PERSISTING IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD

Some study I’ve recently been doing has led me to question my motives. What causes me to think the way I think? What causes me to do what I do? What causes me to say what I say? What causes me to act the way I act? Oh, you say, that’s easy. Jesus. The right answer for everything. Righto! But…let’s just get honest.

Is that always true? Is Jesus always my motivation? Is that enough of a motivator? Gasp! Well, of course it is…how could you ask such a thing? Hush your mouth, you say. Well, speaking for myself only, I’m wondering if that’s always true or even a little bit true. If I drill down on myself, ashamedly, I say, no, it’s just not true, sometimes not even a little bit.

It’s so hard to ask ourselves the hard questions, that we rarely do. But, it’s critical that we do. Oh sure, it’s always easier to question others’ motives – I see a tiny speck of dust through my big log! Owww, stop beating yourself up, you say. Stop beating me up, you say. I throw no punches at you I don’t first throw at myself! Why is it important to contemplate these things, you say? Because as followers of Christ, we must realize that He will and does question our motives.

They say, “The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob pays no heed.
Take heed, you senseless ones among the people;
you fools, when will you become wise?
Does he who implanted the ear not hear?
Does he who formed the eye not see?
Does he who disciplines nations not punish?
Does he who teaches man lack knowledge?
The Lord knows the thoughts of man; he know they are futile.
Psalm 94:7-11

He says it right there, “The Lord knows the thoughts of man…” Does anyone else feel like they’ve just had a tooth extracted without novocaine? I don’t know about you, but, when I really think about it, the thought that He knows my thoughts makes me want to avoid eye contact and maybe throw up a little in my mouth. You too?

We are called to check our motives over and over. Why? Because we’re sinful folks. We just are. Because, if everything we say, everything we do, everything we are is not to glorify God, our motives are wrong and we need some soulful consideration, or reconsideration.

And whatever you do, whether in word of deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:17

Why do we do it all in the name of Jesus? To bring Him glory! Are we genuinely motivated by Christ, or by our own selfish desires? Ouch, another extraction.

The plain and simple is that as Kingdom people, everything we do and say should be Godly motivated.

If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and every. Amen.
1 Peter 4:11

We are not going to always get it right. Sin is subtle. It sometimes masks itself as Godly motives when sometimes they’re simply Bethly or Youly motives. Our life paths will be fraught with all kinds of motivators. Some are obviously bad. Some are very good, but not very God. We will stumble, but because of His promise, we will not fall. If we stay on His path, which is the only saving motivation, He will be glorified.

The evil one is crafty. He uses the ungodly motives of our hearts and minds to lure us from the path. Clinging to Jesus will allow us to push ourselves down as the motivator and for Jesus to be raised as our motivator, all for His glory. Let’s commit to the glory. Not ours, but His.

To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
Jude 24-25

I’m still hung up on those trees…

As I looked out on the trees laying by our deck — we might be looking at that tree carnage a long time — I thought about how the downing of those trees changed our landscape, our view. We used to look out on the one tree and remark about how it obstructed our view of the front field. We had planned to take it down eventually, but it’s still a little sad that it’s gone along with the tree beside it. Just as the view looking toward the field is different, the view from the barn looking at the house, is quite different too. Very open.

Those fallen trees used to shield the house and gave the yard a neatish border. When we finish the work that the wind began, we will be sky-wide open on the east side. I know it will have its benefits, but it makes me feel a little naked on the west, a little unprotected, a little vulnerable. I will miss those trees. I loved them. Our view has changed. Oh, it’s not the end of the world, they are trees, renewable resources. Of course, new growth will take a bit. Trees are slow growers. Still, it looks a little different.

The Bible is full of changing scenery. The change of landscape, the change of the lay of the land, is not always a bad thing.

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Hebrews 11:8-10

Abraham, as well as Isaac and Jacob, were called to change scenery. To view a new landscape. No doubt they felt vulnerable, I mean come on, they were living in tents! Furthermore, or maybe most importantly, they had no idea where they were going. At God’s call to each of them, they obeyed and went, though they didn’t know fully what the landscape would look like. They trusted.

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.
Exodus 14:21-22

Talk about a change of scenery! From wet to dry. From floatable to walkable. From vulnerable to safety. From death to life. The powerful hand of God changed life’s landscape for the Israelites. The powerful hand of God can change life’s landscape for us too. Not only can He, He will. Isaiah foretold.

Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth—so wonderful that no one will even think about the old pones anymore. Be glad; rejoice forever in my creation! And look! I will create Jerusalem as a place of happiness. Her people will be a source of joy.
Isaiah 65:17-18

New heavens and a new earth. Talk about a change of scenery.

