Last Words – almost part 16 

We’ve taken a whirlwind tour of this passage in 2 Peter and I pray you have been provoked by it.  The reason for the series is my love for those who follow the Great Shepherd. 

Much is being written about the church and her ills and errors – and I have to agree that they are mighty and plenty.  The history of the Body of Christ is filled with examples of how easy it is to stray from the way (Acts 24:14) He called us to walk in.

I have prayed and thought and read much about this and have come to the conclusion that if we are to lay responsibility anywhere, it has to be at the feet of those He has called to lead His flock.  Huh?

OK – let me put it this way.  If you are attending a church where the priority of the leadership is not the following – you have a problem!

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!-- assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.   (Eph 4:11-24)   ESV

You see, it is not about programs, worship style, missions or ministries.  It is not about your preferences and proclivities.  It is not about numbers in the pews or in the bank.  It is not about buildings or furnishings.  It is about not being conformed to the world (i.e., being “seeker sensitive”); it is about being conformed to the likeness of the Christ.  And that’s pretty much all it’s about.

Read Acts 2:42-47 – read it again!!!!!

Do you “get it?”  Do you see the simple sanctified Body of Christ?

Yeah, I guess I am being hard on those who in the name of Christ have built great structures to their own flesh.  Those who have erroneously decided, “if you build it, do it, say it, etc., they will come.”  Oh, come they do – but who are they?  They are rarely the called – the elect.  But they are those who having a form of godliness – well, Paul says it best….

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power (authority & ability). Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. (2Ti 3:1-7)

It is not the truth that each individual believer is solely responsible for their growth.  How could it be when God has provided “ministers” or “officers” or “designates,” to equip believers to live as believers?  Yes, it is the responsibility of the individual to seek out sound biblical teachers and to learn and to grow beyond them if possible.  But as Bonheoffer wrote in Nazi Germany, we prefer cheap grace – which is a grace without the cross – a grace without a Christ.

Of those who come to the Body simply to have their ears scratched Paul goes on:

But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men. You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra--which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.   (2Ti 3:9-17)  ESV

We are engaged in a great conflict.  No, it is not a conflict over culture or national interests, or morality or even competing belief systems.  None of that is OUR fight.  Our fight is against the (actually OUR) flesh.  Oh but it is soooooo much easier to take on the ACLU or the President or whatever – than it is to take on, “Be holy as I am holy.  It is soooo much more fun to do neat marketing projects to get people in the door than it is to live the life that shines in the darkness.  It is sooooo much easier to lift up self-esteem, prosperity, even Israel’s safety than it is to lift up a crucified Messiah.  It is soooo much easier to say, “god loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life,” than is it to cry “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.”

The church has become a place where gimmicks, gadgets and graffiti have replaced the gospel.  The unredeemed are enticed to come and to worship the God who their every breath offends.  They come and sing praises to the God whose wrath is looming over their heads.  They come – and if they stay long enough, contribute enough and shine enough they can even become elders.

There was writing over the gate to the temple which warned Gentiles that to pass beneath the arch into the Temple would mean their death.  There is an important point here.  To intentionally create an environment where the unredeemed are comfortable in the presence and worship of the God they do not acknowledge – the God they rejected and replaced - makes it possible for them to come to believe that they are in good stead with Him.  That, my brothers and sisters, is, at least to me, a cruelty beyond bearing.

Faith is NOT a virus; one does not “catch” it.  “Doing,” does not make believers.  God does.

Remember where we started?

I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things. (2Pe 1:13-15)  ESV

Peter gives us his motivation for this letter.  It’s what he believes is his last shot.  Will we heed it or not?

Three Things Part 1 042112

For far too long there has been a troubling lack of any meaningful and systematic catechizing or discipling taking place in the Body of Christ. It once was the case that a new believer would undergo up to a year of teaching and training prior to their baptism and acceptance into the local church as a functioning member. This was not some “initiation” process but, rather, it came from a serious commitment to follow the command found in the Great Commission.

