Knowing God - Excerpt

Faith In A God We Don’t Know

There is a belief I have seen among many believers in the church that worries me.  What I have noticed are a people who are willing to know of God, but unwilling to know Him.  They take what they read in their Bible and what they hear taught by others to create their own understanding of who they think Jesus is.  They build a view of Jesus in their minds; based off the knowledge they have accumulated and the understanding that they have, and make decisions using that.  They are willing to listen to people tell them how much their God loves them, but not willing to experience it themselves.  They see how God likes to bless His children, but see only the outward expressions of it.  They look for the scripture and the action that leads to the response they want.  If they want to be blessed, they pray like Jabez.  If they want security, they pray Psalm 91.  They have been told how to handle their situations by others, and as they continue to act in the methods they’ve been taught, they create a system for how God works and what it takes for His rewards.

Inevitable, their god will fail them.  Calamity comes along and they can’t understand how their loving god would let that happen to them.  For example, they can’t understand why they can’t find a job, because their view of God is someone who will take care of all their physical needs first.  They put everything into their family, believing that a loving God wouldn’t let something happen, so when it does they fall apart.  They make financial decisions based off a belief that God prospers His own, and find themselves overwhelmed in debt.  When their model of God fails, they don’t know what to believe.

Too many of us have created an idol of our own God.  An idol of our beliefs is as real as an idol of gold.  It is easier to create a god that covers our comfort and fits into what we want to believe, than to come to know a God that may not believe as we do.  Paul described people who do this as “holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power” (2 Timothy 3:1).  At a men’s conference I attended, I remember one of the speakers saying: “One day I realized that God and I were incompatible, and one of us had to change.”  Whether it be a golden Buddha, or a mental Jesus; when we put our faith in what we understand, we set our path to failure.  Faith must be in a person, and not a belief.

We Can Know God

What should be one of the most important truths of Christianity is that we can know God.  Let me be clear here.  I don’t mean the “spiritual knowing God” that we sometimes assign, where we know of Him, have fleeting impressions of direction, and have an occasional verse come to mind when we need it.  That is not knowing God.  I mean knowing Him like we do family.  The kind of knowing where we see them often, talk on the phone, send funny messages during the day, rely upon them for advice, and spend our time with them.  We too often think of God as that big entity way up there in the sky that we can never understand.  This view is not scriptural.

I am the good shepherd, and I know my own and My own know me. — (John 10:14)

Jesus taught that His sheep would know Him.  Surely, we can be as good as sheep.  How did the sheep know their shepherd?  They knew him by how he looked, his voice, his smell, and even the way he walked.  Jesus came to earth to show us the way back to the Father.  We can know Him, not just in knowledge, but in person.

Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. — (Revelation 3:20)

The way has been set and our Lord is waiting for us.  God provided everything we need, which leads us back to a core truth. 

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. — (James 4:8)

We are as close to God as we want to be.

We have little to do with being saved, but everything to do with how close we come to God.  Salvation has opened the way, but we must walk into it.  In the end, we initiate the closeness in the relationship.  It’s up to us to really dig into God.  We must desire the relationship more than anything else.  We pursue Him as we would a lover.  If we draw near, God is faithful to come close as well.  He stands at the door and knocks, but we must let Him in.  God will rarely force Himself upon us. 


https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-We-Forgot-Knowing-Word/dp/1973650444/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1550891063&sr=8-1&keywords=Jesus+we+forgot

The Jesus We Forgot

And my book is out.



You can find it here on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1973650444

I've been working on this for a long time.  When I started I had no plans on even writing a book.  These were things God was speaking to me.  I found if I didn't spend time thinking about them or writing them down, I would forget the things He taught me.  So I wrote them down.

And wrote more.

I noticed them grouping together into different subjects.

The subjects tied together in an outline.

Then one day, the Lord gave me the title.  That's when I realized this was a book and not just a journal of biblical insights.

Fast-forward a couple more years of late-night writing and editing, and here we are.

The best way I can think to describe the book is to use what's on the back cover.

The Worry-Free Life

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. - Phillipians 4:6-7

Ran across this verse in my Bible reading a week or so back.  As often happens, I seemed to get stuck here.  I found myself reading these verses I knew so well, trying to move on, but unable to shake that feeling that I'm overlooking something.  Perhaps I hadn't given credit where it's due.  When you have that sort of feeling, don't give up.  Stick with it.  Around the 2nd or 3rd day of mulling over these verses, it finally worked its way out.

Be anxious for nothing.

We read that and think, that's a good idea.  I should stop worrying about things as much.  God will take care of it.  I need to try and trust God more.

At least that's what I told myself other times.  This time I caught that fourth word: nothing.  I glanced at it in the greek just to be sure... sure enough, it means nothing.  So I should not worry about ANYTHING.  Well, that's a different story.   I, of course, have no idea how to pull that off.  Luckily, I can at least read... so let's continue on.

in everything by prayer ... let your requests be made known to God

So in everything I do, I should take it before the Lord in prayer and supplication ( that means talk to Him about it and ask for help ), letting Him know my requests.  I have been concerned lately that God might tire of hearing me just coming to Him to ask for help.  I worry that I treat Him too much like a grocery store.  These verses seem to tell me to bring all my requests to Him.  That the key to becoming free from worry is to bring it before God.  

