Kick back and relax

About the photo– I have been in a lot of church houses in my life, both protestant and catholic. I have been in churches with roles that exceed 600 members. This small little church house has more love, and from what I seen and felt, more people striving to live a Godly life than any other church house I have ever been in. There is no show, no theatrics, just the Spirit and His children!

So this past week I spent a lot of time thinking about what “deny yourself” really means. I found out that the meaning is hard core. So hard core that most Christians just like me say we do it, but really we don’t. The meaning is so hard core that understanding what it really means makes some not even want to follow Christ. The meaning is very simple; it is very black and white, it is very clear. There is no watering it down, and there is no manipulation, no wiggle room. Either you deny yourself and follow Christ or you choose to follow yourself and not Christ.

Luke 9- 23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Mark 8- 34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Matthew 16- 24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Jesus himself said that in order to be a true follower of Him, we must deny ourselves. The bible offers a definition of what this means.

Galatians 2- 20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”

“I have been crucified” means I have died. Before Christ, I was an unrepentant sinner. Either you were too, or you still are, only you and God know which. We were doomed. We lived for ourselves and through ourselves. When Christ went to the cross, His perfect sacrifice gave us a way to repent and be redeemed for all eternity. In the act of salvation, we- the old unrepentant sinners that we were or are- is crucified, we die to our self.

“It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” After Christ enters in, we are now alive IN CHRIST. This is the meaning of rebirth. The old man dies and a new man is reborn in an instant. We are now alive because of Christ and for Christ. This means that you and I are to take on the characteristics of Christ. If we were a drunkard before, we are to be no more. If we had hate in our heart, we are to love instead. If we were sexually immoral, in ANY way, we are to stop and cherish our body as the priceless gift that it is. If we were proud and boastful, we are to be meek and humble until our second death. If we think about the NT, Christ spoke about the Father all the time. He wanted to lead people to God the Father. Jesus was obedient to His Father. Christ not only spoke these words, but He lived them as well. He was the model of the life He requires of His followers. No, it is not an option. He has said so over and over.

John 14- 15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

Jesus expects those who chose to follow Him to obey Him. “If you love me, you will keep My commandments.” Notice this is written in the plural. And notice that ‘My” is capitalized. That means the commandments that are spoke of here are the LORD’s commands, not yours, not mine, and not satan’s. Many think this means love everyone and you will be okay because love is the greatest gift, or because it is the command above all commands. But that theology negates that there are more than just that one command. There are hundreds of commands in the NT that we are to live out. They are not hard, they are not complicated. They are all wrapped around Christ and His agape love for us. We are to live according to His will, not our own. When we do that, Jesus says that He will advocate on our behalf to the Father. The Father will send the spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit, to us. The world does not know the truth, because they do not have the spirit. But because we live according to Christ, we have the spirit and we know the truth.

The truth is we are a fallen man, and sometimes we hold on to the parts of us which are dead, or at least are supposed to be dead. Hate, fornication, murder, lying, idolatry and such are not behaviors of Jesus, but of the devil. If you are the center of your universe, Christ is not in you. You simply have not denied yourself. That is simple and it is the truth. I don’t need to be Christ to make that call. Christ has left the word here for all of us to know what the fruit of the spirit looks like, and that rotten fruit of idolatry, man centered anything, tells all who know the truth, and have the spirit so that we can recognize it that the  spirit is not in that man centered person. It is not hard really. In fact, it is more simple and plain than most people think. People only think these words are complicated or have more complicated meanings because they want to feel comfortable in their sin.

We must become a people who are in submission, that is, submitted completely to the mission of the Church, ‘in statu missionis.’ Thus, living fully within the mainstream of grace, under the mantle of God’s divine authority, and by uniting ourselves to the obedience of Christ on the cross, we participate in the reversal of Adam’s sin.

Michael O’Brien

For many years I refused to go to church. I had a number of bad experiences and ended up saying that Church is not for me. I used to say, all the time, “I can have a relationship with God without having to go to church.” Even after I went back to church, I used to say; “nowhere in the bible does it say you ‘HAVE’ to go to church.” Let me tell you, I was wrong and so is everyone who is saying what I used to say.