But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world where everyone is right with God.
2 Peter 3:13

Peter speaks Isaiah, and John speaks Jesus Christ, through God, from an angel. It’s a message for all time.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw a Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Revelation 21:1-4

Wow. A new earth. A Godly earth. Talk about a landscape change. A re-recreation. I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to that new view. It might be a little dicey getting to the new view, but…a new earth. No more pain, no more hurting, no more hate, no more violence, no more killing, no more anger, no more evil, no more lostness, no more fighting, no more suffering, no more…a new earth. The scenery will change. God will live with us! Think about that for a minute. It’s certainly a different perspective, isn’t it? Isn’t that something to look forward to?

For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.
Romans 10:9-10

There’s only one way to experience that new view, that new scenery, by confessing that Jesus is Lord. Oh sure, confessing is humbling, it makes us feel vulnerable, exposed, but what do you want your eternal view to be? This world will definitely pass away, it is temporary. It’s in The Book. But just like our fathers before, trusting in Him, the One who will live among us for all eternity, throughout the changing scenery of our life, will enable us to experience an eternal view…Why wouldn’t we want that?

The wind blew. Coming from the west. It began out of nowhere. A soft breeze, a little swirling of the clouds. At first, the breeze didn’t seem to be a problem. A clean the leaves out of the flower bed breeze. Those are always good. It was a sun shining, breeze blowing, flag billowing kind of day. We remarked at the beauty. At some point though, things changed. The sky became a little ominous, from sun gold to gray, you know the look. The breeze picked up and it was wind storm watch. As the day progressed, the momentum of the wind picked up and we were at wind storm warning. The soft gentle breeze had turned to a wind advisory before we knew what was going on. Batten down the hatches, mates.

One thing I noticed about the wind storm was the sound. The wind usually pops over the mountain and flows right down Clock Makers Way. Like a child’s slide. You can actually hear it when it tops the mountain. Then as it flows down the driveway, gaining speed and filling all the empty space all around it sounds like a freight train barreling by our house. No kidding. The force of the wind was so intense I prayed our windows would hold as our curtains danced to the 66 mph tune.

The wind can be refreshing on a hot summer day. The wind can dry the saturated surface. The wind can sweep earth’s floor. I’ve often wondered if I opened my front and back doors on a windy day, if that could be considered vacuuming? The dirt wouldn’t be sucked up, it would just blow through.

It is a mighty force, though. The destructive forces of the wind are amazing. Things in its path are broken, uprooted, torn, ripped, fallen, crushed. We move our lawn chairs into the garage, we take down our flagpoles, we move our cars from under the trees, we try to build up, build around, and protect smaller outdoor stuff. But sometimes, there’s nothing you can do to prevent the damage, or is there?

See that tree there? It’s been there since we moved in seven years ago. It’s a great tree, or was. A big sugar maple momma. It did its part, it shielded that side of our house from the sun, and provided a cool sitting spot in the summer. It also provided a little protection from the wind. But, it was no match for the 66 mph song. Why not? Because it was rotten inside, soft. Oh, it didn’t look like it, it was beautiful on the outside, but decaying on the inside. It was not strong enough to withstand the winds. We had warning, over the last year or so, we had a branch down here, a crack in the trunk there. But, when the really strong winds came, it simply could not stand.

Just like trees on a windy day, life has destructive forces that can tear us apart and leave us broken, battered, sometimes limbless and cracked. Many are self-imposed, all are harmful. We are neglectful, decaying, sick in spirit and we simply can’t stand. When gale force blows a dying tree will break. There will almost always be warning signs.

I’m not a treeologist, I can’t tell you how to keep a tree from rotting, from decaying, from dying. I do know, without a shadow of a doubt though how we can keep from rotting, from decaying, from dying from the inside out. How? The right answer to everything, Jesus!

You don’t have to wait for the End. I am, right now, Resurrection and Life. The one who believes in me, even though he or she dies, will live. And everyone who lives believing in me does not ultimately die at all.
John 11:25-26

See that? We don’t have to wait until the end to be alive! His resurrecting power is resurrecting us, right now. Do we live as Believers? Jesus told Martha, if you live like that, you are alive, you don’t have to wait to be resurrected to be alive. What’s that mean? We are to live inside like Believers. Not old, rotted wood, that may crumble at any time. Not like we’re just waiting for the next branch to fall. But live like we know whom we have believeth and are persuaded that He is able! Live as Believers on the inside, allowing His resurrection power to work in and through us. Doing so will enable us to sway to the winds of life that blow our way.

We are pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
2 Corinthians 4:8-12

The wind storms of life will blow us and we may lose a leaf here and there, a twig here and there, a branch here and there, but we will never perish. We may be bent but we will never break. Just as a rotted tree, has death working within it, so is an unbelieving life. We know what will ultimately happen to that tree. The evidence is above. It may not be an instant death, it may happen branch by branch. But we also know what will happen to a believing life, we will never die!