Now, I'm sure all of you just like me have brought prayers to God, then gone straight back to worrying about whatever our issue is.  This verse tells us that we didn't do that right then.  If we bring our requests to God correctly, we won't be anxious.  How can we know we've done this well?  You guessed right, keep reading the verse.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds.

When you've taken your worries to God, handed them over knowing that your Father cares for you and will help, you will be filled with His peace in that situation.  It's a peace that perhaps doesn't make sense in your circumstance ( beyond comprehension ).  It's a peace that watches over your heart and mind.  

Let's put it all together.  

Want to be free from worry?  Then every time you find yourself anxious or worrying about something, step aside.  Take that worry before the Lord on your knees.  Spend time discussing it with Him, talk through options, and give it up to Him.  Listen for any advice He has.  Then, move on with your life.  Know that God will work it out.  Keep at this until you feel that peace that tells you your God is so much bigger than this.  That peace that lets you walk with a smile through the valley of the shadow of death.

God has promised to give us that peace.  All you need to do is apply this process, and find your life free from worry.

Of course, it won't be easy to overcome a lifetime of habit, but imagine being able to walk your day in peace.  What a wonder that would be.

We stumble in the dark

The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes. -1 John‬ ‭2:10-11‬ ‭NASB‬‬

As often happens when I’m studying the Bible, I find things I wasn’t actually looking for.  In this case, I’m slowly working my way through 1 John as I have come to believe I have been looking at so much of this book the wrong way.  That’s for another post though.  I had already gone over this passage a couple times this last week, but this last time around something stuck out. It was that phrase “does not know where he is going” that caught me. I have often walked through life wondering if I'm on the right path, not sure where I'm going.  Having spent a lot of time like that, it caught my attention as I realized this is telling me what can block us from seeing where we are going. Seeing the path is such a critical part to a fruitful (not to mention peaceful) life. It’s those stumbles that often make us grow old too quickly, take us off the path for too long, and even destroy the promises in our lives.

What then is so critical that it could put us in the dark to stumble our way through life?  

Hate.

To be more exact, hatred, contempt, and a lack of love toward our brothers.

Who is our brother according to scripture? Usually this is seen as others in the family of God.  I feel like we’ve lost it, that love for each other.  You can see it in our churches and the silly stuff we do there as we bicker, fight, and gossip.  Even more what I was reminded of is this last year and a half on social media.  I have lost count of how many posts from Christian friends who have said something like “any Christian who thinks .... should be ....”. Feel free to insert whatever topic and judgement you can think of and there's a good chance it was said.  And yes, from both sides of politics.  Every time I saw a post like that it hurt me to just read now.  Now, I wonder if I understand a little better why that is. No wonder we are so lost in our direction as we have forgotten how to love each other. 

Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth;"

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭34:6‬ ‭NASB‬‬

We have become so convinced of our moral high ground that we have lost sight of the character of our God.  As we lose sight of His character, forgetting to love above all, we lose our way as well.  Then in the darkness we stumble, trip, get hurt, and wonder why our God would lead us down this path.

This doesn't necessarily mean condemning other Christians is the problem putting us in darkness, but it is a symptom of that darkness.  Therefore, if you find yourself in that situation of feeling this way toward others, you should check back on yourself first.  If you walk in God then love should flow, not hatred.  Judge yourself before you judge another.

Hope for Now

Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. - 1 Peter 1:13

Hope.

We all need hope.  It motivates and sustains us.  Often it's the difference between waking up ready to go and never wanting to get out of bed. Half empty or half full?  Hope is important.

That's why when I read this verse, my mind said "Stop!"  Actually, it was when I hit the word "completely".  Not just "be hopeful" or "find hope", but "fix your hope completely".  Sounds like this is the summation of where all our hope should come from.  

Continuing on with the verse...

"On the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ"

And this is where my spirit said "Stop!".  Seriously.  Can't I just read my verse and move on.  

But something bugged me.  Let's set our hope on the grace coming when Christ is revealed.  Well, having heard a bunch of scriptures in my days, this says "Second Coming" to me.  So when Christ returns or I meet Him in Heaven, the grace which is revealed then is what I set my hope upon.  Seems a long time away.  Actually reminds me of that old hymn of going to heaven.

When we all get to Heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be.
When we all see Jesus, we'll sing and shout the victory.

Honestly, I don't like that song.  "Blasphemy" you say.  Perhaps.  But it has a morbid tone to it.  It says to me that when I manage to suffer through this life, staying firm, I'll find a reason to shout at the end.  

It's just that this isn't the gospel I know.  This isn't the eternal life I've received.  ( Go see here for eternal life in my view )

So that verse bugged me, so what do I do, off to biblehub.com.  

I don't know greek, but I can click links.  Obviously word order moved around, but it just seemed odd, so I went farther.

For example, click on the number for "at" above and you get:

Perhaps it's just me, but the word "at" denotes a time in the future typically, but "in" for example is more present tense.  Odd, jump a little farther back and you see "being brought".  Hmm, the verse said "to be brought".  That seems like a different tense.  Click on that horrible "V-PPM/P-AFS" link and you find it's present tense.  But wait, the verse sure sounded future.  Strange, but then again... [shrugs] greek.

