I QUIT!

Today I officially put in my notice. Effective today, no thirty day notice, no two week notice…today is the day.

I am done.

Done with what, you ask? Read on.

Does the title surprise you? For some people in my life, it may not. Some people know me as a quitter.

When I started community college, my dad told me he would not help pay for my schooling because “you quit everything you start after about 2 weeks”. It’s funny that my dad told me this, because a lot of this same behavior was exhibited in his own life.

As I look back over my life, and as angry as his words made me, I realize he was right. There are many instances that come to mind over the years that I can think of where I started something with great excitement, jumping in with both feet.

And shortly thereafter, I was done. The excitement was gone.

And I quit.

I can think of a lot of reasons this happened - we all get excited about things, and we want to be a part of things. But when something goes wrong or other people don’t get as excited as we do, the wind goes out from our sails and we’re done.

Most people think I have a strong personality, but I really don’t. I am hard headed and stubborn, but when confrontation arrives, I leave. Therefore, when I am confronted with strong personalities, I have a hard time expressing my opinion and standing my ground.

So it’s easier to quit.

The crazy thing is that this behavior continued after I got saved and began working in the church. There were some of the same reasons involved: strong personalities, confrontation, etc. But in church, people have something else they use (and misuse): Scripture and church authority.

If you are not Scripturally sound, some people will use Scripture and the great statement of: “I prayed about this and I think this is what God wants you to do/don’t do”.

Ahhhh….the God guilt. But this kind of guilt doesn’t come from God. It comes from people who (usually have strong personalities and seem very “holy”) are trying to be the Holy Spirit to those they deem in need of their spiritual guidance.

I have been a victim of this, and I have done this to others.

There are many examples I can use from just my church experience, and I know many others who have experienced the same thing. The one instance I would like to share today is this:

My first few years as a new Christian, I was in one of those situations where I had three very strong personalities take me on as their “personal project”. They had been Christians longer than me, so I assumed they were right. I never questioned anything they told me about myself. I pretty much let them control me, and the words “church discipline” were thrown around a lot ( don‘t beat me up for this statement. I know there is such a thing as church discipline and that it needs to be exercised in certain situations according to Scripture, but it should not be used as a scare tactic).

Now don’t get me wrong, I had some serious anger issues and I was a very mean person. But sometimes I think they realized this too much and pushed my buttons on purpose. When I acted on my anger, I would get the “See, there she goes again, she hasn’t changed at all”. But my desire for friends and my fear of church discipline allowed me to continue in this unhealthy pattern.

Anytime I was sad or depressed, or shared out loud some of my fears about life or decisions I needed to make, I was told I didn’t have enough faith. Nothing that I did was right.

It got to the point where I was even accused by several church members (through gossip and backbiting) of something terrible concerning me and another church member that really broke my heart. Then it got to the point that if I went to church and spoke to that person, I was talking to them too much; if I didn’t speak to that person, I was being obstinate and mean.

It got to a place where I couldn’t win.

During this time, I also began having some issues with my job, and I really felt that God was telling me to resign because He had something better for me in store that I needed to be ready for. I knew He was telling me to jump and when He was ready for me to land, He would have the ground prepared.

I got excited! If I really take this leap, surely they will see that I have faith in God and His plan for me!

I told two of these three people in my life that I stepped out in faith and resigned and was waiting on God to show me my next steps. After all, faith was what I didn’t have enough of, right?

Both of them responded like this:

“You’re lying. You got fired didn’t you?”

Geezy pete, really?

3 months later, God rewarded my leap of faith with a great new job at a Christian company that not only allowed me to share my faith at work, but went above and beyond to help me during my illness in 2012. I was also during this employment that I had the counsel of a man who encouraged me to seek God’s face, and he listened to me.

I began pulling away from these folks at church. There were lots of other instances involved that I won’t go into, but it came down to me being told to come in for a meeting with the pastor and another church leader or I would be brought up on church discipline.

The very thing I had feared so long…

I prayed for God to give me strength and the words to say to be honoring to Him during this meeting. And He did. I confessed where I was wrong, but I also defended myself Scripturally and in a way that was God honoring. I didn’t get angry. I just said what I had to say.

And I let them know I would be looking for another church.

To some people, I quit again. This pastor even told me that if I wanted to go to another church to go ahead, because someone had told him when I joined this church that I was just a “church-hopper” anyway. The sad thing is that he relied on gossip and started naming churches that this person told him that I had supposedly been to that I had never set foot in.

This time, I quit for the right reasons. I felt like God had been telling me to move for awhile, but I was scared of what people would say.

I wasn’t scared anymore. This was an unhealthy environment spiritually and I needed to go somewhere that would allow me to seek God. To find the true Jesus.

This journey continues today…I am still seeking that place that God wants me to be, and I won’t make any hasty decisions this time. I will seek where He wants me to serve.

So, what am I quitting?

Over the past few years, God has, through many different circumstances, been trying to get me to depend fully on Him instead of on myself and other people, instead of on a salary and a job, and things, and stuff.

I have been gradually doing this…letting go a little at a time.

But today, I officially quit. I am tired of trying to do God’s job for Him.

So I resign.

I am at the point in my life where I have no job, no insurance, no car, no significant worldly possessions, no income, and a health status that has declined a lot in the past year and a half.

What I do have, I am completely committing to Him. 

My life, my all.

Adrian Rogers tells the story of a pastor who started at a new church and a lady came up to him on his first day and said, “Pastor, you’re gonna have a hard time pleasing all 300 of us here at this church”. The Pastor replied, “I have no interest in pleasing any of you. There is only One I must please, and that is Jesus”.

