I was all set to write a post on preparation for entering the promised land. In fact I had already started writing it. Then I had one of those serendipitous things happen that we become accustomed to God doing and not taking the credit. My eldest daughter, Charity, had been on my mind for a few days, but I had not thought of her at the appropriate time to call. I finally got around to it last night--and of course that was not an appropriate time either, but she called me back half an hour or so later. She said she had another book I needed to read. Like I am not already backlogged. Then of course she had to follow up with an email giving me some highlights of yet another book then the one she had mentioned. "Preparation for entering the Promised Land" was one of the highlights listed. Everyone knows I am not a dumb as I look so that post will have to wait until I read that book. I ordered it from Amazon and it should be here next week.
Sometimes I feel like I am completely dragging my feet here and I suppose sometimes I am. However, processing what I just described in the previous paragraph did illumine a very interesting concept. At least I thought it was a very interesting concept and since this is my blog, you can either read it or not.
We are battling against a religious spirit here in the Santa Maria valley. That spirit has infected all the churches in the valley to a greater or lesser degree. Of course the insidious nature of a spiritual attack is such that the spirit is very difficult to identify. That set me to wondering. Well, that and the conversation with Charity did anyway. Since the churches are infected with the spirit, the leaders of the churches are obviously unwittingly in collusion with the spirit or it could not be propagated. I know, that sounds bad and I am treading as carefully as I know how. Let me see if I can explain what I mean. Oh, and the point of this post (I think) is that it is not only the leaders.
Very often a pastor, usually of a smaller church, will not be the one who is unwittingly in agreement with the religious spirit. It is often a layman who holds some office in the local church that will be the problem. This person and the people around him or her become so inflated with their own importance they
seek to, oh gee, I cannot write what I am thinking. What they do is make the pastor impotent because of their self-centered importance. They earnestly play church for their own benefit. It is all part of the greater deception of the religious spirit.
The nature of the religious spirit is such that it causes people to believe they are doing Godly things when they are in fact only being religious. They have the form of Godliness we talked about early on, but they deny the power of God. Do we not all deny the power of God to some extent? That is symptomatic of a religious spirit. Even best, brightest, and most faith-filled among us act as though we believe there are things God cannot do.
The classic question about God's omnipotence is, "Can God make a rock He cannot pick up?" The answer, of course, is "Yes He can." The very simple explanation is however, once he has created that rock, He is also able to pick it up. Now we are not talking about ability, but rather desire. His ability is unquestioned so "Can He..." is not a valid question. "Will He..." is the real question. We can easily get caught in our own story loop when we begin to ask a question like that. It goes something like this. I know God can, but I am just not sure he wants to. So if He does not want to, then He will not so it is the same whether He can or not.
May we settle the question of what God wants for us by referring back to a verse we have quoted over and over in this blog? Jesus said, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." (John 10:10) If you are still having a problem with this concept let me suggest a slight modification of the Ben Franklin close that salesmen sometimes use when a prospect cannot make up his or her mind. Take a sheet of paper and draw a line down the middle lengthwise. Label one side of the paper, "Thief." On that side of the line write all the things in your life that are missing, lost, or ruined. Label the other side, "Abundant Life." List over there all the things that would be good, beneficial, or would simply make life a little better. That side shows what God wants for you. Now we are back to the question of, "Will He."
Let us finish by reminding ourselves of just how much God loves us. Romans 8:32 asks the question, "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" That only leaves two questions in my mind. Who is included in "us all" and how many things are included in "all things"? Yes, that sounds too simple. Then again sometimes we are the ones who overcomplicate things.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
We Need to Talk About Tongues
We are going to teach you something in this post that only about a dozen people in the world know. That is only because I have taught nine of them. While that is, of course, a tongue in cheek remark, if anyone else is teaching it correctly and completely, we certainly have not heard it. As with a lot of scriptural concepts it is so simple it is difficult to understand why it is not commonly known and taught.
Speaking in tongues is possibly the most divisive concept in the Bible. The interesting thing about that division is that the conflict comes from the people who do not want to believe the gift is still important to The Church. Oh wait, it is always the people who do not want to believe something who cause divisions in the church. Perhaps you have noticed that? In this writer's opinion, it is always better to believe too much than too little. When one believes too much, the Holy Spirit can always reign him in. However, when one believes too little he has set a limit on God. Limit God? God does delight in surprising us, but He will stop at the point of our unbelief. Take my word for that for now.
