 7

2011-02-12T14:23:00.000-08:00

The Battle Belongs to the Lord

First will be an earthquake as God shakes the entire planet. Ezekiel says the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, every beast of the field, and all people on the face of the planet will shake at His presence. It has been a long time since God actually showed up in person on this planet, but when He finally does show up, everyone will know it. Mountains will be thrown down, high places leveled, cities destroyed, and God will call for His own sword against Gog in the mountains of Israel.

As happened so many times in the past with Israel’s enemies, the soldiers of Gog’s Horde will turn on each other in their terror. You know that if one Russian kills one Iranian, then the Iranians and the Russians are going to turn on each other. Add a Turk or an Ethiopian to the death toll, and everyone will be fighting against everyone else. In this way many will fall.

Then God will break out against His enemies with pestilence and bloodshed, which would seem to indicate that while men are dying at the hands of other men, they will also be dropping dead by the power of God. As with many great cosmic battles, there will be flooding torrents of rain, and great hailstones will fall from the sky, mixed with fire and brimstone which could be Divine in origin or the result of volcanic eruptions that accompany the great earthquake.

Finally, in Ezekiel 39:3-4, God says, I will knock the bow out of your left hand, and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand. You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; I will give you to the birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. Realizing that they very hand of God has been brought down against them, the soldiers of Gog’s Horde will drop their weapons and begin to retreat, but they will not escape the furious judgment of God.

And as they are falling on the mountains of Israel in a massacre unrivaled in human history, fire will begin to fall on their homelands. Ezekiel 39:7 says, “And I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in security in the coastlands.” While Magog is the only nation specifically named, the inclusion of the coastlands and the fact that God’s anger is against all these nations for their attack on Israel are good indication that all of these allied nations will suffer judgment in their own countries. Cities will be consumed, populations incinerated. There is an interesting translation of Ezekiel 39:2 that is only found in the King James Version of the Bible: “I will turn the back, and leave but the sixth part of thee…” This has long caused prophecy scholars to believe that either five-sixths of the total military strength will be deployed against Israel and destroyed, or that five-sixths of the people—soldiers and civilians—will be annihilated by the wrath of God. I think there is uncertainty enough not to be dogmatic about a specific number, but suffice it to say that millions will definitely die in the war of Gog and Magog, and the sole victor will be God the Lord.

There will be no doubt as to the source of the victory. This is not God employing the nuclear arsenals of Israel or her allies to destroy their enemies—God doesn’t need the arsenals of man. This is God simply speaking it done. When the smoke clears and the dust settles and wide-spread carnage is witnessed by the horrified world, there will be no conjecture about who has done this thing. It can only have been God. In this way, he says, “I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of the nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.” God’s name will be greatly known in that day, not necessarily worshiped or honored, but at least known. And He will demonstrate His holiness again, especially by upholding His covenant to Israel. He will have preserved and defended them again as He did in the days of the Old Testament, drawing attention to Himself and turning the eyes of the world heavenward, if only for a brief moment in time. The revival within Israel will turn a nation back to their God, though not quite all the way to Jesus as their Messiah. That will take a few more years to accomplish, seven to be exact. But God’s name will be made holy in the midst of His people, and they will not profane Him anymore.

Storm Clouds Rising, Part 6

2011-02-12T14:20:00.000-08:00

The Unavoidable War

From man’s perspective, the fulfillment of certain prophecies can be delayed, but they cannot be avoided forever. Take for instance Jonah’s prophecy against Ninevah. God sent Jonah to tell the citizens of Ninevah that he was going to destroy them and their city because of their wickedness, and that he was going to do it in forty days time. In response to Jonah’s message, the Ninevites repented and God delayed judgment for one-hundred-fifty years. Then once again he prophesied to them through Nahum the prophet, and this time Ninevah was destroyed so thoroughly that it has not been rebuilt to this day. So, the actions of men can, from the perspective of men, delay the prophesied intentions of God, but in God’s master plan, every prophecy ever uttered by one of His prophets will be fulfilled. This is especially true of the prophecies of Ezekiel 38-39.

As we have already seen, the land has been reclaimed and restored, exactly according to the words of Ezekiel 36. And the people of Israel, though scattered and without a homeland for nearly 2000 years, have been brought back to their land, exactly according to the words of Ezekiel 37. The prophet refers to this restoration again in Ezekiel 38:8 when he speaks of the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely. The restoration of the land and people of Israel, described by Ezekiel twenty-five centuries ago, has been fulfilled within recent memory. It stands to reason that if the prophetic progression continues, we may soon see the fulfillment of the next chapters. I may not be able to explain to you exactly how and why these things will happen, but I can tell you with certainty that these things will happen. They are, from God’s perspective, unavoidable.

Imagine with me the prophetic stage of the not-too-distant future. Saddam Hussein is dead, and Osama bin Laden is largely unseen and unheard in the public arena. But their agenda has not ceased. There are too many others ready and willing to take their place. The Islamic nations of the Middle East are duty-bound by their religion to convert or destroy by the sword those people who do not accept Islam as the only religion, Allah as the only God, and Mohammed as Allah’s last and greatest prophet. They are sworn to destroy both Israel and the satanic West—namely the United States of America—and they are working through the avenues of terrorism to accomplish just that. At this point in time, it is impossible to predict what the status of the United States involvement in the Middle East is going to be following the term of our current president, but for the time being, we have the reins of Afghanistan and Iraq.

In the current build-up to war, it seems that the nations take major steps toward war, and then draw back suddenly from the brink, as if undecided over their own desires—do we launch World War III, or do we broker for peace. The fact remains that their animosity toward Israel will be the spark that ignites the powder keg, whether they want it to or not. Palestinian unrest, Islamic meddling, and Israeli inability to find a solution will continue to escalate until Israel is pushed passed the point of no return. Israel will implement its own Final Solution to the Palestinian problem, and the Muslim world will react. At the end of the ensuing conflict, Damascus will be destroyed, Egypt will fall into civil war, and Israel will be in control of all the disputed territories in addition to lands in Lebanon and Jordan. At this point, it would seem that Israel may attempt a diplomatic solution to reach a peaceful agreement before any more destruction takes place. Ezekiel 38:11 describes an environment in which Israel is dwelling in apparent peace and safety when the attack comes, but that is the constant warning of Scripture: Beware when they cry ‘Peace and safety’, for sudden destruction is at hand.

When Damascus goes up in flames, the die will have been cast. Regardless of any peace deal brokered to keep the world from war, world war will erupt. An anti-Semitic alliance will be forged between the former Soviet Republics, Turkey, Iran, Libya, and Sudan—just to name a few—to punish Israel for its reprehensible use of weapons of mass destruction. They will invade, covering the land of Israel like a great cloud. But in spite of all the geo-political wrangling we could point to as the “reason” behind the conflict, the actual reason is plainly found in Scripture. Turning our attention back to the Ezekiel 38-39 passage, God says in verses 4, “I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws and lead you out.” Furthermore in verses 7-9, “Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them. After many days you will be visited…you will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you.” The why and wherefore of the invasion of Israel by Gog’s horde is really in the providence of God. Thoughts will arise in the mind of world leaders, thoughts that give birth to an evil plan. When Israel thinks it is dwelling in safety, victors in a devastating war of aggression against it by its neighbors, that’s when danger will descend like storm clouds over the land.

Moreover in their reasoning is the intention to take plunder and booty from Israel. Every empire in the world has longed to control the geography of Israel for its strategic value, but the land itself is a wealth of natural resources, perhaps with many resources as yet untapped or undiscovered. As God’s Chosen People, the Israelites are constantly and continually blessed in the land flowing with milk and honey. Ezekiel speaks of the waste places being inhabited by people who were gathered from the nations and who have acquired great wealth. These great treasures are even now the envy of the cursed earth that still struggles outside the favor of God to force the earth to produce their bread.

The Coalition of the Willing, headed by the United States of America and joined by its allies in Western Europe and Saudi Arabia, will at the very least protest the invasion, but Ezekiel 38:13 details only a question against the invasion, a vocalization in defense of Israel. There will likely be speeches and propositions and condemnations on the floor of the United Nations and throughout the global media. But in the wake of Israel’s strike against Syria, the former allies of Israel will be powerless to stop the onslaught, and even if they tried it is likely they would suffer defeat at the hands of the enraged Russian-Muslim confederation. Whatever America’s role, it is likely that this series of events will remove the West from any position of power and influence it might have had in the world, for the wheels of prophecy are slowly turning back to the Mediterranean nations of the Old Roman Empire and those alignments that will usher in the coming kingdom of Antichrist.

Gog will come out of his place in the far north, bringing with him the cavalries and infantries of many nations, a great company and a might force. It is likely that the world will never have seen such a force arrayed against a single enemy in all its history, but God says of their coming, It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me who I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes. God had prophesied the defeat of His spiritual enemies and the destruction of the physical enemies of His people since the beginning, and this war against Israel will really be a fulfillment of God’s promises. In Ezekiel 39:2, God says, I will turn you around and bring you against the mountains of Israel. This war is really working to bring the nations into line for the final events of this age before the coming of the King of kings.

Regarding its own role in bringing the world to the brink of war, Israel will realize its mistake too late and cry out for help from the only quarter left to them—the realm of the Most High God. And God will be waiting. When the forces of Gog’s Horde come against an indefensible Israel, God’s fury will show on His face and He will speak in jealousy and the fire of His wrath. Thus will begin the downfall of Gog’s Horde.

Storm Clouds Rising, Part 5

2011-02-12T14:13:00.000-08:00

Missing Neighbors

It is interesting to note that in Ezekiel’s list of nations, all of Israel’s more prominent and proximate enemies are noticeably absent. For instance, Egypt or Mizraim, the first nation that tried to destroy Israel, is not named. Neither is Lebanon. Neither are Israel’s brother nations of Edom, Ammon and Moab, whose territories make up modern day Jordan. Also missing—Aram, which correlates to one of the more vicious enemies of Israel, the modern nation of Syria with its capital at Damascus; and the ancient enemies of Israel, Assyria and Babylon, which make up today’s Iraq. Why are these particular nations not included in the alliance to destroy Israel?

By now in our study it should come as no surprise that these nations probably have something in common, a shared explanation as to why they are not involved in the Russian-Islamic alliance against Israel. And one only need examine the history of the Arab-Israeli wars that have raged since Israel’s Independence in 1948 to find it.

On May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion read Israel’s Declaration of Independence, and the following day the nations of Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq launched a massive invasion to annihilate the nation of Israel in its infancy. To the world’s surprise, Israel triumphed and expanded the borders of its territory. In 1956, Egypt launched a strike against Israel that was again turned back on itself and resulted in the expansion of Israel’s borders. In 1967, the Six-Day War saw another invasion by Egypt, Jordan, Iraq and Syria, and again the invaders were defeated and Israel added to its territory. In 1973, Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Iraq tried again, this time with a multi-national force with contributions from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Morocco, Pakistan, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Sudan, Uganda and Cuba, not to mention the emerging Palestinian Liberation Organization. Again, these nations were defeated, although Israel suffered losses more severe than in any conflict before. In 1982, Syrian-Palestinian activity in Lebanon prompted Israel to invade and occupy Southern Lebanon, an occupation that ended in 2000. But in 2006, terrorist action against Israel prompted a second invasion of Lebanon. The neighbors of Israel have been interested only in the destruction of the Israeli people and their nation since their rebirth, and have repeatedly formed alliances to attempt exactly that, to no avail.

Despite the efforts of the United Nations and many national governments around the world, including repeated interventions by the United States of America, tensions are escalating again in the Middle East. Israel is still not secure within its own borders, occupied by hostile Palestinians and surrounded on every side by people and nations who have sworn to destroy it. It is possible that at least one other war is destined to take place in Israel before the Invasion of Gog’s Horde, one in which Israel is finally allowed to truly defeat their enemies and possess what was given to them through God’s promises to Abraham 4000 years ago. It could be the sixth Arab-Israeli War, or the seventh, or some number above that, but I am convinced from my studies of prophecy that Israel must not only possess beyond question the disputed territories of the Sinai Peninsula, the Golan Heights, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, but also neighboring Lebanon and Jordan. The Syrian capital Damascus will be destroyed, and the remnants of Syria and Egypt will then join in a peace pact with Israel that unites the three into a God-ordained alliance. Exactly how that will be accomplished is unpredictable, except to say that if past is prologue, Israel will be engaged by its neighbors in a future conflict that again results in defeat for its enemies and the expansion of its own territories. Think it absurd? Let’s look at some other prophecies.

Consider the prophecy of Obadiah, a proclamation against the ancient nation of Edom. Together Edom, Moab and Ammon were the ancestral nations of today’s Jordan. Obadiah foresaw Edom’s destruction when he said this: The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. The house of Jacob shall be fire, and the house of Joseph a flame; but the house of Esau shall be stubble; they shall kindle them and deliver them, and no survivor shall remain of the house of Esau. Obadiah clearly states that Israel shall destroy Edom. Though the Edomites, or Idumeans, ceased to exist as a distinct people group in 70 AD, slaughtered beside the Jews by the Roman armies of Titus while trying to defend Jerusalem and Palestine, neither the people nor their land was ever conquered by Israel in fulfillment of Obadiah’s prophecy. It is yet to be fulfilled. Furthermore, Obadiah’s prophecy indicates the captives of both Israel and Jerusalem shall return to the land and take possession of it. This universal return of all Israelis did not happen until the last century, when Jews scattered among every nation on earth began returning to Israel. Obadiah states that when they have returned, they will possess the following territories:

· The Mountains of Esau, which is Jordan

· Philistia, which is the Gaza Strip

· The Fields of Ephraim and Samaria, which is the West Bank

· Gilead, which is the Golan Heights

· The land of the Canaanites, which is Lebanon

· The cities of the South, which is the Negev and the Sinai Peninsula

One day soon, Israel is going to take indisputable possession of the territories of its own borders, and it will extend its borders to include territory it has never owned but that has been promised to it by God—Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, the Sinai and portions of Syria will belong to Israel.

Consider Isaiah 17, a proclamation against the nation of Syria and its capital of Damascus in which God said through his prophet, “Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, and it will be a ruinous heap.” Damascus is considered to be the oldest continuously inhabited city on the planet, and it has never in history ceased from being a city; it has never been conquered and reduced to a ruinous heap. But Isaiah saw its destruction at the hands of Israel as surely as if he had been standing there when it happened. The destruction of Damascus will end the rule of terror that Syria has inflicted upon Israel, removing its support of Hezbollah and Hamas, and taking away its influence in the nations around it. One day soon, one of Israel’s most vicious enemies will be violently removed from the stage of world politics in a strike that will enrage the rest of the world and quite possibly spark the Invasion of Gog’s Horde that we have been discussing.

Consider Isaiah 19, a proclamation against the nation of Egypt, And the land of Judah will be a terror to Egypt; everyone who makes mention of it will be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the Lord of hosts which He has determined against it (v. 17). This is one verse in a lengthy prophecy that foretells Egypt’s future, predicting civil war that leads to the rise of a fierce king to rule it, drought and natural disaster that leaves the land desolate, and finally a spiritual revival that turns Egypt to the Lord of hosts and leads to a unification with Israel and the remnants of Assyria. Pair this with further prophecies in Ezekiel 29, which predicts such desolation in Egypt that it will be uninhabitable for forty years, and Daniel 11, which details the invasion and destruction of Egypt at the hands of Antichrist, and we begin to see a series of events beginning with Egypt’s own internal problems that would keep it out of the coming fray, even though it won’t be spared in the Latter Years.

And what about Iraq? God has plans for the ancient nations of Assyria and Babylon, plans that prevent their involvement in a devastating war against Israel. If these things are to happen in the near future, perhaps the presence of the United States military in Iraq will keep it out of the conflict. Or perhaps the social and political unrest will render Iraq incapable of participating in the war. Or perhaps there is a rising political star in Iraq who will shrewdly avoid the military alliances that he knows would result in a defeat that he cannot afford, for he has imperial designs on a world that will soon need a peacemaker. One thing is certain, from the ancient lands of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, a man will arise in the Latter Years to lead the world in the aftermath of Ezekiel’s World War, and woe be to the world.

