Saved So What Do We Have To worry About?

"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.''- Ephesians 6:12-13

Did you know that the spiritual you cannot be tempted? It is your old nature that is tempted. But, like Jesus in the wilderness - our response to that temptation must be spiritual - why? Because temptation to sin is a spiritual attack that manifests itself in the physical. 

"Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am tempted by God'; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone." - James 1:13 

Temptation is spiritual that attacks the weakness of the physical - our old nature. We are not wrestling with the flesh when we are tempted. Think about it.  Our "go-to" when we are tempted is to trust in our "won't" power. But the Word tells us that ... 

"... the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds" - 2 Corinthians 10:4

The full armor of God in Ephesians 6 is a representation of Jesus. The Ephesians 6 reference to the armor of God was an elaboration of Romans 13 - Jesus Christ.

"But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts." - Romans 13:14

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

Having A Predisposition To Obedience

"Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, 'Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?' Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, 'O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.'  Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego." - Daniel 3:14-19

Being predisposed to obedience means that you have already decided what you will do when confronted with the opportunity to disobey what God has made plain and what you have resolved is the right thing to do in light of that Divine revelation. That is what those three men had done. They loved God more than their own lives. When confronted with a choice - it was - what is the today term? Easy-peazy! So they were able to respond with a "No" with confidence. Not concerned about the king's response. 

"Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, 'Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men. Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?' But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, 'Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the tax money.' So they brought Him a denarius. And He said to them, 'Whose image and inscription is this?' They said to Him, 'Caesar’s.' And He said to them, 'Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.'" - Matthew 22:15-21

In the case of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego what Nebuchadnezzar was asking them to do belonged to God not to him.  They would not render to him what was God's. There are times - many times sad to say - that we are asked to render to Caesar - our government or our culture that is not in their domain. You must not wait until it happens - when you are being confronted that you think about what you are going to say or how you will respond. That decision must be made - resolved in your mind and heart long before then. Like Daniel.

"Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself." Daniel 1:8

In this case he found favor with his boss. But I have no doubt that he had already decided Who he would honor with his life and it was not Nebuchadnezzar. Remember the lion's den!

So what about you my friends? Are you predisposed to obedience to God? We all want to say "yes, of course!" but you won't really know until you are faced with the choice. So many verses scrolling across my mind's eye. I with this one. 

"And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." - Joshua 24:15

The attitude of every Christians must be more than words on a bumper sticker on your car or a plaque on the wall in your living room. It must be a life choice that you resolve to never abandon - no matter how hot the furnace might be. Something you decide on before you face the furnace not when or if. Listen, we will all feel the heat of the furnace in one way or another, at one time or many times while we walk this planet.

"I have decided to follow Jesus - no turning back - no turning back. The World behind me, the Cross before me - no turning back"

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

Acknowledgement Versus Trust

"But someone will say, 'You have faith, and I have works.' Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!" - James 2:18-19

You may be most familiar with verse 18 with the respect to the truth that faith produces works and  works do not producing faith, or save us for that matter.  But my focus is more on verse 19. Merely believing that there is a Jehovah God or that there is a Jesus, the Son is not enough. Even the demons believe that. 

There is a term, Syncretism, which means "the amalgamation or attempted amalgamation of different religions, cultures, or schools of thought". For our purposes it is the attempted amalgamation or adding of different beliefs.  What got me thinking about this was reading in Daniel chapter 3. the fiery furnace.  King Nebuchadnezzar acknowledge Jehovah God, commanded that the Jew's God be respected, but did not reject his belief in other gods.

"You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them." - Exodus 20:4-5

That is pretty much what we face today. Our culture demands that we accept what it worships and so long as we don't try to impose our beliefs on it - worship their gods, if you will, we will get along. But if you speak against their way of doing things - what they belief as true - then you will be condemned.

People are willing to acknowledge Jesus and "add Jesus to their stack of gods" but are not willing to reject their gods and put their faith and trust in Jesus only.

"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'" - John 14:6

I want to encourage you to be like the sons of Issachar. Understand the times you are living in.