Hebrews 10- 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

These verses indicate that not only are we to go to church, but we are to urge and encourage others to go to church. It also indicates that not going to church is not a new idea. There were people thinking what I thought long before I thought it. These verses tell me it wasn’t right then and it isn’t right now. Finally, as it states, we should be gathering even more as the end times approach. No, this is not a quatrain declaring the end date! But my eyes work, do yours?

John Gills comments, “Now to “forsake” such assembling, signifies a great infrequency in attending with the saints, a rambling from place to place, and takes in an entire apostasy. It is the duty of saints to assemble together for public worship, on the account of God, who has appointed it, who approves of it, and whose glory is concerned in it; and on the account of the saints themselves, that they may be delighted, refreshed, comforted, instructed, edified, and perfected; and on account of others, that they may be convinced, converted, and brought to the knowledge and faith of Christ; and in imitation of the primitive saints. And an assembling together ought not to be forsaken; for it is a forsaking God, and their own mercies, and such are like to be forsaken of God; nor is it known what is lost hereby; and it is the first outward visible step to apostasy, and often issues in it.”

The great King David proclaimed that we need to Praise God in His house.

Psalm 150- 1Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament!

Apostle Paul said we need to get together for the purpose of learning and growing.

Colossians 3- 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

How do you teach and admonish one another if you are at home alone? This is a command that we do this. Today, people want to accuse others of judging because they don’t like what’s being said. Funny connection, the devil doesn’t like the truth too! Sometimes people are wrong, that’s why the mirror is an important piece of equipment. That’s why brothers and sisters need to be more honest with each other. On brother says another brother said I should stopped swearing. He is at home, who does he ask. If he is at church he can ask other brothers, is it true, should I stop. Everyone who loves this brother should tell him the truth. Yes, you swear too much and you need to stop. If you have numerous brothers and sisters agreeing that this something amiss in your worship, then a wise person should be convicted to check himself. People don’t go to church anymore, at least the churches that still preach the truth, because they want to remain comfortably in sin. People want to kick back and relax. They do not want to be corrected because they do not want to deny themselves. There is just too much fun in sin. Isn’t that some sad short term thinking?

Christlike communications are expressions of affection and not anger, truth and not fabrication, compassion and not contention, respect and not ridicule, counsel and not criticism, correction and not condemnation. They are spoken with clarity and not with confusion. They may be tender or they may be tough, but they must always be tempered.

Lionel Kendrick

 

I will conclude with the parable of the rich young ruler

Key Verses

Luke 18- 18 Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ 21 And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.” 22 So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 23 But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.

And this is the truth more often than not. The idea of hell scares people, so they seek Christ. The idea of heaven is so comforting. A lot of people want Christ right up until Christ starts to infringe on one’s health, wealth, loves of entertainment and happiness, idea of fairness, and so on. God is good as long as the sinner comes first and God comes last. People, there shouldn’t even be balance. It is ALL for God, nothing for you. This ruler had power and possessions and wealth. To him, Jesus told him to deny himself because Jesus knew the ruler had a love for that stronger than his love of Christ. Christ new He was not first in this ruler’s life. But that ruler wanted it all. He wanted all he had on earth, and he wanted heaven, and he wanted it for him, not for Christ. When Jesus infringed on that, when Jesus told him to put Christ first and deny himself, that was too much to bear. He walked away sad. But he could not stay sad forever, right? So what did he do? Probably the same thing we do. We start saying there is no God, and there is no heaven and hell because I have to do something with this fear of hell. So if I negate the truth, and everything that reminds me that this is the truth, I can remain comfortably in my sin. That is why there are fake Christians in the world, and people who walk away. Everything is great until God asks us to sacrifice that which we love. Here is a plain and easy example. God tells me to love my wife like Jesus loves the church. Now, I don’t know about all husbands out there, but there are times when I do not want to love my wife. Sometimes I want to walk out that door. That would be a bad choice. Why? Because that is a choice made under extreme emotion, where I am lacking a God grip on my life. That would be Mike’s will, not God’s. God wants me to stay there and love her enough to let Christ take care of the devil who is trying to destroy my marriage. I have to love God enough to love my wife even when my flesh is screaming not to. I have to deny myself. What God may be asking you to do, or not to do, can be different than this. And knowing it is easy. Are you doing it, or do you have it for God, or for yourself. Deny yourself, die to your flesh. Life is not about you!

