Foundation on Rock

Luke 6:48

⁴⁸ He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.

It has unmistakably been a common thread in so much in my life this year that:

1. I just have to share on the subject.
2. It has to be from God, and I'm sure of it.

I had a brief counseling session with an old friend this is week. It came up. I had a visit from a missionary working in Kenya, it came up there. In a book I'm reading, it came up there. Emails, questions in my voice mail, comments on on-line forums, everywhere I look. Here is what the Lord is putting on my heart: Christians in America have lost their knowledge, and worse yet, their zeal for a biblical foundation in the doctrine and life.

I put the blame on the 'church' corporate, and I put the blame on pastors and teachers. The information is there. Christian doctrine is there. As a pastor friend of mine who has a very real and Godly heart for overseas missions (and encourages us all to take part in short term mission trips as we should), recently noted, we have greater and easier access to more biblical teaching today than we ever had before. We also have access to more biblical teaching in this country than any other country in the world. And he's right. We sure do. This email you are reading is just one of those ways. We have internet access in 80% of American homes and half of the cell phones in America. We have pod-casts, streaming audio and video. DirecTV® carries no less than 15 'Christian' channels on just the basic package. We have broadcast and satellite radio networks we can listen to, and I've got two of them as apps on my phone. There has never been a greater availability to biblical teaching at any time or place in history. We are BLESSED to have such access….or are we?

When I was called into the ministry in 2001 and began my educational process and commitment to this calling, one of the first things that God told me when He finally revealed where I would be teaching was this: "one of the hardest things I will ask you to do is church the churched". I know He's God, and so He certainly was right. But I had no idea what I would be facing not just in teaching the people that He has sent my way over the last 5 years, but within the Christian church itself. As I pointed out to my pastor friend, we have a severe disconnect between the volume of biblical teaching we have available to us, just because it is there, does not mean it that people are getting it, and it also does not mean that what they are hearing is solid biblical teaching. The only example I have to give to support this is that with 72% or more of Americans claiming Christianity, we still have to fight legislation promoting gay marriage, abortion, and euthanasia. We are still having church counsels to review the merits as to whether we should allow openly gay pastors to remain in the pulpit. The fact remains is that for the most part, and I am generalizing, the teaching that has been made available to the Christians in this country over the last 100 years or two or three generations, has separated itself from the foundational truth that the Word of God as it is written in scripture is inerrant and dogmatic.

Our Christian foundations are not built on rocks today; instead they are built on the shifting sand of compromise. Church 'boards' are actually getting together to vote on whether they should follow the bible or not. When something is as simple as homosexuality where the scripture makes no mistake that a gay lifestyle (and many other sexual activities) is an abomination unto God, why do we even need a counsel on it, let alone a vote? Why do we need to get a 'committee' together to decide whether or not we should support the right to 'choice' in the arena of abortion when we are told that life begins at conception, and that abortion is murder? I'll tell you why. Because the average believer does not have a clue as to what the bible says or teaches. And furthermore, if they do, they allow their ideals of 'social relevancy' over-ride God's word, and they don't think two seconds about it.

The most important thing I can tell new believers is this: Get yourself plugged in to a bible teaching church. Once you have found it, commit to read through the entire bible at least twice, to be in a bible study at least weekly, and commit to be in fellowship with those people, breaking bread with those people, being in prayer with those people, and to seek church leadership anytime you have a question. BUILD your foundations on the WORD OF GOD, not on a 'feeling', not on a style of worship, not on a 'program' or because you 'like' this church or that, not because this friend goes here or does this or participates in that. Build your foundation FIRST. Because if you do not, you will be turned away by every wind of doctrine that blows in front of you or your friends, and the enemy will sift you like a handful of wheat. Dig DEEP in the Word until you hit Rock. Build there, and THEN let the Lord lead where He may.

Because Christians have not done this, we now have a church corporate full of leaders that lack solid biblical foundations. DirecTV® might have 15 Christian channels, but I'm pretty sure I could only recommend one or two as being worthy to watch! Not based on my feelings or judgment, but based on the foundation of scripture. The Mormon Church calls themselves Christian. They are not. The Catholic Church claims elite knowledge of God's revelation, that they are the only true Christian church and that the Pope is the official and chosen representative of Jesus on earth today; they have not, their doctrine contains heresy, and the Pope is not. Jim Jones and David Koresh called themselves Christians, the Popes that lead the inquisitions (acting like the modern day Muslins in their convert or die theology), called themselves Christian. These people and churches lacked a solid biblical foundation and they lead others astray.