There is another interesting thing about the gifts of speaking in tongues. Yes, we did say "gifts" plural. It is interesting that Pentecostals and charismatics know there are different gifts of tongues, but virtually none of them know where they are found in the Bible. They know about the charismatic gift of tongues, part of the charismata, which is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:10. Somehow they make that gift both gifts. They say it is the public gift and also a private prayer language given by the Holy Spirit as the initial physical evidence of His baptism. Were it not for the fact those presenting this teaching are ignorant of what you are about to learn, it would be bad theology and possibly intellectual dishonesty as well. I suppose what is even more amazing, is they are correct--in a way and to a point. There is a personal prayer language, a speaking in tongues that is the initial, physical evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit, but it is not a part of the charismata. It is a gift called a dorea (a personal gift in Greek) and it is found in Acts 10:46. The charismatic gift of tongues is given to The Church so that God can talk to us, whereas the other gift, the dorea, is given so that we can talk to God.
We attended a Pentecostal Bible college, sat under the teaching of some of the best Pentecostal theologians and teachers in the world today, and read numerous books on the subject of spiritual gifts. We did not so much as hear there was a dorea gift of tongues until we had the opportuntity to hear a teaching by Dr. E. Craig Hamlin. Dr. Hamlin holds a Ph.D. Psychology. He is not a theologian per se. He is a gifted Bible teacher. Had we not heard this overlooked piece of theology from him, we would not be teaching it here. Dr. Hamlin did not quite complete the teaching the day we heard it. He was exactly right as far as he went.
Acts Chapter 10 is the story of Peter being introduced to and starting a ministry to the Gentiles. The misunderstanding concerning the dorea is found in verse 46 as indicated above. The point that has traditionally been overlooked in this teaching is the case of the phrase, "the gift of the Holy Spirit" which it is said, "had been poured out on the Gentiles also". We think the Holy Spirit is the gift. That makes sense in the context and when we ignore the case, it is easy to misunderstand what is being said. In fact the genitive (or English possessive) case allows us to say either, "gift of the Holy Spirit" or "Holy Spirit's gift". When we use the latter rendering it is clear the gift is not the Holy Spirit, but rather is one given by Him. We will give you a second to think about that. The gift is not the Holy Spirit. The gift belongs to the Holy Spirit, it is His to give. That gift is the personal prayer language of speaking in tongues.
According to Pentecostal theology (We are not including the charismatics here because there is no such thing as charismatic theology. By definition a charismatic is a person who believes the charismata is for today, but chooses to remain faithful to another branch of The Church. Charismatics hold to Pentecostal theology and usually also to some other denominational, doctrinal position.) the initial, physical evidence of the baptism with the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues. This tripped me up for a few hours early in my Pentecostal walk. The Holy Spirit was quick to help me understand the principle. In order to help you avoid tripping too, let me say it has to be the initial physical evidence because it is the only physical evidence. All the other gifts of the charismata must be spiritually discerned as such. We hear tongues from a physical mouth to our physical ears. There is no question something different is going on.
The dorea gift of speaking in tongues is given so that we can communicate with God, through the Holy Spirit, according to His perfect will. When we pray in tongues we are engaging our spirit, our soul, and our body all at the same time. Our mind does not understand what we are saying, but it directs our body to say it, when the Holy Spirit calls the prayer forth from our spirit. It is not really a complex process. It is just something we are not used to. However, it is a good idea to get used to it. Do it often. Pray in the spirit as often as possible. You never know when someone might need prayer that you do not know about. The Holy Spirit knows and He is looking for a partner. Is there anyone who really does not want to be a prayer partner with the Holy Spirit? If you answered "Yes" to that question, you might be reading the wrong blog.
Speaking in tongues is possibly the most divisive concept in the Bible. The interesting thing about that division is that the conflict comes from the people who do not want to believe the gift is still important to The Church. Oh wait, it is always the people who do not want to believe something who cause divisions in the church. Perhaps you have noticed that? In this writer's opinion, it is always better to believe too much than too little. When one believes too much, the Holy Spirit can always reign him in. However, when one believes too little he has set a limit on God. Limit God? God does delight in surprising us, but He will stop at the point of our unbelief. Take my word for that for now.
