Sometimes we get it right. Sometimes we get it wrong. That applies to all of us who tread this sod in human form. God never gives ministry to people who always get it right. Nobody does. Let the record reflect: I am not as smart as you probably think I am. My IQ tests put me a couple steps above average and I have a fairly good memory for things I consider important, although it is not nearly as good as it used to be. Still, at family gatherings, I look at several people, including my own children, who are smarter than I am. By the way, for the record, I live right here in this skin. I am not all that impressed. I am just a guy doing my best to do what I am supposed to be doing. There is one thing I do better than most that makes people think I am smarter than I am--and I can only wish I did it better than I do.
The inter-working of the spirit, soul, and body has long been an area of interest to me and is a specialty in my teaching. We have discussed that before. (The Image of God--Spirit, Soul, Body 6-14-09) I claim some level of expertise in that area. It is because of this expertise that I feel fairly comfortable saying, I seem to have an above average ability to function out of my spirit rather than out of my soul. That is strictly an observation on my part and admittedly subject to personal bias. Nonetheless, living in the spirit is something I aspire to do more and to do better, and it is my considered opinion that you should too.
Functioning out of the spirit is foreign to the human nature. As with most things in the kingdom of God, what we think to do, feel to do, know to do, and will to do are almost exactly opposite from what we should be doing. King Solomon recognized this concept when he wrote, "There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death." (Proverbs 14:12) What we think, feel, and do out of our human nature will always be wrong. That is why it is imperative that we think, feel, and do as Jesus would. He was our perfect example of how to live life on this earth, and He operated out of His spirit through the power of the Holy Spirit. Of course, it also did not hurt that He did not have to deal with a sin nature every day.
Most Christians, it seems, think they operate out of their spirits, but most do not. There are a couple axioms that will help in determining how effectively we are operating out of our spirits besides the one from Proverbs mentioned above. The first axiom is that believing is seeing. In our minds, seeing is believing. The word for this is counterintuitive. That means it seems backwards to our intellect (soul). The second axiom is that the physical world is the real world. In fact, the spiritual world affects everything that happens in the physical world. That is not some sort of mystical, or religious science concept, it is simply fact. The enormity of the ramifications of this second axiom are impossible to overestimate. (I know. I actually wrote that sentence in such a way that most people would have to stop and think about it after reading it more than once.) That means if we really understand the second axiom, the benefits to us are huge.
When we understand the physical world is subject to the spiritual world we understand we need to do things differently. One example of this is that we would never try to hoard the resources God puts into our hands. The Bible is full of instructions to give. The great verse we see almost every Sunday of football season in the endzone is the ultimate example of this principle. John 3:16 tells us that God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, Jesus. Jesus did not hold onto His equality with God, but gave it up to go to the cross for us. (Ph. 2:6-8) God gave His Son. The Son gave His life. We have not begun to touch that level of giving.
I remember shortly before Christmas in 1979 I was ushering at church, probably for a Sunday morning service. One of the men I was working with asked me how I was doing, you know, one of those polite, friendly questions. My answer became a revelation from God to me. I listened to myself say, "I am great! This is my first Christmas with a son." It instantly became very real to me what God had done in giving His Son. I am not giving up my son. (I actually have a word from the Lord that I will not have to give up my son. That is another story.) Do not misunderstand me here. I love my girls. I am not giving them away either, but in that moment I really knew what God had done. Ok so I already gave two of my daughters to husbands, but I told every one at the wedding receptions the daughters and still mine and now I have more sons as well.
The Bible tells us why God gave His Son. He did it because He made the laws by which the universe is governed. One of them says whatever is given will be multiplied and given back. It is called the Law of Sowing and Reaping. Because it is a law it always works. God applied this law in giving His Son because He wanted more sons. There was no way for us to be born again and be sons of God (rather than being just His creations) until Jesus submitted Himself and became the sacrifice for our sins. If one accepts the Law of Sowing and Reaping, he does not even need to be spiritual to understand this. Simply apply logic and we see God giving, Jesus dying (giving His life), people being born again and becoming sons of God.
"...now we are the children of God," the apostle John says, "and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him..." (1 John 3:2) That sounds a little oblique. What does it mean anyway? Perhaps it is not the whole answer, but Jesus has been revealed to us, so at least part of the answer has to be that we are to work the works of God on the earth while we are here. He did say we would do the works He did. (John 14:12) There is also a future element here which is the usual interpretation. Jesus is coming back and our mortal bodies will be changed. Then we will be doing the same work He is doing somewhere else.
This is sort of sounding like the previous post. Suppose we leave this one right about here and start doing whatever it is the Lord is calling us to do individually.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Right Time, Right Place, Right Now
I am tired already. I came back from vacation tired. Apparently a body this age does not do as well with even a small amount of jet lag as one would hope. I did pretty well at recovering over the first weekend at home, but one thing and another have happened this week to make the first three days at work seem like an entire week.
The week started shortly after 6:00 AM on Monday with a call from the director of the mission telling me the fire alarm had gone off--meaning that I needed to get to work as soon as possible. Of course I knew it was just one of my mighty men burning bacon or something, but I nonetheless hurried out the door after also taking a call from the police dispatcher who was under the impression we did not yet know what had happened. I was almost fully awake by the time I made the drive to the mission. When I arrived the Santa Maria fire department confirmed what I had thought, laughed about our lack of cooking skills, and headed back to the fire station.
Monday evaporated as Mondays have a tendency to do in catching up with the needs of a dozen men from the weekend, and doing a few extra pieces of work this particular Monday for various reasons (including the fire alarm). Try as I might, I still was not able to sleep through the night Monday night. I was awake in the middle of the night writing a position paper for some gentlemen who have various levels of oversight or interest in my life. That paper is still in the works. As a point of instruction, it is always wise to proofread what one writes in the wee hours of the morning. I am almost ready to send that paper out.