If you go switch back to the parallel view you'll find almost all the translations were similar, except for one of my new favorite translations.  Way to go Jubilee Bible.

Therefore, having the loins of your understanding girded with temperance, wait perfectly in the grace that is presented unto you when Jesus, the Christ, is manifested unto you,

Here's the point I've been way too slowly working up to.  This shouldn't be future tense.  We shouldn't set our hope upon grace we'll find in Jesus some day in the future.

Nope.

Our hope is on Jesus now.  As Jesus is revealed to us now, we find the grace He has brought for us.  So we set our hope on Him, just as Hebrews says "fixing our eyes upon Jesus".  

Hope then, is found upon our knees.  As we seek this Jesus who has saved us, waiting in His presence to know Him better, the revelations of His goodness which are given to us overflow in grace over us.  Grace then allows us to live our lives fully. 

Emotions are a symptom

One of my favorite quotes recently is "Emotions are a symptom, not a justification."

I know that's a little vague, so let me just go straight to an example. Tonight we are putting our daughter down for the night and she is learning how to drag things on. What should take 5-10 minutes takes 30.  In the middle of this I find myself so angry that we get stuck in this every night that I just have to sit there and say nothing for a few minutes. Whenever you are so mad you can't function, that's the first indication something is off. So in this case I'm obviously too upset about the situation, and that's when I remember this quote. So why am I really this upset?  If I am honest with myself, it's not because she's dragging things on, but because of my pride.

You see, apparently my pride is telling me my free time is more important than my wife's time or my child's desires. If I really think this, than I have more important things to fix than a bedtime routine.

You see, our emotions are a gauge for what is going on in our hearts, and not a justification to act in whatever way makes us feel good in the situation.  So when you feel emotions taking over logic, whether it's anger, sadness, jealously or something else; treat it as a symptom, not as a justification for your actions.

Hope that all made sense.

Am I convinced?

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 8:38-39


Over the last year or so, every time I read this verse, I find something odd.  I used to think about all the things that are listed here and how none of them are able to separate me from the Love of God.  I would think through them, how enemies standing before me can't.  How natural disasters can't.  How all the storms of my life can't.


Instead, I find myself stuck on the first 4 words: "For I am convinced".  Paul was saying that he's convinced of these things, yet can I say as much?  I know I can't.  I can see it from my actions, especially my attitudes on things.  Maybe it's not so much that I think something can't separate me from His love, than that He loves me that much.

How I long to say those words.  I am convinced of the love of God.  I have weathered the storms, I have stood my ground, and found the Lord is faithful. 

Without the presence

Perhaps my favorite scripture about Moses is in Exodus 33. After the Israelites had created the golden calf to worship, look at how the Lord responded to them.


Then the LORD spoke to Moses, "Depart, go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up from the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, 'To your descendants I will give it.' I will send an angel before you and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite.  Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, because you are an obstinate people, and I might destroy you on the way." - Exodus 33:1-3


Here is a different kind of mercy from the Lord.  He was within His right to just destroy them and start over if wanted, yet He chose to continue helping them.  He would send His angel before them to clear the way, but was afraid to go with them, for He knew that they would turn away from Him again and again, and obviously feared that He would grow tired and destroy them.  His mercy was to remove Himself, yet still provide.  Sounds like much of my life, provided, but not anointed.



Had I been there, I probably would've grieved, and taken it.  You see, if I'm upsetting God that much, maybe it's better for a little time apart.  We do that in our friendships, work relationships, marriages, why not with God.  Yet Moses wasn't willing.


Then he said to Him, "If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here." - Exodus 33:15



Moses wasn't willing to take the easy way out like we so often desire.  The easy way is to step away from the situation, to sweep it under the rug once our emotions calm and pretend it didn't happen.  How many of our families are built upon this attitude.  I'm going to storm out of the house, and come back once I've calmed myself down and decided I can ignore this.


You see, it's easy not to manage a relationship.  Moses wouldn't take it.  He knew that without the presence of the Lord with them, that what else would set them apart from those around them.  


What about us?  Can we handle the effort it takes to clean things up, to repent, to stay humble before Him, ready to sacrifice whatever it takes to stay in His presence.  Not only does His presence guide us, but it will also make our lives fruitful.  Why would I ever want to be outside of His presence.  But the relationship must be tended.


Who among us can live with the consuming fire?
Who among us can live with continual burning? – Isaiah 33:14

You can read my post about being in the fire here.

I sit here, trying to find the words for what staying in His presence really means, and I find I can't.  I don't think I've lived in this enough to really even give you an idea.  All I know, is that it's my desire, the burning of my heart.

What is eternal life?

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16
We find here in this well-known verse that Jesus came to bring us eternal life.  So what is this eternal life?  A couple years ago I would've said that it's the result of being saved; that we will go to Heaven and live with God forever.  I would have attributed it to what happens after this life.  This brings to mind an old hymn that many of you might recognize which describes some of this sentiment.

When we all get to Heaven,

What a day of rejoicing that will be!

When we all see Jesus,

We’ll sing and shout the victory!
 