Mat 28:18-20 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (19) Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

The phrase “go . . . make disciples . . . baptizing . . . teaching . . .,” is all of one cloth. It is a simultaneous and continuous operation.

Indeed, we have gone and certainly, we have baptized but we have failed miserably in making disciples and teaching. The current state of the Body of Christ is all the proof we need. It is clear that the prophesies of wolves, evil men, false teachers and so on have been and are being fulfilled.

Clearly, the Body of Christ has missed the mark and the responsibility lies specifically at the feet of those He called to be pastors and teachers (to include elders). We have either ignored or rebelled against God by both rejecting and misappropriating His gifts.

Eph 4:11-16 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, (12) to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, (13) until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, (14) so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. (15) Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, (16) from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Unless the foundation of salvation is, indeed, that which we do or don’t do, then the discipling/teaching that has taken place in the church is contrary to the Gospel of Grace. Simply take a walk through any Christian book store and look at the discipleship or Christian living sections. Almost without exception, the books are about “doing.” This is contrary to the faith. So, too, are the plethora of classes, seminars and courses offered by well-known yet miss-directed celebrity Christians.

We have sought “right practice,” without establishing a foundation of “right belief.” We have tossed out sound theology and biblical doctrine for a “sound-bite” system of faith. In short, we have been clearly disobedient to the Lord’s commission in both spirit and letter. We have created several generations of handicapped believes and confident pretenders. As a result, the Body of Christ now resembles a mall or private club more than it does the assembly of the redeemed.

In my younger years in the Lord, I used to respond to the question, “Are you a Christian”? with a proud and resounding “Yes!!” I no longer do so. Today, my response, of necessity, is, “What do you mean”? I’ve found a cruelly deficient definition of “Christian” not only among the unredeemed but among the redeemed as well.

This little work is not intended to be definitive – I am a historian, not a theologian. But I hope that from this work, the Holy Spirit will deeply convict the reader to seek to grow in the knowledge of biblical doctrine and even theology. This seeking begins on our knees asking God to not only convict but also commit us to the diligent and proper study of His Word that we might live in this world rightly and soundly, glorifying Him.

Ah, you need a motivator? How about fulfilled prophesy?

2Ti 4:3-4 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, (4) and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

John Owen wrote:

“But in general, to be spiritually minded in an eminent degree, they cannot but esteem it a thing excellent and desirable; - but it is for them who are more at leisure than they are; their circumstances and occasions require them to satisfy themselves with an inferior measure.”

To clarify what Owen was saying, most folks won’t take the time or make the effort to do the work needed to have a sound and clear knowledge of the faith. That’s for the paid holy men or folks with nothing better to do.

Owen says of those who fail to put their spiritual (Christian) duties above all others:

“And where it is thus, this grace can never thrive or flourish, it can never advance unto any eminent degree.”

We have raised several generations of crippled Christians. Repentance is the only recourse we have to rectify our failure.

Three Things Part 1

When asked to explain my faith, I always begin with the simple statement that as a believer in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Redeemer, I am obligated to three things:

1. To love God;
2. To love my neighbor; and
3. To love those who choose to be and act as an enemy towards me (since I, as His follower, do not have the right to be anyone’s enemy).

Needless to say, this is not at all what they expect. They expect some, “How I came to Jesus,” story or a lot of references to sin and obedience, etc. I sadly fail to meet their expectations.

I always start with loving God. Why? Well, unless they can, at least for the sake of argument, consider that there is a God, what’s the point?

Now – here’s your work:

Write down all you know and understand about God. Please give careful consideration to His sovereignty, justice, holiness, love, hate, goodness, judgment, condemnation, mercy and grace as sub-headings for your work.

I know that God is holy. He said so. But what, pray tell, does that mean?

I know that God is sovereign but what does that sovereignty mean?

Get my drift?