"... the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do" - 1 Chronicles 12:32

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

Hearing His Voice

"But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand." - John 10:26-28

Watching the dogs. I was sitting on the back patio this morning - thinking - drinking a cup of Joe. I heard a neighborhood dog barking and before long our daughter's dog, Honey, chimed in. How do dogs know that sound they are hearing is another dog barking? Honey doesn't bark when birds sing or other animals make noises.  It must be that there is something wired in their canine brains that causes them to recognize the sound. And then my synapses started sparking and I remember what Jesus said in John 10.  

There are basically four types of people in this world; intellectuals, not-so intellectuals, religious, and Christians. Intellectuals live by reason. If they can't prove it, then they cannot - will not believe it. They are atheists (there is no God) or agnostics (does not believe or disbelieve). In their superior world, they mock anyone who would claim to live by faith. Consider them weak and gullible. They cannot hear Jesus' voice and don't want to convinced that there Jesus does not exist. Their god is their intellect. They are lost and bound for hell. 

"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man" - Romans 1:20-23

There is, for lack of a better term,  the not-so intellectuals. People who are just living life and don't have time for religion or "deep thought". They may tolerate religious people, but are not all that interested in associating with them. There might be a God but wouldn't give Him the time of day. Their god is their appetite for the things of this world. They cannot hear Jesus' voice, are lost and bound for hell. 

There are religious people. They believe that there is something beyond them. Something other worldly. They may even acknowledge Jehovah God, but reject the idea of Jesus, the Son of God. There are a multitude of religions that seek to answer the questions about the distinction of humans over other animals, the sense that there is something above and beyond this life. They cannot hear Jesus' voice, are lost and bound for hell. 

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse" - Romans 1:18-20

And then there are Christians. They are people that used to be in one of those other three groups. 

"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.  And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." - 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

But we have been washed, sanctified, and justified by faith. So if we could not hear Jesus' voice before - what happened? In a manner of speaking, like Paul on the road to Damascus, we met Jesus along the way. The Spirit of God stirred within our hearts and we suddenly knew. We can hear His voice, are saved and bound for heaven.

"He [Jesus] said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?'  Simon Peter answered and said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.' Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.'" - Matthew 16:15-17

It is not possible for the lost to understand spiritual truth - the Spirit must reveal it to them and they must be willing to yield to that truth by faith. There are so many verses rolling across my mind's eye right now, but I will refrain from sharing them here.  God's hope would be that none would be lost but He, in His wisdom, has given us a free will to choose. Most will choose poorly. It breaks His heart and should break yours. Like watching your own child going their own way to their harm - unwilling to hear your voice and heed your call to go another way. I am so thankful that I can hear His voice.

"I come to the garden alone, While the dew is still on the roses, And the voice I hear falling on my ear, The Son of God discloses... And He walks with me, and He talks with me, And He tells me I am His own, And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other, has ever, known!" - In The Garden,  Austin Miles  

All of this just because  a dog barked.

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

Prayer A Catalyst For Spiritual Change In Me

"The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." - James 5:16

Henry and Richard Blackaby’s devotional guide, Experiencing God Day by Day:  “Prayer is not designed to change God, it is designed to change us.  Prayer is not calling God in to bless our activities.  Rather, prayer takes us into God’s presence, shows us His will, and prepares us to obey Him.”  (p. 280). 

A friend included that quote in an email recently.  He was asking for prayer as he prepared to go back to Haiti to teach pastors from rural mountain churches in Western Haiti for 2 days.  That is the same area where Martie and I served for the last year we were in Haiti.  I met my friend several years before and encouraged him to go there.  But I was not the real reason he went – he went because God sent him there.  God uses the saints to encourage each other through His Spirit.  But it is God who makes eternal differences in the lives of people.  I planted, my friend continues to water, but God is bringing the increase. (1 Corinthians 3:6) 

Prayer helps us to focus on the eternal and on God’s will. Unfortunately many Christians don’t see prayer as vital to their spiritual health.  Maybe before they eat, but often that is more ritual than reverent. Prayer is about alignment – aligning our will with God’s will. When our children were small I can remember holding their face in my hands and looking into their eyes to make certain I had their attention.  Our heavenly Father does something similar .. but just because we are looking does not mean we are listening. In Experiencing God, Dr. Henry Blackaby wrote that  “Some people say ‘Don’t just stand there – do something’.  But God is saying ‘Don’t just do something – stand there’” 

Spend time with your Father today.  Listen to Him – wait for Him – trust Him and then obey Him.  The prophet Samuel said “Obedience is better than sacrifice.” 