There was a part of me that always felt like something wasn't right here.  That my understanding was a bit off.  I've heard eternal life preached too much about being with God after we die.  Too often I've heard salvation spoken about as "fire-protection", basically, a life insurance policy for our eternity.  But guess what, that's not what Jesus preached. 

Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You,even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.  This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." - John 17:1-3


Did you catch that?  I was a christian for 15-20 years and hadn't noticed.  Firstly, eternal life is not about what happens after you die, it's about the hear and now.  Second and more importantly, eternal life is to know God.  Forgiveness of sins, going to heaven, living forever, those are just by-products of the true root of eternal life.  It's knowing Jesus, and knowing God.  Think about it.  What were Adam and Eve created for?  There was no mission field, no homeless to feed, no ministries to support.  They were made to fellowship with God.  Their sin messed that up, and ever since, God's been bringing us back.

Too often we have treated knowing God like knowing our presidents.  We've listened to them in speeches, we've read about their history, looked at their policies, debated them in our workplaces, but does that mean we really know them?  Of course not.  To know them, we must spend time with them, most of all, we must listen. We can know God.  We can come to know Him as a person, not just some ideal.

For one last thing, lets look at the heart of David.  Saul attempted to kill him multiple times, then chased him through the wilderness.  Through this all, look at his words below.


The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the defense of my life;
Whom shall I dread? 
When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, 
they stumbled and fell. 
Though a host encamp against me,
My heart will not fear;
Though war arise against me,
In  spite of  this I shall be confident.
One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord
And to meditate in His temple. - Psalm 27:1-4

David says that his enemies have come to devour him, they've encamped around about him, yet what does he want most?  What is it that he desires?  His words have been a motto of mine for the last year or so, as you can see, they're the title of this blog.  "One thing I ask".  I want to get to the point where I can say that the one thing I want more than anything is to seek for God's presence.  

Beware your "godliness"

I'm sure you've all seen the Westboro Baptist church protests.  Using funerals or other special events to protest against certain unbiblical principles.  I personally abhor what they do, I just want to get that out right from the start.  I can give you a number of reasons why I believe they do things wrong, what they should or shouldn't do, how they are hypocritical; however, yesterday I suddenly came upon what is the best warning I have for them, and not only for them, but for many of us who have the same tendencies if only in smaller quantities.

I was thinking of the one group of people that Jesus seemed to hate.  In the gospels we find Jesus interacting with the adulterers, the tax-collectors(worse even than IRS agents), the drunkards, the lowly, and the outright filthy(fish just don't smell good any way you put it).  He got along with these people pretty well.  We know this for He was criticized as being a friend of tax-collectors and sinners.  The people He didn't get along with were the pharisees.  He hated them.  In one instance(Matthew 23:13-36) Jesus blasts the scribes and pharisees for their deeds.  Showing them for the hypocrites they are.  I won't go into these verses, but I do wish to mention another.

Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: 'God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.' But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!' I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted. - Luke 18:10-14


The Pharisee thought himself better than the other sinners.  He had no problem looking down his nose at the tax collector.  He was so good that he could judge these other people as less than himself.  Yet, in all his self-righteousness, Jesus despised him.


Are you different?


Do you see someone else that you look on as a sinner, maybe that friend who goes to the bars too often, maybe the coworker who gossips constantly, or even the family member who loses his temper so easily.  Do you look down on them as you praise yourself for not being like them?  Do you feel good about yourself because you don't do these things others around you do?  Do you have justify the things you do because you're not near as bad as those around you.

Beware.


When you protest someone's life because you are more godly than they, beware.  

When you choose to look past someone because they don't look good enough for you, beware.

When you criticize someone another because they're not as godly as you, beware.


Beware that in your "godliness", you don't become the very people Jesus can't stand.

Do angels crack jokes?

First of all I need to start with a little background here...  I'm convinced that God is hilarious.  If you think about it, there's a lot of humor in this world and it had to have come from somewhere.  Too often we portray God as completely serious but I believe it's much more.  You know when you're having a conversation with someone, and they make one of those comments to you that's so well-timed, so funny, that you can't even respond back.  My wife has done that to me multiple times where it's so funny I can't even try to respond lest I ruin the moment.  God's done it to me as well.  Think about it, who could have better timing than Him.  Several times I've been having conversations with Him, only to suddenly have the perfect comeback just appear in my head at just the right time.  I'm sorry, I'm just not that funny for some of the lines that's come to me.

Now, fast-forward to today.  Olive(my daughter) has had a tough day.  She's 20 months old, she's woken up multiple times coughing and crying, she's been grumpy, not eaten well, spit up, and overall just had a rough afternoon and night.  As we're getting ready for bed I have her on the changing pad, she's in her diaper and laying there, then suddenly she just starts laughing.  I wasn't touching her, wasn't talking, wasn't making any faces, she just laughed.  I watch her face, and she's looking up at the ceiling, her eyes track back and forth, and then she laughs again.  There's no fan on in the room, nothing on the ceiling, I'm not moving, and she continues to watch something up there, and then start laughing like it's the funniest thing ever.  This continued for about 2-3 minutes.  I attempted to take a video of this, and here it is...

Apparently I put my finger over the mike for part of it, so the video loses sound, but watch how she's not looking at me most of the time she's laughing.