Storm Clouds Rising, Part 4

2011-02-12T14:10:00.000-08:00

The Chief Prince

One of the phrases that has sparked great interest from this passage is found in Ezekiel 38:2, which reads, “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him” (NKJV). The inclusion of the name Rosh has caused many to say that this is a clear reference to the nation of Russia. Now, we have already seen that the ancient lineages do indeed indicate Russian involvement in Ezekiel’s prophesied war, but we need not grasp at transliterations to prove our point. Rosh is a Hebrew word that in most of the modern English translations has simply been inserted into the list of enemy nations, but the King James translators probably got it right when they rendered the verse this way: “Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him.” The Hebrew word Rosh should be translated chief or head, as in Rosh Hashana, the head of the year. Rosh is not in the genealogical tables of Genesis 10, so should best be understood as the adjective chief for the title prince.

That being said, who is Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal? Though many have tried to identify Gog as an individual, in the same way they try to decipher who Antichrist will be, I believe we need to take another look at the identification of Gog.

Let’s look at Daniel 10:12-13. In this passage, the prophet Daniel had been praying for twenty-one days for greater understanding of the visions God had given him. And on the twenty-first day, one believed to be the angelic messenger Gabriel appeared to him and said, “I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.” And in verses 20-21, he continued, “And now I must return to fight with the prince of Persia; and when I have gone forth, indeed the prince of Greece will come…No one upholds me against these, except Michael your prince.”

Through Daniel’s conversation with the angel Gabriel, we gain insight into the way the spirit world influences the physical, and vice versa. While Daniel waited on answers from the Lord that would detail the destinies and fates of earthly kings and kingdoms, the demonic princes of those kingdoms wanted to prevent the message from being delivered. So the prince of Persia fought against Gabriel, and the prayers of Daniel brought Michael, the angelic prince of Israel, to do battle for the answer. Gabriel got through, but the battle was not completely over. He had to go back to the spiritual realm and fight until Persia was overthrown, and then he would have to fight the prince of Greece. Both of these spirit powers, it would seem, were bent on the destruction of Israel, God’s Chosen People. The angelic warfare was apparently what prevented the demon lords from accomplishing their wills through their minions in the physical world.

This may seem a little far out for some, but look at Paul’s treatise on spiritual warfare found in Ephesians 6:12. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. This would seem to indicate there is an organizational hierarchy in the spiritual realm that is opposed to Christians and their mission. In 2 Corinthians 10:3-4, Paul further writes, For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for the pulling down of strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. It was this manner of warfare to which Paul referred in 1 Corinthians 15:32 when he said, if in the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus.

There is a war going on in heavenly realms, a spiritual conflict that has raged since Lucifer led the rebellion before time began. We catch occasional glimpses of it in Scripture, such as in Jude 9, where Michael the archangel contends with the devil over the body of Moses, and again in Revelation 12 where Michael and his angels finally cast the dragon and his angels out of heaven for good. It will be at that time that Lucifer, the devil and dragon of old, joins himself possessively to Antichrist and gives him his power, throne and great authority. In this way, Lucifer will try to finish what he started in the beginning—thwart the plan of God by destroying the creation that was made in God’s own image.

What does this have to do with Gog? Look again at Ezekiel 38:2, this time in the King James: “Set your face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.” Verse 3 actually records the words of God, “Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.” This individual against whom Ezekiel is prophesying is not a man; Gog is an age-old enemy of the Lord of Heaven, either another name for Lucifer himself or one of the spiritual principalities under Lucifer’s control. Gog is a spirit.

This thought takes on even more meaning when considering another prophetic verse, Amos 7:1. In the NKJV, it read Thus the Lord God showed me: Behold, He formed locust swarms at the beginning of the late crop; indeed it was the late crop after the king’s mowings. This translation is based upon a reading from the Masoretic Text, a Hebrew translation rendered by Jewish scholars in the 7^th-10^th Centuries AD. However, the Greek translation of the Hebrew text known as the Septuagint and dating to the 2^nd Century BC gives the verse a slightly different interpretation: Thus the Lord showed me, and behold a swarm of locusts were coming, and behold, one of the youngest devastating locusts was Gog, the King. I think the Hebrew text needs to be most relied upon, as do most if not all modern translators of the Scriptures into English, but the Septuagint certainly makes an interesting connection in regards to Gog. According to Proverbs 30:27, locusts have no king, but Amos 7:1 is not the only allusion to a locust king. Revelation 9:11 says of a swarm of demon locusts And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon. Gog may be another name for Abaddon or Apollyon, both of which mean destruction, or another demonic entity altogether.

Extra-biblical sources state that there were seventy angels assigned as national principalities, Gog among them, and that they are all among the fallen with the exception of one—Michael the archangel assigned to Israel. It is interesting to note here the existence of legendary Arabic claims that the Great Wall of China, built to keep out northern invaders such as the Mongols and Siberian Russians, is also called the Wall of Magog. And there has been some modern speculation that the wall was not constructed as a physical barrier so much as a spiritual barrier. In this same sense, the River Euphrates has often been seen as a barrier in the spirit world to prevent the demons of the east to come against the nations west of it. This adds significance to two more apocalyptic references—Revelation 9:14, in which four angels are loosed from their prison at the great river Euphrates to lead a demon horde of 200 million horsemen to destroy a third of mankind; and Revelation 16:12, where the great river Euphrates is miraculously dried up to make way for the kings of the east, China and its allies.

If Gog is indeed a spirit, that would go far toward the explanation of why a rebellion of nations at the end of Christ’s Millennial Reign would be called by the same name. When Satan is released from his prison in the abyss, as foretold in Revelation 20:7-10, Gog and probably all of the demons and fallen angels are released with him, going out into the earth to deceive the nations that have not fully submitted themselves to the rule of Jesus Christ. This army of rebellious nations will come up against the saints gathered at Jerusalem, and there with a word from His mouth and fire from His presence, God will once and for all put an end to the rebellion of Lucifer and humanity. The nations will be consumed with fire and the devil who deceived them will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. Revelation 20 says this final conflict is followed by the Great White Throne Judgment, the event in which all those without Christ are judged and cast into the lake of fire. This is apparently the judgment of the fallen angels as well, because Death and Hades are the first to be banished, joining their master Lucifer in eternal damnation. Gog will be among them. And all of the souls of the people who refused to believe will be judged and cast into the lake of fire, thus ending the rebellion forever.

Storm Clouds Rising, Part 3

2011-02-12T14:04:00.000-08:00

Ancient Names, Modern Nations

One of the things we need to understand is that Ezekiel was prophesying about nations and peoples that were known 2500 years ago by names very different than the ones in use today. Many of the national and tribal names in use during the Old Testament period were taken directly from their ancestral origins, and those ancestral origins are outlined very clearly in Genesis 10. When Noah and his three sons emerged from the ark to inhabit their new world after the flood, they followed the admonition of the Lord to be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth. In the genealogies that detail the family expansion through Noah’s great-great-grandchildren, we see the emergence of the earliest nations. However, an examination of historical and archaeological sources will give us a modern interpretation of the ancient tribal names.

The first nation we should consider is the one that appears to be leading this great alliance against Israel in the latter years, the land of Magog. Magog was the second son of Japheth, and Josephus identifies the people named for him with the Scythians, an equestrian tribal culture of the steppe country north of the Black and Caspian Seas. These were Japhetic peoples, descendants of Noah’s oldest son Japheth. In general, Japheth is considered the ancestor of the Indo-European people groups, settling in the region between the Black and Caspian Seas following the division of the people at Babel, and his descendants spread out from there into most of Europe and Asia. Studying the unique burial mounds or kurgans of the Scythians, archaeologists have determined that the Scythians as an identifiable people emerged nearly 5000 years ago from the Sayan-Altay region of Southern Siberia where Russia and Mongolia meet. Such a time-frame places their origins in the same time period as the flood and the division of the tongues. By the time of Ezekiel, the Scythians were a minor world power in Asia, having displaced the Cimmerians to take up residence in the steppes north of the Black and Caspian Seas, an area known today as the Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan.

Two of Magog’s younger brothers were Meshech and Tubal, often associated together in Biblical references. There have been some attempts to identify them with localities in Russia—such as Moscow and Tobolsk, prominent Russian cities—but most likely they refer again to tribes of people who lived in the areas around the Black and Caspian Seas, a group often referred to as the Caucasus Iberians. They are considered to be ancestors to the Georgians of Southern Russia, as well as those who settled in Italy, Spain and Portugal, but at the time of Ezekiel they were residing in Anatolia, which is modern Turkey.

Three of the nations joining Magog are identified by Ezekiel with names that resonate with the modern reader—Persia, Ethiopia and Libya. When Ezekiel prophesied, Persia was a growing empire to the northeast of Babylon which would come to world power under the leadership of Cyrus the Great, but its ancient roots again go back to the time after the flood when Elam the son of Shem founded the Elamite Civilization along the Tigris River. Though the Persian Empire fell to Alexander’s Greece in the 4th Century BC, Persia continues to exist as a nation to this day—except you know it by the name it took in 1935, Iran. Persia is the only Semitic nation included in the nations allied against Israel.

Ethiopia is an African nation, though it should not be confused with the country that uses that name today. Today’s Ethiopia, situated on the Horn of Africa, is actually part of the Biblical land of Sheba, from which the Queen of Sheba came to visit King Solomon at the height of his reign. According to Ethiopian legend, which is generally given credence as historical, King Solomon of Israel and Queen Makeda of Sheba joined themselves in a political alliance as well as domestic union that resulted in the birth of their son, Sheba’s King Menelik I. Ethiopia was ruled by his descendants, a Solomonic Dynasty that lasted for 3000 years until the overthrow of Emperor Haile Salassie in 1974. The Ethiopia of Ezekiel 38 is actually the ancient lands of Cush.

Just as Japheth settled the northern lands and Shem settled the middle lands, Ham and his descendants took the southern lands. Ham’s youngest son was Canaan, father of the Canaanite peoples who settled along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean. Because they were an exceedingly immoral and idolatrous people, God commanded the Israelites to completely destroy the Canaanites. Cush was the oldest son of Ham, and was also the father of Nimrod—the first man who tried to be king of the world—and with his brothers Mizraim and Phut, Cush became the ancestor of the African peoples. Cush settled the region of the upper Nile, Mizraim the Nile Delta, and Phut the lands west of the Nile. Phut, then becomes Libya, Mizraim Egypt, and Cush Sudan and southern Africa.

Gomer was the oldest son of Japheth, and supposedly settled with his Japhetic brethren in the region north of the Black and Caspian Seas. Among Gomer’s children were the three sons listed in Genesis 10—Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah—and his descendants have been identified in Anatolia as the Galatians, but in Armenia as the Cimmerians. When their Scythian brethren rose to dominance on the Eurasian Steppes, the Cimmerians were pushed westward and there are strong traditions that identify them as the ancestral Germanic and Celtic peoples. The name of Gomer’s son Ashkenaz has long been applied to Germany and Central Europe, as evidenced by the designation of European Jews as the Ashkenazim.

Togarmah was the father of ten sons, all of which fathered tribes that settled in Anatolia and became the ancestors of the Turkic peoples who make up the populations of several modern Central Asian countries including Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Turkic people groups have also been located in Russia, and as far away as Western Europe and China. However, at the time Ezekiel was writing the nations associated with Gomer and Togarmah were still located with the rest of the Japhetic people around the Black and Caspian Seas.

These eight ancient nations named and described by Ezekiel have two primary things in common in our 21st Century world. They are Japhetic, Hamitic and Semitic in origin, but they all have a deep-rooted and ancient hatred for the land and people of Israel, God’s Chosen Nation. And with the exception of atheistic Russia, they are all currently under the control of radical Islamic leaders. Even if we were to extend Ezekiel’s prophecy to all possible inclusions of these people groups and their nations today, we would be hard pressed to find one single predominantly Christian nation among them. Fifty years ago, the threat was Communism and many prophecy teachers set their sights on the Soviet Union as the fulfillment of the Gog-Magog alliance. But as the world stage evolves, we see that Communism has given way to Islamo-fascism, the commonality that unites the nations of Central Asia with those in North Africa and the Middle East against Israel.

Aside from the enemy nations of Israel, Ezekiel gives another grouping of nations that needs to be identified before we can examine the full scope of his prophecy. When the nations of Central and Southern Asia, Northern Africa and the Middle East launch their surprise attack against Israel, there is a coalition of nations who stand up for Israel—or at least protest the assault. Ezekiel refers to them as Sheba and Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all the young lions thereof.

There were two sets of brothers in the Old Testament who were given the names Sheba and Dedan. One set is found in Genesis 10, the sons of Raamah son of Cush. The other set is found in Genesis 25, the sons of Jokshan, Abraham’s son by his concubine Keturah. Since the rest of the nations of Ezekiel 38 are identifiable through Genesis 10, I think it safe to say Ezekiel’s prophecy about Sheba and Dedan applies to the former pair rather than the latter. But it should be noted that both sets of brothers were progenitors of tribes who dwelt in the area of the Red Sea—on one side was the ancient land of Sheba which we have already discussed and identified as modern Ethiopia; on the other lies Saudi Arabia.

Tarshish was the son of Javan, a son of Japheth and brother to Gomer, Magog, Tubal and Meshech. Javan and his sons were the ancestors of the seafaring coastal dwellers known variously as the Ionians and the Phoenicians. The former group was associated with the coastlands of Central Anatolia, from there settling the islands of the Mediterranean and the Attica peninsula on the Greek mainland, where Athens is located. The Phoenicians settled first at Sidon on the Canaanite coast, a city named for and likely founded by Sidon the son of Canaan. From there they settled Tyre, and eventually sailed throughout the Mediterranean establishing colonies on all the coastlands. Two of their more prominent settlements were at Carthage in Northern Africa and Tarshish—named for their ancestor—on the southern coast of Andalusia in Spain, where it is believed to be the same as ancient Tartessos. Incidentally, it was to Tarshish that the prophet Jonah tried to flee when called upon to preach judgment and repentance to the citizens of the Assyrian city of Ninevah. Around the time of Ezekiel, Tartessos suddenly disappeared. Destroyed by an army or by a natural disaster, it was refounded under obscure conditions and called by the name Carpia.

Though Japhetic in lineage and dwelling in a Canaanite city of Hamitic origins, the Phoenician descendants of Tarshish intermingled with the people of northern Israel belonging to the tribes of Asher, Naphtali and Dan. Thus the Israelites became involved in the Mediterranean sea trade. King Solomon had fleets of sea-going vessels called Ships of Tarshish—so named for their style and their ability to sail on the open sea, rather than for their port or destination—which sailed from the Mediterranean ports of Joppa, Tyre and Sidon, as well as from Ezion-Geber on the Red Sea. From Tarshish the seafarers ventured into the Atlantic Ocean, establishing trading colonies in the Tin Islands, later called Britannia or England. Archaeologists have uncovered evidence that the Phoenicians were in the Americas 2500 years before Columbus, and there are some who have even suggested that the ancient land of Ophir, from whence King Solomon got much of his gold, was actually in South America.

Therefore, it would seem that Ezekiel’s prophecy concerning the merchants of Tarshish and all their young lions, or villages, is a reference to the sea-going peoples who settled the coastal regions of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, and may very well have explored and settled the Western Hemisphere as well. Certainly Spain and Great Britain were the leading colonizers of the west in recent centuries. From this point of view, it would seem that Ezekiel was prophesying that in the latter days a British-American coalition that included Saudi Arabia would stand up against a Russian-Islamic force bent on destroying Israel—not a far stretch from the global political scene today.

Storm Clouds Rising, Part 2

2011-02-12T13:46:00.000-08:00

Storm Clouds Rising

Setting the Stage for the Rise of Antichrist and the End of the Age

A new look at Ezekiel 38-39

The Son of Man Prophesies

In 606 BC, Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian Empire seized control of the nation of Judah, sealing the fate of a nation that had been in decline for a hundred years. The best of Jerusalem’s citizenry were taken as political captives back to Babylon, among them the young princes Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah who were incorporated into Nebuchadnezzar’s government. Nine years later, the Babylonians returned to quell the rebellion of Jehoiakim and Jeconiah, this time taking the young king and the rest of the royal family captive. They raided the temple for its treasures and carried them back to Babylon, along with many priests including Ezekiel the son of Buzi. Ezekiel became a prophet to his exiled people, but he provided no more encouragement for the captives than the prophet Jeremiah back home. Judah was now in the hands of God, and God was not happy at all.