As a result of that middle-of-the-night respite from sleep, Tuesday found me struggling through the day to stay alert. It did not help that Tuesday also started with a little frustration caused by a miscommunication with a co-worker from the evening before. That situation did get resolved by the time I left for the day. Fortunately I managed to escape before the CEO showed up for the advisory board meeting.
We had company for dinner so of course we did a special middle of the week meal. The barbecued tri tip was pretty good, if I do say so myself. The after dinner conversation went on for over four hours. For much of that time I was defining some of the workings of the religious spirit and what some of the anticipated results will look like when we win. He was interested, but seemed to be more interested in where we were in our lives. It is hard to say what the results of that meeting will be, but it will be interesting to find out.
God is putting together an army. My job right now is to make you aware there is a battle going on. Because spiritual battles are intangible, most folks are not even aware they are going on. Even many who do understand that do not entirely grasp the magnitude of this battle. The religious spirit in this valley has been having his way for much too long. One thing our guest did say is that our church is being populated by people who have been battered, bruised, and beaten by the religious spirit we are talking about. He did not use that term, nor would most of those bruised, battered people. There really is no doubt about who the aggressor is in these kinds of situations. He has to be one of the minions of he who comes to steal and to kill and to destroy. (John 10:10)
We try to shrug off disappointments and, as most of you know, we have had lots of practice doing that. As I have mentioned before, in the past five months or so I have moved from frustration in not knowing what I was supposed to be doing, to apathy where I simply did not care what happened, to peace, in that I now know what I am supposed to be doing and I am doing it. Our heart's desire for each and every one of the readers of this blog would be that you too would know that you are exactly where you are supposed to be, doing exactly what you are supposed to be doing. When you find that place, God will be able to work in your life in ways you probably never thought possible. The Bible tells us, "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him." (1 Corinthians 2:9) If you can imagine it, God can do more. He is only waiting for you to partner with him. Start today. As you begin to do that, please remember the battle is bigger than you are. Join with us in seeking God's direction as to how to engage the enemy and prosecute this battle. God bless.
The week started shortly after 6:00 AM on Monday with a call from the director of the mission telling me the fire alarm had gone off--meaning that I needed to get to work as soon as possible. Of course I knew it was just one of my mighty men burning bacon or something, but I nonetheless hurried out the door after also taking a call from the police dispatcher who was under the impression we did not yet know what had happened. I was almost fully awake by the time I made the drive to the mission. When I arrived the Santa Maria fire department confirmed what I had thought, laughed about our lack of cooking skills, and headed back to the fire station.
Monday evaporated as Mondays have a tendency to do in catching up with the needs of a dozen men from the weekend, and doing a few extra pieces of work this particular Monday for various reasons (including the fire alarm). Try as I might, I still was not able to sleep through the night Monday night. I was awake in the middle of the night writing a position paper for some gentlemen who have various levels of oversight or interest in my life. That paper is still in the works. As a point of instruction, it is always wise to proofread what one writes in the wee hours of the morning. I am almost ready to send that paper out.
As a result of that middle-of-the-night respite from sleep, Tuesday found me struggling through the day to stay alert. It did not help that Tuesday also started with a little frustration caused by a miscommunication with a co-worker from the evening before. That situation did get resolved by the time I left for the day. Fortunately I managed to escape before the CEO showed up for the advisory board meeting.
We had company for dinner so of course we did a special middle of the week meal. The barbecued tri tip was pretty good, if I do say so myself. The after dinner conversation went on for over four hours. For much of that time I was defining some of the workings of the religious spirit and what some of the anticipated results will look like when we win. He was interested, but seemed to be more interested in where we were in our lives. It is hard to say what the results of that meeting will be, but it will be interesting to find out.
God is putting together an army. My job right now is to make you aware there is a battle going on. Because spiritual battles are intangible, most folks are not even aware they are going on. Even many who do understand that do not entirely grasp the magnitude of this battle. The religious spirit in this valley has been having his way for much too long. One thing our guest did say is that our church is being populated by people who have been battered, bruised, and beaten by the religious spirit we are talking about. He did not use that term, nor would most of those bruised, battered people. There really is no doubt about who the aggressor is in these kinds of situations. He has to be one of the minions of he who comes to steal and to kill and to destroy. (John 10:10)
We try to shrug off disappointments and, as most of you know, we have had lots of practice doing that. As I have mentioned before, in the past five months or so I have moved from frustration in not knowing what I was supposed to be doing, to apathy where I simply did not care what happened, to peace, in that I now know what I am supposed to be doing and I am doing it. Our heart's desire for each and every one of the readers of this blog would be that you too would know that you are exactly where you are supposed to be, doing exactly what you are supposed to be doing. When you find that place, God will be able to work in your life in ways you probably never thought possible. The Bible tells us, "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him." (1 Corinthians 2:9) If you can imagine it, God can do more. He is only waiting for you to partner with him. Start today. As you begin to do that, please remember the battle is bigger than you are. Join with us in seeking God's direction as to how to engage the enemy and prosecute this battle. God bless.
Friday, August 21, 2009
The Weapons of Our Warfare, Part 10
Praying in the Spirit can be a controversial subject in the church. Many people think they are praying in the Spirit because they think they are being directed in their prayers by the Holy Spirit. We will not enter into a debate as to whether those prayers are, in fact, directed by the Holy Spirit. Undoubtedly some are, and equally as undoubtedly, some are not. (This sounds a little like it might get ugly already doesn't it?) Trust me when I tell you, I have pretty much heard all the arguments on both sides of this issue. I used to be a Methodist and then a Baptist. I attended a Nazarene church for a period of time. I embraced Pentecostalism, much to the chagrin of my maternal grandmother who was in eastern Kansas when Aimee Semple McPherson, founder of the Foursquare Church came through there on her way to California. I graduated from a Pentecostal Bible College and an Evangelical (non-Pentecostal) seminary. If, after you have read this post, you think you have an argument I did not do justice here, please call, send an email, or post a comment. That way we might all learn something.
