Look Forward

A friend of mine sent an email with the following statistics:

  ·       83% of voters fear there will be a large-scale terrorist attack in the U.S. in the near future.

  ·       60% think it’s likely that terrorists are living in their hometown.    

  ·       59% believe the economy is doing poorly.

  ·       69% of Americans think the nation is on the wrong track.

  ·       47% say that their family is scraping by, making only enough to pay bills and obligations.

  ·       56% believe most children in the U.S. will grow up to be worse off than their parents.

I find these numbers staggering.  I have no idea if they are validated or not.  However, I can say that I believe they are at least lending themselves to what I would answer.  It is so very difficult to stay positive with the total negativity of the entertainment (today’s news) industry. 

Of these statistics, it is the last on that hurts the most.  This means that the current generation believes their children will not live as well as they do.  If this holds true, this would be the single biggest turning point in America since WWII since America would no longer be that entity where a person can do better.  As best as I can tell, every generation has lived somewhat better than the one before. 

I will take this last point to task for a moment.  Economically I’m not sure it’s feasible that the next generation can be worse off unless they do absolutely nothing.  The Baby Boomer generation is passing and that represents a large population handing off their assetts to a much smaller generation and the generation behind them is even smaller.  This means there are assets being held by less and less people as time goes forward.  That means that the people in the generation with less people overall have more assets than the ones before.  Without a civil or other kind of horrendous domestic war, I don’t see how any working person in the next generation doesn’t live a little better than this one.

Either way, none of this has anything to do with anything spiritual that should be contained in a devotion, except it is not Godly to focus on negativity as it reduces God to not being God.  If we focus on what has happened and a negative outlook for tomorrow, we are saying God can't change anything.  I believe this is a lack of faith and sinful.  In Lamentations, the writer said “the faithful love of God never ends, His mercies never cease.”  We are not to focus on anything outside of who God is.  We must know that He will be with us forever.  He has our best interest in mind.  He will not forsake us.

I focus on this one thing forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. - Philippians 3:13

We, the ones with the Spirit of the living Lord in our hearts, must not be negative and have a terrible outlook towards tomorrow.  Our future is certain.  God has our home made for us and there will come a day when we will be with Him.  How can we not look forward to that?  How can what happened years ago, last month, or even yesterday compare to such a future!  It doesn’t, and neither does today.  So let’s join Paul and forget the past and look forward to that great day when we are able to dwell with the one true living God whose immense love for us is incomprehensible!

God Knows Best

Jer 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

We know from scripture that there will be an end to this ongoing spiritual battle and in that end, God wins.  We also know that God's intention was never for us to get locked in this pitched battle, but since we chose to sin, God has been responding ever since the first sin to reconcile a lost world to Himself.  We also know that only God perfectly knows our own past and future and completely sees our present circumstances.  These realizations led Leslie Weatherhead to develop an excellent five part sermon series on what he saw as three aspects to God's will: God's ultimate will, His intentional will, and His circumstantial will. 
God's circumstantial will is the answer to "what would Jesus do" in each and every decision of our lives.  Resources are all over the map on just exactly how many decisions the average adult makes in a day quoting numbers from 5000-35000.  Many are mundane such as a realization that one is thirsty and making tens of decisions of when and how to get up, where to go for refreshment, what kind to get, how much ice, how much liquid, when to take the first sip, how much to sip, etc.  Others are life changing such as whom to marry, when, etc.  Often we analyze, pray over, and seek advice for life's major decisions, yet often these major decisions are heavily influenced by tens of thousands of minor decisions we make leading up to the major ones.  Deciding on a college and a major, for instance hinges on 12 years or more of scholastic decisions resulting in grades and test scores. 
I've never met a Christian who would argue with the statement that "God knows best," yet do we seek him at the right times?  Do we allow Him to guide each and every minor decision we make such that when a major decision is required, we know how to seek His guidance and hear His still small voice?  I confess that often I simply don't want to bother an extremely busy God who is intervening in so many tragedies and huge decisions in His creation, but that can limit God's advice and my options when I do.  For instance, if I begin painting a floor with all the right materials and tools, yet plan the execution poorly, I can end up in the corner of the room with no way out.  Crying out to God for options at that point and blaming Him for my circumstances is too late and the blame misplaced.  A series of what seemed to be minor decisions made without seeking God led to a tragedy that limited God's options.  Obviously He can always miraculously recover, but I think often He allows us to learn from our mistakes. 
I pray that I don't paint myself into a corner in life and then cry out to a high and Holy God to fix my mess.  May I be a person in constant prayer and obedience instead.  I know scripture doesn't promise that storms in life won't happen, but I want to be securely anchored into The One who can calm the storms when they happen. 