I say Amen to that.

Are you ready to quit?

Leadership: The Blind Leading the Blind

You ever wonder what makes a good leader? It seems these days, everyone is focused on leadership, especially in the church.

I recently posted on my Facebook status: How can we become leaders when we don’t even know how to be followers?

There are seminars on leadership, people are promoted into positions, climbing up the Christian ladder to Christian success.

Sometimes it seems to me that we even create organizations and positions so that we can feel important in the Christian community. If you aren’t successful (in the world’s definition) in ministry or aren’t in some type of leadership in the church, then something must be wrong with you.

I challenge that today: because today we push people toward leadership without first teaching them to be followers. We accept positions of leadership, to shepherd others, when we haven’t been shepherded ourselves. We teach Scripture, and we don’t know Scripture.

I have encountered this in many aspects of ministry: when I was saved and joined a church several years ago, I was asked immediately if I wanted to be the youth leader. I accepted. I had done it before. It was easy. But as I immersed myself in Bible study, I realized I was not equipped spiritually to lead these teens. I needed to grow, I needed to be discipled…I needed to learn!

Later on, I asked to be considered for and accepted two positions in a popular women’s group in the denomination I was a part of at the time. I thought I was ready; not because I knew Scripture, but because I knew tradition. I knew the history of the group; I knew the goals of the group; or I thought I knew everything about this group.

But as I became more knowledgeable of the traditions of this group and the current teachings and philosophies regarding leadership, I grew very uncomfortable with being a part of this group. I resigned all positions.

Now I am not saying that this group does not do good things; they do. I am not saying that everyone who participates in this group is not a Christian or Spiritually immature; I know many of these ladies who have a passion for Jesus that I would challenge anyone to have. But I do know, because I was one of them, there are people leading in smaller areas that still need to be learning instead of leading. And from a Scriptural standpoint, looking at the basis of the organization, I personally do not agree with their viewpoints on leadership.

How many times do we do this? We assume because someone has accepted Jesus or has been in the church or an organization in the church for years, that they automatically have everything they need spiritually to lead others. There are some old sayings about that: two of my favorites are:

“Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian anymore than going to McDonald’s makes you a cheeseburger”; and

“A cat can have kittens in the oven, but that don’t make ‘em biscuits”

Those make us laugh, but they are true. Being a member of a church or an organization inside the church doesn’t mean you are spiritually mature, even if your granddaddy turned over the first shovelful of dirt for the hole to build the foundation. It doesn’t even mean you are saved.

Because that cement foundation and that building is not the church.

The church is us; and the foundation of that is Jesus Christ.

And being put in a leadership position does not make one a leader.

Many people become hard and judgmental because they have the wrong idea of what church really is. What leaders really are. We can place ourselves in positions that we are not qualified for Scripturally; and in man made positions created out of our need to be “spiritually superior” to others.

We can go as far as to put ourselves in the judgment seat of Christ.

Spiritual immaturity or lack of knowledge can cause a lot of conflict in the church, and I am here to say I have seen it, been a part of it, and caused some of it. Why do I say this?

- We put people on the fast track to leadership (expect leadership before discipleship) often based on organizational or denominational concepts instead of Scriptural precepts;

- We often know more about organizational or denominational concepts than we do about Spiritual precepts;

- We confuse tradition with Scripture;

- It is important to know what an organization or denomination believes; but unless you first have an understanding of Scripture, this won’t be clear to you whether or not it lines up with God’s Word;

- Scripture must ALWAYS override any other idea or concept (tradition).

Jesus is confronted by the Pharisees in the following passage:

Matthew 15:1-20:  Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honor thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; And honor not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. And he called the multitude, said unto them, Hear, and understand: Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man. Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying? But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable. And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding? Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.

Matthew Henry says of this passage:

“The disciples thought it strange that their Master should say that which he knew would give so much offence; he did not use to do so: surely, they think, if he had considered how provoking it would be, he would not have said it. But he knew what he said, and to whom he said it, and what would be the effect of it; and would teach us, that though in indifferent things we must be tender of giving offence, yet we must not, for fear of that, evade any truth or duty. Truth must be owned, and duty done; and if any be offended, it is his own fault; it is scandal, not given, but taken.”

Jesus confronted the Pharisees with their traditions. He emphasized the difference between Truth and tradition.

And He went on to rebuke the disciples for their “weakness and ignorance”:

Matthew Henry: The reproof Christ gave them for their weakness and ignorance; Are ye also yet without understanding? As many as Christ loves and teaches, he thus rebukes. Note, They are very ignorant indeed, who understand not that moral pollutions are abundantly worse and more dangerous than ceremonial ones. Two things aggravate their dullness and darkness.

(1.) That they were the disciples of Christ; “Are ye also without understanding? Ye whom I have admitted into so great a degree of familiarity with me, are ye so unskillful in the word of righteousness?” Note, The ignorance and mistakes of those that profess religion, and enjoy the privileges of church-membership, are justly a grief to the Lord Jesus. “No wonder that the Pharisees understand not this doctrine, who know nothing of the Messiah's kingdom: but ye that have heard of it, and embraced it yourselves, and preached it to others, are ye also such strangers to the spirit and genius of it?”
(2.) That they had been a great while Christ's scholars; “Are ye yet so, after ye have been so long under my teaching?” Had they been but of yesterday in Christ's school, it had been another matter, but to have been for so many months Christ's constant hearers, and yet to be without understanding, was a great reproach to them. Note, Christ expects from us some proportion of knowledge, and grace, and wisdom, according to the time and means we have had.

