Anxious? To be or not!

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 

Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 

(Mat 6:27) KJV

How "powerful" am I really?  Sometimes i find myself thinking I'm pretty powerful.  That is a mistake!  Not that i have no talents, skills of abilities but I forget who they come from and who makes them effective.  

It's hard to keep in mind, when we are doing good stuff, that it is all totally dependent upon Him - totally - utterly - of Him.

I was once advised to; "Pray as though it all depended upon God and to work as though it all depended upon me."  Not good advise!  I now "Pray because it all depends upon God and I work (or try to) in utter dependence upon Him."

I can't help but think of Saul (later to be known as Paul).  He was "the man" (or at least one of them) in the Jewish religious institutions.  He knew god, the Law, the traditions and by his own statement he was "the man."  All that talent and training and effort--etc. and he still went the wrong way.

I think, that among other issues, Saul depended upon Saul a lot.  I think it was something he dealt with through out his life and ministry.  This is common to most of us and yet we need to pray for a sensitivity to it or accept the thorn that reminds us of it.

As i consider this passage from Matthew and the issue of anxiety I am mindful of what James wrote:

From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.   (Jas 4:1-3)

Now if our lusts can cause such distress among us surely they will cause the same within us.  I can't help but consider that this is a great source of anxiety within the individual believers life.  

What if, in affliction I struggle with praying for God will to be done and/or my relief/comfort/rescue/etc.   I struggle with the fact that God is glorified in my weakness - even in my affliction and yet I want it to be over.  This conflict just adds to the anxiety i experience.

It's the, "not my will but thine," conundrum.  I get anxious concerning His will and my will being - well - different.  It's not easy!  Certainly I do not face the same cup Christ faced but our "cups" are always BIG to us.  

But, there is one thing I find comfort in even in the cunnundrum!

Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. 
(Luk 22:42-43)

Two things here.  First, Jesus did not hesitate to take His concern to His Father.  He quite clearly asks for this "cup" to be removed.  So I take that to mean I may do the same.  It also means I need to be willing to pray the whole prayer with one addition --- that we may have missed.

I will also pray for God's strengthening whether by the appearance of an angel, the presence of an angel, direct from God or through the Word and the Spirit (not to leave out the Body).  

Father,
You know my anxiety and fretfulness in the current circumstances.  You know I want You to make them go away.  You know my weakness - my fleshiness - my self-centeredness.  You know much more of my struggle than even I do.

I want to run from the circumstance but I fear that I would be running from You as well.  That I do not want to do.  I have been there and done that and I know it is not good.

I would ask for Your strengthening and Your comfort.  I would also ask You to show me You in all this.  The enemies assail my heart and torment my head and I need to hear You more clearly.

I am sadly afraid - but I take comfort in my Savior's prayer and His surrender to You will for us.  I want very much to do the same but my feet feel frozen and I grow anxious - very anxious.  I want to ask You to "help my unbelief," for I can't pretend there is no unblief in my mind and heart.  I believe - help my unbelief!!!

Sound bites from God ;-}

I've been reading Psalm 119 a lot recently and it suddenly came to my mind that I was reading them more like a long list of proverbs that one continuous Psalm.  No, I'm not coming up with some new theory on Psalm 119 but I find it interesting how some verses really speak to where I am and others, well, don't.  

I't kind of like "sound-bites" only inspired.  

Take  Psalm 119:49-50 ESV
Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope. [50] This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life.

I really love that passage and I find it gets my head and heart back on track when I am distracted or distressed.  But it is followed by:


Psalm 119:51 ESV
The insolent utterly deride me, but I do not turn away from your law.

Which does not, as far as I can tell, speak to my circumstances.  So there is kind of a "disconnect" in the flow of my reading.

Then the Psalmist writes:


Psalm 119:52 ESV
When I think of your rules from of old, I take comfort, O LORD.

Which gets my closer to sensing a flow.

Now, we can't be picking and choosing our verses willy-nilly.  We need the whole counsel of God.  However, sometimes it's not the "flow" of our reading that the Spirit desires to lay on our hearts but just a smidgen (small piece) of it.  

Having said that I would suggest, as came to mind, that the "insolent" who "utterly deride me" are always identifiable as the world the flesh and the devil.  So the "disconnect" is "spliced" back together.

All this is to merely suggest that when we are going to the Word we should not go looking for what we want as much as looking for what He/His Spirit knows we need.  Once our spirits are affected by a verse or two it will do us well to consider why that might be and how, even if it strains our brains, the verse before and after play a part in that.

We should be reading the Word in a studious manner but we may read it as a love letter as well.  Studying His word is work and we should all be about that as we are able.  But, I think that His Word should also be a "scavenger hunt" as well.

We should always feel free - even compelled - to go to His work to find His provision for our need.  Sometimes we may well be preparing some strong theological lesson - but other times we just need a - well - hug from His Word.  That's what I've learned from my reading of Psalm 119.  

I love the emphasis Alistair Begg makes of the "main and plain" things of scripture.  I have no problem believing that God is not playing hide and seek with us in His Word.  What He has for us, what He desires for us, what He desires from and of us is plain.  It may be in right in the middle of one of Paul's mighty theological statements but it is that one verse (not abusive of the context) that God desires us to have.

I got to this as I was looking through scripture concerning the promises of God.  That's how I stumbled upon Psalm 119:49&50.  and that;s how I started reading the whole Psalm.  But I still am encouraged and humbled and joyful when I read (actually remember) -


Psalm 119:49-50 ESV
Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope. [50] This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life.

This is my "sound-bite" that expands into comfort and encouragement as I struggle wait upon Him.  

Soooooo, don't go willy-nilly to the Word but go trusting Him to lead you to the main and plain Word that you need.

