Sobriety Takes a Savior

Give strong drink to him who is perishing, and wine to those who are bitter of heart (Proverbs 31:6 NKJV).

From the pen of the wisest man that ever lived, Solomon recalls the words of warning from his mother.  But I’d be willing to bet that these words were not recorded until after he had ignored them completely.  It is usually only on the other side of having been the victim of the destructive nature of alcohol that someone can clearly see that while it is permissible for the Christian to drink, it is not really profitable.  In fact, the entire purpose for alcohol, according to this verse, is to give comfort to those who do not know God and are, therefore, perishing and have become bitter of heart.

When you examine the other side of this equation, it makes all the more sense.  The reason that people grow bitter of heart is because they process life through the lens of a temporal mindset and therefore every injustice, every wound, every broken dream, and shattered relationship, remains unresolved.  And no matter how much “therapy” they undergo, they cannot rid their heart of the longing for closure.  In another area, Solomon wrote about this condition as well:

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life (Proverbs 13:12).

Does that phrase, “tree of life” ring any bells?  There were two trees in the Garden of Eden – the one that bore the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree that bore the fruit of eternal life.  Mankind, through the act of Adam and Eve, ate of the first tree and were thereby introduced to the reality of evil that cannot be fixed in this life.  Yet Scripture tells us that we have eternity written in our hearts, so the only way to really avoid this heart sick condition is to place our hope back in the place where we lost it.  We need to eat of the tree of life – through what Jesus did on His own tree – and thereby reenter the Garden and have the longing fulfilled to be reunited with our Creator. 

Only from that eternal vantage point can we shrug off anything that happens in the here and now with the knowledge that God will make all things right, eventually.  When we can’t do that, we end up needing a good strong shot of whatever to help us with the bitterness that slowly takes over the heart whose hope has been crushed over and over by a destiny that cannot deliver.

So, if we have no hope in Heaven, then a good strong drink is the only way we can seriously make it through the nagging internal longing that haunts us every day.  Sin was never part of God’s original plan for mankind and deep down inside, we know that.  That’s why it really rattles us when we are caught in the trap of sin, can sense that it is wrong on every level, but we can’t seem to find the way out on our own.

This was my life for 31 years before I met Jesus.  For me, I do not need any form of sedation because I am not perishing and through the grace of God I never have to be bitter of heart again since my longing for Heaven is always fulfilled in Christ.   Today, I will walk in the joy of having no need for anything but Jesus.

To Drink or Not to Drink?

It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take strong drink, (Proverbs 31:4 ESV).

It is interesting that one of the top things on Bathsheba’s list of wisdom for her son, Solomon, was not to drink alcohol.  It ranks right under not having anything to do with loose women.  As you look at our society today, it is easy to see how far from this mark we have come.  In fact, we kind of expect that young men between the ages of 18-25 will actually go out and “sow their wild oats.”  Instead of telling them to stay clear of this, we tell them to designate a driver and use a condom.  This is pretty pathetic when you compare the two mindsets this closely.

It makes you wonder what our society would be like today if this was still the advice mothers gave to their sons.  And yet, it does require one other factor as well – that the sons would listen.  And, not unlike today, Solomon didn’t listen.  He went through a period of “sowing his own wild oats” in way that not many can because he was a King.  There was not a woman unavailable to him and he had his choice of the finest in wine – and anything else you can imagine.

Yet, at the end of his wild escapades, his sowing reaped for him the bitter truth of what his mother had initially told him.  The entire book of Ecclesiastes is Solomon’s commentary on what life is like when we live only for the gratification of the flesh.  It is probably one of the most depressing books in the Bible, second only to Lamentations, yet it still yields wisdom for anyone who is wise enough to glean form it:

What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9 NIV).

Solomon, like every other son that ever has live, is alive now, or will be born later, could save themselves a lot of grief and misery by applying the wisdom of the ages at which he finally arrived:

The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man (Ecclesiastes 12:13 ESV).

I don’t have to be a son to know wisdom when I see it.  I, like Solomon, had to learn the hard way that all of the indulgences of my flesh only lead to death.  Today, I will choose life by fearing God and keeping His commands, to the best of my ability.

Are You A Servant or Just Serving?

Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? (Luke 17:8 TNIV)

It has well been said that you can test someone’s servanthood by treating them as a servant.   What you will find is that most “servants” are not grasping the true nature of a servant.  Anyone can serve someone else and even enjoy serving others because that’s their personality.  They are caretakers who love to take care of others.  Mothers wait on their children hand and foot not because they are servants, but because they are mothers. 

Serving is not the true test of servanthood. The real test of being a servant is how you act when you have done what you love to do, but it becomes expected and goes without appreciation, or you are asked to do more even in spite of all that you’ve already done.  And how you act is intricately tied to how you think about your act of service.  If we are ladened with ulterior motives – if I serve, I’ll be accepted; if I serve, I’ll be noticed; if I serve, I’ll be loved; if I serve, I’ll be served back; if I serve, …. you fill in the blank, then our service is not born out of a servant’s heart, but out of self-serving mindset.  The motive for service is where the rubber meets the road and separates the silver from the dross.  If our motive is simply to serve because that’s what Jesus told us to do and that’s what He did and we truly consider ourselves servants, then when people treat us as such, expecting us to wait on them hand and foot, asking for more than we want to give, and give nothing in return, then it will not affect our attitude one iota.

No wonder Jesus prefaced this area of Scripture with the assurance that if we have even a miniscule amount of faith, we can move the mountain of self that stands between us and the mindset of a true servant.

Whenever I am treated like a servant, I need to immediately check my attitude.  If I am offended, then I am walking in my flesh and not my spirit.  I will pray for God to grant me the tiny little bit of faith I need to suck it up and course correct.

Truth or Circumstances?

Blessed is anyone who doesn’t stumble on account of me (Matthew 11:6).

When people think of Jesus, many things come to mind, even for the unbeliever.  Prophet, Rabbi, Savior, Son of God.  And when we considered the things Jesus did, we have a line up that would be a headliner at any Las Vegas show.  Giving sight to the blind, healing a man who had been lame for 40 years and a women for 12, turning water into wine, feeding over 15,000 people with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread, and the mac daddy of them all – raising someone from the dead – oh, wait a minute, how about being raised Himself from the dead and returning to see over 500 people to prove it.  Yes, He would have definitely been in the top 3 contenders for Israel’s Got Talent. 

But not many would have ever listed stumbling as one of the things Jesus was known for and yet a careful reading of Scripture shows many who did stumble on account of Him – the Pharisees, the rich young ruler, the lawyers, John the Baptist, Judas, James, the brother of Jesus, and of course Peter, to name just a few.  But that list is not complete either because we can add our own names to it without really much hesitation.  We’ve all had the stumbling thoughts at one time or another – “God, where are You?  Why me?  Don’t You care? How long? Are you even there at all (our variation of John the Baptist’s question, ‘Are you the One?’)?”

We shouldn’t feel too terrible when we consider the company in which we find ourselves as stumblers.  In fact, Jesus Himself said:

Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!  (Matthew 18:7 NIV)

In fact, as far back as Isaiah, God told the nation of Israel that the Messiah would be a stumbling block:

He will be a holy place; for both Israel and Judah he will be a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare (Isaiah 8:14 NIV).