Praying in the Spirit is part of the armor of God. It must be. It says so right there in the Bible. (Ephesians 6:18) Ok, so I had not thought about it quite that way before today. It is obvious really when we think about it. Before we discuss that, though, perhaps we should define exactly what praying in the Spirit really means.
One thing I do know from the discussions I have had about the present day working of the Holy Spirit is that anyone who is willing to discuss the issue with me has as strongly held beliefs as I do on the subject. They also, as I do, hold those beliefs based on their understanding of scripture. It is really not productive to exegete the scripture to show why anyone with such strongly held beliefs is wrong. They have already done that and decided they are right. I am including myself in that. The better way to approach that kind of issue is to just present the teaching and, if it makes sense, let them go back and look at the scripture with a different understanding of the big picture.
Without doubt, as we Pentecostals know from scripture and personal experience, praying in the Spirit means praying in tongues. The vast majority of us know (still talking about Pentecostals) there are two different gifts of speaking in tongues. Most of us know that because someone older, and wiser than us told us so. Rarely did those older, wiser people tell us how they knew that and show us the different gifts from scripture. The dirty little secret there is they probably did not know both of the gifts are shown in the Bible. They simply believed it because the older, wiser people who told them believed it. The term for that is unsconscious competent. They are right, but they do not know why they are right.
Most people, including most Pentecostal ministers, only know about speaking in tongues as the charismatic gift mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:10. We should make the distinction right now that in this gift, God is speaking to His people through one of our own. Again, research this and get back to us so we can discuss it if you disagree.
The other gift of speaking in tongues in the Bible is sort of tucked away and almost hidden apparently. It must be because almost no one seems to know about it or teach it correctly. Most of that problem is our English translations. We will explain that shortly. It is the gift given to believers at some point after they are born again. According to Pentecostal theology, this happens at the time the believer is baptized in the Holy Spirit. That is not what we are discussing right now.
Acts chapter 10 records the beginning of Peter's ministry to the gentiles. In verse 45, the men with Peter acknowledge that a gift was given to the gentiles and 46 tells us they recognized the gift as speaking in tongues. If you have ever heard a teaching on these verses, you have probably heard the gift is the Holy Spirit, or perhaps even that it is salvation. Reading verse 45 in English we see, "the gift of the Holy Spirit". It is almost always taught that the Holy Spirit is the gift. That is what the English text looks like it says. It does not say that in the original Greek. What it says there is, "the Holy Spirit's gift". Does that make a difference? Can you see it? Either phraseology is correct in the English, possessive case. We just do not get the correct meaning as easily with the translation we usually see in English Bibles. For your reference the Greek is in the genitive case which equates to the English possessive case. When we know that, there is no question the gift is given by the Holy Spirit rather than the Holy Spirit being the gift. The gift He gave is the gift of speaking in tongues that Peter and his companions heard.
Now that we understand that, we can see that praying in the spirit is an invaluable piece of our spiritual armor. With this gift we are speaking to God things we would not otherwise know to speak. The Holy Spirit directs our prayers in a different language so that they are perfect prayers. Our minds are set aside as our spirit prays. (1 Corinthians 14:14) Note that this is the same whichever gift of speaking in tongues we are talking about. If you are inclined, as I am, to have your mind get in the way at times, you will appreciate all the more being able to pray in the spirit.
There is no way for us to really understand in the natural what happens when we pray in the spirit. Imagine being in the heat of a battle with danger all around. As you pray in the spirit, you know which way to move and what to do. The Holy Spirit is guiding you away from danger to safety. He tells you when to be still and when to attack, things you could not possibly know for sure regardless of your experience in battle.
Put on the armor of God, and do not forget to pray in the spirit on all occasions. It will protect you even if any of the other armor fails. Our success in battle will be guaranteed.
Praying in the Spirit is part of the armor of God. It must be. It says so right there in the Bible. (Ephesians 6:18) Ok, so I had not thought about it quite that way before today. It is obvious really when we think about it. Before we discuss that, though, perhaps we should define exactly what praying in the Spirit really means.
One thing I do know from the discussions I have had about the present day working of the Holy Spirit is that anyone who is willing to discuss the issue with me has as strongly held beliefs as I do on the subject. They also, as I do, hold those beliefs based on their understanding of scripture. It is really not productive to exegete the scripture to show why anyone with such strongly held beliefs is wrong. They have already done that and decided they are right. I am including myself in that. The better way to approach that kind of issue is to just present the teaching and, if it makes sense, let them go back and look at the scripture with a different understanding of the big picture.
Without doubt, as we Pentecostals know from scripture and personal experience, praying in the Spirit means praying in tongues. The vast majority of us know (still talking about Pentecostals) there are two different gifts of speaking in tongues. Most of us know that because someone older, and wiser than us told us so. Rarely did those older, wiser people tell us how they knew that and show us the different gifts from scripture. The dirty little secret there is they probably did not know both of the gifts are shown in the Bible. They simply believed it because the older, wiser people who told them believed it. The term for that is unsconscious competent. They are right, but they do not know why they are right.
Most people, including most Pentecostal ministers, only know about speaking in tongues as the charismatic gift mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:10. We should make the distinction right now that in this gift, God is speaking to His people through one of our own. Again, research this and get back to us so we can discuss it if you disagree.
The other gift of speaking in tongues in the Bible is sort of tucked away and almost hidden apparently. It must be because almost no one seems to know about it or teach it correctly. Most of that problem is our English translations. We will explain that shortly. It is the gift given to believers at some point after they are born again. According to Pentecostal theology, this happens at the time the believer is baptized in the Holy Spirit. That is not what we are discussing right now.
Acts chapter 10 records the beginning of Peter's ministry to the gentiles. In verse 45, the men with Peter acknowledge that a gift was given to the gentiles and 46 tells us they recognized the gift as speaking in tongues. If you have ever heard a teaching on these verses, you have probably heard the gift is the Holy Spirit, or perhaps even that it is salvation. Reading verse 45 in English we see, "the gift of the Holy Spirit". It is almost always taught that the Holy Spirit is the gift. That is what the English text looks like it says. It does not say that in the original Greek. What it says there is, "the Holy Spirit's gift". Does that make a difference? Can you see it? Either phraseology is correct in the English, possessive case. We just do not get the correct meaning as easily with the translation we usually see in English Bibles. For your reference the Greek is in the genitive case which equates to the English possessive case. When we know that, there is no question the gift is given by the Holy Spirit rather than the Holy Spirit being the gift. The gift He gave is the gift of speaking in tongues that Peter and his companions heard.
Now that we understand that, we can see that praying in the spirit is an invaluable piece of our spiritual armor. With this gift we are speaking to God things we would not otherwise know to speak. The Holy Spirit directs our prayers in a different language so that they are perfect prayers. Our minds are set aside as our spirit prays. (1 Corinthians 14:14) Note that this is the same whichever gift of speaking in tongues we are talking about. If you are inclined, as I am, to have your mind get in the way at times, you will appreciate all the more being able to pray in the spirit.
There is no way for us to really understand in the natural what happens when we pray in the spirit. Imagine being in the heat of a battle with danger all around. As you pray in the spirit, you know which way to move and what to do. The Holy Spirit is guiding you away from danger to safety. He tells you when to be still and when to attack, things you could not possibly know for sure regardless of your experience in battle.
Put on the armor of God, and do not forget to pray in the spirit on all occasions. It will protect you even if any of the other armor fails. Our success in battle will be guaranteed.
Monday, August 17, 2009
The Weapons of Our Warfare, Part 9
When we visited Staten Island, NY recently, we had the pleasure of sharing a few minutes of fellowship, between church services, with Rev. Dr. Daniel Mercaldo, senior pastor of the Church at the Gateway. We discussed spiritual warfare and in exchange for the address of this blog, he gave us a few Cd's of his teachings on spiritual warfare. We think we got the better end of that deal. I mention that because in the first of those teachings, Dr. Mercaldo talked about the armor of God from Ephesians chapter 6. That is where most people would start discussing spiritual warfare. I know it comes as no surprise to anyone that this series did not start there. We do have a tendency to do things differently sometimes. Although we did mention the armor in an earlier post (Part 2, July 14, 2009), we did not mention it piece by piece. In the interest of completeness, we probably ought to discuss it.
The thing to remember about the armor of God is that each piece represents a portion of our preparation for spiritual warfare. They are all necessary to completely protect us as we pursue the battle. Any professional in the world will extol the virtues of proper preparation for any endeavor. Spiritual warfare is no different. We cannot really overestimate the value of proper preparation and we dare not underestimate it either. Were we to go into battle without proper preparation, we would likely be injured at the least. We could be the cause of the whole battle turning against us as happened in Joshua chapter 7 when one man's disobedience resulted in numerous deaths and defeat for the army of Israel.
The full armor of God (Ephesians 6:14-18) represents everything we need to protect us in battle. On our refrigerator at home hangs a photograph of our nephew, Army Sergeant Thomas Miller. Tom is a medical services specialist with the 101st Airborne. The photograph was taken during a tour of duty in Iraq. In the photograph, he is dressed in battle gear complete with body armor and weapons. This series is primarily about weapons, but we also need the armor to protect us. We will see that each piece has it's own function in protecting us and is integral to each of the others. What is being described in these verses is the armor of the Roman soldier. Roman soldiers were everywhere at the time the New Testament was being written so the analogy would have been easy to picture.
The belt is the first thing thing a Roman soldier would have put on. The belt is likened to truth. Unless we are doing the truth--the right thing at the right time--we will be battling in vain. God has a right time for everything. We did mention in an earlier post that when we get ahead of God we go in our own strength rather than His. The results of that are always less than they should have been. Going ahead of God without His direction is actually called presumption and God calls it sin. There is no way we can prosper in any endeavor while we are sinning. It is a violation of God's justice for Him to help us sin. A word of caution may be in order here. Sometimes it will appear that we have gained victory in spite of our sin. Beware, our enemy delights in disguising his traps so that we do not see them until is it to late to avoid them.
The belt holds the scabbard for the sword. Without truth, we have no ability to hurt the enemy at all. The belt also supports the breastplate. Note the Roman soldier had no armor on his back. He was expected to stand and face his enemy in a fight to the death. Without getting too philosophical or ethereal, our fight is more important than most of us realize.
The breastplate is attached to the belt. The breastplate is likened to righteousness. Righteousness simply means being right. When we have the truth, we have a basis for righteousness. Conversely, without truth there is no basis for righteousness. Being right protects our internal organs. Psalm 51:6 tells us that God desires truth in the inward parts. He desires truth to work throughout our whole being and to radiate from the inside of us. It should be able to be seen by others in the way we live our lives. Those who read the first posts may remember us talking about "hypocritical liars". They have outward truth, but it does not match up with what is on the inside. We trust the readers of this blog understand that truth is absolute. A thing is either true or it is not. Truth is not situational or relative. If a thing is ever true it is always true. That is a basic law of the universe. It will change about the same time the law of gravity is repealed and we all fly away from the earth. No, we are not talking about the rapture of The Church.
The Roman soldier had two kinds of footwear. His everyday sandals had flat, smooth souls for walking on roads and smooth terrain. His battle shoes had long spikes on them to provide traction in soft or loose ground. Just as we see today with athletes who compete on grass or softer ground, the spikes provided traction when the smooth soles would not. When it was necessary to stand and defend a piece of ground the soldier would stomp the spikes into the ground and he would become virtually immovable. In any event, his feet were ready for the battle. He literally had is feet fitted with readiness.