Jeremiah and Ezekiel were messengers of God’s judgment upon His people for their disobedience, and while false prophets were trying to tell the Jews that God would soon come to their rescue, the true prophets of God had a different sermon to preach. Jeremiah wrote a letter instructing the Jews to build lives for themselves in Babylon because the years of their captivity would be 70 in number. Ezekiel continually spoke of the destruction of Jerusalem, and in 586 BC those prophecies were fulfilled. Nebuchadnezzar’s armies captured Jerusalem and put it to the sword, killing its king and all his sons, burning the temple and completely destroying the City of David.

Ezekiel 33:21 records that when word of Jerusalem’s fall reached Ezekiel, the hand of the Lord came upon him and opened his mouth, for he was mute except when the Lord enabled him to prophesy. First Ezekiel explained why Jerusalem and Judah had been destroyed. Then he accused the people of being hearers of the Word and not doers, as well as having shepherds who did not take care of them as the flock of God. But he identified God as their true shepherd with the promise that He would one day return them to their land. Like Jeremiah and Obadiah, Ezekiel utters a prophecy against Edom, the brother nation of Israel, because they stood by while Babylon besieged Jerusalem, waiting for the day when they could take the Promised Land as their own.

Then in chapter 36, Ezekiel begins to foretell the restoration of the people of God. First he speaks to the mountains of Israel, then to the whole land including the hills, the rivers and the valleys. The land had been defiled by its inhabitants and was now dwelt in by strangers, but one day God would revisit the land and cause it to be tilled and planted, and bless it with a yield of fruit for His People Israel. And he would gather his people from their exile among many nations and restore them to the Land He had given them. The fulfillment of this can be seen in the establishment of Israel as a nation in 1948 and the return of the Jewish people to their homeland after nearly 2000 years of exile.

Chapter 37 is that great vision of the Valley of Dry Bones which any evangelist worth his salt has used to preach down an outpouring of the Spirit upon the church, but it is really a revelation of the restoration of God’s Chosen People to the Land of their inheritance. First He will bring them up out of the grave of their exile and give them new life, filling them with His Spirit. Then He will reunite the divided kingdoms of Judah and Ephraim into one nation of Israel, delivering and cleansing them from the filth of their sin and their captivity. This resurrection will culminate in the return of David as their king—which is really a prophecy about Christ—and the establishment of a covenantal peace that will last forever. “Indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”

Then come the thrilling and horrible passages of Ezekiel 38-39. In brief summary, in the “latter years”, the last days of Biblical prophecy, when the people of Israel have been restored to their land and are dwelling in relative safety, a massive international plot will result in an invasion of Israel. Many of Israel’s neighbors will unite to destroy them, led by one whom Ezekiel calls Gog, of the land of Magog, the Chief Prince of Meshech and Tubal. A study of the Biblical names and their historical counterparts reveal that this will be a Russian-Islamic force made up of nations and peoples who are sworn to destroy the nation and people of Israel. Israel’s own allies will fail to come to Israel’s aide, and when the Hordes of Gog cover the land like a cloud to begin a new holocaust, God will step onto the scene to save His People Israel.

Now with that brief summary of Ezekiel 38-39, let’s look into the meaning of the passage and how it relates to us today.

Storm Clouds Rising, Part 1

2011-02-12T07:58:00.000-08:00

Storm Clouds Rising

Setting the Stage for the Rise of Antichrist and the End of the Age

A new look at Ezekiel 38-39

The Western World has feared it since the end of World War II—the threat of a Russian attack on the free world. Though uneasy allies with Josef Stalin and the Soviet Union against Hitler’s Third Reich, Great Britain and the United States never enjoyed good relations with the Russians, and following the war, Stalin made it his clear intention to impose Communistic ideals upon Eastern Europe. This quickly escalated into the Cold War of the 20^th Century—no outright confrontations but a long build-up to the conflict that never came.

Cold War relations were punctuated with the Berlin Airlift, the Korean and Viet Nam Wars against the spread of Communism, the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, and multiple instances of spy and counter-spy on both sides of the undeclared war. Children of the 50s and 60s grew up with the constant cloud of a Communist nuclear strike against American shores, complete with bomb shelters and safety drills. But such an attack never came.

One of my mentors was in the Navy in the 1960s, serving onboard two submarines, the latter of which had nuclear launch capability. As the targeting officer, it was his job to plot the launch codes for strike against numerous Soviet targets in the event of a nuclear attack on our country. The nuclear attack never came.

My Dad was stationed on the German-Czechoslovakian border with the 82^nd Airborne Division in August 1968 when more than 5,000 Soviet tanks and a half-million Soviet troops invaded Czechoslovakia. He honestly believed that he was going to die defending Germany against a Soviet Invasion, but that attack did not come. Years later, as a preacher and student of prophecy, he often taught on the subject of a future war with Russia, usually under the title, “The Russians are Coming!” In the last years of his life, he was privileged to visit Russia on three different occasions to preach the gospel, and he saw hundreds come to the Lord during that time. But one of the things he shared with many of his translators was this—one day, Russia was going to attack Israel and lose five-sixths of its army to the wrath of God. To date, that attack has not yet come.

For decades, prophecy teachers and scholars have believed that Russia would one day launch an attack on Israel in fulfillment of the prophecies found in Ezekiel 38-39. In the 19^th Century, many predicted the rise of a Russian empire that would shake the world when Russia was an impotent and backward Asian nation. Then the Communists seized power during the Russian Revolution of 1917. Under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin, Russia became a superpower that rivaled the United States. But corruption and the innate desire of humanity for freedom led to the downfall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Since then, we have watched for a Communist Revival in Russia that will reunite all the former Soviet Republics into a great empire. It hasn’t happened yet, but the question is this: Does Russia have to rise again in order for the prophecies of Ezekiel 38-39 to be fulfilled? We are going to look at that question in detail and hopefully find a satisfactory answer in the Scriptures.

Storm clouds are rising to the north of Israel, but I contend that the threat we need to be watching now will not come from the Communists, but from a growing alliance between the various republics of the former Soviet Union and the Islamic nations of Northern Africa, South Central Asia and the Middle East.

Prophet Motive

2010-12-06T14:24:00.000-08:00

You false prophets are leading my people astray!

You promise peace for those who give you food,

but you declare war on those who refuse to feed you.

Micah 3:5, NLT

I've heard them, and so have you. They get on TV, or stand in pulpits, and they say, "If you will give to my ministry, God is going to bless you. If you give $10 in tonight's offering, you can expect $100 back from God! If you give $100 tonight, you can expect $1000 from God! But if you don't give in my offering, don't expect to receive anything from God." I've heard preachers cajole crowds with guilt trips about the money they spend compared to what they've given in his offering. I heard one guy get up one time say, "I know how much you gave the speaker last time, and your offerings haven't come anywhere close this time!"

I've heard them say that if you give to their ministry, you're entitled to receive a portion of their anointing. As if the gift and calling that God has placed upon them is transferable at will, for a price. I'm often reminded of Simon Magus (otherwise known as Simon the Sorcerer in Acts 8) who wanted to buy from the apostles the power to fill people with the Holy Ghost. Peter said to him, "You and your money can go straight to hell."

I saw an evangelist stand a young man in front of a crowd and announce how much money that young man had given in the offering. Then he announced that he was personally going to impart a blessing to that young man because of the offering he had given. He also proceeded to call that young man into full-time ministry, and promised that he would personally help that young man fulfill the call. To my knowledge, once the check was written at the end of that meeting, the evangelist never did one single thing to disciple, equip, educate, instruct, mentor, or in any other way help the man he had called into the ministry. I'm not even certain that young man felt the call of God on his life. He gave out of obedience to the Lord, out of a generous heart. And then he was made a public spectacle, so that (I suspect) others would be inclined to give if they thought the evangelist was going to bless them in the same way.

And I've heard so-called prophets tell crowds, as if they themselves were Abraham in Genesis 12, "If you bless me, I will bless you. And if you don't bless me, I will curse you." I mean, really, who do they think they are? Do they think they are the only valid ministry ordained by God, and that they have in and of themselves the power and authority to bless and curse people according to how they give?

Through the prophet Micah (who I am quite certain never got rich preaching the message God gave him), the Lord said, "You false prophets are leading my people astray." Jesus might have said it like this: "Blind guides leading the blind. You don't lead people through the gates of life, and you don't go in yourself." The mark of false prophets in Micah's day are the same as they are today. And I've personally been on the receiving end of both. I've been blessed by prophets who thought I was a blessing to them, and I've been cursed by prophets who thought I was opposed to them.

If a preacher of any kind tells you what you want to hear so that he can get your money, he's a false prophet. If a preacher shortchanges you on truth, on doctrine, on the Word of God, he is likely shortchanging you on power too. If he doesn't preach like the prophets of old, proclaiming an unadulterated message of repentance and reconciliation to God, but rather promises you all the good things in life if only you'll give more money, he needs to be run out of town (since we can't stone them anymore). And if he threatens everyone that is not for him, not supporting him, not giving in his offerings--if he pronounces judgment on churches and pastors who don't come flocking to his big tent to hear him flap his gums together--he is not the man of God he claims to be.

To borrow a phrase from Monty Python: Run away! Run away!

Under the Alchyfluence of Inkyhol

2010-12-04T00:42:00.000-08:00

Suppose a prophet full of lies would say to you,

"I'll preach to you the joys of wine and alcohol!"

That's just the kind of prophet you would like!

Micah 2:11, NLT

I've been spending lots of time with the Prophets recently, the real ones, in the Bible, and the things that really jump out at me are the things they have to say about themselves and their fellow proclaimers. Though I've read Micah several times through the years, reading through him this last time was a real eye-opening experience, especially in the New Living Translation. It's almost as if he sat in some of the meetings I've been in myself.

When prophets like Micah and Isaiah, and later Jeremiah and Ezekiel, were announcing impending and imminent doom and issuing their calls for repentance, they always had counterparts who were appealing to the crowds with watered down messages of peace, prosperity and pleasure. When the prophets of God were calling for fasting and prayer and affliction of soul, the other guys were running around saying, "Hey, everything's gonna be fine! Eat your food, drink your wine, enjoy life! It's all gonna be okay!"

Those prophets were full of lies. They prophesied for their own self-aggrandizement, for their own selfish gain. They prophesied because they wanted to be popular and appreciated. They wanted to be lauded by the masses, featured as keynote speakers at all the big conferences. If they'd been preaching today, they'd be the ones on TV with their million-dollar plastic smiles refusing to preach against sin and wickedness, but instead insisting that God loves everybody and has a wonderful plan for their lives. Just be positive, think happy thoughts, speak words of blessing over yourself and others, and all your problems will just vanish away.

The prophets of God said, "Not so!" The true prophets of God told people the truth: "Things have to be right between you and God, before things can be right for you anywhere else!"

Micah even said, tongue-in-cheek I'm sure, "If someone came to your preaching about the joys of wine and alcohol, that's the kind of preaching you'd enjoy." It's a message about feelings and emotions and physical pleasures. It's a message about distraction from reality, disruption of Godly order, and carefully disguised dissipation. Which is why I cringe when I hear these so-called prophets telling gullible audiences that the answer to all their problems is to get drunk (or high) on the Holy Spirit. Like a little stumbling around and rolling on the floor, acting silly with a goofy look on your face is what Jesus had in mind when He said, "You shall receive power..."

Not many years ago, I remember the self-proclaimed "Holy Ghost Bartender" who spent half his speaking time doing stand-up, and the other half telling people that the overwhelming laughter was the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. And then people would begin to act like drunken idiots, becoming the center of attention themselves and creating a ripple effect of hilarity instead of doing what the Holy Spirit is supposed to do, which is draw attention to Jesus. How do you think Christ the Lord feels when people would rather watch the show than focus on Him?

Jesus was accused of drunkenness when he ate with sinners, but He never acted like an out-of-control fool. The disciples were accused of drunkenness on the day of Pentecost because they were heard speaking in lots of different languages, but Peter had to dispute the observation by saying, "These ARE NOT drunk, as you suppose." And Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:18, "Don't be drunk with wine, which will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Spirit!" Drunkenness is a sin, and drunken behavior is foolishness according to the Scriptures. And multiple times over we are encouraged to be sober minded.

Unfortunately, there are too many who want to be silly, who want to be distracted, who don't want to face the realities of righteousness and holiness. Instead, they'd rather listen to a guy who tickles their fancy and get the feel-goods all over. Exactly like Micah said they would.

What kind of prophet are you looking for?

Tell Us Nice Things

2010-12-03T13:40:00.000-08:00

These people are stubborn rebels

who refuse to pay attention to the LORD'S instructions.

They tell the seers, "Stop seeing visions!"

They tell the prophets, "Don't tell us what is right.

Tell us nice things. Tell us lies.

Forget all this gloom.

Get off your narrow path.

Stop telling us about your

'Holy One of Israel.'"

Isaiah 30:9-11, NLT

For the last couple of months I have been reading in the Prophets, the 16 prophets of God who really matter. I make that distinction because of all the self-appointed, self-anointed charlatans who are running around our world today saying, "I'm Prophet So-And-So, listen to me." And having heard so many of them, I have come to the conclusion that many of them are neither prophets, nor the sons (or daughters) of prophets. I'll tell you this much: I don't need somebody to tell me they are a prophet; I need somebody to prove to me they are a prophet.

Some would scoff in my face and tell me they have no need to prove anything, because God has ordained them a prophet. My response is still the same. Basically, I think prophets is as prophets does.

Some would try to tell me about myself. About my past, my present, and my future. Like some carnival fortune teller or back alley palm reader. Spread out the cards, throw the chicken bones, spit in the wagon, and read from the signs what the otherworld is trying to show me. Hello!?! The Bible calls it divination, and they use to stone people for it.

Some would spout a new revelation, with claims of angelic visitations, out-of-body trips, and pizza-induced dreams. But as the preachers of old used to say: If it's true, it ain't new. And if it's new, it ain't true. God has given us the Bible as the Divine Revelation of His Word and Will to mankind. It tells us everything we need to know about Him and His universal plan for our lives, it gives us all the instructions we need for life and for godliness. And until we start living by it, why do you think God would waste His breath giving us something new?

These false prophets of today don't want to hear the true prophetic voice proclaiming the unadulterated Word of God. Preaching the truth is not very popular today, in the world or in the church. Isaiah's words have come true in our lifetime. For the false prophets and those who follow them tell those who truly do hear from God:

"You don't know how to really hear from God. Let me teach you how..."

"You're not seeing good things in your visions and dreams. Think more positively..."

"All that talk about holiness and sanctification was just legalism, and we're past that now..."

"Don't bring me down with talk about sin and judgment and repentance. People need to feel good when they leave the presence of God..."

"You're message is too negative. Tell me something nice, because I want to be happy when I come to church..."

"Stop being so rigid and narrow. Break off that religion and be free..."

"Jesus was a guy that lived 2000 years ago. Let's talk about what's important right now..."

If you want to know if you're listening to a prophet, compare their prophecies to the Word of God. Do they deliver the good news and the bad news with equal authority? Do they speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Do they speak it in love? If they predict the future, are their predictions coming true? If they are giving words of knowledge, are they 100% accurate 100% of the time? If they are truly spiritual, do they follow the guidelines of God's Spiritual Gifts Manual in 1 Corinthians 12, 13 & 14?

People, beware! If they're only telling you what you want to hear, something is definitely wrong. But the true will make it alright.

The Measure of a Prophet

2010-09-21T13:30:00.000-07:00

And when they say to you,

"Seek those who are mediums and wizards,

who whisper and mutter,"

should not a people seek their God?

Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living?

To the law and to the testimony!

If they do not speak according to this word,

it is because there is no light in them.

Isaiah 8:19-20, NKJV

Prophecy, true divinely inspired utterance, will always line up with the Word of God. No word from the Lord will ever contradict the Word He has already spoken. No word from the Lord will ever go against His Word, it will never add to His Word, it will never take away from His Word. And yet today the church world seems full of people who are saying, "I have a NEW Word from the Lord."

Many years ago, I heard one of them talking, but what they were saying was a direct contradiction of the Apostle Paul's writings in the New Testament. When asked about it, they said, "Oh, we're beyond Paul." Beyond Paul? Really?

And not so long ago, I heard a self appointed prophet say, "We have a persecution complex. We are convinced that the world is supposed to hate us. But if we would just get full of the Holy Spirit, the world around us would fall in love with us and come running to get what we have." It struck me as odd that the mindset he was contradicting was that of Jesus, for it was Jesus who warned of the persecution that Christians would face, it was Jesus who said, "If you love me, the world will hate you, because they hate me, and because they don't have me."

Of course, the same so-called man of God preached an entire series of messages based upon a false concept: that person and sound come from the same root word in the original language of the Bible, therefore Jesus being the personification of God meant He was also the sound of God, and when we speak in His name, we become the sounding personification of God. The message went through several theological gymnastic feats that defied all reason. And as it turns out (and I went home that night to check it out for myself) not only do the words for person and sound come from different root words, they come from different languages! Apparently, the guy had done no real study at all...either that or he was basing his entire message on some revelation he'd had from God, in which God didn't know which languages those words come from.

And it seems popular today for people to have mystical spiritual experiences, going to heaven or hell or halfway around the world, and then writing all about it as if to construct new thoroughfares of truth. Because, after all, God says we'll have visions and dreams, so if I have a dream it must be a message from God. And whatever I see in my vision or whatever experience I have must be true. And when they think they've had a revelation, they write a book or make a video and sell both to a church that is desperate for a new spiritual high, but not so hungry for the truth of God's Word.

Isaiah had the answer. He said, "When they come saying, 'Listen to our necromancers and our soothsayers, our wizards and mediums', seek the Lord instead." When we have the written Word of God to read, and the living Word speaking to us through His indwelling Spirit, why in the world do we still feel the need to run here, yonder and there, from one conference to another, from one revival meeting to another, from one church to another, looking for a fresh word from God? The Word that we have is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, and most Christians don't have a clue what it says. Why would God tell us something else, when we haven't even absorbed and implemented what He's already given us?

When we do receive a "word", how do we judge it? Most of the folks I know will measure it according to how it made them feel, but not put it up against the Word of God to see if the two agree. I've actually heard numerous preachers say, "Don't question this; this is gaaaawwwwwwddddd!" That in itself isn't even Biblical, for the Bible says, "Don't believe every spirit, but test and try them to see what is from God." The Bible says, "Don't despise prophecy; but test everything, holding on to what is good."

Isaiah says, "If they do not speak according to the law and testimony of God, the light is not in them." Let us be sure to remember that the next time someone says, "Have I got a word from God for you."

Prophecy in Futility

2010-09-20T14:13:00.000-07:00

And He said, "Go and tell this people:

'Keep on hearing, but do not understand;

keep on seeing, but do not perceive.'

Make the heart of this people heavy,

and shut their eyes;

lest they see with their eyes,

and hear with their ears,

and understand with their heart,

and return and be healed."

Isaiah 6:9-10, NKJV

How many times have we read the story, or heard it preached, of the call of the Prophet Isaiah. In the year that King Uzziah died, Isaiah was worshiping in the Temple and he had a vision of the Lord enthroned in glory, surrounded by angels whose singing and shouting shook the building to its doorposts. And Isaiah cried out, "I'm undone and no good! I'm not worthy to see the Lord."

An angel took a coal from the altar and touched Isaiah's lips, saying, "Now you're saved and sanctified."

Then the Lord asked, "Who will go and preach for Us?"

And Isaiah volunteered on the spot. "Here am I; send me!"

And most of the time, we stop right there. We talk about how admirable Isaiah was for signing up for the ministry, for responding to the call of God, for being ready, willing and able to go and proclaim the message of the Almighty. But have we read further? So many think the ministry of the prophet is running around predicting everybody's future, telling how God's going to use them and bless them and make them great. And I suppose there are times for that, if the Spirit is truly inspiring. But for the most part, Biblical prophets did 2 things: they called people to repentance, and prophesied doom and destruction if they didn't.

Israel had been in decline for 200 years, God had been calling them through the writing prophets for 100 years. And still the people did not respond. So now God says to Isaiah, "I want you to preach this message of repentance and judgment. They've heard it before, and ignored the warnings, and I've determined their doom. So you just keep preaching it until they tune you out. Preach it until their hearts harden and they grow blind and deaf to your message, because I'm finished with them, and I don't want them to repent."

Where are those prophets today? Is it possible that there are some individuals who have resisted God so long that they have passed the point of no return? Are there some churches which have died and are no longer useful to the Kingdom? Are there nations which have turned away from their righteous calling and pursued sinfulness so long that God is ready to overthrow them? And if so, where are the prophets that are calling for repentance?

Where are those prophets that will declare that kind of truth? Who will hear the call, know the message, and volunteer anyway. "Here am I, Lord, send me!"

The Secret Place

2010-09-19T08:03:00.000-07:00

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High

shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

Psalm 91:1, NKJV

Do you know where the secret place is? It's not necessarily a place of position but of attitude. It doesn't have physical coordinates on the global positioning system, but rather. The secret place is a state of spiritual being, that place of perfect communion with God. It is wherever you make it, because you are the temple of the Holy Spirit, you are the dwelling place of God, and you can take the secret place with you wherever you go.

But long before the Holy Spirit came to dwell within us, men and women of God had to go find a place to meet with the Lord. For Adam it was within Eden in the cool of the day. For his sons, and perhaps the many generations preceding the flood, it was between the wings of the cherubim at the entrance to the Garden. For Abraham it was wherever he built an altar of worship to the Lord. For Jacob it was Bethel. For Moses and Elijah it was Sinai, that cleft in the rock where they both met with God. Moses saw Him, Elijah heard Him, both experienced Him there in a mighty and powerful way. For David it was a goatskin tent pitched on top of Mount Moriah, that transitional covering between Tabernacle and Temple that housed the Ark and the presence of God. But wherever they found God, there they communed with Him, there they had fellowship with Him.

I love the words of the bridegroom in the Song of Solomon, the voice of the beloved to his loving bride that called, "Arise, my beloved, and come away! In the secret, in the quiet place, in the cleft of the rock, come away with me to that place and let me see you. Let me hear your voice. Let me touch you in a personal and intimate way." It is the voice of our beloved calling to us, "Let me know you from the inside out, and know me too."

That is the secret place. We find it in worship, and in prayer. We find it when we seek Him with all of our heart. We find it when we center ourselves upon and within the presence of the Most High God, letting His Spirit fill us up and overflow in our lives. We find it as we lose ourselves in Him.

Some people are afraid of that kind of intimacy, perhaps of any intimacy at all. I know from past experience that there have been times I didn't really want to be in that kind of close contact with God. It was too painful, because of the things that I knew God would bring to the surface in my life to deal with. It was too terrifying, because of the things I knew were in my life, the things I was ashamed of. It was too enlightening, showing me things that I didn't really want to know. And yet that is where He calls us. He beckons us into His arms, into His loving embrace. And He says, "I know who you are, I know where you are and what you've done. I know your frailties, your weaknesses, your failings. I know your fears and your dreams. Come unto Me and let me help you." God doesn't want us close enough to destroy; He wants us close enough to bless!

And when the Lord is our refuge, our fortress, the One in whom we put our trust; when God is our dwelling place, He says:

I will deliver you from every trap and danger and peril
I will cover you and shield you, before and behind
I will encourage you, and you will have no fear
I will protect you from destruction
I will hold you up, though others fall all around you
I will keep you from all evil
I will give the angels charge over you, and they will guard your steps
I will give you power over the serpent and the lion--power over the devil
I will set you upon high
I will answer your prayers
I will be with you in trouble
I will deliver you
I will honor you
I will satisfy you
I will show you My salvation in every possible way!

I want to live my life in the secret place, in the shadow of God.

The Lord's Counsel

2010-09-18T08:26:00.000-07:00

There are many plans in a man's heart,

Nevertheless the Lord's counsel--

that will stand.

Proverbs 19:21, NKJV

I used to be more of a planner.

20 years ago, I had everything all mapped out. On paper. And I believed it, too. College. Law School. Politics. Certainly by this time, I had planned on running for governor of Texas with my sights on the White House. With my wife and 6 (or 8 or 12) children at my side. Oh, also a published author, independently wealthy, and owning the family farm. On which I had rebuilt the farm house, only modern. It was going to be cool.

Then God stepped in and intervened.

How? one might ask. And skeptics of course would say that it was just coincidence or my imagination, that God doesn't personally intervene in people's lives the way I think He intervened in mine. But most skeptics don't know God the way that I do. In fact, I'm convinced that skepticism is the result of NOT having a relationship with Him. But I digress.

I had my life all planned out. And then God turned my little red wagon upside-down. First He used the words of an evangelist to reset my dreams. God called me into the ministry when I was a child, called me to preach, called me to be a pastor, and I had been running from that call. But one night in Clovis, New Mexico, I heard Him speaking directly to me through the mouth of another preacher, reminding me of His call on my life. I knew then I could not be happy on my present course. As alluring as a life--a successful life--in politics looked at the time, even occupying the Oval Office would be a step down from the High Call of God.

Then God disrupted my love life--at seven-thirty on a Saturday morning with a collect call that said, "I'm breaking up with you because I have a date tonight." So long, sucker! And of course, there is much more to the story than that, but that's all you're going to get today.

With my heart set on ministry, my mind still said education. I had a scholarship, a job as a youth pastor with a place to live, and I figured I might need a degree to fall back upon. God had other plans. He used the words of an atheist lesbian anarchist professor to spur me into abandoning my educational plans. It wasn't the fallback position He wanted me to prepare for; it was the primary position I needed to be concerned about.

So I went to Bible College. Through the almighty hand of His provision, everything was paid for. I was looking three years down the road, thinking I would leave Bible College with a degree, a suitable spouse, and a promising future. That entire semester, all I did was build relationships with the people around me. I was looking for Miss Right. But God got ahold of me, using the words of a professor that had nothing to do with matchmaking or graduating. It had to do with intercessory prayer, and I can take you to the very spot (that is, if it's still there) where I know my life changed because God intervened one more time. There was something in my life He wanted to deal with, had to deal with for my sake. And when I got up from my place of prayer, nothing was the same.

When I went home at Christmas, I had a message to preach. My Dad often said that before I left home, I couldn't play the piano very well, and I certainly couldn't preach. Four months away at Bible College, and all of a sudden I could play and preach and even he was impressed. The anointing of God will do that for you. And when my Dad's youth pastor suddenly resigned, my path was clear. It wasn't a return to college that was in my future; it was on-the-job training under the best mentor a man could have. And on those things, I've never looked back.

Don't get me wrong. I still make plans. I make plans for the day, for the week, for the month, for the year. But I always keep them flexible. None of my plans are ever written in stone, because in twenty years, if I've learned anything I've learned this. My plans aren't always His plans. And His plans are infinitely better. I certainly never expected--twenty years ago--that I would be where I am today. I won't waste the space by telling all the details of life since I abandoned my plans, but after a winding, rocky road that has been both productive and painful, I feel like I'm making a fresh start with a clean slate and God is saying, "Now when we do this THIS TIME, it's gonna be better for you. Just stay close to Me. And listen."

I can make all the plans in the world. Nevertheless (and that truly is a million-dollar word)...it is the Lord's counsel that will stand in the end. If I will stay close to Him. And listen.

My Own Counsel

2010-09-17T10:23:00.000-07:00

"But my people would not heed my voice,

and Israel would have none of Me.

So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart,

to walk in their own counsels."

Psalm 81:11-12, NKJV

The Lord would speak to us and help us, guide us and govern our every thought, our every move, on every day of our lives. If we would let Him.

If the Bible shows us anything about God, it certainly demonstrates His great desire to have constant communion with His creation, the crowning jewel of His earth, the people made in His own image and after His likeness. In the very beginning, He walked with Man in the cool of the day and talked to Him. And ever since Man's fall from that fellowship, God has been looking for and providing ways to reach every descendant of Man, to bring all of humanity back into close relationship with Him.

God chose a people, Israel, and He told them that He would be with them wherever they went. God had no need for an earthly house--heaven is His throne, earth is His footstool, He says. Who can build a house to contain Me? And yet He instructed them to build an earthly tent to house His visible presence on earth. No other construct on earth has had such direct and detailed input from God as the Tabernacle in the wilderness. The cloud of His glory rested over it by day, and blazed above it by night. The tangible presence of His very person resided between the wings of the golden cherubim which overlooked His covenant with Israel. God was with the ancient Israelites in a very personal, very powerful way.

As believers in Jesus Christ, we also have that personal presence in us today. For we are His tabernacle, His dwelling place, the temple of the Holy Spirit of God. Those who have placed their faith, their trust, their confidence and their hope in Him have provided Him with their hearts, have invited Him to come in and dwell within them. It is an error to believe that there is some "divine spark" within every human being, some element of God's nature. We are born without God, and have to reach a point in our lives where we recognize His absence. And once we recognize His absence and our abject need need of Him, we have a decision to make. Will we give place in our lives to the Lord of all Creation, or will we continue to try and make our own way?

Israel learned a hard lesson. In Eden, Man had one rule to follow. He failed to keep it. Israel had ten commandments to obey. They couldn't keep it. God expanded His law to include 613 regulations of holiness, and for 1500 years, His people failed again and again and again, at last coming to a place where their whole attention was upon the letter of the laws rather than upon the spirit. People were more concerned with their own appearance than the condition of their heart. And God sent Jesus to save us from our sins, and reduced the commandments back to one--to Love. He gave the commandment two directions--upward toward Him, and outward toward others. On the commandment and covenant of love hang all other rules and regulations for life and living.

In the wilderness, Israel rebelled against God over and over again, until God reached the point where He stepped back and said, "Fine. You don't want to follow Me and do what is best? Go ahead and do whatever you want. Follow your own counsel." And an entire generation--more than a million Israelites--died in the wilderness without ever entering their Promised Land. And if we don't heed the voice of the Lord and follow His commandments, the same will happen to us.

To be quite honest, I don't want to be left to my own counsel. I don't want to be left to my own devices. Because in the absence of God, without His power and presence dwelling in me, convicting me, convincing me, covering me constantly in the cloud of His glory--without God governing my life, I know the choices I would make. I know the things I struggle with now; with no restraint in my life, I know with what abandon I would chase my own thoughts, my own desires. I know that my heart is deceitful and vain and would lead me to my own destruction.

God, please don't leave me to my own counsel. I don't know what I'm doing without You!

A Man's Ways...and a Woman's too

2010-09-16T07:55:00.000-07:00

For several reasons, Proverbs 16 is my favorite chapter in the book of wisdom. I've read it too many times to count, and maybe these patterns have jumped out at me before, but I took special notice of them today. Those particular proverbs are primarily concerned with how a person makes their way through life. What governs their plans, their intentions, their dreams? What guides their steps? The answer to that question makes all the difference in the world.

All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,

but the Lord weighs the spirits. (v. 2)

I can justify anything I want to do. And anyone who has ever wanted to do something they knew they weren't supposed to, or even something that was questionable, knows what I'm talking about. Faced with decisions everyday, thinking through the nuances of each choice, we can usually reason ourselves into doing whatever we want to do. Whatever pleases us. Whatever makes us happy. Whatever satisfies our immediate need. Whatever seems right at the time (I'll come back to that thought). And once we've made our choice, we can usually look back on it and justify it...or excuse it. But we must remember that it is the Lord who weighs the spirits; it is the Lord who truly knows whether what we did was right or wrong in His eyes. And His eyes are the only eyes that count. We can justify our actions, but are our motives pure?

When a man's ways please the Lord,

He makes even his enemies be at peace with him (v. 7)

We all want to live in peace. We want to live in a world where everyone likes us, even loves us, where nobody hates us, where all people are happy with us all the time. Unfortunately, we often think that they key to peaceful living is pleasing people. That if we do the right thing where everyone is concerned, then everyone will be okay with us. And I could quote many an old adage here: for example, you can please some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all the people all the time. At any given moment in my life (especially my life as a pastor), there is almost always someone at odds with me, someone who didn't agree with my last sermon or my last decision. And I could expend all of my energies on efforts to make every last one of them happy, or I could simply choose the easy way and make God happy. Because when God is pleased with me, I will have peace.

A man's heart plans his way,

but the Lord directs his steps. (v. 9)

I could probably get into deep theological water with this one, but I've been in over my head before. People plan and plot and scheme and dream, and they make decisions based on the belief that each person determines their own destiny, that each person makes their own luck, that the fate of one's life is in one's hands. And yet the Bible declares that there is a Sovereign God who sees all, knows all, and is in control of all things. So I can either blunder along, blindly frustrated because things never go the way I want them to, or I can surrender to the awesome foreknowledge of God and rely on Him to guide me and get me through. Either way, God still governs the universe, including me.