God is not taken back when we stumble, He even says:

The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand (Psalm 37:23-24 NIV).

But what we do next is very important.  The above verse tells us that when we are delighting in the Lord, even though we stumble, we will not fall because God will uphold us.  That’s why Jesus told John the Baptist – don’t go there. 

The Amplified Bible gives a better understanding of what Jesus is actually saying to us in this verse:

And blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) is he who takes no offense at Me and finds no cause for stumbling in or through Me and is not hindered from seeing the Truth.

Jesus does not chide John for stumbling – He’s telling him that there is no blessing in it and it blocks us from seeing the truth.

The truth is that God is there, chose you specifically for the trial, does care, knows the exact length it will last, and is more real than the circumstances that cause us to lose hope.  But how do we keep these truths in our heart when we come to the place of stumbling.  The stumbling Apostle Peter has some great insights for us on that topic:

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble (2 Peter 1:10 NIV).

Do what things?  Go back five verses:

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;  and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.  For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:5-8 NIV).

When we focus on growing in goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection, and love, we will not stumble when God decides to do something we never expected.

If I focus on my circumstances, I’ll stumble.  If I focus on the truth, I’ll stand.  It’s up to me, which is why I am not a victim to anything or anyone, but more than a conqueror through Christ Jesus.

Our Decisions Determine Our Destiny

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap (Galatians 6:7 NKJV). 

Some call it Karma, some call it fate, some the law of reciprocity, but whatever you call it, “it” is an inescapable spiritual principle as binding as the physical principle of gravity.  In the same way if you step off a cliff, you will plummet to the bottom – whether you are white, black, democrat, republican, believer, or non-believer – the way you treat others and how you live your life will produce a harvest that you will not be able to escape. 

This unwavering reality makes our choices in life much more weighty.  And it explains a great deal, if we are willing to take an honest assessment of the results we are currently experiencing from the seeds we have planted so far.  For example, if we are enjoying abundance in our personal finances, then it indicates that we have sowed good financial investments.  If not, well, you do the math.  If we are experiencing rich relationships with friends and family, then we have surely sown tender seeds of care, concern and love into the lives of those around us.  If not, then we are receiving the same cold, callous apathy we’ve shown. 

The principle of sowing and reaping is as old as human history.  That’s why it becomes so curious how so many miss the obvious connection.  The reason why they do is because they fail to take into consideration the factor of time.  Seeds germinate over time.  So, while you may not immediately feel the backlash of that flash of anger, you will definitely reap the consequences at some point down the road.  And even though that quick bet at the race track didn’t cost you farm, the farm is not far from danger if you continue to sow those seeds of greed.  And what you think is a harmless peek at magazine or computer screen for one lustful moment, over time, becomes a hideous addiction that infects the very soul with a poison so deadly it demolishes the sanctity of what God intended to be the most holy place on earth – the physical union of husband and wife.

And if you can shake your head and say in your heart, “That would never happen to me,” then, the Apostle Paul says, you are deceived.  For God has put this principle in place and nothing can defy the final destination of our choices – not even our prideful arrogance that thinks we can somehow escape the providential hand of God’s ordinance.

This sobering truth should cause us to pause before every decision and consider not just the momentary pleasure or gratification of our choices, but the long-term outcome as well.  When we take that moment to look further ahead, we will be able to clearly see the potential danger of the decision or the fruitful harvest of the righteous choice.

Today I will pause before opening my mouth to speak, clicking a button to confirm, or choosing a path to which I have not thoroughly contemplated the ultimate destination.  Over time, this will prove to be a profitable discipline for avoiding a deceptive path and sowing a secure future.

The Blame Game

For each one shall bear his own load.  (Galatians 6:5 NKJV)

This verse brings to mind another more vivid picture painted by Scripture in the book of Revelation:

And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books (Rev 10:12 NKJV).

The implication of both verses is that at the end of the day – literally – there will be no more room for blame shifting.  What started in the Garden of Eden immediately after the fall will finally end. When questioned by God as to their obvious condition, Adam was quick to blame Eve, who just as quickly threw the hot potato to the serpent.  And from then on, mankind has joined in the “blame game” in order to maintain a façade of “righteousness” that is anything but holy.  Sin had officially entered the world and one of the more glaring results of sin was its insidious need to blame someone else for the behavior that it creates. 

You’ve probably heard the old adage “to err is human and to forgive is divine.”  In that same vein, we could also say, “to blame is human, to accept responsibility is divine.”  Have you ever wondered why it is so hard to admit that we have made a mistake when we all know that we are not perfect? Yet when our nakedness of being human is about to be exposed, we are quick to grab the first convenient cover to hide it, even if it is a little uncomfortable, just like the naked couple in the Garden covering themselves with itchy fig leaves. 

It is not difficult to understand the reason for this natural behavior when we look at what really happened to Adam and Eve.  This was a couple that walked in uninterrupted fellowship with God in a way none of us will truly comprehend until Heaven.  And while they were in this holy unison with the Creator, they completely lacked “self awareness.”  They were others-centered and God focused.  That’s why they never questioned the validity of whatever God told them was good.  They never questioned it because they never looked to themselves for answers. 

Unfortunately for them – and the rest of us – the devil was able to take full advantage of this naivety and deceive the woman into eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  The ironic footnote to their decision is that they already had knowledge of everything good because they knew God.  The only thing they got in this deal was the knowledge of what was evil.  And it was that awareness that caused Adam and Eve to consider their nakedness as something of which to be ashamed. Stripped of their innocence, they were destined to live a life of knowing all about evil, but having no power to overcome it.   

Blame is the human response to our awareness that we have sinned and fallen from innocence.  We are not perfect and when exposed, we feel the need to hide.  But in the same way that God offered Adam and Eve a righteous substitute for their sin, which required the shedding of blood, so He offers us a righteous substitute for our sin – Jesus Christ, who also shed His blood. 

And now to connect the dots back to our verse, Paul is telling the Galatians that they should accept responsibility for their own wrong doing because we have a Savior who died so that they could.  The way of the cross requires us to take responsibility for our own actions because one day we will again stand naked before our God and there will be no one else to blame for the decisions we made to call good what He clearly called evil.

When I find myself in a situation where I am inclined to “blame” someone else, I need to remember that this is a natural result of sin.  I will choose, instead, to walk in the power of my supernatural life and accept the responsibility for whatever decision put me in that situation in the first place.  And if I can find no responsibility on my part for the circumstances, then I will follow the lead of my sinless Savior who never opened His mouth to defend Himself, even though He truly was blameless.

What Are You Leaving In Your Wake?

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever (Psalm 23:6 NKJV).

It is more difficult to have a familiar passage of scripture speak to you because we so often come with preconceived ideas of what we think it says and a familiarity that we all know can breed contempt.  “Oh yeah, I know that verse,” we immediately think when we hear Psalm 23.  And then we read it with the filter of past understanding.

Perhaps that’s why I was pleasantly surprised to immediately be struck by two nuisances I had never noticed before.  The use of the word surely stuck out this time. It is a very strong word, which means assuredly, confidently, without fail, and without doubt.  David’s confidence in God’s ability is unwavering.  But it was the second part of that sentence that really caused me to ponder the passage with a new interest. 

Not really sure why, but I had always read “goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life” as an indication that because of the close relationship we enjoy with the Lord, His mercy and goodness would always be part of our lives.  And while that may well be true, that’s not exactly what this verse says.  It does not say, “goodness and mercy will lead me or be with me all the days of my life;” it says, they will “follow” me.  There is an implication in the differentiation that seems to stress the fact that, as believers who have unwavering confidence in God, our lives will be dispensing goodness and mercy in the wake of where we go, just like a car that springs an oil leak.  And if we should tarry for a while in one spot, we will end up leaving a puddle of goodness and mercy.

The key is in the parallel to the car.  If your car is leaking oil, you better keep putting the oil in, or the engine will seize.  As we continue to fill our hearts with the oil of the Holy Spirit, we will enjoy the overflowing cup David spoke about in verse 5 of this familiar Psalm.  And for all you mechanics, yes, we would be better off to get the car fixed, but in our parallel illustration, we cannot fix the leak until we take that final trip to the Divine Mechanic, so we have to just keep putting oil in the vehicle. 

This truth, like all of God’s Word, is a two-edged sword.  On the one hand, it is exciting to think of my life in this way.  On the other, it is convicting to look behind me and not see enough of the evidence of this truth.    Today, I will ask God with unwavering confidence to pierce my heart with this area of Scripture so that it will begin to leak for Him, leaving that trail of goodness and mercy. 

To Whom Much Is Given ...

Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near (Isaiah 55:6 NKJV).

The implications of this verse are very disturbing.  There will come a time when God cannot be found and when He will not be near.  But why should this be disturbing when He has been saying this for countless ages.  There is not a single person who has read the Bible who can claim ignorance of the fact that we live in a special dispensation of grace in which we are able to find the Lord when we seek and draw near to Him by an earnest desire to do so.  Yet that is the problem – not everyone has read the Bible.  And as one of the privileged few who have, there is a great responsibility that comes with that honor.  Luke 12:48 says:

… For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; … (Luke 12:48 NKJV)

We know from the doctrine of the Sovereignty of God and from Scripture that everything from the color of our eyes to the place of our birth was chosen by God for a purpose.  He knit us in our mothers’ wombs and He even decided who would be our mother, who would be our father, and where our mother would live when it came time for our birth.  We see these dynamics in the lives of Joseph, Moses, Ester, and most poignantly, Jesus. 

So, the very fact that we were born in a country where the Bible is readily available, that is at least in theory 85% Christian, where we have the freedom to believe as we please, and where the knowledge of God is as common as cell phones, means that we are the ones to whom God will look as those who are predominantly responsible to get this information to the world.

The Great Commission is not for a select few.  And I have heard it said that we are either “goers” or “senders,” but everyone has a part.  This verse in Isaiah puts urgency to whichever part we are going to play.  We have a specified amount of time – the length of which no one knows – in which to accomplish the task given to us in Matthew 28:

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen (Matthew 28:19-20 NKJV).

It is that “end of the age” part that should haunt us because we don’t know when the end of this period of grace will occur in which God can be found by seeking and He will draw near when we call.   And we also know that because of our position of privilege, we shoulder the lion’s share of the burden to get this done.

As I consider the principles God has given me today, I realize that I am part of the sending team as I use my life to ready those who will go.  Yet, I am also struck by the reality that there are many still in Whitefish, MT who have never read the Bible and who do not know about the closing window of grace.  I must guard against slipping into the mindset that I’ve done enough by sending.  I must always be ready to be the one sent when God opens the door for me to share the reason for the hope that I have of Heaven.  Because, like Noah, I do not know the day or hour in which there will be no further opportunity to save souls from damnation.  And on the day that window closes, I will have to watch in horror as they are condemned for all eternity and I don’t want to know that I could have done more.   That would be very disturbing.

Sitting in the Safety of His Watch

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over (Psalm 23:5 NKJV).

King David describes the relationship he enjoyed with God through this Psalm, which is probably one of the most well known Psalms in the Bible.  Even those who do not know Scripture can quote parts, if not all, of these verses.  And who better to describe the kind of personal relationship God has with His people than someone described as a man after God’s own heart.  And what better metaphor could David have used than a shepherd with sheep, since this was the background of his formative years.  David would have known what it meant to be a shepherd and the kind of care that it took to watch over a flock of sheep.  He even credits his ability to take on Goliath to the fact that his years of tending sheep had put him in situations that required enough courage to kill a lion and a bear to protect the helpless animals under his care.

And now, years later, he pens this prominent part of God’s Word, knowing that he, himself, had many times prepared food for the sheep in the midst of wild predators who were waiting for them to be “off guard” enough to attack.  What better time to take advantage of someone when his or her focus is on food.  Yet, under the watchful eye of their good shepherd, they would never have to worry about the attacks of their enemies because David stood guard, willing to risk his very own life to preserve theirs. 

This verse is exactly what we need to remember when we feel overwhelmed and challenged by the enemy.  While we cannot see Him with our natural eye, we are assured by this Psalm that God is setting up a table of sustenance for us at which to safely eat, even when there are predators all around.  By faith we can rest assured that if God is for us, who can be against us. 

The next time I feel the enemy is looking to devour me, I will picture in my mind, the Lord setting a table for me so that I can walk peacefully in the anointing He has given me and experience the abundance of overflowing blessing that comes from knowing Him.

A Mustard Seed of Faith is Enough

He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you (Luke 17:6).

The Bible describes faith as:  … the realization of what is hoped for, the proof of things not seen (LEB).

Yet our minds are trained to believe only what they can discern with the senses, i.e., what they can see, hear, smell, touch or taste.  So, to fathom that what we hope for can exist apart from what we see, makes people shut down.  Yet, everyday we live by faith, whether we consider ourselves a religious person or the most rational being on earth.

When we flip a light switch, we are expecting the lights to go on, but we cannot see that in action.  When we enter a room in which we’ve never been, we have no problem sitting on a chair in that room and believing that the chair will hold up our weight.  Yet we have never sat in the chair before in our lives, so how do we know it will?  When we make an appointment for next week to get our hair cut, we are believing that there will be a next week, yet we can’t see it.  We don’t even have the assurance that the sun will actually come up tomorrow if we are basing it solely on what we can see.  And when we step up to an altar and pledge our lives to a spouse, we are making the guarantee that in spite of not knowing the future – for better or worse – we are going to remain faithful.  How presumptuous of us is that?

For something as radical as faith – believing without seeing – it is as common as two plus two is four.  So, why does it become such an obstacle to the human heart to believe in a God we cannot see?  Why do we have such pause as a race of created beings to accept the outlandish love of our Creator?

I don’t think the problem lies in faith.  I think it lies in hope.  Most people are not willing to hope for a God that loves them so deeply that He would give His only Son to die for us so that we could have a hope of life beyond this world.  They have been worn down by a life of disappointment and are unwilling to risk putting their faith in the hope of Heaven.  This problem has been around for a very long time. Even in Isaiah’s day, people had to be encouraged to hope in God:

… Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed (Isaiah 49:23b).

When we are able to adjust our hearts to hope in God, it takes next to no faith at all to believe Him.  With as little thought as flipping a light switch, we can light up an entire stadium.  And with the equivalent faith of a mustard seed, we can ignite our hearts to believe God – if our hope has been firmly anchored in Him.