Do you ever wonder how God processes all of our prayers? I know He’s God, but I wondered. I’m one person and I know how many prayers I whisper a day. Prayers for help. Prayers for hope. Prayers for healing. Prayers for justice. Prayers for mercy. Prayers for grace. Prayers for others. Prayers for change. Prayers for clarity. Prayers for provisions. Prayers for direction. Prayers for guidance. Prayers for answers. Then there are those that just can’t be put into words. The achings of my heart, of your heart, those anguished desperate pleas.

And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. Revelations 5:8

Golden bowls full of incense that are filled with my prayers, with your prayers, with all prayers. Dwell on that a minute. Every one of my prayers, every one of your prayers, the incense. Close your eyes and picture that. Priceless containers of gold overflowing with every single utterance to your Creator. Can you see your prayers landing in the bowl? The bowl of incense. Those prayers that are the essence of who we have become in Him, offered up to Him, poured out to Him, laid at His feet. It takes vulnerableness to bow low before our God. All of that vulnerableness, that opening of ourselves, is a sweet aroma to Him.

Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel’s hand. Revelations 8:3-4

Close your eyes again. Be there. The smoke of the incense slowly swirling and threading it’s way upward, rising to the throne of God. Inhale the sweet aroma hanging in the air, just lingering there, weaving through our prayers, enveloping them, our prayers that have been saved, gathered and placed on the golden altar. How much love is that?

Our prayers are an offering, a sacrifice. An offering of ourselves to Him. A humbling of ourselves to Him. An opening of ourselves to Him. A saying, I can’t, but You can. I’m not, but You are. Praying to Him shows we need Him. Calling to Him shows we trust Him. Relying on Him shows that we simply can’t live without Him. This vulnerableness, humbleness, openness demonstrates that.

O Lord, I call to you; come quickly to me.
Hear my voice when I call you.
May my prayer be set before you like incense;
May the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.
Psalm 141:1-2

Close your eyes one more time.

And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside. Luke 1:10

The incense is being burned. It is the vehicle on which our prayers rise. Higher and higher they move with the smoke, instantly heard and seen by God, but treasured forever in the golden bowl. How much love is that?

We all roughly know the story of David and Goliath. David a boy of 16-19 years old, hit a man nine feet tall with a stone and dropped him. In a nutshell, that’s how the story goes, right?

Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was a giant of a man, measuring over nine feet tall! He wore a bronze helmet and a coat of mail that weighed 125 pounds. He also wore bronze leggings, and he slung a bronze javelin over his back. The shaft of his spear was as heavy and thick as a weaver’s bean, tipped with an iron spearhead that weighed fifteen pounds. An armor bearer walked ahead of him carrying a huge shield. 1 Samuel 17:4-7

Goliath was one huge dude. It’s hard to even imagine what he looked like. He was certainly intimidating. He was also confident, full of himself. Twice a day for 40 days (sounds like the wilderness again, doesn’t it?) Goliath would come out and taunt the Israelites. They were scared to death. But it took something very small in the hands of someone very faithful to remedy the situation. One stone. Not a rock, or a boulder, but a small stone.

The Lord involves ordinary people when he does extraordinary things. David, powered by God felled Goliath with just one stone. The stone, without the power of God would never have sufficed. You see, it wasn’t the stone. It was the power of God through David. Just like when Moses led the people to the sea, it wasn’t Moses who parted the waters. It was the power of God through Moses. Over and over in the scriptures – I feel like I say that a lot, but it’s true – the Lord gives us examples of His mighty power at work through us. He worked through David. He worked through Moses.  And others…

One of them was Lydia from Thyatira, a merchant of expensive purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. As she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart and she accepted what Paul was saying. Acts 16:14

He worked through Paul. Paul was the messenger, but the Lord did the work.

“When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me by Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must all come true.” Then he opened their minds to understand these many Scriptures. “Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah must suffer and die and rise again for the dead on the third day. With my authority, take this message of repentance to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem. There is forgiveness of sins for all who turn to me.”
Luke 24:44-45

It happened again. The scriptures held the message, but Jesus did the work. He opened the minds of the disciples to understand the scriptures. Had he not done so, the scriptures would have just been words on a scroll, nice stories, history.

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns! Isaiah 52:7

It happened again. The feet on the mountain brought the news, but Jesus did the work. Isaiah foretold of the deliverance to come. He became sin who was sinless in our place so that we may be saved. Hallelujah! That’s good news those feet were taking everywhere. We are to be tellers of the peace, salvation and deliverance that has come!

The smallest tract may be the stone in David’s sling.
In the hands of Christ, it may bring down a giant soul.
Robert Murray McCheyne

That’s how it will work with us as well. The smallest word. The smallest gift. The smallest gesture. The smallest act. All may bring down a giant soul. Not a comparable sized giant, not an expert sling shot operator, but a faithful shepherd, and Jesus will do the work. Not because of what we do, but because of who He is. We speak only to the ear, but God speaks to the heart.

Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today.
Will Rogers

Great thought, isn’t it? I try to hang these thought provoking, attitude adjusting signs around the office, mainly for myself and so others can hold me to it. I’m hopeful that it might brighten the day for some and offer some small encouragement to others. This sign has been up for about six weeks. I see it every day, about 36 times, as I go to the first floor. I’m the one that posted it, walked by it about 1,080 times, and still didn’t actually understand it until yesterday. Well, I’ll be a buffalo.

Do your yesterdays take up too much of your today? My yesterdays take up way too much of my time. For that matter, my tomorrows do too! Here’s the thing about yesterdays – they are over! Done. Yesterday is dead and gone. We can’t go back. We can’t do over. We can’t change them.

Oh, how we’d like to sometimes, that’s why our yesterdays take up so much of our todays. Those situations where we didn’t do what we were supposed to do and we did do what we weren’t supposed to do. Those Paulish things. Like when the jaws of life have to be used to remove my foot from my mouth, repeatedly, or when I pass by and over a hurting one, repeatedly. Those thoughts are like records, yep, I’m that old. If we allow them to, those yesterday moments play over and over in our minds. What a waste of a good moment. A moment that can never be gotten back.

How much time do we really waste in our yesterdays? Thoughts of those delightful things of yesterday and thoughts of those regretful things of yesterday? You see, we can waste just as much time on the delightful. What, you say? True, I say. Haven’t you ever had such a delightful experience that you’ve dwelt on so much that the experience gets skewed a little in our minds? I have. What ends up happening is that my mind blows it so out of proportion, that my current day, nor any day to come could ever live up to the unicorns and cotton candy.

Same is true for regretful experiences. Why do those seem to play more often and much louder in our minds than the delightful moments? Shoulda, coulda, woulda’s. Why’s? If’s?

If we are not on our guard, the regretful experiences can outweigh the delightful experiences and the delightful experiences can cause us to be out of touch with reality. It’s really a balancing act. Do we really want to be stuck in the past anyway? The reality is that the past is never as great as it’s remembered and it’s never as awful as it’s remembered.

If I spent as much time on my todays as I do rehashing my yesterday’s today, I’d have more time in my todays to do what I’m supposed to be doing today, without being stuck in yesterday!?!?

In her book Jesus Calling, Sarah Young says:

Rehearsing your troubles results in experiencing them many times, whereas you are meant to go through them only when they actually occur. Do not multiply your suffering in this way!

That’s profound. You see, we do rehearse, don’t we? But, when we are rehearsing, when we dwell, when we dramatize, the time spent on living today is spent on living in a yesterday that’s already been lived and we just can’t be used by God. Why? Because yesterday is our idol, good or bad. We can only have one thing or one person to worship. God.

He’s the One who separated the days. They are not continuous. Every day is a new day.

Together these made up one day. Genesis 1:4
This happened on the second day. Genesis 1:8
This all happened on the third day. Genesis 1:13
This all happened on the fourth day. Genesis 1:19
This all happened on the fifth day. Genesis 1:23
This all happened on the sixth day. Genesis 1:31
God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy. Genesis 2:3

Every day is separate, distinct. Every day different. Every day a new creation. Every day new mercies.

Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day.

Lamentations 3:23

The Lord said don’t look to the past, look to the future. I am the Lord. I made a dry path through the sea. I drew the armies beneath the waves.

But forget all that – it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.

Isaiah 43:18

Forget the former stuff. Move on. Don’t live in the past hurts, past disobediences, past fears, the past waves. Live in today. Live expectantly. Stop rehearsing the past.

I—yes, I alone—am the one who blots out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again. Isaiah 43:25

If God does not rehearse our yesterdays, and He would have every right to – I mean, He’s God, why should we? Our pasts are nothing compared to what our futures can be. Don’t let your yesterday interfere with what God has in store for you today. Onward! Forward! Upward!

This is the day the Lord has made.
We will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

This morning the worst-best and I went for a walk. As we’re walking along I’m crying out. Completely heartsick, grieving, seeking answers, begging for eyes and ears to open, asking for the Lord to come and deliver, even so come, right? No, wait — stop. Not yet. We need more time.

As we tromp through the soggy soil, limbs whacking, burrs sticking, briars  briaring, through soaked eyes, I spy something up ahead on the other side of the creek. Tears can be distorting, but Holy cannoli! This simply cannot be happening. It’s a Snowy Owl!!! Do you see it? A once in a lifetime chance. It’s just crazy. I snap the shot. My heart pitter patters as I think about running to the house to call The National Audubon Society. I already have visions of the worst-best gazing into the sun streaked sky in her perfect worst-best pose for the article. Better yet, I’ll call the Peterson of Peterson’s Field Guide to Birds of North America. Peterson’s going to trip.