There is another interesting thing about the gifts of speaking in tongues. Yes, we did say "gifts" plural. It is interesting that Pentecostals and charismatics know there are different gifts of tongues, but virtually none of them know where they are found in the Bible. They know about the charismatic gift of tongues, part of the charismata, which is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:10. Somehow they make that gift both gifts. They say it is the public gift and also a private prayer language given by the Holy Spirit as the initial physical evidence of His baptism. Were it not for the fact those presenting this teaching are ignorant of what you are about to learn, it would be bad theology and possibly intellectual dishonesty as well. I suppose what is even more amazing, is they are correct--in a way and to a point. There is a personal prayer language, a speaking in tongues that is the initial, physical evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit, but it is not a part of the charismata. It is a gift called a dorea (a personal gift in Greek) and it is found in Acts 10:46. The charismatic gift of tongues is given to The Church so that God can talk to us, whereas the other gift, the dorea, is given so that we can talk to God.
Most Pentecostals and charismatics have pretty good theology about the charismatic gifts so we are not going to discuss them here. If you feel you need some teaching in that area, send us an email or simply read 1 Corinthians 12-14. Paul gives some detail on the gifts and how to use them. Understanding the dorea gift is the point of this post. Again, do not let this be too simple for you.
We attended a Pentecostal Bible college, sat under the teaching of some of the best Pentecostal theologians and teachers in the world today, and read numerous books on the subject of spiritual gifts. We did not so much as hear there was a dorea gift of tongues until we had the opportuntity to hear a teaching by Dr. E. Craig Hamlin. Dr. Hamlin holds a Ph.D. Psychology. He is not a theologian per se. He is a gifted Bible teacher. Had we not heard this overlooked piece of theology from him, we would not be teaching it here. Dr. Hamlin did not quite complete the teaching the day we heard it. He was exactly right as far as he went.
Acts Chapter 10 is the story of Peter being introduced to and starting a ministry to the Gentiles. The misunderstanding concerning the dorea is found in verse 46 as indicated above. The point that has traditionally been overlooked in this teaching is the case of the phrase, "the gift of the Holy Spirit" which it is said, "had been poured out on the Gentiles also". We think the Holy Spirit is the gift. That makes sense in the context and when we ignore the case, it is easy to misunderstand what is being said. In fact the genitive (or English possessive) case allows us to say either, "gift of the Holy Spirit" or "Holy Spirit's gift". When we use the latter rendering it is clear the gift is not the Holy Spirit, but rather is one given by Him. We will give you a second to think about that. The gift is not the Holy Spirit. The gift belongs to the Holy Spirit, it is His to give. That gift is the personal prayer language of speaking in tongues.
According to Pentecostal theology (We are not including the charismatics here because there is no such thing as charismatic theology. By definition a charismatic is a person who believes the charismata is for today, but chooses to remain faithful to another branch of The Church. Charismatics hold to Pentecostal theology and usually also to some other denominational, doctrinal position.) the initial, physical evidence of the baptism with the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues. This tripped me up for a few hours early in my Pentecostal walk. The Holy Spirit was quick to help me understand the principle. In order to help you avoid tripping too, let me say it has to be the initial physical evidence because it is the only physical evidence. All the other gifts of the charismata must be spiritually discerned as such. We hear tongues from a physical mouth to our physical ears. There is no question something different is going on.
The dorea gift of speaking in tongues is given so that we can communicate with God, through the Holy Spirit, according to His perfect will. When we pray in tongues we are engaging our spirit, our soul, and our body all at the same time. Our mind does not understand what we are saying, but it directs our body to say it, when the Holy Spirit calls the prayer forth from our spirit. It is not really a complex process. It is just something we are not used to. However, it is a good idea to get used to it. Do it often. Pray in the spirit as often as possible. You never know when someone might need prayer that you do not know about. The Holy Spirit knows and He is looking for a partner. Is there anyone who really does not want to be a prayer partner with the Holy Spirit? If you answered "Yes" to that question, you might be reading the wrong blog.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Sometimes Things Do Change
We have muddled through the crises of the past couple weeks. The DSL has been repaired so I can publish again. The work related stress has been eliminated. Life is good. In fact, life is better than good. The reason for that is exciting things are happening at the mission. Telling you about current events in the lives of two of the program men there should amply demonstrate what I mean.