There is a way that seems right to a man,

but its end is the way of death. (v 25)

This one is perhaps the most troubling of all, because it tells me that something can look absolutely right to my eyes, and still be wrong. I can look at a situation from every angle, seek every opinion, carefully weigh every option. I can reason out my choices, justify my decisions, I can work to please people, and make my plans to accomplish my goals. And when I study it with human understanding, I can see that everything I've done, everything I'm doing, and everything I'm going to do is the way that seems right to me. It is the way that makes sense, that gives me what I want, that works out perfectly. But if it is not the way of the Lord, it is a straight line to sudden destruction.

So what is the answer then? What should govern and guide my decisions? Obviously, it can't be my own heart and mind, because both are part of a fallen existence. My heart is deceitful, and my mind plays tricks on me. I don't always have all the facts. So what is there that will guarantee I make the right decisions in life? The Word of God and the Will of God. One we find by reading what He wrote; the other we find by living it out as we listen for His voice. If we will surrender our will to His and stop talking long enough for Him to get in a word, He will tell us what we need to do.

Every Word

2010-08-30T08:30:00.000-07:00

Every word of God is pure;

He is a shield to those

who put their trust in Him.

Do not add to His words,

Lest He rebuke you,

and you be found a liar.

Proverbs 30:5-6, NKJV

Three times--once in the Law, once in the Proverbs, once in the Revelation--we are specifically commanded not to add to the Word of God. In the Epistles, Paul warns of the dangers of accepting any other Gospel than the one that was preached--whether it be him who amends it by preaching or letter, or another apostle, or even an angel from Heaven. Jesus exhorted His followers to be on their guard against false prophets and teachers who would deceive through false signs and lying wonders which they claim will validate their message.

The Psalmist declares that the Law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul, more precious than gold, sweeter than honey. He also wrote that the Word of God is a lamp to our feet, and light to our path. He says we should hide God's words in our heart, that we might not sin against Him.

Moses came off the mountain with the Word of God inscribed in stone.

The prophets wrote and spoke the Word of God as the Holy Spirit moved on them.

The apostles penned the epistles as the Holy Spirit breathed within them.

Paul says we should let the Word dwell in us richly. Peter says we should desire it as a babe desires milk from its mother's breast. Hebrews says the Word is living and powerful, and sharper than a two-edged sword; that it divides flesh from spirit, bone from marrow, and reveals the deepest intentions of the heart. James says it is a mirror that reflects the truth in a man. Jesus says the Word is our true source of life, and that we cannot live without it.

The Word of God is faithful and true. He never misspeaks. He never makes promises that He does not keep. He never prevaricates, neither does He amend or explain away what He has said. He can be trusted, for He has always been trustworthy. What God has promised, He will also do. What God has started, He will complete in you. What God has prophesied will accurately and undoubtedly come to pass.

So since the Word of God is so unique and special and powerful and acceptable, we need to be careful how we use it, what we do to it, and what we speak under the claim, "Thus says God." Let us know what the written Word says; let us know what the Living Word says; and let us know that whatever the Spirit says to us now, He will never say anything that contradicts what has been said before. His words will always align with the eternal Word. And ours should too.

Like a Child

2010-08-27T10:27:00.000-07:00

I remember what it was like when I was small enough to crawl into my mother's lap and feel the love and comfort of her arms around me. In moments like that, all of the cares and worries of life simply vanished away. It didn't matter if someone had been mean to me at school, or if I had broken my favorite toy, or lost my milk money. If a dog had bitten, if a bee had stung, if I was feeling sad, all I had to do was rest myself in the embrace of the one person who loved me no matter what, who would do anything for me because she was my mother.

Jesus said, "Unless you change, and become as little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

Jesus said, "If you want to be great in the kingdom, you must become as little children."

Jesus said, "Let the little children come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven."

How many days do we waste in pursuit of pipe dreams and unattainable goals? How many minutes and hours are spent mulling over matters beyond our control, over politics and religion and the weather and what people are doing across town or around the world? I can't do anything about any of those things. And I certainly don't understand them. But day after day, I have found my thoughts occupied with how to fix the Middle East, how to fix the economy, how to fix the nation, how to fix Obama. I have spent hours talking about what is wrong with the church at large and what I would do to change it. I've written letters and made phone calls and stood up to be counted.

I have argued and debated, cajoled and persuaded. I have proven my point time after time, been right more than I've been wrong. I have done my best to shape the world around me, to bend it to my will. And I have failed. This world does not conform to my wishes, neither do the people in it. If folks would just listen to me and do what I tell them to do...

King David wrote in Psalm 131:

Lord, my heart is not haughty,

nor my eyes lofty.

Neither do I concern myself with great matters,

nor with things too profound for me.

Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul,

like a weaned child with his mother;

like a weaned child is my soul within me.

O Israel, hope in the Lord

from this time forth and forevermore.

The best way to deal with a world that is spinning completely out of my control, is simply to crawl up into the arms of the Lord and rest there, trusting Him to be in charge and to do what is right. It is in His presence that I find joy, at His right hand where there is pleasure evermore. We need to learn to sit in His lap, and be still.

When Hatred is a Virtue

2010-08-19T04:55:00.000-07:00

You who love the Lord,

hate evil!

Psalm 97:10a, NKJV

I don't think we hate enough.

It's a dangerous statement to make, especially in a climate that is so accepting, tolerant, and all-embracing. But I don't think Christians have enough hate in their hearts.

Now, before you go all ballistic on me and think they I have lost all good sense and reason, take a moment with me to consider this. Hatred is a virtue taught by the Word.

I'm not talking about hating people--either as groups or as individuals. Certainly not! The Bible says that if you claim to love God and at the same time harbor hatred in your heart for another person, you are a liar, and the truth of God is not in you. Jesus says if you have hatred in your life for another person, you are as guilty of murder as if you picked up a gun and shot them. The Bible's instruction to us is to love one another, to love our neighbors, to love our enemies. After all, Jesus demonstrated the love of God by dying for me when I was unlovely, unloving and unlovable. That is the love of God, and we should live that kind of love out every day of our lives.

What I am talking about is hating evil. The Bible says that we should hate the things that God hates. And I'm not going to go into a list here. If you want to know what God hates, go to the Word and find out. Try Proverbs 6:16 and go from there. The Bible says that the fear of the Lord causes us to hate what God hates.

And my question is, do we have enough hate?

Do we hate the influence of evil in our own personal lives, or do we continually tolerate the things that God has commanded us to get rid of?

Do we hate the practice of evil things in our actions, or do we continually excuse ourselves at "not so bad as the next guy"?

Do we hate the stain of evil on our hearts and hands, the scar of evil seared into our souls, the shame of evil in our conscience, or do we continually ignore the pestering prick of the Holy Spirit, dismissing conviction in favor of pleasure?

Do we hate the rampant evil ruining our society, or do we justify it under the guise of political correctness and ignore it because we think the love of God overlooks what is wrong?

Do we hate evil, or do we accept it as unavoidable? How many times have I cringed at the phrases "necessary evil" or "devil's advocate"?

If I hate what God hates, I will hunt those things down in my life and destroy them. If I hate what God hates, I will avoid those things at all costs in my own personal life. I will go the other way. I will step around them and pass on. I will not go where evil abides, I will not be tainted by its touch or corrupted by its companionship, I will not look upon it, or listen to it, or taste or touch or smell it. I will not give evil even the tiniest of toeholds in my life. I will hate evil and everything it stands for.

I will despise evil, wickedness, transgression and sin. I will be sick with indignation and grief. I will mourn the evil around me, I will mourn the evil within me. I will do something about it, not in my strength alone, but in the power and authority of Jesus Christ. I will turn my back on evil, and point my face toward the light.

But at the same time, I will extend the loving grace and wonderful mercy of God to those who are still lost in sin and captivated by evil. I will reach out to the hurting, to those who are dead and don't even know it. I will take the hand of the blind, the wretched, the poor, and the lame, and raise them up with the power of the Word.

If we love God, we will hate evil. But we will love those bound by it enough to tell them, and to teach them, to show them and to lead them into the goodness of God!

At the Presence of the Lord

2010-07-23T09:49:00.000-07:00

When Israel went out of Egypt,

the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,

Judah became His sanctuary,

and Israel His dominion.

Psalm 114:1-2, NKJV

I'm not a big fan of preaching Biblical symbolism, but there are some illustrative pictures painted by the Grand Designer of all that are inescapable. Take this one for instance.

Israel--God's Chosen People--was enslaved in a foreign land, but when the cried out to the LORD, He sent a deliverer to break the power of the of the captor and lead Israel out of Egypt into their promised land. He led them through the Red Sea, and ultimately across the Jordan River, removing every obstacle from their path and providing for their every need along the way.

Israel is you and me, before we knew the LORD, before Jesus came and made us whole.

Egypt is the world of sin into which we were born, in which we lived.

Sin is the enslavement, and Satan is the enslaver of souls, holding us as captives in need of deliverance.

Christ is the great and awesome deliverer, the prophet greater than Moses, the embodiment of all Divine Power, who forgives and forgets all of our sin when he saves us and brings us out of Egypt's bondage.

The Exodus from Egypt is a picture of salvation, coming out of the world of sin into the land promise.

The Red Sea is a picture of Water Baptism.

The Wilderness is a picture of Sanctification.

The Jordan River is a picture of Spirit Empowerment.

The Promised Land is a picture of Victorious Living.

And I could go on, but I think you get the picture. And that's not really my point anyway. What grabbed me about the 114th Psalm was the Presence of the Lord in the believers life. When He brings us out of sin and puts His Spirit in us, we become His kingdom, His dominion. We submit ourselves willfully to the wonderful rule of the King of kings. We are His Israel, not that we have replaced the Chosen People, but rather we have been joined to the Chosen People. We have become people of God.

The tribe of Judah produced the great Kings of the Bible, the lineage that led to Jesus Christ. But the name Judah means "praise", and the Psalmist also wrote that God inhabits the praises of His people. When we lift up the high praise of God in our lives, we build for Him a tabernacle where He can dwell and be worshiped. We ourselves are a sanctuary of praise, a living tabernacle, the temple of the Holy Ghost. Peter says we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people who sing the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness into marvelous light. When we are brought out of sin into salvation, we are transformed into the sanctuary where he dwells, and we are meant to worship Him.

When His presence fills our life of praise...

The sea will flee.

The rivers will roll back.

The mountains and the hills will skip away before us.

When His presence fills our life, He makes the way where there seems to be no way, going before us and coming behind us in the power of His might. He speaks and the universe surrenders to His will. Every obstacle is made surmountable, every weakness becomes an opportunity of glory for God. And why? the Psalmist asks. It is because nothing can stand before the presence of the Lord, the God of those who are His.

What Were They Thinking?

2010-07-22T08:33:00.000-07:00

Praise the Lord!

Oh, give thanks to the LORD,

for He is good!

For His mercy endures forever.

Psalm 106:1, NKJV

Okay, so God's people were enslaved and being slaughtered in Egypt under the hard and heavy hand of Pharaoh and his task masters. They cried out to the Lord in their captivity, and He heard their cry. He found Moses over in Midian looking after his father-in-law's sheep, and He says to Moses, "Go deliver My people, and I will be with you." So then Moses goes back to Egypt, where his face is plastered on every post office wall as public enemy number one, does a whole bunch of awesome stuff with a stick and the power of God, and Pharaoh emancipates the Hebrew slaves and sends them packing on down to the Red Sea shore. Then he changes his mind, chases them with chariots and horses, and ends up drowning in the Red Sea when God parted the waters for Moses to pass over on dry ground but brought the waves crashing down again on the heads of the Egyptians. God feeds the Israelites when they are hungry, waters them when they are thirsty, shields them from the heat of the desert day and the cold of the desert night, gives them victory after miraculous victory over their enemies. And how do they thank him?

They did not appreciate the powerful goodness of God.

They rebelled against Him and His chosen representative.

They quickly forgot all that He had done for them.

They lusted for the things they did not have, and complained about the things they did have.

They griped about the generous provision of God and put Him to the test.

They envied God's appointed leaders.

They took an oath to serve God alone, and at the first opportunity made themselves a worthless god from the gold of their earrings.

They despised the pleasant land God had promised them and refused to enter it out of fear.

They did not listen to His word, nor did they believe it.

They ran after other gods.

They drove Moses to the point of insanity and crazed disobedience.

They did not fulfill the demands of God to destroy His enemies, bur rather intermarried and intermingled and became corrupt.

They served the idols of their enemies, and sacrificed their own children in abominable flames.

They defiled themselves and the land God had given them.

And in spite of all that, in spite of the punishment and discipline and correction He had to inflict on them, God did not reject or disown His Chosen People. He did not forget them or the covenant He had made with them. He did not cast them off or destroy them completely. Instead, He heard their afflicted cries, their grief, their sorrow, their repentance. They may have indeed been crying because they got caught, certainly because they were being punished, but God heard them anyway. And He showed up time and time and time again just to save them and demonstrate to them that, though they were a sorry lot, He was still a good God!

Thank You, God, that You are always better to me than sometimes I am to You.

Perfection is the Standard

2010-07-21T09:07:00.000-07:00

My eyes shall be on the faithful of the land,

that they may dwell with me;

He who walks in a perfect way,

He shall serve me.

Psalm 101:6, NKJV

I am not perfect; far from it, actually. Just ask anybody who has spent any time around me at all, and they will tell you that I have flaws just like anybody else. I am not perfect, and I have never met anyone who was--although I've met a few people who thought they were. That was really what gave them away as imperfect; it bespoke of their delusional state of mind.

I am not perfect, but there is a God in heaven who is. I am not perfect, but God has One Son who is, who came our direction to show us how perfection could be achieved. I am not perfect, but God gave us His Word to tell us that perfection was the standard God upholds and expects us to meet. No pressure.

King David wrote the 101st Psalm and he said:

I will behave wisely in a perfect way.

I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.

I will walk in a perfect a way.

And then I think, "Really? David? I mean, really?" Remember, this is the guy who pillaged and plundered his enemies and lied about it. This is the guy who went for a walk at the wrong time of day, peeped into someone else's window while their wife was taking a bath, and found her so irresistibly attractive that he invited her over for dinner while her husband was out of town doing David's bidding. She came for dinner, stayed for breakfast, and a few weeks later gave David the happy news that they were expecting an illegitimate bundle of joy. David's response was to call her husband home, get him all liquored up and then send him to sleep with his wife, which the honorable warrior refused to do while all of his friends were in the field. So David's next step was to plot the man's demise, ordering him into the heat of the battle where he was sure to be killed. This is the guy who had more wives than he knew what to do with and still took one more in hopes of covering up his own failure. This is the guy who refused to correct or discipline his own children, permissively overlooking their unspeakable acts of incest, treachery and rebellion. This is the guy who numbered his people in his own arrogance, and when given the choice of punishment from God selected a plague that wiped out thousands of his subjects.

And yet he is called the man after God's own heart. How is that even possible?

David didn't meet his own expectations of himself, much less the expectations of God. How much better would his life have been had he lived by the standards he set, had he practiced what he preached? What if David had actually behaved perfectly and walked perfectly, never looking where he shouldn't have been looking, never thinking what he shouldn't have been thinking, never doing what he shouldn't have been doing? David hated sinfulness enough in the lives of others; what if he had hated it that fiercely in himself?

And then I have to ask, do I? Do I hate the sin in my own life that I tell people they should hate in theirs? Do any of us?

God expects perfection from us; but His Word also tells us that we cannot measure up. We are frail, flawed, failing human beings. All have sinned and fallen short of the excellence of God. None are righteous. In me nothing good dwells. How then do I have any hope of attaining the perfection that God tells me He wants from me?

I think David knew the answer to that as well. Since he himself was imperfect, he had to rely on the perfection of God and call out for the forgiveness that God makes available to all who ask for it. David was a man after God's own heart, not because he always did what was right, but because He knew how to get right through repentance. And we must all learn the same lessons. We must strive for perfection in our hearts and in our lives, but when we fall short, we must also run to the perfection of God to find help and mercy for ourselves. We cannot do it alone.

And until I get to heaven and all things are made new, I know that the most perfect I will ever be before God is when I stand before Him forgiven by His own grace. Thank you, Jesus, for that!

Self-Made Man?

2010-07-20T09:25:00.000-07:00

Know that the Lord, He is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves.

We are His sheep and the people of His pasture.

Psalm 100:3, NKJV

People never cease to amaze me.