We water down the Gospel with our traditions; we don’t know the Truth. And we end up leading others in the same path.

And we both fall in a ditch.

Oftentimes, positions in churches are filled so that there is a name beside the position on the nominating committee report at the business meeting; the nominating committee has beaten the bushes to find someone who finally says, “Okay, if you can’t find anyone else, I’ll do it”. Or  if it is blank, someone at the business meeting says, “Okay, I’ll do it since no one else will”. How many of our leadership and teaching positions are filled this way? I dare to say a lot.

Other times, someone new will come into the church from another church or denomination and are immediately put into teaching or leadership without anyone knowing what their previous background and beliefs are.

We need to be careful with tradition vs. Truth. We need to be taught before we teach. We need to be led before we lead. We need to be discipled before we disciple.

Oswald Chambers said the following:

“Jesus Christ did not say - Go and save souls (the salvation of souls is the supernatural work of God), but “Go and teach”, I.e., disciple “all nations” and you cannot make disciples unless you are a disciple yourself. When the disciples came back from their first mission, they were filled with joy because the devils were subject to them, and Jesus said - Don’t rejoice in successful service; the great secret of joy is that you are rightly related to Me. The great essential of the missionary is that he remain true to the call of God, and realizes that his one purpose is to disciple men and women to Jesus. There is a passion for souls that does not spring from God, but from the desire to make converts to our own point of view”.

Let’s remember, as churches and individuals, to never allow tradition to win over Truth. To not allow opinion to replace the Word of God.

And let’s all be disciples…learn the Word; know what you believe, confront the lies and stand on the Truth. Measure everything you are taught against the Word of God.

Don’t be blind.

Snake Part 6: Telling the Truth

 

A few years back, I was having a discussion with someone who attends church about homosexuality.  After telling me how he felt about it, he said this to me:

 “You know, that’s back in the Old Testament anyway and the New Testament canceled all of that out. Jesus never said anything about homosexuality. And how would he know about the Old Testament anyway? He wasn’t even born then”.

Yeah, there is A LOT wrong with that statement.

I also recently had a discussion on Facebook with several folks about what Jesus never said anything about. I made a general comment about the fact that no matter what the government might legalize, if God says it’s wrong, it’s wrong. People assumed I was talking about homosexuality, but the comment was all inclusive to anything the government might approve but God still condemns.

This statement was made:

“Well, Jesus never said anything specifically about homosexuality or abortion”.

This conversation also included the statement:

 “Jesus did not demand them (sinners) to change”.

The argument is that if Jesus didn’t specifically say something was a sin, if He didn’t mention the specific term, then it’s not a sin. Oh, and you can’t use any references from Romans 1 because Jesus didn’t say that, Paul did.

The arguments are endless. And it’s just another tool that Satan uses to deceive.

If the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God (and it is), then Jesus said all of it.  From “In the beginning” to “Amen”.

If you don’t believe all of it, you don’t believe any of it.

2Timothy 3:16-17  All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

2Timothy 4:2-4  Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.


So, if we think we know what Jesus didn’t say, let’s take a look at what He did say. Today I will discuss the three statements addressed above.

 (Clarification: I am not picking and choosing what to address here, as I believe sin is sin, no sin is greater or less than any other; I am merely addressing the issues that I was confronted with):

- Jesus never said anything about homosexuality;

- Jesus never said anything about abortion; and

- Jesus did not demand them (sinners) to change

1. Jesus addressed marriage. When the Pharisees questioned Him regarding divorce, He included a definition of marriage:

Matthew 19:3 -6: The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh. Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

Have ye not read that he which at the beginning made them male and female?

 For this cause shall a man leave father and mother and cleave to his wife?

Jesus defined marriage as His Father intended it to be from the beginning of time.

Genesis 1:26-28  And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

The Bible is very distinct about male and female roles; and in creation, God was very specific.

Jesus was very specific in describing marriage, between a man and a woman. A male and a female.

By defining what marriage is, He defines what it isn’t.


2. Jesus also addressed abortion:

Matthew 19:18  He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
God said:

Exodus 20:13  Thou shalt not kill.

I can hear some of the arguments now: it’s not a real person; life doesn’t begin at conception: if it can’t exist outside the womb then it’s not a life; and so on…

Well, did you know that God defines when life begins?

Psalm 139:13-16 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

Jeremiah 1:4-5  Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

While Jesus never said the word abortion, He covered it in the definition of taking another life. God covered it when He said, “Thou shalt not kill”.

3. Jesus did not demand them to change

Wow, this one really blew my mind. I have heard the previous arguments regarding abortion and homosexuality all of my life, but I had never had someone tell me that Jesus did not demand change.

It starts out with the word “repent”.

Mat 4:17  From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
The word repent means a change of mind that results in a change of conduct. Repentance is not merely sorrow. It involves a complete change of attitude regarding God and sin and is often accompanied by a sense of sorrow and a corresponding change in conduct.

In using the word repent, Jesus is demanding a change. We cannot repent, in the true sense of the word, and continue to engage in activities that we have repented of.

In sin that we have repented of.

Mat 9:12  But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Jesus came to call sinners to repentance. How do we know we are sinners? God tells us in His Word; we must measure ourselves against Scripture.

Sin is the sickness that causes our death. Jesus is the Great Physician, and heals our sickness.

How? With His own body, becoming sin on the Cross, to be a sacrifice for those sins, so that we don’t have to pay for the wrong we have done. He has already done that.

But we have to accept that He has done that; and we must repent. When we accept Him, we are healed of this sickness.

