Daily Struggles of Life, Discipleship, Faith, Maturity, Power, Prayer, Scripture, Spiritual Warfare, fasting

Spiritual Warfare

Posted by admin on June 23, 2010 at 2:53 pm. 2 comments

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Eph 6:12).

                Apparently my life is too entrenched in the physical world that surrounds me, because this verse always strikes a chord with me. Reading this, along with Ephesians 3:9-10, I am reminded that there is an unseen spiritual presence that somehow impacts the affairs of men that I can see. What the connection is between the spiritual world of “principalities and powers” and our physical world of personal survival, caring and rearing our families, standing for Truth in the political world and promoting Christ is impossible to understand. Perhaps one day when this life is over, we will understand it.

                In the verses that follow Ephesians 6:12, Paul speaks about the spiritual armor that we are to don as believers in this battle, but there is another passage that speaks about the weapons that we are to use. That passage is II Cor. 10:4-5 which tells us that our weapons are spiritual and can pull down the strongholds (in the spiritual world) that are impossible if we only see this as a world of space and time. The weapons to which Paul refers are, of course, prayer and fasting. Some might include giving since Jesus included this in His Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 6).

                These “means of grace” (to use the term employed by the Reformers) are mysteries to most of us. Why does God need us to pray when He already knows what He wants done and has the power to accomplish it? Why did the ancients consider fasting to be a way “to make your voice heard on high”? Isn’t that what prayer itself does? If our Lord owns “the cattle on a thousand hills” and “the wealth of every mine,” why does He command us to give?

                The answers to these are bound up in the reality that “our warfare is not against flesh and blood…” Somehow, what we do when we pray, fast and give impacts the spiritual world in ways that we will never completely understand while we are in this life. Certainly the practice of these disciplines creates a growth component for our lives here that will be satisfying while we remain on this side, but God’s purpose is much greater even than that. Somehow we make a difference in the unseen world, and the unseen world affects what happens around us. That’s why Psalm 149 can say that it is the glory of God’s people to pray and to impact the political world in far-away places (see vss. 6-9).

                These spiritual disciplines can become wearisome to us at times, but we must continually feed on the Scripture to keep the truth before us that even if we cannot see visible results from these disciplines, they are effective in the unseen world.

Christ's afflictions, Church Today, Humiliation, Humility, Isaiah 66:1-2, Repentance, Restoration, Scripture, Sin, Solemn Assembly

Solemn Assembly

Posted by admin on June 15, 2010 at 4:54 pm. One comment

Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly (Joel 2:15).

                Economic disaster was imminent when Joel prophesied to the nation of Judah. Locusts had come through and had wiped out the crops. Unlike our day where we have grain stored away for years and we even bid on the FUTURE price of those commodities, when their crops were destroyed they didn’t eat till the next year (at least not that food).

                Richard Owen Roberts, a student of revivals throughout history and an author on the subject, identifies the “solemn (or sacred) assembly” as the answer prescribed by God for any kind of imminent appeal to avoid disaster. When the “Ark of the Covenant” was captured by the Philistines, Samuel proclaimed a fast and called the people together to repent before God (I Sam 7). When kings Asa and Jehoshaphat were threatened by nations mightier than they were, they each called upon the people to fast and repent at a solemn assembly (2 Chron 14, 20). When God declared judgment for the sins of his grandfather, Manasseh, King Josiah was moved to repentance himself and called the people to the same in 2 Chron 34:29.

                Usually the solemn assembly was accompanied by fasting because throughout the Old Testament, fasting was a sign of self-humiliation, mourning and repentance. It is significant that historically the singular sign of a repentant spirit was the willingness to mourn through fasting. That’s why the annual Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) has historically been known as “the Fast” (see Acts 27:9).

                God responds to the Solemn Assembly – not because there is anything magical about an assembly – but because He responds to brokenness and contrition. When Christians mourn and confess and repent of their sin He takes notice because He sees that we understand the seriousness of sin. When Isaiah wrote that Jesus was “crushed” for our iniquities in Isaiah 53:5, that word is the same Hebrew word that is translated “contrite” in Psalm 51:17 – “a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” The power of a single Christian’s repentance is significant, but when a group of Christians – as in a local church – gather to genuinely mourn their sin, His heart is moved to action on their behalf.