When we encounter people who do not believe in God, we need to remember that faith is not the problem.  They are able to believe in things they cannot see and do so every day.  We must address the real issue – they have been so disappointed by life that they are unable to see a God who does not disappoint.

This is a sobering reality for my own life because I realize that there are many times I find myself doubting God.  As I examine my heart through the filter of this truth, I now realize that when I find myself doubting God, it is not because I lack faith, but because I have transferred my hope from God to something or someone else.  For instance, when I have a concern over money – is my hope in the financial system of this world or God? A concern over my future – is my hope in circumstances or a Sovereign God; a concern over my relationship with my husband, is my hope in my own inadequate ability to do relationship or in a God who knows our every thought?

I am going to exercise faith in one way or another today.  I must make sure that my faith is connected to a hope that is anchored in God and nothing else or I may find myself extremely disappointed.

Footholds of Hell

and do not give the devil a foothold (Ephesians 4:27 NKJV).

The dictionary describes a foothold as a firm base for progress.  The Apostle Paul is saying that we should not allow the devil to have a platform upon which he can begin to build and make progress in our lives.  And we know from other areas of Scripture that the direction he will head when given the opportunity is to steal, rob, and destroy. 

As we ponder the possible chaos that would occur from the enemy having such a stage in our lives, it becomes very important to connect the dots back to what actually gives the devil his foothold – and that would be unresolved anger.  The beginning of this thought is established in verse 26 and says that we ought not to let the sun go down before we have taken care of any situation that has caused us to be angry.  And the reason for dealing swiftly with our issue of anger is because when we don’t, the devil gets his foot in the door to do his dirty work.

It is interesting to note that the Bible assumes that anger is going to happen, but warns us that it is something that we should not entertain for any length of time because it creates a playground for the devil.  Knowing this, it is unfathomable how many people, including those who actually know this information, hang on to their anger and are unwilling to take steps to resolve it.  One of the reasons for our lack of motivation is because anger usually occurs when an offense has happened.  And in order to address the offense in a way that eliminates anger, we must go to the offending party and confront the issue head on.  That can be extremely frightening to most people because we all operate from a base of wanting to be accepted and confrontation places our holy grail of acceptance on the altar of possible rejection.  We would rather suffer in silent anger than to risk relationship. We hope by holding it in, we can avoid the unpleasant possibility of upsetting the offending party and we can keep the status quo so that our wounded heart doesn’t become a problem and the anger just goes away. 

The problem is, it doesn’t.  It can be shoved under the rug, but it always comes back and when it does, it comes with a vengeance that is surer to destroy the relationship than the initial confrontation because it is now inspired by the foothold of hell.  The devil has had time to work his deceitful plan.  He has given us justification for our anger that blocks our ability to assess our own contribution to the offense, which is what God tells us to do in the first place.  Because when we take that inventory before the sun settles on the misunderstanding, we are able to find our own part in the miscommunication that leads to a humility in which confrontation always bears the fruit of righteousness.  Yet, in the fuel of unresolved anger, we are ready to explode into the fire of wrath when the second offense comes – as it surely will in an imperfect world of imperfect people. 

If we are to avoid the pitfalls of our humanity, we must cling desperately to the guidelines given in Scripture to avoid the snares of our own flesh and that of the enemy’s schemes.  Conflict is a given.  Resolution of that conflict is a choice.  And if we do not choose life via the precepts of God’s Word, we will surely find death in our relationships.

When I encounter offenses that are sure to come, I will choose to follow God’s remedy for reconciliation and deal with the situation, according to Scripture, before the sun goes down so that I am not allowing any room for the devil to get a chance to blow the matter out of proportion.  I will also, according to Scripture, assess my own contribution to the circumstances that gave rise to the offense, and then I will, according to Scripture, go to my brother or sister and set the stage for restoration of the relationship.  And I will do this – in spite of how uncomfortable it might make me – because the last thing I need is for the devil to have a base of operation in my life.

When Good Is Bad

that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, (Ephesians 4:22NKJV)

I love the way The Message puts this:  …everything—and I do mean everything—connected with that old way of life has to go. It's rotten through and through. Get rid of it! (Ephesians 4:22)

The Apostle Paul adds this helpful insight:

… If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so:  circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; (Philippians 3:4-9 NKJV)

We would gain greater understanding of Paul’s admonition to the Ephesians if we noted from the list above that the things he counted “rubbish” were things of the old man that many would look on and count as “good.”  That’s why The Message says – “and I do mean everything.”  Nothing we did prior to knowing Christ has any merit or place in our walk with Christ, even if it was considered a good thing in the eyes of the world.

We can do something as “good” as supporting a hungry child, without being prompted by God to do so, and it will produce a righteousness not of Christ.  It will produce a self-righteousness that is contrary to Christ.  I know this first hand because I did it.  For years before knowing Jesus, I had a Compassion child.  I did not give for the sake of Christ – or even the child, but for the sake of appeasing my guilty conscience from all the other horrible things I was doing.  And this kept me from coming to the end of my rope sooner than I did because I could always go back to this one act of “righteousness” to justify the many acts of unrighteousness.  

This is vital to grasp because we can easily mistake the “former conduct” as just those “other horrible things” that are obviously sin. But we would miss the more subtle work of the flesh, which is to do something “good” out of a self-centered motivation.  We must “put off” the old man in every form, which is – at the end of the day – simply a dependence upon self that does not acknowledge the Lordship of Christ.

Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing.”  And that “nothing” includes our walk with Him.  If we do not have Christ at the center of our life, we will be walking in things we do in “His name” that will receive the harsh reply in Heaven of “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” Matthew 7:23 (NKJV).

Today, I will ask the Holy Spirit to guide my every decision and then pause before making the final choice to be certain it is from Him.  And if I am not sure, I’ll go with the old adage, “When in doubt, leave it out.”  It is better for me to wait than to put on my former self-confidence and move forward without Jesus.

Fueling the Fire of Faith

Never let the fire in your heart go out. Keep it alive. Serve the Lord (Romans 12:11 NIVR).

I was never a camper so I would probably not have really had the insight on keeping fires going, but for my one winter in North Carolina.  Having lived in South Florida for over 50 years, I spent from December to March that year in front of my fireplace.  And I learned very quickly that in order for the fire to stay hot, I had to keep adding fuel.  The key, however, was to add the fuel before it appeared the fire needed it.  If I waited until it looked like the fire was about to go out, it was too late.  The fire was not hot enough to burn the new wood.

As I consider the lesson I learned about real fires, the parallel to this scripture makes perfect sense.  In order to keep the fire of God going in my heart – to keep it alive – I must not wait until I am so spiritually drained that my fire is about to die.  Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 2:14:  But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 

The more I allow myself to be drawn into a natural mindset, the less I will be able to discern the things of the Spirit.  That means that if I allow myself to become dull spiritually, it takes more effort to make the fire burn.  While the Bible teaches that I am saved and sealed by God’s Spirit until the day of redemption, it also teaches that I must now renew my mind by the washing of the Word because the mind and the spirit are different.  My spirit is one with Christ, but my mind is still linked to this world through my senses.  And it is that on-going battle we, as believers, must fight every day – to make the things I cannot see, hear, taste, and touch more real than the things I can.  And that is what the Bible calls faith.  It is the key to keeping the fire going.