For the redeemed, these are critical issues for growth. For the unredeemed, they are critical questions to consider.

Oh, it’s much more fun to know about spiritual gifts, miraculous probabilities and the neat stories, but without a sound knowledge and understanding of God, His character and attributes, everything else is just stuff.

What do you know and understand of His omniscience, omnipresence, etc.?

Mmmmmm. Ouch?

This is, of course, work that needs to be done. If you don’t ever increase your knowledge and understanding of God, how do you know if you are loving Him or not? Of more concern, how do you know if it’s the God of the scriptures you are loving?

Think about food. Are there foods you “love”? I had several favorite foods until I got to know and understand what was in them. Now I steer clear. I love lobster – then I discovered that they are carrion eaters (eaters of dead stuff like buzzards), no lobster, thank you.

Knowledge and understanding increase our ability to make wise choices. “God is good”! is a correct statement, but unless you understand His goodness, His sovereignty and His holiness, you’re going to have a hard time whenever the compost hits the oscillating blades!

No, I’m not going to admonish you to read your Bible. First, I shouldn’t have to and, second, just reading the scriptures will make your task harder and longer than it needs to be.

There are some excellent works that I would recommend:

Jame Frame:

The Doctrine of God;

The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God;

The Doctrine of the Word of God;

The Doctrine of the Christian Life;

D.A. Carson:

The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God

As well as the works of A.W. Tozer, John Owen, John Newton and for the hearty, the works of B.B. Warfield.

You might also want to get a dictionary of theological terms – there are some weird words out there.

Last, but never least, I suggest you get a copy of the Westminster Confession of Faith with the scripture references. It’s a great concise tool for guided study.

There are other authors I could have mentioned and many more I would warn you against. Please stay out of the “Christian Living” section of your local Bible bookstore. You will never get what you need for a solid and sound foundation there. Oh, you may find some good and neat stuff, but it’s mostly topical and sound-bite stuff – which is fine only if you already have a solid foundation.

Yeah, sounds like I’m promoting seminary doesn’t it? Seminary is fine, if you have the time and the $, but too many sound teachers have written too many sound works for you to have to do that. In retrospect, I believe that the only reason God moved me to go to seminary was so I might discover the wonder of the history of the church (my Master’s degree) and to sit under Dr. Jim North, a most diligent and wonderful church historian who made you feel you knew the people, times, places and events you studied. I learned from him that history is real people with real issues dealing with real events that have a direct bearing on real people and real issues and real events today and tomorrow.

More to come …………………………..

Copyright, Michael Sanders, 2012. All rights reserved.

a little piece of me 040612

A little piece of me…….  040612

I’ve shared this with a lot of folks but I want to get it “out there,” in the hope that the Lord will use it to strengthen you and close your ears to the lies Satan – and folks – have driven into your ears and hence into your heart.

In graduate school my first semester ended and the grades and class standing were listed.  I fought the desire to look for I knew it would be a disappointment.  Finally I had to look.

I was in shock.  There I was on the Dean’s List. – the good Dean’s List ;-}

I just knew this had to be a mistake.

I took the list off the board and went to the Dean’s office to show him the mistake.

He checked the records and told me there was no mistake; my GPA put me on the Dean’s List.

I didn’t believe him.

I put the list back on the board and walked away thinking that my professors had felt sorry for me and had given me grades I had not earned because they felt sorry for me.

Huh?

Yep – you see I grew up being told loudly and clearly that I was stupid, clumsy and a sissy.  My father worked very hard to convince me of that and he was good at it.  By the time I got to graduate school I had proven (to my satisfaction) that I was neither a clutz nor a sissy.  But stupid was hanging’ in.

I was a slave to my father’s demands, judgments and condemnations.  I still saw me as he taught me to see me.

So what’s the point?