Interesting Distinction

As I read the Puritans I keep running up on two terms they use that I find a real aid to my understanding and prayer.  The words are "comfort," and "ease."  

In most of the works I've read, comfort is always used in the context of affliction and/or distress.  It is what God provides for us to persevere in our faithfulness.  This comfort may be found in scripture, it may be found in prayer, i may be found in faithful family and friends. It is, however, in the writings of the Puritans, found in times of difficulty.

Ease on the other hand is that condition which is a danger to the believer.  When we are at 'ease"we do not sense any challenge of affliction.  We are prosperous and contented with right where we are.  This is a very dangerous place.  Ease encourages a weakening of the believer in their duties.  Ease encourages a lessening of our watchfulness.  Ease encourages a lessening of our intentional growth in His likeness.  

Ease is a dangerous place.  Comfort is a difficult place.

Ease is when we forget we are engaged in a continuous battle with the world, the flesh and the devil.  We let our guard slip just a little bit.  We don't pray quite so often or passionately.  We are not in the Word quite so often.  We have a deceptive sense that everything is A-OK.  God is in His heaven and all is right with the world.

It is a hard thing when our ease is interrupted, when we have grown just lax enough for our loving Father to press us with His discipline.  We are shocked and dismayed.  We may grumble and murmur.  We can grow resentful and sinfully fearful.

It is here where we must seek His comfort and not His comfort alone but His instruction.  there is always something to learn when we are being disciplined.  Sometimes discovering the point of the discipline is comforting - sometimes it drives us to Him.

I would encourage you, if you are at ease, to consider the dangers.

I would encourage you, if you are in distress to not wait for it to drive you to Him but go to Him now and regularly.  Energize yourself in your duties, cling to His promise, look to Him for all things.


2 Corinthians 1:3-5 ESV
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, [4] who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. [5] For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.

MS
msanders.bc@gmail.com

Grey day - hopeful heart - a prayer

031113

It's a cold and foggy day, just made for a fire and a good book.  But, maybe for some it's just a grey day.  You know, one of those days where you can only see so far, your a little stressed by the fogginess not sure what's ahead.

Well, as I think about that I realize that even without the fog our ability to see what's ahead is still limited.  It's the shrinking of that ability that makes is seem worse.  So I went to the Word to find some encouragement.  I didn't want to go for all the common, be joyful or don't worry, or fear not verse.  I wanted something fresh - and I think I found it.

We read the scriptures and if we're honest, there are parts that we are so familiar with that we fly right past them.  There are also parts that we may read but we don't expect to gain any great insight from.  The introductions and and endings of the epistles are one example.

But today I found a real gem - at  least for me.


2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 ESV
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.

Read it    s l o w l y.

I realized that it is so easy to get so fixed on the issues Patti and I face and that those we're close to face that I forget - well - you guys.  Of course not knowing your circumstances or needs it's a bit difficult to pray knowingly.  But here in these verses I found a prayer I can pray for us all - all the time - with GREAT confidence.

It would only require a little change to be utterly inclusive.

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 ESV

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  (OUR)   hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

I plan to memorize this benediction - not to be used as some vain repetition but rather as a whole hearted supplication for us all.  I find that for me, it's short, sweet and right on point.

Over the past few days I have been kind of hooked (ok, obsessed) with the whole idea of comfort.  In my initial study I am beginning to see that "comfort" is what we need in distress and not in good times.  So far in the Word I find comfort more mentioned more often in regards to trials than as a blessing that stands alone.   I hope to continue to understand comfort and our need for it and hope to share what I find with you.

But - to close - Please know that there is a scruffy old sheepdog our here going to the throne of grace beseeching our Lord for your comfort and that it enables you to continue in every good work and word.

M(S)S

A Melancholy Faith 001

A Melacholy Faith 001

This series is intended for all of my brothers and sisters whose faith is a melancholy faith.  In plain English - it's for those, who like me, suffer from depression.
Our affliction is nothing new and certainly nothing exceptional.  It just is.  And becasue it "is" we need to understand what it means in the context of our faith and how we can have a strong and vibrant (if not a "yeeeee-haaaaa) faith.
It is my prayer that you will be encouraged, comforted and blessed as we walk in this together.  No, not necessarily happy, giddy or relieved - but if that happens that's well and good.  But as nothing can seperate us from the love of God, nothing can seperate us from the providence of God - nor can anything (except our refusal) keep us from being good and useful servants.
Please feel free to write or comment as we go along.  I don't have ll the answers but I know who does.  Also - if you are close to someone who has to deal with melacholy - please don't hesitate to share this with them.
sheepdog.ms@gmail.com

Depression?  Melacholy?  Huh?  

I've chosen to use the word melacholy instead of depression for a could of reasons.  the first is that when we talk about depression, too many people think they know what we're talking about.  Most don't.  For most depression is either just a bad case of the "blues," to be "gotten over," or it is some horrible, dar, deep flaw in one's mind.  It is neither!

The second reason I use the word melacholy is because it is a word we don't use very often and hence most folks have little problem asking for an explanation.

The third reason is that the Puritans of the 17th century "got it."  They knew, understood and appreciated "depression" which they called melacholy.  No, they didn't understand the neuro-chemical aspect of the affliction but they were not too far off.  However - they we very insistant on two things.  Being melacholy did not demonstrate any defect in the believer's faith and that sin made it worse.  They also made it clear that those who suffered melacholy should be understood and their affliction respected kindly and gently.

Now remember I am a Biblical Counselor and not a psychiatrist - so although I work closely with some psych's I in no way have their knowledge and understanding.  I say that because in the course of my own treatment for melacholy I have learned that it can manifest itself in a lot of different shades of blue.  It can be of short duration or long.  It can be cyclical with big dips below the line.  It can be exacerbated and or triggered by people, places, event, occassions and even nothing.