So how do we stoke the fire of faith?  The Bible says that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17).   Obviously that verse is not talking about hearing something through our physical ear, or everyone who physically hears God’s Word would have faith.  It is the kind of hearing Jesus spoke about when He spoke of eyes that see and ears that hear.  He was talking about the ability to rightly discern everything in this life through the filter of eternity.  Only when we walk with this eternal perspective can we really serve the Lord with a fire that never goes out.  So, the fuel we add is the Word of God, which stokes the fire of faith and we need to add it even when we feel like we are spiritually doing well.

Today, I will add the fuel of God’s Word to the fire of my heart so that I will have a continual source of heat for what lies ahead of me in the next 24 hours. 

Love Without Hypocrisy

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good (Romans 12:9 NKJV).

Hypocrisy according to the dictionary is: Feigned high principles, pretense, two-facedness, double standards, and insincerity.

Here, Paul is telling us to not let our love be pretentious and two-faced.  It is almost unthinkable to use those words in the same sentence with the word love, yet the sad reality of living in a fallen world is that even something as precious and pure as love can be faked and subject to double standards.

In order to check our hearts and make certain that we are loving in a way that honors God and is not hypocritical, we would do well to look at how this same Apostle describes true love.  In 1 Corinthians 13, we find the qualities of a love that is sincere, genuine, and single hearted:

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:4-8 NKJV).

From this list emerges the heartbeat of authentic, Biblical love – humility.  At the center of being able to love the way Jesus loved us, we find the mindset of Christ that was able to lay aside His Divine Nature, take on the form of a servant, and become obedient even to the death on a cross – not for His sake, but for ours.  Real love can only be experienced by the humble in heart who are willing to give up all rights for the sake of others. 

As much as I aspire to love this way in my head, I struggle daily to abandon myself enough to attain the humility necessary to experience this love.  I am thankful that God has not made the goal my ability to perfectly perform this act, but rather the constant yielding of my will to His when I am faced with choice of whether I will or not. 

Today I will look for those altars of decision that God sets before me daily to relinquish my rights to the high call of humility.  And with the power He gives me daily, I will be able to demonstrate authentic, Biblical love every time I am successful and authentic, Biblical mercy every time I am not.

Avoiding Irreversible Regrets

Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? Mark 8:37 NKJV)

There are two sides to a bad decision.  There is the front end where we are making the choice to do something that is not going to have good results.  And there is the back end of the decision where we must live with the consequences of that choice.  This verse deals with that back end.  That’s why it does not say “what will a man TAKE in exchange for his soul?” which would be the front end.

This verse addresses the enemy that haunts my heart – irreversible regret.  I find myself many times immobilized with a fear of doing something that I will regret for the rest of my life and be unable to take back.  I look on at the life of Judas in horror, as I consider the ramification of that one bad decision.  How many men and women have wasted their entire existence because of one decision that cost them their destiny?  Whether it was Esau selling his birth right or Moses striking the rock the second time, it is clear to see that there is a price tag on our choices.

Free will is one of the most pronounced ways in which we are created in the image of God.  Nothing else in creation functions with free will.  Animals, vegetation, galaxies, and even the angels themselves are subject to instincts and governing principles that determine their destiny.  Only man has the ability to choose his own future. And with this incredible privilege comes a high responsibility because once the choice is made, there is no turning back.  That’s why Jesus asks the rhetorical question – “What will a man give in exchange for his soul?”  We cannot buy back our own soul from its predetermined course to hell.  Yet, we can make a decision to trust in Christ’s finished work on the cross to save us from that fatal end.  And because we are not just saved from hell, but from the independence from God called sin that sends us there, that one choice can also be made daily to keep us from irreversible regrets.

When faced with decisions, I need to stop and pray so that I will choose daily to allow Christ to save my soul from the wrong decisions I will surely make without His intervention.  Only as I put my free will back into His hands can I be sure not to make a decision that might cost me my soul and cause me to live in the shadow of what might have been my legacy.

Keep It Simple Saint

Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.” (Acts 12:8 NKJV)

I wonder if I would have had the wits to understand a word the angel said if I were Peter.  Seriously think about this.  You are in the middle of a dead sleep when you feel someone strikes you on the side and you look up and there is a bright light and an angelic being standing there.  For most of us, this would have been so out of the ordinary that we might have taken more than a second to gather ourselves together enough to follow the instructions given by the angel.

But this was not most of us.  This was Peter.  This was the man who had been with Jesus personally during His earthly ministry.  He stood on the Mount of Transfiguration where he saw Jesus, Moses, and Elijah shining as bright as the sun.  He was the one who saw Jesus walking on water and actually stepped out of the boat to take a few steps on water himself.  He was there when Jesus brought the demoniac into his right mind.  He was there when Jesus raised the little girl and Lazarus from the dead.  And he was there on the day of Pentecost, preaching like he’d done it all his life.

So, what’s another bright shining light and angelic appearance to a man who has been walking in the miraculous for the last three years of his life?  And if Peter had not been conditioned to expect the unexpected, he might have done what most of us would have done.  We would have been so fixated on the messenger that we would have missed the simple message that ultimately was what saved Peter’s life – follow me.

Leave it to mankind to make complicated even the most simple of instructions.  We can certainly fixate on the majesty, miracles, and wonder of Jesus, and completely miss His message – follow Me.

Lord, today, I want to keep it simple.  If I am to follow You, then I need to not major in the minors by building up such a brilliant case of my own rights in a situation, but to simply follow You and lay down my life today however that looks.

Sleeping Faith

And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison (Acts 12:6 NKJV).

As I read this verse, my mind immediately moves to the scene where Jesus is asleep in the bow of the boat as the disciples were left fighting a storm that caused grown men of the sea to freak out.  What is it about both scenes that seems so surreal? Perhaps it is because we typically associate sleep with a condition of rest and peaceful calmness that the thought of a person sleeping in the midst of hurricane force winds or while bound with chains between two soldiers, seems so difficult to wrap our minds around.  Yet both are perfect pictures of faith.

Hebrews 11:1 says:  Faith is being sure of what we hope for. It is being certain of what we do not see.

Peter’s hope was obviously not in circumstances or things over which he had no control.  His hope was in the unwavering character of Christ that Peter had been able to observe up close and over time.  He had been there when Jesus was asleep in the bow of the boat.  He had been there when Jesus came walking on water in the midst of another storm.  He had been there when Jesus held his tongue before His accusers and never spoke a word in His own defense, though He certainly could have easily discharged the charges without much effort at all.  He had been there when Jesus was beaten almost to death. And he had been there when Christ breathed His last breath.

Peter had finally learned the valuable lesson of faith from his former Mentor.  And now, as with Jesus, Peter’s hope was anchored in the fact that his life was not his own and that whatever happened to him was under the sovereign control of God, not the soldiers on each side, or even Herod who would probably have him put to death the next day.  It was this unwavering focus of hope on the right source that gave Peter the ability to have a good night’s sleep in a situation that would have caused a melt down for most of us.  Our attitudes in the midst of a trial can be a very revealing and accurate measure of where we are placing our faith.

