Is it Politics or Is it the Church

John Adams, the second president of the United States, wrote, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.... Free government rests upon public and private morality." It is not our government that has failed; it's the church that has failed to be the salt of the earth (Matt. 5:13).

Read what Dr. Jedediah Morse said in 1799: "In proportion as the genuine effects of Christianity are diminished in any nation, either through unbelief, or the corruption of its doctrines, or the neglect of its institutions; in the same proportion will the people of that nation recede from the blessings of genuine freedom...Whenever the pillars of Christianity shall be overthrown, our present republican forms of government, and all the blessings which flow from them, must fall with them." He was saying that Christianity, not government, is the driving force behind true freedom.

When World War II brought America back to her knees, a revival broke out that is still referred to as the era of the highest church attendance in recent history. A time of repentance and seeking God brought peace and a period of great prosperity. But sadly, the result was a church that was lulled to sleep. While it was sleeping, a generation of "baby boomers" became obsessed with materialism and freedom from moral constraint.

How did the church react? In a variety of ways, some of which were very good. People began seeking the Lord, and the Lord answered through what is often called "The Jesus People Movement," "The Charismatic Movement," "The Word of Faith Movement," "The Lay Witness Renewal," and others. These revivals were not spearheaded by any individual, yet they had worldwide impact. Truly these were mighty moves of God's Spirit.

Yet, as a whole, the church responded by promoting political involvement as the answer to society's woes. Make no mistake--Christians who live in a country that provides them the freedom to govern through voting or holding political office have a responsibility to participate. However, for many, politics has not been a weapon against the moral decline; it has been the only weapon.

The `70s and `80s saw the largest influx of Christians into the political process in recent history, and it did produce some good results. It influenced who was elected president and helped change the balance of power in Congress and the Supreme Court. Although some good came of it and the potential destruction of our nation was stayed off a little longer, it hasn't turned the tide. There are still millions of innocent children killed every year. Immorality continues to advance nearly unchecked. And some of our so-called "conservative" Supreme Court appointees defied logic by turning the government loose in ways that would have caused our Founding Fathers to mount a revolution.

Calvin Coolidge, the thirtieth president of the United States (1923-1929), declared, "The foundations of our society and our government rest so much on the teachings of the Bible that it would be difficult to support them [the foundations of society] if faith in these teachings would cease to be practically universal in our country" (brackets mine).

Our society isn't sick because of the government; it's sick because the church has not made faith in the teaching of the Bible "practically universal in our country." Once we cease to win the hearts of man, it is inevitable that ungodly people will make their way into leadership and take the country with them.

If we change people's hearts with the Gospel, the people will change the government with their votes. Government merely reflects what people believe in their hearts; it does nothing to form those beliefs. William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, wrote in the late 1600s, "Government seems to me to be a part of religion itself.... Let men be good, and the government cannot be bad."

It's good to pursue legal action and political means to right wrongs. But the power of the Gospel has more power to change the hearts of man than all the military might and legislative bodies of any government. Billy Graham understood that when he was asked to run for president in the 1950s. He responded by saying he would not lower himself to that position. He was not attempting to diminish the office of the president; he was elevating the office of a minister of the Gospel.

Elias Boudinot, president of the Continental Congress in 1783 and later congressman from New Jersey who served as president of the American Bible Society, said "the moral character of a people once degenerate, their political character must soon follow."

There is a civil war going on in America today, but it is not political. Sure, the courtrooms and congressional halls are the battlegrounds, but the war itself is between light and dark--the truth of the Gospel and the lies of the devil. It's between the people of God and the children of the devil.

In this war, the Enemy tries to hide his true objectives behind the mask of individual rights and personal liberties. But make no mistake: The real goal is the elimination of God and His influence from society so people can indulge in their carnal lifestyles without conviction or guilt.

The way to win this war and save the political character of this nation is to change the moral character of its people with the Gospel. Our Founding Fathers understood that. Dr. Benjamin Rush said in 1786, "Nothing can be politically right that is morally wrong."

The church needs to refocus its energies back to the Great Commission that our Lord Jesus Christ gave us: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen" (Matt. 28:19-20).

True Commitment to Jesus

Matthew 10:37
37 "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;

Jesus' instruction here which, if taken by itself, might leave the impression that we are supposed to hate our fathers and mothers, wives and children, and even ourselves. However, Matthew made it very clear in this verse by the use of the words "more than" that this was not what Jesus meant. We are commanded to walk in love, especially to the members of our own families (Ephesians 5:25-33 and Titus 2:4). Jesus was simply stating that we should prefer Him above any other relationship.


Luke 14:26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple.

Jesus said nearly the same thing in (Matthew 10:37-38). In Matthew's account, there is an important difference. Jesus said, "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me."

This isn't an instruction to hate our fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, and ourselves. We are told to love others as ourselves (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 19:19, 22:36-39; Mark 12:28-33; Romans 13:9-10; Galatians 5:14; and James 2:8). The Apostle John, who was present when Jesus spoke these words, later revealed that loving our brother is essential to true salvation (1 John 2:9, 11; 3:15; and 4:20). This is simply saying that in comparison to our love for God, our feelings toward ourselves and others ought to be far less. Many people have become co-dependent on others instead of God. This is commanding just the opposite. As explained in Matthew 10:37, this is a comparative statement and is not teaching hate as a condition for being Jesus' disciple (see John 6:26 below).

John 6:26
26 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.

They were seeking the Lord, which was the right thing to do, but they were doing it for the wrong reason. Once again, Jesus reveals that the motives behind our actions are more important than the actions themselves. If we desire the Lord just because of what He can do for us, then we are no better than these people were. We should certainly take advantage of all the good things the Lord provides (Psalm 35:27), but we must always love Him for who He is and not just what He provides.

Just as in John 2:23-25, Jesus knew the people's hearts, and therefore He did not commit Himself to this crowd. Just the day before, these same people had tried to take Him by force and make Him their king (John 6:15), but He withdrew and spent the night in prayer. Jesus was never moved by flattery, and He said that those who were could not operate in God's kind of faith (John 5:44).

This crowd looked like they were seeking Jesus, but they were actually trying to use Jesus to seek their own welfare. It is true that there are many personal benefits to be reaped through serving the Lord, but the benefits are never to become our object. In all things, Christ must have the preeminence (Colossians 1:18).

Jesus exposed the true intent of these people's hearts by preaching a strong message of commitment. Those who were self-centered were offended and left (John 6:66), while those who were willing to lay down their lives so that they could experience God's abundant life (Luke 9:24 and John 10:10) remained (John 6:68). Commitment to God Himself (not what He can produce) is what always separates the true worshipers of God (John 4:23) from the false.

These people had no true commitment to God but wanted Jesus as their king for their own selfish reasons. They had mistakenly interpreted the miracle that Jesus performed in feeding the 5,000 to mean that Jesus would supply all their lusts (James 4:3). On the surface, it may have looked like they were seeking Jesus, but they were actually seeking their own interests. Jesus didn't come to do His own will (John 6:38) or our wills, but the will of the Father.

In these verses, we see Jesus did something that very few ministers of the Gospel will do today. He preached a hard message of commitment, knowing that many of these people would follow Him no more. Many times, we see Christians today compromise the message in an effort to win more people. Regardless of how well ministers can argue this point and justify their actions, this is not the way that Jesus ministered. Jesus was always more interested in quality than quantity. We would do well to follow His example.

Do we love Jesus more than others, or is it just what we can get out of Him? Do we love Jesus more than the life we have with friends and family? Are we co-dependent on others and not depending on Jesus? Do we truly love Jesus more and hate the life we would have without Him? Will we forsake all else and follow the Lord no matter where that takes us? That is the true question of commitment.


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All Rules and Laws Take the Place of and Cannot Accomplish What Love Can

Ultimately do you know why there is speed limit signs posted on our roads? It is not to remind us not to speed or even tell us what the proper speed limit should be. It is because we do not know how to love. You see if we really loved one another we would not go faster in a given situation to cause someone else harm. We would always be looking out for one another, thus not needing a speed limit sign. Our mind set is so self orientated that we have to have rules and laws to remind us of others. Rules are also the reason to make a reputation for themselves. It does not matter what set of rules we follow or don’t follow. All that matters is that we have new life through our living connection with Jesus. If we live by love, then we as a whole family will realize God’s peace and loving-kindness. When love rules, no law is needed.