Again, I am not picking and choosing sin to address; we all have sinned and fallen short (Romans 3:23); there is none righteous, no not one (Romans 3:10)

My message to you today is: instead of trying to justify sin; confess sin. Don’t just read Scripture, but study Scripture.

Know what Jesus died for; know what He did for you.

Look at what He did say.

Is This Snake Real? Part 5: What Does a False Teacher Look Like?

You ever Googled “pictures of false teachers”? I did the other day, and it’s amazing who shows up. You may think it just shows pictures related to people like Jim Jones or David Koresh. You know, the obvious people.

You would be surprised at who shows up. The faces of many popular mainstream ministers, male and female, smiled back at me as I looked at my computer screen. It’s not only outright adding to and taking away from of the Bible that falls into the “false teachers” category.

It’s the folks who use the Bible for their own purposes. Who manipulate what is written into their own interpretation.

“Did God really say?”

Remember, the serpent was subtle.

Paul addressed in his letter to Timothy:

2Timothy 4:2-4  Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

People are so desperate for answers, for material possessions, for the things that this world has to offer that they listen to preachers and teachers who have manipulated Scripture to offer worldly things in the name of Jesus Christ.

They hear what they want to hear to get the things that they want to get.

And it’s really sad to see people’s reactions when we measure these teachers against Scripture. I had a pastor’s wife blast me, accuse me of being judgmental, and unfriend me on Facebook because I called out an unBiblical teaching from a popular television evangelist.

What did Paul say to Timothy?

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables”.

It amazes me that these false teachers can fill auditoriums with people who drive hundreds or thousands of miles to see them,  pay good money to listen to them, buy every book they write, can quote them to the letter, and live according to their teachings; but they don’t know Scripture and what God really meant in His Word.

Stadiums are overflowing, mega churches are filled; yet our local, Bible preaching/teaching churches are practically empty on Sundays and mid week services. Sunday mornings might even draw a good crowd, but when the rubber meets the road, the sanctuary is empty.

Fun days, church carnivals, Christian concerts, and food events draw hundreds into the local church; but when The Bread of Life reaches out to them to come and be filled, they walk away.

Christians can be blamed for some of this. I read this quote the other day on Twitter:

“Most people don’t go to church because they have met someone who does”

What does this say for God’s people? I believe that the world is so easily being reached by these false teachings because we as Christians are failing to follow Christ’s command to go into the world and spread the Gospel.

I have a friend who participates in the Mormon religion. We had lunch together one day a few years ago and she wanted to share her faith with me in hopes of converting me to Mormonism. I shared my faith with her as well, and then I asked her why she chose the Mormon faith. She explained to me that she had attended a Baptist church in the area and that when her mother passed away, no one at her church shared any concern, support or caring over her loss. Soon after this, she was visited by someone of the Mormon faith who was very sympathetic to her, and provided to her what her previous church family should have provided but didn’t.

Can you see the confusion that people might experience and how easy it is to fall into false teachings? We as Christians preach Christ, but we don’t do a good job at living Christ. Some lost people or misguided people know enough about Jesus to know that we talk about Him, but we don’t look like Him at all.

So, they see someone who has the outer appearance of Jesus, and they are drawn to them (remember, Satan can appear as an angel of light; and can quote Scripture); they are drawn to their church, and soon indoctrinated with these false teachings.

I recently have been learning more about how active the Jehovah’s Witnesses are in this area. How? I started visiting people and asking about their faith, and their relationship with Christ. I was told by people how the Jehovah’s Witnesses visit them, and offer and provide weekly one on one “Bible study” right in their homes.

To think how powerful it would be if the True Church did the same thing!

Instead, we sit back and wait for the lost to come to us; and instead of accepting them where they are and sharing the Gospel and discipling them, we get angry about how they are living. Why do Christians get mad when the lost act lost?

It’s our job to show them another way. What is the best way to do that? By living it.

By walking the talk.

God has some powerful words for those who manipulate His Word:

Jeremiah 23:29-31  Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbor. Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith.
Jesus warns of false prophets:

Matthew 7:15  Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Matthew 24:11  And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

Matthew 24:24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
So, what can we do when we hear a preacher or teacher to make sure we are not being deceived?

1John 4:1  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

We must try each teaching against the Word of God. Don’t just read Scripture; study Scripture.

If it’s a particular denomination or religion, research their beliefs and compare them to true Christianity; measure what they teach against God’s Holy Word.

Know what God really said so you’ll know what He didn‘t say.

Another approach I have encountered lately is this statement:

“Well, Jesus never said anything about (fill in the blank: homosexuality, abortion, etc)”

Oh, the lengths we will go to justify our sin.

Join me next time as we discuss this further.

Is That Snake Real? Part 4: False Teachers, Prophets, and Cults, Oh My!

 

You know the familiar story. The car pulls in the driveway. Three or four well dressed people get out with books in their hands. They start toward your door…

And you hide. Turn off the television. Pull the curtains. Pretend you aren’t home.

What’s funny is that we never even think they might be from a local Christian church. Our minds immediately jump to those two words:

Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Why do we immediately assume this? Well, we will talk about this later on, but first…

I used to run from them. I knew I didn’t want to hear what they had to say. I knew enough to know that they were not right, but I didn’t know enough to know why they were wrong. After I began studying Scripture more and learning more about other religions, I began to see how the beliefs of other religions were so different from Christianity - The True Journey.

So, one day a few years ago, I was out mowing the grass and weed eating, and I stopped to take a break. I sat down on the steps outside with some water and cooled off.