Well, before Christ let me know I was His I was a slave to the demands, judgments and condemnation of Satan – sin and my flesh.  They defined me – utterly.  One common theme in this is, “Not good enough!”  I wasn’t good enough if I didn’t go out drinking.  I wasn’t good enough if I didn’t do the macho-tough guy thing.  I wasn’t good enough if I wasn’t sexually promiscuous.  I wasn’t good enough if I didn’t keep up with my sinful companions in most if not all of their sinful activities.

This was a sinful, warped and twisted legalism I was caught up in and I don’t think it was unusual.  I HAD to be as good as if not better than any other sinner in my sinning.

So, in come Jesus and the Spirit.  I am convicted of my sin, convinced of my need for redemption and begin to seek to live a righteous life.

BOOM ---- “Not good enough!!!!!!”

Everywhere I looked I saw my sin – still!  In the word, in the fellowship, in the “you have to’s” of older believers – I was not good enough.

What pray tell was the problem?

Simple – I walked into the Kingdom of God laying aside sins but still carrying the legalism I had been taught while I was in darkness.  Then I had not been good enough for the world the flesh or the devil – now I wasn’t good enough for God.

Don’t thin for a moment that unbelievers are free.  They are not only under the judgment of the laws of God BUT the world-flesh-and devil have their own laws they expect their servants to obey.

Izod golf shirts, alligator belts with silver monogramed buckles, green Army fatigues and white Adidas tennis shoes.  If you didn’t have ‘em you weren’t good enough.  If you wore only one or two of these items you were a poser.

Alcohol, drugs, sex are all criteria by which the world-flesh and devil measure us while we are in the darkness.  Sitting here writing there are three females who must be convinced that to expose as much of their bodies as possible in public is a good thing.  (Yeah- I’m keeping my eyes on the keyboard!!!!!

See, Satan is the greatest legalist there is.  With him, in his kingdom (?) there is no mercy, no grace – just judgment and condemnation for not being as obedient to him-the flesh and the world as you can be.

And this legalistic thinking walks right into the Kingdom of God – the Kingdom of grace - with us.

After the first liberating joy of finding we are His we soon fall victim to this legalistic poison.  We realize that we are not in ourselves worthy.  We are not good enough.  Oh, we knew that at the moment we realized our redemption but the poison is still flows.

Somehow we’ve come to believe that doing battle with the flesh and the sin that remains is a bad thing and calls into question our salvation.  But it is this very battle that confirms our redemption and affirms our faith.  Why else would we notice much less fight unrighteousness?

Grace is an alien concept to us and regardless of our maturation in the faith it will probably always be alien.  We have NO well of knowledge from which to draw that enables us to be completely comfortable with grace.  Maybe this is how it is supposed to be.

But we do have a lifetime of experience with legalism and condemnation.  We well know the devastating effects, the insidious schemes, and the toxicity of legalism.  We must battle its influence constantly both in regards to our walk with Him and our lives in general.

I still battle thoughts of being stupid – not good enough – socially, financially, professionally and spiritually.  But I always – all ways – remind myself who it is that’s doing the measuring.  Socially, financially professionally it is the world, the flesh and the devil.  Spiritually it is my Redeemer the One who knew my need and met that need completely.  I am not nor will I ever be good enough to be Him.  But by His grace and because of His work he has made me good enough to be His and He keeps me there regardless.

Comments?

Churching 032812

James 4:4  You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

I’ve just finished reading, The Churching of America 1776-2005 1776-2005 by Finke and Stark and am greatly stunned by what they found in their studies.  The clarity and focus of this work makes it a must read for anyone concerned with the direction the Church is taking and the reasons for it.

They uncover a process the church, at least in the USA, seems to follow.  To put it in my own words you have a small group who reject the status quo of the established “church” and forms a sect.  The sect is marked by an “other-worldly” perspective, a high cost or commitment and a high degree of tension with the culture in which it exists.  However, over time as the sect grows more affluent and larger it seems it begins to seek accommodation with the culture and an institution (as opposed to a Body) is formed.  As this takes place the cost/commitment of membership decreases and the institution begins to suffer in numbers and effectiveness.  Then, a small group of members, dissatisfied with the status quo ------- and over and over.