In Galatians chapter six twelve through fourteen the Apostle Paul reminds of this and even shows us how we focus those rules and laws to pronounce our own agenda. First Samuel 16:7 says, "for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." Those who see the way God sees are more concerned with the condition of the heart than they are a person's actions. But those who are carnal are always focused on actions instead of attitudes. The New International Version confirms this by translating this verse, "Those who want to make a good impression outwardly...."

Galatians 6:12-14
12 Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.
13 Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh.
14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

That's the way these Judaizers were. They hadn't even noticed the wonderful work that God had done in the hearts of these Galatians through the ministry of Paul. All they could see was what they hadn't done. Likewise today, legalists are so focused on outward acts that they often fail to see the deeper, more important work that the Holy Spirit does in a person's heart. If someone hasn't been baptized according to their tradition or doesn't worship after their form, it doesn't matter how much they love the Lord, the legalist pronounces them unclean.

Carnal people are consumed with carnal (external) things. They can't believe that God can accept anyone who isn't holy according to their standards. However, spiritual people are consumed with spiritual (internal) things. They recognize that holiness is a fruit, not a root, of salvation (Ro 6:22).

The Judaizers (Ga 1:1) were trying to escape persecution from their Jewish brethren who still believed Christians had to keep the law ( Ac 23:6). They maintained that if they showed the Jews that the way of salvation was still the law they could be accepted by them. So they were trying to force circumcision upon the church (Jews and Gentiles) as a "faith-plus-works" method of salvation. This would avoid the persecution that would come if they acknowledged that salvation comes only through Jesus and Him crucified.

The Simple English Bible translates this: "Some men are trying to force you to be circumcised. They do these things, so that the Jewish people will accept them, fearing they will be persecuted, if they follow only the cross of Christ."

Gal 6:13 These legalists who were demanding compliance with the law weren't keeping the law themselves. No one except Jesus has ever been able to fulfill the law, and no one else ever will (Rom 3:23; 1 John 1:8, 10). It is the height of hypocrisy to demand of others what you cannot do yourself. So, why would they demand this thing? Paul said it was so they could glory in their flesh. They glory in appearance or outward things and not in the condition of the heart (2Co 5:12).

Gal 6:14 Paul's critics gloried in the carnal things they accomplished while Paul gloried only in what Jesus had done for him through the cross. One way to discern a true man or woman of God is to see where their boasting lies. Those who boast in their own accomplishments are suspect, while those who boast in the Lord are the true and faithful witnesses.

Notice that there is a double crucifixion. The world was crucified unto Paul, and Paul was crucified unto it. This means that the world's system had nothing to offer Paul, and Paul had nothing to offer the world outside of Christ. Its one thing to remove yourself from the world's system, but it's another thing to remove the world's system from you. Paul had done both. Paul's sole purpose in life was to bring glory unto the risen Christ. The law or rules are an outside condition, love is an inward motivation that only comes from Jesus. Let’s see, choose Jesus or choose the law (rules). Choose the law and the law only produces death and cannot save. Choose Jesus and He only produces life (love) and does save.

When we truly love, no law or rule is ever needed. Don’t let laws and rules replace what love can accomplish.

What Reflection are We Radiating as a Church and as a Christian?

James 1:23-25
23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he will be blessed in what he does.

You have never seen your face. You have seen a reflection of your face, maybe a video of your face, or maybe a photo (picture) of your face. Not unless you can take your eyeballs out with the nerves attached have you been able to see your face with your physical eyes. It can’t be done. What this passage though is referring to is looking into the Word of God is like looking into a spiritual mirror. If we want to see what our physical face looks like, we have to look in a physical mirror. Likewise, we can't see our spiritual self, but we can look in the mirror of God's Word and see who we are in Christ. God's Word is spiritual and reveals our spiritual self (John 6:63). We need to become as sure of our spiritual image as we are of our physical image. After all, we can't directly see either one; we look at something else and take what we see by faith.

A man who doesn't do what he has heard in God's Word (Jas 1:22) is like a man who looks in the mirror but doesn't take any action. He goes on his way and forgets what he has seen. Likewise, we have to keep in front of us the image God's Word paints of our spiritual self and act accordingly. Notice God's Word is called "the perfect law of liberty." This is specifically referring to the New Covenant and all the liberty brought to us through the atonement of Christ. It is only through the grace given to us by the finished work of Christ that we can truly see our new selves and be blessed.

Very often the Church hold’s up a mirror reflecting back the society that surrounds it rather than the Word or the life of Jesus Christ that is our true mirror. If the world despises a sinner the Church should love them. If the world cuts off aid to the poor and suffering than the church should provide healing, food, and shelter. If the world oppresses than the Church should take the hand of the oppressed and lift them up. If the world shames and creates an outcast than the church should proclaim God’s reconciling love and show the way of forgiveness. If the world seeks profit and self-fulfillment the Church seeks sacrifice and service. If the world demands retribution than the Church dispenses grace. If the world has factions that bring dissension, than the Church should join in unity. If the world is destroying its enemy, the Church loves them both.

What mirror or reflection are you bringing the world today, does it reflect the Word and Jesus Christ or does it reflect the world?

The Importance of the Word

We seem to go to the Word of God as a last resort, we’ll have people pray for us, lay hands on us, look for others to put their arms around us to make us feel good. But we won’t study and meditate on the Word to allow it to grow inside of us. The Bible is a package of seeds that needs to be taken out of the package and planted in good soil (our heart). It is that Word that we need to depend on in our lives. It is the Word that can live inside of us to grow us into the likeness of Jesus Christ.

The story in Luke 7:18-28 John the Baptist had already boldly proclaimed on four different occasions that Jesus was the Christ (Luke 3:16-17; John 1:29-36, and 3:26-36). God had also given John a special sign that Jesus was the One who should come (John 1:33). In light of these things, John's question here can only be interpreted as doubt on his part. It's possible that John shared the mistaken idea with most people of his day that the Messiah was going to establish a kingdom on earth and break the dominion of the Romans over the Jews. Whatever the reasons, it is interesting to note that the man who Jesus said was the greatest of all Old Testament people (Mt 11:11) had doubts even after God had borne witness in his heart as to who Jesus was. Also, all of the great things Jesus spoke of John were said after and despite the doubts that John expressed.

We see that Jesus did not answer John's disciples immediately but rather performed many miracles in that same hour, including healing of the blind. Then He told John's disciples to report back to John about the blind seeing, the lame walking, the lepers being cleansed, the deaf hearing, and the dead being raised. Jesus had already healed a leper (Mt 8:2-4) and two lame men (Mt 9:6-7 and John 5:2-15), and He had recently raised the widow's son from the dead at Nain (Lu 7:11-17).

At first glance Jesus' response to John doesn't seem adequate. Jesus later says all kinds of things about John that would seem to be more edifying. Most people would rather have had the most famous person in the nation speak highly of them than to have Him say, "Look at what's happening and you will be blessed if you will believe."

But Jesus was giving John His best. He fulfilled the prophecies of Isa 35, which spoke of the miracles the Messiah would perform. Jesus performed every miracle that Isaiah prophesied He would do and threw in the raising of someone from the dead just to make it clear that this was no fluke. Then He told John to believe.

This was Jesus referring John back to the Word. He was using the very scriptures John had quoted as God's instructions to him. Jesus sent John back to the Word to deal with his discouragement. It was only after John's disciples had left that Jesus began to say the complimentary things that most of us would rather have had.

Those whom God honors the most are the ones who He gives the Word instead of some lesser, emotional response.

Most of us are like John the Baptist, we are looking for accolades, or kudos, and not the Word. Jesus wants to give the best He has to us and that is His Word. Jesus could have sent the messengers back to John the Baptist with accolades towards John, but He sent his Word instead. What we need is God’s Word, it is that preference that God wants to give us. We can look for kudos, or an arm around us, a pat on the back to make us feel good, but what is needed is God’s Word. Depend and act on God’s Word and your life will never be the same. It will lift you out of the rut, overcome obstacles and giants in your life. God’s Word will never fail you.

Christian Growth only comes from the Combination of the Word and the Spirit

Mark 4:21-23
21 And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick?
22 For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad.
23 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.