Then I heard it. The gravel in the driveway began popping. A car was pulling in. I didn’t recognize it. Then I realized who it was. I couldn’t hide; they had already seen me! So, I smiled as the two women exited the car. They were very friendly and told me that they had some good news to share with me. I told them I liked good news, so go ahead. They read to me from Psalms and Revelation, and asked me some questions. I thought I knew enough to effectively counter what they were saying; but I didn’t. I listened.

When they were done, I thanked them for telling me their good news. Then I told them I had some Good News for them, too. I asked them to wait right there while I went to get my Bible. I ran in the house, grabbed my Bible, and ran back out on the deck.

There was nothing but dust in my driveway. They were GONE. Those ladies must have run to the car as fast as I ran to get my Bible.

I missed an opportunity because I wasn’t prepared.

It was after that day, I realized I still didn’t know enough about Scripture to deal with anyone who was teaching a false doctrine.

I encountered more JW’s during a local outreach and realized how prevalent they are in this community. And I learned more about how they outreach to people.

I began reading up on Jehovah’s Witnesses and learned more about what they believe and how it differs from the True Word of God: The Holy Bible.

The other day, as I was writing about how Satan distorts Scripture, I looked out of the window and saw a car next door. Two well dressed men and a well dressed lady…carrying books…and the lady was coming this way.

On a Thursday? Don’t they come on Saturday? Is it really them?

I got so stinking excited! I yelled out loud, “Wooo Hooo! The Jehovah’s Witnesses are coming!” Up the steps I went!

But this time I didn’t close the curtains, or hide.

This time I ran. But not away from them. I ran to them.

I think I scared that little lady at the door with how excited I was to see her. She asked me if I ever wondered why God allowed so much suffering. She read to me from Revelation 22:18-19. I told her that I believe  in Jesus Christ and that He has saved me from my sins. I quoted her John 3:16; and told her that I know that Jesus Christ is THE Son of God and I am saved from my sins through His sacrifice on the cross. I told her that I know that I am going to spend eternity in Heaven with Jesus because He promises me that. Because He is God. (I encourage you to read more about what Jehovah’s Witnesses believe, or email me with your questions. I am working on the blog to include a section about false teachings.)

She didn’t seem like she knew quite what to say after all of that. She offered me some Watchtower magazines and I thanked her and told her no, that I had my Bible and that was all I needed.  I asked her what her name was, and I told her mine. She was moving away from me as we had this exchange. So I told her to have a nice day and she told me the same.

As they went down the road, they pulled over in the end of my driveway and the man was looking toward the house and writing something down.

Probably my house number so they could warn the others.

But I hope they come back. I want to share Jesus with them. The real one.

I jokingly tell you this story, but the sad part is that she still didn’t stay long enough to hear the Truth. They are taught not to listen. They are deceived.

How important is it that we know what we believe? How important is it that we share this Truth with others?

Because there are people out there sharing false teachings. People are believing these false teachings. They are being deceived.

And they are going to Hell.

The Bible has a lot to say about false teachers; and how we can guard ourselves and others against these teachings:

Matthew Henry defines a false teacher as this: “those who preach false doctrine in those things that are essential to religion; who teach that which is contrary to the truth as it is in Jesus, to the truth which is accordingly to godliness“.

Matthew 7:15  Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Matthew 24:24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

Mark 13:22  For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.

2Co 11:12-15  But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we. For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

2Peter 2:1-4  But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;

2Timothy 4:2-4  Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
Many of these groups that exist today are considered “Christian” groups, but they are not. This includes JW’s and Mormons. They use enough of the Bible, or their own translation of the Bible that they have changed to suit their own purposes, to make people think that they are a Christian group. Typically, they have additional teachings, such as the Watchtower magazine and other JW publications, and the Book of Mormon.

Do I know enough about what I believe to know the difference between true Christianity and man made religion?

The Bible is divinely inspired and complete. It needs no additions and no subtractions. And people try to manipulate Scripture in many ways, including continuing to publish many watered down translations that distort what God really said.

God has something to say about that:

Rev 22:18-19  For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.


Eve added to and took away from God’s command. Certain organizations have publications that “add to” God’s Word. Certain translations water it down, or take away the true meaning of God’s Word.

Even in our mainstream Christian churches, there are certain things being preached that are not Scriptural.

More and more preachers, teachers and cults are asking, “Did God really say?”

Join me again as we look into some of these in more detail!

Is That Snake Real? Part 3: Eve and Jesus

Have you ever misquoted Scripture?

I have; and I know that before I began to study the Word more, it didn’t seem to really matter much. I mean, as long as I got the general meaning of it out there, I didn’t have to quote it exactly, did I? I didn’t need to have the reference, either, I mean, someone could go home and look it up for themselves.

I believe it is important for us to be able to quote verses as they are written, and know the reference for them. Now, don’t think I know the whole Bible by heart and I don’t think I ever will, but if I can’t quote it, I should at least be able to look it up and read it.

It’s really funny that I remember saying that I just couldn’t remember Scripture, and I was okay with that. But then I realized I could quote movies line for line, remember conversations word for word that I had with other people, and quote other books. Why? Because this is where I spent my time.

When I spend my time in the Word, I remember the Word. As I study more and more, I remember more and more. I am reading things that I never realized were in Scripture! And I am also finding out that a lot of popular sayings that people attribute to the Bible just aren’t there (but that’s a post for another day).

There are verses that we misquote a lot, and I am digging into that more. But one that comes to mind right now is John 14:6.

Fill in the blank:

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the _______: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me“.