Take them to the most beautiful spots on earth, point out the grandeur of God's vast creation, look into the majestic and endless heavens, consider the complexities of the human body, not to mention the human heart. And invariably, some rocket scientist will say, "What an accident!" Challenge that rocket scientist--with his enormous library, impressive degrees, and small, closed mind--and he'll get on his high horse and in your face, ridicule anyone who believes in God, and continue to claim, without one shred of proof, that billions and billions of years ago, something unknowable imploded in on itself, flung its debris outward, and from that the universe managed to assemble itself.

That same man will insist that in a backwater part of this little galaxy of ours, a planet formed that was exactly the right distance from the sun, with the exactly the right combination of elemental compounds in its terrestrial sphere and atmosphere, to support the intricate system of life found on our Earth. In a noxious primordial soup, the right two proteins happened to run into each other, linking themselves to become the first amino acid and the building blocks upon which all life would stand. Single celled organisms begin to form, collecting together in clusters and putting their little nucleic centers to work making something of themselves. Skip forward an eon or two, and those cell clusters have mutated into amphibious form, a fishy creature with fins like feet that flops out of the soup onto the shores of some forgotten sea and suddenly finds itself able to breathe in oxygen through the pinholes in its face. Skip forward another eon or three, and our little industrious amphibian has lost his fins, grown a tail and opposable thumbs, and is swinging from the family tree looking for two rocks to bang together. He spots a shemonkey without a tail and walking upright, knocks her in the head with one of his rocks, and their children become the far distant ancestors of the magnificent specimen of humankind that the rocket scientist looks at in the mirror everyday.

Or so he'd like to think.

And then he looks at his life, his education, his career, his accomplishments, and all of the dreams yet before him. And because he is a handsome and smart and well-balanced individual, he determines that he is the way he is because of his own abilities. He is the supreme accident that just happened into this world.

The thing about accidents is...I've never seen a pretty one. They are all ugly messes. Accidents break things, they don't build things. Blow up the baking aisle at Kroger; you don't get perfectly assembled cookies, you get chaos. Blow up a printing press; you don't get a dictionary, you get devastation. Blow up a scrap metal yard; you don't get a new car, you get shrapnel.

It has been my observation that the things I contribute on my own to my life usually make the biggest messes. And thus I see a self-made man. But when I look at what an infinite and awesome God does, I never cease to be amazed at the wonder of His work in my life, and in my world. The Psalmist recognized the the handiwork of God when he said:

Make a joyful shout to the Lord!

Serve the Lord with gladness!

Come before His presence with singing!

Enter His gates with thanksgiving!

Come into His courts with praise!

Be thankful to Him!

Bless His name!

He is God. He has made us. And He is good!

Continual

2010-07-15T08:50:00.000-07:00

But I will hope continually,

and will praise You yet more and more.

My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness

and Your salvation all the day,

for I do not know their limits.

Psalm 71:14-15, NKJV

Why are you always so happy? What are you always smiling about? For years I have had to put up with those kinds of questions from almost everyone, as if expressing joy was an affront to civilization. Although now that I think about it, perhaps it is in affront to those who don't truly have it. But I have it. I tell people, "Hey, I'd rather laugh than cry." And God knows there's always something to cry about.

As a pastor, and even as a friend, I've learned there are times when people need a shoulder to cry on. I will readily admit that there have been times that I needed a shoulder to cry on. But I have found that truly the best place to go when I'm having a hard time or a bad day is into the presence of the Lord. He cares about my needs, my problems, my issues. He understands heartbreak and rejection. He sympathizes with me in my weaknesses. And I think about the author of those verses in Hebrews where it talks about Jesus as the author and finisher of our faith, who suffered through the crucifixion because He understood the joy that awaited Him after the resurrection, when His work was over and His mission fulfilled. And then the writer says, "You haven't bled to death yet." In other words, whenever you think things are as bad as they can possibly be, that things couldn't possibly get any worse, just remember--Jesus died. If you're not dead yet, it's not as bad as it could possibly be.

And even if they were, so what? Where is my confidence, my trust, my faith? Where is my hope? The Psalmist said, "You are my hope, O Lord God." When God is your source and your supply, your steadfast savior, your constant companion and friend, how bad can things possibly be? Paul wrote in Romans, "If God before you, who can be against you?" In other words, when God is on your side, everybody else might as well be. That's good news!

From time to time, I get down in the dumps. Nobody ever sees me that way because I don't go out in public in that condition. That's when I seclude myself in darkness and suck on my big toe while I cry. The only way people usually ever know that I'm going through something is if I tell them, and I don't usually tell them until it's over and done with and I can laugh about it--because laughter is the best medicine anyway. But I have learned that it is not good to live in darkness and dine on tears. It's not good for my body, not good for my soul, not good for my spirit. It accomplishes nothing. And being mopey just makes me mad. I don't like it in other people, I certainly don't like it in me!

So what if nothing goes my way. God is still in control.

So what if nothing turns out the way I think it should. God is still all powerful, and working all things out for my good and His glory.

So what if nobody likes me. Jesus loved me enough that He died to save me.

So what if everybody abandons me. He is a friend who sticks closer than a brother, and He is everywhere present all the time.

So what if I don't have everything that want in the instant that I think I need it. God still supplies all of my need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

God is good, all the time, and like the Psalmist I have learned (and to be honest, sometimes I'm still learning) to place my hope in Him, for if I hope in Him, my hope is continual. My hope is not on circumstances and situations around me; my hope is Christ within me! And while I hope, I will also sing and shout and dance about. I will praise God, for He is worthy of all my praise, for all that He's done, for all that He is, for all that He's going to do! And I will talk about His goodness and His saving grace all the day long. I will keep on praising the God who is good to me, because I have discovered that there is no limit to His love and help, and no end in sight!

Trust

2010-07-05T06:46:00.001-07:00

Our fathers trusted in You;

they trusted, and You delivered them.

They cried to You, and were delivered;

they trusted in You, and were not ashamed.

Psalm 22:4-5, NKJV

For the first time in His eternal existence, He felt a separation from God that He had never known. With the sin of the world--all the sins of all the people in all the world from all time--upon Him, He felt forsaken, abandoned, alone.

In desperation He cried out with a loud voice, WHY? Why have You left me? Why won't you help me? Why don't you hear me?

He was treated as a worm among men, something to be stepped on and despised.

He was mocked by those who saw Him, an object of ridicule and scorn. They shook their heads and wagged their tongues at him, hissing through sneers that the God in whom He had always trusted was now nowhere to be found to help Him.

His enemies surrounded him like charging and angry bulls, roaring like raging lions.

He was naked, shamefully exposed, and forced to watch while foreigners gambled for his clothes.

His life was spilling from His body one drop of blood and sweat and tears at a time. Dogs licked the blood that ran in rivulets down the wood of the execution stake.

His arms and legs were twisted in hideous contortions, straining against the nails that fixed him to the cruel splintered cross, and where the horrifying beating had ripped his flesh to ribbons, He could see exposed his own bones.

His heart seemed to be melting within Him, fainting from heat and thirst and pain.

His strength was gone. Utterly exhausted, He thirsted for a touch of water upon his swollen tongue.

He stared Death directly in the face, and knew that His time for the grave was at hand.

And hanging on Calvary's tree, Jesus the Christ, Son of the Living God, trusted in His Father. The night before He had prayed, pleaded, petitioned, "Please, let this cup pass from me. Let someone else do it. Don't let them do this to me." Anguished to the point of sweating blood, Jesus cried out from the depths of His soul to be delivered from the trial that faced him. But at the end of His tormented groanings, He surrendered to the sovereign will of God with, "Not my will, but thine be done."

Even now, in the heat of the day, those all around began to call out to Him: "If You are who You say You are, save yourself! Come down off that cross!" And perhaps He was tempted, in the frailty of His fleshly existence, to call ten thousand angels to slaughter those who mocked Him, to vanquish those who had condemned Him, to avenge Himself upon those who had denied and betrayed Him. But having renewed Himself in prayer the night before, having committed Himself to seeing the will of the Father accomplished, He surrendered to the sovereign will of God.

And He trusted.

It's easy to trust God when things are good and going your way, when you are the head and not the tail, above only and not beneath, when everybody likes you and nobody hates you, when your living on the mountain underneath a cloudless sky. It's easy to trust God when angels and demons do your bidding, when you speak in faith and see miracles take place. It's easy to trust God when you're living in victory and triumph and prosperity and health, when all your enemies have been subdued at your feet. It's easy to trust God then.

But try trusting Him when your entire world comes crashing down on your head, when those who hate you have their way at your expense, when your prayers seemingly go unheard and no answer will come, when the blessings of God that make rich and add no sorrow with them seem small and long ago.

Try trusting Him when you've taken everything that you are, everything that you want, everything that you could ever do or hope, and nailed it to a cross. You may very well die on that cross, but will you trust the sovereign will of God. Will you hear His voice and obey His commands, even if it means that darkness must descend on your pitiful existence?

Jesus did. And Jesus died. But three days later, His hope did not disappoint. His trust did not put Him to shame. Because from the finality of His death rose new and eternal life, for Him, for all, for you and me!

Trust in the Lord.

The Open Hand of God

2010-06-29T19:42:00.000-07:00

David had some pretty bad days during his lifetime. His father forgot about him. His brothers despised him. His father-in-law king tried to kill him. In a very short space of time, he lost his parents, his wife, his best friend and his Spiritual mentor. One time while away in battle, a band of raiders burned his town and stole his family and the families of his 600 men--who then turned against him and wanted to stone him. The closing years of his reign were defined by dysfunction, devastation, and rebellion. He lost four sons and a daughter. He even lost the kingdom for a bit. And there was almost always somebody somewhere who wanted to kill him.

And during those dark days, David did what he always did...he got alone with God and a guitar and sang about his situation. Some of those songs are recorded in Scripture. Consider these excerpts from Psalms 141, 142 & 143.

Deliver me, O Lord...

Lord, I cry out to You; make haste to me!

I will cry out to the Lord with my voice;

with my voice to the Lord I make my supplication.

I pour out my complaint before Him;

I declare before Him my trouble.

When my spirit was overwhelmed within me,

then You knew my path...

Look on my right hand and see,

for there is no one who acknowledges me;

refuge has failed me;

no one cares for my soul.

The enemy has persecuted my soul;

He has crushed my life to the ground;

He has made me dwell in darkness,

like those who have long been dead.

Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me;

my heart within me is distressed.

Answer me speedily, O Lord;

my spirit fails!

do not hide Your face from me...

Deliver me, O Lord...

In spite of all the blessings of God, when time and time again the Almighty had come through for David, there were still days when David's heart broke under duress and distress. There were still days when the weight of worry and anxiety and doubt and fear overwhelmed him. There were still days when life seemed to much for the man after God's own heart. And what did he do?

He went to the Lord.

Our hard times, our bad times, our dark times...they are real and very serious. But we can choose how to face them and deal with them. We can choose to endure with God. Or we can choose to abandon all hope and cave under the pressure. We can throw our hands up in the air and say, "I quit!" Or we can set our face like flint, take our stand, and trust the Lord to come through for us. Either way, we're eventually going to die. But we can choose to go out in defeat, or in a blaze of glory.

I started to blog today on some of those verses above, particularly from Psalm 143, because my spirit is overwhelmed within me, and my heart is distressed. But I kept on reading, and I'm glad I did, because it was in Psalm 144 & 145 that I found my true relief. Not in crying to God about my situation, by in telling my situation about my God.

Blessed be the Lord my Rock,

who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle--

My lovingkindness and my fortress,

My high tower and my deliverer,

my shield and the One in whom I take refuge...
I will sing a new song to You, O God;

the One who gives salvation to kings,

who delivers David His servant from the deadly sword.

I will extol You, my God, O King,

and I will bless Your name forever and ever.

Every day I will bless You,

and I will praise Your name forever and ever.

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised...

The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,

slow to anger and great in mercy.

The Lord is good to all,

and His tender mercies are over all His works.

And even those verses would have been enough, but I still wasn't through reading:

The Lord upholds all who fall,

and raises up all who are bowed down.

(Thank you Lord, because I'm feeling mighty low!)

The eyes of all look expectantly to You

(After all, where else would I look?)

And You give them their food in due season.

(You always have Lord, and I know you always will)

You open Your hand

and satisfy the desire of every living thing.

The Lord is righteous in all His ways,

gracious in all His works.

The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,

to all who call upon Him in truth.

He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;

he also will hear their cry and save them.

The Lord preserves all who love Him,

But all the wicked He will destroy.

And there it is. The Lord is good, and He knows what He's doing. And He is still going to come through for me. Just as He always has. It might not look like what I thought it would look like, but when the Lord opens His hand and begins to pour out the blessings that satisfy, who can complain? Those blessings are infinitely good and beyond compare! The sun is going to set on the trials of today, and tomorrow the sun will rise again to newness of life. And me with it. Because God is on my side, and He never fails!

Imperfect

2010-06-28T07:45:00.000-07:00

The Lord will perfect that which concerns me;

Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever;

Do not forsake the works of Your hands.

Psalm 138:8

God has a plan, and His plan has been in place since before time began. From ages past into ages yet to come, He is unfolding His plan according to His own will and purpose, and there is nothing that happens that is not part of it. God has never been surprised, not even once. Because before He started start, He knew the end from the beginning. In fact, He is the End. And He is the Beginning. He is the First, and He is the Last. He is the Alpha and the Oomega, the first letter and the final one. We are simply living out the eternal plan of God.

It's difficult to get our minds around sometimes, because in our limited human understanding, we want to think that we have some semblance of control over our own lives and destinies. We want to believe that the choices we make are vitally important, world impacting decisions. And they are, but they were part of the plan before we made our grand entrance onto the world stage. If you ever doubt that God's plan is in full effect, just read ahead in Psalm 139. It says that He knows everything about us, including our actions, our words, and our thoughts--they were all written down before we ever drew breath.

We are the creation of God, designed by His sovereign choice, formed and fashioned by His careful and omnipotent hand, led and governed by the power of His deliberate will. As we live and move and have our being, we are simply fulfilling that which has already been written. I'm not saying that we are puppets on the strings of some cosmic puppetmaster; we do have free will. We can make choices for ourselves, decisions for ourselves. We can determine which path our feet will tread. But God already knows what we are going to do, and He is never ambushed by any sudden moves on our part. He is still the master of our fate, the captain of our soul.

I am learning to put my trust fully and completely in Him. Sometimes I think I get a glimpse of God's plan opening around me. And just when I think I have things figured out, He smooths out a wrinkle in the page and suddenly what I thought I knew isn't necessarily the way things really are. Sometimes I make mistakes, sometimes I fail. But these also are part of the plan. They are bringing me to those places God has always known I would go, places where He can step in and do in my life what He needs to do. Every curve, every bend in the road, every pothole, every bump...God directs my path and orders my steps, and He knows very well the road I am walking. And He is using it to bring His plans to pass.

God will perfect that which concerns me.

He will bring all things together in Himself.

He does work out all things for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.

What God has promised, He will also do.

What God has started, He will be faithful to finish.

For we are His workmanship, created for good works in Christ.

He didn't start this process in us to leave it half finished; He is working with the end in mind. He is merciful and compassionate, and He will not forsake the work of His hands. He won't discard us as a project impossible to complete. He won't give up on us.

And I won't give up on Him. I will continue to live, and wait while He perfects everything that concerns me.

They Rejoiced With Her

2010-06-26T08:45:00.001-07:00

When her neighbors and relatives heard

how the Lord had shown great mercy to her,

they rejoiced with her.

Luke 1:58

This verse makes me wonder if Elizabeth's pregnancy was the best kept secret in the community. After all, upon becoming pregnant, she hid herself for five months, and in the sixth month, her cousin shows up pregnant, young and unwed. Perhaps they were both hiding out as a result of their conditions. But once Elizabeth's baby had been delivered into the world, the secret was out! In our world, cute little invitations showing babies dressed in blue booties would be sent out via mail, or perhaps just a quick pic snapped with our iPhone and sent to everyone in our contact list with a txt: wehadababyitzaboy! As the child's eighth day approached, neighbors and cousins began to gather for the bris--the circumcision and official naming. And since the birth of John was likely at Passover, it made it easier for all the out-of-town relatives to join in the event. I'm sure that Mary's parents, the righteous Joachim and Anna, were present, perhaps even discovering their daughters condition (I like to take a little dramatic license in imagining the scenario). But regardless of their reaction to Mary's news, they were really there for Elizabeth. And the Bible says they rejoiced!