If you stand in the mirror, what will the reflection tell you about your relationship with God, and what are you going to do about it? May the peace of God be abundantly heaped upon you and your home, straight from the cross to the Christian!

Satan was working overtime!

There is nothing that wastes the body like worry, and one who has any faith in God should be ashamed to worry about anything whatsoever. Mahatma Gandhi

This past week has been a winner. Satan was working overtime, at least in my life. I had a lot of anxiety and troubling thoughts go through my mind. I have prayed over those things, and that is all between God and me. However, the lesson that I learned from it is what has brought me peace. I know I did the right things, as it was all in my service to God. I cannot tell you about the peace that came over me after reading His word. There were two major events this past week. The first was in my private life and the other in my work life. It was the word of God that delivered to me the message that I am going to share here. I praise God for it, and beg that the spirit guide me through.

Matthew 6- 25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

About the picture;

I was out hunting for Turkey once and snapped this photo with my phone. I was laying in a hole, and turned my head and saw this little guy hard at work. I wondered what this spider was thinking as we were both doing the same thing, looking for food. I was willing to work for it, and obviously so was he. I came to the conclusion that he probably wasn’t thinking about much at all. He is doing what God designed him to do, he is never going to run out of that silk to make the web, and God is going to send some insects into that web for provisions, just as God promised He would do. Nope, that little guy probably wasn’t worried about too much of anything. Unlike me, who was worrying about whether or not I was going to see a turkey.

John Calvin says, “By these words it is far from being our Lord’s intention to encourage us to indolence and sluggishness. All that he means is, that, though other means fail, the providence of God is alone sufficient for us, for it supplies the animals abundantly with every thing that they need.”

So I start off this week knowing I have a big Friday meeting. Not that many people were attending, but ‘big’ in the importance of the topic. I had limited contact with my boss, and one helper (she was and awesome helper by the way). The topic of the meeting was not something that I like to do. I know it is a weakness of mine, and I feel that I am very bad at it. It is not something I ever professed to be good at, but as a part of my job, I have to do it. As Friday neared, my anxiety increased.

Worry is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained- Arthur Somers Rache

 

At the same time, I am dealing with a couple issues in my private life. First, my dad saw a doctor and was told that he has a medical issue that is known to be a cancerous condition, so he needs to go see a specialist and have tests done. Then satan rears his ugly head in the relationship of some church goers. Lies, evil speaking, contention, resistance to righteous correction, and flat out meanness abounded every single day this week. I was grateful for Wednesday night prayer service, but I was even more grateful for the Holy Spirit that leads me daily. I am even more grateful for the word of God that comforts me and teaches me. I am grateful for Matthew 6.

When you look at the animals in nature, do you ever wonder if they worry? According to this scripture, they do not. God takes care of them. I believe they don’t even have the capacity to worry. They simply do what they were designed to do, and don’t think of anything else. Once again, it is man that messes that up. If God takes care to dress the field, feed the birds, and bring beauty to the flower, what is it that makes us feel like He will not take care of us. Well, what are the last five words of verse 30. “O you of little faith”. We make ourselves feel that way because of our lack of faith. How do we get to the point where we lack faith? We take our eyes off of God.

Matthew 6- 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

God has stated over and over that he knows what we need. So there I sit, allowing the thoughts of how I hate this piece of my job, and how I believe I stink at it consume me instead of just turning it over to God. I am worried about how I will present, and what will I say. I shut the rest of the job out on Friday to focus on the coffee, water, snacks, hand-out materials, and so on. Instead of seeking the kingdom of God, I focus on the “in front of my face”. One would think that this lesson pressed upon my heart would be sufficient here. The spirit kept on pressing.

KEY VERSE

Matthew 10- 34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.

So why is a verse that tells me Jesus did not come here to bring peace being pressed on my mind by the spirit when peace is what I am looking for? God did not send Jesus to this world to fix anything. He did not send Jesus to make anything right, as a matter of forced behavior. He sent Jesus to teach us how to be right, how to fix our own lives through that teaching. The sword that is mentioned here is the gospel. And the gospel cuts through the darkness separating the obedient from the disobedient. Jesus did not come to lump everyone together and makes us all followers against our will, so that we could all be the same. He came to tell the truth, which is His gospel, and for you and me to use it in our own lives. Does it make sense that free will could be the greatest gift and the greatest curse? Instead of lumping us together the sword of the gospel separates us according to our faith or lack thereof. The world tells me to worry about that meeting, and pay attention to all these worldly things. The Gospel says accept Christ as the head of your life and let God worry about these things. So peace comes, but only by accepting Christ.