I try to quiet you know who, and we tiptoe – I tiptoed, she clomped, and we inched closer. Closer, closer, closer. But wait! Something was not right. The Snowy Owl was not moving. My heart sank. My first thought is that it’s dead and frozen into an upright position! Oh no, poor bird. My second thought is that maybe it’s deaf and it just can’t hear us. Oh no, poor bird. Ok. If it’s deaf it must also be blind because it would head out if it saw us. Oh no, poor bird. We keep inching.

I should have known something was not right. The worst-best and I are anything but quiet in the woods, the Snowy Owl had plenty of warnings – slobber sounds, panting, tags tinkling – and the dog wasn’t being very quiet either. We round a stump, catch a side view, and sink in disappointment. It’s not a Snowy Owl, it’s a rotting tree limb. Oh my goodness, we were so disappointed. There goes Peterson’s. No posing for the worst-best for the Audubon article.

Agatha Christie once wrote: “Things are not always what they seem.” Duh! Clearly. My Snowy Owl was a decaying tree limb in disguise. What a goof I am! I was easily confused. Why? Because I don’t know my birds. You see, when I got home and checked out the Field Guide, I learned that the Snowy Owl is actually an artic bird that nests in Alaska, Northern Canada and Eurasia. Shenandoah, we’re not in the arctic anymore. Isn’t that such as life?

I hope you will be patient with me as I keep on talking like a fool. Please bear with me. I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. For I promised you as a pure bride to one husband, Christ. But I fear that somehow you will be led away from your pure and simple devotion to Christ, just as Eve was deceived by the serpent. You seem to believe whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach about a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed. 2 Corinthians 11:1-4

The Bible tells us over and over again that things are not always what they seem. Do not be deceived. Just as Peterson’s Guide must be our authority for birds in North America, the Bible must be our authoritative guide of God’s Word. Afterall, He is the author which makes Him the authority. The Word of God, the Absolute Truth, tells us over and over to be on guard.

Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour. Take a firm stand against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are. 1 Peter 5:8-9

Do we know when Satan’s attacking? If we are in Christ, we should assume that Satan’s always lurking. Are we on guard or are we content?

Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. 1 John 4:1

Yikes! Those are some strong words from The Word. How do we know if the message we’re hearing is really from the Lord? If we know our Bibles, we will know. If we know the heart of God, we will know. If we believe Jesus’s teachings, we will know. If we seek, we will find. Don’t be mislead. Satan is crafty. He uses our lives against us. He uses are weaknesses against us. He uses our fears against us. He uses our lack of knowledge against us. He uses our complacency against us. He uses everything ungodly about us against us.

Do we believe everything we hear or see? Trust but verify. Who said that? Trust what you hear, but verify. Trust what you see, but verify. Verify everything in relationship to the teachings of The Word of God. We are all responsible for working out our own salvation and not relying on someone else or something else to do it for us.

Just like Paul taught the Colossian Church to follow the Word of God, he teaches us too:

Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use his words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. Colossians 3:16

Start with the words of Christ. Allow them to live in your hearts and make you wise. Use these words to teach each other. Be thankful. Be on guard. Be a student of God’s Word.

Please, please, please don’t ever take my word for it. We are all responsible for ourselves. Read your Bible. Know your Bible. Live your Bible. Obey your Bible. Check every word you hear against The Word. Things are not always what they seem.

Heard a question the other day while walking in the field with the worst-best dog ever. I came home, played the message again and wrote it down – I had to see it on paper to see if it really was the question I thought it was. Was the question asking what I thought it was asking? It was. It is. And, I can’t get it out of my head…

Do you have the courage to be a Biblical Christian?

That’s the question. Do I, Beth, have the courage to be a Biblical Christian? Do you, _____, have the courage to be a Biblical Christian? This is not a yeah, yeah, yeah question. This is not a pop over question. This is a pray fervently, search deeply, think until you’re thoughtless so that He can fill your thoughts, kind of question.

It’s going to be hard to answer that question though I’m not sure it should be. I’ve been carrying this question everywhere I go for a week, pulling it out here and there, praying for illumination, praying for it to be easy, praying that He would take this cup, and I’m only just beginning to wrap my head around the question, it’s meaning, it’s impact, it’s world changing, life giving potential. To be honest, I keep reading the question and sometimes I simply have to glance away, close my eyes, beg for mercy, and praise Him for His grace.

You see, one minute I’ll read the question and get my brave on. Charge! I’ll answer the question with a resounding, Yes!! I’m in, Lord! I will follow You, wherever You may go! I accept! Send me Lord, into all the world! The Message is a simple one. Jesus is who He is! The Bible says what it says! Seems simple enough, right?

It is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a very special place in my heart. We have shared together the blessings of God, both when I was in prison and when I was out, defending the truth and telling others the Good News. Philippians 1:7

If it’s so simple, why then the next minute, am I trembling in absolute terror of what I may be called to say or do? Worse yet, what I may be called because of what I’m called to do or say. What are you talking about, you say? Speaking Truth, I say. The world has names for those who speak Truth.