There are a couple of things here that Jesus is pointing out to us. First, that His word should be prominent in our lives. As other scriptures point out that the word is the most important aspect and should be searched out as if it were gold. Secondly, is that the Word and the Spirit need to be used together? One cannot understand the Word without the Spirit. Here in this parable the candle would be representative of the Word and the Light would be representative of the Spirit.

With this in mind one cannot understand the Word unless Light is shed on it. Light alone cannot burn unless it has an accelerant, oxidation of combustible material. A candle (the Word) is that material illustrated in this parable. We need both a flame and the candle to produce a sustainable light. We cannot have one without the other, and so it is in our Christian walk.

If you’re wondering why the Holy Spirit is not working in your life maybe He does not have the word to produce a sustainable light. In John 14:26 Jesus illustrates the point that the Holy Spirit will illuminate only what Jesus has spoken.

John 14:26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

Also in John 15:26 and John 16:13-15
John 15:26 "When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.

John 16:13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
14 He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.
15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.

If you really want to change, if you’re tired of not seeing God working in your life, than the word is the missing portion in your life. You see the Holy Spirit always wants to help you grow, wants to help you be transformed into Jesus’ likeness, but He may be lacking the Word in your life that He can use as kindling, as combustible material. The greater part of your life should be spent reading and meditating on the word, when you do so you shall be planted by streams of living water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. (Psalms 1)

The Holy Spirit needs a candle (the Word) in order to burn brightly and as the parable in Mark 4 says then it will not be kept a secret anymore but be manifested through your life.

Be Still!

Psalms 46:10a
10 "Be still, and know that I am God; "

God's power and might were manifest if we had the hearts to perceive. This verse tells us how to acquire that type of heart. We have to be still and listen.

To have full knowledge of the greatness of God requires us to be still. This implies that busyness will keep us from that knowledge. Being still is talking about more than not moving; it is speaking of meditating and being reflective. We must calm ourselves and spend time just musing on the goodness and greatness of God. A hectic lifestyle is detrimental to really knowing God. (Ps 143:5) 5 I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done.

The word "muse" is defined as "To ponder, consider, or deliberate at length." It is used in the same sentence with the word "meditate," and I believe they are related. In fact, this same Hebrew word was translated "meditate" five times in the Old Testament (Ps 119:15, 23, 48, 78, and 148). Musing is just another word for meditating. It is focusing upon something long and hard enough in our thoughts until it forms an image in our imagination. If this is negative, it's what the Scripture calls vain or evil imaginations (Ge 6:5 and 2Co 10:5), and if it's positive, it's what the Scripture calls hope. And as we imagine in our hearts, that's the way we are (Pr 23:7).

I woke up one morning with the reference "Ps 46:10" going over and over in my mind. Even though I was very familiar with this verse, I couldn't remember what it said. So I looked it up and decided that day I would literally sit totally still for one hour and see what happened. It was amazing. I sat on our porch and noticed things I would normally have missed. For instance, I noticed thousands of ants that I normally wouldn't have paid any attention to. I noticed the wind in the trees. I noticed sounds and smells that I would have missed if I had been busy doing something else.

So one of the things I think this verse is instructing us to do is to quit being so busy that we don't notice God's working. It's always going on, but we often miss it in our busyness. Stillness increases our awareness. God is being exalted among the heathen and all throughout the earth, but we can miss this if we are too busy with the affairs of this life.

(Mr 4:19). but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.

The point being made by this third type of ground is that we only have so much attention. If we want fruitfulness, we need to focus on the Word and not other things that can occupy us. Just as the earth only has so many nutrients and weeds take nourishment that could be going to the desired plant, so all the things of this world will steal energy from us that could be going into the Word of God.

Notice that these aren't necessarily bad things. We have to be occupied with the affairs of this life to a degree. But there has to be a proper balance among job, family, leisure, and the Word. We don't strike this balance once and are through with it. This is something that constantly varies based on our seasons of life. The only way to maintain the proper balance is to maintain a vibrant relationship with the Lord. He will reveal to us any time we begin to be too focused on something other than Him (Php 3:15).

The strength of the laser lies in its focus. If the focus is diffused, the laser ceases to be powerful. Likewise, the power of the Christian is amplified by a single focus. The way to destroy a man's vision is to give him two.

(Php 3:13) Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

The "thus minded" Paul is speaking of is the single-mindedness he had just described, where he is forgetting everything else and seeking only after God. When we do that, if we begin to think otherwise, the Lord will reveal that unto us. This is a promise that when we are putting first the kingdom of God, the Lord will show us if we begin to get off track. That's a wonderful promise. We don't have to be introspective. We just have to seek the Lord with all our hearts.

Matthew 6:33
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Notice the use of the word "first." This is speaking of priorities. We have to focus some attention on earthly things, but they should never be our priority. God and His kingdom should always come first in our priorities. When they are, He supernaturally takes care of all the natural things we need.

Matthew 5:8
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

The word pure is being used such as a purebred animal. Comes from a single line of ancestry, such as a Labrador Retriever is a purebred dog. Pure meaning singular, with the exclusion of all others. So when we are purely seeking God and nothing else (exclusion of all else) is when we will see God.

You want to hear from God? Be Still! Seek the Lord! Exclude all else! Be of singular thought towards Jesus.

To Be Free from Fear

1 John 4:18 "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he that fears has not been made perfect in love."

I don't remember where it started, but for most of my life, I lived with fear. Fear of the school bully. Fear of not being accepted. Fear of dogs. Fear of failure and fear of success. I remember one incident that illustrates the foolishness of fear. There was a time when I was a paper boy, delivered the Chicago Sun Times in the morning and the Herald in the afternoon. Lived in a small neighborhood on the south side of Chicago and I would begin my route before the sun rose. One morning, as I was beginning to approach a house, I saw a shadowy figure crouched in the corner of the front lawn. The sun was just beginning to crest above the horizon. I froze. Fear gripped my heart. I stood as still as I could, waiting for him to move. After about three minutes, the sun came over the horizon enough for me to see that this menacing figure was really the silhouette of a bush. I felt stupid.

This is exactly the strategy of Satan. The Bible says that a fearful man runs when no one is pursuing, but the righteous are as bold as lions. Satan's primary weapon is intimidation. If he can get you into fear through circumstances, then he will stand back as you sabotage yourself. The only cure for fear is love. When you become convinced that God loves you and is for you, then fear will be replaced with confidence and boldness. It is perfect love that casts out fear, and God's love is the only love that is perfect. I don't know what you are afraid of, but I do know that His love is greater than your circumstance. Today, meditate on the greatness of His love for you. Allow His love to drive out the fear and let you enjoy His peace.

Ruthlessly Eliminate Hurry

Not long after moving back to Colorado Springs Colorado, I called on a wise friend to ask for some spiritual direction. I described the pace of life in my current ministry. The church where I serve tends to move at a fast clip. I also told him about my rhythms of life: driving, baseball-league, music-lessons, bible school, counseling, ministry moving pace of life. I told him about the present condition of my heart, as best I could discern it. What did I need to do, I asked him, to be spiritually healthy?

Long pause.

"You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life," he said at last.

Another long pause.

"Okay, I've written that one down," I told him, a little impatiently. "That's a good one. Now what else is there?" I had many things to do, and this time together needed to move on, so I was anxious to cram as many units of spiritual wisdom into the least amount of time possible.

Another long pause.

"There is nothing else," he said. "You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life."

I've concluded that my life and the well-being of the people I serve depends on following his prescription, for hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day. Hurry destroys souls. As Carl Jung wrote, "Hurry is not of the devil; hurry is the devil."

For most of us, the great danger is not that we will renounce our faith. It is that we will become so distracted and rushed and preoccupied that we will settle for a mediocre version of it. We will just skim our lives instead of actually living them.

One of the great illusions of our day is that hurrying will buy us more time. I pulled into a service station recently where the advertising slogan read, "We help you move faster." But what if my primary need is not moving faster?

Time magazine noted that back in the 1960s, expert testimony was given to a sub-committee of the Senate on time management. The gist was that due to advances in technology, within 20 years or so people would have to cut back radically on how many hours a week they worked (or how many weeks a year they worked), or they'd have to start retiring sooner. The great challenge, they said, would be figuring out what to do with all the excess time.