What did you say? Did you say Light? I remember sitting in church one Sunday morning a few years ago, listening to a children’s sermon regarding Advent. We always let the kids light the candles on the Advent wreath, and the person doing the message this particular morning said something to the effect of that lighting the candle reminded us that in John 14:6, Jesus said he was the way, the truth and the light.

Well, Jesus didn’t say that.

For years, I thought He did. I asked my mom about it and she said growing up, that she always heard that verse quoted that way and said it that way herself. I said it that way.

What did Jesus say?

John 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

This can be an innocent mistake, but one that changes the meaning of the verse.

I think that when we are quoting Scripture, we have a responsibility to be right.

I think we have a responsibility to use Scripture correctly, not out of context, and not to suit our own desires.

Why?

Because Satan looked at Eve and said, “Did God really say?”

Have you ever been misquoted? Had something you said taken out of context? How did that make you feel?

How do you think God feels when we do this to Him?

Satan is going to look at us and say, “Did God really say?” And we need to be able to answer correctly.

This is the command that God gave Adam:

Genesis 2:16-17  And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
He has given them a Garden full of food to consume; except one tree. Eat from it, and die.

Let’s look at the exchange between Eve and the serpent:

Genesis 3:1-4  Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.


Satan attacked God’s instructions; Eve misquoted what God said. She took away from it and added to it.

What were Eve’s three mistakes here?

1. She is careless with her wording of Genesis 2:16, as she disparages the privileges of God by leaving out the word that conveys the sense of “freely eat” of all of the trees;

2. Neither shall ye touch it: by adding to His command Eve exaggerates the limitations God had set forth;

3.  Lest ye die: this reveals Eve’s third error, toning down the penalty and certainty of death for eating. “Lest” expresses a fear of possibly dying when God had already expressed the certainty of it in Genesis 2:17.  (The King James Study Bible, 1988)

See the importance of knowing Scripture?

Satan tried this same thing with Jesus. We see this account:

Matthew 4:1-11  Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward hungry. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God (Deut. 8:3). Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone (Psalm 91:11-12). Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God (Deut. 6:16). Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve (Deut. 6:13; 10:20; Joshua 24:14). Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
Satan tempted Jesus, and he used Scripture to do it. But Jesus had an answer for each temptation; He used the Word to fight the temptation. Jesus shows us the importance of using the Word of God to defeat the enemy. It is the only way to do it.

We must hide the Word in our hearts, so when temptations come, the Word is what comes from our mouths.

Next time, we will look at the ways Satan uses some people to distort God’s Word.

Is That Snake Real - Part 2: Who Is Right?

The other day, I was looking up a word for my mom in the American Heritage Dictionary. As I closed the book to place it back on the shelf, I noticed this statement at the top of the dust jacket:

“The single source for people who need to be right”

Well now, that just hit me right in the funny bone, and I laughed, because I thought about everyone I have ever known (including me) that has had that disease: the need to be right.

I laughed because I thought of how stupid I have looked, arguing with someone to prove I am right and then being proven wrong. I thought of others I have watched doing the same thing, and it’s kinda funny to think of the lengths we will go to prove we are right. And the reactions we have when we are proven wrong are even funnier - when pride slides into humiliation and the certainty we were just speaking with crumbles into a red-faced, spitting, mumbling sort of spasm-like conniption fit.

It soon moved from my funny bone and punched me in the gut, because I have experienced the ravages of this affliction, and it’s dangerous, destructive, and deadly to relationships.

I have argued with people over the smallest of things, and had friendships end over the need to be right. Sometimes I was right, sometimes I was wrong. But pride kept both parties from meeting in the middle.

The sad thing now is that this is a disease that has invaded the church. The need to be right has superseded even the Word of God and is causing a great divide among God’s people.

But this shouldn’t surprise us at all: Remember the last post? How did Satan approach Eve?

Genesis 3:1  Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?


Hath God said? Has God indeed said? Did God really say?

Remember, that snake is real. Satan attacks by distorting God’s Word.

Maybe the cover of our Bibles should look like this:

Holy Bible
KJV
The Single Source For People Who Need To Be Right

As Christians, we need to know the Word of God. We need to be right. God reveals Himself in His Word, and it is our responsibility not only to read the Word of God, but to study the Word of God, to feast on it and live it.

God tells us in His Word how we should look at His Word:

Psalm 119:11  Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

We have already talked about the heart - what comes out of our mouths is what resides in our hearts. So, doesn’t it make sense that if we hide God’s Word in our hearts, then our mouths and our lives will show it? We hide His Word in our hearts so that we might not sin against Him.


Hebrews 4:12  For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

There’s that heart thing again. The Word of God seeps into our minds and flows like a river to the heart to know our every thought and intent. Our inner secrets. We are unable to hide.

Matthew Henry’s Commentary says:

This sword divides between the joints and the marrow, the most secret, close, and intimate parts of the body; this sword can cut off the lusts of the flesh as well as the lusts of the mind, and make men willing to undergo the sharpest operation for the mortifying of sin. It is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, even the most secret and remote thoughts and designs. It will discover to men the variety of their thoughts and purposes, the vileness of them, the bad principles they are actuated by, the sinister and sinful ends they act to. The word will turn the inside of a sinner out, and let him see all that is in his heart. Now such a word as this must needs be a great help to our faith and obedience.


God’s Word is the final authority on everything.

2Timothy 3:16-17  All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

Remember the previous post? What did I need to deal with the snake in the Laundromat? A professional and the proper tools. The Professional is God and His Word is our tool. We must know it.

We have looked today at the powerful tool of Scripture. When quoting Scripture, we need to be right. When living a Godly life, we need to be right. When teaching others, we need to be right.