Tony is at the mission for a second go around. He only spent six months there the first time when the program was a full year for most men. He has come back to do six more months and has been promised a graduation certificate when he completes that time. What you need to know about Tony is that he originally came to the mission as a committed Catholic. Ok, maybe not very committed, but definitely Catholic. He also did not know anything about the Bible. He learned quite a bit the first time through, but it was mostly information and not much revelation to speak of.
Pastor Bill Winston, whom we have mentioned before in these posts, says that the fall of man was a fall from revelation to information. What he means by that is that, man, being in perfect fellowship with God before the fall, received his understanding about God via direct revelation from God. However, after the fall, man became dependent on gathering information about God and the world he lived in. Believe it or not, there are actually some theologians who believe it is not possible for us to receive direct revelation any longer. (I think that is because if they admit it is possible, they would have to explain why they do not receive any.)
Watchman Nee explains that when man fell, his soul came between his spirit and God so that revelation is inhibited because now we have to decide how we think and feel so we can decide how to act rather than simply acting on what God says to us. Both men are saying the same thing in a little different way, placing the emphasis on different aspects of what happened.
Tony returned to the mission with much more knowledge than the first time. Part of his return was precipitated by the death of his mother. Now his sister is trying to settle the estate and that sometimes causes a little stress in his life.
He was walking up the stairs earlier this week and he said, "Deuteronomy." That was it, just Deuteronomy. He did not even know it was a book in the Bible so he asked our chaplain who told him that much. He came to my office and asked me to explain what was going on. Like I would know right? We sat in my office and I began reading him the passage headings from the the NIV Bible and give a brief description of what each passage was about. He kept saying things like, "That is exactly what is happening right now. " We did that through about 26 chapters and he seemed to get something out of most of them. Then he asked me why he said Deuteronomy in the first place. I suggested he might have just given himself a word of knowledge or perhaps a prophecy. Granted it was only one word, but assuredly Tony was hearing from the Holy Spirit. That is huge.
Jon came into the program a little over six months ago. Under normal circumstances (whatever those are) he would have started his second phase last week--except that he was in jail for 37 days. It is not important why he was in jail except to say he was never arrested, only detained. The problem was being detained alerted the parole department and his parole agent placed a hold on him until everything could be sorted out.
You have to understand that Jon is a very intelligent man. There is nothing he could not have already accomplished in his life had he not been distracted by methamphetamine. So he went to jail for 37 days. It was an uneventful 37 days except that he prayed with five fellow inmates to receive Jesus as Lord while he was there. Hey, I would have to take off my shoes and borrow some other fingers and toes to count how many pastors have not lead five people to the Lord in the past 37 days. Of course I guess it helps to be around unsaved people if one is going to do the work of an evangelist. (2 Timothy 2:5) I am thankful it was Jon in jail doing that and not me.
Oh yes, make no mistake, things are going on at the mission. I only chose the most dramatic things, certainly not all the things that have happened recently. Oh, by the way, the mighty men count is up to five. One of them is really a rapscallion, but then such were some of us. Still, he chose to be a mighty man and, although haltingly at times, he is trying to walk worthy of his calling. (Ephesians 4:1) If he is going to follow, I am going to make sure he has the best example possible to follow. See you next time. God bless.
Tony is at the mission for a second go around. He only spent six months there the first time when the program was a full year for most men. He has come back to do six more months and has been promised a graduation certificate when he completes that time. What you need to know about Tony is that he originally came to the mission as a committed Catholic. Ok, maybe not very committed, but definitely Catholic. He also did not know anything about the Bible. He learned quite a bit the first time through, but it was mostly information and not much revelation to speak of.
Pastor Bill Winston, whom we have mentioned before in these posts, says that the fall of man was a fall from revelation to information. What he means by that is that, man, being in perfect fellowship with God before the fall, received his understanding about God via direct revelation from God. However, after the fall, man became dependent on gathering information about God and the world he lived in. Believe it or not, there are actually some theologians who believe it is not possible for us to receive direct revelation any longer. (I think that is because if they admit it is possible, they would have to explain why they do not receive any.)
Watchman Nee explains that when man fell, his soul came between his spirit and God so that revelation is inhibited because now we have to decide how we think and feel so we can decide how to act rather than simply acting on what God says to us. Both men are saying the same thing in a little different way, placing the emphasis on different aspects of what happened.