Yet 50 years later, not many of us would say this is our primary time challenge. In fact, quite the reverse. Robert Banks, author of All the Business of Life, notes that while our society is rich in things, we are extremely poor in time. In fact, never before in human history has a society been so things-rich and so time-poor.

Our world has become the world of the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland: "Now here, you see, it takes all the running you can do to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that."

Meyer Friedman (who with Diane Ulmer wrote Treating Type A Behavior -- and Your Heart) defines hurry sickness as "above all, a continuous struggle and unremitting attempt to accomplish or achieve more and more things or participate in more and more events in less and less time, frequently in the face of opposition, real or imagined, from other persons."

Though our age intensifies "hurry sickness," it's not a new problem; people in ministry have been subject to it at least since the days of Jesus. During one hectic season of ministry, Mark notes of the disciples, "For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat."

Far too many people involved in ministry think of this as a life verse, as if God will reward the hectic one-day with, "What a life you had! Many were coming and going, and you had no leisure even to eat. Well done!"

Not quite. Jesus was aware of this problem, and he constantly withdrew from crowds and activities. He taught the same to his followers. In one instance, when they returned from a busy time of ministry, filled with adrenaline, he told them, "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while."

The question becomes “was Jesus ever in a hurry about anything He ever did?”

If you want to follow someone, you can't go faster than the one who is leading; following Jesus cannot be done at a sprint. Jesus was often busy but he was never hurried. Being busy is an outer condition; being hurried is a sickness of the soul.

Jesus never went about the busyness of his ministry in a way that severed the life-giving connection between himself and his Father.

In Jesus' main parable about the sower and seed He shows us the principals of farming. The three main principals are seed, time, and harvest. Time is a principal that we cannot bypass or cram for. You cannot hurry the growing process along, it must be done in its time. You can't hurry God up, but you can slow Him down by not participating in the rhythms of His time. How fast did Jesus move?

Just think if God came along and said that you have only three and a half years to complete your life and then I will take you home to heaven. You would try to cram a whole life time of living and ministering in that short time. Jesus had only three and a half years to complete all of the ministry to benefit the whole world. Jesus still was not in a hurry about doing all that He needed to accomplish.

He never did anything in a way that interfered with his ability to give love when that was what was called for. Laying down laws does not take any time at all, but to love, that takes time. Laws take the place of loving, that is why we put them in place so we can speed the process up. Jesus observed a regular rhythm of withdrawal from activity, for solitude and prayer. He never was in a hurry, ever.

Jesus ruthlessly eliminated hurry from his life, and He always had time to love.

Psalms 46:10 Be Still and know that He is God.

Do You Have an Overcomer Mentality?

Joel 2:25-29
25 'I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten-- the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm-- my great army that I sent among you.
26 You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed.
27 Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the LORD your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people be shamed.
28 'And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

4 things about an overcomer mentality
1. This great promise in Joel does not mean that it will automatically come to pass.
2. We need to do our part in providing an overcomer mentality. We must do everything we can to recover everything the enemy has stolen from us. We will never experience this supernatural restoration power if we passively sit back and never take action to recover what the enemy has stolen from us.
3. We need to start expecting things in our favor.
4. We need to be stronged will, determined and courageous about the right things.

David was a prime example of this:
David had an Overcomer Mentality, he had been through some very devastating times. He suffered some major setbacks. Never gave in, never gave in to mediocrity, he never sat back and took it easy. Never allowed the enemy to dominate him. He had sticktoitness

1 Sam 30:1-25
1 David and his men reached Ziklag (sicklag) on the third day. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it,
2 and had taken captive the women and all who were in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way.
3 When David and his men came to Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive.
4 So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep.
5 David's two wives had been captured-- Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel.
6 David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.
7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, "Bring me the ephod." Abiathar brought it to him,
8 and David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?" "Pursue them," he answered. "You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue."
9 David and the six hundred men with him came to the Besor Ravine, where some stayed behind,
10 for two hundred men were too exhausted to cross the ravine. But David and four hundred men continued the pursuit.
11 They found an Egyptian in a field and brought him to David. They gave him water to drink and food to eat--
12 part of a cake of pressed figs and two cakes of raisins. He ate and was revived, for he had not eaten any food or drunk any water for three days and three nights.
13 David asked him, "To whom do you belong, and where do you come from?" He said, "I am an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite. My master abandoned me when I became ill three days ago.
14 We raided the Negev of the Kerethites and the territory belonging to Judah and the Negev of Caleb. And we burned Ziklag."
15 David asked him, "Can you lead me down to this raiding party?" He answered, "Swear to me before God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will take you down to them."
16 He led David down, and there they were, scattered over the countryside, eating, drinking and reveling because of the great amount of plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from Judah.
17 David fought them from dusk until the evening of the next day, and none of them got away, except four hundred young men who rode off on camels and fled.
18 David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives.
19 Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back.
20 He took all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock, saying, "This is David's plunder."
21 Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow him and who were left behind at the Besor Ravine. They came out to meet David and the people with him. As David and his men approached, he greeted them.
22 But all the evil men and troublemakers among David's followers said, "Because they did not go out with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered. However, each man may take his wife and children and go."
23 David replied, "No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the LORD has given us. He has protected us and handed over to us the forces that came against us.
24 Who will listen to what you say? The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike."
25 David made this a statute and ordinance for Israel from that day to this.

600 men out protecting, while away the enemies came in and took their women including David’s wives and burned the city to the ground.
David could of, gotten down, depressed, woe is me, distraught, how could this happen to me.

David had an overcomer mentality, (def of a champion)
Overcomer:
1. Overcomers are champions, they get knocked down but not knocked out.
2. Overcomers are encouraged and strengthened in the Lord
3. Overcomers may fail but they will try again.
4. Overcomers may lose a battle but they win the war.
5. Overcomers may experience setbacks but they arise and recover all.


David and the 600 hundred men got:

1. Family back
2. Herds back
3. Recovered all their gold and treasures
4. Received everything back that was taken
5. Received bounty of the Amalekites

But God is not satisfied to bring you out the same way you came in.
1. Bring you out in abundance
2. Better off then before the fact. Saw what the enemy had and David and his men walked out with more then they had before.

Obstacles to overcome.

There are three things that are the same in this parable and one thing that is different, what are they?
Matthew 7:24-27
24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.
27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

The three things that are the same is they both built houses, they both heard the word of God, and they both experienced storms. The thing that is different is that one did the word of God and other did not. The thing that was different was not where they built their houses, by doing or not doing the word of God determined where they built their houses. So consequently, following through or not following through with the word determined if their house would stand and where it would be built. It is your attitude that determines the end outcome, stronger and healthier, or defeated and broken.

The Word does not call us as survivors, we are more then survivors,
Rom 8: 37-39 We are more then conquerors
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

All this depends on your attitudes; your attitude determines your altitude.
1. Rule over your emotions.
2. Doing what’s right even when you don’t feel like it.
3. David recovered all that the enemy stole from him because he had this Overcomer Mentality.

But he was King, He was called, He was anointed over all of Israel.
David’s Grandson Rehoboam did not have Overcomer Mentality.

IKing 14:25-28
25 In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem.
26 He carried off the treasures of the temple of the LORD and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields Solomon had made.
27 So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned these to the commanders of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace.
28 Whenever the king went to the LORD's temple, the guards bore the shields, and afterward they returned them to the guardroom.

Lost everything they had, just like David.
Vs 27 replaced with bronzed shields,
1. Lowered the standards.
2. compromised and settled for less.
3. It’s really not even worth the fight, These bronze shields look just as good as the gold ones.
4. We talk ourselves into living with things that are far less then God’s best.
5. We compromise with living with depression, poverty, marital problems, and constant pain.
6. We give up on our dreams because it is not worth the fight.

Rehoboam compromised and settled for mediocrity.
1. Did not put forth effort
2. Did not want to put up a good fight of faith. 1 Tim 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called.
3. He did not want to stand strong and missed out on God’s best.