The friends and neighbors and relatives rejoiced because the Lord had showed Elizabeth "great mercy." I took a moment to look up the meaning of the word, in a Biblical sense. It means: kindness or goodwill toward the miserable and afflicted, joined with a desire to help. Those visiting Elizabeth knew that she had spent a lifetime in barrenness. But like Sarah, like Rebekah, like Rachel, like Mrs. Manoah and Hannah...God had seen their pitiful condition and stepped in to do something about it.

We need to remember that about God. Sometimes we get too focused on the aspects of God as lawgiver and judge, as the stern father figure, the enforcer, the punisher. He is a God of justice, of holiness and high expectation. But His justice is defined by his love toward us. When he looks upon our human condition, he does so with kindness and a desire to help. Which is ultimately what this entire story is about. For God so love us that He gave His only son for us. What grace! What goodness! What mercy He has shown us!

Now that is in the context of precious salvation, and everyone is always happy about that. But what about the kindness and good will and help that He shows others around us when we ourselves may be in a time of misery and affliction. Can we rejoice and be glad over the blessings of others?

Can we rejoice over the healing of our neighbor when we are suffering in our illness?

Can we rejoice over the blessing of our friend when we have so much lack?

Can we rejoice over the success of our relative when we have encountered another setback?

Elizabeth's friends and family rejoiced. They were happy about the baby God had finally given her. There were songs and laughter and tears and gifts. Everyone wanted to see the baby, to hold the baby, to look for Elizabeth's eyes in his, or Zacharias' nose, or some else's mouth or ears. And he was oh-so-precious, and what-a-treasure, and such-a-beautiful-baby-boy!

The Bible reveals relationship between the people of God that celebrates oneness and community. We are to laugh with those who laugh, weep with those who weep! We are to rejoice over the blessings of God toward one another, even as we wait for God's blessing to come upon us. Because one day, the Lord will look upon our miserable condition and say, "You know what? I think they've gone through that long enough. I'm gonna step in and turn that thing around!" Turn your frown upside down people! God is on your side, so everybody else might as well be!

As a friend of mine used to say: Nothing bad ever happens to me; ALL things work together for my good. Someone's gonna get blessed today, and it might as well be me! But until that day comes, I'm going to rejoice with those who are getting blessed.

Purify

2010-06-25T11:47:00.000-07:00

Take away the dross from silver, and it will go the silversmith for jewelry.

Proverbs 25:4

In its natural state, silver is usually found embedded in rock and mixed with other elements and metals such as gold, copper, and zinc. It is mined as ore, carved out of the earth itself, and then subjected to an intricate refining process that will separate the silver from everything else to yield a purified product useful in many different ways.

As a precious metal, silver has long been used as a form of currency.

As a highly malleable metal, it is used in dentistry for fillings and in the manufacturing of vessels, tableware, armor and decoration.

As a catalytic element, it is used in the production of other useful chemicals.

As the most superior conductor of heat and energy, it is used in many electronic components.

As an anti-microbial element, it is used for medicinal purposes.

As a reflective, it is used in mirrors.

But before silver can be used, it must first be purified. And though there are several modern ways of extracting silver from ore, it’s the ancient Biblical way that has application through this Proverb.

In ancient times, the silver ore would be crushed and crushed and crushed again until it became a fine powder. Placed in a furnace at the right temperatures, and the silver and other metals would melt away from the rock. Add the appropriate agent, such as lye, and the other metals would be drawn away from the silver. Combine the silver with a suitable liquid, such as mercury, pour it into a container that is properly porous, and put it back in the furnace, and the silver with separate itself from all remaining dross, which is either absorbed into the pores of the refining vessel, or skimmed from the top. The end result is refined silver ready to be used.

And it is absolutely necessary for the refiner to sit and keep a watchful eye upon the whole process, because if the process exceeds the proper time or temperature, the silver will be harmed. The story is told of a silversmith who was asked about his craft, and at the end of explaining he added that he only knows when the refinement is finished when he can see his reflection in the silver.

How many times does the Scriptures tell us that God is acting upon us like a refiner’s fire? We are, each of us, in a process designed to remove from us all of the things that don’t belong. The crushing will be brutal, the separation arduous. The furnace will certainly be fiery hot and hard to withstand, and the removal of dross sometimes trying. But it is all for a purpose, so that we can be purified and useful in the Master’s hands.

Valuable and precious, for He gave His own life to save us.

Malleable, and therefore workable under His design.

Catalytic, thus causing a reaction when we are placed in the world.

Conductive, and thereby an agent of God’s power to demonstrate His truth.

Medicinal, for we bring healing through the atonement to both body and soul.

Reflective, so that we can show the world the reality of the One who lives within us.

Morning is Coming!

2010-05-06T13:26:00.000-07:00

Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His,

and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.

For His anger is but for a moment,

His favor is for life;

Weeping may endure for a night,

but joy comes in the morning!

Psalm 30:4-5

Why do we weep?

David wrote this Psalm about ten years into his reign over the kingdom of Israel, and was by then a man acquainted with griefs and sorrows. Anointed as a boy to be the king, he spent more than two decades in constant peril from enemies within and without. The king personally tried to kill him on numerous occasions. Promised one daughter of the king as wife, he had to stand by as she was given to another. Given another daughter, he was forced to abandon her and she was also given to another. Because they helped David, an entire family of priests--80 men, their wives and children--was slaughtered. At one low point in his young life, both friends and enemies raised their voices against him. His house was burned to the ground, his possessions stolen, his wives and children kidnapped. His mentor was dead, his covenant brother was giving his life on a bloody battlefield, and his staunchest supporters wanted to stone him to death.

And the Bible says, "David encouraged himself in the Lord."

Why do we weep?

Sometimes we weep because our enemies find many reasons to laugh at our fate.

Sometimes we weep because we are sick and in pain, and it seems no relief will come.

Sometimes we weep because we believe we have failed God one too many times, and His anger will never be satisfied.

Sometimes we weep because we are assaulted and violated in the places we thought most safe.

Sometimes we weep because God seems so distant, or deaf to our cries, like there is no hope for us.

But we must remember--God doesn't plot for our destruction; He plans for our salvation. God isn't out to get us; He is out to bless us. The Psalmist recognized the anger of God, but he says "It only lasts a moment! The blessings of God are for always!" When God saved you and began to bless you, it was for life, with no intentions of taking that blessing away as long as you walked in the safety of His love and grace. Yes, we can willingly step away from God's goodness; but even then, God does not give up on us. His Holy Spirit follows us wherever we go, calling us back to the love of God.

Sometimes we weep, but David knew the weeping would only be for a little while. Joy was coming with the morning!

And what a wonderful morning it is, when dawn breaks over the horizon, flooding the darkness with marvelous light! It bespeaks a fresh start, a new day, and hope that things are going to be alright! David wrote:

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;

You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,

To the end that my glory may sing praise to You

and not be silent.

God is good; let the whole world know! And know it yourself.

Liberated!

2010-05-01T10:24:00.000-07:00

So speak and so do as those who will be judged

by the perfect law of liberty.

For judgment is without mercy

to the one who has shown no mercy.

Mercy triumphs over judgment.

James 2:12-13

I know alot of people, both in the world and in the church, whose concept of God is that of a stern and vindictive judge who sits enthroned in His high court of justice and hands out punishments to those who displease Him. People either cower in fear of His sovereignty, or defiantly shake their fists and rage against the system. We anticipate God's anger, God's wrath, God's vengeance when we make mistakes. We expect God to do away with us, or at the very least dissolve His connection to us. Many who truly love God spend their waking hours worrying over whether or not they have succeeded in pleasing God, or if they have successfully failed in doing so. And that if it is the latter, at any moment a dark thundercloud may appear over their head and dispense lightning bolt justice.

Can I tell you, it just isn't so. There is nothing in the Bible that indicates this is what God is like. People want to point to certain examples of God's wrath and say, "That's going to happen to you if you mess up!" But consider the examples...

God drowned the whole earth and all of its inhabitants with a flood...but that was only after 1500 years of warning, the last 120 accentuated by the preaching of Noah while he built the means of escape.

God demolished Sodom and Gomorrah with fire...but that was only after the righteous examples of Abraham and Lot showed the Sodomites how to live in God's blessing.

God devastated Egypt with ten plagues...but that was only after Pharaoh resisted (and might I say, resisted and resisted and resisted again) the request of Moses to let the Israelites go into the desert to worship their God.

God destroyed an entire generation of Israelites in the wilderness...but that was only after they rebelled against Him, flagrantly disobeyed His law, and continually complained about how good He had been to them.

God didn't kill Cain when Cain killed Abel.

God didn't kill Noah when Noah got drunk.

God didn't kill Moses when Moses hit the rock instead of speaking to it.

God didn't kill Samson for letting Delilah cut off his hair.

God didn't kill David for sleeping with Bathsheba, or for having her husband killed.

God didn't kill Jonah for running away from his calling.

God didn't kill Peter for denying Jesus, or Judas for betraying him.

God didn't disown Jacob for being a conniver.

God didn't disown Judah for being a hypocrite.

God didn't disown Aaron for being a people-pleaser.

God didn't disown Saul for his first mistake, or even his second.

God didn't disown Solomon for having 1000 wives that pulled his heart in 1000 different directions.

Now granted, sometimes there were consequences for sin. Anyone sowing seeds of sin will reap a wild harvest in one form or another. But when it comes to serving God and pleasing God, there is a whole more to life than not sinning. We can let the laws of sin and death scare us and keep us captive, always fearful of breaking a commandment. We can let worry and self-doubt consume us. We can spend our time fretting over the possibility of making God mad. Or we can accept that we are saved, sanctified, spirit-filled and heaven-bound...and that God is lifting up His countenance upon us and causing His face to shine upon us as we serve Him.

Through His mercy we are not consumed. Because of His grace we are not condemned. Because of His love we are blessed and highly favored. Yes, we are going to make mistakes in life. Yes, sometimes we are going to make the wrong choice. Yes, sometimes we are going to look like fools because of something we said or did. But God is a good God, and He doesn't inflict pain and punishment on us because we sometimes stumble. He is the One who picks us up, dusts us off, makes sure we are okay, and holds our hand as we continue on our way.

The law of the Lord is perfect; it revives the soul; it is more precious than gold and sweeter than honey! But the law is not restrictive; it is liberating! Even the ten commandments are meant for our blessing, and not for our destruction. I mean, really! Who wants to be a lying, stealing, adulterous, murderous, blasphemous, greedy, godless, hateful workaholic? Those are the things that destroy us! The law of the Lord is a law of liberty, that has set us free from sin and death!

So let us serve God in the liberty that His law really gives, and know that He is a good God!

Bringing in the Sheaves

2010-04-26T07:33:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I pulled this song out of the hymnal, threw it up on the wall with EasyWorship and got completely through the first verse and a chorus before realizing several folks in the congregation had rather perplexed looks on their faces. So I stopped and said, "How many of you know what sheaves are?" In a crowd of 15, maybe 5 raised their hands. So I took a moment to explain.

When field laborers used to gather the harvest by hand, they would bundle the stalks of wheat together and bind them in the middle so that they assumed a kind of hourglass shape. The bottom would spread out to hold up the wheat, and the heads of grain would wave in the wind. That bundle was called a sheave. So when we sing the song, "Bringing in the Sheaves", we're talking about our work in the harvest field of the world, gathering in the sheaves of souls that have been won to the Lord. After that brief explanation, people were grinning with understanding and singing the song like they meant it.

We've been through the years of Scripture choruses, and many contemporary worship songs are lifted right out of the Bible, but sometimes we forget that there were plenty of old hymn writers who penned their messages from the Word of God. "Bringing in the Sheaves" is one of them. Don't believe me? Turn in your Bible to the 126th Psalm.

When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion,

we were like those who dream.

then our mouth was filled with laughter,

and our tongue with singing.

Then they said among the nations,

"The Lord has done great things for them."

The Lord has done great things for us,

and we are glad.

Bring back our captivity, O Lord.

as the streams in the South.

Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy.

He who continually goes forth with weeping,

Bearing seed for sowing,

Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,

Bringing his sheaves with him.

There have been many days I felt like I was in captivity, exiled from my homeland with not return in sight. But then one day, the clouds of life rolled back as a scroll and the sun brightened my day once again, and I caught a glimmer of hope in the future the Lord had prepared for me. And when I saw, I began to laugh and sing, and cry, all at once!

You see, when life doesn't go our way (and it often doesn't), we have some choices as to how to deal with it. We can throw up our hands in despair, sit down and surrender to our lot in life. Or we can keep on doing what we know to be right. To use the agricultural analogy of both the hymn and the Psalm, we've got to keep on sowing seed in our field.

Sometimes our seed falls by the wayside, for the birds to feast upon, never taking root at all. Sow your seed anyway!

Sometimes we go through times of drought, when the heavens refuse to give us rain and the crops wither and die before they can produce fruit. Sow your seed anyway!

Sometimes the plagues of locust and grasshoppers devour the tender shoots that had such promise, leaving us with nothing but a picked-over field. Sow your seed anyway!

Sometimes an unexpected frost kills the crop before it can really get started. Sow your seed anyway!

Sometimes in the dry heat of summer, a spark can cause the whole harvest to go up in smoke. Sow your seed anyway!

Sometimes too much rain can spoil the fruit of our labors before we can get it into the storehouse. Sow your seed anyway!

Because sometimes, when the golden heads of wheat are ripe and ready for harvest, everything goes according to plan, and the harvest is great indeed!

Sometimes we sow in tears, watering the soil and the seed with our grief, our sorrow, our pain. Sometimes those tears are tears of longing and desire, of petition and supplication before the Lord as we plant in the hope that this time the seed will produce an hundred fold. Sometimes those tears are tears of joy, because in visions and dreams we have seen the final harvest and we know that good things are on the way. Sometimes those tears are tears of regret over the harvests that have been lost in bygone days. And sometimes those tears are tears of fulfillment, because this time we know everything is gonna be alright!

It's good to sow in tears. Even when we go forth continually with weeping, bearing our seeds for sowing, those tears are useful. Without the tears, perhaps there would be no way of knowing if the desire of our heart was real. I tell you the truth, I can hardly ever go to God without tears in my eyes and streaming down my face--because I know the goodness of God and am so thankful. I know that I am blessed, and even in a season of sowing through bitter tears, I know that one day soon, I shall come again rejoicing with my sheaves in my hands!

The Presence

2010-04-23T09:56:00.000-07:00

Then King David was told,

"The Lord has blessed Obed-edom's household

and everything he has

because of the Ark of God."

2 Samuel 6:12

I have always been fascinated by the Ark of the Covenant. It was a wooden chest, 4 feet long, 2 feet wide and 2 feet high (roughly), covered within and without with gold. It had a lid of solid gold, topped by two golden cherubim whose wings touched over the top. It had rings at the four corners through which gold covered rods were placed so that the Ark could be carried on the shoulders of the priests assigned to it. When the Ark was stationary, it was to be placed in a fifteen-by-fifteen room at one end of the Tabernacle of Meeting behind a linen and embroidered veil. When in transit, the ark was to be covered by the veil, then a tarp of badger skin, and finally a blue cloth.

Inside the Ark were items of special import. First were the Tablets of the Law, the stones engraved with the Commandments of God. Next was a jar of manna, the bread that came down from heaven. And finally was Aaron's staff that budded to demonstrate the anointing upon him for leadership and priesthood. All of these are pictures of Christ as the Word of God, the Bread of Life, and Rod of Authority.

And it was between the Wings of the Cherubim that the visible manifestation of the presence of God, called the Shekinah, appeared to the High Priest, who could only go into that presence once a year to atone for the sins of the nation.

Everything about the Ark of the Covenant represented the very awesome power and personal presence of God in the midst of His people. For 500 years, it resided in the Tabernacle of Meeting at Shiloh. When the sons of Eli foolishly carried it into battle against the Philistines, it was captured and placed in the temples of their gods, where it wreaked havoc and disaster on the population. When the Philistines returned it to Israel, it was placed in the home of a priest and kept there for nearly 80 years until a king after God's own heart said, "I want God's presence in my city, where God can dwell again in the midst of His people."