John Gill says, “By the “sword” may be meant the Gospel, which is the means of dividing and separating the people of Christ from the men of the world, and from their principles and practices, and one relation from another; as also of divisions, discords, and persecutions arising from it: not that it was the intention and design of Christ, in coming into the world, to foment and encourage such things; but this, through the malice and wickedness of men, was eventually the effect and consequence of his coming where, instead of a “sword”, it is “division”; because the sword divides asunder, as does the sword of the Spirit, the word of God.”

 

Matthew 10- 35 For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

To further illustrate this point Jesus tells us that our focus on Him should look so singular, that our affection towards our loved ones should look like we do not love each other at all. Now Jesus doesn’t expect children to hate their parents and parents to hate the children. He expects you to love Him so much more that these. This is an illustration of what looking above looks like. That there is nothing, not our wives, husbands, children, parents, no person that comes before God, and that the next person in line does not even come close. Picking up your cross is an illustration of denying yourself. Not only should your love for God be so great that it looks like you do not love anyone else, but also that you do not love yourself. When Jesus took up his cross, it was the burden for being God. It was not something he wanted to do and only had to deny being God to be able to put the cross back down. Picking up the cross and following Christ is the illustration of you saying, “I am a child of Jesus Christ, and I deny my flesh and all my desires of this world to follow Him.” God comes first. When you have that, you have a “God centered” worship.

John Trapp writes, “God will have us to hold him to be better to us than ten sons: and to bestow all our love upon him, as most worthy. What he gives us back again, we may bestow upon others; loving our friends in God, and our enemies for God. But the love of Christ must constrain us to part with all, though never so dear and near unto us, for his sake.”

Half way through the day on Friday I prayed over this meeting. I turned it all over to God. It was a great meeting. I was supposed to have more than one helper, but God sent only one. God knows what he is doing. She was the only helper I needed and she was awesome. I am hopeful for the future endeavors with these people and the mission of this meeting. With regard to the other attacks, I examined the things I said and the purpose for which I said them, regarding the person in the church. I believe the words were right, I believe the correction was stern, but with love. I believe that no matter how it was received I believe I was in the service of the LORD. ‘Man centered’ worshippers rarely want to hear correction, no matter how you deliver it. I planted the seed, the rest is up to God. I am confident that I put God first in that too. My hands and mind are no match for cancer. That is turned over already!

“Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith.” Henry Ward Beecher

If you stand in the mirror, what will the reflection tell you about your relationship with God, and what are you going to do about it? May the peace of God be abundantly heaped upon you and your home, straight from the cross to the Christian!

Home is where the heart is!

I am divorced. The reason is not because she fell in love with another man. It is not because of an affair. It is not because of any behavior that she did. There is only one reason why I am divorced and that reason is because my marriage was not important to me. The world, which is to say ‘satan’, will have me to believe it was her fault for all these reasons. Because of her behavior, satan and all his agents in the world say I should hate her. In fact, satan and his agents in this world would have me hate women as a whole. Nevertheless, I have to be honest and tell the truth. It was not her fault, it was mine.

Have you ever heard it said, “Home is where the heart is.” Have you ever heard this one (or something similar), “show me a person’s checkbook and I will show you their priorities.” My heart was not in the marriage. My checkbook shows other passions. I was giving more time to the VFW than my wife and son. I was giving more time to work. I was buying dumb things that fell apart and wasted away. I spent more money on alcohol than my family. I was giving more of my love to my friends than my family. I am not saying that what was done was right. I am saying that a flower that is not watered does not grow. A car not filled with gas will not run. A switch not flipped does not electrify the light. I took a lot for granted and did not nurture the most important people in my life, my wife and son. And the absolute worst part of it all, I justified all I did. I did it with passion. Even drinking, meaning I never just had a beer. When I drank, there was only one purpose, to get drunk. With every behavior I did, I screamed to my wife that I did not care about her. I did not love her. Even though the words “I want a divorce” and “I am not in love with you anymore” made me realize how much I did love her, the fact remains that for many years my behavior was hurting her as much as those words hurt me. Yep, no doubt about it. My marriage was simply not at the top of my priority list. I told her all the time that I loved her. I tell God that I love him, that I am His, that His will be done. But I do not act like it.