We need to know how to apply Scripture to our own lives and allow God to cleanse our hearts and minds and live a life fully devoted to Him.

Satan is gonna look at us and say, “Did God really say?” We need to be able to look back at him and say, “Yes He did”.

I want to be able to make Satan have one of those red-faced, spitting, mumbling sort of spasm-like conniption fits we talked about at the beginning of this post.

Join me tomorrow…let’s look at Eve’s response to Satan; and how Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness.

Is That Snake Real?

 

Genesis 3:1  Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

The other day, Mom and I went to do one of my least favorite things - wash clothes. We don’t have a washer/dryer here at home, so we take our clothes to the Laundromat in Lovingston. We have done this for years.

So yesterday, we loaded up the car and headed out. When we got there, Mom went in first and then I came along behind her with one of the baskets. After we were inside, Mom just casually says, “Is that snake real?” I turned and looked back, and there was a small snake laying right beside the door inside the building.

He wasn’t moving. I walked a little closer, and he didn’t move. I went outside to the car to try and find something to catch him with (you know I really mean to kill him with, right?). I found an umbrella. So, Mary Poppins went back inside to deal with the creature.

I tapped the umbrella near him several times, and he still didn’t move. I thought I would just empty the tub that the clothes were in, cover him with it, then shove him outside. So right as I approached him to put the tub over him, he moved.

So did I.

So now we are at the point where I am trying to gauge how quickly and efficiently I could crack him with the umbrella; and we are asking ourselves, “Do we really want to do laundry today?” Mom was ready to go at this point, but then we thought about that if we didn’t do something and just left, that someone else might come in and get hurt.

The snake began to move toward the door, and started exiting through a small opening. Awesome! So, I go outside (through the other door) to see where he is going, and he’s not there. Really?

So, to make this long story shorter, he had crawled up inside the bottom of the door. When Mom moved the door, he came back inside. He eventually ended up behind the trashcan in the bathroom and we decided to call for help before somebody (me) got hurt trying to be She-Woman the Snake Hunter.

Animal Control came, took one of those pinchy things like they use on television, and in 10 seconds took care of our snake problem.

How did he take care of it so quickly? He is a professional. He knows what he is doing, and he has the right tools to do the job.

This reminds me of the battle we fight with the enemy every day.

How did Satan show himself to Eve in the Garden? The Bible tells us that he appeared as a serpent. God made the serpent, but Satan used it.

The serpent was subtle; the Hebrew word for this is aruwm, which means cunning (usually in a bad sense): crafty, prudent, subtle (Strong’s Concordance).

Satan is subtle. Do you think he just randomly bumped into Eve as he was taking his daily slither through the Garden?

Matthew Henry’s Commentary says:

  - It was his policy to enter into discourse with her when she was alone. Had she kept close to the side out of which she was lately taken, she would not have been so much exposed. There are many temptations, to which solitude gives great advantage; but the communion of saints contributes much to their strength and safety.
 - He took advantage by finding her near the forbidden tree, and probably gazing upon the fruit of it, only to satisfy her curiosity. Those that would not eat the forbidden fruit must not come near the forbidden tree. Avoid it, pass not by it, Proverbs 4:15.
 - Satan tempted Eve, that by her he might tempt Adam; so he tempted Job by his wife, and Christ by Peter. It is his policy to send temptations by unsuspected hands, and theirs that have most interest in us and influence upon us.
This explains some of the ways Satan tempts us today. We have already discussed in past posts that we should immerse ourselves with Scripture and allow Christ to live through us. If we study Scripture, and hide it in our hearts (Psalm 119:11), then we have the proper tool to fight this enemy when he attacks.

And will he attack? Absolutely.

1Peter 5:8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.

How does he do it?

Genesis 3:1  Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

Hath God said? Has God indeed said? Did God really say?

The devil attempts to deceive by distorting God’s Word.

Satan lies. And we listen.

And it’s not something new that is happening now, through false prophets, prosperity preachers, and cults. It started in the Garden.

And it continues today.

I was trying to deal with the snake in the Laundromat by trying to figure out what to do myself to take care of him. I could have gotten hurt. I could have just gone home, and someone else could have gotten hurt. Then I realized what I needed to do: call a professional who has the knowledge and tools to deal with the snake.

The Christian must be equipped to deal with the enemy - and we know the Professional who has the knowledge and tools to deal with Satan. Over the next few days, we will go over some ways Satan uses to deceive, and what tools God has to deal with them.

Because that Snake is real.

Where Is Your Joy? Part 2

 

 “From silly devotions and sour-faced saints, spare us, O Lord” ~ Teresa of Avila

Are we sour-faced saints?

But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.  Matthew 15: 18-20

Yesterday we talked about negativity, and what we should fill our hearts and minds with. In the verse above, Jesus tells us it’s not about the ritual; it is about what comes out of our mouths from our hearts.

So, what do we do about our heart condition? We must become true disciples of Christ and allow His joy to be our joy.

Adrian Rogers tells the story of a little girl who asked her mother how big God is. Her mother replied that God is bigger than anything; bigger than the earth, than the universe, and even bigger than that. The little girl replies to her mother, “Well, if God is that big, and I am little, when I ask Him to live inside me, then He can’t help but stick out”.

Does Jesus stick out in your life?

Do you radiate His joy?

Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation - Habakkuk 3:18

These things I have spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full - John 15:11

As Jesus prayed for all believers:

And now I come to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves - John 17:13

Jesus tells us that it is His joy that must remain in us, and be fulfilled in us.

Oswald Chambers says: “To be a disciple means that we deliberately identify ourselves with God’s interests in other people. ‘That ye love one another as I have loved you…’ The expression of Christian character is not good doing, but God-likeness”.

God-likeness. Not sour faces.

But we think we can’t do it! Life is too hard! The bills need to be paid! Life’s circumstances fill our minds, trickle down into our hearts, and then the excuses come out of our mouths.

And this shapes our attitudes and makes us sour faced saints.

We have an example to follow.

Hebrews 12:1-3  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

Joy? Endured the cross? These words don’t seem like they go together. The word joy in this passage is from the Greek word chara, which means “cheerfulness, calm delight”.

Jesus had such a joy set before Him that He was willing to do suffer for us. For you. For me.

What was the joy that was set before Him? The finish line. To be set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

What is our joy? To follow His example, and travel this Journey called life, with our eyes looking toward Heaven, to one day be face to face with our precious Saviour.

How can we do this? Matthew Henry says:

“What is our duty with respect to this Jesus. We must, [1.] Look unto him; that is, we must set him continually before us as our example, and our great encouragement; we must look to him for direction, for assistance, and for acceptance, in all our sufferings. [2.] We must consider him, meditate much upon him, and reason with ourselves from his case to our own. We must analogize, as the word is; compare Christ's sufferings and ours; and we shall find that as his sufferings far exceeded ours, in the nature and measure of them, so his patience far excels ours, and is a perfect pattern for us to imitate.”

And rejoice!

1Peter 4:12-13  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

We shouldn’t find it strange that life is hard; the Bible lets us know that if we are Christ followers, things will be difficult. The path is narrow. But we must continue to walk the way He showed us, and follow Him to glory.

With His joy in our hearts.

And remember that He is the author and finisher of our faith: we might have to fight some battles, but Jesus has already won the war.


Jude1:24-25  Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

Imagine the day when Jesus can present us to God faultless, because He was our sacrifice and our example, His blood blotting out our sins. He will joy in this; and we should look to the finish line and live our lives in His joy.

Knowing the ending should make us smile.

Get rid of the sour faces.

Where Is Your Joy? Part 1

 

A few years ago, I felt the Lord calling me to lead a particular women’s group at the church I was attending at the time. I considered it a challenge because there was a lot of negativity among some of these women, and at the time, I was suffering from the same disease.

I had prayed for myself and this group, that we would come together as sisters in Christ and work together for the cause of His Kingdom. But I didn’t know quite how to handle the topic of negativity without causing a riot.

We gathered together one Saturday for our monthly meeting, and it was the same. I tried to gain control of the conversation, but even during our devotional time, some of them were making smart comments to each other, being sarcastic, and criticizing each other’s ideas. I watched and listened, and I noticed one thing: the ones who were doing this were scowling. They not only sounded mean, but they looked mean.

I let them go on for a few minutes, then I leaned back in my chair and said, “What is wrong with y’all?” They looked at me like I had three heads; but it got their attention. One of them asked me what I meant, and I said this:

“Y’all look like you’ve been sucking on a bushel of lemons. Where is your joy?”

In my experience, the tendency to be negative seems to be high among Christians. I have had more Christian women (and men) give me the neck twist and eye roll than I care to count. And trust me, I have done the same to others.

Where is our joy?

I don’t know about you, but I have had the tendency to take on the characteristics of those people that I choose to surround myself with. As I grow stronger in Christ, I know that it is His characteristics that I must take on, not the people around me.

I have been one of the nastiest, most sarcastic people that you would ever want to meet. I had a smart comment for everything, and I could neck twist and eye roll with the best of them. I had excuses for it too - my parents got divorced, life wasn’t fair, I was broke, etc.

You name it, I could blame it.

And I loved to be in a group like this. It was a challenge to make a smarter comment than another person, to get the best of someone, to be “right” about everything. I would feed on it.
But as I began to grow, this type of behavior started to irritate me, especially my own. I would feel guilty about things I said to people (conviction), and when I heard others saying hurtful things, it would hurt me, even if they weren’t saying them to me. As I studied Scripture, I began to see that this was not how God wants us to be.


Galatians 5:22-26  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
The fruit of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.

I didn’t see any lemons in there, did you?

Jesus addressed this with the scribes and Pharisees when they asked him about the ritual of washing hands before eating. They were more concerned with the ritual than the cleanliness; and Jesus knew this and had the answer for them:

 Matthew 15:7-20:  Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.  Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying? But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable. And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding? Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.

The things which come out of our mouths come from our hearts. If all of our comments and interactions are filled with negativity and hurtfulness, then these are the things which dwell in our hearts.

But what should be in our hearts?


Psalm 119:11  Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

What should be in our minds?

Philippians 4:8-9  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

When we fill our minds and hearts with God’s Word, and keep our minds on good and virtuous things, our actions will follow. Our attitudes and mouths will express what dwells in our hearts.


Matthew Henry says: "In these things he (Paul) proposes himself to them for an example (Those things which you have learned, and received, and heard and seen in me, do - Philippians 4:9). Observe, Paul's doctrine and life were of a piece. What they saw in him was the same thing with what they heard from him. He could propose himself as well as his doctrine to their imitation. It gives a great force to what we say to others when we can appeal to what they have seen in us." (Matthew Henry's Commentary)

Remember our theme that keeps coming up about the True Journey? Walking the talk? This is what Paul did. Paul is saying, “Look at me. I’m not just talking. I am walking. I am doing what I am saying. What you have seen me do, do also.”

Come back tomorrow for part 2!