In life I will learn to take note of when I begin to freak out and make the concerted effort to refocus my faith upon Jesus, regardless of what circumstances and life are throwing my way.

In You Alone

No one is holy like the LORD,  for there is none besides You, nor is there any rock like our God. 1 Samuel 2:2 NKJV)

You alone are God.  You alone know the depth of my pain and the height of my joy.  You alone can determine the course of my life.  You are the very essence of what my heart cries for and my soul searches for.  You alone know the most intimate thoughts and intentions of my mind.  You alone search the tiniest corners of my puny world and the boundless infinity of eternity.  Your thoughts towards me are kind, benevolent, good, true, righteous, and holy.  You desire to bring only good to my life.  You are trustworthy with my soul for You alone know what I need the most.  You are faithful to bring about those events in my life that are necessary for my sanctification so that I will enjoy You for all eternity.  You alone know my deepest fear and my greatest potential.  In You alone is hope for tomorrow and strength for today.  You alone hold the answers to my future, the victories for my struggles, and the comfort for my sorrows.  You bring goodness and calamity based upon Your omniscience of my need for both.  Your love is endless, timeless, matchless.  It is beyond any human capacity to affirm and validate.  Only in You is there a blessing sufficient to satisfy my soul in its search for significance.  You alone hold the key to my well being.  In You alone is life and outside of You is only death.  Were I to spend my entire life pursuing the goal of finding security, approval, love, and contentment in anything in this entire universe but You, I would fail miserably.  Only You can save me from the lesser life of self.

Lord, my hope, trust, faith, and my heart are in You alone.

Only When Asked

And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. (Acts 7:31 NKJV)

Without guidance, it is nearly impossible for people to understand and find their way.  This is true in every area of our life.  From intellectually to emotionally to physically to spiritually, if we are not shown the way, it is difficult to find it on our own.

The wisest man on earth, King Solomon, said, “There is nothing new under the sun.”  That means that someone else has already experienced whatever we discover or learn.  And the learning curve on life can be cut radically short if we are open to discipleship.  The problem comes in that many people are not.  Rather than look at the road map, they keep thinking that they will eventually figure out the way themselves.  And eventually, they may, but at the cost of many lost hours and sometimes years. 

This idea of being guided through life begs the question of why so many people resist the help of a mentor who has already learned the shortest route to success.  And the answer lies within the human heart.  It is the very root and source of our inability to hear the answers – not just from God, but from our brothers and sisters in Christ.  The problem is called pride. 

Pride is the direct result of the fall of Adam and Eve.  Prior to Eve stepping out into her own path of decision, this couple lived completely and totally upon the understanding and guidance of God.  It was Eve’s departure from this God-dependence that left her in the state of self-dependence, and it has been the undoing of man ever since.

God created a perfect world.  The paths were determined, the principles set, the systems in balance.  Eve’s one decision threw the entire world out of kilter.  And the worse part of her decision was that it was irreversible because it had opened the Pandora’s box of self-determination.  Eve had stepped away from a God-given path to create her own path.  She had left the safety of what was already predetermined to find a different way – her own way.  She called what was wrong right and set the course for humanity to struggle constantly with that decision every day of our lives.  That, in its purest form, is pride.  It is reliance upon self rather than God.  And that’s why the Bible says that God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.  He cannot and will not honor a way, other than the perfect one He has created because all others fall radically short of His glory.

The only remedy for pride is the position taken by the Eunuch.  In humility, he admits his insufficiency, and invites the mentor to step into his life.  It has been well said that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.  But until humility is embraced, the human heart is incapable of being guided – even by God.

I need to humble myself daily so that I can accept guidance from God in whatever shape and form it may come – even through a donkey, if necessary.  

The Power of a True Witness

 and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” (Acts 7:56 NKJV)

Stephen was a witness for Christ.  He was unwilling to keep his mouth shut about Jesus, even when it cost him his life.  And in the exact moment of his death, he is still proclaiming the truth of God.  He is stating what he clearly sees.  He is testifying as to the truth of Heaven, of God, and of Jesus.  And his proclamation is a public, unashamed, and unfiltered invitation to all to LOOK. 

In his dying moments Stephen still gives a magnificent example of what it means to be a witness for Christ.  On the verge of being stoned, Stephen refers to Jesus as the “Son of Man,” a term that would have instantly struck a chord for the crowd.  He did not use the term “Son of God,” which was the other phrase often employed to describe Jesus.  There was a reason for his choice of terms. 

Just months prior to this event, at His trial before Caiaphas, the high priests, scribes, and elders, Jesus made this statement:

… From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” (Matthew 26:64 NKJV)

Bible scholars infer that the phrase “Son of Man” draws its implications from the Old Testament references in Leviticus 25:25-26, 48-49; Ruth 2:20 to the kinsman redeemer.  By Jewish law, the next of kin (one related by blood) always functioned as the "kinsman-redeemer" of a family member who needed redemption from jail.   That is why Christ had to take on humanity in order to bring us to Divinity. He needed to be blood related so that we could be blood bought back from the prison of sin.

By using this phrase, “Son of Man,” Stephen is bringing the bystanders back to the reality of who Christ claimed to be.  He is testifying as to His ability to redeem them.  So, in his final breath, Stephen is a true witness to the saving power of Christ.

Stephen’s life makes me ponder some important questions - Is my life devoted to the things of God in such a focused way?  Do I make the saving power of Christ my bottom line on all I say and do?  Today, I will use my words wisely to be a witness to the power of the resurrection and the reality of my Kinsman Redeemer.

Standing Ovation

But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, (Acts 7:55)

The first thing that jumps out at me when I read this verse is the fact that Jesus is standing.  The one little detail screams a magnitude about our Savior’s heart towards this event.  We know from Ephesians 1:20, that when the Spirit raised Christ from the dead, it says that he “seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,” so, why does Stephen see Him standing? 

There may be many answers to this question, but the first one that came to mind is the scene in the courtroom when everyone is sitting around, waiting for the proceeding to start, and then the bailiff announces, “All rise.”  And in honor of the entrance of the Judge, everyone in the courtroom stands to his or her feet.  We also rise when the bride comes down the aisle at a wedding, or we are giving a “standing ovation” for someone who has just given an outstanding performance.

The fact that Stephen sees the Lord standing implies that Jesus is giving Stephen a standing ovation, a gesture of honor, as the first of many who would ultimately give their lives for the sake of the Gospel.  Stephen’s willingness to die for his Savior thrilled the heart of God.

When we enter Heaven, we will see Jesus, that’s a given.  But will He be waiting for us in a sitting or standing position?  Certainly our salvation has nothing to do with works, but whether or not we please the heart of God has absolutely everything to do with what we did with what He gave us while here on earth.  If our goal is to simply make it to Heaven, then our day to day choices don’t matter.  But if our goal is to get a standing ovation from an audience of One, then we must choose, as Stephen did, to die for the cause of Christ.  And the key to how is found in the little phrase, “filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Today, I will ask God to fill me with His Spirit that I might, like Stephen, choose death to self and find a life that causes Christ to jump to His feet for joy.

Simplicity of Heart

So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, (Acts 2:46)

You cannot help but be struck by the consistency of these new believers.  Their faith was not a part-time endeavor.  It was an all-in kind of experience.  They were at the church every day and visited one another’s homes for meals on a regular basis.  They had a joy and gladness that was evident to everyone. 

It is the last little phrase of this verse, however, that causes me pause.  Luke records that these new Christians did all that they did with “simplicity of heart.”  The dictionary gives the following definition of simplicity – ease, plainness, humility, guilelessness.  There is something to be said for keeping it simple and not complicating our faith.  The first church did not have a hidden agenda.  They simply enjoyed the fellowship and wonder of their newfound faith.  It is apparent that this unscattered, focused, singleness of heart had much to do with the stability of their group when you consider the admonition of James:

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways (James 1:5-9 NKJV).

By maintaining a simplicity of heart, they were able to stay single-minded and enjoy a growing, stable, relationship with one another and the Lord.

How much of my faith is complicated by my own agenda?  I need to keep the main thing the main thing so that I do not become double minded and miss the stability that is produced by a simplicity of heart.

Leadership Worth Following

7And his armor-bearer said to him, "Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish. Behold, I am with you heart and soul." 1 Samuel 14:7

To be with someone heart and soul really requires a depth of devotion and commitment that can never be superficial.  We could easily think that because this is the armor bearer to the king’s son, he is obligated to do this, but that would be a mistake.  We only need to look at the story of Gideon and see that when given the opportunity to go home, most of Gideon’s army chose not to stand behind him in his hour of need.  They left the minute they could, but the reality is that they would have done the same thing even in the thick of battle.

Devotion itself is quite rare and the object of its affection fuels it.  The more enamored we are with the person, the more committed and devoted we are.  Many tyrants have demanded devotion, but when the rubber meets the road, the devotee will not willingly give their life for the cause of their ruler. 

Jonathan’s relationship with his armor bearer was different.  He was completely and totally sold out to Jonathan, which implies that there was something about Jonathan’s character that this man felt worthy of devoting his life to – even to the point of death. 

That is the earmark of a leader.  They have the ability to bring out the absolute depth of commitment in another human being.  And it has everything to do with character.  It is why men were drawn to Jesus.  The Bible says he was not really that attractive; in fact, He was quite ordinary.  So it wasn’t his good looks that mesmerized the crowd.  It was the inner strength and quality of His character.  It was because people knew that He was a man of conviction, fearful of nothing, and One who did not put His own life first. 

And in the sentence right before this verse, we see that Jonathan’s character is built upon an unwavering faith in God’s sovereignty.  Jonathan was so fixed upon God’s plan for his life, that he was able to abandon all care for himself and devote his own attention to the bigger picture of what God was doing.  And that kind of faith was contagious enough to pierce the heart of his armor bearer.

If I am to lead others, I must myself first have the kind of faith in Christ and walk with Him that is deep enough that others have the confidence to follow me – even when it looks like a suicide mission. 

Dead Man Walking

and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need (Acts 2:45 NKJV).

What kind of trust level are we talking about here?  Think for just a minute about selling your possessions and allowing the money to be pooled together to provide for everyone in the group.  If we are going to be completely honest with ourselves, this would be a step of gigantic proportion for most of us living in this Country, in this century, on many levels.  To name just a few – What if you have more than most people?  What if you really want to help some of the people, but not all of them?  What if you don’t really understand why?  What about the fact that you don’t really get to say what your contribution goes towards? What if you don’t have very much? 

There is a lot to consider under the surface of this quick little statement – “they sold their possessions and goods,”-  as if that were just a normal thing that required no inward battle.  I think not.  People are people and even though this was a different time and place, it would not be surprising to find that they still battled with same human tendencies and emotions that we do.  And if we don’t factor in their humanity, we will never get the full impact and power of what they did.  They actually experienced unity – the way God intended unity to be.  Not just occupying the same personal space or living a parallel life, but real unity.  An existence in which “who I am” and “what I have” is merged together into a oneness with “who you are” and “what you have.”

This unity is the bottom line goal of marriage, as expressed by the Lord in Genesis when He said, “And the two shall become one flesh.”  The idea of “one flesh” is seen most clearly in the trinity.  Three in One.  All separate, individual Persons comprising One singular unit.  And explain it away as much as you want in the egg, water, and whatever illustrations you may use, the reality of this kind of Unity is completely divine.  It can never be accomplished through the power of the human will.  It can only be accomplished when we completely surrender to the work of God’s Spirit in us.  And that takes a trust that goes beyond a mere assent to the facts of who Jesus is.  It takes a trust that is willing to lose it’s own rights, understanding, possessions, and even its own will to chose which rights, when it can’t understand, and what possessions.  The first church was able to do what they did because their level of trust was deep enough to take them to their own personal point of death.

I can clearly see today if I am trusting in God to the same degree of depth as the first church by my ability to live as a dead man walking.

Remember and Refresh

Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, (Acts 2:44 NKJV)

The unity of this group is probably one of the most striking and notable virtues of the first church.  They not only spent time together, they actually were doing life together.  And there was nothing that they kept from one another.  They literally shared everything they had.  You can’t help but notice a stark contrast between this original church and what is typical of the Christian church today.  Most members of churches today can barely hang out with one another for even one hour a week and they certainly would not be open to sharing everything they had with someone else. 

So what makes the first church so different?  It could be the newness of their salvation.  We are only weeks away from the crucifixion and Pentecost.  They have had a life-altering encounter with God.  These people have are still in the “awe” of salvation and for them it is very real.  Most of them were personal eye witnesses of the resurrection and the events of Pentecost. Many may have actually known Jesus and witnessed the miracles, teaching, and touch of the Savior.  They no longer looked through the eyes of a worldly viewpoint, but enjoyed an eternal perspective.

So, how can we, as Christians who are decades removed from these events still keep the freshness of our salvation experience?  This is one of those things that God accomplishes that is hard to explain.  It is where we seem to tap into His timeless nature.  At the moment we fully realize the magnitude and meaning of what happened at the cross, at the tomb, and on the day of Pentecost, it is as if time is removed and the “awe” of the experience brings us full volume into the reality of the events.  So, the answer to the question of how to stay in the freshness of our salvation is by keeping our focus on the central point of Christianity, which is Jesus. 

It has been almost 30 years since I had my “ah ha” moment of who Jesus is.  Yet, even today when I set my mind on His Person, it is as if time disappears and His love, mercy, grace, and tenderness are as present and real as the moment I first believed. 

For me to keep a heart of unity that desires fellowship with other believers and that has a light touch on the things God has entrusted to me, I must keep my eyes and heart clearly fixed on Jesus so that I can see everything from an eternal vantage point.

Fear that Transforms

Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles (Acts 2:43 NKJV).

At first glance it may seem like the disciples have reverted back to the Upper Room scenario, where they were all huddled in fear for their lives, waiting on the day of Pentecost.  It only takes a quick glimpse at a few other versions of this text to realize that this “fear” was not at all like the fear they experienced prior to Pentecost.  In fact, this fear indicates a kind of “awe” or wonder.  The Amplified version expounds on the meaning by saying it is a “reverential fear.”  And we would learn an important lesson if we note carefully the order of this passage.  The fear – or awe – came first and then the signs and wonders.