Ralph W. Emerson once said, “Who you are speaks so loudly I can’t hear what you’re saying.”

Do you really think that God does not know where your true love lies. Is it with him, or with you. My ex-wife is not God, but over the years even she was able to look past my words and see that I was more about myself than her. How painful that must have been. How painful it must be to God to hear his children say I love you, only to know, not needing behavior because He is God and knows the minds of man, that we only really love ourselves.

Colossians 3: 1If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. 5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

After we make a huge mistake, I think it is fair to say that most of us look back over that mistake and start picking at places that were pivotal. I certainly do. I did that after my divorce. What did I do wrong? What could I have done differently? People say not to do this, but let’s be honest, we do it anyway, at least I did. As I have grown in my faith, I have come to understand a lot of things. My “I wish I would have….” list is pretty extensive at this time in my life. I know, again, that people say this is a bad thing, a waste of time. But I think it helps me make better decisions today. I remember things, and tell myself, “Hey, don’t do that again….remember how that worked out last time?” Colossians 3:1 is a verse that I wish I would have had drilled into my head as a child instead of Roman’s 8:28. I think this verse sets the priority for the Christian. My marriage failed because I did not treat it with the importance, respect, and love it required; therefore, it died. It occurs to me that if I would have applied Colossians 3:1 to it, things might have turned out differently. Having said all this, I get to this question, “Am I making the same mistake over again with my relationship with God?”

If I am risen with God actually means “since I am saved”. This is not a comment of doubt. It is God saying, this is what being risen in me looks like. Since I believe I am saved, then all matters of my life will be driven by my focus on heaven, on God. If I profess my love for Christ, am I expressing my love through obedience, or am I committing spiritual adultery? I believe not giving most of your attention, that being distracted, whether it is a woman, booze, gambling, work, even an overzealous drive to work out and have a perfect body, from my wife was adultery none-the-less. I did not pay attention to her. God says that we are to put Him first. He is the head of our lives and that, unlike the attention we give each other that is not all we have, we are to absolutely never take God off our minds. We engage in many activities, including activities of work and service to others, and that is all good, as long as our motivation is God. We stop glorifying Him when we start working to make more money because we love money, we start working out because we love our body, we drink because we love alcohol, and so on. When any activity takes away from the priorities set by God, it doesn’t matter how great it is, it is now sinful because you are now being disobedient in doing it.

The greatest sin is Idolatry. It is the sin that fits most activity. In fact, there are countless sins that can be reduced to the root sin of idolatry. Love of your own body, love of your own happiness, the desire to be loved by others, and so on. In my first marriage I was such an idolater. I was worried about one thing, me!

Key Verse

17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

The bible is written in many ways. There are poems, stories (parables), idioms, and there are commands. It is broken down into two basic forms of English. Indicatives, and imperatives. Some verses are meant for you to think, and some are meant for you to follow. I think that Colossians 3:17 is a verse that is straight forward and is meant at a command. I believe it is an imperative statement. I believe it needs no interpretation and is meant to be followed. Whether I (and you) am cooking dinner for the family, at work earning an honest living, running to stay healthy, being a husband or wife, being a son or daughter, I am to do it all in the name of Jesus, giving him thanks. Notice the first four words. “In whatsoever you do…” I believe that covers everything; leaving you no room to allow your earthly mind to create exceptions. Look at the next four words, “in word or deed…” Again, that pretty much covers everything. The fact that Paul took the time to clarify is one of the things that makes me see this not as a suggestion, not as something that is poetic, but as a command. Additionally, I believe the manner of writing here also indicates that this command is totally inclusive of all behaviors. Everything we do is to bring Glory to God.