So my approach to melacholy is informed by my work with psych's (I use the abbreviation respectfully) to whom I owe a great deal of thanks.  But my approach is biblical - or threological, or doctrinal - take your pick.  I am concerned with your heart and soul.  I am concerned with your confidence in Christ and your comfortable assurance of your redemption.  I am also concerned with your service to God which, although it may be limited by our affliction, is no less valuable and necessary.

As we journey forward I hope we will keep in mind the words of Paul:

2 Corinthians 1:3-7 ESV
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, [4] who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. [5] For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. [6] If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. [7] Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

"Comfort"
Comfort is only necessary in affliction.  Ten times Paul uses some form of the term.  It can be "warm fuzzies" but it is actually more solid that that.  Where Paul wrote "who comforts us in all our afflictions," in verse four he uses the form of the word that means, "to call near."  What Paul wants us to see is that in affliction and suffering, God calls us to come near to Him.  

"Comfort"
"so that we may be able to comfort those..."  Same word - same idea.  We are to "call them near" in order to comfort them.

"Comfort" ????
This comfort is grounded upon our salvation not our circumstances.  But it is sooooo
common for our salvation to fade when we are afflicted and/or suffering.  When I drop a heavy weight on my foot, I hardly ever think of heaven.  When afflicted and/or suffering our attention is captive to our affliction and/or suffering.

Here's the tough part.  Is the promise of salvation (which is secure) enough to keep us going even in the midst of affliction and/or suffering?  This is why this word "comfort" also carries the idea of the comforter exhorting and encourageing the one in need of comfort.  If indeed "heaven" is our greatest desire, the secure promise of it should have a comforting value for us.  But, as I said, it is common in affliction/suffering for us to not see and certainly not "feel" it.

"Comfort"
Comfort is not relief but comes with the hope of promised relief.  For us that "relief" may well not come until we are with Him.  Our comfort is our trust in that hope, the assurance we have in Christ.  In is not uncommon for it to be a real battle to be comforted - but that's where comforters and THE Comforter come in.  Those who have grasped the comfort given by the Comforter are obliged to call those in need of comfort to come alongside them and walk together in exhortation and encouragement.

And so - I call you to come alongside me - to call others in need of comfort to come as well - that we might exhort and encourage one another in our afflcition/suffering.

Finger Thinking 010313 Doom and Gloom?

Finger Thinking 010313
Doom and Gloom

I have no problem with the "doom" thing.  He's got me covered on that.  But the "gloom" thing is another matter.

Maybe it's just me and our circumstances :-X  But I don't need any more worry than I develop all by myself.  How about you?

My situation - and that of some folks very dear to me - are bad and looking like (I said looking like) they are not going to get better - I conjure up the getting worse part without any encouragement - thank you very much.

So what do we do with the "gloom" part?

First - don't let it get it's hooks into you.  If He is in charge everything is really ok whether we feel it is or not.  It's very easy to get caught up in the "The sky is falling...," thing and once it has you it doesn't let go so easy.  Also keep in mind that "fear" sells and the more afraid I can make you the more I can sell you.

For me avoiding all the fear mongering is as much a part of resisting the devil and changing the channel when a V's Secret commercial comes on.  Remember the devil is a roaring lion and what he wants to do is get you to run from him right into the rest of the pride.  (It's the lionesses that do most of the killing).

Second - get your head in the Word - I don't much care where you start but get into it and get it into you.  Of course the Psalms are wonderful in helping us see that God works for His and that what we face is not new.

Third - pray (or maybe first ;-}).  Pray that you won't be distracted from Him and His work by all the hoopla and fear mongering.  Again, the Psalms - read them, pray them, sing them - they are good!!! 

Also dive into the book of Acts - there is real insight and assurance and comfort there.  If God got them through all they faced He'll get us through too.

Fourth - FELLOWSHIP ! ! !  It's about time the body began to take better care of itself instead of going to war with the culture.  "We" - believers - need to take a lesson from the book of Acts and start taking better care of one another.  That includes sharing our needs and fears and encouraging one another.  Isolation is a killer and it is definitely not "being one" as He prayered we would be.  To be alone in your fear and concern is about as smart as being locked in a room with a hungry lion - who do you think's going to leave the room?

We get together and pretend we'll all just fine and then we go home and it all crashes down.  Ok - so maybe it's just me (and some friends) that experiences that.  But any review of the "one anothers" in the Word should convict us that we've surrendered, refused, rejected, lost -- or something -- the "oneness" and all the encouragement and comfort that brings.  

I'm not talking "pity parties" but sound and safe gatherings where we can share and seek, seek and share TOGETHER about real specific things.  Why don't we do that?  who came up with the idea that any of "us" were ok without the rest of "us?"

I spent some time today with a dear friend discussing real issues that the "fear" factor is raising.  We didn't chew on the big scary things we're hearing and seeing.  But we did have a sound and encouraging conversaion about trusting God in the middle of whatever mess is coming. 

Yeah, we did some, "What will you do if," stuff.  We even got into standard, "had you been in Nazi Germany......," discussion.  But what was so wonderful is that we both abdicated our choices to Him and His will.  We worked hard on discerning the boundaries by which a believer is constrained.  For me it was a wonderful and powerful time of sharing and encouraging.  It really meant a lot.

When all is said and done we have to come back to the main and plain:

Proverbs 3:5-8 ESV
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. [6] In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. [7] Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. [8] It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.

Let us pray and consider how we might come together and encourage one another in this.  Let us pray and consider being not an institution but a body of believing men and women seeking to serve and submit to Him while we await His dispelling of the gloom.

We need one another.  He knew that.  He prayed for that.  Let's do that!