But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction in order to get away from the Lord.
Jonah 1:3

The next reading of the question finds me apathetic, indifferent, whatev, laissez faire. No courage needed, because it’s not my problem. Everybody’s on their own. Each has to figure out what following Jesus means to them, what the Bible says to them. Everybody has rights, you know! Here’s where I beg for mercy because that answer to the question is not what He has taught.

I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold, I wish you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, I will spit you out of my mouth! Revelations 3:15

Another reading of the question again leaves me completely at odds with the world, yet, to be honest, when I’m of the world, I’m completely at odds with God. Completely.

Once you were dead, doomed forever because of your many sins. You used to live just like the rest of the world, full of sin, obeying Satan, the mighty prince of the power of the air. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passions and desires of our evil nature. We were born with an evil nature, and we were under God’s anger, just like everyone else.

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so very much, that even while we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead.  Ephesians 2:1-4

The next time I read it I think, who are you Miss Smarty Pants? I’ve seen what you have done. Who are you to tell others what the Bible says, you’re not perfect, you know. Who are you?

But why me? What makes you think that I could ever go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt? Exodus 3:11

Another reading finds another type of fear. Fear of not being heard. Fear of not being able to say the right things. Fear of coming off wrong. Fear of folks not believing me. Fear of death, eternal death for those I love.

What if they won’t believe me and will not obey me but say, “The Lord did not appear to you!” Exodus 4:1

The Lord said to him, “Who placed a mouth on humans? Who makes a person mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go! I will help you speak and I will teach you what to say.” Exodus 4:11-12

This world is a rugged place for Believers. The constant pull to the world. The constant heel-digging to stay out of the world. This is nothing new and it’s nothing we haven’t been warned about from the very beginning. It is also not something we should shy away from. The world is still the world – different time, different place, different issues, but mostly not. We’re no different than the folks of the Bible.

When the world hates you, remember it hated me before it hated you. The world would love you if you belonged to it, but you don’t. I chose you to come out of the world, and so it hates you. John 15:18

People like to say it’s all about the love. That is exactly right! The Greatest Commandment from the Father above.

So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples. John 13:34-35

Just as I have loved you…Not how the world has taught you to love, but how I have taught you to love.

And here is how to measure it – the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends. You are my friends if you obey me.     John 15:13

Sacrificial love. Give up my life for you love. Carry you through the world love. Lay my coat over a puddle for you love. Stand in front of a bus for you love. Catch you when you fall love. Call me names for you kind of love. My earthly life for your heavenly eternity. That’s what love is. That’s how much I want someone to love me – enough. Enough to warn me of danger ahead. Enough to right me when I’m on the wrong path. Enough to throw me a lifeboat when I’m sinking. Enough to show me the way to eternity.

Love me enough…not judge, not to condemn, but to be honest and speak Truth. Our job is simply to tell others what the Bible says, encourage them to learn for themselves what the Bible says, and to speak of His amazing power in our lives. Then, step back and watch God do His God thing. He’s the love-maker, gift-giver, heart-changer. He’s the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. The Good News isn’t only that God loves us – it is that He died for us, that He forgives us, because He loves us enough!

So, back to the original question:

Do you have the courage to be a Biblical Christian?

Not on my own, I don’t. But, with the example from The Word of God; the Spirit’s working in my life; Biblical examples of those who’ve gone before me; the support and encouragement of friends who love me enough to tell me the truth, friends who love me enough to keep me on the Godly path and have saved me from the worldly way of destructive sin; and a God who expects me to be who He made me to be, a child with access to the same power that rose Jesus from the grave, I must. I don’t know if I have the courage, but I do know that I don’t have a choice if I am whose I say I am. I must get my brave on.

And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give your servants great boldness in their preaching. Send you healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus. After this prayer, the building where they were meeting shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. And they preached God’s message with boldness.
Acts 4:29-31

You must crave pure spiritual milk so that you can grow into the fullness of your salvation. Cry out for this nourishment as a baby cries for milk, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness. 1 Peter 2:2-3

I came across those verses this week in my reading. I can’t read these verses without getting the shimmy going…snap, snap, tap, tap, sing it with me:

I know a man, maybe you know him, too.
You never can tell; he might even be you.
He knelt at the altar, and that was the end.
He’s saved, and that’s all that matters to him.

His spiritual tummy, it can’t take too much.
One day a week, he gets a spiritual lunch.
On Sunday, he puts on his spiritual best,
And gives his language a spiritual rest.

He’s just a fat little baby!
Wa, wa, waaaaa….
He wants his bottle, and he don’t mean maybe.
He sampled solid foods once or twice,
But he says doctrine leaves him cold as ice.
Ba, ba, ba, ba…ba, ba…ba, ba!