We have all seen shields carried by soldiers, knights or warriors. Our shield is the shield of faith. When we have faith and know God will be victorious, it does not matter what our enemy throws at us. We deflect all those doubts and fears with our faith. Remember, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. (Romans 10:17)
The helmet is our salvation. It does not have to do with being born-again as we often think of salvation, but rather our deliverance from the enemy we are facing in the battle. The helmet, of course, covers our head and our brain which we know is the seat of our soul. Do not get lost here. The helmet of deliverance, or salvation, protects our mind and emotions. When we are inclined to think joining the battle was not such a good idea after all, the helmet helps us not be swayed by what we think or feel. As a personal example, I am having a very difficult time focusing on writing this week. Writing this blog is my part of the battle so far. Maybe it really was not such a good idea to start this? No, regardless of what I might think or feel, this is the right thing to do. We will be delivered out of this war in victory.
What does praying in the Spirit have to do with spiritual armor? I think we will leave that for Part 10. God bless. See you soon.
The thing to remember about the armor of God is that each piece represents a portion of our preparation for spiritual warfare. They are all necessary to completely protect us as we pursue the battle. Any professional in the world will extol the virtues of proper preparation for any endeavor. Spiritual warfare is no different. We cannot really overestimate the value of proper preparation and we dare not underestimate it either. Were we to go into battle without proper preparation, we would likely be injured at the least. We could be the cause of the whole battle turning against us as happened in Joshua chapter 7 when one man's disobedience resulted in numerous deaths and defeat for the army of Israel.
The full armor of God (Ephesians 6:14-18) represents everything we need to protect us in battle. On our refrigerator at home hangs a photograph of our nephew, Army Sergeant Thomas Miller. Tom is a medical services specialist with the 101st Airborne. The photograph was taken during a tour of duty in Iraq. In the photograph, he is dressed in battle gear complete with body armor and weapons. This series is primarily about weapons, but we also need the armor to protect us. We will see that each piece has it's own function in protecting us and is integral to each of the others. What is being described in these verses is the armor of the Roman soldier. Roman soldiers were everywhere at the time the New Testament was being written so the analogy would have been easy to picture.
The belt is the first thing thing a Roman soldier would have put on. The belt is likened to truth. Unless we are doing the truth--the right thing at the right time--we will be battling in vain. God has a right time for everything. We did mention in an earlier post that when we get ahead of God we go in our own strength rather than His. The results of that are always less than they should have been. Going ahead of God without His direction is actually called presumption and God calls it sin. There is no way we can prosper in any endeavor while we are sinning. It is a violation of God's justice for Him to help us sin. A word of caution may be in order here. Sometimes it will appear that we have gained victory in spite of our sin. Beware, our enemy delights in disguising his traps so that we do not see them until is it to late to avoid them.
The belt holds the scabbard for the sword. Without truth, we have no ability to hurt the enemy at all. The belt also supports the breastplate. Note the Roman soldier had no armor on his back. He was expected to stand and face his enemy in a fight to the death. Without getting too philosophical or ethereal, our fight is more important than most of us realize.
The breastplate is attached to the belt. The breastplate is likened to righteousness. Righteousness simply means being right. When we have the truth, we have a basis for righteousness. Conversely, without truth there is no basis for righteousness. Being right protects our internal organs. Psalm 51:6 tells us that God desires truth in the inward parts. He desires truth to work throughout our whole being and to radiate from the inside of us. It should be able to be seen by others in the way we live our lives. Those who read the first posts may remember us talking about "hypocritical liars". They have outward truth, but it does not match up with what is on the inside. We trust the readers of this blog understand that truth is absolute. A thing is either true or it is not. Truth is not situational or relative. If a thing is ever true it is always true. That is a basic law of the universe. It will change about the same time the law of gravity is repealed and we all fly away from the earth. No, we are not talking about the rapture of The Church.
The Roman soldier had two kinds of footwear. His everyday sandals had flat, smooth souls for walking on roads and smooth terrain. His battle shoes had long spikes on them to provide traction in soft or loose ground. Just as we see today with athletes who compete on grass or softer ground, the spikes provided traction when the smooth soles would not. When it was necessary to stand and defend a piece of ground the soldier would stomp the spikes into the ground and he would become virtually immovable. In any event, his feet were ready for the battle. He literally had is feet fitted with readiness.
We have all seen shields carried by soldiers, knights or warriors. Our shield is the shield of faith. When we have faith and know God will be victorious, it does not matter what our enemy throws at us. We deflect all those doubts and fears with our faith. Remember, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. (Romans 10:17)
The helmet is our salvation. It does not have to do with being born-again as we often think of salvation, but rather our deliverance from the enemy we are facing in the battle. The helmet, of course, covers our head and our brain which we know is the seat of our soul. Do not get lost here. The helmet of deliverance, or salvation, protects our mind and emotions. When we are inclined to think joining the battle was not such a good idea after all, the helmet helps us not be swayed by what we think or feel. As a personal example, I am having a very difficult time focusing on writing this week. Writing this blog is my part of the battle so far. Maybe it really was not such a good idea to start this? No, regardless of what I might think or feel, this is the right thing to do. We will be delivered out of this war in victory.
What does praying in the Spirit have to do with spiritual armor? I think we will leave that for Part 10. God bless. See you soon.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Home Again, Home Again
There is nothing quite like a vacation to restore, renew, and refresh the soul. Over the years, I have become known to family and friends for taking one and two day vacations where I simply take off alone in the car and just drive until I feel like I want to be home again. The last time we had a whole week off work was 2006 when our children sent us to the Hawaiian Islands as a gift for our 30th wedding anniversary. This time as then, we managed to get away, both mentally and geographically, from the day to day routine. We were 3,000 miles away geographically, but, and, well, is New England still part of the United States? Maybe it's California that really does not belong. In any event we decided we would have a lot of trouble with the city sales taxes in addition to the state sales tax, no honking zones, and cities whose streets follow old cow paths--just to mention a few. Oh, and cities that even the Garmin Nuvi does not understand.