I have talked about my first marriage because I feel like this lesson would have served me well in my youth. Things might have not ended differently because another lesson that I wish I would have learned earlier in my life was being equally yoked. But to stay on topic, I think recognizing that if not giving the appropriate attention to a spouse can lead to a divorce; it is fair to wonder what the consequences can be to the relationship with God if I treat Him the same way. God requires it; His word commands us to give it. It warns us of the things in the world. I think that accepting Christ into your heart is supposed to change you. It doesn’t just mean that there are a select few behaviors we don’t engage in. I laugh because some Christians are like, “I can’t do that because it is against the law, and Christians don’t break the law.” I find that funny because, while it is true, I believe the law has become so encompassing that I don’t believe anyone who tells me that they don’t break the law. From speeding, to failing to signal, to spitting on the sidewalk, there are just so many ways to break the law. However, I think it is funny because NO ONE should break the law. Obeying the law is what we are all supposed to do, and does not separate you from the world. What separates us is that we do not do things that are legal, but do not bring ultimate glory to God. We have to refrain from the things that are not only illegal to man, but bring sin into our lives. I speak of things like watching movies that put the thoughts of lust into your mind, like engaging in behaviors that cause you to worship other things besides God, to love something so much that it takes time away from God. That is exactly the behavior I talked about above. It did not work for my first marriage, and it is not going to work in my salvation.

John 14: 15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. .

Again, the word ‘if’ here is not meant as doubt. It is saying since you love me, since I am in your mind, since you are following me, you will keep my commands. Many of us think, just like I did in my marriage, that I can give a little attention and it will all be okay. In the same regard, I can go to church once or twice a week, maybe spend ten or fifteen minutes reading the bible a couple days a week and it will all be okay. God says not! If I love God I will deny myself and do what he tells me. I will keep my mind set on him, not on getting out of church on time for football. I will not put anything before him.

Of this John Gill says, “Christ is Lord over his people, as he is the Creator and Redeemer of them, and as he is an head and husband to them, and as such he has a right to issue out his commands, and enjoin a regard unto them; and these are peculiarly “his”, as distinct from, though not in opposition to, or to the exclusion of, his Father’s commands; such as the new commandment of loving one another, and the ordinances of baptism, and the Lord’s supper, which are to be observed and kept as Christ has ordered them, constantly, in faith, and with a view to his glory.”

If you stand in the mirror, what will the reflection tell you about your relationship with God, and what are you going to do about it? May the peace of God be abundantly heaped upon you and your home, straight from the cross to the Christian!

I am where I am

I remember my youth very well. I have done some things that are not at all good. I was once told by a preacher that retelling stories of old helps you hold on to things you should be letting go of. I agree with that. But sometimes, when I meet someone who thinks they are so wrong that they are unforgivable, I have to pull out a story or two. No, I am not the worse person on earth, as far as earthly measurements go. But I think there is a characteristic to God that we all seem to forget. A sin is a sin is a sin. No one sin outranks another.

Romans 3- 9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; 10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: 14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood: 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways: 17 And the way of peace have they not known: 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.

We all grieve the spirit. Those of us who speak evil in the name of giving the rest of us a piece of their mind, bring about as much destruction on their soul as those who murder, rape, and grieve the Holy Spirit himself. To God it is all a disobedient work against His will.

There are those who believe that Jesus made it easier by being the walking example of love. I would say that Jesus raised the stakes a bit. He told us that hating is just as dammed as murder, and to even think about another in a lustful way is to fornicate. The message that we should take from Jesus is that the mind is our heart and it must be sober. That is written often. Most of us think that all we have to do to be obedient to this is not drink. But again, Jesus increased our obedience level, he did not minimize it.

Romans 12- 3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

The word soberly here is Sophroneo, and it means to have a sound mind. It is possible to be sober and not have a sound mind. I know many who do not drink but are corrupted with other sin that blocks the brain from sound judgement. Addicts, gamblers, perverts, brawlers, sluggards, and many other sinful natures stop us from having a sober mind. Again, mainly because we fail to realize that the idea of having a sound mind is dependent on God and not man. If God is not the head of your life, and is not the root of your thinking, you cannot possibly have a sober mind.