He’s been baptized, sanctified, redeemed by the blood,
But his daily devotions are stuck in the mud.
He knows the books of the Bible and John 3:16.
He’s got the biggest King James you’ve ever seen!

I’ve always wondered if he’ll grow up someday.
He’s momma’s boy, and he likes it that way.
If you happen to see him, tell him I said,
“He’ll never grow, if he never gets fed.”

He’s just a fat little baby!
Wa, wa, waaaaa….
He wants his bottle, and he don’t mean maybe.
He sampled solid foods once or twice,
But he says doctrine leaves him cold as ice.

Ba, ba…..Heard that before? Some of you have. Fat Baby was sung by Amy Grant in the early ‘80s. It was also part of a kids Christmas musical, Candy Cane Lane – A Recipe for Life, in the ‘90s. It’s a catchy little tune. I promise, if you listen to it, you too will always get the sway on and break out in song when you read those verses in 1 Peter, or when you open the fridge. In addition to memorizing 1 Corinthians 3:1-3, memorize the words to that song. It’s slightly convicting. How so?

Was it enough just to kneel at the altar?That was just the start, not the finish.
How much can we stomach? Are we one and doners? Once a weekers?
Do we open our Bible on Sunday’s or any other day of the week?
Do we know the Books of the Bible – can we quote scripture – but we don’t know who Jesus is or the character of the God who made us?
Are we spoon fed consumers, like baby birds? Open up, drop it in, fly off. Are we willing to let others do the work of study and just report back to us?
Do we know what we believe? Do we know why we believe it?
Do we treat the Bible like a salad bar?

There’s so much more to Jesus than we can even think or imagine! Yet we are most times content to get just enough of Him to get by. That’s not the way it’s supposed to be. When we do that, we are only fooling ourselves. We will never grow in Christ if we don’t get fed. If we don’t grow we will die. Plain and simple.

I was not able to speak to you as spiritual people but as people of the flesh, as babies in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, since you were not yet ready for it. In fact, you are still not ready, because you are still worldly. For since there is envy and strife among you, are you not worldly and behaving like mere humans? 1 Corinthians 3:1-3

See what Paul says here? I can’t talk to you as spiritually mature adults, because you’re not. You hear what I say but you would rather listen to what the world says. Then he disses them and calls them mere humans. That’s quite a smack down. Mere humans. What would Paul call me? What would he call you?

We start out on spiritual milk, but in order to grow we must eat solid food. The Word of God is nourishment for our souls – it’s the solid food! As we mature and see our true need for God’s Word, we are nourished by it and the Spirit fills our spirits, we will want more, that’s how we grow up in Christ. That’s how it works.

Accepting Christ’s invitation is not the end – it’s the beginning. You see the expectation is for Christians to mature, to eat solid food, to be nourished, so that we can grow. What’s the big deal you say? Well, let’s think about this for a minute. What does food do for us? It powers us. Food has proteins that power our bodies to function. The Word of God powers our spirits. The Bible has proteins that we need. Actually, the Word of God has power that we simply cannot live without. Not dramatic – just truth!

If we are not living in Christ, we are living for the world. If we are not controlled by God, we are controlled by the world. In order to live out the life Christ has planned for us we must be spiritually mature. Spiritual maturity is not a place you arrive. Remember, we are mere humans, but we must have steady growth.

There is so much more we would like to say about this. But you don’t seem to listen, so it’s hard to make you understand. You have been Christians a long time now, and you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things a beginner must learn about the Scriptures. You are like babies who drink only milk and cannot eat solid food. And a person who is living on milk isn’t very far along in the Christian life and doesn’t know much about doing what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who have trained themselves to recognize the difference between right and wrong and then do what is right. Hebrews 5:11-14

If we want to know how mature we are in Christ, we just go to The Word. Do we know the difference between right and wrong? Are we doing right? Right and wrong according to Biblical standards, not the world’s standards.

He’s just a fat, fat, fat, fat, fat, fa-at, fat…
Fat, Fat, Fat, Fat, Fat, Fa-at, Fat…
FAT, FAT, FAT, FAT, FAT, FAT, FAAAAAT…
…little baby…

Are we fat little babies? Do we need to grow up?

“Your own wickedness will punish you. You will see what an evil, bitter thing it is to forsake the Lord your God, having no fear of him. I, the Lord, the Lord Almighty, have spoken!” Jeremiah 2:19

Aaaaahhhhh!! Shriek!!!!!!! Wow! Them’s some powerful words. I don’t know about you guys, but that just scared the begeezies out of me. You’re probably thinking holy mackerel, I can’t believe she just blurted out that scary verse. That can’t be in the Bible, you say? That’s not the God I know, you say?