Tony returned to the mission with much more knowledge than the first time. Part of his return was precipitated by the death of his mother. Now his sister is trying to settle the estate and that sometimes causes a little stress in his life.
He was walking up the stairs earlier this week and he said, "Deuteronomy." That was it, just Deuteronomy. He did not even know it was a book in the Bible so he asked our chaplain who told him that much. He came to my office and asked me to explain what was going on. Like I would know right? We sat in my office and I began reading him the passage headings from the the NIV Bible and give a brief description of what each passage was about. He kept saying things like, "That is exactly what is happening right now. " We did that through about 26 chapters and he seemed to get something out of most of them. Then he asked me why he said Deuteronomy in the first place. I suggested he might have just given himself a word of knowledge or perhaps a prophecy. Granted it was only one word, but assuredly Tony was hearing from the Holy Spirit. That is huge.
Jon came into the program a little over six months ago. Under normal circumstances (whatever those are) he would have started his second phase last week--except that he was in jail for 37 days. It is not important why he was in jail except to say he was never arrested, only detained. The problem was being detained alerted the parole department and his parole agent placed a hold on him until everything could be sorted out.
You have to understand that Jon is a very intelligent man. There is nothing he could not have already accomplished in his life had he not been distracted by methamphetamine. So he went to jail for 37 days. It was an uneventful 37 days except that he prayed with five fellow inmates to receive Jesus as Lord while he was there. Hey, I would have to take off my shoes and borrow some other fingers and toes to count how many pastors have not lead five people to the Lord in the past 37 days. Of course I guess it helps to be around unsaved people if one is going to do the work of an evangelist. (2 Timothy 2:5) I am thankful it was Jon in jail doing that and not me.
Oh yes, make no mistake, things are going on at the mission. I only chose the most dramatic things, certainly not all the things that have happened recently. Oh, by the way, the mighty men count is up to five. One of them is really a rapscallion, but then such were some of us. Still, he chose to be a mighty man and, although haltingly at times, he is trying to walk worthy of his calling. (Ephesians 4:1) If he is going to follow, I am going to make sure he has the best example possible to follow. See you next time. God bless.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
The More Things Change
There is an old saying, "The more things change, the more they stay the same." It is Saturday, just after 5:00 AM and here I am blogging. That is not a problem. I have been mostly awake for about three hours already. I am pretty sure I am going to need a nap later on, but for now God bless Charles Alderton. Oh, he invented Dr. Pepper.
The more things change comes up because I got word of a scheduling change at work which I believe was intended to start next week. In my opinion it is never a good idea to unilaterally and indiscriminately change a person's schedule without considering all the ramifications. The new schedule is certainly less convenient for me, but it is not even about convenience. I have to rework the whole class schedule. It is not even about that though. I recently looked over our success rate to get the big picture overview. When we had to change from one class a day to two our success rate went way down. It probably was not the class schedule per se that caused it, but rather the fact that twice as much teaching left us with much less time to give the program participants nearly as much personal attention. We teach more, but disciple less. We are not able to pour as much of Jesus' life and love into the men. That leaves me sad. Another schedule change is only going to make that worse. I am not sure at this point what I can do to mitigate that.
I am doing some good work at the mission. At least a lot of people seem to think so. If I have to deal with some things I just do not understand I guess I will do that as long as Jesus is pleased to have me do it. I cannot help anyone if I am not there. Still, there comes a time when enough is too much. Not to worry, that time is not yet.
By now you are probably asking if I am just venting or if there is really a reason for all this. There is always a reason--if it is only me venting and processing my emotions in print. You all would probably be gracious with me and finish reading anyway. I am constantly amazed at what you all get out of the things I write when I am not the least bit impressed.
There are life lessons to be learned in any situation we may encounter. By the way, now Saturday has turned into Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We have been having internet problems for over a week here at home. I had finished this post. When I went to print a copy Monday, the last half was not there. Apparently it got lost Sunday somewhere between my computer and the Google server when I tried to publish it. I do apologize to those of you who might have read the half a post before I found out what had happened. The repairman for the DSL was here yesterday afternoon. Now I can finish it.