God Responds to Our Decisions

  

Gen 3: 23 So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. 

In trying to understand God's will, I turn again to Leslie Weatherhead's sermon series "The Will of God" wherein he describes three aspects to God's will: His Ultimate will, His Intentional will, and His circumstantial will.  Having briefly examined God's ultimate will yesterday and determining that in reality all source of hope, at least as far as I'm concerned, hinges on Christ, His victory over death and His forthcoming ultimate victory in today's ongoing spiritual warfare - God's ultimate will. 

Today I want to consider the second aspect of God's will, His intentional will.  Leslie delivered this series of sermons during the height of WWII and was motivated by individuals who ascribed the tremendous atrocities and personal tragedies of that war as "the will of God."  Leslie took great umbrage with people who resignedly ascribed the tragic loss of especially innocent women and children as the will of God.  Instead Leslie pointed to the fact that it wasn't God's intention for these tragedies any more than it was God's intention for Adam and Eve to partake of the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge.  God certainly allowed it to happen due to man's freedom of choice, but it was not God's intention.  In fact, God completed His creation by placing Eve at Adam's side to dwell in the garden and simply be in relationship with Adam and God.  God responded to their choice to disobey His command by banishing them from the garden and beginning His ongoing pursuit of a lost mankind.  In fact, Weatherhead makes the point that it wasn't God's original intent to send Jesus to the cross, but it became necessary when mankind, all of us, chose to sin. 

I like Leslie's development because it forces us to look for other causes to our circumstances.  Often it is not God who has placed tragedy in our lives, instead often tragedies are born of our own decisions.  Decisions to drive under the influence, for instance, have taken countless otherwise blameless lives.  Did God do that to the blameless?  No!  He certainly allowed it to happen just as He allowed Satan to destroy Job's life.  But he has allowed humankind the freedom to choose and often our bad choices lead to tragedy. 

Other times Satan is to be blamed directly.  Clearly Satan was allowed by God to destroy both directly and indirectly Job's entire life here on earth.  While I lack the spiritual discernment to point to specific instances of Satan's work, I believe wholeheartedly that in cases such as infant mortality, mass genocide, and other overwhelming tragedies, Satan is clearly at work. 

So, my conclusion is to not resignedly point to God as the cause of all of life's circumstances.  God clearly allows tragedies to occur within His ultimate will, but I don't believe that our God who loves us intends for all of life's issues to occur.  Often we bring these things upon ourselves.  Other times, Satan is actively working to thwart God in His battle for the souls of mankind.  So as I look upon issues and circumstances in life, I know that God loves me and intends only the best.  My own selfishly motivated decisions, however, often take me off of His narrow path leading to issues outside of His original intent.  Fortunately, God doesn't leave us there and is always ready to respond to us out of love.  His original intent may be altered by our poor decisions or undeserved tragedy, but He always stands ready to respond to us in love and put us on a new path in relationship with Him. 

Great is His Faithfulness

²² The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
    His mercies never cease.
²³ Great is His faithfulness;
    His mercies begin afresh each morning.

…

³¹ For no one is abandoned
    by the Lord forever.
³² Though He brings grief, He also shows compassion
    because of the greatness of His unfailing love. – Lamentations 3:22-23,31-32

The great hymn of the church “Great is Thy faithfulness” chorus line says,

“Great is Thy faithfulness!” “Great is Thy faithfulness!”
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
“Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto me!