God wanted to do the same for Rehoboam as He did for David. So He wants to do to you.
1. Overcomer Mentality
2. Joy to be full, John 15:11, John 16:24, 1 John 1:4, 2 John 1:12
3. Prosper and be in health, 3 John 1:2
4. Bring out of the battle better off then before 2 Chronicles 20.
5. Stand strong and refuse anything except for God’s Best. 1 John 5:4
6. Refuse to lower the standards in your life.

Rev 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Spiritual Growth - Gods Job or Our Job

Whose job is spiritual growth? This study focuses on the doctrine of sanctification, which is related to the word holy (hagios). The gospel is not just that we’ll go to heaven when we die; the gospel is the offer of life in God’s kingdom. God’s plan is that his image in us, which was marred by the Fall, should be restored in all of its beauty and glory.

But for many Christians there is confusion about the division of labor necessary for spiritual growth or sanctification. They ask, “Is it God’s job or mine?”

Some Christians have taken the position that sanctification is solely God’s job. To support their position they cite verses like Romans 7:18, where Paul says, “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.” Citing verses like these, they say human action is futile. Some Christians object to any call for strenuous effort or costly following by saying that human effort is opposed to grace.

On the other hand, some Christians take a Marine approach to spiritual life, evaluating spiritual growth as a product of one’s commitment level. They may cite verses like Leviticus 11:44: “I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.” In effect, they believe God’s job is to make sure he’s holy; their job is to make sure they are holy. For these believers the church then becomes a place of contest to see who has memorized the most Bible verses, who has witnessed to the most people, who has the most regular quiet time, who has prayed the most. People with this checklist mentality believe that as long as they’re doing these things they must be growing spiritually, even if love and joy aren’t being produced.

Sanctification is a joint project between God and us.

Philippians 2:12–13. Paul says to work out your own salvation, which means your role is important. He goes on to say, “For it is God who works in you.” You’re not doing this project on your own. Sanctification is empowered by God; it’s impossible without him.

When Paul says, “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling,” he does not mean you should work out your salvation with a sense of anxiety, not knowing whether it’s going to be good enough for God. Instead Paul uses the phrase to refer to a humble attitude of dependence. He’s suggesting we have a role to play, but we don’t control it.

Some things we can control; others we can do nothing about. But there is a third category, such as going to sleep. You can’t make yourself go to sleep the way you can make a phone call. But you can get in a dark room, lie down on a soft mattress, turn out the lights, and sleep will come.

Think about the differences between a motorboat and a sailboat. In a motorboat, you are in control. Sailing is different. When you sail, you are not passive. You hoist the sails and steer with the rudder but are utterly dependent on the wind. There’s no room for believing you are in control, because if the wind doesn’t blow, you’re dead in the water. When the wind blows, on the other hand, amazing things can happen.

John 3:8. The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

The word for wind is the same as the word for spirit both in Hebrew and in Greek. Jesus says the wind blows wherever it chooses. We hear the sound, but we don’t know where it comes from, and we don’t know where it goes. It’s free and powerful, way beyond our control. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit, through whose life the winds of God are blowing.

The sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit is powerful and mysterious. We can’t control or manufacture it. It’s not about us coming up with a program with predictable results we control. On the other hand, we’re not passive. Our job is to discern where the wind of the Spirit is blowing and know how to catch it.

Sanctification is normative, not optional.

Paul says he may get a lot of things wrong, but he works toward sanctification. It’s difficult to be made holy, and sometimes we’re tempted to give up.

Read Romans 12:2. Paul suggests that if you’re not being transformed by God’s renewing power, then you’re being conformed by the forces opposed to God.

The question is not if you’re going to be formed spiritually; the question is by whom you will be formed. If you’re not formed by God, then you have a spiritual adversary, the Evil One, who will be happy to do the task. We live in a world that deforms people spiritually.

Hebrews 12:14. Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.

The offer of the gospel is the offer to be sanctified. Jesus’ message was, “Repent and believe the good news; the kingdom of heaven is drawing near, and you can now live in it.” If we do that, it is a choice to live God’s kind of life, and sanctification is simply another word for that kind of life. It’s a life of truth, love, joy, humility, and servanthood.

If you don’t want to live that kind of life now, what makes you think you’d want to live that kind of life eternally after you die? It’s God’s will that you be sanctified.

Sanctification is a painstaking process.

Sanctification is a process, not an event. We’re an instant gratification society, but sanctification does not happen that way. Paul says, Am I there yet? Not yet. Not today. Not tomorrow. But this one thing I do: I don’t give up. I just keep after it.

In the pursuit of sanctification, you will fail often. What do we do if we’re serious about pursuing sanctification and we slip into bad behavior?

Philippians 3:13.
13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,

We tend to think of forgetting as a bad thing, as something we shouldn’t do. But forgetting is indispensable to sanctification.

Ask the Holy Spirit, “Will you help me overcome yesterday’s mistakes, sin, guilt, and disappointments?” We can’t be shackled to yesterday’s regrets, because sanctification is a journey, not an event.

It’s guaranteed you’ll slip; the danger is that when you slip you’ll get discouraged and give up. Paul urges us to keep going and to forget what is behind. Paul allows neither his failures nor his successes to keep him trapped in yesterday. Sanctification is a process, so don’t give up.

Sanctification is empowered by God, not by man.

If we are sailboats, God’s the one who supplies the wind. When talking about transformation, Paul uses an imperative, which is used when giving somebody a command. For instance, “Stop!” is an imperative.

There’s another grammatical form called the passive voice that indicates when something happens to you, such as getting hit by a truck or struck by an illness.

When talking about transformation, Paul often uses a passive imperative. Look again at Romans 12:2. It is an imperative, but he does not say, “Transform yourself.” Instead he says, “Be transformed.”

There are a few ways you can discern how the Spirit is working in your life. One is to ask the question, “God, how are you seeking to transform me in this moment?”

When you’re in line at the grocery store, behind someone who’s mathematically challenged, say, “God, how can you use this moment to train me in patience?”

When you’re on the verge of procrastinating again with a project, ask, “God, how do you want to train me in this moment to persevere?”

You can allow the winds of the Spirit to blow in your life. That’s why sanctification is never a mechanical thing. That’s why it will look different from one person to another, and it will look different in different areas of your life. You need to discern how God is at work.

Sanctification is normative, not optional. It’s a process, not an event. It’s empowered by God, not you. Titus 3:5 "he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit."

Apply Your Findings

Sanctification should be pursued for the sake of others, not just for our own fulfillment. There is a real danger in pursuing spiritual growth, because if it gets off track it can get individualistic and even narcissistic. The scribes and Pharisees in Jesus’ day thought of themselves as very holy, but they didn’t love anybody. They were too absorbed with themselves. The New Testament never defines spirituality or sanctification in solely individualistic or narcissistic terms. It’s defined in terms of community.

In Philippians 2:14, Paul writes, “Do everything without complaining or arguing.” In other words, as the community matures this is what you’ll find: no grumbling and no arguing, just grateful hearts. A community of servanthood will replace bitterness and resentment.

Paul defines sanctification within the context of community. If we don’t, the pursuit of spiritual growth can get distorted in a way that makes it all about the individual. We can get preoccupied with how we’re performing spiritually and how spiritually fulfilled we feel, and forget to live a life of servanthood and love. It is then we become spiritually narcissistic.

The goal of sanctification, in a single word, is love. There is a huge difference between being sanctified and being sanctimonious. Yet sometimes people get them mixed up. The goal of sanctification is loving persons.

God loved you when you were hardest to love. God wants to sanctify you, and that is not some spiritual project or piece of optional equipment. That is God’s destiny for you. If you miss out on that, you miss out on what you were made for. God’s intent is to sanctify you so you can love as God loves.

Sanctification is also another way of saying that we become holy, holiness is the consequence of the sanctification process. Thus Holiness (sanctification) is a fruit, not the root, of Salvation.

Monkey See Monkey Do

Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. James 1:23-24

In the Gazette newspaper in Colorado Springs some years ago told the story of a lady giving up smoking for a very unusual reason. This woman quit because of her pet macaw. She had this beautiful blue and gold macaw; they are worth a few thousand dollars. This bird had developed a persistent cough.

A veterinarian checked the macaw and determined that it didn’t have pneumonia or psittacosis, two of the possibilities that worried her. The final diagnosis was that the macaw was not ill at all, but just imitating the cough of its cigarette-smoking owner. The woman finally quit only when she realized, through her macaw, how bad she actually sounded herself.