I would love to tell you all that I had some outstanding revelations I could write about here, but that did not happen. What did happen is that I realized everyone needs a break from the battle. I know the battle has not even become that intense yet, but a break is always nice. I am also thinking about the "rest of God" that is mentioned in Hebrews chapter 4. I must admit, that is a concept that has always confounded me. I have never understood how one could be doing things and also be resting. Perhaps the most valuable thing about writing this blog is that the Holy Spirit teaches me things as I write and struggle to understand Biblical concepts. Even this moment, the anticipation is building that we are all about to learn something about the rest of God.
When I was younger, I had many different jobs. I was a good worker. It seems that as I got older I also became a good rester. I have a tendency to be just a little bit lazy. Maybe that's why my ideal vacation includes more driving than slogging around New York or Boston, walking up and down subway stairs, and running to catch the Staten Island Ferry. I was a little winded after that last one, but this old man kept up with his 25 year old daughter and we made it.
I would love to tell you all that I had some outstanding revelations I could write about here, but that did not happen. What did happen is that I realized everyone needs a break from the battle. I know the battle has not even become that intense yet, but a break is always nice. I am also thinking about the "rest of God" that is mentioned in Hebrews chapter 4. I must admit, that is a concept that has always confounded me. I have never understood how one could be doing things and also be resting. Perhaps the most valuable thing about writing this blog is that the Holy Spirit teaches me things as I write and struggle to understand Biblical concepts. Even this moment, the anticipation is building that we are all about to learn something about the rest of God.
When I was younger, I had many different jobs. I was a good worker. It seems that as I got older I also became a good rester. I have a tendency to be just a little bit lazy. Maybe that's why my ideal vacation includes more driving than slogging around New York or Boston, walking up and down subway stairs, and running to catch the Staten Island Ferry. I was a little winded after that last one, but this old man kept up with his 25 year old daughter and we made it.
As you can tell, I am something of a wordsmith, a word cobbler if you will. That makes blogging a relatively easy task for me. I have had more than one person express admiration at the quality and quantity of this blog. That is gratifying, but not all that important. I have been training for such a time as this at least for the past 20+ years. If you have been following this blog, you know it has really been much longer, but I had no idea until just a few months ago.
In the past several months I have gone from utter frustration about my life and ministry to apathy to rest. I had been frustrated since the middle of 1987 when it looked like we had heard the Holy Spirit wrong. Nothing seemed to be working out. Granted, that frustration was often simmering just under the surface as the things of life took the front burner. Very few other people knew the frustration was there and I did a reasonably good job of pretending it was not. That period ended about a year ago and I moved into a period of apathy, I just did not care what happened. I put a spiritual kind of face on that and would have told you God had everything under control and was working things out, had you asked. I think I believed that, but I was apathetic so it did not even matter what I believed. Confronting the religious spirit face to face snapped me right out of my apathetic period and set me on the path toward rest. Now all I have to do is remember I am in that period.
Make no mistake, I am a spiritual man, created in the image of God. I understand something about living in the spirit even though I am not very adept at staying there for long. The challenge is that the rest is a soulical rest, but if we are not living spirit led lives, we will never enter into it. The physical world tugs too hard to let us rest in this world absent the work of the Holy Spirit in and through our spirit. Jesus promised us rest for our souls. (Matthew 11:29) He did not promise us physical rest. Rest is not the absence of physical labor. If you can understand it, rest is really the embracing of physical, or perhaps mental, labor as what God has given us individually to do. Let me see if I can explain. As I said earlier, I am a little bit lazy. However, anyone who knows me will tell you, not much gets by me. I do not see and hear everything, but apparently I do a better job at it than most people do. The point is, I am doing something even when I do not appear to be doing anything.
I know automobile and aircraft mechanics, plumbers, and welders, and even doctors who work harder than I probably ever wanted to. They are constantly in motion. I sit here and move my fingers in orderly movements to put words into a computer and shape them into semi-coherent thoughts. (I hope.) The movements are quick and clean and not too terribly taxing on my body. I do not expect to make a lot of money at it, but my support is not my problem. God's grace has already given me more than I ever expected to have. So much for keeping one's expectations low. Anyway, I have now entered into a small corner of God's rest. I do not worry about finances. I just do what God gives me to do. When I look back, I see that I actually entered into that corner several years ago, almost by accident. I guess you could say I backed into the corner.
Like most people we knew, there were lots of times, when the kids were little especially, that we ran out of money before we ran out of month. However, unlike a lot of those people, we never missed a meal and we never missed a payment on anything. One day it dawned on us that God had been quietly taking care of all our needs, albeit at a lower level than we might have liked. Remember, we kept our expectations low so as to not be too disappointed. (And if you are missing that, it is tongue in cheek.) Through all that, we believed God had better things for us. That was something we could rest in.
The lesson is: Find your rest wherever you can. Once you enter into rest in any area of life, you will find it easier to find rest in another and another and another. I am not much of a formula buff when it comes to spiritual things, but it is not an entirely bad idea to find out where you have trouble in your life--where you have not yet entered into rest. Through prayer, meditation and perhaps some counsel, find out why you do not seem to be able to find rest in that area. Do this for each area where rest eludes you, one at a time. It is a spiritual exercise you will find well worth the effort.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
The Greatest of These
There is an amazing temptation, when we are confronted by spiritual challenges, to "shoot" the messenger, so to speak. Although, demonic spirits can independently inflict all manner of havoc on human beings, from physical illness to mental and emotional distress, they usually work through other people.