Too many people today are stuck in the rut of wanting to see God do something miraculous before they will give Him the reverence He is due.  They fail to realize that we owe God reverence simply because He is God, not because He can perform miracles.  If the Gospel has been watered down at all in our society – and it surely has – it would be diminished most in this area of the person of God.  People tend to make Him a super hero or magician.  They believe in a God who created the Universe, working with the process of evolution.  A God who used tricks and slight of hand, or super hero powers, to pull off the wonders of creation and the supernatural protection of Israel as recounted in the stories throughout the Old Testament. 

That would be a mistake.  God is no super hero and He is absolutely not a magician.  He did not create the Universe through the process of evolution.  On the contrary, He created it out of nothing.  He is the great I AM – the One who has existed before time began.  In fact, He is the One who created even time, space, matter, and energy – all of it.  From the vast expanse of the Universe to the most minute, immeasurable field of quantum physics, every planet, star, galaxy, universe, atom, subatomic particle, and beyond was brought into existence by the mere Word of God.   And in the midst of all the miraculous composition that we know and that which we don’t even have a clue exists, He created man – the most complex creature known today.  Then, in what has to be His most profound and outrageous display of power ever, He became incarnate, walked among us, suffered for us, and ultimately gave His very own life to redeem us. 

It is quite clear that we could never comprehend, no matter how much others may try and explain Him, all that it means to be God.  And it is in this inexplicable vacuum of understanding, we experience the awe of the first church in Acts 2:43.  And in the moment that truth hits our soul, we experience the greatest miracle of all – salvation.  At that moment, we are reconnected with our Creator, indwelt by His Spirit, empowered by His grace, and it becomes only logical that signs and wonders follow.

Today, I must lock onto the fact that the God who I will never be able to totally comprehend indwells me – for the purpose of reaching the world around me.  I need to let the awe of that thought allow Him do what only He can do through me.

Living Like the First Church

And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers (Acts 2:42 NKJV).

The dictionary defines the word “steadfastly” as persistently, consistently, with conviction, unwaveringly.  And within that definition we get a glimpse of the groundwork that established the first century church.  Their lives as believers were not an “add on,” but the main thing.  They were serious about the study of God’s Word, the gathering of the saints together, breaking bread, and prayer.  Their faith in Christ became the fabric of their existence.

It is only in our American society that faith is compartmentalized.  That’s not the case in other cultures.  When someone is a Muslim, that is what identifies them as a person.  If they are a Buddhist, that is not just what they believe, but who they are.  Any Jew living in Israel considers their faith to be why they are Israeli, not because of the location on planet earth they happen to live.   Yet in this Country, may people consider themselves Americans first and Christians second.  We identify ourselves by our Country rather than our Creator.  It is why we are able to separate out what we learn on Sunday from what we do on Monday.

The Bible tells us that we are sojourners and pilgrims on this planet.  That earth is not our home.  How different would our lives look and our decisions be if we gave our faith the proper place that the first church gave their faith?  If every choice we made were based upon the reality that we are believers in Jesus Christ, perhaps we could make the kind of impact on our world that the first church made on theirs.

Today, I need to consider my Christianity “steadfastly.”  I need to grab hold of the truth that Jesus is not just my religious choice, but He is my very identity.  I need to live as a Christian who lays down her life, not as an American, who is all about getting ahead in life.

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.  And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross (Philippians 2:5-8)

From Head to Heart

In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence (Ephesians 3:12 NKJV).

The Bible makes a very interesting but subtle distinction in this area of Scripture.  Paul is telling us that we are able to approach God with freedom and confidence based on two conditions, which at first glance seem synonymous, but are not.  Our ability to approach God is based certainly upon our faith in Christ, but not that alone.  It is based equally upon our position in Christ.  There are many people who believe in Jesus, but are not in Jesus.  I was one of them for many years.  I believed in who Jesus was in the same way I believed in who Abraham Lincoln was.  It was completely a head knowledge that had no impact whatsoever on my life.  Not until I transferred that information from my head to my heart did I find myself “in Christ.”

Our faith in Christ must go beyond the intellectual understanding of the facts about Jesus.  Yes He is the Son of God, lived on planet earth for 33 years, was crucified, buried, and rose from the dead, and His life and legacy was to rid the earth of sin.  That information is critical to the story of redemption, but the facts alone do not redeem.  When those facts become pertinent to me personally is when transformation happens.  When I have the “aha” moment to realize that Jesus didn’t die just for the “sins of the world,” but for “my sins” specifically, it begins to become personal.  And when it dawns on me that He didn’t just raise from the dead and go sit down on the right hand of God, but is alive and looking straight in my eyes for a response to these facts, that’s when the knowledge goes from my head to my heart and I am no longer able to have a mere distant respect for the Son of God, but am able to be embraced by the passionate love of a Savior who gave His life for ME!

There are many people who call themselves Christians today because they have given a mental assent to the facts of the Gospel, but they are no more positioned to approach God than someone who does not believe at all.  That’s why you see this distinction between our position in Christ and our faith in Christ in other areas of Paul’s writings as well:

For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Romans 10:10 NKJV).

To be positioned “in Christ” requires an interaction with the heart.  Anyone can say they believe in Jesus, but a heart touched by God will say it without words.  A changed life is the outcome of being confronted by a personal realization of how much God’s intimate sacrifice cost in order to allow me personally to be “in Christ.”

Lord, I am grateful for the facts of the Gospel, but I am overwhelmed and engulfed in the reality of their implication in my life.  Help me live “in Christ” today in a way that adequately expresses the radical change that transition brings.

Wisdom of God

God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places (Ephesians 3:10 NLT)

Paul is writing to the Ephesians from a dark and nasty cell in Rome where he is imprisoned for the sake of the Gospel.  Yet, as he pens this amazing letter, he states that “all this,” and the all includes his imprisonment, is to display the wisdom of God. 

The average Christian has to stop here and ask the question, “Really?  God, did you really think it was smart to stick Paul in a deplorable Roman prison, devoid of the basic necessities of life, cold, lonely, and – worst of all – out of circulation for spreading the Gospel?” 

That’s when the words of Isaiah, the prophet, come rushing to mind,

 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:9 NKJV).

In deed, God’s thoughts and wisdom are higher than ours because ours are all wrapped up, for the most part, in this life and staying within our comfort zones.  The thought of being “on fire” for Jesus really only goes so far as we passionately tell a few folks about Him.  It never includes being sawn in two, like the man through whom God penned those words about His thoughts.

Paul understood, like not many men in this world, that his external circumstances had nothing at all to do with his mission in this life.  As he stated in another book, he had learned how to abase and abound, which meant he was oblivious to his surroundings and was completely focused on the task at hand – which was to present the Gospel.  So, from the dark and miserable Roman prison, Paul writes one of the brightest and most exhilarating letters of his career.  And chances are, had he been out and about, he might not have found the time to pen most of the New Testament, which was written in these times of being “out of circulation.” 

So, in God’s wisdom, He chooses to use the foolish things to confound the wise, the low things for the high calling, the servant to be master, and death to be the doorway to life.  And as the drama of the human race plays out on the theater of planet earth, the Heavenly hosts stand in awe of the wisdom of God.

Lord, grant me your wisdom today to play my part in your holy script.