                In our day the Church has decided that His blessing must rest upon the mega-church because everyone strives for “bigness.” Pastors flock to the seminars or books of the most recent “success” story to learn their “secret,” which they are glad to share – for a price. (I even have a book in my library on how to use fasting to grow your church – apparently the author sees fasting as one of the tools in a pastor’s ecclesiastical toolbox!) But Isaiah tells us that if God wanted to build a BIG ministry, He wouldn’t need us. What He is looking for are those who are “humble…contrite…and who tremble at His Word” (Is. 66:2).

Church Today, End Times, Eternal Life, Evangelism, Iran, Israel, Missions, Scripture, nations

Signs of the Times

Posted by admin on June 15, 2010 at 4:52 pm. 3 comments

Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.

                “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come (Matt 24:4-14).

                We Christians recognize that God can turn bad news into good news whenever He chooses. That was my friend’s meaning when he sent me an email with a caption: “Maybe there is an escape route to bypass the old folks home or the cancer ward…The pieces are in place.” What followed was an article explaining that the shortest path from Israel to Iran is over Saudi air space and the Saudis will “look the other way” if Israel should use it to take out Iran’s nuclear weapon program.

                We live in perilous times. The Bible is clear that in the end the earth will burn and “the elements will melt in the heat”(2 Pet 3:12). Global warming is probably not in view here, but a nuclear holocaust may be. So Peter tells us to live holy lives and hasten the coming of the Lord (also v.12).

                When Jesus spoke the words quoted in the text above, He was not being an alarmist. He was simply being factual. But He too explained how we should be responding to the signs of the times: we are to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. When the last person has heard, the end will come (Matt 24:14). Actually, this is HOW we “hasten the coming of the Lord.”

                Obedient Christians recognize that the deteriorating conditions of our world create for us the motivation to do evangelism both here and abroad. While some people think that “compassion” simply means helping the poor and marginalized receive subsistence for living and justice in this world, real Christian love will be concerned with what will happen to the human soul when this world ends. Sometimes to get past people’s prejudices about the Christian Gospel, we need to provide basic temporal needs, but it must never stop there. Until they have had an opportunity to hear and respond to the claims of Christ, our job is not done and the relief we provide is inadequate.

Atonement, Eternal Life, Heaven, Jesus, Peter, Repentance, Satisfaction, Sin

Justice, Not Love

Posted by admin on June 4, 2010 at 3:16 pm. 5 comments

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:8-10).

                Sometimes changing a word in a familiar passage of Scripture awakens our minds to the truth that is really there. I had a professor in seminary that used to intentionally misquote I John 1:9 for just that point. He would say, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and LOVING to forgive us our sins…”

                My professor’s misquotation highlighted the common misunderstanding in our hearts concerning the basis for our forgiveness. We imagine that God as the compassionate Heavenly Father feels so lovingly toward us when we confess our sins that He chooses to forgive. After all, that always seemed to be the basis for our parents’ forgiveness when we offended them. I know a woman who recalls that at the age of 5 she figured that she would crawl up in God’s lap and He would be so moved by her that He would forgive whatever wrong she had done. After all, it had worked with her earthly father!

                But God does not forgive because He feels sorry for us. If He did He would not be a perfectly holy God. He forgives us because Jesus’ death satisfied His wrath against our sin. Lest I am misunderstood, let me say that He does love us, and He does have compassion for us, and He is moved by our repentance and brokenness. But that is not the basis for His forgiveness.

                Romans 3:26 points out that the purpose of Christ’s atoning sacrifice was that God might “be just (in His character) and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” If He, like the Islamic god, Allah, simply forgave sin capriciously, according to His mood when we happened to arrive at His judgment seat, He would not be just at all – He would actually be UNjust.