When we are attacked by a person, we tend to think we are simply the victim of a mean-spirited attack by a someone who has something against us. Perhaps there are such attacks, but the very fact we are being attacked demonstrates there is something going on behind the scenes we do not understand. We are assuming here that we have done nothing deserving of being attacked. People just do not attack other people for no reason. That sounds like a ridiculous statement until we think about all the reasons one person might attack another. When we break the reasons down to their essence we find there are really only a couple reasons for the attack. Either the person being attacked has something the attacker wants, or the attacker feels threatened in some way. Sometimes the threat can be a perception of loss of status as when one is insulted in the presence of a friend and feels the need to save face.
The apostle Paul said he had a thorn in his flesh, a messenger of Satan sent to buffet him. (2 Corinthians 12:7) He correctly discerned where the attack originated. Satan sent a messenger to attack Paul. Satan is still in the business of sending messengers to attack people.
Pay close attention now. This is a critical point. Many of those messengers are demonically inspired people. Although we say they are demonically inspired, these people have no idea they are being manipulated into those attacks. In fact they are good, God fearing, church going, tithe giving Christians. They may even think they are doing God's work. If they, themselves realized what they were doing, they would not do it. Again, we are seeing the very definition of spiritual deception.
Long time readers of this blog will not be the least bit surprised to hear me say the problem is the people who attack others are operating from their soul rather than their spirit. The human soul is the playground of demonic spirits, messengers of Satan. Again, read carefully. We are not talking about demonic possession or even oppression (the scriptural term for either of those conditions is really demonization). What we are saying is that demonic spirits can impress upon our mind and emotions, ideas that we may act on contrary to what we might otherwise do. As a result, we become angry and give full vent to those impressions--then we wonder how we could have done that. It is interesting that we see other people do those things and think they are just hateful people. We wonder what is wrong with them. However, when we do those things, we allow for the fact that we are simply human beings who sometimes have those problems. A friend of mine, Pastor Dennis Easter, is quoted as saying, "Isn't it amazing that we fail to see the grace of God working in others the way we know it is working in us?" Is that the sound of our common conviction I hear? Maybe it was just me.
What then should our response be when we are attacked? There is only one possible response to that question for the Christian. We must absolutely, unequivocally, respond in love. Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. The second, He said, is like the first. We are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. (Matthew 22:37-39) We used to receive a church newsletter from a church we had never attended. We had become aquainted with the interim pastor and he decided to send us the newsletter. He routinely included in the newsletter, what he called "Scripture without comment." Following his lead, no brilliant analysis of those verses. Read them and do them. If you do, you will have fulfilled all the law and the prophets. (verse 40) "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13)
When we are attacked by a person, we tend to think we are simply the victim of a mean-spirited attack by a someone who has something against us. Perhaps there are such attacks, but the very fact we are being attacked demonstrates there is something going on behind the scenes we do not understand. We are assuming here that we have done nothing deserving of being attacked. People just do not attack other people for no reason. That sounds like a ridiculous statement until we think about all the reasons one person might attack another. When we break the reasons down to their essence we find there are really only a couple reasons for the attack. Either the person being attacked has something the attacker wants, or the attacker feels threatened in some way. Sometimes the threat can be a perception of loss of status as when one is insulted in the presence of a friend and feels the need to save face.
The apostle Paul said he had a thorn in his flesh, a messenger of Satan sent to buffet him. (2 Corinthians 12:7) He correctly discerned where the attack originated. Satan sent a messenger to attack Paul. Satan is still in the business of sending messengers to attack people.
Pay close attention now. This is a critical point. Many of those messengers are demonically inspired people. Although we say they are demonically inspired, these people have no idea they are being manipulated into those attacks. In fact they are good, God fearing, church going, tithe giving Christians. They may even think they are doing God's work. If they, themselves realized what they were doing, they would not do it. Again, we are seeing the very definition of spiritual deception.
Long time readers of this blog will not be the least bit surprised to hear me say the problem is the people who attack others are operating from their soul rather than their spirit. The human soul is the playground of demonic spirits, messengers of Satan. Again, read carefully. We are not talking about demonic possession or even oppression (the scriptural term for either of those conditions is really demonization). What we are saying is that demonic spirits can impress upon our mind and emotions, ideas that we may act on contrary to what we might otherwise do. As a result, we become angry and give full vent to those impressions--then we wonder how we could have done that. It is interesting that we see other people do those things and think they are just hateful people. We wonder what is wrong with them. However, when we do those things, we allow for the fact that we are simply human beings who sometimes have those problems. A friend of mine, Pastor Dennis Easter, is quoted as saying, "Isn't it amazing that we fail to see the grace of God working in others the way we know it is working in us?" Is that the sound of our common conviction I hear? Maybe it was just me.
What then should our response be when we are attacked? There is only one possible response to that question for the Christian. We must absolutely, unequivocally, respond in love. Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. The second, He said, is like the first. We are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. (Matthew 22:37-39) We used to receive a church newsletter from a church we had never attended. We had become aquainted with the interim pastor and he decided to send us the newsletter. He routinely included in the newsletter, what he called "Scripture without comment." Following his lead, no brilliant analysis of those verses. Read them and do them. If you do, you will have fulfilled all the law and the prophets. (verse 40) "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13)
Saturday, August 1, 2009
The Weapons of Our Warfare, Part 8
When we first heard we could command God to do things it sounded like heresy or something. There it was in black and white, Isaiah 45:11, "...And concerning the work of My hands, you command Me." God is telling us to command the work of His hands. Surely there is some theologian or exegete out there who can tell us God did not really mean exactly what He said. Until we hear from that person, let us just go with what we have--the eternal word of the unchanging God. God is telling us to command the works of His hands. Certainly He knows what to do without us telling Him? Of course He does. He wants us to be His partners in doing things on the earth. He is waiting for us to figure that out. That is why we are to command the works of His hands. In case you are inclined to think this verse is isolated in all of God's word, keep reading. You are likely to have an "ah ha" moment just as I did.