The whole process revolves, in my view, around a desire to have the acceptance of and credibility in the culture in which it exists.  Unfortunately the shift is also one from serving the Lord in individual and corporate growth in holiness to serving the “world” in the manner the world dictates.  I would hazard to suggest that at the point at which the institution makes a definitive switch in servant hood the Holy Spirit is left little recourse but to influence those still sensitive to His influence to resist the switch and ultimately move on.

One place the authors do not delve into, although they do touch on it and its consequences, is the area of the education of Pastors.  It seems that the higher the education of the Pastors the greater the susceptibility of accommodation with the culture.  Early on one acquired a Bachelors of Theology in order to be considered for ordination.  Today, since the 70s, one is typically required to have a Masters of Divinity for ordination.  The M. Div. is considered a “professional” degree (actually it’s a B. Div./B. Th. on steroids).

But here’s my quandary.  In the early days of our nation the Gospel was spread (usually) by well-trained but poorly educated intenerate preachers.  They were as well educated as those they served; more poorly paid than their “professional” counterparts and almost always died young.  It was these men who moved the church into the frontier, who tilled the soul-soil and planted the seeds and with great success.  However, the established “church” saw them as a disfigurement on the Body of Christ mostly due to their lack of formal education, their rough and ready attitudes and their lack of social graces.

The issue, for me, breaks down into “professional” verses “vocational.”  Now the two are not mutually exclusive but of the two it is the vocational that has consistently fueled the health and growth of the Body of Christ.  In the 1700 and 1800’s a man who had a sense of “calling” usually had demonstrated some skill in ministry through teaching and otherwise serving the Body.  Determined competent by his peers he would be ordained of commissioned to preach and perform the duties of a Pastor.  Where these men may not have been theologically, philosophically or socially astute as their seminary trained counterparts they were much more effective in fulfilling the Great Commission.

When we lower the minister to the level of the Doctor, Lawyer, Engineer, etc. we rob him of the true nature of his authority and limit the breadth of his work.  It is not the role off the ministry to engage the culture or science or cults.  It is the role of the ministry to:

Eph. 4:12 -  to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes

It is the duty of the pastor to shepherd the flock – and the flock is solely composed of the redeemed.

Back to my issue.  It seems that the more “successful” the “church” or “denomination” the greater the propensity for friendship with the world.  The greater the desire to be accepted and lauded by the community.  The greater the pull to be relevant to the unredeemed.  We want to be liked and valued – even as a “church.”

Accommodation is the only step to compromise which is the only step to apostasy.

Friendship – phileos – love for the world is as much (if not more) a corporate (church) issue as it is an individual issue.  It is adultery,  it is idolatry.  It begins with a desire for what the world tells you you need (church or individual) and then a lust grows and – well ------

James 1: 14 But each person ( and I would say “church”) is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

The question individual bodies of believers need to be asking is NOT are we growing numerically.  That is not our job (see Acts 2:47b).  Our job – our and in the church’s and especially the leaders is to:

Eph. 4:12 -  to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

So that the church can resist:

James 1: 14 But each person ( and I would say “church”) is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

What, “things of the world,” does the Bride of Christ seem to be enamored with?  Where does the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life assail her?  What wrongly directed desires doe she hold in her heart?

She’s not a victim – except of her own desires.

Half empty? Half full? 032612

Half empty or half full?

Heb. 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely

Are you a, “the glass is half empty,” or a “the glass is half full,” kind of person?

I’m a, “the glass is always full,” kind of guy.

The glass may be half full (or empty) of water but the rest is filled up with air.  So, it is really always full.

Are you a, “don’t sin,” or a “do good works,” person?

OK, we all sin and we’re all gonna sin till He returns BUT if you are just a “don’t sin,” person you are gonna have a tough time!