                No other religious system in the world offers a way to forgive sin without detracting from the holy character of God. Christianity is exclusive. And that is why Peter could say in Acts 4:12, “Salvation is found in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Apart form Jesus, there is no forgiveness.

Daily Struggles of Life, Prayer, Purpose, Scripture, Struggles, hardship

Prayer’s Content

Posted by admin on June 3, 2010 at 10:18 am. 3 comments

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God (Eph 3:16-19).

                Prior to almost any group session of prayer, it is the usual custom to ask the group for specific requests that should be prayed for. Typically these requests include a relative’s minor physical ailment or an acquaintance or family member that has become involved with a vice of some sort. There is nothing wrong with praying for these things. God is concerned for every care that weighs down our hearts.

                But when we read the New Testament we see a completely different content to Paul’s prayers than ours. The prayer quoted above (and it is representative of many others) is not concerned with relieving the temporal physical needs of individuals. Paul seemed to know that if his Ephesian friends understood how great is the God we serve, the minor physical needs would take care of themselves. The goal of his prayer seems to be closer to the formation of the likeness of Christ in his friends than it is to the relief of some physical pain.

                Now we all understand that there are times when a physical malady inhibits our service to Christ, so it is appropriate to pray about that physical malady. But why not rather make the focus of our prayer to be the restoration to fruitful service or to the accomplishment of the internal qualities that God may be seeking to develop rather than simply the relief from physical suffering?  An outsider might properly get the impression that our first and foremost concern is freedom from pain and difficulty. This was not the kind of prayer that Paul modeled for us in the New Testament.

                Here’s a challenge: identify an individual for whom you regularly pray. Then find a passage of Scripture that describes what you think God wants to accomplish in that person’s life. For example, since I want my son to take the Truth he has been taught and apply it more fervently to his life, I pray “that the eyes of his heart be enlightened that he may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe” (Eph. 1:18-19).

Each day as you pray for him/her, remind God of His own Word. By the end of a week you will have accomplished two things: (1) you will have prayed for your friend about what God Himself says He wants accomplished, and (2) you will have memorized a passage of Scripture.

9-11, BP Oil Spill, Christian, God's people, Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Katrina, Matthew 5:45, Samaritan's Purse, Struggles, The Christian & Misisonary Alliance, Why does God Allow bad things?, hardship

God’s Care Amid Trouble

Posted by admin on June 1, 2010 at 11:56 am. No comments

He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matt 5:45).

                Disastrous events like Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico typically cause people to question the goodness of God. Why does He allow these things? Why doesn’t He intervene? Isn’t He interested?

                These kinds of disasters often evoke warnings of judgment from God by the nation’s prophets, just as were heard after 9-11. Their warnings were true, though the men themselves were rebuked for not being “politically correct.”

Most of the disasters that confront us afflict the godly as well as the ungodly, largely because the proof of our faith as believers is in how we respond in times of adversity. If believing in Christ shielded us from pain and trouble, how would we know in ourselves whether our trust in Him was because we loved Him or whether it was because He provided for us? He who discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart (Heb. 4:12) would know, but we could never be sure.

Another reason that disasters afflict us all is that they give opportunity for God’s people to demonstrate His care to a world that denies His existence. Most unbelievers strut about imagining their invincibility until a force against which they are powerless suddenly emerges. Then they are confronted with their own mortality, or at least their own impotence, and their minds suddenly must try to make sense of the whole of life. That is when they are able to listen to His voice.

Wisely, therefore, my church – the Christian & Missionary Alliance – has a relief arm to its ministries that arrives in the aftermath of a disaster to give aid to the people. The assistance is offered to all freely (though it is usually dispensed through the local church) as a way of demonstrating the love of God for hurting people. Following the Tsunami disaster of 2004, the Muslims went into the westernmost island of Indonesia – Sumatra – and immediately rebuilt the mosques that were destroyed. But Christians – including the Alliance and Samaritan’s Purse – went in and built boats to restore the fishing industry that is the lifeblood of that region. Their concern was for their religion; ours – and God’s – was for the people.