Anybody in Greensboro - or close by up for that?

sheepdog.ms@gmail.com

010313

Journal 001

Oh Lord, what more do I need to learn before You deliver me from these shadows?
I know that You discipline Yur chidren out of love.
I know that we are those through who you manifest Your glory.
But Lord, it's is so hard when we don't see the why and how of either.

You teach us to trust You by our being in need of trusting You.
Sometimes that means hard and cold places.
But they are indeed hard and cold and frightening.

We are so prone to seek ways to placate You.
But that is our error, our flesh.
You are not a God like othere gods.
Who can be bought or bribed.

You are not a God like other gods who demand their pound of flesh.

Indeed, You have cancelled our debt.
Your Son has aid the price for our redemption.
We owe You nothing but love, thanks and duty.

Yet we are week and the flesh cries out to be heard.
The flesh, so steeped in the world, so intwined with covetousness,
cries out, "Lie, a lie, you have been a fool."

But Lord, our hearts know better though our flesh denies.
What help Oh Lord can You send as we stand in the shadows?
What is the Comforters comfort.
Is there no loner provision - Oh but there is.

Lord, we cry out to You for deliverance
from our troubes.
And yet we desire gretly to wait uon You
wonderous works.

When there is no comfort here,
we so long to be with You.
and yet even in that You command.
But our hearts weaken and we cry out.

We ask Your deliverance from our troubles,
provision to just be reieved of our anxiousness.
We beg Your mercy and blessing
yet we fear our duplicity in them.

Oh Lord - help us to see and feel
the comfort we know You have given
the comfort You are giving.

We have grow blind and insensitive.
We have grown weiry and weak.
Oh Lord, though our travail
may indeed be trivial
Yet is is travail and it is ours
and it hurts.

Comfort us
lead us out of these shadows
let us sit and labor in peace and strength.

This and That Kind of a weird good news 101612

There still remains some wildness in the thoughts and fancies of the best Christians, to humble them; but if you find a concern before to prevent them, and opposition against them when they come, and grief and sorrow afterward, you find enough to clear you from the charge of reigning hypocrisy.  John Flavel

For all the bad press the Puritans get it's amazing how it's refuted when we actually read their works.  But they we a practical and realistic people who knew that living here for Him is a moment by moment fight.  They also knew that sometimes we get whipped.

They knew that the great victory was sure but they also knew some battles would go to the other side.  Their works are full of comforts like those above.  Read and consider the following:

If any upright soul should hence infer, 'I am a hypocrite too, for many times my heart departs from God in duty; do what I can, yet I cannot hold it close with God!' I answer, the very objection carries in it its own solution. You say, 'Do what I can, yet I cannot keep my heart with God.' Soul, if you do what you can, you have the blessing of an upright, though God sees good to exercise you under the affliction of a discomposed heart.  John Flavel

Though I hate to use the term, this middle ground or no-mans-land where the fighting is tooth and tallon is where we tend to be condeming when we ought not.  From the above quote we can see that the Puritans understood the nature and measure of the battle we fight and they considered fighting them evidence of our uprightness in Him.

Who else but a believer would be concerned with potential hypocricy?  Who else but a believer would have any conerns God-ward?  Who else but a believer would concern themselves with living out the faith?

We need to see our struggles as comforts and encouragements - as evidences that we are of the faith.  To be able to see and to be broken by the fact that we are not good enough to apporach the throne is to celebrate and acknowledge His grace and love.  Dead men and women do not so worry and distress themselves.  They can't, they are dead.  They may pretend to life, somehow being animated in a religious fashion but they are dead pretenders, hypocrites.

You, however, who have great and grave concern for the honor and glory of God in your lives, should, even in the midst of your weeping, rejoice that God has so softened and enlivened your heart that you may be broken.  Oh that all men and women would be so tender hearted - so sensitive to sin.  A hypocrite never fears hypocricy for it is their normal condition.  You, however, find even the hint of hypocricy in your life to be a matter of crying out to God and drawing closer, tending to your duties with greater diligence and calling our for His provision in a loud and weeping voice.  

You also are blessed in recognizing the weakness of your strength and your need for Him.  You do all you can and it is not enough.  But dear brother and sister it would never be enough - it could never be enough.  This fact is as critical to the Gospel as any other.  Indeed it is the very furrow in which the seed of the Gospel is planted and grows.  How blessed are we who know our need for Him in all things especially in living for Him.

It fascinates me though that so many books are written about material, physical and even emotional struggles as being indicative of the state of our walks and yet so few books are written about the state of our hearts.  Is not the heart the very core of the matter?  Does not our Lord tell us that it is out of the heart evil comes?  And yet we see so few works addressing the heart.

You are at great loss materially and you question if you are His?  You are ill and wonder about His love?  You are living with some psychological or psychiatric conition and you doubt your usefulness to Him?

The problem is not your money or your helth our your mental condition.  the problem is your heart.  Poor, terminally ill or crazy as a loon, you are His, He loves you forever and is using you to His glory and honor.  You may not see it, you certainly may not feel it but I don't see the air and I don't feel the air and yet air is.  I'll be bold - He can not NOT love you and us you.  He paid too great a price to redeem you to let you sit on the bench.

Everyone of the struggles that make you cry out and reach out to Him is, at least in part, His calling you closer to Himself.  He will do it in His own way according to our need but it is done out of love.

1 Peter 4:6 Evangelizing the dead?

1Pe 4:6  For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.

Is this verse as fascinating for you as it is for me?  The Gospel preached to the dead?  Now, not all the dead but those who died with only the “hope” and “promise” of the Redeemer.  

This clears up a lot for me in terms of those who came before the promise was fulfilled.  

Peter can’t only refer to Jews here but to everyone who had died – everyone.