John Gill comments- There is none righteous as Adam was, in a state of innocence; for all have sinned, and are filled with unrighteousness, and are enemies to righteousness; none are righteous by their obedience to the law of works; nor are there any righteous in the sight of God, upon the foot of their own righteousness, however they may appear in their own eyes, and in the sight of others; nor are any inherently righteous, for there is none without sin, sanctification is imperfect; nor is it, either in whole or in part, a saint’s justifying righteousness; indeed there is none righteous, no, not one, but those who are justified by the righteousness of Christ

When I was left to my own leadership, I was truly lost. I made very costly mistakes. And the wonderful thing about that is even though I know God has forgiven me, I am still paying the consequences for some of those mistakes. I believe many think that if God forgives that means there are no consequences. They then translate that to if God forgives then Christians should forgive. This is all true. The problem is that no matter what, consequences abound. Forgiveness does not erase consequences in all cases. It surely can, but most of the time, not so much.

In my youth I also had many friends. They are a great bunch of guys. I don’t see hardly any of them anymore, but, for most, we quietly stay in touch with each other by way of social media. Many of us are scattered, so that is the best I can do. But I have thought on many occasions that the journey God put me on led me to where I am so that, as He worked in the lives of others regarding all the things they need, I would get the things I need. God is an awesome orchestrator like that. I can say that I have a much smaller group of friends than I did while in my youth, but the Holy Ghost Power in each of them makes my present day family much stronger than it ever was. I feel fuller today than I ever have.

When I look back now, and how I got to several key points in my life, I think that God intervened in the decision because I just don’t know why I did some of the things I did. I got some awesome blessings along the way, and endured some major set-backs. I made some bad choices, and sometimes failed to act on, what I believe now, would have been better choices. But I am where I am. Is that for me, or am I here for someone else? Am I here for the now, or am I, again, being groomed for something that is yet to come? I think most of us who believe have these questions. But God’s grace fills voids in our soul better than anything else man can find on his own. We feel alone because we fail to connect, not because God left us. In fact, God has advised us how to connect.

Hebrews 13- 1 Let brotherly love continue. 2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. 3 Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body. 4 Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. 5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. 7 Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. 8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.

God tells us how to connect with others, how to fill the void, and the pitfalls to be aware of. Take notice and be active, and joy will fill that void, happiness will replace that sadness, accomplishment will erase failure, and the peace of contentment will overcome the anxiety of displeasure.

If you stand in the mirror, what will the reflection tell you about your relationship with God, and what are you going to do about it? May the peace of God be abundantly heaped upon you and your home, straight from the cross to the Christian!

That’s not baking; That’s cooking!!

I love to cook. I love to bake. Did you know there is a difference?

I love to cook because in cooking there is more freedom. I can throw this and that together and create something new. I can play with flavors and herbs and spices. I will admit that not everything I create is a winning dish. In fact there have been a couple of times that I have had to throw the dish away and order pizza. I have created some awesome dishes, and some awful dishes. But that is cooking. The only way to create wonderful things is to experiment and dare to fail.

I love to bake because it is an exercise in perfection. Just because you can read the directions, does not guarantee that perfection. There are rules to baking and you dare not violate them. I have forgotten to add baking soda, and well…..not so good. I have done things like add too much water, forgot the salt, and dare I say that making waffles with fat free milk instead of buttermilk changes the flavor more than one would think. Timing, have you ever taken a soufflé out before it was done. There are rules, and they need to be followed or you do not have the finished product you want.

I find that life is like cooking. People experiment all the time. We enjoy life because there are very little rules. And even for the ones that exist, we can break them and usually see little consequence. Most of the time, it is a lot of fun. Sometimes we make that choice that we wish we hadn’t. But when you balance it out, the good times outweigh the bad.

I find that serving God is like baking. That beautiful cake, that wonderful soufflé, that tender loaf of bread, these things cannot be attained if we do not follow the instructions.

Key Verse
James 1- 22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

James is the half-brother of Christ. He was the first head of the church of Jerusalem. He was dealing with Christians who believed that Christ was coming back immediately and so they were sitting idle waiting and hoping not to be persecuted for believing. Many of the Christians James was writing to had already been scattered across the land as a result of persecution. But James was saying, look, we all want the cake, but there are directions that we must follow until it is done. James was not saying that works is what makes the cake. I can work throwing this in and that in all day long. That’s not baking, that’s cooking! Only you can know what you will end up with. Baking God’s cake is specific, and the author of the directions is the LORD. If you want HIS cake, you will follow HIS directions.