It is a sad fact of human nature that we can be totally blind to our own faults, at the same time clearly seeing those same faults in others. I can be very concerned about your cough, not even knowing I myself might have pneumonia. I can clearly see the mote in your eye precisely because I have so much practice with the thing that has been floating around in mine, without my even knowing it. This is a lot like what psychologists call “projection”, in which people ‘project” their own motives and ways of looking at life on those around them. A suspicious person thinks everyone is out to get them; a manipulative person just “knows” that other people are trying to cheat and trick themselves; and so on.

The Bible just calls it “sin”. In Romans 2:1, for instance, is the warning that this kind of “projection” invites judgment: “You, therefore have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things”. By “same things”, Paul didn’t mean that everyone who passes judgment on a murderer himself had murdered, but only was guilty of the same kind of lawlessness as his conviction. Even so, according to the Bible, the light will soon spotlight every pot calling a kettle black, and both will be in for a thorough and painful cleansing.

The macaw has a couple of lessons to teach us:

First is the tip-off that what bugs us most in others may be our own special creepiness. If someone’s bad habit gets under your skin, could it be that the “me” already under that skin has the same problem? Often, my worst gripes are reserved to what grips me most.

Secondly, the other lesson of the macaw is of course the power of a bad example. Macaws, parrots, children, even adults will copy in us in what may be concealed to us. In our blindness, we can lead many people down the primrose path to a cough, a bad habit, or worse, without our even knowing we are on the path ourselves. Our weaknesses may be multiplying in those who follow us.

Sobering thoughts and ones that should make us pay serious attention anytime someone does find a mote in our otherwise nearly-perfect, if surprisingly blind eye.

Not only monkeys see and do, but many others who follow you.

May we be sensitive to our own shortcomings today, Lord, as we seem in our fallen humanity toward those of others?

What is Jesus’ Worth to You Today?

The story of Mary and Martha is a story of priorities. It’s a story of how much worth do we put on Jesus Christ. It is not only that we love Jesus, but it is why we love Him. When Jesus came to earth He upped the ante on us. Jesus said that if you look upon a woman lustfully you have already committed adultery with her in your heart. If you are angry with your brother you are committing murder, the only difference between anger and murder is a single physical step, the thought process is the same. So it is not just about what we do, but it is about why we do it. (Matt 5:27-28; Matt 5:21-22)

Jesus wants to get at the why’s that are imbedded in our hearts, for if the why’s are corrected and pointed in the right direction then what we do will follow in suit. Mary’s story in this passage shows us a picture of Mary’s love for Jesus. It is a grand picture of the worth she put on Jesus, and the priority that she gave Him.

Luke 10:38-42
38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.
39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said.
40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
41 "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things,
42 but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

It was a great honor to have Jesus in Mary and Martha’s home and to be able to hear His personal words in their household. Martha should have given this the same priority that Mary did. There were physical needs that needed to be met also, but Jesus had already proven that He could even feed people miraculously (the feeding of the 5,000, Joh 6:5-13). There really wasn't anything more important than listening to Jesus.

According to Jesus’ own words is that Mary chose what was better. Mary chose to prioritize her time with Jesus, she put a worth upon this relationship over and above everything else. Many times we put a greater worth on serving as Martha was doing here and even to the extent that Martha told Jesus what to do. “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” We get so caught up in serving that it is the serving that we worship rather than Jesus himself. Jesus wants to make sure that our focus and worth is on Him and not on just what we can do for Him.

Martha was not wrong in serving Jesus and His disciples. Other women ministered to Jesus in this way (Lu 8:2-3, Mt 8:15) without being corrected. Serving was a good thing, but Martha had put it in the wrong place. Her problem was priorities and why she was serving, not that she had served.

Just like Martha, many of us today are occupied with things that keep us from hearing the words of Jesus. It is easy to recognize and turn from things that are obviously sin, but even good things that we are involved in must be prioritized so that nothing takes the place of seeking first the kingdom of God (Mt 6:33).

Mary had a heart to really know God deeply and to be a true worshiper, Jesus commended her for that. Let us be a Mary and not a Martha, what is the worth that you put on Jesus at any given time? Are you so caught up with serving and doing or are you being in Christ? You are not a human doing, you are a human being! Out of your being you then can go and do, but you must first be.

g jeremiah williamson

Discipleship happens when we relinquish our hearts to the Lord

Mark 7:15
15 Nothing outside a man can make him 'unclean' by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him 'unclean.'

Jesus was simply explaining that the condition of our hearts should be given preeminence over our physical bodies. Our hearts control our bodies (Pr 23:7), not the other way around. Sin doesn't make our hearts corrupt, but our corrupt hearts make us sin. God looks on our hearts (1Sa 16:7), and our cleanliness or defilement in His sight is dependent solely on whether or not we have been made clean in our spirits by the blood of the Lamb.

Society has told us that the makeup of a man is in what he does. The bible teaches us that the makeup of a man is in who he is and out of who he is he goes and does. We are not human doings, but human beings. In the process we always get the cart before the horse.

2 Timothy 2:6
6 The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.

Paul was telling his spiritual son Timothy that you have to get the crops in you first before you can give out to others. You can’t give out what you don’t have. Which bring us to the topic of discipleship?

You might think that being a disciple means being a follower, but the word disciple primarily means being a learner. In biblical times, a man would attach himself to a teacher and learn from him. He would sit at his feet, listen to him and walk with him. He would take on the characteristics of his teacher. If we would take on Christ, than we would reflect His character, conduct and commitments. Discipleship is a lifelong process of learning in an intimate relationship with god and His people. We follow Jesus because He has written us into His Story (History).

We normally look for a set of orders for good behavior, that is what Jesus was getting at when confronting the Pharisee’s. It is about what is going on in the heart that counts, when the change of heart happens all the rest will follow. If your wondering why your life does not match up to what you read in the new testament, it is because the cart has gotten before the horse.

It does take time,

Mark 4:26-29
26 And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;
27 And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.
28 For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.
29 But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.

Here Jesus is letting us know that it is a process, sleep and rise night and day, first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear. Fruit cannot be eaten till it has had time to grow, so it is with the word of God and discipleship. One cannot continually get the cart before the horse and expect God to override His word. We need time with the Lord, we need time for His word to change us. Then we can give out of what we have.

We must learn the centrality of Jesus Christ, learn to examine and grow our hearts, sit at Jesus’ feet by spending time in the word, the church, bible study group, an individual mentor/teacher. Discipleship cannot be done alone, in a vacuum, it must involve the body of Christ. Give it time, allow the Holy Spirit to engage your heart, then out of what you have you can go and do.

~

Do not Let your Hearts be Troubled

John 14:1 (NIV)
1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.

It's up to us to control our heart. It's God's power that makes that possible, but we have to make the choice and draw on God's ability. How do we do that? This verse goes on to say, "believe in God..." Faith is how we conquer our emotions.

Jesus made these statements to His disciples the night before His crucifixion. Even in circumstances like they would experience, Jesus was telling them not to let their hearts be troubled. That's amazing. And that reveals the authority we have over our emotions. The Lord would have been unjust to command His disciples to do something they were powerless to do. Therefore, we can control our emotions regardless of how things are going.

The fact that Jesus mentions controlling our emotions first in this list of all the things we should do is also significant. If we let our emotions run away with us, then it's nearly impossible to reign them in. It's easier to hold them at bay than it is to stop them once we have let them go. Harnessing our emotions is the first thing to do in a crisis situation. Most battles are won or lost in the first few moments according to the way we allow our emotions to go.

The understood subject of this sentence is "you." "You" let not your heart be troubled. You are the one who has control of your heart. Other people and circumstances cannot trouble you unless you allow them to divert your attention from the Lord and His Word (Isa 26:3, Joh 14:27).

Isaiah 26:3 (NIV)
3 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.

John 14:27 (NIV)
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Jesus had just told the disciples not to let their hearts be troubled, and here He told them how to do it. Believe! Faith in God is the victory that overcomes the world and all its troubles (1Jo 5:4).

1 John 5:4 (NIV)
4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

The disciples believed in Jesus enough to be totally devastated when He died but not enough to believe His prophecies concerning His resurrection (Mt 16:21).