So the question is, do angels crack jokes.  Otherwise, I haven't given her near enough credit for her imagination.

The Consuming Fire

Who among us can live with the consuming fire?
Who among us can live with continual burning? – Isaiah 33:14

Isaiah sets before us a question.  It would be easy to read past this, as part of a prophecy toward Israel when it strayed, or another nation that is attacking Israel.  I will admit that I typically get lost in Isaiah….quickly.  But this part of the passage hit me with the clarity that only revelation can have.  Immediately my mind was drawn to this verse from Hebrews.

For our God is a consuming fire. – Hebrews 12:29

Adam was separated from God not only as a punishment, but as a protection.  God is perfect, pure and holy.  In essence, He is righteous.  And that righteousness just can’t abide with unrighteousness.  If you were to actually see God, you would die.  Even Moses, a friend of God, who had sat in His presence, seen the cloud of His glory, couldn’t actually look upon Him, but had to see Him from behind as He passed over.    How about John in Revelation?  He was “the disciple Jesus loved”, he spent 3 years on earth with Him, and then another 40 or so years walking this earth filled with His Spirit before the vision at Patmos.  If anyone knew Him at the time, it would’ve been John.  Yet when He beheld the Lord, not clothed in human flesh, he “fell at His feet like a dead man”(Revelation 1:17).  Isaiah saw Him on the throne and cried out “Woe is me, for I am ruined!”(Isaiah 6:5)

I have so much trouble finding the words to express what I know in my heart.  That God is so holy, so perfect, that we couldn’t even stand to be in His presence.  But, that’s exactly where He wants us.  To stand in His presence just as Adam once did.  His will is to restore us back to that place, but to do that is to invite the fire.  As Paul said, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship”(Romans 12:1).  You see, God uses fire to cleanse us.  He burns away the chaff.

When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning. - Isaiah 4:4

As we spend time in His presence, the impurities begin to burn out of us.  Unfortunately for most of us, we like many of those impurities too much and we hold on to them.  The act of turning from the Lord for something else when we know what is right will drive Him away.   When we choose another over Him, why should He stay near?  We may find ourselves in a time of His presence, where we feel so close to God, but so easily we let it go.  It just seems too difficult for us.  However, if we want to become what He wants us to be, we must learn to live in the fire.

Who among us can live with the consuming fire?
Who among us can live with continual burning?

He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity,
He who rejects unjust gain
And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe;
He who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed
And shuts his eyes from looking upon evil;
He will dwell on the heights,
His refuge will be the impregnable rock;
His bread will be given him,
His water will be sure. – Isaiah 33:14-16

As so many things do, it comes down to our commitment to the Lord.  It’s not our strength, but our willingness that pleases the Lord.  Are you willing to do the right thing, no matter the cost?  Are you willing to give up your right to be bitter or grumpy just because of what you feel?  Are you willing to be fair to others when you could get more?  Are you willing to fill your mind with God rather than this world and to cleanse those things which are put into you?  Are you willing to say “yes”, no matter how you feel or how much you desire not to? 

The price is high and the fire is hot, but if you learn to live in it you will find yourself steady, unmoved by the world, with a surety of your provision.  God will provide all that you need.  It is not an easy path.  Set your mind upon the Lord, study Him, pray, spend time listening, and most importantly respond to His promptings.  When He leads, follow.  All too often the fire of us cleansing just becomes too much for us, and we seek our own comforts to relax in.  So many times I’ve been there, where I feel God is talking to me, but I just get tired of all the work to keep my feelings and my wills in submission to Him.  God only knows what opportunities we’ve missed by hiding in comfort.

An Inconvenient Jesus

You ever find Jesus inconvenient?  I have.  I say this as a sort of joke, but at the same time, I’m very serious.  The truth of Jesus can be very inconvenient, especially for a comfortable Christian. 

You see, I can be content where I'm at.  God has given me a good life, a great family, a church with life in it.  I don't mind doing my church service, greeting, putting meals together for others, even an occasional trip to help others out.  That I can work into my schedule.  What I can't is a God who is so big that compared to Him I'm just a speck, and with priorities that don't line up with mine.  You see, if I'm willing to really stop and consider what it means to have a God this big, who sent His Son to die for my sins, it would be decidedly inconvenient.  For the only response to this is that all I have is insignificant before the God before me, and my life is to be giving up wholly and completely as an offering to Him.  Those books I really want to read, secondary.  That show I like to watch, worthless.  The time I give to my desires, inconsequential.

Though many of the things I do are not sins in themselves, if any of them so much as dares to take the place of a God who stepped into our world to die while I sat by and watched, then it should be cut off like a gangrenous foot and sacrificed to a God who wants nothing less than all of me.  Our God is a jealous God.  To give Him anything less than all I can is to ignore what He’s done for me.

They will be known by their grief

The Lamb came.  He brought us grace.  He blessed us, He provided for us, He sheltered us.

However, time is running short, and the Lion is speaking.