Suffering, Walk with Jesus, preachers

Authentic Preachers

Posted by admin on May 31, 2010 at 9:57 am. 3 comments

Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit (2 Cor 2:17).

                It’s hard to imagine that the early church had their version of the TV preacher, but apparently it was so. Every age has its share of charlatans and hucksters.

                I Timothy 5:17, Paul tells us that a good teacher is worth “double honor” (meaning salary), yet here he claims that he is not “peddling” the Word. Clearly he is making reference to his motive as a preacher.

                To the outside world, the job of a preacher appears pretty easy. We “only work one day a week.” It’s not a physically demanding job. The surroundings are pretty clean (except my office!). Those who have good entertainment and organizational skills can draw a sizable crowd and appear “successful.” But the preachers that I know recognize that there is an internal pressure that the outside world cannot understand. It is the pressure of leading people to engage the Word of Truth for themselves, a pressure to help others remain true in the face of extraordinary societal influences to deny the existence and authority of Christ – all the while remaining authentic themselves. In a world that is increasingly superficial and that justifies its shallowness, it is a frustrating and heavy responsibility – and not getting any easier.

                Another of the pressures that afflict the preacher is referred to just a few verses later (4:2) in this letter: the pressure to compromise, “distort” (NIV) or “adulterate” (NASB) the Word of God. Since the general knowledge of Scripture is at such a low point in our society, this can go undetected (and does) for many years. Some people really do think that “you can make Scripture say whatever you want it to say,” but not without compromising the plain sense of the text. But many false preachers in our day bank on the fact that the average attendee has never opened the Bible, so the preacher will never be challenged. He can say what he wants and manipulate their opinions as he chooses. Not so for those who properly feel that internal pressure of authenticity.

                It is really amazing that Paul would have to make the statement that he didn’t “peddle the Word of God.” It should have been obvious to anyone who looked at his life that he didn’t endure multiple stonings, shipwreck, beatings, etc. (see II Cor 11:24f) just to make a few shekels. Yet apparently there was the accusation that he had to refute by this letter.

                As in Paul’s day, there will always be those who look upon ministry as an easy way to separate the naïve from their money, but, in the words of Jesus, “they have their reward.”

Daily Struggles of Life, Death, Discipleship, Humiliation, Perseverance, Struggles, Suffering, hardship

A Choice Group

Posted by admin on May 18, 2010 at 4:48 pm. 2 comments

For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men. We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world (1 Cor 4:8-13).

                It’s no wonder that there is a high dropout rate among people in ministry, if this is what we can expect! The consolation, of course, is that the retirement is “out of this world!”

                The United States Marine Corps calls their people, “The few, the proud, the marines!” because they are an elite group. They don’t mind a high dropout rate because those that do stick are choice men and women. There is a character about them that nothing but hardship can create. It is what makes them elite; it is what gives them confidence in each other in tough times; it is what makes them valuable to our nation.

                But as impressive as the military is, the character that has been tested by the hardships of ministry is even more so. The New Testament describes these as “men of whom the world is not worthy” (Heb 11:38). They are humble because they have been humbled; they endure because their eyes are fixed on the One who endured for them. They are not all impressive by the standards of this world; indeed, there were not many “wise…influential… [or] noble” (1 Cor 1: 26), but there is a quality about them that makes them precious to the Church and to her Lord. He can rely upon them to represent His interests before a watching world. And He will one day reward their faithfulness, whether or not it receives the applause of men.

                The famous words of Theodore Roosevelt apply to these people: “The credit belongs to the man in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.”

Church Today, Scripture, Worship

A Lasting Work

Posted by admin on May 16, 2010 at 7:06 pm. 4 comments

If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward (1 Cor 3:12-14).

                Many people apply this passage of Scripture to individuals who receive Christ, but demonstrate little or no legitimate change in their lives. These “carnal” Christians – if indeed, they are Christians at all – are building their lives on things that will get burned up at the Judgment.