I'm so tired of seeing Godly people who love the Lord, get sucked back into the world because some teaching has piqued their ears. I'm weary of new believers that truly have a heart for God lead into doctrines practices based on 'feelings' and social acceptance because they are following others who claim to be Christians and lack their own biblical foundation. I know plenty of people, and have heard over and over from believers that they have been Christians all their lives, that they have been going to church every week for years and some to the same church for decades, only to have their lives transformed once they are actually reading and learning their Bibles.

To know God, you've got to know His Word. Before you can practice a Godly lifestyle, we need to build our foundations so that we know what a Godly lifestyle is. A biblical worldview and lifestyle mean nothing if they are not founded on the Rock of His Word.

I implore you all; know the Word of God. We are being, and will continue to be tested by many things that look like Christianity, sound like Christianity, smell like Christianity, call themselves Christian, and are far, far from it. Do not become a victim of deception.

Cleansing the Altar of the Heart

Psalm 51: 10-13
Create in me a clean heart, oh god. Renew a right spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don't take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me again, the joy of my salvation, and make me willing to obey you. Then I will teach your ways to sinners, and they will return to you.

 I have read the verses in Psalm 53 a thousand times. But today they become new again.

When an offense is made, what shall we do? We have plenty of biblical direction in this area, both Old and New Testament. In the OT, sacrifices are made. A predetermined penalty is paid based on the offense under the law. In the NT the Law is fulfilled, we are no longer under the legalism of the law, but rather the law of love in our hearts. I can see, and hope that you all can as well, that in some cases when we make mistakes, and feelings are hurt, that it would be much easier to pay a legal fine, present a sacrifice or pay some sort of physical restitution or do some sort of penance, than it is to live through the agony of knowing that you have offended.

Living a piece of God's divine wisdom drawn out through scripture can simply be exhausting. Spiritually and emotionally we toil and struggle under the effects of the results of our choices. God created such laws as we see throughout Leviticus. Specific penalties are written for such things as wounding a neighbor's cow, trespassing into a neighbor's vineyard, or accidentally hurting someone. The law goes so deep as to tell you what to do when you break a vow, leak bodily fluids or injuring a man's genitalia. The point I wish to make is not to gross us all out with the minutia in the detail of the law. But rather, it is to point out how much easier it can be to pay a fine, or offer a sacrifice or prayer and walk away, than it is to actually deal with the sin issue in our lives and get ourselves right with God.

We have been sanctified by the body and blood of Christ (I Corinthians 1:2, Hebrews 2:11, Hebrews 10:10), and we need to take this seriously. Sanctified means set apart, made holy, consecrated. We have also been called a Holy Priesthood (I Peter 2:9), in part because of our relationship with the Holy Spirit living in us. In this manner we know (book smarts) that we are sanctified. But we need to be consciously aware of this, and make it true to our psyche and spirit. Here's an example:

When we think of the Alter in the Temple of Jerusalem we might think of sanctified or consecrated. We understand that it is a Holy thing, set apart for the precious and intimate work of God. We understand that as it is a clear picture. But what if you or I walked into the Temple and saw the altar defiled. What if we saw blood on the altar that we knew was the blood of a pig sacrificed there by a one who rejects the Living God? If we knew it to be right, and knew it within our power, anyone of us might jump at the opportunity to cleanse that alter, and return it to its sanctified state. Anyone with a heart for the Lord would wish to do the same, no matter what the cost.

But we ourselves are sanctified. We ourselves are living alters of God if you will, with the power to take whatever is placed upon us in life, and sanctify it to the glory of God. When we sin against God as David said he had done in Psalm 51, we have poured the blood of pigs onto the altar of the temple of the Holy Spirit. We have invited evil through the doors of grace, and showed it the way to the altar of our hearts. Yet what is our reaction when this sin becomes known? Do we rush to the altar to cleans it from its defilement, or do we spray-paint the altar with gold colored paint, and hope that no one notices the stains beneath?

This is what we must change in our lives, and this is why living under grace is an infinitely harder task than living under the law. The law breeds legalism, and man's methods to cleanse a situation man's way, when the only way it can honestly be done is by sanctifying ourselves before God, humbly going to Him in prayer and repentance for the peace that surpasses all understanding. Simply think about that: you know that the altar is dirty but you refuse to properly clean it? It's like knowing that the burger you are about to serve is full of e-coli, and yet you figure if you put enough ketchup on it before you service it, no one will notice!