Sunday morning as I was almost awake I was kind of complaining to the Lord. I was saying "This guy is a pain in the..." That was exactly as far as I got when the Holy Spirit reminded me of something I have taught over the years about Paul's thorn in the flesh. (2 Corinthians 12:7) Most people want to spiritualize the thorn or say it was a physical illness that Paul could not get rid of. Some even claim this passage is proof Jesus does not want to heal everyone. I doubt Paul would have agreed. In fact, he said his thorn was a messenger of Satan sent to buffet him and keep him humble. What he was saying is he had a spirit following him, stirring up trouble for him and it was a pain in the neck. Of course with the decay of society nowadays we tend to use a lower part of the anatomy in that expression.
R.T. Kenyon, a pastor and author from a previous generation, believes everyone has a thorn in the flesh. I am not sure I agree with that hypothesis. I have never thought myself to need one. I can keep myself pretty humble with my own mistakes. I think that is all I will say about that.
Whether I have a thorn or not, I have been keep off balance for a couple weeks now by one thing after another. I need a vacation. Lord, I need a long vacation--with pay please. You have seen what happens when I am off balance. It has been over two weeks since I published a post. I know most of you are accustomed to me being a more prolific writer than that. I usually am.
Make no mistake, the devil does not want me to succeed in any area of my life. (Pssstttt...he does not want you to succeed either.) I have been getting dangerous to the kingdom of darkness after all these years. I beat on the serpent's head every day at the mission. Men are coming out of jail, being born again, and turning their lives toward more beneficial pursuits. I blog. Some people read my blog. Some of them find a little help, comfort, instruction or solace in what they read. I am dangerous.
"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28) Some of the newer translations add the causative to this verse so it reads, "...God causes all things to work..." or "...in all things, God works..." As Christians we know regardless of how the verse is translated, God is the one who works and causes all things to work. To finish this post and publish it, let me say that God worked in every situation that was causing me stress over the past week and they have all been resolved. It is possible that not everyone is happy with the way things were resolved, but that undoubtedly means their life lessons in those situations are not yet complete. God is doing good work everywhere I look. I am kind of excited. I had to finish this post so I could get on to the next one. If you are not excited by the time you finish reading it, check your pulse. God bless.
The more things change comes up because I got word of a scheduling change at work which I believe was intended to start next week. In my opinion it is never a good idea to unilaterally and indiscriminately change a person's schedule without considering all the ramifications. The new schedule is certainly less convenient for me, but it is not even about convenience. I have to rework the whole class schedule. It is not even about that though. I recently looked over our success rate to get the big picture overview. When we had to change from one class a day to two our success rate went way down. It probably was not the class schedule per se that caused it, but rather the fact that twice as much teaching left us with much less time to give the program participants nearly as much personal attention. We teach more, but disciple less. We are not able to pour as much of Jesus' life and love into the men. That leaves me sad. Another schedule change is only going to make that worse. I am not sure at this point what I can do to mitigate that.
I am doing some good work at the mission. At least a lot of people seem to think so. If I have to deal with some things I just do not understand I guess I will do that as long as Jesus is pleased to have me do it. I cannot help anyone if I am not there. Still, there comes a time when enough is too much. Not to worry, that time is not yet.
By now you are probably asking if I am just venting or if there is really a reason for all this. There is always a reason--if it is only me venting and processing my emotions in print. You all would probably be gracious with me and finish reading anyway. I am constantly amazed at what you all get out of the things I write when I am not the least bit impressed.
There are life lessons to be learned in any situation we may encounter. By the way, now Saturday has turned into Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We have been having internet problems for over a week here at home. I had finished this post. When I went to print a copy Monday, the last half was not there. Apparently it got lost Sunday somewhere between my computer and the Google server when I tried to publish it. I do apologize to those of you who might have read the half a post before I found out what had happened. The repairman for the DSL was here yesterday afternoon. Now I can finish it.
Sunday morning as I was almost awake I was kind of complaining to the Lord. I was saying "This guy is a pain in the..." That was exactly as far as I got when the Holy Spirit reminded me of something I have taught over the years about Paul's thorn in the flesh. (2 Corinthians 12:7) Most people want to spiritualize the thorn or say it was a physical illness that Paul could not get rid of. Some even claim this passage is proof Jesus does not want to heal everyone. I doubt Paul would have agreed. In fact, he said his thorn was a messenger of Satan sent to buffet him and keep him humble. What he was saying is he had a spirit following him, stirring up trouble for him and it was a pain in the neck. Of course with the decay of society nowadays we tend to use a lower part of the anatomy in that expression.