I find it amazing how the writer of Lamentations writes such promises and uplifting words in the middle of such downtrodden descriptions written in the chapters and verses before these.  Some descriptions include “I weep; tears flow down my cheeks. No one is here to comfort me … my children have no future … I begged for allies to help but they betrayed me … I have cried until the tears no longer come; my heart is broken … My own people laugh at me.  All day long they sing their mocking songs.  He has filled me with bitterness and given me a bitter cup of sorrow to drink.  … Peace has been stripped away, and I have forgotten what prosperity is.”  There are descriptions of babies lying faint and dying because there is no food and the mothers can’t feed them from their own starvation.  Such a terrible description of suffering that brings images of the Nazis and concentrations camps.  Today it would be the Christians who suffer from ISIS who would know such suffering.  Yet in verse 21 of chapter three we find these words, “Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this”.  What does he remember?  “The faithful love of the Lord never ends!”

“Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” – Psalm 23:4

Surely this description in Lamentations is close to the valley of the shadow of death.  And in the midst of it, the writer has in his deepest heart the truth that says the love of the Lord never ends.  That His mercy never stops.  Every morning His mercy begins anew!  What blessed hope this is for all of us to grab hold.  Today we have a God whose love and mercy for us will not end.  The writer goes on to say that no one is abandoned by the Lord.  We are not abandoned.  He is ever mindful of us.

Take a minute today and let that sink in, believe it in your heart of hearts.  You are always on His mind and in His thoughts.  His love and mercy for you will never stop.  Praise God for who He is today.

Black Sheep

I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father.  So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.  I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold.  I must bring them also.  They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd. – John 10:14-16

Have you ever been that “other” person?  We like to refer to this as the odd man out, the ugly duckling or coincidentally, the black sheep of the family.  The term “black sheep” has come to mean waywardness and to have negative implications towards whomever it is directed.  However, in sheep, the black sheep is a rare occurrence when two white sheep mate and both carry a recessive gene for a black sheep.  When this happens there is a 25% chance the lamb will be black.  Everywhere a normal sheep is white, which is actually no color, the lamb is black.  Its wool is often dark red or black.  The black sheep are rare and unique. 

If you are not a Jew, then you are the “other sheep”.  Jesus is having a discussion with Jews healing a blind man who had been blind from birth.  He uses the analogy of a shepherd and sheep over and over, but they do not understand.  In this passage, He is saying that there are sheep in their fold (the Jewish people), but there are other sheep also, not in their fold (Gentiles) and at some time they will all be put into the same fold with a single shepherd, whom He is as the Good Shepherd.

We are the “other” people.  Be thankful today that you are included into the common fold of all Christians who follow Christ.  We are the universal church.  Jesus specifically says that He sacrificed His life for the sheep.  That includes each one of us.  He says further in verse 18 that He lays His life down on His own accord, no one takes it from Him.  He has the authority to lay His life down and to take it up again from the command of God the Father.  Jesus willfully laid down His life for everyone who hears His voice (v 3), follows Him (v 4), and knows Him (v 14), as they are His sheep. 

No matter how different we might think we are; no matter how outcast we might feel; no matter what our economic status says; no matter what our failures or successes are; no matter what our lineage is; no matter what color we are; no matter other unique identifying characteristic we have; if we believe in Jesus as the Son of God and know Him, we are in His fold.  You are wanted today by the Creator of the universe!  We are included with people who love Him first and one another (the two great commandments).  I praise God today for not being left out, but for His voice that calls me to Him.