Now – here’s a twist.  The Gospel/method being preached is obviously God’s chosen means of the offered.  So much so that even the dead were (note the tense in the verse) “preached” to.  How important in God’s plan does that make preaching?  I’d have to say it’s right up there, wouldn’t you?

But how much time, thought, prayer, study and energy (not to mention money) is expended for the preaching of the Gospel?  Think about it.  We donate millions to combat abortion.  We donate millions to fight evolution.  We donate millions to take legal action against those who would limit our right of religious expression.  But where is the money for the Gospel?
Yes, I know it is spent in foreign mission and translation work for discovered people groups; but where else?

Radio and TV preaching/teaching is aimed a lot more at the choir than the pews.  The messages on these shows may mention the Gospel indirectly, but the Gospel, God’s warning and call to men and women to the need and provision of salvation – not so much.  The invitational or confrontational part of the Gospel – the “choose” part is missing.

Perhaps the worship service isn’t the place to present the Gospel – but then why are we encouraged to invite non-believers?  What can a gathering to worship a God they don’t believe in and to express a faith they reject do for them?  Yes, men and women are brought to the Gospel by attending a gathering of believers for worship – but isn’t that a very indirect and perhaps impersonal method?  Have we begun to see an invitation to church as somehow part of evangelism?  

To be honest, I worry about the position I put a non-believer in when I invite them to a gathering to worship a God they reject.  I worry as I see them sing hymns of praise to a God they are in rebellion against.  I cringe as they bow in prayer to a God they refuse.  I worry that they may assume that going to church is a good thing for them – in their non-belief.  

It seems we have come to a place where we are content to only share the Gospel on our terms in our house.  We have, it seems, given up the model we see especially in Acts where the Gospel is presented at every opportunity the Spirit provides.  Yes, I realize that the Gospel was preached in the homes of believers when believers gathered – but the Gospel and not doctrine was preached.

Evangelism has been cut loose from its personal, intimate component and I think I know why.  It’s embarrassing.  What?!?!?!?  Yeah – I said embarrassing.  How so?  Well, it (and we) may be rejected, ridiculed, made to feel stupid, maligned and perhaps sued.  That’s embarrassing.

We fear (and I include myself) have allowed the opposition to silence us – or at least to drive us underground or into our own territory.  The Gospel is three things.  First, it is the Good News; second it is a scandal; and third, it is foolishness

1Co 1:23  but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
Christ crucified = Good News
Christ crucified = stumbling block = scandal (offense)
Christ crucified = folly, silliness, absurdity

So, instead of boldly risking scandalizing others or appearing absurd, we either just shut up or we try to position our opportunities to our advantage – we play on our court.  Being the “home team,” keeps us safe – but it does not guarantee a “win.”

We’ve tried all sort of gimmicks, programs and events but even with these things, the sounding of the Gospel call has gotten more and more quiet until it is little more than a whisper – a hint.

And yet, the Gospel was preached to the dead.  Not to those in hell not to those in heaven but to those who were wherever dead people were at the time.  God uses the same means with the living and the dead – the Gospel preached.  When did we quit?  Why did we quit?  How can we quit our quittedness?

I have to share that in my tent-making, I have been careful not to wax biblical.  But I am beginning to not really care any more.  Wisdom is wisdom - truth is truth.  It is with no little amount of trepidation I choose to be more open about my true Core Values because it can cause me to lose business and even get sued.  But all they can do is take what I have and lock me away – right?  No, I don’t think I’ll be bursting into a sermon in the middle of a workshop or meeting, but I can talk to how what we believe directly impacts how we live and how we live affects how we live.

the gospel was preached even to those who are dead

We work, play, socialize, etc. with “dead” men and women every day.  Do we care that they are under the condemnation of God?  Are we willing to trust Him and to ask His grace to not only be sensitive to the opportunity but to be willing to take it?  Alistair Begg said something along the order of, “We need to ask God to make the opportunity and then embolden us to take the opportunity to share the Gospel.”  

The Gospel is not your, “How I Came to Jesus,” story.  The Gospel is the presentation of God’s gracious solution to mankind’s horrible condition.  It is the presentation of God’s gracious provision for mankind’s greatest need.  Everything else is explanation and decoration.

Wow - He's awesome!

Had a "business" meeting I was anxious about.  I was getting a little obsessed about it and kept rehearsing it in my mind.  of course this made doing anything else very difficult.

So I prayed - I simply told God that I was really tired of  "chewing" on it and that it was distracting me from other things he had given me to do.  I told Him quite plainly that I needed Him to take it out of my mind.  I told Him that I had concluded that it was something He had to deal with because obviously I was not getting anywhere.

The next day and then the morning of the meeting every time the meeting came to mind I found myself distracted away from it to do something constructive - something I could do.

Patti asked me how I was doing and I had to tell her that every time the meeting came to mind I seemed to forget it almost immediately.  it was like nothing I've ever experienced.

I went to the meeting with very little so say - and that I felt very calm about.  I said my "thing" and shut-up.  Once i had said my "piece" I was encouraging and gracious and calm.

What was so very interesting is that when I made my points there was no opposition or argument.  I said what I believed I needed to say and the meeting went on to other things.  that was absolutely un-expected.

Now maybe "my piece" was just ignored of blown-off but that was of no concern to me.  I had a peace and confidence that could only have one source.

Oh, the ramifications of the meeting and "my piece" may be used to injure me but ya know, I really can't work up any true concern about it.  I left the meeting in His hands and he did, in my view, a great job.  so, I'll leave the results of the meeting with Him as well and just keep doing what He hands me to do.

Now I know me well enough to know that I'll find something else to get all anxious about - but I also know that I'll have that meeting to remember and rest in.