Matthew 16:21 (NIV)
21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

Jesus made it very clear in this same teaching (Joh 16:1) that He was saying these things so that His disciples would not be offended, but His words didn't profit them, because they didn't mix them with faith (Heb 4:2).

John 16:1 (NIV)
1 "All this I have told you so that you will not go astray.

Hebrews 4:2 (NIV)
2 For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith.

They had enough faith to be dissatisfied with failure but not enough to have victory. It's better to go all the way in believing God than just part way.

~

A Treatise for the Church

We live in a culture that has elevated pride to the status of a virtue. Self-esteem, positive feelings, and personal dignity are what our society encourages people to seek. At the same time, moral responsibility is being replaced by victimism, which teaches people to blame someone else for their personal failures and iniquities. Frankly, the biblical teachings about human depravity, sin, guilt, repentance, and humility are not compatible with any of those ideas.

The church has been far too willing to embrace the fads of worldly opinion—particularly in the area of psychology and self-esteem. Christians often merely echo worldly thinking on the psychology of guilt and the importance of feeling good about oneself. The adverse effect on the life of the church can hardly be underestimated.

Nowhere has the damage registered more than in the way professing Christians deal with their own sin. In speaking to Christians around the country, I have seen a disheartening trend developing for at least two decades.

The church as a whole is growing less concerned with who Jesus Christ is, and more obsessed with self-exoneration and self-esteem. Christians are rapidly losing sight of sin as the root of all human woes. And many Christians are explicitly denying that their own sin can be the cause of their personal anguish. More and more are attempting to explain the human dilemma in wholly unbiblical terms: temperament, addiction, dysfunctional families, the child within, codependency, and a host of other irresponsible escape mechanisms promoted by secular psychology.

The potential impact of such a drift is frightening. Remove the reality of sin, and you take away the possibility of repentance. Abolish the doctrine of human depravity and you void the divine plan of salvation. Erase the notion of personal guilt and you eliminate the need for a Savior. Obliterate the human conscience, and you will raise an amoral and unredeemable generation. The church cannot join hands with the world in such a grossly satanic enterprise. To do so is to overthrow the very gospel we are called to proclaim.

This treatise is not merely a lament about society’s deplorable moral state or the damage we see caused by sin all around us. Nor is it an attempt to stir Christians up to tackle the impossible task of reconstructing society. Awakening the church to the awful reality of sin is not my only point of concern. That alone would have a positive effect on the world. But it is the one who took all our sin and became sin for us so that we can be free from the burden of sin. Are we following Jesus?

God’s purpose in this world—and the church’s only legitimate commission—is the proclamation of the message of sin and salvation to individuals, whom God sovereignly redeems and calls out of the world. God’s purpose is to save those who will repent of their sins and believe the gospel—not to work for external corrections in a morally bankrupt culture.

My prayer is that this will help to prompt Christians to turn again with new appreciation to the biblical doctrines of human depravity, sin, and the role of the conscience, leading to holiness that comes from following Jesus Christ. My prayer also is that it will help stem the tide of spiritual apathy, carelessness, shamelessness, and self-centeredness that worldly thinking has begun to breed among Bible-believing Christians. My most earnest prayer is that individual Christians who read this will be encouraged to reject such worldly values, and instead nurture “love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Tim. 1:5).

But we can only do this by lifting Jesus Christ above everything else. He is not a doctrine, but the one whom all of history and the future is waiting for to return. He is the reason why the whole universe and everything in it exists. It has been, it is now and ever will be about Jesus. Jesus loved us first, let us not lose sight of our first love.

John 12:32
32 But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself."
(NIV)

Faith is Seeing

Faith is seeing. It's just not seeing with our physical eyes. It is seeing with the eyes of our hearts through the revelation of the Holy Spirit as He unveils the truths of God's Word.

There is a spiritual world that is real. It is actually more real than the physical world. It created the physical world, and without question, the parent force is greater than the force created. Faith is simply seeing through the eyes of our hearts into the spiritual world and basing our thoughts and actions on those spiritual realities instead of being limited to the physical perceptions alone.

Faith is not denying that physical realities exist. It is just denying that the physical world is all there is and that spiritual reality will trump physical reality if firmly believed and acted on.

The Christian life is to be regulated and conducted by faith, as opposed to the external and outward appearances of physical sight. There is a sense in which sight is involved, but it is the spiritual seeing of faith rather than seeing with the physical eye.

Hebrews 11:27 says that Moses "By faith. . .forsook Egypt not fearing the wrath of the King: for he endured, as seeing Him who is invisible." In other words, Moses' faith allowed him to carry on despite hardships, because he could see, that is, apprehend as if by physical sight, visualize, understand and comprehend, the God who is invisible (incapable of being seen [ Joh 1:18 ]).

Faith sees and understands with the heart as stated in Matthew 13:15, ". . .lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart. . ." Paul prayed in Ephesians 1:18 "That the eyes of your understanding being enlightened" (NIV).

Faith is responding positively to God's promises. A particular promise of His Word must be seen, heard, understood and believed in the heart (Mt 13:15, 23; Ro 10:8, 10) so that it may be acted upon and bear fruit (Mt 13:23; Jas 2:17-18). One Greek word for "believe" is "peitho," and means "to be persuaded," and signifies "to allow oneself to be persuaded by hearing, which comes by the Word of God" (Ro 10:17).

Abraham was strong in faith because he was fully persuaded that what God had promised, God was able also to perform (Ro 4:20-21). The object of all true faith is God Himself, and not having faith in one's faith. Faith, like a seed, must be planted, watered, and nurtured (Mt 13:18-23). It must always go back to the promise of God and the God behind that promise. Faith carries the idea of being certain and assured of the reality of what is believed (Heb 11:1).

2 Kings 6:15-17
15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. "Oh, my lord, what shall we do?" the servant asked.

16 "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them."

17 And Elisha prayed, "O Lord, open his eyes so he may see." Then the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

What a great exhibition of faith! And this was an absolutely true statement. There were more angels with them than there were Syrian soldiers. But the angels were in the spiritual realm while the soldiers were in the physical realm. Those who only acknowledge what they can see in the physical realm as truth would say that Elisha was lying. They would say he was one of those "name-it-claim-it, blab-it-grab-it" guys who said things that were not so in hope that they would become so. But that's not what faith is at all. Faith is perceiving what is true reality in the spiritual realm and just speaking it forth into the physical realm. Those who criticize this are simply showing how carnal (dominated by the senses) they are.

This servant's physical eyes were already wide open, staring at the thousands of Syrian soldiers. This was a prayer for God to open his spiritual eyes and let him see into the spiritual world. When this servant saw the horses and chariots of fire on the mountains round about them was not when they arrived. They were already there; he just didn't perceive them until the eyes of his spirit were opened. But they were always there. The supernatural power of God always surrounds those who love Him (Ps 34:7).

Just because the horses and chariots of God were there didn't mean that the Syrians or the problem disappeared. The problem was still there, but he knew that the power of God to handle that problem was there too. Notice the horses and chariots of fire were said to be surrounding Elisha, not anyone else. God wants to protect all of His children, but we have to believe it in order for it to be so.

There is no indication that Elisha saw these horses and chariots of fire. He didn't need to see them. He believed they were there. Faith is better than sight (2Co 5:7 and Heb 11:1). Elisha had seen these same horses and chariots of fire when Elijah was taken up into heaven (2Ki 2). It is probable that he lived with a constant awareness of their presence.

This is the same process but in the opposite direction of what happened to Adam and Eve. They were created to walk by faith (2Co 5:7). But when they took of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, their spiritual eyes closed, and their physical eyes began to dominate. Since that fall, man's eyes have been opened physically but closed spiritually. Here, the servant's spiritual eyes were opened.

If your saying to yourself that you need to increase your faith then the response is read and meditate on the word. Romans 10:17 "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." The only place to obtain God's kind of faith is from God's Word. Notice that this verse says faith comes by "hearing," not by "having heard." People cannot rest on revelation they received from God years ago, unless they are still hearing the Lord speak those same truths to them now.

The Lord doesn't fail to speak; we fail to hear. Therefore, we can keep our faith in the present tense if we will open our spiritual ears to hear what God's Word is saying.