We are to lay aside every weight and sin which clings.  But that’s not the end of it!!!!!!!  We are to do that and then RUN.

What’s this “run” thing?

Duhhhhhhhh…….

It’s doing the work He prepared for us to do –

Duhhhhhhhh…….

Now, I’m not JUST talking about feeding the hungry or visiting the sick.  Yes, we need to be doing communal good deeds.  But the real work begins in us – working on our knowledge and understanding of our faith so we can better  and more faithfully live it out.

Trust me – or rather Him (I’m just telling)  if you work on:

Phil.4: 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

OR

2 Cor. 10:  . . . . take every thought captive to obey Christ.

sin will slowly diminish in your life.  It may never go away but it will begin to die.

You can’t DO a DON’T – you’ve got to DO a DO.  That’s where our focus needs to be.

From the bottom of our hearts to the far flung mission fields we need to be about doing our work he prepared.

It starts in our hearts.

2 Thes. 2: 16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

Note:  Comfort and ESTABLISH our HEARTS – in every good WORK AND WORD!

ESTABLISH: στηριζω   sterizo:  to set fast, i. e. ( literally) to turn resolutely in a certain direction, or ( figuratively) to confirm: — fix, ( e-) stablish, stedfastly set, strengthen, to make stable, place firmly, set fast, fix to strengthen, make firm to render constant, confirm, one's mind.

 

IN: preposition denoting (fixed) position (in place, time or state), and (by implication) instrumentality

It is through both the work and the word that our hearts are established – not by not sinning.

It is a both/and.  The Word instructs and directs and then the Work confirms and encourages.

Oh – just in case you forgot – the Spirit works in this mightily – and constantly.

Think of Words and Works as the hay and mud the Spirit uses to make strong durable bricks as He builds you up in Christ.

Yes, I will always struggle against the flesh and with sin BUT my intent is not to not sin.  Rather my intent is to so engage the work and the word that sin finds little opportunity.

Sin loves a vacuum.  Fill your cup with the work and the word and sin will find little room.

Curses 032212

Curses

Interesting things.

Especially

God’s curses.

Gal. 3:10

• g2671. καταρα katara; from 2596 (intensive) and 685; imprecation, execration: — curse (- d, ing).  AV (6)- curse 3, cursing 2, cursed 1;   an execration, imprecation, curse.

A curse

isn’t only

a thing

It is

a state,

a condition.

To be “cursed”

Is to

mnot

be “blessed.”

It’s like

Being

in the light

or

not.

Outside the light

there is only darkness.

Being

in the darkness

has its own

consequences.

Try it.

Go into a room

at night

and turn out the lights

Now,

walk normally across the room.

Get it?

You hesitate.

Why?

Because

you can not see.

Oh, you have

a vague

memory

of where the furniture is

but you don’t know.

You hesitate?

You don’t want to stumble and fall.

Being

under a (or the)

curse

is a

state

or

condition

in which

injury (something bad happening)

is more probable

than

not.

Curse (darkness)

is

the absence

of

light (blessing).

So,

When we read

John 3:19-20

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.  For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.

We

have to scratch our heads

and wonder

how dumb

we can be.

Now, I ask,

since the light

is in the world

where do

the evil lovers go?

Mmmmmmm?

Never more safe .......

021312

Never more safe.....

"We are never more safe, never have more reason to expect the Lord's help, than when we are sensible that we can do nothing without His help."

"He has a sovereign right to do with us as He pleases; and if we consider what we are, surely we will confess we have no reason to complain; and to those who seek Him, His sovereignty is exercised in the way of grace.  All shall work together for good; everything is needful that he sends; nothing can be needful that He withholds."  John Newton

Do you ever find yourself feeling and perhaps thinking that Jesus is only concerned about you occasionally?  Do you ever feel as though the Holy Spirit is more a visitor than a resident?  Do you sometimes feel estranged from God?