A lot of people want to say that Paul and James write at odds with each other. I believe those who say that they write in harmony. Faith without works is not faith at all. What are you having faith in? Yourself?

John 14- 15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

This is not a command for all people to keep God’s commandments. This is a requirement to your decision to partake of God’s cake. This is ingredient number one. If you want God’s Cake, you will follow His ordinances. If you do not want God’s cake, if you do not love Jesus Christ, you will not have the cake. After all, God does not send his creation to hell, they chose to send themselves to hell. They chose to eat their own cake. In other words, if you have faith, you will do the work. If you want the cake, you will want to follow the instructions. It is your choice to want God’s cake, or your own.

One great example is the parable of the rich man. Mark 10- 17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? 18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. 19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. 20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. 21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. 22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.

This man wanted Jesus’s cake, but wanted to follow his own recipe. He held on to his earthly possessions, and lost salvation. You desire God, but hold on to your earthly possessions. You want a godly relationship with a man or woman, but engage in sexual sin. You engage in sexual immorality outside the bonds of marriage and expect a blessing. Is that the directions in God cake? We want obedient children, but we either abuse or neglect “spare the rod spoil the child”. We want eternal life, but we want to be drunk even more. We want eternal life, but we want to disobey our parents, engage in the darkness of the world, be entertained by sinful movies and music. We want to have eternal life with a loving God but we want to hate people because of the color of their skin or their politics. We all have that thing, or more accurately THOSE THINGS, which is equal to the rich man’s possessions and we will not let go of them. Make no mistake; you can cry LORD, LORD all you want, you can believe you have great faith all you want but if you are holding on to what God is telling you to let go of, you will walk away sad and grieved and without eternal life, just like the rich man. After all, this parable is not here for you to say that it doesn’t apply to you. The ingredient here that the man did not like, the direction he wanted to skip was that God must come first. In all the examples I cited above, in each one of them we say that we come first. That is why we will suffer the same consequence as the rich man unless we follow God’s recipe and deny our own.

So if we say yes, “I want to eat the cake, so I will commit to following the directions” what do we do when we get to a direction that we don’t like? I do not like mushrooms. So if you hand me a recipe for stuffed mushrooms, I am going to change that recipe. Is it the same recipe that you handed me? No! So God says, through His Holy word, this is my cake, here are my ingredients, and here are my directions. I do not want to insult anyone, so I will speak for myself (but I know a vast majority of you will relate with me). I said to God, I don’t like this ingredient, forgiveness. I want to hate those who hurt me. I also don’t like this direction to abstain from sexual activity until after I am married. I am going to change those two things. Believe me, I have and do change much more than that. But let’s just keep it to these two very common changes. My question is now this. Is this still God’s cake, or is it Mike’s cake? If it is Mike’s cake, then what am I saying? What I am saying is I do not want God’s cake. That is just putting it very plain. I am saying, “I don’t like God’s cake” “I can make a better cake than God” “God does not know how to bake!” Listen, we do this all day long. It is too hard to love my wife; I am going to divorce her. My husband is not worthy of my submission, I am going to do what I want. My parents are insignificant to me; I will not obey their rules. I will not act like a Christian in the world because the world makes me angry and it must feel my wrath because God’s wrath is not good enough. They must know how I feel because I am more important than God. I am the ruler of morals. I decide what is morally right because I want to be happy and so I need to follow my own moral law and not God’s because He does not know how to make me happy. All of us are baking our own cakes.

At this point, I want to point out that the cake I am speaking of here is eternal life. God’s cake is eternal life with Him in heaven. That is the cake He wants us to have. He has given us the recipe, and the directions to have eternal life and we keep telling Him NO!! Even though we say we believe, we keep trying to make God fit into our box. We keep telling Him “I don’t want to go to hell, but I don’t want to live according to your direction”. We keep on baking our own cake. Since there are only two tables to eat off of, the table of the Lamb and the table of Satan, do I really have to define which table our cakes are set on? We cannot come up with such a recipe; we cannot create such a cake. There is only one cookbook for heaven, and it is the bible.

If you stand in the mirror, what will the reflection tell you about your relationship with God, and what are you going to do about it? May the peace of God be abundantly heaped upon you and your home, straight from the cross to the Christian!