Happy New Year

Jer 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Someone once said that if you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.  I absolutely agree with that notion that only God knows the future.  I also know that a life without goals and dreams is merely an existence.  So how does one go about setting goals that honor God?  Note that God says He knows the plans He has for us.  So to set goals, one must seek information from God or run the risk of setting goals that are outside God's will.
Psalms 119:105 reminds us that God's word is a lamp on our path.  When I envision a dim candle-it lamp, I imagine only being able to see the path for the next step or two.  The remainder of the path is not lit until I approach it.  Therefore a life lived for God is one wherein He only reveals the information we need to take the next step or two.  While this doesn't satisfy my own need to know everything before I make a decision, God insists on a walk of faith, not sight. 
So I don't know my long term destination (I'm still wondering what I'll be when I grow up!), but based on where He has brought me over the last 50+ years, I know whom I want guiding my steps.  As I spent time over the holidays reflecting on the incredible blessings in my life, I realized that I could not have orchestrated such a blessed life and God must have been guiding me along the way.  I want to continue in that blessed existence and know only that God wants me to live a healthier lifestyle, particularly as I age.  I also know that there are financial debts to retire.  Finally, there is the need for improved discipline in prayer, devotion, and perhaps most importantly, worship. 
What are your goals for 2016?  Are you seeking divine guidance to make the best possible plans or are you trying to humor a Holy God who knows both you and your future? 

Leaning

What a fellowship, what a joy divine,

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!

What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!

One afternoon in 1887, music teacher A. J. Showalter dismissed his class and returned to his rooming house in Hartsville, Alabama.  There he found letters from 2 former students, each with a similar story. Both of them had lost their wives, and both wives had died on the same day.  Showalter began writing letters of condolence.  The Scripture that came to mind was Deuteronomy 33:26-27, the assurance of God's "everlasting arms" supporting us.

Then he wrote a 3rd letter, to Elisha Hoffman, a hymn writer in Pennsylvania.  Showalter suggested that Hoffman write a hymn on that theme.  He even suggested the wording of the chorus.  Hoffman responded quickly with 3 stanzas and Showalter supplied the music.  (As recorded by Great Songs of Faith by Brown & Norton)

O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!

O how bright the path grows from day to day,

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!

Never in our entire lives, have my wife and I ever felt such a burden of bitterness and hate towards us for trying to stand faithfully on the Words of God.  Many ridicule us for trying to live lives of forgiveness for one another and others.  Some would quickly ridicule us for even making that statement saying we don’t live that way.  Some have ridiculed us for speaking openly how going with a "God must be in this and do it or it will fail" approach to our personal lives.  I have never seen hearts turn so quickly and decisively against me.  Yet, it is recorded in Matthew 11:29-30 that Jesus said "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." 

What have I to dread?  What have I to fear?

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!

I have peace complete with my Lord so near,

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!

Matthew Henry comments: “Christ invites all to come to him for rest to their souls.  He alone gives this invitation; men come to him, when, feeling their guilt and misery, and believing his love and power to help, they seek him in fervent prayer.  Thus it is the duty and interest of weary and heavy-laden sinners, to come to Jesus Christ.  This is the gospel call; Whoever will, let him come.  All who thus come will receive rest as Christ's gift, and obtain peace and comfort in their hearts.  But in coming to him they must take his yoke, and submit to his authority.  They must learn of him all things, as to their comfort and obedience.  He accepts the willing servant, however imperfect the services.  Here we may find rest for our souls, and here only.  Nor need we fear his yoke.  His commandments are holy, just, and good.  It requires self-denial, and exposes to difficulties, but this is abundantly repaid, even in this world, by inward peace and joy.  It is a yoke that is lined with love.  So powerful are the assistances he gives us, so suitable the encouragements, and so strong the consolations to be found in the way of duty, that we may truly say, it is a yoke of pleasantness.  The way of duty is the way of rest.”

I freely admit that this way of duty is more often than not, not a way of rest.  It is a heavy burden and it is hard to give it away, off my shoulders, out of my heart, and into a faith that knows He has my concerns, worries, and anxieties and He is more than willing and capable with all power, strength, and knowledge.  I pray for my own faith and for our deliverance from our enemies.  I pray that I’d lean on His Everlasting Arms, fully trusting, fully covered, and being fully contained within Them.