Peter's pen is in edit and This and That(s) are in the works - thank you all for at least peaking at the blog - it's a real encouragement.
Michel
ms@tc2v1.com

This and That 091012b Oh, be careful but proud

When men have had enlargements in their expressions, and especially when they apprehend that others are satisfied or affected therewith, they are apt to have a secret self-pleasing in what they have done; which, before they are aware, turns into pride and a noxious elation of mind. 

Owen, John (2011-09-27). Grace and Duty of Being Spiritually Minded [Illustrated] (Kindle Locations 747-749).  . Kindle Edition.

From praise to pride is a very short journey.

From kudos to conceit is a just a step.

From glorifying Him to glorifying ourselves doesn’t take much of a nudge.

Doing works of ministry should certainly make us feel good.  But it is the good of the instrument not the good of the player.  I have heard the most beautiful music come from a simple Penny Whistle as well as a costly clarinet.  It was not the instrument but the musician.

Paul writes:  “In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God.” Rom 15:17

See, there is a humble and godly pride.  It is a pride of the instrument – the one through whom God makes His music.  It is, “in Christ!”

But it is also a danger.  The danger is when we allow ourselves to be carried away from the source – the means – the power of our performance. 

We all have skills and talents and they may or may not be our “spiritual gifts.”  But they are all gifts.  I work hard to differentiate between my skills and my “gifts.”  Though I thank God for them both they are not all given for the same use.  Yes, they are given for the purpose of glorifying God but they are not all useful in the works of ministry He has called us to.

Because of my upbringing and experience I have a lot of things I can do and do well.  The danger comes when I decide which are for His glory and which are just there.

I know this sounds strange but what talents etc., I use in my work and how I use them is not the same as when I am about His work.  Yes I know He is in it all but I discern a difference as I use them.  It is hard to explain but just because I can “X” does not mean He wants “X” to be of any importance in my work for Him. 

Pride comes in when I assume that I should use a talent or skill just because I can and in doing that I keep someone else from being able to use their gifts in His service.  Even when I think I might do it better, or especially when I think I might do it better, pride is there and I must sit still.

OK this is OOC (out of context) but the principle has helped me:

1Co 10:23-24  "All things are lawful," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful," but not all things build up.  (24)  Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.

Let me give you an extreme example.  I was given my first gun and taught to shoot when I was still in diapers.  I am a certified Revolver Master Marksman.  Now, pray tell, how do I use that for His glory?  I know I can think of lots of ways that skill might be used but there is no direct connection for me.

On the other hand, I was forced to take part in musicals and plays when I was very young.  Now understand I am a terminal introvert – so, at times I was whipped because I didn’t want to participate.  But, I learned to “do” extroverted things.  So, I use those skills in my work and my ministry.  Yeah, it’s hard to correlate being forced to do something with it being a “gift,” but it was – and is.

I have been told that I can be intimidating.  Now, when I was in law enforcement, that was a good thing – but “in Him,” not so much.

There are, what I call, seed gifts (no that’s not biblical) that have produced skills, talents and abilities that have are “gifts.”  The “acorn” isn’t the gift but the “oak” is.

I want you to know something I “think.”  I think that if you look back at both the blessings and trials that He has provided you will see the “acorns.”  Then, look for the “oaks.”  I have worked with a lot of brothers and sister who, at some point in their lives, experienced horrible things.  I have noticed that they are so focused on the trauma that they miss the “oak” in the yard. 

That of which many are ashamed can be used by Him to His glory in His work.

2Co 1:3-4  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,  (4)  who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

That’s just one way he uses our “acorns” to grow “oaks.”  But remember, we are not to take pride in our having been comforted rather we are to take pride in the comforter.

2Ti 2:20-21  Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable.  (21)  Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.

With Paul, let us:  :  “In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God.” Rom 15:17

This and That 090412 Comforted??

Men may look shy upon you, and alter their respects as your condition is altered; when Providence has blasted your estate, your summer-friends may grow strange, fearing you may be troublesome to them; but will God do so? No, no: “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” says he.   Flavel, John (2010-08-03). Keeping the Heart (Kindle Locations 402-404).  . Kindle Edition.

Flavel doesn’t hold much back.  His aim is true and his shot is straight.

When we face adversity, we have to remember that God is sovereign and that nothing comes but by way of His providence.  We also need to remember that it is only those whom He loves that he disciplines.  Though a comfort it does not make the adversity any more pleasant – as a matter of fact, God Himself tells us that no discipline seems pleasant when we are undergoing it.  So our being “not” pleased as we are disciplined (or as I prefer disciple) He is not offended that we struggle.

We can have confidence in God but other people, not so much.  Whether it comes from our inward parts of their outward distancing from us there is an arrow of shame that pierces our hearts when we are in adversity.  We, as well as others, look for a negative cause of the adversity.  We want to blame someone or something.  The assumption, which can be correct at times, is that we have somehow brought this on ourselves and are being punished.  And shame hitches a ride.

But if He does discipline those He loves and His discipline is for our betterment we need to address the shame we feel and perhaps if possible ,the shame that is inflicted upon us. 

The only way I know to do this is to surrender to the discipline as a sign of His love and His care.  We need to accept it and praise Him that, although we may be clueless as to His immediate purpose, we know He has our good in His hear

I like the KJV for the following verse:

Jas 4:10  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

Now the word humble sounds nice but perhaps we miss the idea here.  The Greek word means to abase or humiliate.  For us those are very negative words.  But in reference to God whose grace we enjoy isn’t that just – well - appropriate?  The picture here is of a vassal kneeling before his or her liege lord in utter submission.

But our liege lord doesn’t revel in our humiliation he. “lifts us up.”  He reaches down and raises us to our feet, acknowledging and accepting our submission and promising His care and protection.  Yeah, it’s hard for us to “get” that but it is a beautiful picture of His grace and mercy.