In church today I was sitting before worship began and I focused my heart upon the Lord.  As soon as I began to focus upon Him, I had this overwhelming feeling of consternation.  It’s as if I could see Jesus looking down upon us and frowning.  As you would expect, this upset me.  I asked the Lord in my heart why He was upset, when His people were coming together to worship.  Sure we were right before the worship, and everyone was busy talking, laughing, telling stories etc.  I considered maybe He was upset that the people were not serious about Him, but I also know He loves our fellowship, and our love for each other.  We would focus upon Him as worship began.  So I tried to listen to what the Lord would tell me.

The impression I received is that Jesus was remembering the price He paid, and then looking upon us with frustration for how little we have valued it. 

Because you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. – Revelation 3:17

We have taken the “grace upon grace” which He has given to us, and used it to make ourselves wealthy.  We have squandered His mercy upon our desires, our happiness, and our feelings.  As Israel chose to stand away from the presence of the Lord and listen only to what Moses said, so have we followed those who will lead us, and do the things they say to satisfy our conscious, rather than seeking the word of the Lord for ourselves. 

Yet the time of Ezra and Nehemiah is returning.

And all the people gathered as one man at the square which was in front of the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had given to Israel. Then Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men, women and all who could listen with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month.

They read from the book, from the law of God, translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading.  Then Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, "This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep." For all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the law.

Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the sons of Israel assembled with fasting, in sackcloth and with dirt upon them.  The descendants of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.

( Nehemiah 8:1,2,8; 9:1,2 )

The Lord is again making His ways known to those who will listen.  They will be known by their grief after seeing that their lives have not be pleasing unto the Lord, but unto themselves.

For those with ears to hear, the Lion speaks.  No longer can we walk in the doctrines of man.  To sit on our pews, serve in our committees, give our tithes, read our bibles, and delude ourselves that we serve the Lord.  The Lion calls us to more.  I am not against church, I love my church, and yet each of us must decide for ourselves what the Lord has earned from us.  We must give up the comfort we hold so dear, and stand solely upon our Lord.  Time is drawing short and the Lord is looking for His bride.  He’s looking for Sons of the Kingdom, and not members of the church.  He is moving, and can only use those who are truly given to Him, and not those who have come to delude themselves with the works they give.  Take heed that you are not “wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked”.

Why we share

Have you ever noticed how hard it is to get the church out witnessing?  Reaching the lost is one of our main purposes, but it seems like pulling teeth to try and get people out there.  I found this as a common theme among the churches I’ve been to;  I even understand the since I am often one of those that’s been difficult to get out.

How do we respond to this?  First we decide that our church just needs to be.  We preach sermons about witnessing. We use logic to show them what the Bible says about it.  We attempt to motivate them into reaching to others who are dying.  Eventually we resort to guilt that they aren’t living in what they are told to do.

Next we think, maybe the problem is not motivation, but knowledge.  Perhaps they are timid because they don’t know how.  So we give them workshop and training groups.  We teach them the Roman Road, Evangelism Explosion, and the four spiritual laws.  We send them out in groups to get experience from those who have done it more.

Next we decide that they are motivated, but like any good salesman, they need to be more excited.  So we make our church better.  We build nicer buildings, have contemporary services, and build up their pride.  We make the members proud of their church and encourage them to bring others in to such a wonderful place.

Many of these things can be useful, beneficial, and often they’ll help, but they all bypass the core of our problem.

“For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.” – 2 Peter 1:16

The early apostles shook the world.  When the Spirit came upon them, they couldn’t resist sharing this faith, for they were sharing what they had seen.  They witnessed our Lord Jesus Christ walk this earth, perform countless miracles, and change lives.  How could they not declare the wonders they had seen.  Yet the one who authored so much of the New Testament was not there to follow Jesus as one of His disciples.  Paul said:

For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man.  For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. - (Galatians 1:11-12)

The gospel Paul preached was not written by man.  His words were not a well-crafted pamphlet.  Paul spoke of what was revealed to Him by Jesus.  He did not follow Jesus around with the disciples, and yet the gospel he preached was by revelation from Jesus, not the teaching of man.  Things have not changed for:

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. – Hebrews 13:8

Our witness cannot be from our knowledge of the word or our scripted conversations.  The simple truth is that our witness is our experience.  Until you have experienced God for yourself, you won’t want to share with others. 

In the earlier part of my career I had to intend a set of sales classes.  The most important lesson I learned from them is that I’m not a salesman.  We would do these mock sales calls where I would pretend I’m meeting with a new customer and attempting to sell my products to them.  I quickly learned that I couldn’t try to sell to a person something I don’t believe in or that isn’t actually real.  It reminded me a lot of some evangelism training experiences I had been through.

What are we in fact trying to share with those around us?  We all know John 3:16.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. – John 3:16

Yet I believe many of us don’t have a handle on what eternal life is.  You see it’s not about being in Heaven after you die.  Yes, that’s a result of it, but I don’t believe that is the main purpose of it all.  If you don’t want to believe me, then listen to Jesus.

This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. – John 17:3

This whole thing is about knowing God.  I’m not meaning that we know God because He has saved.  That’s like saying I know the president because he leads the country that protects my freedom.  I don’t know the president.  Now let’s say he invited me to a dinner, set a table before me and we spent time together.  If we were to do this regularly, I would come to know him.  That’s what God has done for those who are available.  

Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. – Revelation 3:20

We’ve missed so much of the point about salvation; of course we’re not exuberant about it.  Jesus came and brought us back into a relationship with God.  We can talk to Him, hear Him, and come to know Him.  

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. – Matthew 13:44

Are you like this man?  Willing to give up all you had to find the Kingdom?  Until we see the Kingdom as this man does, willing to sell all we had to gain it, we haven’t really grasped the gospel.  We can know the God who created it all, and He wants to have a relationship with us.  Until we can see this as a simple truth and grasp it rather than using it as a token phrase of our doctrines, we cannot witness for what we do not have.

Ruin Me

Lord come and meet me
Open my eyes to see your glory
Destroy all the fallacies I have made
And return me from my misguided ways

Show me the light of your face
And forever dim all I think great
Ruin the comfort of a life
Focused upon such little worth

I tire of walking the way of the world
Holding dear to the trappings of man
Ruin me of the mundane
Against your marvelous grace

For when you draw near
All else grows dim
And the beauty I once knew
Hides only the darkness within

Ruin me with your presence
Leave me hungry for nothing but you
Save me from a life with so little purpose
Ruin me, to make me like you

No other name

"My heart will sing no other name than Jesus."
From the song Forever Reign

I haven't heard such good theology in such a small sentence in a
while.  If I put this into practice how different would the world
become to me. I think there is no question that this is the call of
God over our lives, but we don't live up to it.

We often talk about making God the center of our lives, but do we do
anything.  I've said this in the past but it was more lipservice than
heart.  To me it meant have a quiet time each day, and maybe try to
pray a little more.  Lately I've learned this is just an excuse to
keep trying to live my life.  No, to make God center of my life is to
change it all.  I get up early to spend time with him because that's
what I desire, not what I feel I should so. Then I work because that
pleases him. I don't get angry with others because I am focused on
Gods love and not my petty worldly problems.  I share with others
because of the joy in me from my king. I'm more patient with my family
because I know the problems I deal with are insignificant against the
creator of the universe.

My heart will not sing of money, or food, or my career, or books, or
movies, or even of missions whether try be feeding the poor or sharing
the gospel.  My heart will only sing of Jesus, and my every action
reflects upon that desire of my heart.

A Call to Arms

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.  Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. – Ephesians 6:10-12

What is it that you struggle against?  Is it your job?  Is it your family, or maybe a neighbor?  Is it with yourself?  From conversations I’ve had with friends and what they are concerned with, I would say that most of what we struggle with in this life is either in our mind or with the people around us.  You’re scared that your boss might fire you, or angry at that coworker who continues to harass you.  Maybe your family is abusive, or the neighbor is just plain irritating.  Perhaps just keeping us with the daily chores of a family is dragging you down.  Maybe you have a health issue.  Or maybe it’s addiction or sin issue you can’t get over.  We tend to make the physical things of the world our struggles, rather than the spiritual forces of wickedness.  Tell me, when was that last time you struggled against a spiritual foe instead of a neighbor with a complaint against you?  The root of many of the issues we have can often be spiritual; but, that’s not our focus.  We struggle with what we set our focus upon.  

Worse yet, I’ve noticed that not only do many of us seem to struggle only with the physical world itself, but we seem to be losing.  That’s not how we treat it, but that’s the realization that I’ve come to through what God was showing me.  The most obvious area I am thinking of are the habitual sins we live in.  These are the sins that we know are wrong; that we struggle against with all our might, but then we hit a hard day and we fall to temptation yet again.  This kind of sin is most obvious with addictions.  This is the life story of an alcoholic; however, those addictions can be from many other things: drugs, lust, greed, or anger.  Perhaps it is the father or mother that yells at their child, then tells themselves they’ll never do it again.  It could be gossip, slander, tempers, or even simply our language.  I know I’ve lived through this.  I’ve heard so many stories of others who have these certain sins that they are working on and just can’t seem to conquer.  We use the words of Paul in Romans 7 “For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want” as if this were a reason for our failures.  We admit our weakness as if this is a badge of honor, as if admitting our struggles make us a better person.

But this isn’t what I’ve come to realize.  First let’s look at another reference to the armor of God.

Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.  The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.  Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy.  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. – Romans 13:11-14

It’s time for us to wake up.  We seem to forget that our life here is not a game, it’s not a leisurely walk through the park; we’re in the middle of a battle.  Why do you think the armor of God is talked about in the Bible?  Or what of all the other references of being soldiers, or of the fight we are in.  When the devil turned from God, this world became a battleground.  As much as we want to look past it, there is a spiritual battle all around us, and we need to join in the fight, not just struggle to survive.

But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. – Romans 8:37

Does this sound like us, that in all these things we “overwhelmingly conquer”?  This is what God showed me.  These areas of sin in my life that I want to fix and don’t, it’s because really, I’m not serious enough to overcome.  God has given us the grace to conquer sin in our lives.  So why don’t we?  Often we roll over so quickly to sin and that’s why we struggle so much.   Rather than standing for what we believe and fighting as if this is the fight of our lives that will define us, we treat it as some small struggle, like it’s a scrimmage game where the score will soon be forgotten.  If we fail, it’s ok, it’s not really important.