What a Disappointment

Today we had to fire a young engineer.  Or, at least we thought he was an engineer.  Turns out he never got his degree.  We hired him as he was supposedly graduating from college.  While he thought he was about to get his diploma he got a letter telling him his GPA was too low to graduate.  Unfortunately he kept it to himself and started another lie.  Under the guise of taking classes towards a master’s degree, he was really retaking classes to get a better grade to hopefully officially get a degree.  In the year and a half that he worked for us he did pass his E.I. exam but did not officially get a number from NSPE since he had not officially graduated. 

This all came to a point when an opportunity presented itself for him.  A company we often work with needed a young degreed engineer to go to Hawaii for a year and be a construction quality reviewer on-site.  This person would need to go to a class for a week and get a certification, then go live in Hawaii for a year.  We naturally submitted the young engineer with no family for an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  But that lie he was living wouldn’t let him go.  Unfortunately rather than come clean, his dad came in and spoke to one of the company’s partners. 

It’s a disappointment that he didn’t come to us as soon as he knew about it.  If he would have done that, we would have worked with him then and he would probably still be an employee.  It’s a disappointment that he didn’t accept responsibility for his reality.  If he would have done that, it would have been reflected in his accepting responsibility for his work as this was an obvious problem in his work output.  It’s a disappointment that he can’t go and experience this opportunity.  Sin always costs more than we think it will.  It’s a disappointment that his dad came to us and he didn’t make him face his reality and be responsible for his actions.  This is probably where the problem originates, but he should be responsible for himself, especially at his age.

Yet again I see an application for Jesus in all of our lives.  … What a disappointment.

The Father of Lies

You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and stayed not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. – John 8:44

I often wonder what the time is that Jesus is referring to when He said this.  Was He referring to the beginning of all that ever has been?  Was He referring to the beginning of Creation?  Was He referring to the beginning of man?  I’m not sure it really matters, but my mind thinks and wonders these things.  One thing is for sure, it is definitely since the beginning of man.  Satan’s first words to woman were lies.

The serpent said to the woman, you shall not surely die – Genesis 3:4

We all know as descendants that she most certainly did die.  The truth was she would not die if she didn’t eat the fruit.  By lying to the woman the devil was able to cause her death, so he effectively murdered her by convincing her to oppose God’s Word.  Since all of humanity is descended from Adam and Eve and all must die because of this sin, the devil did effectively murder all.  So when Jesus says he was a murderer from the beginning and that he is the father of lies it is the truth from man’s existence.  The devil fathered the first lie to man.  Man soon lied to each other and murdered one another. 

I am a man and I am a liar.  I am a man and I am a murderer.  If I do not acknowledge these things to myself then I am a fool.  This is my inheritance.  It is my sin disease contained in my DNA.  However, Jesus changed my DNA when I accepted Him as my Savior.  I believe in Him as the Son of the only living God and when I did His Spirit came inside of my heart and resides in my soul.  Does this mean I am no longer a liar and a murderer?  Unfortunately no.  It does mean that now I have a choice.  I can choose not to lie or murder.  Before I did not have the strength to fight the sin nature pull to do these things but with Jesus within me, He has conquered the death caused by sin, so I can overcome the sin nature by letting go of myself and following Jesus in all moments. 

A false witness will utter lies – Proverbs 14:5b

A Christian following Christ cannot be a false witness.  The conviction from the Spirit will cause him to have to decide to not believe or to believe at some time.  I believe the Spirit is constantly convicting someone living in lies, but if those are ignored long enough, there will come a crisis moment.  A person who claims to be a Christian, but who blatantly does not follow God’s Word does not truly believe in God as the single authority over all, which means they do not believe in the one true living God.  People can want to believe, but if they insist that they can alter God’s Words and they seek to convince everyone around them to believe their words then they are a false witness.  What a terrible name to be qualified for!  God has some awful Words for the fate of such people.

It is my constant prayer that I will always be under conviction.  The worst thing I can imagine is not being under any conviction as this would mean God has left me to myself.  I hope that I can be used to lead people to God's Word, not away from it.  My prayer for everyone in my family and all my friends is that God is upon them and they hear His Words upon their heart and feel His presence over their heart.  That they are convicted of their own sin and comforted by His grace and mercy.  We must know we need a Savior at all times in all moments until that glorious day when we are released from this sinful shell.