We have all read the Lord's prayer--or the disciples' prayer if you like. It is repeated probably millions of times a week around the globe. The prayer is found in Matthew's Gospel and in Luke's Gospel. We are quoting from Luke 11:2-4:
"So He said to them, 'When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.' "
We think it was Yonggi Cho--remember him, Seoul, Korea, pastors the largest church in the world--who first began teaching that prayer in earnest. We think it was in the mid '70s. He noted the imperative mood in the prayer. For those not familiar with the imperative mood, it would be one person telling another what to do. It is not a begging or a pleading, but rather a command. Did I say command?
Look at the verses above from the lips of Jesus. Your kingdom come, your will be done, give us this day, forgive us our sins, and deliver us from the evil one are all in the imperative mood. Note that "hallowed" which actually means "be kept holy" is also in the imperative mood. The difference is the passive voice. (I know, grammar is a little confusing, even in English.) The rest of the phrases in the list are in the active voice. Jesus is telling us to tell (yes tell) God to do those specific things. How would it affect our prayers if we knew our heavenly Father was just waiting for us to tell him to "go ahead and do something" so He could get busy doing it? The fact is, at least according to Jesus, if we believe Him, God is doing exactly that. He is waiting to hear us tell Him what we want so He can do it for us. We do apologize if that messes with anyone's theology. You might have noticed we do not have a lot of respect for bad theology.
Interestingly, when Jesus started the model prayer by saying, "When you pray, say" He did not use the imperative mood. He was not telling us to pray. He was expressing His desire that we do. Well, I think it is interesting anyway. I am not the jumping up and down and shouting type, but in my mind, that is something to jump up and down and shout about. Let me say it again. Jesus suggests that it would be good if we were to tell God what we want Him to do for us. I believe I have just written myself happy.
Now that we know what God wants us to do, let us consider the ramifications of doing it. We know that God is not going to tell us to do anything that is bad for us. In fact Jesus told us how foolish we would be to think that just a few verses further down in Luke 11. We already knew where the real power in the universe resides, in the Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
We might as well use our real life situation as an example. We are interested in ridding the area of a religious spirit. We do not have the ability to do that. We know God wants to move. God is going to move in response to our prayer, praise, and worship. In fact, He is already moving or we would not even be having this discussion. It is time to begin to command the work of God's hand. Right now is not too soon to start. Let us agree together to, at least once a day, say something like, "Father God, we command the works of Your hand against the religious spirit in the Santa Maria valley." You can then go on and speak against the manifestations you see. Refer back to the series on the manifestations of the religious spirit if you need to.
When you have a chance, give us some feedback as to what is going on and anything the Holy Spirit might show you. Do remember we are not speaking against people. We are speaking against the religious spirit. If you do not think you are quite ready to discern the difference, do not start until after you have at least read the next post. God bless.
We have all read the Lord's prayer--or the disciples' prayer if you like. It is repeated probably millions of times a week around the globe. The prayer is found in Matthew's Gospel and in Luke's Gospel. We are quoting from Luke 11:2-4:
"So He said to them, 'When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.' "
We think it was Yonggi Cho--remember him, Seoul, Korea, pastors the largest church in the world--who first began teaching that prayer in earnest. We think it was in the mid '70s. He noted the imperative mood in the prayer. For those not familiar with the imperative mood, it would be one person telling another what to do. It is not a begging or a pleading, but rather a command. Did I say command?
Look at the verses above from the lips of Jesus. Your kingdom come, your will be done, give us this day, forgive us our sins, and deliver us from the evil one are all in the imperative mood. Note that "hallowed" which actually means "be kept holy" is also in the imperative mood. The difference is the passive voice. (I know, grammar is a little confusing, even in English.) The rest of the phrases in the list are in the active voice. Jesus is telling us to tell (yes tell) God to do those specific things. How would it affect our prayers if we knew our heavenly Father was just waiting for us to tell him to "go ahead and do something" so He could get busy doing it? The fact is, at least according to Jesus, if we believe Him, God is doing exactly that. He is waiting to hear us tell Him what we want so He can do it for us. We do apologize if that messes with anyone's theology. You might have noticed we do not have a lot of respect for bad theology.
Interestingly, when Jesus started the model prayer by saying, "When you pray, say" He did not use the imperative mood. He was not telling us to pray. He was expressing His desire that we do. Well, I think it is interesting anyway. I am not the jumping up and down and shouting type, but in my mind, that is something to jump up and down and shout about. Let me say it again. Jesus suggests that it would be good if we were to tell God what we want Him to do for us. I believe I have just written myself happy.
Now that we know what God wants us to do, let us consider the ramifications of doing it. We know that God is not going to tell us to do anything that is bad for us. In fact Jesus told us how foolish we would be to think that just a few verses further down in Luke 11. We already knew where the real power in the universe resides, in the Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
We might as well use our real life situation as an example. We are interested in ridding the area of a religious spirit. We do not have the ability to do that. We know God wants to move. God is going to move in response to our prayer, praise, and worship. In fact, He is already moving or we would not even be having this discussion. It is time to begin to command the work of God's hand. Right now is not too soon to start. Let us agree together to, at least once a day, say something like, "Father God, we command the works of Your hand against the religious spirit in the Santa Maria valley." You can then go on and speak against the manifestations you see. Refer back to the series on the manifestations of the religious spirit if you need to.
When you have a chance, give us some feedback as to what is going on and anything the Holy Spirit might show you. Do remember we are not speaking against people. We are speaking against the religious spirit. If you do not think you are quite ready to discern the difference, do not start until after you have at least read the next post. God bless.
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