Other people?  Well, let me just say this.  When God disciplines one of His it scares the willies out of those who witness it.  I’m sure Job had lots of friends but think about it, only three came to his assistance and they weren’t much help. 

When God disciplines on of His, all His other folks tend to act like the one being disciplined has leprosy.  Now, leprosy is interesting.  Note this:

Leprosy is contagious, but is not easily transmitted. It requires the transfer of body fluids to cause infection in another person. Generally, it is not infectious in all forms, and people undergoing long term treatment are not infectious. Most people who are in contact with leprosy fight off the bacteria and do not develop leprosy. Symptoms do not develop for at least a year after infection.   http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_leprosy_contagious#ixzz25WivIzYWL

So is God’s discipline catching?  No, but the cause may be.  Of course the cause is sin.  Is sin contagious?  Well, you tell me;

Gal 6:1  Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

However the one under discipline (for whatever reason) must be restored by his brothers and sisters – his mature brothers and sisters. 

Ahhh – note the verses that follow this admonition:

Gal 6:2-3  Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.  (3)  For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

When we are undergoing God’s discipline, for whatever reason, we should expect the comfort and assistance of our brothers and sisters.  We need their care not their rejection or avoidance.  Indeed, the last verse gives us some insight into the hearts of those who withdraw from the one being disciplined.  They think, perhaps, in comparison to the disciplined disciple, that they are something.  It may be that part of the reason for the discipline is to convict and move the others to examine themselves as well as fulfill their obligation to care for and restore the brother or sister in distress.  Paul always viewed his struggles as being for the benefit of the body – Mmmmmmm……

Let me ask you this.  When you have undergone God’s discipline has anyone come alongside you and asked to help you discover what God is trying to teach you?  Has anyone come alongside and prayed with you and looked into God’s Word with you?  Or have they just patted your back, said they’d pray for you and then disappeared?

The hardest part of God’s pruning and refining us is being alone.  Sure, we kind of want to be alone but that’s not His plan.  Do a study on the admonitions concerning “one another.”  How do we do that if we aren’t with one another; if we aren’t informed about one another’s needs; if we don’t get down where they are and help? 

When God blesses we have a party.  When God disciplines we scatter.  Not right!!

For me it is sad to say that in adversity God and only God is with us.  Yes, He is absolutely sufficient – but is that really His desire, His plan, His order?  I don’t think so, do you?

2Co 1:3-4  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,  (4)  who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

This and That 090112 Fear (2)

Second, we must not expect a perfect cure for our fear in this life. While there are dangers and enemies, some fear will work in the best hearts. If our faith could be perfected, our fear would be perfectly cured. But while there is much weakness in our faith, there will be much strength in our fear. For those who are naturally timid, who have more of this passion in their constitution, and for those in whom melancholy is a rooted and chronic disease, it will be difficult to remove fear and dejection. But they will be greatly relieved from this tyranny and enabled to possess their souls in much more comfort and tranquility by using the helps and means that follow.   Flavel, John (2011-12-27). Triumphing Over Sinful Fear (Puritan Treasures for Today) (Kindle Locations 798-802). Reformation Heritage Books. Kindle Edition.

I wrote yesterday concerning fear and I do so again today.  Fear, it’s sinfulness ofrblessedness, depends upon the object of that fear.  To fear God is good in the life of anyone for it brings him or her closer to God who is the only source of all things but principally redemption.  To fear man or circumstances, need and what or even death is natural but turns sinful only when it drives us to doubt God. 

Where Paul writes, “Be angry but don’t sin.” I would write, “Be fearful but don’t sin!”

For me, it is an insult to truth when we pretend courage of heart we do not have.  For indeed we do not have it.  It was not and is not the work of the flesh when believers face torment and torture for their faith and yet remain faithful.  It is not in our power or abilities.  It is not a stiff lip that empowers them but the Spirit if God within them.  To pretend to courage is a lie to the world and a lie to us.

Yes I know, the Word is full of, “fear nots.”  But dear friend do you not see that those “fear nots” are in Jesus and not in the flesh.  We may come to Him trembling in terror and there have our fears relieved, not by magic but by truth.  Face you fears – yes – but do so with Him in your heart and you on your knees.

Fear comes and our faith is challenged.  But faith is a gift.  Do you think God only gave you a dab or a trickle?  But you say you have never experienced this circumstance and you have no faith.  Oh, but you do.  Have you not learned from that anything new challenges those skills and abilities we possess?  Of course your faith seems weak in a new trial – for here you have not trusted God and so you will learn to.  I have learned to trust God in a country where I am, at least now, free to live and express my faith openly without fear.  But, put me in a country where to live and proclaim Christ means imprisonment, torture and death and my faith will be greatly challenged.

I am asked, “How do I trust God in this difficult circumstance?”  My reply is, “Much better than you did when things were going well.”  I say that not to be cruel but as a lesson I have had to learn (more than once).  It is this; those who trust God and attend to Him little when His providence floods their lives with good thing will find their faith has shrunk from inattention and lack of use.

We who are in a trial now surely attend to God better than we did before the trial.  And what is that attention?  Unfortunately it is a doubtful and often accusatory attention.  We cry out, “Why?”  when we know that nothing He does or allows is without purpose.  The purpose may not be for you but for God’s glory to be demonstrated to someone yet living in darkness.

Paul writes:

For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn--fighting without and fear within.  2Co 7:5 

Did you SEE that?  “but we were afflicted at every turn--fighting without and fear within.”

I know many of us are afraid.  But there is a natural fear which God has endowed us with that we should appreciate, even rejoice in.  This is Paul’s “fear,” and it is not sin.  We, like Paul, need to rely upon God to meet that which creates that fear in us. 