The DNA of Jesus

Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.  …  Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”  And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you”. – Luke 1:30-31,34-35a

This is known in Catholicism as the Immaculate Conception.  I find this very hard to reflect upon this event by this term ever since Pittsburgh Steeler Franco Harris miraculously caught a deflected pass in the waning seconds of their 1972 playoff game against the Oakland Raiders and ran it in for a touchdown.  This play became known as the Immaculate Reception and the terms sound so much alike that I can’t hear the term without seeing a replay of that play in my mind.  (1972 was also the year the Miami Dolphins went undefeated and won the Super Bowl and I was a Dolphins fan when I was a kid of 12 at that time.)

If we look at what this means biologically, it means that Jesus had DNA that combined Mary’s and God’s.  I have to believe that God’s was perfect.  The sequence would have been without fault, a perfect creation.  Mary’s would have been imperfect, as is all of ours.  It would have contained the sin disease that we have all inherited from Adam and Eve.  I do not see how this could be different unless God healed her and made her perfect before the conception.  But I do not see where this is indicated in Scripture. 

The importance of this for me is to realize that Jesus felt that nature inside which calls away from God because it was a part of His genetics.  When we read in Hebrews 4:15 that “we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet He did not sin,” we can realize that this is indeed true.  I used to brush the tempting portion of this verse off in my thoughts since Jesus was God.  In my reasoning, there was no real way He could effectively know the deep sometimes overwhelming pull inside of all that I am against all that I know and hope.  I mean, He was God and that type of temptation couldn’t exist.  But that is error in thinking and reasoning.  Since He had a part of Mary in Him, He most definitely felt the sin nature.  It was within His DNA.

I am confident in how Satan attacks man.  He watches us very closely and then creates every effectual way for the world to be presented so that it does not look like sin and is sharply pointed and focused on that one area we are most likely to sin in or obviously haven’t given God authority over.  Knowing that, I can only reason that Satan attacked Jesus all the time in every way looking for that weakness.  If only he could get Jesus to commit a single sin, he wins.  I can only naturally assume the attack was way more intense than words can describe. 

“Yet He did not sin.”  The perfection of God is more than the sin nature.  Where God is the authority and rules, sin does not live.  Jesus did not sin.  This means His Godly DNA was more than his human DNA.  Inside of every saved Christian is the Spirit of God.  This same Spirit is able to be more than our human DNA if only we give up ourselves and let that Spirit rule our lives.  It is more and we can live in its perfection.  We can let its perfection live through us.  It is a constant battle and we will have to choose decidedly over and over that our single desire is to live however and wherever that Spirit directs us.  This doesn’t mean we won’t sweat drops of blood in anxiety as Jesus Himself did.  We will.  But we must also trust God’s direction for us, as He did.

Merry Christmas!

Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, but he will be a joy to many others. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him.  As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.” – Luke 2:34-35

Here was Simeon, someone that Joseph and Mary did not know, who had been given a prophesy for his own life by God that he would not die until he saw the Messiah.  Luke tell us that this prophesy had come because the Spirit of God was with him.  When he sees Jesus, he prophesies again to Joseph and Mary concerning his coming life.   I am sure that Simeon’s prophesy concerning Jesus was centered on Israel.  But it reflects into the whole world as Jesus’ life and death was for the whole world.

“[He] is destined to cause many … to fall, but He will be a joy to many others.”  This is an accurate statement.  Many people fall because the characteristics and truths of God do not change.  They live as long as they can and as stubbornly as they can against God.  Yet there is always a time of falling, even it doesn’t come until death without God.  It is unfortunate that many fall, yet God acknowledges this.  Jesus Himself would later say “the gate is narrow” and “many are called but few are chosen”.  But just as many do fall because of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, many are joyful.  He is the source of their life and they strive to follow Him in all His ways.