This is a very simple principle which is very difficult to do. Most of us are more dominated by our sense of sight than we are by our faith, and therein lies our basic problem. When we renew ourself to the point that faith dominates sight, then miracles happen.

The Work of the Holy Spirit

John 16:5-11
5 "Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' 6 Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. 7 But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; 10 in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

The disciples had asked Jesus this very question just moments before (Joh 14:5), and their reaction in John 16:17-18 shows that they still didn't understand what Jesus was saying to them. They must have at least understood that Jesus was speaking of leaving them, and that's why sorrow had filled their hearts (Joh 16:6).

Jesus had spoken of His death and the ensuing persecution against His disciples. Most of us would think this couldn't produce anything but sorrow. But if they had fully understood what was happening, they could have rejoiced. The departure of Jesus and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in each one of their hearts was better than having Jesus there in His physical body (John 16:7). What a revelation! What could be better than having Jesus physically present with us? The answer is having the Holy Spirit indwell us. When Jesus was in His physical body, He was limited to being in one place at one time. Therefore, He wasn't completely available to every believer all the time. But through the Holy Spirit, He now indwells each one of us and will never leave us nor forsake us (Heb 13:5).

Also, Jesus' physical body was natural. It wasn't sinful, but it was plain (Isa 53:2). The disciples constantly missed who Jesus really was on the inside, because they were so dominated by their senses. But now that we have the indwelling Holy Spirit, whose primary purpose is to reveal the true Jesus to us, we can know Jesus in a more intimate way and with more understanding than His first disciples knew Him.

We know Jesus made it to heaven and the throne because He sent back the Holy Spirit. He said He would do that after He was back with the Father.

Notice the terminology that Jesus used to describe the Holy Spirit. Jesus called Him the Comforter.

Jesus physically with you?

When Jesus walked on this earth in His physical body, He was subject to many physical limitations. For instance, He could not always be with every one of His disciples all the time. Through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, He could. Instead of Satan getting rid of Jesus, 120 "little Christs" (that is literally what the word "Christian" means) came out of the Upper Room on the Day of Pentecost.

Jesus had taught His disciples as no teacher ever had, but they had very little understanding because they had not been born again yet (1Co 2:14). However, when the Holy Spirit came, He would lead them into all truth (Joh 14:26 and 16:13) and even show them things to come (Joh 16:13).

The list of advantages of having the Holy Spirit in us, as compared to having Jesus with us in His physical body, goes on and on. The advantages can all be summed up in the fact that Jesus' power is now complete (Mt 28:18) and no longer confined to one physical body.

This is not a negative ministry as many people think. The Holy Spirit doesn't convict us of "things" we do that are wrong but of the fact that we aren't believing on Jesus. The person who doesn't tithe or give will not be convicted about their lack of giving but about the fact that they aren't trusting Jesus with their finances. All our acts of sin come from the one act of not believing on and resting in our relationship with Jesus.

Adam and Eve's sin wasn't eating of the fruit, but rather not believing in the goodness of God. They bought the lie that God had withheld something good from them (Ge 3:5). They doubted God and believed the devil. David said, "Against thee, thee only have I sinned" (Ps 51:4). The Lord said to David in 2Sa 12:10 that when David committed adultery and murder he despised God. The real root of David's sin was against God, not Uriah and Bathsheba. Joseph kept his virginity because he told Potiphar's wife that he could not sin against God and do this great wickedness in His sight (Ge 39:9).

The reason not to steal is because that action reveals a lack of trust in God as our source. The real reason not to commit adultery is because that act reveals that we do not believe the Lord when He said that from the beginning God made them male and female and they two are to become one flesh (Mr 10:6-8). We are not content with the one the Lord has given us, and we are not full of God's love. If we were, we would not be looking to someone else to fill that void.

The real temptation against Jesus was not to turn the stone into bread, etc., but to disbelieve God. His Father had just told Him in an audible voice that Jesus was His Son and that He was well pleased (Mt 3:17, Lu 3:22). Satan said, "If you be the Son of God..." The devil was trying to get Jesus to establish His identity outside of what God said about Him. This is the same way he tries to tempt us today. The question most of us are asking is not the real question. Therefore, the answer we are getting is not the real answer.

Heb 4:15 says Jesus was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. Jesus wasn't tempted with cocaine, but He was tempted with unbelief. That is the root of all sin, and Jesus endured that in all its facets.

There are just three main areas that Satan can tempt us with unbelief: the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life (1Jo 2:16). Jesus endured these three temptations.

It is the ministry of the Holy Spirit to reprove of sin, righteousness, and judgment. It is not our ministry. We are simply witnesses (Joh 15:27 and Ac 1:8). Witnesses are not the judge or the jury. They simply testify of what they have seen or what has happened to them.

In their zeal, some people have gone beyond the witness stage and tried themselves to bring people under conviction. This is assuming a job that belongs to the Holy Spirit alone. This not only frustrates the witness, but it also drives many people away from God. We make a very poor Holy Spirit; therefore, we should stick to our job of being witnesses and let the Holy Spirit do His.

It is always an evil heart of unbelief that makes us depart from the living God (Heb 3:12). Our actions are not the real problem. They are just the results and symptoms of our evil hearts of unbelief. That is what the Holy Spirit convicts us of. People don't go to hell for their individual actions. The sins of the whole world have already been paid for (1Jo 2:2). Individual sins are not the issue. The sin that sends men to hell is rejection of Jesus, and that is what the Holy Spirit convicts us of.

The Holy Spirit doesn't convict believers that they are going to hell for the rejection of Jesus. That is not the case. All of their sins are paid for: past, present and even future. But the Holy Spirit will convict believers about their trust or lack of trust in Jesus. That's what it is all about, relationship.

If believers commit adultery, the Holy Spirit will speak to them about their lack of relationship with the Lord. Why aren't they satisfied with Jesus and the mate He has given them? That's exactly what the Lord spoke to David (2Sa 12:8). Christians who are having problems with drink or dope are actually having problems with trusting in Jesus. They are using some substance to cope instead of turning to Jesus. The underlying issue to all individual sins, believer or non-believer, is not believing or trusting in Jesus.

Our actions of sins are just the manifestations of the single, inward heart condition of unbelief. Adam and Eve's eating of the forbidden fruit wasn't the real sin. It was the fact that they weren't trusting God anymore. They believed a talking snake (Ge 3:1-6) more than their heavenly Father who had only treated them well. Satan's real temptation against Jesus wasn't to turn the stone into bread; it was to doubt what the heavenly Father had just said about Jesus (Mt 3:17). That's why Satan said, "If thou be the Son of God" (Mt 4:3 and 6). The Father said in an audible voice that Jesus was His Son. Would Jesus trust the Father's word or do something to prove to Satan He was the Son of God?

Most people read this in a way that really means the Holy Spirit convicts us of unrighteousness. But that is not what it says. The Holy Spirit convicts us that we are righteous through the new birth. How many times have we seen people stand in church and say how the Holy Spirit has shown them how unrighteous they are? But we should be having people stand and share how the Lord has convicted them that they are the righteousness of God in Christ. That's normal Christianity.

It's the ministry of the Holy Spirit to convict us that we are righteous through Jesus. Not many people receive that ministry because of religious tradition and doctrines that have made the Word of God (and this positive ministry of the Holy Spirit) of none effect (Mr 7:13).

There could be two ways of interpreting this. First, the Holy Spirit will now have to reveal to mankind what is righteous in the sight of God because Jesus is no longer visible to illustrate true righteousness to us.

Second, this could mean that just as Jesus assured people that the goodness and mercy of God made them righteous by faith, not works, so now the Holy Spirit has taken over this ministry of bearing witness to their righteous relationship with the Father (1Jo 5:13).

This is not saying that the Holy Spirit tells us we will be judged if we don't repent. It is speaking of the Holy Spirit showing us that Satan has been judged. The devil is the one who is judged, not us. We are the ones with the authority, not the devil. The Holy Spirit will remind us of that to encourage us.

This is not referring to the Holy Spirit revealing to people that they are going to hell if they don't repent. That would fall under the category of reproving the world of sin (Joh 16:9). Rather, this is speaking of the Holy Spirit assuring us that Satan has been judged and stripped of all authority over us. The Holy Spirit will assure us of our victory. Praise the Lord!