R.T. Kenyon, a pastor and author from a previous generation, believes everyone has a thorn in the flesh. I am not sure I agree with that hypothesis. I have never thought myself to need one. I can keep myself pretty humble with my own mistakes. I think that is all I will say about that.
Whether I have a thorn or not, I have been keep off balance for a couple weeks now by one thing after another. I need a vacation. Lord, I need a long vacation--with pay please. You have seen what happens when I am off balance. It has been over two weeks since I published a post. I know most of you are accustomed to me being a more prolific writer than that. I usually am.
Make no mistake, the devil does not want me to succeed in any area of my life. (Pssstttt...he does not want you to succeed either.) I have been getting dangerous to the kingdom of darkness after all these years. I beat on the serpent's head every day at the mission. Men are coming out of jail, being born again, and turning their lives toward more beneficial pursuits. I blog. Some people read my blog. Some of them find a little help, comfort, instruction or solace in what they read. I am dangerous.
"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28) Some of the newer translations add the causative to this verse so it reads, "...God causes all things to work..." or "...in all things, God works..." As Christians we know regardless of how the verse is translated, God is the one who works and causes all things to work. To finish this post and publish it, let me say that God worked in every situation that was causing me stress over the past week and they have all been resolved. It is possible that not everyone is happy with the way things were resolved, but that undoubtedly means their life lessons in those situations are not yet complete. God is doing good work everywhere I look. I am kind of excited. I had to finish this post so I could get on to the next one. If you are not excited by the time you finish reading it, check your pulse. God bless.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Once Upon a Time
Once upon a time in a land not so far away there lived a fairly ordinary man (replace with "woman" if you are female). He had never done much of anything to distinguish himself from his peer group. He was not rich or famous or particularly good looking and though he kept trying to convince people he was just not that smart, many who knew him did not believe it. If he did anything right in his life, it had been to answer the call of God. To his mind it did not much matter what the Lord said, he just did it. Of particular note in that obedience was that, though sometimes easily distracted, the overriding desire of his life was to find exactly where he fit, what his purpose was, in the kindgom of God. He firmly believed that every person is put upon this earth for some higher purpose than to just live and die. Some people are slow learners and it took him the best part of threescore years on earth to finally discover his calling. Even that discovery came about almost by accident.
It certainly would be nice if God sent us to earth knowing exactly what we were doing. In truth, some of us never find out. God has provided all the answers to all the mysteries of life within the greatest of all books, the Bible. The Bible tells us everything we need to know about living life on the earth. It is not about a cosmic struggle in the heavenly realms that makes good reading. It is not even about the history of one people group on the earth and their struggles to obtain and maintain an identity against all odds. Rather, it is the greatest story ever told. It is certainly the greatest because it tells us about Jesus, the Son of God who chose to endure the discomforts of earth for a little while rather than enjoy the comforts of the heavenly throne room while God's greatest creation self-destructed on a blue ball of carbon based materials spinning its way around one of ten septrillion stars in the universe (That is 10 with 21 zeros after it, and no, I did not count them. In fact, I doubt the accuracy of the number, but that is the number astronomers work with.)
To return to our story, one of the things this man did right was to find the right woman to be his partner, his companion, his helper exactly suited to him. God said, "It is not good that man should be alone..." (Genesis 2:18) He almost backed into that one too. Had God not insisted he propose, it is anyone's guess whether he would have gotten that one right. The end of that story has yet to be written, but so far, the four best children in the world have made it to adulthood and today the family totals ten with another on the way. The blessings of God are evident throughout the family. Lest that sound a little too idyllic, the whole group is eminently human with all the same struggles and challenges such as are common to mankind on this earth. Yet they have, and they will, overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony--Jesus is Lord!
Surely there must be a reason we are telling this particular story of this individual man of all the billions that have lived on this earth since its creation. Certainly there is. God always has a plan. We are the ones who miss it or lose sight of it. The book of Proverbs is generally attributed to King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived. (Sorry Stephen Hawking, Carl Sagan, and all you others who have not even found the beginning of wisdom. Hint: check out Proverbs 9:10.) King Solomon said, "Where there is no revelation the people cast off restraint..." (Proverbs 29:18) The clear message here is that when we cannot see what God is doing, we do what we want to do. Many of us have spent many years doing what we wanted to do, what seemed right in our own eyes. Of course God warned us about that too. "There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death." (Proverbs 16:25) When we do not listen to Him, we prove how right He is.