“Has the Lord as great a delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices. As in obedience to the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice.” - 1 Samuel 15:22-24  

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

When My Faith Is Not Enough

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." - Ephesians 2:8-10

My faith is enough for my salvation - but not for anyone else. Salvation is an individual experience. The rending of a heart before God - yielding to the Spirit of God believing that Jesus is the Christ.

"When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, 'Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?' So they said, 'Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.' He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?' Simon Peter answered and said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.' Jesus answered and said to him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.'" - Matthew 16:13-17

Spiritual realization - out of all of the disciples in the hearing of Jesus question - only one had the right answer. The others referred to great men - Peter to a great God. And Jesus said that Peter knew that because of a spiritual revelation from God. As much as I would want it to be different. What if we could speak - share the Gospel and because of what we said - people's hearts would be changed.  Well, it would be great - but that is not how it is. As much as I would want that to be true for my family down through the generations - it is not possible. I have a part to play but I can't save anyone - as much as I would like to.

So what CAN I do? I can teach about the new life. I can model the new life.  But I can't give life.

"And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life." - 1 John 5:11-12

Our children can grow up in a Christian home. Go to Church every day the doors are open. But that does not make them a Christian.  They can ride the wave of their parents' faith when they are young - but eventually they will be "surfing" on their own.  If they have not placed their faith in Jesus, but only in their parents then they are going to be in trouble. The wave of the world will over take them - wipe them out. Memorizing scripture can be a mere academic exercise - like memorizing the Pythagorean Theorem  - you know A (squared) times B (squared) = C (squared) without the Spirit of God in the equation.  

"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" - Matthew 28:19

I might not be able to change hearts, but I know the One who can! So do you. If there is any one group of people we want to see in Heaven the most it is our family. Our job is to plant the seeds of faith by sharing the Gospel - not in just words but in how we live and love. To be the light. To pray and then, to trust God. It can break your heart to watch people you love struggle with life when you know the answer and they won't embrace it. We live in a dark time - I heard a quote from a Tale of Two Cities - 

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way–in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only." - Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone

Is All You Need Is Love True?

I saw a picture posted by a friend of mine a few days ago. It showed a multi-colored lamb next to Jesus with a white lamb asking "But what about the verses?" With Jesus saying "Love is more important than the verses." The timing is clear that the post was precipitated by the fact that this is Gay Pride month. I have seen similar posts since. Was my friend suggesting that what the Bible is clear about with regard to sin, any sin, should be ignored and we should just love people? I don't think so. I think it is more of not hating the sinner, any sinner, while at the same time, calling sin - sin.  Which is why we need a Savior. It gave me pause to think about what is true about AGAPE - the love that God shows to the world and we, as Christians are to show to others. 

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. 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 13:1-8

We get confused, I think, with the ideas of sin, forgiveness, judgement and how love fits into all of it. If my children are doing something wrong, to correct them is not proof that I don't love them. Quite the contrary.  It is proof that I do.  If I say that someone is sinning because the Bible calls that behavior out as sin, in itself, does not mean that I do not love them - quite the contrary. I do not prove I love someone by embracing their sin and saying it is OK - acceptable but by embracing them and pointing them to a forgiving God. But, unfortunately the world demands that we embrace the sin - that we embrace the sin and call it good. And if we don't, we are accused of being hateful.

"When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, 'Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?' She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, 'Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.'” - John 8:10-11

Jesus did not ignore the sin - He called the woman to repentance from that sin. The same call to every other sinner - that would be all of us. It is easy to throw the baby out with the bath water. John 3:16 speaks to God the Father willing to offer God the Son to pay the penalty for the sins of the world. 

In order to appropriate forgiveness and redemption, there must by godly sorrow and repentance.  The idea that it is OK for me to continue in my sin because God loves me is heresy.  Or that I must agree that sin is OK to prove that I love someone. Not happening. God demonstrated His love for me so I did not have to continue in my sin. Embracing my sin in defiance and then demanding that God must accept me even though I am not sorry that I am a sinner is also heresy. To wear my sin proudly - shaking my fist defiantly in the face of God reveals a depraved and desperate heart.

"And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them." Romans 1:28-32

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone