Seeking the Lord

Lifting Hands in Prayer

2012-01-14T09:32:00.000-08:00

When you pray, lift your hands straight up to the Lord. Pastor Yong-Doo Kim says the Lord told a member of his church, “Don’t let your arms fall down even though it’s hard. The prayer with hands lifted up high has much more power.” -- Baptize by Blazing Fire.

So Moses said to Joshua, "Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will station myself on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand." Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought against Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set. So Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this in a book as a memorial and recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven." Moses built an altar and named it The LORD is My Banner; (Exo 17:9-15)

In battle, there was someone in the army assigned to carry a banner on a pole. As long as he lifted up the banner, all the soldiers knew they should continue to fight. But when the bearer let down the banner, the soldiers knew that they were being defeated. As Moses lifted up his hands to the Lord on the hill, he put his faith and trust in the Lord for Israel's victory over the enemy. And as long as he kept his hands lifted up high, the Lord defeated the enemy. When it became too hard and he lowered his hands, then the enemy began to prevail in the battle. That's why Aaron and Hur had him sit down as they supported his hands for hours until the sun set. That day, their banner was not a piece of cloth. The Lord Himself was the banner over them who gave the victory. And that is why Moses said, "The Lord is Our Banner."

Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to You for help, When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary. (Psa 28:2)

So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. (Psa 63:4)

And I shall lift up my hands to Your commandments, Which I love; And I will meditate on Your statutes. (Psa 119:48)

Lift up your hands to the sanctuary And bless the LORD. (Psa 134:2)

"Arise, cry aloud in the night At the beginning of the night watches; Pour out your heart like water Before the presence of the Lord; Lift up your hands to Him For the life of your little ones Who are faint because of hunger At the head of every street." (Lam 2:19)

We lift up our heart and hands Toward God in heaven; (Lam 3:41)

Then Ezra blessed the LORD the great God. And all the people answered, "Amen, Amen!" while lifting up their hands; then they bowed low and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. (Neh 8:6)

May my prayer be counted as incense before You; The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering. (Psa 141:2)

Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension. (1Ti 2:8)

So as you can see, the Scripture is full of examples of people lifting their hands to God. It's very powerful! The Lord is very pleased when we lift up our hearts and hands to Him. As Moses said, "The Lord is Our Banner." When you lift up your hands to Him in prayer, He will be your banner of victory over the enemy. Let me encourage you to do that when you pray and worship.

Credit: Photos from the "I Will Sing" album by Don Moen, recorded at the Christian Broadcasting Network.

Author's note: You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do you want to know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. Your first step is to repent and pray like this from a sincere heart:

HEAVENLY FATHER,
I have sinned against you.
I want forgiveness for all my sins.
I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me and rose again.
Father, I give you my life to do with as you wish. I want Jesus Christ to come into my life and into my heart. This I ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

If you repented and prayed this sincerely from your heart, then you are a child of God. You have a relationship with the Lord. Now cultivate that relationship and produce the fruit of repentance. Like any other personal relationship, this one requires you to spend time with Him for it to grow more intimate. So spend time daily, seeking the Lord, calling upon Jesus name, repenting of any sin in your life, talking to Him and listening to His voice. Read His Word, the Bible, in order to see what God wants for your life and all the wonderful promises He has given you. As soon as possible, you need to tell someone that you have given your life to Jesus. Join with other loving believers who believe the Bible and preach the good news of salvation in Jesus alone, be water baptized, and find a place of service in that loving community. Be sure and share the good news of Jesus with those who don’t know Him, and live faithfully for the Lord all your life.
_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International. He is based in Eastern Europe, where he is helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, and planting churches that multiply. www.dmiworld.org.

Checklist for Revival

2012-01-14T08:10:00.000-08:00

When I think of all the things that the Lord has given us to do, I wonder how we manage to find so much time to do other things that are not important to him. Just think of all the things that Christians fill their weeks with, and you will see what I mean. If you have time to sit and watch TV, news, sports, movies, play on Facebook, do video games, sit in online chat rooms, read non-Christian literature, listen to non-Christian music, talk radio, and generally waste time, then maybe you need to remind yourself of the things you should be doing. If that's you, here is a list to get started.

As you read through the list, check off the ones that you are doing and circle the ones you are not. Make special note of the words "every," "all," "always," "everything," and "continually," which all mean exactly what they say.

Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength… (1 Jn 5:3; 2 Jn 6)
Love your neighbor as yourself (Mt 22:39; Mk 12:31; Lk 10:27; 1 Pe 4:8; 1 John4:7, 11, 20:21; He 13:1)
Love your enemies (Mt 5:44)
Believe in the name of Jesus Christ (1 Jn 3:23)
Set apart Christ as Lord in your hearts (1 Pet 3:15)
Keep yourself in God’s love (Jude 21)
Pursue love (1 Tim 6:11)
Husbands love your wives (Col 3:19)
Seek first the kingdom of God and all His righteousness (Mt 6:33)
Enter through the narrow gate (Mat 7:13)
Make every effort to be holy (He 12:14; 2 Pet 3:11)
Make every effort to be found spotless, blameless, and at peace with the Lord (2 Pet 3:18)
Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Mt 5:48)
Pursue righteousness (1 Tim 6:11)
Pursue godliness (1 Tim 6:11)
Pursue faith (1 Tim 6:11)
Pursue endurance (1 Tim 6:11)
Pursue gentleness (1 Tim 6:11)
Make disciples as you go (Matt 28:19)
Respect those who work hard, who rule (1 The 5:12)
Try to be kind to each other always (1 The 5:15)
In everything, treat people the same way you want them totreat you (Mat 7:12)
Give thanks in all circumstances (Col 3:15; 1 The 5:18; Eph 5:20)
Be joyful always; rejoice in the Lord (1 The 5:16; Phil 3:1; 4:4)
Continually offer the sacrifice of praise (He 13:15)
Be subject to rulers and authorities, including spiritual authorities (1 Pet 2:13; Tit 3:1; Heb 13:17)
Share all good things with the one who teaches you (Gal 6:6)
Obey your leaders (He 13:17)
Imitate the faith of your leaders (He 12:7)
Imitate what is good (3 Jn 11)
Imitate Christ (Phil 2:1; 1 Jn 2:6)
Do good (1 Tim 6:18)
Devote yourself to doing what is good (Tit 3:14)
Keep yourself from idols (1 Jn 5:21)
Keep your life free from love of money (He 13:5)
Be filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph 5:18)
Eagerly desire the spiritual gifts (1 Col 14:1)
Excel in gifts that build up the church (1 Col 14:12)
Be merciful to those who doubt (Jude 22)
Repent and do the things you did at first (Rev 2:5)
Grieve, mourn, and wail, turn your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom (Jas 5:9)
Wash your hands; purify your hearts (Js 5:8)
Confess your sins to each other (Js 5:16)
If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throwit from you (Mat 5:29)
If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off andthrow it from you (Mat 5:30)
Confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord (Rom 10:9)
Submit yourselves to God (Js 5:7)
Come near to God (Js 5:8)
Be baptized (Ac 2:38)
Do everything without complaining or arguing (Phil 2:14)
When you fast, anoint your head and wash your face (Mat 6:17)
When you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret (Mat 6:6)
Pray continually (1 The 5:17)
Build yourselves up and pray at all times in the Spirit (1 Cor 4:14; Jude 20; Eph 6:18)
Always keep on praying for all the saints (Eph 6:18)
Pray for those who persecute you (Mt 5:44)
Ask, seek, and knock (Mt 7:7)
Devote yourself to prayer (Col 4:2)
Pray for each other (Js 5:16)
In everything, by prayer, present your requests to God (Phil 4:6)
Cast your anxiety on the Lord (1 Pet 5:7)
Think about things that are excellent, praiseworthy (Phil 14:8)
Work out your salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12)
Be all the more diligent to make certain about Hiscalling and choosing you (2 Pe 1:10)
Put to death whatever belongs to your earthly nature (Col 3:5)
Rid yourselves of such things as anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language (Col 3:7)
Clothe yourself with kindness, compassion, humility, gentleness, and patience (Col 3:12)
Be completely humble, show true humility toward all men (Eph 4:2; 1 Pe 3:8; 5:5,6)
Bear with each other (Col 3:13 )
First take the log out of your own eye (Mat 7:5)
Forgive whatever grievances you have against each other (Col 3:13)
Teach and admonish one another (Col 3:16)
Wives submit to your husbands in everything (Eph 5:24; Col 3:18)
Wives respect your husbands (Eph 5:33)
Parents bring up your children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Eph 6:4)
Children obey your parents in everything (Col 3:20)
Do everything in the name of the Lord (Col 3:17)
Do everything with all your heart for the Lord (Col 3:23)
Pastors, preach the Word (2 Tim 4:2)
Pastors, correct (2 Tim 4:2)
Pastors, rebuke (2 Tim 4:2)
Encourage one another (Heb 3:13)
Speak to one another in psalms and hymns andspiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord (Eph5:19)
Be peaceable (Tit 3:2)
Be considerate (Tit 3:2)
Remember those believers in prison as if you were their fellow inmates (He 13:3)
Consider it pure joy when you face trials (Js 1:2)
Be quick to listen (Js 1:19)
Be slow to speak (Js 1:19)
Be slow to get angry (Js 1:19)
Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom (Js 2:12)
Let your Yes be Yes and your No, No (Mt 5:37; Js 5:12)
Husbands treat your wives with respect (1 Pet 3:7)
Husbands be considerate as you live with your wives (1 Pet 3:7)
Live in harmony with one another (1 Pet 3:8)
Be sympathetic (1 Pet 3:8)
Be compassionate (1 Pet 3:8)
Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. (Mat 5:16)
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have (1 Pet 3:15)
Be clear-minded and self controlled (1 Pet 4:7)
Speak as though speaking the very words of God (1 Pet 4:11)
Resist the devil (Js 5:7) (1 Pet 5:9)
Endure hardship like a good soldier of Christ Jesus (2 Tim 2:3)
Put on the full armor of God (Eph 6:11)
Fight the good fight of the faith (1 Tim 6:12)
Be alert (1 Pet 5:8)
Be watchful (Col 4:2)
Be on your guard, so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men (2 Pet 3:17)
Beware of the false prophets (Mat 7:15)
Watch your life and doctrine closely (1 Tim 4:16)
Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you (2 Tim 1:14)
Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Pet 3:18)
Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need (1 Tim 5:3)
Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called (1 Tim 6:12)
Turn away from godless chatter (1 Tim 6:20)
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit (Phil 2:3
Regard one another as more important than yourself(Phil 2:3)
Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you arewith him on the way (Mat 5:25)
If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also (Mt 5:40)
Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. (Mat 5:42)
Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven (Mat 6:20)
Test the spirits to see whether they are from God (1Jo 4:1)

While you are at it, it would be helpful to review the following list of things you should avoid:

Do not worry about what you will eat, drink, wear, or about tomorrow (Mt 6:31,34)
Do not be surprised if the world hates you (1 Jn 3:13)
Do not love the world or anything in the world (1 Jn 2:15)
Do not get drunk with wine (Eph 5:18)
Do not be partners with immoral, impure persons, covetous men, who are idolaters, or any of the sons of disobedience (Eph 5:5-7)
Do not be like Cain (1 Jn 3:12)
Do not be deceived (1Co 6:9; 1Co 15:33; Gal 6:7; Jam 1:16)
Do not imitate what is evil (3 Jn 11)
Do not be anxious about anything (Phil 4:6)
Do not lie to each other (Phil 3:9)
Do not be harsh with your wife (Col 3:19)
Do not embitter your children (Col 3:21)
Do not find fault (Jude 16)
Do not harden your heart (Heb 3:15)
Do not forget to entertain strangers (Heb 13:2)
Do not forget to share with others (1Ti 6:18)
Do not merely listen to the Word (Js 1:22)
Do not show favoritism (Js 2:1)
Do not slander one another (Js 5:11)
Do not swear by heaven, earth, or anything else (Js 5:12)
Do not use your freedom as a cover up for evil (1 Pet 2:16)
Do not rebuke an older man (1 Tim 5:1)
Do not be hasty in laying on of hands (1 Tim 5:22)
Do not neglect your gift (1 Tim 4:14)
Do not seek your own good, but the good of others (1 Co 10:24; Phil 2:4)
Do not think that Jesus came to abolish the Law or the Prophets (Mt 5:17)
Do not resist an evil person (Mt 5:39)
Do not sound a trumpet before you when you give to the poor (Mt 6:2)
Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, when you give to the poor (Mat 6:3)
Do not use meaningless repetition when you are praying (Mat 6:7)
Do not put on a gloomy face, whenever you fast, as the hypocrites do (Mat 6:16)
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth (Mat 6:19)
Do not judge so that you will not be judged. (Mat 7:1)
Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine (Mat 7:6)
Do not believe every spirit (1Jo 4:1)

It's amazing that it can all be summed up in these two commands: "Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength." and "Love your neighbor as yourself." But the Scriptural admonitions above are written to help us to put some feet to those two commands and begin to take action.

I'm sure there is much more that we could add to these lists, but this is enough to show us what is important to God, and how we should be spending our time. I encourage you to meditate upon these lists and let them be a sort of checklist for spiritual revival in your life. Let them be a reality check to see where you are missing the mark or falling short of what God expects. If you circled any, indicating you are not practicing them, then repent sincerely with all your heart and cry out to God for change. Don't stop until you see the change. He will be faithful to do it and revive you once again.

Author's note: You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do you want to know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. Your first step is to repent and pray like this from a sincere heart:

HEAVENLY FATHER,
I have sinned against you.
I want forgiveness for all my sins.
I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me and rose again.
Father, I give you my life to do with as you wish. I want Jesus Christ to come into my life and into my heart. This I ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

If you repented and prayed this sincerely from your heart, then you are a child of God. You have a relationship with the Lord. Now cultivate that relationship and produce the fruit of repentance. Like any other personal relationship, this one requires you to spend time with Him for it to grow more intimate. So spend time daily, seeking the Lord, calling upon Jesus name, repenting of any sin in your life, talking to Him and listening to His voice. Read His Word, the Bible, in order to see what God wants for your life and all the wonderful promises He has given you. As soon as possible, you need to tell someone that you have given your life to Jesus. Join with other loving believers who believe the Bible and preach the good news of salvation in Jesus alone, be water baptized, and find a place of service in that loving community. Be sure and share the good news of Jesus with those who don’t know Him, and live faithfully for the Lord all your life.
_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International. He is based in Eastern Europe, where he is helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, and planting churches that multiply. www.dmiworld.org.

Salvation with Fear and Trembling

2012-01-10T04:18:00.000-08:00

Abraham offers his son Isaac, Rembrandt

The Lord spoke to me today through these verses in the apostle Paul's letter to the Philippians: “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.” (Phi 2:5-7)

I need to empty myself as Jesus emptied Himself, because the Word tells me to have the same attitude in myself that was also in Christ Jesus. Self needs to be crucified and put to death as Jesus commanded.

Paul went on to write: “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;” (Phi 2:12)

My salvation is not a foregone conclusion. Just because I have given my life to Jesus does not mean I can sit back and relax now until I die, knowing I have a guarantee of eternity in heaven. I must work out my salvation with fear and trembling.

Fear
Why should I fear? Because God is holy and He requires His people to live nothing less than holy lives. He says, “Without holiness, no one shall see God.” I should fear God with a holy reverence, as I wrote about previously. I fear Him who has the power to destroy both my body and soul in hell, as Jesus warned, "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Mat 10:28). As Luke recorded it, Jesus said, "But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!” (Luk 12:5)

Trembling
Why should I tremble? Because few people will be saved, and many people who call Jesus Lord are going to hell. Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.” (Mat 7:21). Many Christians merely hear the Word, but do not do what it says. At the judgment, Jesus will tell them, “Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.” I should tremble, because hell is a terrible place of unimaginable torment. Because people are there right now experiencing its horrors that will never end. It’s eternal and there is no way out. Once I die, there will be no further opportunity to repent or ask the Lord for mercy. It’s final. So right now while I am still alive on the earth, I need to live my life with trembling. I need to consider the realities of hell. I need to repent daily with trembling for even the smallest sins I commit. As pastor Yong-Doo Kim wrote in his book, Baptize by Blazing Fire, “A daily repentant life is the fastest and shortest route to God’s mercy and compassion.”

Working out My Salvation
Why should I work out my salvation? I should work it out, because I was saved to do good works that were created long ago for me to do. These good works were created before the foundation of the world. This is why I am on earth at this time. It’s my purpose. I must no longer live for myself to please myself, but for Him who died for me and was raised again (2 Cor 5:15). I must work out my salvation, because faith without good deeds is useless and dead (Jas 2:14-26). I must work for the Lord while it is yet day, for the night comes when no man can work (Jn 9:4).

Putting it All Together
My friend, let me encourage you to do the same. Have the same attitude that was in Christ Jesus, and Empty yourself to the best of your ability. Your salvation is not a foregone conclusion. Just because you have confessed Jesus as your Savior does not mean you can go on living like the world or living life for yourself.

We need to fear the Lord, who can destroy both body and soul in hell. Taking the words of Jesus, "I tell you, fear Him!" He is holy. Tremble before Him at the thought of what you really deserve. We all deserve eternity in hell, a place of unimaginable and eternal torment. And once we are saved, we must be very careful to live the holy life He requires. Without holiness, no one will see God.

Work out your salvation, and do what the Lord has commanded you to do. Whatever He requires of you, do it. Be like Abraham, the man of faith, who worked out his faith with fear and trembling. When the Lord told Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, he obeyed, as depicted in the painting by Rembrandt above.

If you want to experience God's compassion and mercy, then live a daily life of repentance.

Author's note: You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do you want to know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. Your first step is to repent and pray like this from a sincere heart:

HEAVENLY FATHER,
I have sinned against you.
I want forgiveness for all my sins.
I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me and rose again.
Father, I give you my life to do with as you wish. I want Jesus Christ to come into my life and into my heart. This I ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

If you repented and prayed this sincerely from your heart, then you are a child of God. You have a relationship with the Lord. Now cultivate that relationship and produce the fruit of repentance. Like any other personal relationship, this one requires you to spend time with Him for it to grow more intimate. So spend time daily, seeking the Lord, calling upon Jesus name, repenting of any sin in your life, talking to Him and listening to His voice. Read His Word, the Bible, in order to see what God wants for your life and all the wonderful promises He has given you. As soon as possible, you need to tell someone that you have given your life to Jesus. Join with other loving believers who believe the Bible and preach the good news of salvation in Jesus alone, be water baptized, and find a place of service in that loving community. Be sure and share the good news of Jesus with those who don’t know Him, and live faithfully for the Lord all your life.

_________________________________________________

Holy Living in a Perverted World

2011-11-19T08:59:00.001-08:00

Artist's rendition of the holy throne of God as John saw it

We rarely here the word “holy” word in the church any more. Most believers in Jesus Christ treat it as old-fashioned and obsolete. But it is not obsolete. In fact, this word appears 581 times in the Bible, including the New Testament! Let’s look at a few of the Scriptures about this.

God is Holy
All throughout Scripture, God is described as holy. Webster’s dictionary states: “Applied to the Supreme Being, holy signifies perfectly pure, immaculate and complete in moral character.”

When Moses stood in God’s presence, he was instructed to take off his shoes, because the place he was standing was holy ground. Then He said, "Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." (Exo 3:5)

Isaiah the prophet had a glorious vision of the Lord in His holiness. He wrote: “In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.’ And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.” (Isa 6:1-4)

This is a sight that very few people have ever seen while still in their earthly bodies. The holy angels were around the Lord, calling to each other, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord!” When Isaiah saw all of this, he was undone. He cried, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts." (Isa 6:5)

The apostle John also saw the Lord on His heavenly throne, which a graphic artist has attempted to depict in the image above. John wrote: “After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.’ Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads. Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God; and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. The first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, ‘HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME.’” (Rev 4:1-8)

What an awesome sight! The same angels Isaiah saw in his vision 700 years earlier were still around the throne saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.” They never cease to say this!!

Be Holy
The Word of God says that we are called to be holy in body and spirit, just like the Holy One, in all our behavior. According to Webster’s dictionary, when we use the word holy to refer to a person, it means, “Properly, whole, entire or perfect, in a moral sense. Hence, pure in heart, temper or dispositions; free from sin and sinful affections.”

The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband.” (1Co 7:34)

Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. (Eph 1:4)

“That He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.” (Eph 5:27)

“But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior.” (1Pe 1:15)

“It is written, ‘YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.’" (1Pe 1:16)

Holiness
The way we as disciples of Christ take is called the Highway of Holiness, and the unclean will not travel on it. “A highway will be there, a roadway, And it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, But it will be for him who walks that way, And fools will not wander on it.” (Isa 35:8). Jesus said that He Himself is the Way.

We are to serve the Lord Jesus in holiness. “To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.” (Luk 1:74-75)

We are to conduct ourselves in the world in holiness. “For our proud confidence is this: the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness and godly sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you.” (2Co 1:12)

We are to cleanse ourselves from all defilement and perfect holiness in the fear of God. “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (2Co 7:1)

Our new self has been created in holiness, and we are to put it on. “Put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” (Eph 4:24)

God disciplines his children, so that we may share in His holiness. “For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.” (Heb 12:10)

The writer of Hebrews goes on to exhort us to “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Heb 12:14). Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord.

Be Perfect
We are to be perfect. "Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mat 5:48)

“And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (Jam 1:4)

We are not to be conformed to this world, but to prove what the perfect will of God is. “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Rom 12:2)

Even Paul did not claim to be perfect already, but his passionate aim was to lay hold of that. “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.” (Phi 3:12)

If you don’t stumble in what you say, you are perfect, because your tongue reflects what’s in your heart and it controls everything else in your life. “For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.” (Jam 3:2)

So it's clear from Scripture that the disciples of Christ are to be holy and perfect, but how does that look practically? Does it mean we have to live in a cloistered community, standing around wearing white robes with our hands folded in prayer, chanting prayers in Latin? Not at all! The Lord expects us to live "in the world" without being "of the world." Let me give you some examples of God's standards of holiness that are disregarded today.

Sexual Purity
So many in the church today are living immoral lives, and others accept it as normal. The church today often tolerates it. However, the Lord spoke against the churches in Pergamum and Thyatira, because they tolerated sexually immoral people in their midst (2:14, 20). The Scriptural standard is still complete sexual purity.

We are not to associate or even eat with any so-called brother who is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler. Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler--not even to eat with such a one.” (1Co 5:9-11)

We are to flee immorality. “Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body.” (1Co 6:18)

No immoral, impure, covetous, or idolatrous person has any inheritance in God’s kingdom. “For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.” (Eph 5:5)

There must be no immoral or godless person among those who are the disciples of Christ. The writer of Hebrews wrote: “that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.” (Heb 12:16)

The cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, immoral persons, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars will inherit the lake of fire, not the kingdom of Christ. "But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." (Rev 21:8)

Those outside the holy, eternal city include dogs (homosexuals), sorcerers, immoral persons, murderers, idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying. “Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.” (Rev 22:15)

Sobriety
Another popular pastime is drunkenness. According to Matthew Henry, “Drunkenness is excess in drinking of wine or strong drink, whereby the stomach is overcharged, the mind is intoxicated, and the body enfeebled and unable to perform its office.”

Drunkenness is a work of the sinful nature (Gal 5:21).   The apostle Paul wrote, “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.” (Eph 5:18).

Quietness, proper behavior, and avoidance of reveling
Another aspect of holiness is to lead a quiet life, to behave properly, and to avoid carousing. The apostle Paul wrote, “Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy.” (Rom 13:13)

The word carousing comes from the Greek word komos, which means carousal, reveling, or rioting. According to Matthew Henry, “Reveling is excess in feed, nocturnal riotings in eating, drinking, dancing, singing, chambering and wantonness. The Syriac version renders it, זמרא, ‘lascivious singing’; and the Arabic version, ‘songs’ which are a part of the nightly revels: and such like which are of the same nature and kind.” To put it in modern terms, reveling is jamming to worldly music, nighttime dancing, partying, “kicking,” singing lascivious songs, “rocking,” letting loose, etc.   It means to make a racket, make whoopie, make merry, make happy, whoop it up, jollify, wassail, or “kick” it up.

While many believers condone reveling today, according to the Bible, it is a work of the sinful nature, and has no part in a life of holiness (Gal 5:21).

Don’t love the world
We need to take care that we do not love the world. The apostle John wrote, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1Jo 2:15)

If we love the world, the Father’s love is not in us, and we become His enemies. James wrote, “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: ‘He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us?’” (Jam 4:4-5)

What kind of music do you listen to? What kind of movies, TV programs, and videos do you watch? Are they ones about lust and sexual immorality, murder, stealing, lawlessness, and drunkenness? Do they mock true Christianity and model a compromising, watered-down form of Christianity? If so, then you need to make some hard decisions, in order to eliminate compromise and chose that which pleases the Lord.

Putting it All Together
The Lord is holy, perfectly pure and immaculate. He is on His heavenly throne right now with angels surrounding him that never cease to cry, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord!”

When we come to Christ, He makes us holy from a positional perspective. But then He expects us to walk that out practically and to be holy, as He is holy. That means we need to be perfect, in a moral sense.

While the topic of holiness may not be popular in the world or even the church today, it’s still God’s way for His people to live. We’ve got to be holy in all our behavior, like the Holy One who saved us. He’s called us to be perfect, even as He is perfect.

While we can’t say we’ve attained to this yet, we should passionately strive for it in our lives as disciples of Christ. Our orientation must always one that is moving forward toward this goal. Playing church doesn’t impress God and neither does religion.

If we want to be perfect, we need the Lord to do a deep work in our hearts. Give Him permission to bring His discipline to bear in your life, which is the only way he can make us holy practically speaking. Then listen to what comes out of your mouth. Once you become perfect in what you say, then you can control your whole being.

Today in the church, immorality has become acceptable. So have carousing or reveling, idolatry, loving the world, drunkenness, and many other sins. But the Word teaches us that people who live like this will not inherit the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.

If you are a disciple of Jesus Christ and you have come to realize you’re not living a holy life, then here is what James tells you to do: “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.” (Jam 4:7-10). It’s not too late to repent and change the way you’re living.

If you are not a disciple of Christ, then let me explain something to you. You can never earn God’s love. You can only accept it. You can never obtain His acceptance by trying to be holy. Rather, you need to admit you are a sinner in need of Christ’s salvation. You need to repent of your sin, which is a total change of mind, and ask Him to forgive you. In a moment, I'd like to lead you in a prayer.

Author's note: This "Seeking the Lord" blog has become very popular in France. The reason for this is uncertain, but I am humbled and delighted that it has generated such a great interest there. To God be all the glory! If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the links in the side bar, especially "One Thing." You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do you want to know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. Your first step is to repent and pray like this from a sincere heart:

HEAVENLY FATHER,
I have sinned against you.
I want forgiveness for all my sins.
I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me and rose again.
Father, I give you my life to do with as you wish. I want Jesus Christ to come into my life and into my heart. This I ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

If you repented and prayed this sincerely from your heart, then you are a child of God. You have a relationship with the Lord. Now cultivate that relationship and produce the fruit of repentance. Like any other personal relationship, this one requires you to spend time with Him for it to grow more intimate. So spend time daily, seeking the Lord, calling upon Jesus name, repenting of any sin in your life, talking to Him and listening to His voice. Read His Word, the Bible, in order to see what God wants for your life and all the wonderful promises He has given you. As soon as possible, you need to tell someone that you have given your life to Jesus. Join with other loving believers who believe the Bible and preach the good news of salvation in Jesus alone, be water baptized, and find a place of service in that loving community. Be sure and share the good news of Jesus with those who don’t know Him, and live faithfully for the Lord all your life.

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International. He is based in Eastern Europe, where he is helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, and planting churches that multiply. www.dmiworld.org. You are invited to view his collection of blogs at Writing for the Master.

The artist's rendition of God's throne as the apostle John saw it in his Revelation is taken from Lighthouse Missions.

One thing

2011-10-08T04:43:00.000-07:00


Mary sits at Jesus' feet. Copyright Nathan Greene

Have you ever felt like life is too complicated? If so, that’s not unusual. There are probably millions of other who feel the same way.

But actually life is not complicated. We make it that way. When you are in Christ, life is actually simple. But it requires faith. That means trusting the Lord.

There’s only one thing we need to focus on, and when you do so, it’ll greatly simplify your life. I’d like to share with you what it is.

David desired one thing
The Lord called King David a man after His own heart. And David desired only one thing. He said:

"One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple." (Psa 27:4)

David’s one desire was to dwell in the Lord’s house all the days of his life, so that he could behold the Lord’s beauty. The other reason he wanted to dwell there was so that he could inquire of the Lord.

During David’s lifetime, the temple was not yet built. They simply had a tent of meeting, called a tabernacle, where they met with the Lord. This was the place where the Lord manifested his presence. That’s where David wanted to remain.

In the New Covenant, Jesus Christ is the temple. He plainly said so. When the religious leaders asked him for a sign to prove His authority, “Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews then said, ‘It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?’ But He was speaking of the temple of His body. So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.” (Joh 2:19-22)

So for those under the New Covenant, our one desire should be to remain in Jesus Christ all the days of our life. It should be to seek the Lord and behold His beauty.

All who are led by the spirit are sons of God. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul wrote, “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1Co 3:16).

Christ’s body is the temple. We are the Body of Christ and He is the Head of the Body. It could not be any clearer that He and those of us who are His disciples are the temple. So if we desire the one thing David desired, it’s to abide in Christ moment-by-moment and day-to-day.

Mary desired one thing
Another person who had this singular focus was Mary, the sister of Lazarus. When Jesus came to visit the home, where she and her family lived, she was interested in just one thing.

“Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord's feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.’ But the Lord answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.’" (Luk 10:38-42)

Many people are like Martha. They feel like life is complicated. Martha was stressed out. In the presence of the Lord, she felt the pressure of all the tasks she thought she needed to do. If that’s how you are, then you are probably distracted like Martha was. She found it hard to settle down and focus on the Lord.

In fact, this kind of mindset led Martha to want to control people. She needed to recruit her sister to help her fulfill all that she thought needed to be done for the Lord. And when she could not control Mary, she tried to get Jesus to force her to help.

I think this is all too common among believers. It can happen in a household, as well as the church. Many times a leader has his own, great “vision” of what needs to be done for the Lord. And to fulfill his vision, he needs to recruit others into service. When they do not volunteer to serve, and do not align with his vision, he uses other means to control them like manipulation and coercion. I’ve seen leaders like this become so distracted by many things. Yet they don’t seem interested in abiding in Christ. They don’t seem to enjoy just abiding in Christ, worshipping Him and enjoying His presence. Instead, they are always thinking about the next thing they are going to say or the next task that needs to be completed.

But look at what Jesus said to Martha. The Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” (Lk 10:42) According to Jesus, only one thing is necessary, and Mary had chosen it. She was sitting at the Lord’s feet, listening to His Word.

That’s the one thing that is still needed today. We need to sit at the Lord’s feet and listen to His Word. In that place, we commune with Him and adore Him. We put distractions aside, and focus on Jesus. We meditate upon His Word. We listen to His voice. Our desire is simply to be with Him. It’s all about Jesus.

Love the Lord your God
When Luke wrote about the story of Martha and Mary, it was in the context of a conversation Jesus had with someone about the one thing needed to inherit eternal life.

“And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, ‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ And He said to him, ‘What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?’ And he answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.’ And He said to him, ‘You have answered correctly; Do this and you will live.’" (Luk 10:25-28)

The message is the same. Jesus taught this lawyer that one thing is necessary, and that is to love. Our love for God must be with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. We should love our neighbor as we love ourselves. And Jesus illustrated this love with the story of the Good Samaritan to show what He meant.

Seek first His kingdom and righteousness
The temptation is to worry about what we will eat or drink or what we will wear. There will never be a lack of things to worry about, which will vie for our attention. But Jesus taught us to “Seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you." (Mt 6:33)

Focus on Jesus
The writer to the Hebrews also taught that we must have a singular focus. He wrote: “Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest.” (Heb 3:1).

Again he wrote, “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb 12:2).

When you fix your thoughts on someone, they are the center of your attention. When you focus your eyes on someone, everything else fades out of focus. Our focus should be on Jesus.

Putting it All Together
What’s your focus? Food, clothing, money, success, possessions, fame, popularity, making a place for yourself in history, numbers, buildings, man-made traditions, external appearances, titles, collecting people?

David desired one thing, and that was to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life, to gaze upon His beauty and inquire in His temple. Mary chose that one thing also. She sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to His Word.

We need to love the Lord with our entire being. We should fix our thoughts on Jesus, focusing our eyes on Him.

Let me encourage you today to focus on Jesus, dwelling in His house all the days of your life. There you can gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and seek Him in His temple. That’s the one thing that’s needed.

When you live like this, life will be simple. But it requires your complete trust in the Lord. It requires faith, without which it is impossible to please God. Will you commit yourself to do this?

Author's note: This "Seeking the Lord" blog has become very popular in France. The reason for this is uncertain, but I am humbled and delighted that it has generated such a great interest there. To God be all the glory! If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the links in the side bar, especially "Inquiring of the Lord." You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do you want to know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. Your first step is to repent and pray like this from a sincere heart:

HEAVENLY FATHER,
I have sinned against you.
I want forgiveness for all my sins.
I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me and rose again.
Father, I give you my life to do with as you wish. I want Jesus Christ to come into my life and into my heart. This I ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

If you repented and prayed this sincerely from your heart, then you are a child of God. You have a relationship with the Lord. Now cultivate that relationship and produce the fruit of repentance. Like any other personal relationship, this one requires you to spend time with Him for it to grow more intimate. So spend time daily, seeking the Lord, calling upon Jesus name, repenting of any sin in your life, talking to Him and listening to His voice. Read His Word, the Bible, in order to see what God wants for your life and all the wonderful promises He has given you. As soon as possible, you need to tell someone that you have given your life to Jesus. Join with other loving believers who believe the Bible and preach the good news of salvation in Jesus alone, be water baptized, and find a place of service in that loving community. Be sure and share the good news of Jesus with those who don’t know Him, and live faithfully for the Lord all your life.

_______________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International. He is based in Eastern Europe, where he is helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, and planting churches that multiply. www.dmiworld.org.

The painting of Jesus in the home of Mary and Martha is called "At Jesus' Feet." It was done by Nathan Greene, a contemporary painter whose artistic heritage is grounded in the honored tradition of a golden era in American illustration. To see more of his work, visit Inspirational Fine Art by Nathan Greene.

Righteousness, Peace, and Joy

2011-07-27T03:16:00.000-07:00

In my previous post on the Self-Help gospel, I made the point that we should not let anyone judge us regarding what we eat or drink. It’s true that we shouldn’t do that. The point is that all things are clean and the reality is found in Christ, not man-made regulations. But today I would like to look at this from another angle, namely how our freedom affects others.

What if someone with a weak conscience is offended by my freedom? What am I to do? Do I flaunt my freedom? Do I allow myself to come under the legalistic regulations of man? Or can I avoid both of those options and seek to live another way? Let’s see what the Scriptures teach us.

Accept the Weaker One
The apostle Paul taught that we should accept the one whose conscience is weak. He wrote to the Romans: “Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him.” (Rom 14:1-3)

So there are two basic kinds of people in this passage. One is the person whose faith allows him to eat all things. This person has great freedom in Christ, and should not let anyone take that from him. The other is the one whose faith is weak and feels he cannot eat certain things without sinning. In Paul’s day, when the Gentiles would buy meat in the market place, sometimes the meat had been offered up in sacrifice to idols in a pagan temple before it was sold. A person with strong faith would just not ask any questions about that before buying it, then give thanks for the meat and eat it. But one with weak faith would feel like he was sinning to eat such meat, due to the likelihood that it was offered to idols.

Another example is regarding observance of days. Paul wrote, “One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.” (Rom 14:5-6). Paul shows here that those with weak faith, who observe certain days, do so for the Lord. And those who regard every day alike do so for the Lord.

So if you are the one with a strong faith that allows you greater freedom, you need to accept the brother or sister in Christ whose faith is weak. As Paul said, “Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.” (Rom 15:7). Try to avoid passing judgment on his or her opinions. Don’t regard your brother with contempt over these things. Ultimately, the most important thing is that we all live for the Lord. Jesus Christ makes us stand. And we will all stand before the judgment seat of God (Rom 14:10). I will not need to give an account for my weaker brother’s actions, and he will not need to give an account for my actions. “So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.” (Rom 14:12). We will all need to give an account of our own self to God.

Stop judging and making others stumble
Knowing this, what are we to do? Paul tells us, “Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this--not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way.” (Rom 14:13). First, we’ve got to stop judging one another. Doing so is focused on whether my brother is right or wrong.

Instead, we need to start with our own life and walk in love. We need to determine in our own heart not to put an obstacle in our brother’s way. This is a loving attitude. It acknowledges my brother’s weakness and avoids making him stumble.

Do we avoid making one another stumble because we believe certain foods are unclean? Certainly not! As Paul wrote, “I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; (Rom 14:14-16). All things may be clean, but to the one who thinks anything is unclean, to him it is unclean. Once we understand that, then we come to realize the connection between our faith and our practice. The one whose faith is weak would be sinning if he did the things he considers unclean. So I must be careful not to make him stumble. If I have freedom in an area where he is not free, I should be careful how I exercise my freedom. Flaunting it in front of him would cause him to stumble. It would hurt him.

There are some practical ways we can put this into practice. If you have freedom to drink wine and your brother does not, then when you are together, don’t drink wine. It’s that simple. This is a loving attitude. It seeks to help the weaker brother.

But how could my drinking wine cause another to stumble? He may be tempted to join you, but due to his weak conscience, he would be sinning. In his own heart, he would be doing something he regards as unclean. Remember that as long as he thinks it’s unclean, to him it is so. Paul wrote, “He who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.” (Rom 14:23). This is key. If your brother doubts when he drinks, then his drinking is not from faith. If he doubts when he eats, then his eating is not from faith. It’s a good thing if you have faith that gives you freedom, but don’t let that good thing become something others speak of as evil. Your weaker brother would be condemned to do what you do, because anything we do that is not of faith is sin.

Love avoids tearing down the work of God, and your weaker brother is the work of God. Paul continued, “Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense. It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles.” (Rom 14:20-21). Paul determined that he would not eat meat or drink wine in front of anyone who was offended in his walk with Christ as a result of it. Even though he was free to eat or drink, he did not want to make a brother stumble. That would tear down the work of God.

Pursue peace and edification
This is a refreshing way to live, isn’t it! Rather than demanding my rights, I willingly give up my rights for the sake of others. That’s how Paul lived, and I want to do the same.

He wrote, “The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.” (Rom 14:17-19). Of course, you are free to eat and drink. But when you understand that the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, then you are truly free! The kingdom of God is all about righteous, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. If you determine to live in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, then God will accept you and you’ll find that men approve of you also. Therefore, let’s pursue the things that make for peace and building up one another.

“Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification.”
(Rom 15:1-2)

It’s wonderful that you have faith. But have it before God and exercise your freedom before Him. “The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.” (Rom 14:22). Let your convictions about food, drink, and other things be subject to your love for others. Seek to please your neighbor for his good and to his edification. If you can avoid condemning yourself by the things you approve, you’ll be happy and blessed! That's righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit -- joy unspeakable and full of glory!

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. Your first step is to repent and pray like this from a sincere heart:

HEAVENLY FATHER,
I have sinned against you.
I want forgiveness for all my sins.
I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me and rose again.
Father, I give you my life to do with as you wish. I want Jesus Christ to come into my life and into my heart. This I ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

If you repented and prayed this sincerely from your heart, then you are a child of God. You have a relationship with the Lord. Now cultivate that relationship and produce the fruit of repentance. Like any other personal relationship, this one requires you to spend time with Him for it to grow more intimate. So spend time daily, seeking the Lord, calling upon Jesus name, repenting of any sin in your life, talking to Him and listening to His voice. Read His Word, the Bible, in order to see what God wants for your life and all the wonderful promises He has given you. As soon as possible, you need to tell someone that you have given your life to Jesus. Join with other loving believers who believe the Bible and preach the good news of salvation in Jesus alone, be water baptized, and find a place of service in that loving community. Be sure and share the good news of Jesus with those who don’t know Him, and live faithfully for the Lord all your life.

_______________________________________________

Drifting Away

2011-07-24T09:35:00.000-07:00

Apostasy (a-POS’-te-see) means an abandonment of what one has professed; a total desertion, or departure from one's faith or religion. It’s a turning away or going away from the truth. Can a true Christian become apostate?

Let’s see what the Scriptures have to say on this matter. There are many Scriptures about apostasy, especially in the book of Hebrews. In the following passages, I’ve marked the key words with footnotes (in parentheses), so that you can refer to the definitions of the original Greek words used, which I've listed at the bottom.

Drifting Away
The writer of Hebrews wrote: “For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away(c) from it.” (Heb 2:1). It is possible to drift or slip away from the Lord like a boat gradually drifts from shore, when it’s not anchored. That’s why we must pay much closer attention to the message of Christ that we have heard than the Jews paid to the Law and the Prophets.

Salvation can be Neglected
“How will we escape if we neglect(j) so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard.” (Heb 2:3). It is possible to neglect your salvation, which means to reject, deny, or refuse it. And since the Jews were punished for their disobedience, how shall we escape if we do so?

Conditional promise based on holding fast our confidence
There promises are conditional ones, based on our holding fast our confidence. Notice the word “if” in these passages.

“but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house--whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.” (Heb 3:6)

For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, (Heb 3:14)

Our confidence, our assurance, and our hope are all connected with the trust we had in Jesus at the beginning of our walk with Him. We must maintain these until the very end.

Falling, Straying or Turning Away from the Living God
It is possible to fall away or turn away from the living God.

“Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away(b) from the living God.” (Heb 3:12)

“For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away(a), it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.” (Heb 6:4-6)

“See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away(d) from Him who warns from heaven.” (Heb 12:25)

“But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way.” (Heb 6:9)

“Some (younger widows) have in fact turned away(e) to follow Satan.” (1 Tim 5:15)

“But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away(b) from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.” (1Tim 4:1-3)

“Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, men who have gone astray(f) from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some.” (2Tim 2:17-18)

"Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away(b).” (Luk 8:13)

“O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called "knowledge"-- which some have professed and thus gone astray(f) from the faith. Grace be with you.” (1Tim 6:20-21)

“For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away(h) from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (1Tim 6:10)

“But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside(e) to fruitless discussion,” (1Tim 1:5-6)

My brethren, if any among you strays(o) from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. (Jam 5:19-20)

In these last two verses of James, he is writing to believers, whom he calls “brothers.” And he indicates that it is possible for his fellow brethren in Christ to stray or wander from the truth into error. He then indicates that such a person’s soul is in danger of death, even using the term sinner. When this happens, the only way such a sinner’s soul can be saved is if he turns from the error of his way. That’s why James indicates that the brothers should seek to turn such a person back, in other words “convert” him.

Some may say that no true believer would ever fall away. However, the Scripture indicates it is indeed possible. The only way a person can fall away, turn aside, wander away, or go astray, is if they were once in a personal relationship with the Lord. You cannot wander away from someone you were never following or turn aside from a path you were never on.

Falling through disobedience or pride
Many scholars believe that the devil and one-third of the angels fell through disobedience. Whether one-third or some other number of angels fells with him, we know they were holy at one time and fell through disobedience.

“For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;” (2Pe 2:4)

“Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. And his tail *swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.” (Rev 12:3-4)

“And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” (Rev 12:7-9)

Likewise, an overseer or elder can become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.

Paul warned Timothy about recent converts who may otherwise qualify to be elders. “He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.” (1 Tim 3:6)

The Jews who fell through disobedience are an example for us. They did not enter the rest that God promised. “Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall(g), through following the same example of disobedience.” (Heb 4:11)

Becoming hardened by sin’s deceitfulness
It’s possible for your tender heart to become hardened by sin, which is so deceitful. A person who is deceived does not know he is deceived or he would not remain that way. This is a very real danger. That’s why we need to encourage one another. “But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called ‘Today,’ so that none of you will be hardened(n) by the deceitfulness of sin.” (Heb 3:13)

Unbelief
The reason so many Jews were not able to enter the Promised Land was because of their unbelief. They did not combine the message they heard with faith. “So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.” (Heb 3:19). Likewise, Jesus said we must be doers and not only hearers of His Word.

Coming short of entering His rest
It is possible to come short of entering His rest. The writer of Hebrews was addressing true believers in Christ. He wrote, “Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short (l) of it.” (Heb 4:1). He indicated that even though there remains for us a promise of entering His rest, we should fear the possibility that any one of us may fall short of it.

Coming short of the grace of God
Just as we can come short of entering His rest, we can come short of God’s grace. “See to it that no one comes short( l) of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.” (Heb 12:15-17)

As I mentioned earlier, the danger is that when you come short of God’s grace by abusing it, you may not be able to find a place for repentance ever again. This is what happened to Esau. Therefore, see to it that no one comes short of God’s grace.

Going on sinning willfully
It is possible to go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the Truth. “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES.” (Heb 10:26-27).

Sadly, many people do this. They receive the knowledge of the Truth. But afterward, they continue in a lifestyle of willful sin, in which they choose to remain.

Before I knew Christ, one of my favorite songs was Carry on My Wayward Son, by Kansas. In this song, a son is encouraged to continue in his wayward lifestyle. He is assured that there will be peace when he is done, at the end of his life. That’s a recipe for sure disaster. There’s only one acceptable sacrifice for sins, and if a wayward son carries on in sin, after receiving the Truth, no other sacrifice remains. The only thing remaining is not peace, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and fiery fury from God.

Regarding the blood of Jesus as unclean
Anyone who set aside the Law of Moses died without mercy under the Old Covenant, as long as there were two or three witnesses. Under the New Covenant, it is possible to regard as unclean the blood by which you are sanctified. “How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?” (Heb 10:29).

In order to do this, you first have to be sanctified, which means to be made holy. The only way to be sanctified is through the blood of Jesus. Yet some people trample the Son of God under foot after they’ve been sanctified, and this insults the Holy Spirit. According to the Scripture, such people deserve a more severe punishment that those who died without mercy in the Old Covenant.

Shrinking back to destruction
It is possible to withdraw from your faith in Jesus Christ. But the Lord will have no pleasure in the one who does this. “For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay. But my righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back(m), my soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back(m) to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul. (Heb 10:37-39).

The Lord’s righteous one must live by faith. However, if he cowers, pulls back, or shuns the Lord, he will ultimately be destroyed. I hope that everyone reading this is of those who has the kind of enduring faith that preserves the soul.

Being cut off and thrown into the fire
As long as you remain in Christ, you’re safe. But for those who do not, they cannot bear any good fruit, and they will be cut off.

"If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. (Joh 15:6)

"Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." (Luk 3:9; Mat 3:10)

"Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. (Mat 7:19)

The Lord’s remedy for such people is to cut them off and throw them into the fire. It’s impossible to be cut off from Christ the Vine, unless you were at one time connected to Him. The key to avoid this terrible fate is to continue to abide in Him, bearing good fruit.

Being cut off, if we do not continue in His kindness
Paul wrote to the Romans about the Jews, who were a natural part of God’s original tree. Those who fell were cut off, demonstrating the severity of God. And we who believe in Christ were like wild branches grafted into God’s tree, demonstrating the kindness of God.

“Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell(g), severity, but to you, God's kindness, IF you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.” (Rom 11:22). God’s kindness remains toward us as long as we continue in His kindness. Those who fall will be cut off, according to God’s Word. If He did so to the natural branches, why should He spare the wild branches that were grafted in?

Denying or rejecting the faith
It’s possible to deny the faith. Paul wrote to Timothy, “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied(i) the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (1 Tim 5:8)

Paul warned Timothy about the need to struggle against sin, keep the faith and a good conscience. He wrote, “This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected(k) and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme.” (1Tim 1:18-20) These people, like Hymenaeus and Alexander, once had faith and a good conscience. But they have rejected these, rather than keeping them. In doing so they blaspheme and will be handed over to Satan.

Leaving the straight way
Peter wrote about people who were walking on the straight way of Jesus, but then wandered off of that way. “They have left the straight way and wandered off(o) to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness.” (2 Pet 2:15) You cannot leave the straight way unless you were once on it. They wandered off the straight way for one purpose, which was to follow the wicked way of Balaam. These are the people Peter is writing about throughout the entire chapter of 2 Peter 2. Read verse 15 first. Then go back and read the entire chapter with the understanding that this is whom he is referring to beginning in verse 1. He gives many examples of how God did not spare others and will not spare them, even though they once knew the way of righteousness. This passage teaches us that it is possible to be on the straight way following Jesus Christ, and then leave the straight way.

“The Lord knows how to…hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.” (2 Pet 2:9). What is the fate of such people? Peter declares, “Like beasts, they too will perish.” (2 Pet 2:12).

Being entangled in the world and overcome by it
Just like a bird can become entangled in a net and be trapped in it, it is possible for a sincere believer to become entangled in the world and overcome by it.

Peter wrote, “If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled(p) in it and overcome(q), they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.” (2 Pet 2:20). These people escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! When you know Jesus Christ, you are saved. Yet they again became entangled and overcome by the world.

As I already mentioned, these are the people Peter is writing about throughout the entire chapter 2 Peter 2. Read verse 20 first. Then go back and read the entire chapter with the understanding that this is who he is referring to beginning in verse 1. He gives many examples of how God did not spare others and will not spare them, even though they once knew the way of righteousness. He wrote, “Their destruction has not been sleeping.” (2 Pet 2:3)

Turning your back on the sacred commandment
It is possible to turn your back on the sacred commandment. And that is what the people whom Peter wrote about did. “It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs(r) on the sacred commandment passed on to them.” (2 Pet 2:21).

These people knew the way of righteousness and later turned their backs on the sacred commandment. These are the people Peter is writing about in 2 Peter 2 throughout the entire chapter. Read this verse first and then go back and read the entire chapter with the understanding that this is who he is referring to beginning in verse 1. He gives many examples of how God did not spare others and will not spare them, even though they once knew the way of righteousness.

Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.” (2 Pet 2:22). It is possible for a person who has been washed to go back to wallowing in the mud, and their end is clearly described in verses 3-10, and verse 13, as well as verse 17. “They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done.” (2 Pet 2:13) Finally, “Blackest darkness is reserved for them.” (2 Pet 2:17).

My friend, these are harsh words, but they serve as a warning for us. I’m not writing to you self-righteously, as one who has never fallen, but as one who has fallen away before and returned to the Lord.

The prodigal son
Twenty-five years ago, I was serving in the US Army, and had recently committed my life to Christ (Read my testimony here). As a young, nineteen year-old infantryman, I had been delivered from alcohol and substance abuse, as well as the sinful lifestyle that goes with all of that.

He radically saved me. I was on fire for Jesus in the beginning, sharing the Lord with the people in my life. I had a genuine personal relationship with the Lord. Day and night, I read the Word of God, prayed, had fellowship with other believers, and shared the gospel.

But about three months later, I was transferred for temporary duty overseas. I soon found myself serving in Berlin, Germany. I had brought my Bible and my Christian music, sincerely intending to stay close to the Lord.

However, when I went to the military chapel, I did not like the way they conducted the services. Since I knew of no other place where I could worship with fellow believers, I decided that I would just follow the Lord on my own, without being connected with the Body of Christ. It’s not that I didn’t want fellowship. I prayed for God to provide Christian friends, and I tried to be a witness to those around me. I really thought I could do it alone, but this was a foolish mistake.

I was lonely and wanted to find a wife. So I began going to places where single women could be found, such as the nightclub on post. At first, I just drank cola. It seemed innocent. I knew the Lord was with me, even in that place. But then I began to allow myself one beer or hard drink. Soon it was two, then three, and eventually six in one evening. I slowly slipped right back into my old lifestyle and found myself one night at 2:00 AM, laying in a gutter along the side of the street.

This pattern of falling away from the Lord continued for about six months. But on New Years Eve, I went back to the Protestant military chapel that I had rejected when I first arrived in Germany. They were having a “watch night service,” bringing in the New Year with prayer, worship, and fellowship. I felt so unworthy to be there, so dirty and ashamed of the way I had been living. I sat in the back, away from others.

They happened to be showing a video of a Vietnam veteran named David Roevers, who was awarded the Purple Heart. He gave a testimony about how the Lord saved him from an accidental explosion of a phosphorus grenade. About eighty five percent of his body had been severely burned, but he continued to serve the Lord. At the end of the video, the chaplain gave an invitation for anyone who wanted to commit his or her life to Jesus. I went forward, responding to his invitation with repentance, asking God to forgive me. The Lord’s mercy was so great. He forgave me completely and took me back.

It was like the story of the prodigal son. Like him, I had squandered what the Lord gave me. I spent everything on my own selfish desires until I hit rock bottom. But I came to my senses just like him.

He said, “I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.'” So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father said to his slaves, “Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.” And they began to celebrate. (Luk 15:18-24)

If you have fallen away from the Lord, or are beginning to do so, then return to Him with all your heart. Just as the father ran to meet his prodigal son, our Heavenly Father will run to you as soon as you repent and set your heart to return to Him.

Safeguards to keep you
Not everyone who falls away returns to the Lord. The saying is true that sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay. It’s very dangerous to play with sin. Once you harden your heart to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, it will become very difficult to sense it at all again. So you will no longer hear the warning indicator inside of you.

There are some safeguards that you should implement in your life to ensure you don’t fall away like that.

First of all, seek the Lord. The prophet Isaiah wrote: “Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.” (Isa 55:6-7)

Aim to love with a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith (1 Tim 1:4).

And just as many of the Scriptures about falling away come from the book of Hebrews, many of the safeguards are also found in the same book. Keep on loving each other (Heb 13:1). Do not forsake the assembling of yourself with other true believers (Heb 10:25). In other words, stay in fellowship with the Body of Christ, where you can worship, pray, serve, and be accountable. Encourage one another daily (Heb 3:13). Hold firmly to the faith we profess (Heb 4:14). Draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith (Heb 10:22). Hold fast our confidence (Heb 10:35). Throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles (Heb 12:1). Run the race with perseverance (Heb 12:1). Fix our eyes on Jesus (Heb 12:2). Keep striving against sin (Heb 12:4). Do not make light of the Lord’s discipline or grow weary from it (Heb 12:5). Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy (Heb 12:14). Avoid sexual immorality (Heb 12:16). Let your hearts be strengthened by grace (Heb 13:9). Continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise through Jesus (Heb 13:15). Obey your leaders and submit to their authority (Heb 13:17).

Lastly, you should bear good fruit for the Lord’s glory (John 15:6; Luke 3:9; Mat 7:19), and continue in God’s kindness (Rom 11:22)

Greek word definition footnotes
As you review all of these Greek words used in the New Testament for the various aspects of apostasy, please bear in mind that the Holy Spirit inspired the authors to use these words. This is not an isolated topic, but one that is thoroughly treated in Scripture. Those who deny that it is possible for a true believer to fall away must reckon with all of these words.

a. parapito – to fall aside, that is, (figuratively) to apostatize: - fall away.

b. aphistemi - to desist, desert, etc.: - depart, draw (fall) away, refrain, withdraw self.

c. pararrhueo - to flow by, that is, (figuratively) carelessly pass (miss): - let slip.

d. apostrepho - to turn away or back (lit. or fig.): - bring again, pervert, turn away (from).

e. ektrepo – to deflect, that is, turn away (lit. or fig.): - avoid, turn (aside, out of the way).

f. astocheo - to miss the mark, that is, (figuratively) deviate from truth: - err, swerve.

g. pipto, peto - to fall (literally of figuratively): - fail, fall (down)

h. apoplanao - to lead astray (figuratively); passively to stray (from truth): - err, seduce.

i. arneomai - to contradict, that is, disavow, reject, abnegate: - deny, refuse.

j. ameleo - to be careless of: - make light of, neglect, be negligent, not regard.

k. apotheomai, apothomai - (to shove); to push off, (fig.) to reject: - cast away, put away (from), thrust way (from)

l. hustereo - to be later, to be inferior; to fall short; be destitute, fall, lack, suffer need

m. hupostello - to withhold under, to cower or shrink, to draw back, shun, withdraw.

n. skleruno - to indurate, that is, (figuratively) render stubborn: - harden.

o. planao - to (properly cause to) roam (from safety, truth, or virtue): - go astray, deceive, err, seduce, wander, be out of the way.

p. empleko - to entwine, that is, (figuratively) involve with: - entangle (in, self with).

q. hettao - to make worse, that is, vanquish (literally or figuratively); be inferior, overcome.

r. hupostrepho - to turn under (behind), come again, return (again, back again), turn back (again).

Putting it All Together
It’s clear from God’s Word that there is such a thing as abandoning one’s faith, drifting away, turning aside from the truth, straying, wandering, and falling away from the Lord. It doesn't happen overnight. You don't go from being "on fire" for Jesus one day, and then wake up the next morning as an apostate. It happens gradually and almost imperceptibly, like a boat drifting out to sea. Knowing that this is in fact possible serves as a warning to every true believer.

When a brother or sister strays from the truth, they once again become a sinner. Such a person's soul is in danger of death, and the only way to be saved is to turn back (i.e., convert) to Christ once again.

If you have fallen away from the Lord, or are beginning to do so, you need to hear the Lord's voice calling out to you tenderly, "Come on home." Then return to Him with all your heart. Just as the father ran to meet his prodigal son, our Heavenly Father will run to you as soon as you repent and set your heart to return to Him.

If you have not fallen away from the Lord, I’d like to admonish you from Scripture to stay close to the Lord Jesus. There are some safeguards you need to put in place in your life to ensure that you don’t fall away from the Lord. Be sure those are in place in your own life, and encourage others to do the same.

Whether your life comes to an end or the Lord returns, you’ve got to be prepared to meet Him. I pray the Lord will enable you to stand before Him in that day. Let me leave you with a song by FFH about drifting away. And here are the lyrics.

Author's note: This "Seeking the Lord" blog has become very popular in France. The reason for this is uncertain, but I am humbled and delighted that it has generated such a great interest there. To God be all the glory! I realize this post is a very severe word. I am simply saying what Scripture says. Let me encourage you to also read my blog about Election and Predestination. I also invite you to view my collection of blogs at Writing for the Master.

Do you want to know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. Your first step is to repent and pray like this from a sincere heart:

HEAVENLY FATHER,
I have sinned against you.
I want forgiveness for all my sins.
I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me and rose again.
Father, I give you my life to do with as you wish. I want Jesus Christ to come into my life and into my heart. This I ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

If you repented and prayed this sincerely from your heart, then you are a child of God. You have a relationship with the Lord. Now cultivate that relationship and produce the fruit of repentance. Like any other personal relationship, this one requires you to spend time with Him for it to grow more intimate. So spend time daily, seeking the Lord, calling upon Jesus name, repenting of any sin in your life, talking to Him and listening to His voice. Read His Word, the Bible, in order to see what God wants for your life and all the wonderful promises He has given you. As soon as possible, you need to tell someone that you have given your life to Jesus. Join with other loving believers who believe the Bible and preach the good news of salvation in Jesus alone, be water baptized, and find a place of service in that loving community. Be sure and share the good news of Jesus with those who don’t know Him, and live faithfully for the Lord all your life.

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The Beauty of Brokenness

2011-07-02T04:06:00.000-07:00

Most people don’t like broken things. We prefer things that are whole. That’s why most people don’t go out and buy things that are broken, like broken cars, windows, or bicycles. It’s safe to say that most people don’t relish the thought of being broken themselves either.

Experiences that break us are not pleasant but painful, hurtful, or frustrating. We often wish these situations would just go away. But can we avoid being broken as disciples of Christ? Is this something only for a few people, while all the rest of us can live a life of ease, free from brokenness? It’s important to know the answers, and there’s a lot that God has to say in His Word about this to provide us with the answers.

All Creation Groans
Perhaps one of the best descriptions of this process is found in Paul’s letter to the Romans. He wrote: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” (Rom 8:18-21) Here we learn that the creation was subjected to futility. And this was not something creation willingly volunteered for. So who was responsible for this? God was. Paul said it was because of Him who subjected it. But why was this futility necessary anyway? It’s because the creation itself is in slavery to corruption, and God wants to set it free from that slavery. When it’s set free, the creation experiences the freedom of the glory of God’s children.

This process is not easy. In fact, we know that creation has been groaning through this process like a woman in the pains of childbirth. So it’s clear that this is something God is allowing creation to go through and it’s painful.

We Ourselves Groan
Then to be certain that we don’t think this is all about non-human creation like the earth, the animals, and the environment, he goes on to say this: “And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.” (Rom 8:23). Paul leaves no question at all about the fact that we disciples of Christ are going through this same process. He uses repetition to emphasize it saying, “But also we ourselves…even we ourselves.” So what is it we’re going through? Well, as with the creation, God has subjected us to some frustrating experiences, and this is not willingly. This process causes us to groan within ourselves. Usually this word groaning is used of the sounds made by dying men. Isn’t that what we are? We are going through a dying process, and inside ourselves we groan. Why is all this futility necessary? Well, like the rest of creation, we were in slavery to corruption, and God wants to set us free from that slavery. When we’re set free, the creation experiences the freedom of the glory of God’s children.

As with creation, the process is not easy for us, but painful. Yet it’s the only way to experience the glorious freedom God intends for His children.

Someone will ask how born again believers could still be in slavery to corruption when the Scriptures teach we are no longer slaves to sin. When we come to Christ, He does set us free from slavery to sin, no doubt about it. But the process is both instant and progressive. We experience something right away that is real, it’s powerful, and it’s life changing. But then the process we experience afterward involves a further being set free from slavery. We’re still waiting for something that hasn’t happened yet. It’s our adoption as sons. It’s the redemption of our body. We haven’t seen this take place yet, so we’re still waiting for it. And until it does, we go through these frustrating experiences that cause us to groan. “For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.” (Rom 8:24-25) The Lord has wonderful things in store for His children. But it takes perseverance on our part and it requires that we wait eagerly for it to happen.

Brokenness Releases a Beautiful Fragrance
There was a woman that was a sinner who came to Jesus with an alabaster box or vial full of very expensive perfume. She broke the box and poured the perfume on Jesus head and feet out of love for him. When she did this, the fragrance filled the room. Some of the disciples were indignant and complained about this, saying it was a waste of good perfume. They only saw the money that could have been made by selling the unbroken box of perfume, saying that the money from the sale of the perfume could have been given to the poor. Jesus responded saying that his disciples would always have the poor with them, and they could do good to the poor anytime. But they would not always have Him among them. He said that what she did was good, and she was actually anointing his body beforehand for the burial. (Mark 14:3-9)

This is a great illustration of brokenness, isn't it? This woman literally broke a box of perfume that was worth a lot to her, so that she could bless the Lord and minister to Him. If she had not broken the jar, the lovely fragrance would not have come forth. Others could only see the value of the box while it was whole. But Jesus saw the value of it when it was broken. That's the way our lives are, too. Many can only see how they could be valuable if they were whole, but the Lord appreciates the love and beautiful fragrance that flows from our lives when we are broken.

Jesus once said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal." (Joh 12:24-25). In order for any seed to bear fruit, it has to go down beneath the clods of earth into that dark place and die. Its hard outer shell has to crack open, so that the life that God has placed within it can come forth and break through the soil to bear fruit. That's the way our lives are, too.

Twentieth century Chinese author Watchman Nee wrote: "The Lord longs to find a way to bless the world through those who belong to Him. Brokenness is the way of blessing, the way of fragrance, the way of fruitfulness, but it is also a path sprinkled with blood. Yes, there is blood from many wounds." (The Release of the Spirit, p. 13). Are you willing to be broken, so that the fragrance and fruitfulness may come forth?

He Who Falls on This Stone Will Be Broken
Jesus Himself said that He is the Chief Cornerstone, "And he who falls on this Stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust." (Mat 21:44). So there are two kinds of people in life. There are those who reject the Stone and it falls on them. And then there are those who fall on this Stone and build their lives on it. The Stone falls on those who reject it, and it smashes them into fine dust. As Solomon wrote: “A man who hardens his neck after much reproof Will suddenly be broken beyond remedy.” (Pro 29:1). On the other hand, those who fall on the Stone are broken to pieces. When we put our trust in Jesus, it breaks us. But I’d rather be broken to pieces by Him than be scattered like dust.

King David went through many experiences that brought about brokenness in him. Some of these breaking experiences were a result of his own sin, like when he sinned with Bathsheba. Afterward, there were consequences to live with. For one thing, the baby she became pregnant with died after it was born. And other breaking experiences were the result of things other people did to him. For example, since Saul sought to kill David, he lived as a refugee on the run for many years. And later on after he became king, his own son Absalom usurped the throne. David prayed, “I am forgotten as a dead man, out of mind; I am like a broken vessel.” (Psa 31:12).

Yet David responded well to it. When Nathan the prophet pointed out his sin with Bathsheba to him, he repented before God. He felt like God had broken his bones and he prayed, “Make me to hear joy and gladness, Let the bones which You have broken rejoice.” (Psa 51:8). He knew that God was pleased with a broken heart when he prayed, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” (Psa 51:17). At another time of great national loss, when he struggled with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and Joab killed twelve thousand men of Edom, he prayed, “O God…You have broken us.” (Psa 60:1)

His character grew through the breaking process, and he continued to follow the Lord all the days of his life. We know David as one of the greatest kings of all time.

Job also went through a breaking experience. He lost his children, his health, and his property. And in the midst of it all, he said, “My spirit is broken, my days are extinguished, The grave is ready for me.” (Job 17:1). But in the end, God restored Job. He had more children later and was richer than he had ever been before he suffered the huge loss.

Don't Run from the Process
Some believers who experience the breaking process run from it. They walk away and go looking in the world for comfort. But the world can’t satisfy them. It never will. Others go looking for spiritual leaders who will tell them what they want to hear. It’s like the prophet Jeremiah said of the false prophets who were greedy for gain, "They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, 'Peace, peace,' But there is no peace.” (Jer 6:14). People like to hear a peaceful message, and many will gather to hear a leader who speaks that way. But it's only superficial help that feels good for the moment. It doesn't address the deeper issues that God wants to deal with.

We know that a true man of God will not preach false peace when God is dealing with people. The prophet Jeremiah saw how the Lord was dealing with his people for worshiping idols, and he mourned over it. He was broken himself to see this happen to them. "Harvest is past, summer is ended, And we are not saved." For the brokenness of the daughter of my people I am broken; I mourn, dismay has taken hold of me. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has not the health of the daughter of my people been restored?” (Jer 8:20-22). Like Jeremiah, we sometimes feel like we’ve waited for a long time, and we’re not delivered from the situation causing so much grief.

We need to know that the Lord doesn’t just break us and leave us. He helps us and heals us. “He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.” (Psa 147:3) While it may be painful, the Lord is not far away at all, but near to the broken: “The righteous cry, and the LORD hears And delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all.” (Psa 34:17-19).

In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he wrote about our present sufferings and the pain it brings. We covered this here already. Yet he went on to assure us that God will not forsake us. He will not abandon us in the midst of our suffering. Paul wrote about the way God always works things out. “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Rom 8:28). So when we’re going through a breaking experience, we need to hold onto this promise, knowing the Lord will work all these things together for good.

Who Shall Separate Us from the Love Of Christ?
When we go through breaking experiences, we may wonder if God loves us. We might pray, “God, don’t you care what I’m going through?” But whatever may happen to us, we can be sure that God still loves us. “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” (Rom 8:31-35).

That’s a great question: Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Here’s the answer: “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 8:38-39).

If you are a disciple of Jesus Christ going through a breaking process right now, take heart. Be encouraged. Jesus loves you and will work this all out for good. You are in good company with people like David and Job. In fact, every believer who puts his trust in Jesus will be broken. It’s not optional. God wants us to experience complete and glorious freedom from slavery and corruption. That's the beauty of brokenness. Remember, Jesus said, “And He was saying to them all, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.’”(Luk 9:23-24). So it’s a daily thing where we have to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus. He said, "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” (Mat 10:38).

If you are not a disciple of Jesus and you are not building your life on the Rock, then you need to know He loves you and wants a personal relationship with you. The one thing standing in the way is your sin, and we’ve all sinned. Jesus has taken care of that by dying on the cross for you and paying the price for your sins, so you don’t have to. He has risen from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit and sits at God's right hand.

It all begins by falling on the Stone
It all begins by falling on the Stone, Jesus Christ. Humbly and sincerely repent of your sins before Him, and ask His forgiveness. He will forgive you. And then surrender yourself to Him and invite him to come and live inside your heart. The life you’ve always dreamed of lies in this thing you dread. What are you waiting for? There’s nothing to dread. Your other option is to remain stiff-necked until the day you die, and ultimately be scattered like dust by the Stone. But now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.

I hope this has helped you, whether you are a mature believer or a new one, to see the beauty of brokenness.

If you'd like to watch a music video related to this message, click here.

Author's note: This "Seeking the Lord" blog has become very popular in France. The reason for this is uncertain, but I am humbled and delighted that it has generated such a great interest there. To God be all the glory! If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the links in the side bar. You may also access my blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. Your first step is to repent and pray like this from a sincere heart:

HEAVENLY FATHER,
I have sinned against you.
I want forgiveness for all my sins.
I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me and rose again.
Father, I give you my life to do with as you wish. I want Jesus Christ to come into my life and into my heart. This I ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

If you repented and prayed this sincerely from your heart, then you are a child of God. You have a relationship with the Lord. Now cultivate that relationship and produce the fruit of repentance. Like any other personal relationship, this one requires you to spend time with Him for it to grow more intimate. So spend time daily, seeking the Lord, calling upon Jesus name, repenting of any sin in your life, talking to Him and listening to His voice. Read His Word, the Bible, in order to see what God wants for your life and all the wonderful promises He has given you. As soon as possible, you need to tell someone that you have given your life to Jesus. Join with other loving believers who believe the Bible and preach the good news of salvation in Jesus alone, be water baptized, and find a place of service in that loving community. Be sure and share the good news of Jesus with those who don’t know Him, and live faithfully for the Lord all your life.

___________________________________________

Hearing the Lord's Voice

2011-06-29T13:26:00.001-07:00

Do we only know how to recognize and listen to the voice of a man, such as a pastor, preacher, or blogger? Or do we know how to recognize and listen to the voice of the Lord? What have we been trained to do?

One of the most important aspects of seeking the Lord is hearing His voice. Every disciple needs to learn to do this as an essential part of making Christ central. Let's turn to the Scriptures and let the Word of God speak for itself.

Jesus said His sheep would know His voice
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." (Joh 10:27). If you are one of His sheep, Jesus said you would hear His voice. It comes with being a sheep, and sheep are not very smart. So don't feel like this is beyond your ability to do.

Moses heard the voice of the Lord
The Lord spoke to Moses on top of a mountain in a burning bush. "When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he approached to look more closely, there came the voice of the Lord: 'I AM THE GOD OF YOUR FATHERS, THE GOD OF ABRAHAM AND ISAAC AND JACOB.' Moses shook with fear and would not venture to look." (Act 7:31-32)

Peter heard the voice of the Lord
There was a time when God was about to direct Peter to begin taking the gospel to the Gentiles. Up to that point, they were only preaching to Jews. But God first spoke to a Gentile man, named Cornelius, who sent his servants to get Peter. "On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. But he became hungry and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance; and he *saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air. A voice came to him, 'Get up, Peter, kill and eat!' But Peter said, 'By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.' Again a voice came to him a second time, 'What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.' This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into the sky." (Act 10:9-16).

Sometimes the Lord speaks to both parties, in order to prepare them for something extraordinary. In this case, He spoke to Cornelius and Peter to prepare them for what He was about to do in their lives, before they even met each other. I've seen the Lord do this over and over in my own life. For example, before and after we were married, the Lord has spoken to both my wife and I about many things, including ways He was directing us to serve Him.

Paul heard the voice of the Lord
When the apostle Paul was on the road to Damascus, sent with authority to persecute the disciples of Christ there, the Lord met him on that road in a vision and changed his life. "And he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?' And he said, 'Who are You, Lord?' And He said, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do.'" (Act 9:4-6).

When the Lord speaks to you, sometimes He will ask you a question. He already knows the answer, but wants you to discover it yourself. So don't be surprised if the Lord asks you a question.

We must not harden our hearts when we hear the Lord’s voice
The writer of Hebrews stated: "He again fixes a certain day, 'Today,' saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, 'TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS.'" (Heb 4:7)

This teaches us that when the Lord speaks, you have a choice. You can either humble yourself and receive what He tells you. Or you can harden your heart. Be careful not to harden your heart. In order to avoid that, you will need to have faith and believe what the Lord is saying.

God’s Word is active and living
"For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." (Heb 4:12)

God's Word is alive. So when He speaks to you, it penetrates deep down inside of you, reaching places that even a surgeon could not reach if he were to cut you open with a knife. The Word is sharper than any scalpel. It's able to get into our soul and spirit and separate the two. It's able to show you your own thoughts and motives.

Israelites perished because they didn’t listen to the Lord’s voice
"For the sons of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, that is, the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished because they did not listen to the voice of the LORD, to whom the LORD had sworn that He would not let them see the land which the LORD had sworn to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey." (Jos 5:6)

It's true that thousands of Israelites perished in the wilderness, because they did not listen and obey the Lord's voice when He spoke. So we need to be careful that we are not merely hearers, but also doers of God's Word.

The voice of the Lord is powerful and majestic
"Ascribe to the LORD, O sons of the mighty, Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in holy array. The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; The God of glory thunders, The LORD is over many waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful, The voice of the LORD is majestic. The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; Yes, the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, And Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the LORD hews out flames of fire. The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; The LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the LORD makes the deer to calve And strips the forests bare; And in His temple everything says, "Glory!" The LORD sat as King at the flood; Yes, the LORD sits as King forever. The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace." (Psa 29:1-11)

When the Lord needs to utter His voice, He can make it loud and clear, if He needs to. It's powerful and majestic, and shakes the wilderness. So no matter where you are at, trust more in His ability to speak to you than in your ability to hear from Him.

Isaiah heard the voice of the Lord
Isaiah the prophet had an amazing vision of the Lord. Here is what the Lord said to Him at that time. He wrote: "Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?' Then I said, 'Here am I. Send me!'" (Isa 6:8)

You see how the Lord asked him a question, as He did with Paul? The Lord was looking for a voluntary commitment from the heart, and Isaiah willingly offered Himself to the Lord for His service.

Samuel heard the voice of the Lord
Perhaps one of my favorite examples in Scripture of someone hearing from the Lord is Samuel. When he was just a boy, serving in the temple with Eli, the priest, "the LORD called Samuel; and he said, 'Here I am.' Then he ran to Eli and said, 'Here I am, for you called me.' But he said, 'I did not call, lie down again.' So he went and lay down. The LORD called yet again, 'Samuel!' So Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, 'Here I am, for you called me.' But he answered, 'I did not call, my son, lie down again.' Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor had the word of the LORD yet been revealed to him. So the LORD called Samuel again for the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, 'Here I am, for you called me.' Then Eli discerned that the LORD was calling the boy. And Eli said to Samuel, 'Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, "Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening."' So Samuel went and lay down in his place. Then the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, 'Samuel! Samuel!' And Samuel said, 'Speak, for Your servant is listening.'" (1Sa 3:4-10)

As a little boy, when he first heard the Lord's voice, it sounded familiar, and he thought it was the person in the other room. But he quickly learned that it was the Lord speaking. When you go before the Lord, you should pray with an attitude like Samuel, "Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening."

The Lord has enabled us to know the mind of Christ
Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ." (1Co 2:16)

Who has ever heard of someone knowing what God is thinking? Yet that's exactly what happens when we are a disciples of Christ. We actually have His mind, and through prayer we can discover what the Lord desires in a given situation.

John heard the voice of the Lord
The apostle John recorded his experience on the isle of Patmos. He wrote: "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, saying, 'Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.' Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength." (Rev 1:10-16)

John clearly heard the Lord's voice as loud as a loud trumpet, and like the sound of many waters. He also saw visions from God. We have the book of Revelation today because of it. All that happened to him while he was in a lonely, desolate place, being persecuted for his faith in Christ. So when you feel alone, remember that the Lord may want to speak to you during that time when you are free of distractions.

When everyone is hearing the Lord, there is a common sense of expectation for God to move
The prophets Elijah and Elisha both knew God was about to take Elijah. :And it came about when the LORD was about to take up Elijah by a whirlwind to heaven, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, 'Stay here please, for the LORD has sent me as far as Bethel.' But Elisha said, 'As the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.' So they went down to Bethel." (2Ki 2:1-2)

Not only Elisha and Elijah knew, but the prophets at Bethel also knew God was about to take Elijah. "Then the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, 'Do you know that the LORD will take away your master from over you today?' And he said, 'Yes, I know; be still.'" (2Ki 2:3)

Because Elisha knew the God was about to take Elijah from him, he followed Elijah, so that he could be with him when it happened. "Elijah said to him, 'Elisha, please stay here, for the LORD has sent me to Jericho.' But he said, 'As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.' So they came to Jericho." (2Ki 2:4)

Even the prophets at Jericho knew the Lord was about to take Elijah from Elisha. "The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho approached Elisha and said to him, 'Do you know that the LORD will take away your master from over you today?' And he answered, 'Yes, I know; be still.'" (2Ki 2:5)

Elisha insisted on staying with Elijah, knowing God would soon take him. "Then Elijah said to him, 'Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan.' And he said, 'As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.' So the two of them went on." (2Ki 2:6)

I just want to point out that when all these people -- Elisha, Elijah, the prophets at Bethel, and the prophets at Jericho -- were all hearing from the Lord about the same thing, they had a sense of expectation. And the same is true today in the Church. When the Body of Christ is listening to the Lord's voice, we will all be hearing the same thing. Then we'll have a mutual sense of expectation for what the Lord is about to do.

Elijah heard the Lord’s voice in a gentle breeze
The prophet Elijah fasted for forty days after eating and drinking. "So he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God." (1Ki 19:8)

The Word of the Lord came to him while fasting for forty days. "Then he came there to a cave and lodged there; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?'" (1Ki 19:9)

He spoke to the Lord of his zeal saying, "I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away." (1Ki 19:10)

The Lord was not in the wind or earthquake. "So He said, 'Go forth and stand on the mountain before the LORD.' And behold, the LORD was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake." (1Ki 19:11)

The Lord was not in the fire, but in the gentle breeze. "After the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?'" (1Ki 19:12-13)

At that time, the Lord's voice was not in the tornado, and it was not in the earthquake or the fire. It was in a gentle breeze, and what Elijah heard was a still, small voice. Many times this is the way the Lord will speak to you. It's not dramatic. It's just a still, small voice in your heart. You need to learn to distinguish it. Often fasting will help you hear more clearly what the Lord is saying to you.

Putting it All Together
Moses, Peter, Paul, Isaiah, Samuel, David and John heard the voice of the Lord. So did the Israelites, but they perished in the wilderness, because they didn’t listen to the Lord’s voice.

When everyone is hearing the Lord, there is a mutual sense of expectation for God to move. Elijah and Elisha both knew God was about to take Elijah, as did the prophets at Bethel and Jericho. Because Elisha knew the God was about to take Elijah from him soon, he insisted on staying with him.

The voice of the Lord is powerful, majestic, and shakes the wilderness. John heard it as loud as a loud trumpet, and also said his voice was like the sound of many waters.

The Word of the Lord came to Elijah while fasting for forty days. The Lord was not in the wind or earthquake. The Lord was not in the fire. Elijah heard the Lord’s voice in a gentle breeze.

Jesus said His sheep would know His voice. That means you can hear the Lord's voice. It's not that difficult. The Lord has enabled us to know the mind of Christ. Many times the Lord’s voice sounds like our own thoughts. It will come to us as we quiet ourselves before the Lord in prayer and worship and reading the Word.

God’s Word is active and living. But we need to believe the Lord is speaking to us and act upon what we hear. If we don’t believe, we will not act. If we don’t believe or act, we will harden our hearts. We must not harden our hearts when we hear the Lord’s voice.

Let me encourage you today to listen for the Lord's voice. Get alone with him and quiet yourself. Worship and read His Word, and then wait upon Him to speak. He will be faithful to do it, and it will always agree with the Scriptures. Then just be sure to do whatever He tells you.

Author's note: This "Seeking the Lord" blog has become very popular in France. The reason for this is uncertain, but I am humbled and delighted that it has generated such a great interest there. To God be all the glory! If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the links in the side bar. You may also access my blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do you want to know Jesus?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. Your first step is to repent and pray like this from a sincere heart:

HEAVENLY FATHER,
I have sinned against you.
I want forgiveness for all my sins.
I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me and rose again.
Father, I give you my life to do with as you wish. I want Jesus Christ to come into my life and into my heart. This I ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

If you repented and prayed this sincerely from your heart, then you are a child of God. You have a relationship with the Lord. Now cultivate that relationship and produce the fruit of repentance. Like any other personal relationship, this one requires you to spend time with Him for it to grow more intimate. So spend time daily, seeking the Lord, calling upon Jesus name, repenting of any sin in your life, talking to Him and listening to His voice. Read His Word, the Bible, in order to see what God wants for your life and all the wonderful promises He has given you. As soon as possible, you need to tell someone that you have given your life to Jesus. Join with other loving believers who believe the Bible and preach the good news of salvation in Jesus alone, be water baptized, and find a place of service in that loving community. Be sure and share the good news of Jesus with those who don’t know Him, and live faithfully for the Lord all your life.

___________________________________________

Inquiring of the Lord

2011-06-23T22:48:00.000-07:00

The Israelites began to inquire of the Lord many thousands of years ago. One way they did this was by the Urim and Thummim, which were stones the priests used in order to determine what the Lord’s answer was. They would go to a priest and ask him to inquire of the Lord for them. Another way they inquired of the Lord was through prophets. The Lord would answer them through the Urim and the prophets, and He would sometimes answer through visions or dreams.

This study looks at the practice of inquiring of the Lord, as it has been practiced throughout history. It reveals the importance of inquiring of the Lord, the dangers of inquiring of the Lord insincerely, as well as inquiring of false gods or mediums.

The Israelite people inquired of the LORD
We find numerous examples of the Israelites inquiring of the Lord:

Isaac and Rebekah inquired of the Lord about the twins struggling with each other in her once barren womb, and He answered her that two nations were inside her: But the children struggled together within her; and she said, "If it is so, why then am I this way?" So she went to inquire of the LORD. (Gen 25:22)
Now it came about after the death of Joshua that the sons of Israel inquired of the LORD, saying, "Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?" (Jdg 1:1)
Now the sons of Israel arose, went up to Bethel, and inquired of God and said, "Who shall go up first for us to battle against the sons of Benjamin?" Then the LORD said, "Judah shall go up first." (Jdg 20:18)
The sons of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until evening, and inquired of the LORD, saying, "Shall we again draw near for battle against the sons of my brother Benjamin?" And the LORD said, "Go up against him." (Jdg 20:23)
The sons of Israel inquired of the LORD (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, (Jdg 20:27)
The people inquired of the Lord in order to determine who should be their king: Therefore they inquired further of the LORD, "Has the man come here yet?" So the LORD said, "Behold, he is hiding himself by the baggage." (1Sa 10:22)

Going to a prophet to inquire of the Lord
At one time, long ago in Israel, people would go to a prophet to inquire of the Lord. "Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he used to say, 'Come, and let us go to the seer'; for he who is called a prophet now was formerly called a seer." (1Sa 9:9). In fact, they went to Moses to inquire of the Lord, which is why he needed to delegate responsibilities to other leaders. Moses said to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to inquire of God. (Exo 18:15)

Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, once advised the king of Israel to inquire of the LORD through a prophet of the Lord. He wanted to know if they should go up together in battle against a common enemy. Moreover, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, "Please inquire first for the word of the LORD." (1Ki 22:5). In response to this, the king of Israel gathered four hundred prophets and inquired of them. But Jehoshaphat said, "Is there not yet a prophet of the LORD here that we may inquire of him?" (1Ki 22:7).

The problem was that the king of Israel did not like the only true prophet who still knew how to inquire of the Lord. The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD, but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. He is Micaiah son of Imlah." But Jehoshaphat said, "Let not the king say so." (1Ki 22:8).

Another example is when Ben-hadad, king of Aram, was sick, and he inquired of the Lord through the prophet Elisha: The king said to Hazael, "Take a gift in your hand and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD by him, saying, 'Will I recover from this sickness?'" (2Ki 8:8)

So it was very common to go to a prophet to inquire of the Lord in those days.

Priests inquired of the Lord
One of the roles of the priest was to inquire of the Lord. For example, Eleazar the priest inquired of the Lord for Joshua: "Moreover, he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the LORD. At his command they shall go out and at his command they shall come in, both he and the sons of Israel with him, even all the congregation." (Num 27:21)

Likewise, Ahimelech the priest inquired of the LORD for David:

"He inquired of the LORD for him, gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine." (1Sa 22:10)
Saul then said to him, "Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me, in that you have given him bread and a sword and have inquired of God for him, so that he would rise up against me by lying in ambush as it is this day?" (1Sa 22:13)
"Did I just begin to inquire of God for him today? Far be it from me! Do not let the king impute anything to his servant or to any of the household of my father, for your servant knows nothing at all of this whole affair." (1Sa 22:15)

King Josiah commanded his priests, as well as his scribes and servants to inquire of the Lord for him:

He told them, "Go, inquire of the LORD for me and the people and all Judah concerning the words of this book that has been found, for great is the wrath of the LORD that burns against us, because our fathers have not listened to the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us." (2Ki 22:13)
"Go, inquire of the LORD for me and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book which has been found; for great is the wrath of the LORD which is poured out on us because our fathers have not observed the word of the LORD, to do according to all that is written in this book." (2Ch 34:21)

King David inquired of the LORD
King David was known as a man after God's own heart. He always wanted to know what the Lord wanted, and once he discovered that, He sought to do it with God's help.

So David inquired of the LORD, saying, "Shall I go and attack these Philistines?" And the LORD said to David, "Go and attack the Philistines and deliver Keilah." (1Sa 23:2)
Then David inquired of the LORD once more. And the LORD answered him and said, "Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand." (1Sa 23:4)
David inquired of the LORD, saying, "Shall I pursue this band? Shall I overtake them?" And He said to him, "Pursue, for you will surely overtake them, and you will surely rescue all." (1Sa 30:8)
Then it came about afterwards that David inquired of the LORD, saying, "Shall I go up to one of the cities of Judah?" And the LORD said to him, "Go up." So David said, "Where shall I go up?" And He said, "To Hebron." (2Sa 2:1)
Then David inquired of the LORD, saying, "Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You give them into my hand?" And the LORD said to David, "Go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand." (2Sa 5:19)
When David inquired of the LORD, He said, "You shall not go directly up; circle around behind them and come at them in front of the balsam trees. (2Sa 5:23)
David therefore inquired of God for the child; and David fasted and went and lay all night on the ground. (2Sa 12:16)
David inquired of God, saying, "Shall I go up against the Philistines? And will You give them into my hand?" Then the LORD said to him, "Go up, for I will give them into your hand." (1Ch 14:10)
David inquired again of God, and God said to him, "You shall not go up after them; circle around behind them and come at them in front of the balsam trees. (1Ch 14:14)
Then David built an altar to the LORD there and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And he called to the LORD and He answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering. The LORD commanded the angel, and he put his sword back in its sheath. At that time, when David saw that the LORD had answered him on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he offered sacrifice there. For the tabernacle of the LORD, which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering were in the high place at Gibeon at that time. But David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was terrified by the sword of the angel of the LORD. (1Ch 21:26-30)

How many people are there today like David, who still inquire of the Lord about the matters that concern them? How many people inquire about the Lord before making decisions? May the Lord help us to have the heart of King David.

Inquiring of False Gods
People who inquire of false gods rather than the Lord do so to their own detriment. One example of this foolish practice and it's consequences was when Ahaziah, king of Samaria was injured in an accident at home. He inquired of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, in order to find out whether he would recover.

And Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber which was in Samaria, and became ill. So he sent messengers and said to them, "Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this sickness." (2 Ki 1:2)

The Lord was so displeased with this that He sent Elijah to the king's messengers to ask the king why he was doing such a foolish thing. The angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, "Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?' (2Ki 1:2-3)

The messengers returned to the king and reported back to him. They said to him, "A man came up to meet us and said to us, 'Go, return to the king who sent you and say to him, "Thus says the LORD, 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die.'"'" (2Ki 1:6)

The king went directly to Elijah the prophet to find out about this word. So Elijah reiterated it directly to the king. Then he said to him, "Thus says the LORD, 'Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron--is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word?--therefore you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die.'" So Ahaziah died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken. (2Ki 1:16-17a)

Some things never change. There are still people today, including some of the Lord's people, who inquire of false gods. But they often find clever ways to explain it away. I need to tell you that this is still sin, and it comes with dire consequences, so please beware and avoid inquiring of false gods.

Dangers of Disobedience
Did you know that Jerusalem was burned with fire because of King Zedekiah's disobedience? The problem was not that he failed to inquire of the Lord, because he did inquire of the Lord through the prophet Jeremiah. The point of disobedience was that neither he nor the people listened to the words of the Lord:

"Please inquire of the LORD on our behalf, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is warring against us; perhaps the LORD will deal with us according to all His wonderful acts, so that the enemy will withdraw from us." (Jer 21:2)
But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the LORD which He spoke through Jeremiah the prophet. Yet King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "Please pray to the LORD our God on our behalf." (Jer 37:2-3)
Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'Thus you are to say to the king of Judah, who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: "Behold, Pharaoh's army which has come out for your assistance is going to return to its own land of Egypt. "The Chaldeans will also return and fight against this city, and they will capture it and burn it with fire."' (Jer 37:6-8)

So it's not enough to simply inquire of the Lord. We also need to obey the Lord in what He tells us to do. Jesus said that those who hear His Word but do not do what it says are like a man who built his house on sandy ground with no foundation. When the storms of life came, the man's house was destroyed. So the person who only hears the Word and doesn't do it will perish.

Warning Against Idolatry
Idolaters should not think they could inquire of the Lord with impunity. There are many warnings in Scripture about the consequences for idolatry. Consider these:

"For anyone of the house of Israel or of the immigrants who stay in Israel who separates himself from Me, sets up his idols in his heart, puts right before his face the stumbling block of his iniquity, and then comes to the prophet to inquire of Me for himself, I the LORD will be brought to answer him in My own person. (Eze 14:7)
"They will bear the punishment of their iniquity; as the iniquity of the inquirer is, so the iniquity of the prophet will be, (Eze 14:10)

During the days of the prophet Ezekiel, the elders of Israel were guilty of idolatry. They had defiled themselves by sacrificing their own sons in the fire on the altars of idols. Then they came to the prophet to inquire of the Lord.

Now in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month, certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and sat before me. (Eze 20:1)
The Lord told Ezekiel, "Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Do you come to inquire of Me? As I live," declares the Lord GOD, "I will not be inquired of by you."' (Eze 20:3)
Here's the Word of the Lord that Ezekiel spoke to the elders: "When you offer your gifts, when you cause your sons to pass through the fire, you are defiling yourselves with all your idols to this day. And shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live," declares the Lord GOD, "I will not be inquired of by you. (Eze 20:31)

When they set up idols in their hearts, they separated themselves from God. Therefore, the Lord refused to play their game and would not be inquired of by them.

People still commit idolatry today. For some people, their idol is a statue, and for others it's their vehicle. Some people make an idol out of money or another person. Whatever it is you idolize, it separates you from the Lord. So you need to ask the Lord if you have set up any idols in your life, and if you have, you need to get rid of them completely.

King Saul's Failed Attempt to Inquire of the Lord
When Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him: Saul inquired of God, "Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You give them into the hand of Israel?" But He did not answer him on that day. (1Sa 14:37). This happened again later. When Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by prophets. (1Sa 28:6)

So Saul asked counsel of a medium, making inquiry of it, rather than inquire of the Lord: Then Saul said to his servants, "Seek for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her." And his servants said to him, "Behold, there is a woman who is a medium at En-dor." (1Sa 28:7)

In doing so, Saul sinned against the Lord, since the Scripture prohibited anyone from consulting mediums. Saul committed other sins besides this, including not keeping the Word of the Lord that He had been given. In the end, it cost him his life. "So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against the LORD, because of the word of the LORD which he did not keep; and also because he asked counsel of a medium, making inquiry of it." (1Ch 10:13) He "did not inquire of the LORD. Therefore He killed him and turned the kingdom to David the son of Jesse." (1Ch 10:14)

There are people today who consult mediums. It may be a spirit guide, a palm reader, a card reader, a horoscope, or some other medium. It could even be a departed loved one or deceased saint. Consulting mediums is a sin against the Lord, so if you've done this you should repent. Change your mind about it, agree with God's Word and ask the Lord to cleanse and forgive you. He is merciful and forgiving.

The Role of the Holy Spirit
Under the New Covenant, the Lord's people do not need to go to a priest or prophet to inquire of the Lord. Neither do we need to use the sacred stones. Instead, the Holy Spirit has now been sent to live in our hearts and speak to us. The Scripture teaches us that we have an anointing from the Holy Spirit.

The apostle John wrote: "But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth." (1Jo 2:20-21).

This anointing remains within you and teaches you about everything. John wrote, "As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him." (1Jo 2:27)

Jesus said the Holy Spirit would reveal to us everything we need:

"Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. (Mar 11:24)
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. (Joh 14:26)
"No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. (Joh 15:15)
"All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you. (Joh 16:15)
For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. (1Co 2:10)

All Believers are now priests
You see, under the new covenant, all the disciples of Christ are priests of God Most High. So we can go directly to the Father through Jesus without the need for any mediators. Peter wrote, "But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." (1Pe 2:9)

And since we have the mind of Christ, we don't need to go to someone else, such as a priest or prophet, in order to know what the Lord wants for our lives. The apostle Paul wrote, :For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ." (1Co 2:16)

Putting it All Together
The Israelites began to inquire of the Lord many thousands of years ago, and the Lord answered through the Urim and the prophets, as well as through visions or dreams.

Those who did so insincerely were either not answered or in some cases punished. When Saul did not receive answers after inquiring of the Lord, he inquired of a medium, and it cost him his life. We should avoid consulting any kind of medium, even a seemingly harmless one or one that a has been "Christianized."

Under the New Covenant, the Holy Spirit has been sent to live in our hearts and speak to us when we call upon the Lord. We no longer need to inquire of the Lord through stones or other people. Every believer can inquire of the Lord directly, because we have all become priests. Through Jesus Christ, we have access to the Father in heaven. And the anointing of the Holy Spirit teaches us all things. We have the mind of Christ.

So if you already know the Lord Jesus Christ and inquire of Him, let me encourage you to keep doing so. He will answer you. If you aren't inquiring of Him to know His will for each area of your life, then I want to urge you to do so. You should seek to know his will concerning employment, marriage, child raising, money matters, and virtually every part of your life.

Author's note: This "Seeking the Lord" blog has become very popular in France. The reason for this is uncertain, but I am humbled and delighted that it has generated such a great interest there. To God be all the glory! If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the links in the side bar, especially "Hearing the Lord's Voice." You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do you want to know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. Your first step is to repent and pray like this from a sincere heart:

HEAVENLY FATHER,
I have sinned against you.
I want forgiveness for all my sins.
I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me and rose again.
Father, I give you my life to do with as you wish. I want Jesus Christ to come into my life and into my heart. This I ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

If you repented and prayed this sincerely from your heart, then you are a child of God. You have a relationship with the Lord. Now cultivate that relationship and produce the fruit of repentance. Like any other personal relationship, this one requires you to spend time with Him for it to grow more intimate. So spend time daily, seeking the Lord, calling upon Jesus name, repenting of any sin in your life, talking to Him and listening to His voice. Read His Word, the Bible, in order to see what God wants for your life and all the wonderful promises He has given you. As soon as possible, you need to tell someone that you have given your life to Jesus. Join with other loving believers who believe the Bible and preach the good news of salvation in Jesus alone, be water baptized, and find a place of service in that loving community. Be sure and share the good news of Jesus with those who don’t know Him, and live faithfully for the Lord all your life.

___________________________________________________

The Self-Help Gospel

2011-05-28T06:41:00.000-07:00

There is a self-help gospel preached in the world today, which is not the true gospel at all. It is a gospel of self-improvement. Just look in the bookstores and you will find them stocked with best selling books about how to do this or that to improve yourself. I’m not saying that every “how-to” book is bad. I’m just saying that much of what is written in the name of the Lord is not what the Lord would say to us. Let’s look at what the Lord says in His Word.

Hollow and Deceptive Philosophy
The apostle Paul wrote to the Colossians and said: "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ." (Col 2:8). That's a clear warning for us today, as well. We need to make sure we don't let anyone captivate us through hollow and deceptive philosophy. It doesn't matter who they are who teach it. This kind of philosophy does not depend on Christ, but on human tradition and the basic principles of this world.

He went on to challenge those among them who had already begun to fall for these teachings. He wrote: “If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, ‘Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!’ (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)--in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.” (Col 2:20-23)

Let's remember that Paul was writing to the Colossian church, not to non-believers. They had already died with Christ, and Paul is asking them a question. He asks: “If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, ‘Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!’” Essentially he is saying that they already died to the world, so why do they act as though they need to live according to basic, worldly regulations about what you can and cannot handle, taste, and touch?

We could ask the same question of the church today. Why do these self-help preachers fool the church? Why do we keep falling for their lies? These are simply the commandments of men and the teachings of men, as Paul puts it. He gives the reason why some people listen to them. He says that these things definitely have the appearance of wisdom. That’s why it’s so enticing. But he exposes it for what it really is: self-made religion, self-abasement, and severe treatment of the body. Let's explore those three things.

Self-made religion
The word in the original Greek language, which this passage was written in, connotes voluntary piety that is arbitrary and unwarranted. It also may connote sanctimony or will worship.

This brings up thoughts of many different practices we see today. For example, we see people exercising voluntary piety that is unwarranted and arbitrary. Outwardly they try to seem pious and sanctimonious. They are part of the “do not handle,” “do not taste,” “do not touch” crowd. Where the Word has given us freedom, they have chosen to forbid themselves and others.

Paul also refers to will worship. The best thing I can use to illustrate what I see as will worship is the phrase, “Believe in yourself!” Or the philosophy that “I can do whatever I set my mind to do.” People who live according to this philosophy essentially worship their own will. They exult in the power of their own will to accomplish good things for themselves. These teachings range all the way from positive thinking and positive confession to various humanistic philosophies that teach man to try and be a good person without God.

All of these are self-made religion. They are man’s attempt to worship according to a way that he in himself determines is right. But these fail to please God. They fail to save anyone or make anyone holy, because they focus on outward performance and outward appearance, rather than on a change of the heart within. They focus on what man can do, rather than on the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and what He can do.

Self-abasement
This word for self-abasement connotes false humility. This is another aspect of the worldly regulations Paul is talking about, which entice us away from the Lord. These regulations may appear to make you humble, but they really don’t do so. You can deny yourself from eating or touching anything you like, and it may appear that you are extremely humble. But we’ll find out how humble you are when someone throws up on you. Some things can be put on like a mask and you can pretend, but under the right circumstances, your pride will shine through.

Only the gospel has the power to save. Paul said he was not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God unto salvation (Rom 1:16). And when Jesus prayed for his disciples, He prayed, "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth." (Joh 17:17). He didn't pray that we would be sanctified through the commandments and teachings of men, or through man-made regulations and traditions. Only the Word of God has the power to make you holy.

Severe treatment of the body
The word Paul used to describe severe treatment of the body literally connotes a kind of asceticism, austerity, and neglecting of oneself. The Christian monks of old were famous for sleeping on beds of nails or broken glass, taking vows of silence and depriving themselves the company of other people in order to achieve deeper spiritual lives. It appeals to some people, because it looks spiritual, and it seems so disciplined, orderly, and hard on the flesh. But Paul says that these regulations are of no value against fleshly indulgence. That’s the reality. It’s not that they have some or little value, but they have no value when it comes to dealing with the sinful impulses inside of man.

Again, only the gospel has the power to deal with the flesh, by putting it to death with Christ, and giving us new life in Him.

Food, Drink, and Holiday Police
Some people still teach that certain days are more special or holier than other days.

Paul wrote to the Colossians about such people, saying, “Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day-- things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.” (Col 2:16-17)

If you aren’t in church or celebrating the festival or holiday on that day – whether its Christmas, Easter, Ash Wednesday, or All Saints Day, you’re looked at by these people as if you are less spiritual. This is what happened to the Galatians. Paul wrote to them saying, “You observe days and months and seasons and years.” (Gal 4:10) Because of this, Paul was concerned that he had labored over the Galatians in vain. There is no Scripture that says you must celebrate the birth of Jesus or His resurrection on a certain day each year. If you love Him, you will worship Him every day.

And we should certainly not let anyone judge us and make us feel less spiritual with regard to the Sabbath Day or any holiday. I have no problem if someone wants to worship the Lord and hold their church meetings on Saturday, rather than Sunday. But when they claim it is more correct, more biblical, or more spiritual to do so, that’s all part of these worldly regulations.

Neither should we let anyone judge us regarding what we eat or drink. For example, there are some who teach that certain diets are scriptural or more spiritual, like being a vegetarian. I'm not saying the Lord condones gluttony or drunkenness. And I agree that some foods and drinks are more healthy than others. But when you are partaking of food or drink in moderation with thankfulness, and someone looks down on you because of it, that’s not the heart of God. It’s all just a shadow of things to come. But reality is found in Christ. Our focus should be on Him, not on the calendar, the cup or the dish.

All these things are part of the written code that has been cancelled. As Paul wrote: “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” (Col 2:13-14)

Paul speaks to disciples of Christ. He says, when you were in a place where you could do absolutely nothing for yourself, because you were completely dead in sin, it was then that Christ made you alive together with Him. It was then He forgave all your transgressions. It was then that He canceled out the written code that was against you with all its decrees and regulations. The Holy Spirit described it like this through the prophet Ezekiel when He said, “When I passed by you and saw you squirming in your blood, I said to you while you were in your blood, 'Live!' Yes, I said to you while you were in your blood, 'Live!'” (Eze 16:6) It’s a picture of you lying there in their own blood, squirming and about to die. The Lord saw you there as He passed by and said, “Live!” By His mighty power, He made you alive with Christ. His Word has power! His cross has power! It was through no effort of your own.

The true gospel
This is the true gospel – repent of your sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved (Acts 2:38; 16:30). Paul says to the Romans, “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." (Rom 10:9-11). This means you need to believe in your heart that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead and confess Him as Lord of your life with your mouth. If you do so, you will be saved.

Putting it All Together
I think the Scripture is very clear about all this. Don’t let anyone judge your spirituality based on what you eat or drink or whether you observe certain festivals or Sabaaths. We’re not supposed to observe days and months and years on the calendar. And it’s not what you put into your body, but what comes out of your mouth that defiles it.

Don’t pay attention to those who preach the self-help gospel. They tell you not to taste, touch, or handle certain things. They are the ones who promote self-made religion, unwarranted piety, self-abasement and harsh treatment of the body. None of these things has any power to restrain the sinful nature with its self-indulgence. They deal with the outward performance, not the inward matters of the heart and character.

Instead, focus on Jesus Christ. Reality is found in Him. He alone can save you in your most depraved and helpless state. And it's only through the power of His Word and His Spirit that you can become more like Jesus.

For more on this topic, be sure and see the other posts in this blog, especially Righteousness, Peace, and Joy. There are also some other authors on this topic, including one by Mark Lauterbach, and another article by the American Presbyterian Church, with which I am not associated in any official capacity.

Author's note: This "Seeking the Lord" blog has become very popular in France. The reason for this is uncertain, but I am humbled and delighted that it has generated such a great interest there. To God be all the glory! If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the links in the side bar. You may also access my blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do you want to know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. Your first step is to repent and pray like this from a sincere heart:

HEAVENLY FATHER,
I have sinned against you.
I want forgiveness for all my sins.
I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me and rose again.
Father, I give you my life to do with as you wish. I want Jesus Christ to come into my life and into my heart. This I ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

If you repented and prayed this sincerely from your heart, then you are a child of God. You have a relationship with the Lord. Now cultivate that relationship and produce the fruit of repentance. Like any other personal relationship, this one requires you to spend time with Him for it to grow more intimate. So spend time daily, seeking the Lord, calling upon Jesus name, repenting of any sin in your life, talking to Him and listening to His voice. Read His Word, the Bible, in order to see what God wants for your life and all the wonderful promises He has given you. As soon as possible, you need to tell someone that you have given your life to Jesus. Join with other loving believers who believe the Bible and preach the good news of salvation in Jesus alone, be water baptized, and find a place of service in that loving community. Be sure and share the good news of Jesus with those who don’t know Him, and live faithfully for the Lord all your life.

Note: photos from the following site by Jessie Simmonds on Art

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From Self-confidence to Confidence in the Lord

2011-03-04T08:19:00.000-08:00

My five-year old son recently asked me what the word “confidence” means. That led to a great discussion around the dinner table. Confidence is trust or reliance upon someone or something.

There's a big difference between self-confidence and having confidence in the Lord. Self-confidence is believing in yourself. It’s like the little train that thought it could. It’s the attitude that “if I think I can do something, then I can do it.” It’s summed up by the expression, “You can do whatever you put your mind to.”

But you will find no place in the Word of God where we are taught to have such self-confidence. It’s simply not Scriptural. This philosophy comes from the world, and it’s quite a central part of today’s self-help, New Age teachings.

On the other hand, confidence in the Lord is knowing HE can do it. This is not semantics or a minor variation of self-confidence. It’s the opposite of it!

From Self-Confidence to Confidence in the Lord
Moses is a great example who illustrates this for us. At age forty, Moses was self-confident and killed the Egyptian. He already had the burden in his heart to deliver the Hebrew people from the cruel bondage of their taskmasters. But he went about it in his own strength. And being the bold, strong man that he was, he managed to free one Hebrew from one situation. But he was not yet ready to accomplish the mighty works God had prepared for him to do. He could not fulfill God’s purpose for his life yet, because there was still too much Moses in him. He was in God’s way.

Once he realized his crime was discovered, he fled for his life to the backside of the desert, to a place called Midian. There he married a woman and tended sheep for forty years in obscurity. But by age eighty, he had been humbled greatly. When God spoke to him from the burning bush, he was quite self-deprecating. The Lord told him to speak to the king and tell him everything the Lord spoke to him. Moses basically responded by saying, "Lord, you know I'm such a poor speaker. Why should the king listen to me?"

But the Lord assured him that he would provide a spokesman for Moses in his brother Aaron. The Lord also promised to back up His word with power. So Moses obeyed God and went before Pharaoh. He did so not in his own strength or in any kind of self-confidence. He had long ago given up on trusting in himself to do anything. In the end, God used him mightily. He successfully led the Hebrew people out of Egypt with great signs and wonders. And he proved to be one of the greatest leaders in the history of Israel. It was all through his confidence in the Lord.

Trusting in man
Perhaps those who trust in themselves are not aware of the warnings in Scripture about that. The prophet Jeremiah said, "Thus says the LORD, 'Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind And makes flesh his strength, And whose heart turns away from the LORD. For he will be like a bush in the desert And will not see when prosperity comes, But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, A land of salt without inhabitant.'" (Jer 17:5-6). No matter how you read this, you don't want to be found trusting in mankind or depending on the flesh, including your own self. Jeremiah continued to say that "The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?" (Jer 17:9). If your heart is more deceitful than all else, then why trust it? Why put your confidence in it?

Not that we are adequate in ourselves
The apostle Paul stated that he had no confidence in himself. He wrote to the Corinthians:

"You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." (2Co 3:2-6)

So as he wrote, he did not consider himself adequate in himself and did not consider anything he did as coming from himself. Rather, his adequacy was from God. He said, “We have confidence toward God through Christ.”

We can do nothing without Jesus
Even Jesus knew that He could do nothing apart from the Father. He said, "I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” (Joh 5:30). He was completely dependent upon the Father who sent Him.

Jesus also taught that we can do nothing without Him. He said to his disciples, "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” (Joh 15:5).

We need to understand our relationship to Him. He is the Vine and we are the branches. A branch on a grapevine cannot bear fruit on its own. It must remain connected to the vine. The same is true of us. Those who abide in Jesus bear much fruit. But apart from Him we can do nothing.

I can do all things through Christ
So how can we do anything at all in life? How can we serve the Lord? If I can do nothing and I am confident that the Lord can do all things, shouldn’t I just sit back and wait for God to do it? Why should I attempt anything?

Well, Paul had the right attitude. He wrote: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Phi 4:13). This is true, biblical confidence. Not a confidence in oneself, but a confidence in the Lord. And look at the fruit from Paul's life! He wrote half of the books in the New Testament Scriptures. He moved in miraculous power, healing the sick, raising the dead, and taking the gospel to every region of the known world.

Paul was confident that he could do all things, but not in his own strength. He said that he could do all things through Christ. He knew that it was Christ who strengthened him and through Christ, he could do everything.

This is how each disciple of Christ should live today. It should be with this same attitude.

Trust in the Lord alone
When you really get this and understand it, you will trust in the Lord alone. You will heed the words of wise King Solomon, who said, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding." (Pro 3:5). As wise as he was, even he did not lean on his own understanding, but trusted in the Lord alone.

When you do this you will be blessed! "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD And whose trust is the LORD. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit." (Jer 17:7-8). When you trust in the Lord, you'll be like a tree planted by water, green and fruitful.

Putting it all together
Don’t listen to people who say, “Just believe in yourself.” That's a worldly, New Age philosophy. If you have that attitude, you may get some results, but you will eventually find that you cannot do all things. There will be something you cannot accomplish, and you will be devastated to discover that believing in yourself does not work. Don't trust in your own self, but trust in the Lord. He can do more in three minutes than you can do in a lifetime.

As long as Moses was self-confident, the Lord couldn't use him. Moses was in the way. But once he became humbled, the Lord used Him mightily and with great power.

A Scriptural attitude is "Lord, I can do nothing without you. But I can do ALL things through Christ, Who strengthens me."

One thing that no person can do for himself is to save himself from perishing. Only Jesus can save you. That's the reason He came to earth, died on a cross for you, and rose from the dead. Whether you have known Him for many years or have never known Him, I encourage you today not to trust in yourself or any man, no matter if that person is with the Lord in heaven or alive on earth. Rather trust in the Lord with all your heart.

Author's note: This "Seeking the Lord" blog has become very popular in France. The reason for this is uncertain, but I am humbled and delighted that it has generated such a great interest there. To God be all the glory! If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the links in the side bar. You may also access my blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Jesus?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. Your first step is to repent and pray like this from a sincere heart:

HEAVENLY FATHER,
I have sinned against you.
I want forgiveness for all my sins.
I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me and rose again.
Father, I give you my life to do with as you wish. I want Jesus Christ to come into my life and into my heart. This I ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

If you repented and prayed this sincerely from your heart, then you are a child of God. You have a relationship with the Lord. Now cultivate that relationship and produce the fruit of repentance. Like any other personal relationship, this one requires you to spend time with Him for it to grow more intimate. So spend time daily, seeking the Lord, calling upon Jesus name, repenting of any sin in your life, talking to Him and listening to His voice. Read His Word, the Bible, in order to see what God wants for your life and all the wonderful promises He has given you. As soon as possible, you need to tell someone that you have given your life to Jesus. Join with other loving believers who believe the Bible and preach the good news of salvation in Jesus alone, be water baptized, and find a place of service in that loving community. Be sure and share the good news of Jesus with those who don’t know Him, and live faithfully for the Lord all your life.

___________________________________________________

Is the the Self-Help and Actualization Movement a Sham?

2010-09-22T03:22:00.000-07:00

...
These days there’s no lack of self-help books and DVDs to teach you how to be prosperous, healthy, and successful. These teachers all claim to have the keys to help you fulfill your dreams. But not all that glitters is gold. So much of what they say is just human wisdom -- man’s philosophy, which does not square with the Word of God.

The fact that these teachings don’t agree with God’s Word, the Bible, may not bother you. But it should, especially if you claim to believe in Jesus Christ. He said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no man comes to the Father except by Me.” (Jn 14:6). Yet countless throngs of people who consider themselves Christians are consuming the human wisdom in these self-help books, and while it may sound great, it’s actually leading them away from the Lord. What’s worse, many church leaders are reading these books and then teaching these things from the pulpit as though they were Biblical truths.

Here are some examples of what they teach:

Fulfillment of your dreams is only a thought away.
You originate from the core of your self.
You ultimately return to the core of yourself.
You need to believe in yourself.

Now for a reality check on each one!

They teach, “Fulfillment of your dreams is only a thought away.”
Human wisdom is to direct your thoughts toward the fulfillment of your dreams, and then your words and actions will follow until they are fulfilled.

Yet Jesus said, “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Mat 16:25). When he talked about trying to save your life, he wasn’t just talking about trying to protect yourself from being killed. He was talking about the human tendency to have all that you want in life. It’s the tendency to preserve your own way of life the way we you like things to be. Frank Sinatra sang, “I did it my way!” But Jesus said if you do that, you will lose your life. Instead, you need to lose your life for Jesus’ sake. When you do that, you will truly find it. And the life He gives is better than anything you could have imagined.

I once thought before I gave my life to Jesus that if I gave my life to Him, then I would no longer have any fun or happiness in doing the things I want to do. But once I did give my life to Him, I found out that the joy and fullness I experience now is incomparably better than anything I knew when I was living for myself.

Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (Joh 10:10). So if you want to experience this kind of abundant life, then give your life completely to Jesus. Don’t grasp onto your dreams and ambitions as though it’s up to you to fulfill them. Put your dreams and ambitions on the altar and offer them up to God, willing to let them die. When you do this, God will be pleased and bless you with much more than you ever thought was possible.

The psalmist wrote, “Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psa 37:4). You see, when you delight yourself in the Lord, then your desires are in line with His, and they will be fulfilled in due time.

Many people are consumed with a quest for what the world calls success – they want the food and clothes and other worldly things that humans hunger for. But Jesus said, “Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Mat 6:31-33) So if you seek His kingdom and His righteousness first, before all else, then all the things you need will be given to you.

The self-help authors teach, “You originate from the core of your self.”
But the Bible says God made you. He is the source and author of your life, not you!

The psalmist prayed to God: “For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.” (Psa 139:13-14). He understood that He was made by God and gave thanks to Him for it.

The psalmist went on to pray: “Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.” (Psa 139:16). He understood that all of his days were appointed by God in advance and they were all written in His book before one of them came to pass. Since this is true, then what good is it to try and be the master of your destiny and the captain of your own ship, directing your life the way you think is best? But men have been doing this for centuries.

This is why the apostle Paul wrote: “For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.” (Rom 1:25). People would rather serve the creature, like themselves, rather than the Creator. In doing so, they exchange the truth of God for a lie.

The self-help authors teach, “You ultimately return to the core of yourself.”
They often refer to this as the center that you need to always come back to for proper balance in your life. Some also teach that there is no judgment in this place deep within you. So basically they teach that in the end, it’s all up to you to decide right from wrong. This may sound good but it’s not true.

King Solomon wrote: “There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” (Pro 16:25). So you may think you know the right way to take, but it leads to death in the end.
That’s why Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.” (Mat 7:13). In other words, the road to destruction is wide and many people go that way. But if you want to have eternal life, enter through the narrow gate, which is Jesus.

Jesus said, “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” (Mat 25:31-32). So He clearly taught that there will be a final judgment. The judgment is not up to you to decide at your core what is right. You will ultimately stand before God and the judgment will be up to Him. As the apostle Paul wrote, “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” (2Co 5:10).

The self-help speakers teach, “You need to believe in yourself.”
This could not be farther from the truth.

Wise Solomon wrote, “He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But he who walks wisely will be delivered.” (Pro 28:26). If you trust in your own heart to lead you, you're in for trouble. Living life that way ends in destruction.

As the prophet Jeremiah said, “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” (Jer 17:9). The human heart is totally depraved, meaning that it has no good in itself, then how can it be trusted? Even the apostle Paul said, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.” (Rom 7:18). Even this man who was a mighty servant of God said there was nothing good in himself! So why should you trust in your own heart or your own abilities. You cannot succeed this way any more than a man stuck in quicksand can pull himself up by his own bootstraps.

Putting it All Together
The multitudes will continue to follow authors like Wayne W. Dyer, Robert G Allen, Napolean Hill, Oprah Winfrey, and Norman Vincent Peale. But I agree with Steve Salerno who used the acronym SHAM for the Self-Help and Actualization Movement. He said it is not only ineffective in achieving its goals, but it's also socially harmful. I also agree with Christopher Buckley, who asserts in his book God is My Broker that: "The only way to get rich from a self-help book is to write one."

The basic premise of the self-help teachers is to seek your own good and fulfill your own dreams and ambitions. Yet in God’s Word it is written, “Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor.” (1Co 10:24)

So when we follow man’s wisdom on how to be successful, we’re walking on thin ice. This is a dangerous place. "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isa 55:8-9). God's thoughts and ways are so much higher than ours. That's why human wisdom will never save you or give you the keys to truly abundant life.

Let me encourage you to beware of these self-help authors and speakers. What they say may sound great and appeal to you, but it’s not all true. Much of it is half-truths and lies. Don’t practice what they teach. Instead, give your life to Jesus. Live for Him. Be a student of God’s Word and put into practice what He says. As Solomon wrote: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your body And refreshment to your bones.” (Pro 3:5-8)

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. Your first step is to repent and pray like this from a sincere heart:

HEAVENLY FATHER,
I have sinned against you.
I want forgiveness for all my sins.
I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me and rose again.
Father, I give you my life to do with as you wish. I want Jesus Christ to come into my life and into my heart. This I ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

If you repented and prayed this sincerely from your heart, then you are a child of God. You have a relationship with the Lord. Now cultivate that relationship and produce the fruit of repentance. Like any other personal relationship, this one requires you to spend time with Him for it to grow more intimate. So spend time daily, seeking the Lord, calling upon Jesus name, repenting of any sin in your life, talking to Him and listening to His voice. Read His Word, the Bible, in order to see what God wants for your life and all the wonderful promises He has given you. As soon as possible, you need to tell someone that you have given your life to Jesus. Join with other loving believers who believe the Bible and preach the good news of salvation in Jesus alone, be water baptized, and find a place of service in that loving community. Be sure and share the good news of Jesus with those who don’t know Him, and live faithfully for the Lord all your life.

Author's note: This "Seeking the Lord" blog has become very popular in France. The reason for this is uncertain, but I am humbled and delighted that it has generated such a great interest there. To God be all the glory! If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the links in the side bar. You may also access my blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

___________________________________________________

Seeking the Lord

2009-07-29T02:54:00.000-07:00

Throughout God’s Word, we are admonished to seek the Lord. But what exactly does that mean? Is this a passive act? Does this mean attending a church meeting and singing some songs then listening to someone speak? Does it mean reading some prayers at home while dozing in and out of a nap? Or is it something very active and all consuming that requires all our heart, soul, mind and strength?

Let’s look at some passages to determine the kind of fervency that’s involved in seeking the Lord...

The Lord is searching the world over to try and see if He can find someone whose heart is completely His. "For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His." (2Ch 16:9a)

"As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?" (Psa 42:1-2)

When we pant for something literally, it means our chest is heaving, as in short respiration or want of breath. It means figuratively “To long for; to desire ardently.”So we could translate this verse to say, “Lord, my soul desires you so ardently with such a longing that it’s like when a deer has been running and it’s heaving in short breathes, desperately trying to get enough air, searching for water from the brook to quench its thirst.”

The psalmist sought the Lord with all His heart. He said, "With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments." (Psa 119:10) "I sought Your face with all my heart; Be gracious to me according to Your word." (Psa 119:58)

He prayed, "My soul languishes for Your salvation; I wait for Your word. My eyes fail with longing for Your word, While I say, 'When will You comfort me?' " (Psa 119:81-82). How many of us pray that way? Do we search in His Word like we are searching for buried treasure, so that our eyes fail longing for His Word?

The psalmist lost sleep over his quest for the Lord, and he saw the late and early hours as prime time to cry out to the Lord, wait for Him, and meditate on His Word: "I rise before dawn and cry for help; I wait for Your words. My eyes anticipate the night watches, That I may meditate on Your word." (Psa 119:147-148). That's fervency!! That's ardent love!

He sought the Lord earnestly with a great thirst and hunger for God: "God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water." (Psa 63:1)

The prophet Hosea admonishes us, "So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, Like the spring rain watering the earth." (Hos 6:3) In this verse from Hosea, the word for “press on” comes from the Hebrew word “rawdaf”. According to Strong’s it is a primitive root that means “to run after” (usually with hostile intent; figuratively). It also means, among other things “to chase”, “hunt,” or “pursue.” So with this understanding, we could translate this verse thusly: “So let us know, let us run after the Lord to know Him..." Or “let us pursue the Lord relentlessly, as though we were hunting for Him so that we might truly know Him.” God loves to be pursued by you, and if you seek Him this way you will surely find Him.

The apostle Paul pressed on toward the goal for the prize like a runner running a great race. "Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus." (Phi 3:12) And again he states, "I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Phi 3:14)

The writer of Hebrews exhorts, "Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God," (Heb 6:1) The word we translate as “Press on” here in this passage is “phero”. It means to “be driven,” in such a way that one is “rushing.” It implies a “reaching” for something ahead. So we could translate this verse like this: “let us be driven to maturity, in such a way that we are rushing after it and reaching out for it, not moving backwards and laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God.

So from God’s Word we can see that seeking His face is not something passive at all. Rather, it is very active and very aggressive. It requires our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength.

The Lord is searching the world over to try and see of He can find someone whose heart is completely His. Is every ounce of your being completely His? Do you daily seek to surrender yourself completely to Him? Do you desire the Lord so ardently with such a longing that it’s like when a deer has been running and it’s heaving in short breathes, desperately trying to get enough air? Are you pressing on toward the goal for the prize like a runner running a marathon, determined to win? Are you running after the Lord to know Him? Have you lost any sleep over your quest for the Lord?

If you didn’t answer yes to these questions, then let me encourage you to pursue the Lord relentlessly, as though we were hunting for Him! Take advantage of the late and early hours of the day when everyone else is asleep to cry out to the Lord, wait for Him, and meditate on His Word. Seek the Lord with all your heart. Let me encourage you to be driven to maturity, in such a way that you are rushing after it and reaching out for it. This is not at all a passive act, but something that you give yourself to completely.

If you will do this, the wonderful promise to you is that the Lord will strongly support you. Not that I have already attained to perfection in this area, but I’m with D.L. Moody, who once said, “The world has yet to see what God can do with and for and through and in and by the man who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him. I will try my utmost to be that man.”

Author's note: This "Seeking the Lord" blog has become very popular in France. The reason for this is uncertain, but I am humbled and delighted that it has generated such a great interest there. To God be all the glory! If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the links in the side bar. You may also access my blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do you want to know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. Your first step is to repent and pray like this from a sincere heart:

HEAVENLY FATHER,
I have sinned against you.
I want forgiveness for all my sins.
I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me and rose again.
Father, I give you my life to do with as you wish. I want Jesus Christ to come into my life and into my heart. This I ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

If you repented and prayed this sincerely from your heart, then you are a child of God. You have a relationship with the Lord. Now cultivate that relationship and produce the fruit of repentance. Like any other personal relationship, this one requires you to spend time with Him for it to grow more intimate. So spend time daily, seeking the Lord, calling upon Jesus name, repenting of any sin in your life, talking to Him and listening to His voice. Read His Word, the Bible, in order to see what God wants for your life and all the wonderful promises He has given you. As soon as possible, you need to tell someone that you have given your life to Jesus. Join with other loving believers who believe the Bible and preach the good news of salvation in Jesus alone, be water baptized, and find a place of service in that loving community. Be sure and share the good news of Jesus with those who don’t know Him, and live faithfully for the Lord all your life.

___________________________________________________