A friend had me watch a dumb, old movie a few years ago. Some of you might remember Meatballs. The message of that movie in one phrase is, "It just doesn't matter." It does not matter where your life has been or where it is right now. Jesus' message of redemption is that it can all change right now. If you have made bad decisions in the past, you can change that right now. If you do not know where you're headed, you can change that right now. The past is behind you. It just does not matter. If you want to be intentional about walking free from your past life, again, the Bible has some sage advice. "...forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14) Maybe you have some to forgive. Do it! Perhaps you have some one you need to ask to forgive you. Do it! Leave the past in the past and focus on doing the right things, the right way, right now!
You probably guessed who the man is in the story. At least most of you know. He is you and he is me. Probably more me than you, but you get the idea. We all face the same things as we walk through this life. The challenges, tests, and trials come in different forms and versions, but they really are all the same. We have read the back of the book and we know we finally win. What happens to us in the meantime really does not matter all that much. It is all about getting there and doing the right things along the way. God bless you as you do.
It certainly would be nice if God sent us to earth knowing exactly what we were doing. In truth, some of us never find out. God has provided all the answers to all the mysteries of life within the greatest of all books, the Bible. The Bible tells us everything we need to know about living life on the earth. It is not about a cosmic struggle in the heavenly realms that makes good reading. It is not even about the history of one people group on the earth and their struggles to obtain and maintain an identity against all odds. Rather, it is the greatest story ever told. It is certainly the greatest because it tells us about Jesus, the Son of God who chose to endure the discomforts of earth for a little while rather than enjoy the comforts of the heavenly throne room while God's greatest creation self-destructed on a blue ball of carbon based materials spinning its way around one of ten septrillion stars in the universe (That is 10 with 21 zeros after it, and no, I did not count them. In fact, I doubt the accuracy of the number, but that is the number astronomers work with.)
To return to our story, one of the things this man did right was to find the right woman to be his partner, his companion, his helper exactly suited to him. God said, "It is not good that man should be alone..." (Genesis 2:18) He almost backed into that one too. Had God not insisted he propose, it is anyone's guess whether he would have gotten that one right. The end of that story has yet to be written, but so far, the four best children in the world have made it to adulthood and today the family totals ten with another on the way. The blessings of God are evident throughout the family. Lest that sound a little too idyllic, the whole group is eminently human with all the same struggles and challenges such as are common to mankind on this earth. Yet they have, and they will, overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony--Jesus is Lord!
Surely there must be a reason we are telling this particular story of this individual man of all the billions that have lived on this earth since its creation. Certainly there is. God always has a plan. We are the ones who miss it or lose sight of it. The book of Proverbs is generally attributed to King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived. (Sorry Stephen Hawking, Carl Sagan, and all you others who have not even found the beginning of wisdom. Hint: check out Proverbs 9:10.) King Solomon said, "Where there is no revelation the people cast off restraint..." (Proverbs 29:18) The clear message here is that when we cannot see what God is doing, we do what we want to do. Many of us have spent many years doing what we wanted to do, what seemed right in our own eyes. Of course God warned us about that too. "There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death." (Proverbs 16:25) When we do not listen to Him, we prove how right He is.
A friend had me watch a dumb, old movie a few years ago. Some of you might remember Meatballs. The message of that movie in one phrase is, "It just doesn't matter." It does not matter where your life has been or where it is right now. Jesus' message of redemption is that it can all change right now. If you have made bad decisions in the past, you can change that right now. If you do not know where you're headed, you can change that right now. The past is behind you. It just does not matter. If you want to be intentional about walking free from your past life, again, the Bible has some sage advice. "...forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14) Maybe you have some to forgive. Do it! Perhaps you have some one you need to ask to forgive you. Do it! Leave the past in the past and focus on doing the right things, the right way, right now!
You probably guessed who the man is in the story. At least most of you know. He is you and he is me. Probably more me than you, but you get the idea. We all face the same things as we walk through this life. The challenges, tests, and trials come in different forms and versions, but they really are all the same. We have read the back of the book and we know we finally win. What happens to us in the meantime really does not matter all that much. It is all about getting there and doing the right things along the way. God bless you as you do.
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