After a disastrous first start, followed by a three-month delay while the Ark was kept in the home of Obed-Edom, David finally led the triumphal entry of the Ark of God into Jerusalem. Dressed in common priestly garments rather than the royal garments of his kingship, David sacrificed a bull and a fatted calf every six paces to the Lord, whirling and dancing with celebratory joy before the Lord. And though he left the Tabernacle of Meeting at Gibeon, David built a special tent on Mount Zion where the Ark was installed. And for all of his reign, David had direct access to the presence of God. Perhaps with his harp and nothing else, David would go in and sit in the presence of God, worshiping and serving before the Lord--not a priest in heritage, but a priest in heart.

200 years after that, after a temple had been built in Jerusalem to house the Ark of the Covenant and the presence of God, a prophet made this promise in Amos 9:11--On that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, and repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old." And 800 years after that, James the brother of the Lord quoted Amos about David's Tabernacle when the disciples realized the Holy Spirit had been given to ALL believers in Jesus Christ--Jews AND Gentiles.

We don't have a visible, tangible relic in our religious tradition that contains or represents the power and presence of God. Instead, we have something much better. We have the Holy Spirit--the very power and presence of God--living inside of us! In vessels of earth, we hold the treasure of heaven. And that power and presence are available to all who come to Him. We aren't separated from God by a veil; we no longer have to have an intermediary. Jesus took care of that on our behalf, so that now we can boldly approach the presence of God to find His help whenever we need Him!

And how thrilling it is to know that the presence of God blesses my life, my house, and the work of my hands. He's not sitting on the far-off circle of some nebulous never-never land...He is here, and He is at work, and He is good!

Don't Forget!

2010-04-21T08:47:00.000-07:00

Bless the Lord, O my soul;

and all that is within me, bless His holy name!

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and forget not all His benefits.

Psalm 103:1-2

There are many benefits to having God as my God, to knowing Jesus Christ as my personal savior and closest friend, and to being full of His precious Holy Spirit. But since we are human, we often focus (mostly to our detriment) on what we don't have and think we want or need, rather than what we already have. But the Psalmist was good at redirecting those desires, when he commanded his own inner man to "Bless the Lord!"

What has God done for us?

He forgives ALL sin! There is no sin (well, save one--but David apparently wasn't aware of that sin) which God cannot and will not forgive. I look at my own life and marvel at all the things for which I have been forgiven. That mercy and grace, that precious forgiveness is available for all my idolatries and blasphemies and dishonorable activities, for my lying, stealing, killing, adulterating, and covetous ways--if I ever fall into all or even one of those sins. When I confess my sins, I rejoice that God forgives my sins and cleanses me from all unrighteousness. And then He forgets; I wish that He would make me to forget as well.

He heals ALL sickness and disease! The healing power of God has been manifested toward His creation through Jesus Christ, who was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, punished for our peace, and "BY HIS STRIPES WE ARE HEALED!" A very good friend of mine pointed out one time that this not only means physical healing of the body, but also inner healing of the soul. Thank God that He is more than able to take care of my healing from the inside out, from the outside in, and everywhere in between, because He is a healing God; and even when He doesn't immediately take away my pain or my illness, His grace is sufficient to see me through it!

He redeems my life from ALL destruction! The devil is a liar and a thief who comes to steal, kill and destroy. And where people are willing to be used by him, destruction lies in their wake. Situations and circumstances far beyond my control try to lay waste and wreak havoc. The storms of life can sometimes be devastating. But God is a redeemer, giving back what was stolen, building up what was broken down, mending what was ripped and torn, healing what was hurt! He restores, and refreshes, and renews!

He crowns me with loving kindness and tender mercy! Thank the Lord for His love and mercy, for without those two things how lost I would be. But God loves the unloving, the unlovely, and the unlovable. Though He is a just God who hates sin, He is also merciful and compassionate, not dealing to me what I deserve, but rather through great love ministering to me what I need. He lifts me up out of weakness into His strength; He is my glory and the lifter of my head; He is my righteousness! He knows my need, and He is able to supply it. He knows my request, and He is able to answer it. He knows my tears, and He dries every one. He hears my cry, my prayer, my call...and He speaks in response.

He satisfies my mouth with good things! We forget sometimes that every good and perfect gift comes from the Lord, and He doesn't do bad things to His people. Oh, I know that from my human perspective sometimes it doesn't seem so good, but the Lord truly knows what is best, and I have learned--indeed, I am still learning--to trust Him in everything He does, because He does all things well and none of His purposes are withheld from Him. But I also recognize in this verse that the satisfaction He gives is not only what I take in, but also what I give out. "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart bless Your Name!!!"

And through ALL the blessings of God, He renews my youth. Sin and sickness, destruction, disappointment and pain sometimes heap the weight of years upon us, but as we seek the Lord, as we serve the Lord, as we satisfy ourselves with the Lord, we become young again, as when the world was new!

And we bless the Lord.

I've Found the Answer!

2010-04-17T08:52:00.000-07:00

In response to yesterday's questions, let me post today's answers.

Lord, You have been favorable to Your land;

You have brought back the captivity of Jacob.

You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people;

You have covered all their sin.

Selah.

You have taken away all Your wrath;

You have turned from the fierceness of Your anger.

Restore us, O God of our salvation,

and cause Your anger toward us to cease.

Will You be angry with us forever?

Will You prolong Your anger to all generations?

Will You not revive us again,

that Your people may rejoice in You?

Show us Your mercy, Lord,

and grant us Your salvation.

I will hear what God the Lord will speak,

for He will speak peace

to His people and to His saints;

But let them not turn back to folly.

Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him,

that glory may dwell in our land.

Mercy and truth have met together;

Righteousness and peace have kissed.

Truth shall spring out of the earth,

and righteousness shall look down from heaven.

Yes, the Lord will give what is good;

and our land will yield its increase.

Righteousness will go before Him,

and shall make His footsteps our pathway.

Psalm 85, a psalm of the sons of Korah.

The answer is just too wonderful to to talk about.

How Long, O Lord?

2010-04-16T11:01:00.000-07:00

Will the Lord cast off forever?

And will He be favorable no more?

Has His mercy ceased forever?

Has His promise failed forevermore?

Has God forgotten to be gracious?

Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies?

Selah.

Psalm 77:7-9

I don't know what was going on in the heart and life of Asaph the Psalmist, nor in Israel, when he wrote this Psalm. And I don't know how my circumstances, past, present or future, stack up against his. But I know that every time I read these words they resonate in me. Because sometimes I wonder...

Have I been too bad for too long, that I have lost my last chance?

Have I gone too far, done too much, that I cannot now or ever reclaim those things that are lost to me?

Have I made one too many mistakes, committed one too many transgressions?

Have I gone left too many times when I knew I should have gone right?

Have I so offended God, that no matter how much I cry and plead and beseech, He will not give ear to my prayer?

God, do you know what's been done to me?

Can you see how wounded and broken and in need of healing I am?

While you sit on your throne far removed from my mortal coil, do you care what really happens to me?

Is my heart important to you at all?

Life is full of questions. For the ones who don't know God, and even for the ones who know Him and don't care what He thinks, it is easy to simply make choices and go on with life no matter the results or consequences. Someone once shrugged to me and said, "There is no right or wrong; just choices we make, good or bad, and we learn from them and move on." Of course, that was said as they were walking out of my life. When you don't love the Lord enough to care what He thinks, you don't have difficult decisions to make. You just do what feels right, what pleases you, what appears to make you happy and satisfy your momentary appetites. And the world around us says that's okay.

But for those who love the Lord, He must be involved in every choice, every decision, no matter how large or small. It is good to ask the Lord for His permission; better still to seek His will. And when necessary, it is even alright to seek His forgiveness. The point being, He wants us to come to Him with our questions, our concerns, our griefs, our worries, and our fears.

He says, "Cast all your cares on me; I care for you!"

He says, "Don't worry about anything, rather pray about everything! Make your requests of me, and I will give you peace."

He says, "Come unto me, and I will give you rest."

We wonder sometimes, and we ask the questions, but the Word gives us the answers. God hears, and He understands. He is able and willing to reach down and touch us where we are, to be gracious to His children. He just says, "Come."

Well, Lord, I'm coming. I'm coming in faith believing. I'm coming with boldness before your throne of grace to find help and mercy because I'm in need. I'm asking in faith, I'm asking in the Name of Jesus, I'm asking without wrath or doubting. I'm not asking for my own selfish reasons, nor to fulfill my own desires. I'm not asking amiss. I'm asking because it's the only thing I can do that I know will work. I'm gonna ask and keep on asking. I'm gonna seek and keep on seeking. I'm gonna knock and keep on knocking. And I know that whatever you answer, whatever your let me find, whatever door you open to me...will be the right one.

You're Gonna Get It!

2010-04-12T10:56:00.000-07:00

A man will be satisfied with good

by the fruit of his mouth,

and the recompense of a man's hands

will be rendered to him.

Proverbs 12:14

There is a principle repeated oft throughout the Bible, summed up most familiarly by Paul in Galatians 6 when He said, "You reap what you sow." This can be a double-edged sword, cutting first one way and then the other, sometimes with blessing, sometimes with bitterness. We just have to keep God's principle in mind.

I want to reap a good harvest in life. I desire to pick ripe and luscious fruit from the trees of life's highway. I hope that my storehouse will be filled with plenty from the abundance of God's blessings. But what have I sown?

If I have sown to the flesh, the Bible promises me corruption. If I have sown the spirit, the Bible promises me life. But what if I have sown to both? What if I have sown both seeds of love and seeds of hate? Seeds of blessing, and seeds of cursing? What if I have scattered both wheat and tares?

In life, I'm afraid we all sow seeds whose fruit we later regret. But I am thankful for the grace of God, which is sufficient for all things. And the love of God which covers a multitude of sin. I may have to eat some bitter fruit, but God still has a way of turning it around for my good. So I try to listen and learn, and repent and forgive. And intentionally sow new seed in fresh fields in hopes that someday the harvest I reap tomorrow will overwhelm the crops of the past.

Which is why I try to sow love and blessing into people's lives. I don't always succeed, but I am failing less and less (thank God!). I try to speak words of kindness and encouragement, first of all because words of kindness and encouragement have been spoken to me. But also because I want the future harvest of kindness and encouragement. And blessing. And love.

And the recompense of a man's hands will be rendered to him, the verse says. That generally means people get what they deserve; they earn their wages. OH BOY! Am I in for it! It's one thing to speak, another thing completely to do. It's not enough to promise; we must also fulfill what we have said. We must practice what we preach.

Again, I'm thankful for the grace of God. He forgives sin and discharges debt and liberates captivity. He also forgets what He forgives, and He has a way of taking all things into His hands--the good seed, the bad seed, and even the ugly harvest--and turning them into something He can use.

I Know that You are God!

2010-04-10T13:11:00.000-07:00

Be still, and know that I am God

Psalm 46:10

There are so many good verses in this Psalm, so many things I could write about today. But it was those two little words that really caught my attention. Be still.

We live in a busy, fast-moving world. In town, the speed limit in most places is 40 mph; on the highway it's 70. I know of a couple of interstates here in Texas where they have raised the speed limit to 80 mph...which is good when you're traversing 300 miles of absolutely nothing! We have drive-through windows at restaurants, and microwaves in most of our kitchens. Last night I had a baked potato for dinner. What would have taken at least an hour in the days of conventional ovens took five minutes in the microwave. And under certain circumstances, I have been known to peer into the microwave impatiently wondering why two-and-a-half minutes was passing so slowly!

We have access to instantaneous communications. Instead of writing a letter by hand on paper made from real trees, sealing it in a self-addressed stamped envelope, and sending it by postal service that might take a week to get it to its destination, I can spend 30 seconds typing an email and hit send...knowing that within seconds, the recipient will have received my note. And instead of having to wait for them to go to the mailbox, retrieve their mail, sort through it, open mine, spend several minutes trying to decipher my chicken scratch, and then hopefully send a reply that will reach me in the next seven days, my correspondent can simply hit reply, type out an answer, and voila! What used to take two weeks has taken (optimistically) two minutes!

With the right service, you can carry a phone in your pocket to any spot on the planet and still be reached by those who want to talk to you. Of course, you can also screen your calls and turn your phone off if you don't want to be reached, allowing people to leave voice mail. If we don't have the time for a full-blown conversation, we can thumb out a quick text with lots of abbreviations and iconography. (although carrying on whole conversations this way can grow tedious). Instead of a five minute phone conversation to elicit a yes or no response, we can simply text. And it's convenient. That same phone can give you access to the information superhighway, because we are living in a digital age that needs no hardwired connection. Go to any number of news websites and you can find out what is going on worldwide in a matter of minutes. Use any number of search engines and you can find any piece of information that interests you.

Yeah, it's a fast paced world where things can change in a heartbeat...and you can know about them almost instantaneously. But in a faith based world, sometimes the real point is the wait.

I can communicate my data now. But sometimes I have to wait for the reply from the Highest Power.

I can make my requests known unto God, and even envision how He might answer. But sometimes character is built in the waiting.

I can be in the fiercest struggle of my life, in the deepest dark valley, tossed about on the raging waves of life's ocean, calling out to God and wondering why He has not arrived at my beck and call.

I can lay out all the truths of God's Word, and still be puzzled that the Word has not had an immediate result.

And while I'm calling out to God in the midst of my hurry, desperate in my hour of need, God is speaking in a still, small voice: Be still.

Stop your crying and calling and caterwauling. Be still.

Stop your planning and your figuring. Be still.

Stop struggling and fighting and straining. Be still.

Stop your running pursuit. Be still.

Stop talking and listen.

Stop thinking and hear what God has to say.

Sit down.

Close your eyes.

Be still.

"How long?" you might ask. Be still.

"God, I'm kinda busy here. I need an answer and I need it now. I really need for you to get off your throne and do something." Be still.

"But what am I supposed to do while I'm sitting here?" Be still.

"Be still? And then what?"

And know that I am God!

It is enough.

I Thirst!

2010-04-09T08:58:00.000-07:00

Why are you cast down, O my soul?

And why are you disquieted within me?

Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him

for the help of His countenance.

Psalm 42:5

We have sung the Psalm of David for more than a generation now: As the deer panteth for the water, so my soul longs after thee! And yet until today I never understood the heart behind the song. This is not so much a personal acknowledgment of one man's desire for more of the Lord, as it is the desperate cry of a man in need to know His God.

David said that he panted after God like a deer fleeing the hunt. He thirsted for the presence of God, and wondered when he would next encounter the Lord. He was surrounded by enemies that mocked him, and his tears were all that nourished him. He recalls how it used to be, how wonderful it was to go with a multitude of worshipers into the house of God and experience his presence there. But now he is a man calling out to a memory: God, I want those days back!

Encountering the Lord is what I call a mountaintop experience. It is joyful and empowering, it is humbling and overwhelming. It is a great thing to be in the very presence of our Holy God, a wondrous thing. And how blessed it would be to stay there on the mountaintop, day and night, world without end, amen.

But I cannot stay here in this place with the Lord. I must move on, because there is another mountaintop to attain. There is a higher encounter, a deeper understanding, that must be had if I am to grow into the man God wants me to be. I must grow beyond the day of my birth. I must learn to trust the Lord in every rocky byway, in every dark valley, but I must also understand that I am on my way to higher ground! God doesn't desire a stagnant, stay-put people. He wants us to pursue Him from one mountaintop to the next, until at last we reach the heights of glory from which we will never descend.

David was not on the mountaintop when he wrote this Psalm. David was in a valley in the wilderness, cast down, unsettled, disturbed. Perhaps with eyes glancing back to a brighter day--like the day on which his father's voice called him to stand before the Prophet Samuel, or the day when the boldness of God rose up within him to confront a giant with a sling and stone--he recalls better times, and anticipates them again. Though he heard saw the lightning flashing, though he heard the thunder roll, though he felt the breakers crashing over his soul, he says, Deep cries unto deep! The depths of his soul still cried out for the depths of the the heart of the Lord. And in the darkness of his valley, David had the light of hope that sustained him.

He knew that the countenance of God was a blessing in life. Those eyes that never close still had him in sight. Those ears that never grew deaf still heard his cries. That reach without limit could still touch him wherever he was. And David's hope was in the Lord. The love of God would see him through the day, and the song of the Lord would see him through the night! Others might mock and question where his God was, but David knew.

And in the end of his song, he sings the refrain again, only this time acknowledging that the countenance of the Lord had brightened his own:

Why are you cast down, O my soul?

And why are you disquieted within me?

Hope in God;

for I shall yet praise Him,

the help of my countenance and my God!

Psalm 42:11