We need to lay aside the deeds of darkness and the provisions we make for our flesh and put on Jesus.  Put on your armor.  Stand your ground and fight for what God has provided for you.  Make your life count for something.  God has chosen us and equipped us.  Let’s stand up for Him and not just give in to anything that puts a little physical pressure.  Our fight is against the spiritual forces of darkness, and through God we can conquer.

Excerpt from the Greatest Command

This is just a part of what there is below, but something God's really been working on me about. First here's the passage.

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.” - Matthew 22:34-38

And sometimes our motives betray us.

“If I give all I possess to the poor, and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing” - 1 Corinthians 13:3

So if I went to the street corner, and emptied my wallet to the man with a sign, then got online and transferred my savings to the Salvation Army, and then sold my house and gave the extra to the Red Cross, but did not do it with love, then it was all worthless. If you’re like me, your first thought would be, how is that? How is it that you can give up so much, and yet it does nothing for you? Because of your motives. It doesn’t matter how it looks, or who you give to, it’s the motive inside that counts.

For man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." – 1 Samuel 16:7

To God, our motives are more important than our actions. Take a minute with me to think about your passions. What are you passionate about in your life? Do you look forward to your paycheck, the new episode of a television show, the next football game, time with your spouse, the vacation with your kids? What is it that you dream of during the day?

Now take those things and compare them with how much you look forward to some time alone with God?

Do they even compare?

When’s the last time you heard yourself say, “Honey, I’d like to go to that movie, but I just really want to spend some time in prayer”, or “You go ahead and start the show, but there’s a devotional I want to do”, or even “Can I do the dishes later, I’ve been waiting all day to get into the Word?”

Now think about times when you chose to do the right thing. Why was it that made you make that choice? Is it because you were taught that way? Is it because you want to look like a good Christian in front of others? Or is it because you would do anything for your Lord?

The choices we make, the time we spend, the things we dwell on; they all lead us to what we hold in our heart.

Captain's Log

So this was actually something I wrote for our Journey group(Men's bible study). Our time was about what the Spirit is hear to do for us and letting Him lead you, but in the end it became a little more inclusive of some of our other lessons as well.

Captain’s Log

Today was another long day similar to the rest. I love my crew, I handpicked them and I know their potential, but it was another day of struggle in our journey. The crew is still headstrong, impulsive, impatient, lazy and self-centered. Granted, there are days when some of my crew are wonderful, where they listen to my commands, remember my instructions, and we make good time. It’s those days I get a little glimpse of the crew that I could have. A single unit, working together, smooth and precise like clockwork. But those days seem few and far between. I sometimes wonder if I should head back to dock and pick up a new crew.

You see, there are days when the crew is out and working, but they have their own agenda. I give orders that no one seems to hear, because they’ve turned their eyes and ears to each other, or to the sea. They see the land of desire, but do not trust that I have a better destination in mind. I could force my will upon them, but I know that they must learn to trust me in their hearts, not fear my wrath, or we won’t accomplish what’s ahead. They must find their place in my love and get their desire from that dwelling.

Then there are other days when they remember the orders given yesterday, but don’t stop to hear from me today. So they heard “Go north” yesterday and keep going that direction, when I’ve sent my wind to push them east. They can’t see the reefs of the impulsive that are coming ahead of them. They forget that our course cannot be straight among a world full of dangers, but that we must be ready to change direction on my call.

Other days some of them just don’t even come upon the deck to work. They are lured by complacency, expecting the boat to take them on their way without their jobs. Without their help, the boat is stalled and doesn’t even move. They become so caught up in their own things, they forget they are a part of my crew and we have a job to do.

And then there are the anchors of the world. They find possessions and goods that they love so much more than me that it weighs down the boot and slows our journey. I ask my crew to cut them loose, but they don’t want to admit that their things could be holding our ship still. They enjoy them too much.

It should be so simple. I even sent my son to work along side them for a while as an example, but they so quickly forget. They are caught up in their own worlds, seeking their pleasure and comfort. They can’t seem to realize that I’ve planned the route, I’ve picked the crew, I’ve given the direction, and I’ve provided their power.

To help their journey I’ve provided my spirit to flow through the air. It will fill their sails and drive them in the right direction. Under their own strength they can’t make ground in the seas of this ocean, but my spirit will ease their journey. If they will hear my voice, and feel the direction of my spirit, they can steer themselves into my way, raise their sails and let me do the work. By following my direction, their burden would be easy and light.

I look forward to the day my crew will come together. One day they will learn to trust me completely, to watch for my spirit to move and join along. They will lift the anchor from the cares of this world, steer the rudder into my will, raise the sails of their willingness for action, and I will drive them forward as never before. They will see me move, feel my love, and change the world around them. One day.

---

Lord, help me remember that you are my captain; that you know the path that lay before me. I must always come before you to seek your direction, and not my own direction or that of others, for we don’t know the way. Reveal to me the direction your Spirit is flowing, the actions you are involved in, and I will lay aside the cares of the world that hold me back, and move forward into your will. I’m tired of fighting so hard to try to do what I think is right and yet keep my own desires at the same time. To split my allegiance is to invite issues. No. I choose you. I choose your ways. I know if I want to leave this world changed, I can only do that through following you, moving filled with your Spirit, and showing your love.