Some of us do - some not so much.  But perhaps, for many of us, it is we who are strangers, we who are occasional.

They say there are no atheists in foxholes - and there are probably fewer in the oncologist's office.  But we cannot offer such people anything more than the gospel - which - if they are called, is sufficient and more so.

It is the Child of God with which I am concerned.  That one whom from all eternity is God's however lately they have discovered it - or it has discovered them.

It is a easy thing to be redeemed and no harder to remains so yet that assurance is constantly attacked by the desire for it all now.

"Satan wispers in our ears, "Why does God delay?"  Satan hint that, "Perhaps you have so displeased Him that He has left you."  The evil air carried all the wisperings of Satan and never more so that when our flesh is pinched or crushed by our circumstances. 

There is a point where even the mighty oak is neither nut nor tree but both.  As God works His wonderousnand observable will upon the acorn to grow His mighty Oak there is indeed a time of vulnerability.  We as we grow from nut to tree may have a sense of vulnerability but since God's intent is that we be oaks we must trust that indeed we will.

But let us not I imagine all oaks are or all nuts will be identical trees.  Certainly the nature and the attributes of every oak are alike or similar and so it is with each of us.  Yet God does not create or call His from an assembly line.  We are all, in Him, the same - but different.  It is to the "likeness" of Christ He mofes and mold us.  That is likeness not sameness.  We will never be and we were never intended to be Christ - rather to be like Him.

Tall, short, thin, stout, fast slow -- oh what variety God has among His people and how wonderfully does He fit that likeness of Christ upon each individual unique child.  You - are to You in Him.  I am to be I.  We are to have I common His righteousness.  Whether we have else in common is irrelevant. 

You may like purple I may like orange yet we both are His.  I may prefer quiet reflexion you may prefer joyous and lud praise yet we are both His.

In all of this we share the circunstance of living in a world who prince is set upon our injury.  He cannot destroy us but he can do us grevous injury.  As any prince he has his subjects and whether they know or acknowledge it they serve him and him alone.  It is the enhancement of the damnation of the u redeemed and the confusion and frustration of the redeemed that is their only goal.  This danger we, the sales of the Lord of Lords, also share in common.

Whether directly or indirectly all the Redeemed are always under attack.  If the prince of this world hates us and aims at our destruction, it is not possible even though unaware, that his servants do not aim at the same end.

IN ALL THIS - regardless of its intensity or duration we need only hold to one thought:

Phi 1:6  And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.� ESV

In this we see all.  Beginning - bringing and completion. 

Forget not who HE is.  Forget not who we are, HIS.

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Jam 4:1-6

Chapter 4

Warning Against Worldliness

1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

� ESV

Tit 2:11-13

11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self- controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

� ESV

Heb 12:7-14

7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.  12 Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. 14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

� ESV

Phi 4:11-14

11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.� ESV

Jumping over Judges

It is not that the book of Judges is not important.  It is!  If nothing else, Judges should convince the reader that when it comes to following God, we are just going to do our own thing.
Moses (God) was right.   The influence of the paga peopke left in the land was just too irresistable.  Jesus put it this way, "A little leaven, leavens the whole."

I strongly encourage you to read Judges.  My favorite is Ehud and Patti loves Jael.

The point of reding Judges is to get a clear picture of God's people as we move into 1 Samuel.

We have to banish this false picture we have.  We tend to idolize Israel in the OT as though they got it right.  They didn't - and haen't yet.  Of course you have to keep in mind that we never get it right either -duhh- that's the whole need for a Redeemer.

Just read Judges - get the feel of the culture, coditions and the compromise.  Then start reading 1 Samuel.

As we read and study the Prophets keep some notes on the knowledge you gain.
What is normative (what does God expect)?
What is the situation/context?
What are the people doing/experiencing?

REMEMBER, this is HISTORY not fiction ----  it's real ---- what does it tell you?