In Paul’s case the answer came thusly:

2Co 7:6-7  But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus;  (7)  and not only by his coming, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me; so that I rejoiced even more.

I draw your attention to the word “depressed!”  It’s not a character or spiritual flaw.

Paul writes:

2Co 1:3-5  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,  (4)  who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  (5)  For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.

Note here that God, “comforts us IN all our affliction,” not out of it.  I try to look for comfort instead of solutions.  Oh, yes, we are doing all we can to be frugal and to look for opportunities to improve our condition BUT while we do so we NEED comfort. 

We believe wrongly that fear is only overcome when the cause is removed.  That is not God’s way – at least from my reading.  Fear is overcome as our attention to how God has worked and is working providentially grows.  As we see Him more, we grow more assured.  As we grow more assured our fear – sinful fear – returns to that natural fear against which there is not admonition or law. 

Do not, like so many, withdraw into your circumstance.  Rather re-read 2 Cor. 7 above.  It was through the fellowship and one fellow that Paul was comforted.  Also, pray for an understanding and appreciation of 2 Cor. 1:5.  That’s just the truth – a hard truth – even a fearful truth, but the truth.

A debtor - high and wide!

COME THOU FONT OF EVERY BLESSING

O to grace how great a debtor

Daily I’m constrained to be!

Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,

Bind my wandering heart to Thee.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,

Prone to leave the God I love;

Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,

Seal it for Thy courts above.

What a  wonderful hymn.  Those oldies are truly goodies.

I was thinking of how great a debt I owe His grace and I began to thnk of the people he has brought into my life who have been consistent sources of His encouragement and strength.  Of course I’ve written about my Grandmother, Grace Sanders, but the other side of the family gets equal time.

My aunt Jean and uncle Marvin (uncle Mama) have been a source of example, encouragement, challenge and hope.  If I was even to attempt to chronicle all the ways they have served Him and the difficulties they have faced it would be much too long for a mere blog.

Suffice it to say that as I look back I see their influence even when we were far apart and in little communication.  When the phone rings and Caller-ID displays their name my heart leaps and I grab the phone.  I know it will be a blessing.

Their “ministry” will probably never be recorded anywhere and platitudes may not come their way but I know in heaven they will know, more than they know now, what a blessing their faith has been to many in many ways.

You know it’s funny how in looking back for blessings the detail I can remember of the ministry in my life.  I was enfolded by Jean and in awe of Marvin.  Their witness in my life is perhaps one of the most consistent and comforting.

They always believed in Him “for” me.  What I mean is that no matter mess I found myself in I KNEW I was always in their prayers – even when I kind of resented it.  I also knew that no matter “how” I was, I always had a home to run to and be cared for.  For a long time as I tried my best to outrun God I kept running into them – they were kind of His angels in my life.

Jean gave me a Bible once (of course at the time I scoffed).  In the fly-leaf of the Bible she wrote:

The inexhaustible supplies of God

Are available

To the man who is available

To the inexhaustible supplies of God

I cannot count the times that quote has come to my mind and refreshed and steadied my heart.  Although at the time it bore little significance to me its hope and promise has come to mean more and more as Patti and I serve Him.  One thing it has done it to make me aware that He knows what of His inexhaustible supply I need – I usually don’t.

So, I thank my God for them.  I praise my God for them.  Though they may not know how very much He has done through them in our lives, we and He do.  Certainly I first thank and praise Him but I am compelled to thank and praise them – for being willing and determined to be part of His inexhaustible supply to Patti and I.

So, as they are a part of His grace in our lives, our debt grows higher and wider.

Thank you Lord for Aunt Jean and Uncle Mama ;-}}}}!!!

Mind - Set

It is the trouble of troubles to have two inhabitants so near in one soul, and these to strive one against another, in every action, and at all times in every part and power in us: the one carrying us upward, higher and higher still, till we come to God; the other pulling us lower and lower, further from him.   Sibbes, Richard (2012-04-24). The Soul's Conflict With Itself: And Victory Over Itself By Faith. (p. 293). A Puritan At Heart Press. Kindle Edition.

What a great trouble that needs great attention!  The flesh and the Spirit battle it out.  But there is comfort and remedy for the distress this brings.

For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.  For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot.   Rom 8:6-7 

We’ve covered this before.  I don’t know about you, but for me it’s a place I run to more often than ever before. 

I am growing more and more convinced that there is comfort and remedy in what Paul says here.

but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace

Ah, to set my mind.  Huh?  Well, the Greek word carries the idea of our: frame of thought, will, aspirations.

If you want to be picky the literal translation would be, “but the mind of the Spirit.” 

No, this isn’t the “Spirit’s” mind rather it is our mind in or on the Spirit.  So????

I’ve been reading Richard Sibbes’ book: The Soul’s Conflict With Itself: And Victory Over Itself By Faith.  It was written in 1635 and the language is “chewy” at best but well worth the work.  I do recommend it for there is much in it that will bless and strengthen you.

But my point is that keeping my nose in it (as well as the Word and other good books) goes a long way in keeping my mind “set.”  Even when I have to read a passage a couple of times to get past the old style of speaking it is a blessing.  Filled with solid biblical insights it keeps my mind set, it stimulates questions, it beings conviction, it brings relief, comfort and peace.

Reading the Word as well as good trustworthy books by very real believers is a consolation and encouragement.  You don’t have to be a “great” reader just a reader.  If reading is not your thing then there are Mp3’s and other tools to help you set your mind.  I’m biased because he’s a Scott but the sermons of Alistair Begg (Truth For Life) are excellent and very useful (and they are free!!!).  Buying a cheap Mp3 player or expanding your use of your smart-phone can be a powerful means of setting your mind.

Feed your mind with healthy food and the Spirit’s voice will grow louder, clearer and more comforting.