“He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose Him.”  Not only will many fall because of Jesus, but many will directly oppose Him.  This was definitely the story in Jesus’ life with the religious leaders in Israel and it has been the story of the world itself ever since.  Jesus said “Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.  And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake.”  Those who oppose Jesus will oppose you also because Jesus is in you.  Where He rules in your heart, you are a sign from God and those opposed to God will oppose Him inside of you.

“The deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.  And a sword will pierce your very soul.”  This must be the single most striking description of how the message of Jesus in word or action settles upon our hearts and convicts us to accept His reality as Son of the one true living God or to declare that we do not believe it.  This sword pierces all of our character and all of our actions.  Every part of our character that isn’t given to Him is revealed for its origin and every action that isn’t from Him in us is revealed for its origin.  The very desires of our heart are presented to us for their source.  Only Jesus could do such a thing.

Jesus fulfilled Simeon’s prophesy and that prophesy continues to this day.  I thank God for His loving grace and mercy who allowed Jesus to be born and in who allowed His perfection to be willing to die for such a sinner as I am.  Glory in God today who shows His love over and over to such a hard headed insulant son as me.  I praise God this Christmas morning.

A New Church?

My question this morning, to myself, is “Are we supposed to hold others accountable to the Words of Jesus Christ?”  That said, let me describe some points in that question.  “We” means Christians who follow Christ.  “Others” means others, those who believe in Jesus and those who don’t.  “Words” mean the words in the Bible.  So, the question could be reworded in a more formal manner to say, “Are those who follow Jesus the Christ supposed to hold all others accountable to the words in the Bible?”

As I consider this question, I am reminded that the history of man is full of wars, battles, and all kinds of evil done to “others” by those who considered that they were following Jesus.  Obviously, people start with good intentions but fail miserably, often because they forget there is only one king and one ruler, the One True Living God.  Many times history has recorded a “holy war” where supposed followers of Jesus on one side is fighting, killing, followers of Jesus on the other side.  Again, obviously something was seriously wrong in the beliefs of one or the other, or both.

These quick thoughts on history are just an expanded view of smaller daily lives of people everywhere and there seems to exist this constant war and battles in the life of every Christian I know who is personally following Jesus.  In my life, which is limited in the number of people around me since I am only one person, there is children who have fought parents, parents who have fought their families, spouses who have fought spouses, brothers who have fought brothers, parents who have fought their children, and friends who have fought friends.  In each situation, I can easily point out where one of the participants is a follower of Christ and are trying to live their life in that manner but are engaged in a war and constant battle for trying to have an influence in the lives of those around them.

It seems their life would be so much easier if only they would live to themselves.  I understand why some religions separate themselves out of the world.  This concept is a large part of why America was started.  The Puritans simply wanted to go somewhere away from the worldly government so they could live in a society based on their beliefs.  In our world, where is there to go?  Should we board up our windows and doors and live quietly as hermits?  I am not convinced that Jesus wants this for us.  He specifically said to us “If the world hates you, remember that it hated Me first” and “since they persecuted Me, naturally they will persecute you” (Jn 15:18,20).   He also gave us assurance saying, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33).  But, are we to be in the world following Him and letting the world be the world?  Or are we to be in the world following Him and reaching out to all others knowing we’ll be hated for following Him and be in wars and constant battles and hurt deeply by those who “love” us?

This question is a deep subject but it is real life.  If I avoid this question and pretend like it doesn’t exist then how can I possibly know what direction I’m going in or have the courage in purpose to sustain the fight, if I will even enter the fight?  This is where I see the failure of the modern church.  It does not talk towards real life and teach how we are to be in this daily fight.  For me, it didn’t used to be a fight, it was a choice in a way to live.  But today’s society is so strongly opposed to all things Christian that living a life following Jesus is a real fight and there is an attack on every side.

I believe this topic should be studied and considered in how we live our lives and steer the direction of our churches.  If we are to be reaching out to those around us then considering the intentional hate and persecution from the world that we should expect, how can we create a body of believers that is set up in a way to encourage, support, and train us to survive in such an environment?