                I suppose that this is an appropriate application, but is doesn’t quite fit the context of I Corinthians 3. Paul seems to be talking to Christian leaders, perhaps pastors, about what they are trying to build their ministry upon. Paul, the Apostle, laid the foundation in Christ, and other men are coming behind him with their particular gifts to build upon that foundation. They can build their ministries upon the quicksand of human personality and enjoy a happy following for a short time, but it won’t last. Men will applaud them for a while as good leaders, and they might enjoy a good salary for that time, but they will have to look into the face of Jesus in the end.

                I’m referring here to what one cartoonist has described as “The Light Church” – everything you’ve always wanted in the Church and LESS. It’s the Church with the 7.5% tithe (if even that much!), the sermon that never makes you feel uncomfortable, and entertains you and your kids with lots of fluff.

                A while back I attended this church in one of its many locations around our country when I was traveling. The music was contemporary, but hardly mentioned Jesus; only a handful of the congregation was singing, but that was OK because the instruments were so loud, they couldn’t be heard anyway. I think I was wearing the only tie in the room. They took a “break” midway in the service for doughnuts and coffee, and when we returned we heard a sermon based upon an old John Wayne movie. We even got to view a 10-15 minute clip of the movie! At the end of about 20 minutes, the elder who was speaking – the pastor was on vacation – finally referred to a passage of Scripture that was inserted to make us feel good and spiritual. Before we left, we were encouraged to plan to join the congregation for pizza the following Sunday so that some remodeling could be done to their building that afternoon. When we left, we wondered why we had spent the time there.

                Isaiah told us that God’s Word never returns empty (55:11); Jesus said that God’s Word will last even when the rest of this world passes away (Matt. 5:18); and Paul charged Timothy in the strongest words possible to preach the Word (II Tim 4:2). It seems clear what is “gold, silver, costly stones” and what is “wood, hay or straw.”

Authority, Law, Scripture

Authority

Posted by admin on May 10, 2010 at 12:17 pm. No comments

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience (Rom 13:1-5).

                My generation, which grew up in the 1960’s, has struggled with this passage of Scripture, yet, for those of us who desire to walk with Christ intimately, we must embrace it. Indeed, the older I grow, the more I see the wisdom of Paul’s words here.

                The Scripture endorses three primary authorities: the family, the government and the church (I would suggest the employer as a secondary authority). In each of these structures, God has established a proper order, and He works in and through that order, even if that leadership is corrupt (recall that Paul wrote these words while Nero was the Emperor). But ultimately, even human leadership must come under the authority of Law. That is why Samuel Rutherford, one of the men who helped develop the Westminster Longer and Shorter Catechisms, penned the classic treatise, entitled Lex Rex. In this he made clear that all rulers were subject to the authority of the Law of God. It is also why the attempt to undermine the Grammatical-Historical interpretation of the US Constitution (this interpretation is usually referred to as “Originalist”) is being championed by those groups that mostly deny the authority of Scripture.

                The Bible has much to say about how and when authority must be respected and when it is proper to step out from under that authority. Everyone is subject to the laws of the civil government (of their country or municipality), but not everyone is subject to the family or the Church.

The son who is “of age” and leaves his parents’ home to establish his own life – whether he marries or not – must make his own decisions and be responsible for them. His parents’ role has changed to an advisory one only (even the IRS acknowledges this by removing that son as a tax deduction).This is the point of the requirements in Numbers 30 concerning vows made by people in various life situations (married, unmarried, widowed, etc.)

The man who chooses to not submit to the authority of the local church through proper “membership” (by whatever definition an ecclesiastical body might use) has stepped out from their authority. When Paul told the Corinthians that he had delivered the man who was living in an immoral relationship to Satan (I Cor. 5:5), he was removing the man from the protective authority of the Church through discipline. That man would then be open to the direct attacks of the enemy, some of which may be overt while others would be more subtle.

In Jesus’ mind, understanding authority is quite significant. In fact, it is the key ingredient in having “great faith.” After the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was approached by a Roman Centurion who asked Him to heal his servant. Jesus was willing and prepared to go, but the Centurion stopped Him and observed that He only needed to say the word because he understood how authority worked. Jesus’ then said, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith” (Matt 8:10).