I didn’t put it there to scare you or shock you. I put it there for the Flag Factor. What’s the Flag Factor? Glad you asked. You see, it started out oh so harmlessly. I’m doing Robert Murry McChayne’s Read Your Bible in a Year studies. I’ve been reading in Genesis, Mark, Job and Romans each day. I want to tell you one thing, I love, love, love Genesis. It is riveting, no kidding! In fact, I’m supposed to read a chapter a day in each of those books, and lately, I’ve been reading all four chapters in Genesis. Oh course, that sets me back a bit, but I just can’t put it down. It’s like a good book?!? Sorry, rabbit hole, Where was I? Ok, right – the Flag Factor. There was a verse in Genesis that had a cross reference in Jeremiah. I started exploring.

I found that the prevailing theme of the Book of Jeremiah is that of national sinfulness and imminent judgment. It’s a book of warnings. I know, I’m such a Debbie-downer today.   The messages of Jeremiah were to convince God’s people to turn from their sin back to Him. Know anyone else with that same message? Jeremiah was written to Israel, specifically, the southern kingdom of Judah and its capital, Jerusalem. Ah, he’s talking to the folks of The Holy City. Jerusalem!  Jerusalem!  The same Holy City that Jesus rode through on a colt on Palm Sunday while the crowds sang Hosanna! Hosanna! We’re a little bit like Israel too, aren’t we? Disobedient to God one minute, singing His praises the next.

Anyway, Jerusalem was destroyed, the Temple was destroyed, and the Israelites were captured and taken off to Babylon. All because of sin. Sin has serious consequences. We don’t like to think about that too much. Jeremiah is a book of messages from the Lord. Jeremiah the Prophet gives the messages from the Lord, issues warnings, and then weeps in anguish for their disobedience because he knows they are working out their own destruction. As I was reading, I came across this verse and couldn’t stop thinking about it:

Blow the ram’s horn throughout the land. Cry out loudly…Lift up a signal flag toward Zion. Run for cover! Don’t stand still! Jeremiah 4:5-6

Lift up a signal flag. It’s the Flag-Factor. Why would you wave a flag? To signal. To advise. To warn. To alert. Jeremiah was one flag waving dude. Change your ways, be obedient to God, because there are consequences. The alarm was sounded because the message was alarming.

But God also gave Jeremiah a message of hope for the captives:

“The truth is that you will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me. I will be found by you”, says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and bring you home again to your land.” Jeremiah 29:10

Here’s the beauty of the message – God rescues his people – to give them a future and a hope.  It’s always the same story.  Rescue.  Hope.

So, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation whatsoever to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you keep following it, you will perish. But if through the power of the Holy Spirit you turn from it and its evil deeds, you will live. Romans 8:12-13

Same message. It sounds much more palatable from Brother Paul though, doesn’t it? More gentile, more lovey, less harsh. Nevertheless, the message is the same. Sin has consequences. Here’s the beauty in the message, God gave us a way out, the only way out.  God sent His Son, they call Him Jesus.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

Don’t you just love the buts…the free gift of God is eternal life, a future and a hope, through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Here’s the question I asked myself – if we as Christians are to build each other up, we are to encourage each other in the faith, we are to help each other stay on the path to the narrow gate, be the flag wavers – how are we doing? Are we sounding the alarm? Shouldn’t we be?  Would we let our children walk into the street if we saw an coming car? No, we would tell them to stop, look both ways, decide whether you have time to cross before the oncoming danger. Stop. Look. Listen. Why would we do that? Because we love them and they could die. Jeremiah loved his people enough to wave the flag. Paul loved his people enough to wave the flag. John loved his people enough to wave the flag. Peter loved his people enough to wave the flag. Jesus loved his people enough to wave the flag, in the form of the cross. Shouldn’t we too love our people enough to wave the flag? To alert. To warn. To signal. To advise. To sound the alarm. Isn’t that what we’re called to do?

“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my spokesman to the world.” Jeremiah 1:5

Look what the Lord said to Jeremiah. There are so many messages packed into that one verse. We’ll leave all that unpacking for another time. It says what it say. Look at Jeremiah’s response to the Lord:

“O Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!”

Jeremiah 1:6

Jeremiah’s saying “Send Aaron!” We too have many excuses, don’t we? But look what the Lord says to Jeremiah:

“Don’t say that, for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and take care of you. I, the Lord, have spoken!” Jeremiah 1:7-8

So, are you willing to signal the flag? To warn? To alert? To advise? Do you love someone enough to do that for them? To save them from the consequences? Are we afraid to do that? Sure we are. But didn’t He say He would be with us? Didn’t He say He’d take care of us?  He, the Lord, has spoken.

It is our job to take care of each other and sometimes that’s an uncomfortable task.   But wouldn’t you want someone to signal the flag for you if you were headed in the wrong direction?   Me too.  If we truly love each other we will signal the flag and we will appreciate it when the flag has been signaled for us.  That’s what true love is.