I made an error in judgment in how to deal with a situation the other day. The end result was in effect, what I was looking to get, but because I did not really consult the Lord in prayer before hand, the process caused hurt feelings. While hurt feelings can be forgiven, and people can move past offenses, if I do not take every possible step to cleanse the altar of my heart from the defilement that I put on it, I am not doing my job. It hurts me far more to know that in the work of serving God that I have offended another, than it does to have a sin of my own. It is times like this that drive some men to seek the simplicity of legalism for personal cleansing; a prayer, a sacrifice, an offering paid or done is so much easier than going before God on our knees and confessing that we have wronged Him by defiling ourselves, the Temple of the Holy Spirit, with sin of our own choosing.

I take responsibility for my sin, and Father forgive me as I ask that you forgive us all for our offenses. The "Lord's Prayer" and Psalm 51 came alive in me today, and I pray that through my repentance I too, like David, can have a clean heart, Oh, God.

Truth - What is Truth?

John 18:38
Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?" And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, "I find no fault in Him at all.

In my studies of Martin Luther's life and experiences as a bit of Christian history that just grabs my attention, I notice that there is in fact quite a bit about what Luther went through that was unique. But at the same time, there is much, sadly way too much that he went through that parallels the Church today 493 years later. But then again, Luther sought nothing more than what Pontius Pilate wanted himself.

As I shared this Sunday in my sermon, 'those who fail to learn from history are destined to repeat it' (a quote often accredited to Winston Churchill, but more likely first coined by Spanish poet and novelist George Santayana). What I'm seeing today is that the struggle that so often lies within the heart of man, to know truth; and that since truth is true, that we therefore have to believe it and ergo live by it, is being replaced by a different 'truth'. Why? Because they do not know their history, Christian or otherwise.

A wise commentator once said that with regards to the Christian religion, if it is new, it is not a revelation. And if it is truly a revelation it is not true. I sit here typing this, telling you that I have proudly used the works of hundreds of authors and pastors and preachers who came before me in my messages. In every occasion where I have had the privilege to contact the actual author of the material I am reading or studying, they have all gladly given permission for me to use their material. That's the way it is. I shared with my wife just a few weeks ago that there is no message that have shared, or ever will share about the bible that has not already been shared or taught by someone before me. But at this point I digress in my thinking. If this really is true, that the bible is the bible, that all the messages have already been shared, and that those who do know history are less likely to repeat it, then why are we repeating so many mistakes in the church today? Grave mistakes that have been made before and seemingly will be made again every couple of generations.

The answer to that question is truth. Which brought me again to today's verse.

I have a strange heart perhaps, in that I find Pontius Pilate a pitiable creature. My heart aches for Pilate each and every time I read or recount that story in scripture of Jesus standing before him. It almost brings me to tears just thinking of the man himself, and how his personal ambitions allowed him to get to a station in life where he was faced with the folly of his pride: Agree with the crowd and do what is best for Rome and save my job, title, glory and my own skin, OR, go with what I know in my heart to be true. One action meant condemning an innocent man to death so that he might live out his life in peace. The other meant a life eternal if he had only allowed himself to act on his conscience.

First let me say that Pilate's decision failed. His intent in allowing an innocent man to die was so that he might live out his life in peace. This did not happen. A peaceful life was an eventuality that escaped Pilate all together as he was stripped of his honor and title and wealth, sent to live in relative obscurity with the rest of the Roman poor only to (according to tradition) take his own life after years of being riddled and eventually driven mad by his own conscience. So by making the decision that he thought was right, he turned his back on what was really true.

Pilate asked about truth. The irony is that Truth stood right before him in the form of a fleshly man who was yet fully God. We have all heard the saying something like this, "you wouldn't know truth is it looked you in the eye!" Where do you think that bit of wisdom originated? Pilate literally had TRUTH standing before him, and asked, "What is truth?" Most people will teach that Pilate asked facetiously. But what if he didn't? A good case can be built that he did ask with sincerity. He pronounced the man innocent three times, and turned him over to others for treatment and release twice. His wife warned him to have nothing to do with the man.
Someone once said, and we have all heard, "the truth hurts". Well that may be true when the truth brings conviction. But real truth beings with it salvation. And like truth, salvation can be had in only one place, the heart of Jesus Christ. The question is not do you know the truth. The question is what do you do with the truth? The demons know and tremble, yet they are not saved. Satan lived in the presence of God, and yet a special place has been built for him, Hell.

Truth is not something we wax philosophical about. Truth is not something we debate. Truth is the Way. Truth is the Life. Truth is Jesus; and Jesus is the Word. His Word is Truth, and we best know it. Study God's word. Know truth. Know Jesus, and allow Him to set you free from a world of lies that seeks to destroy you. Join Pilate in asking, "What is Truth", but unlike Pilate, ACT on it!

If you do not have a quality bible teaching church that you are attending at least weekly. Find one near you and get plugged in. You eternity depends on it.

Self-Esteem & Alternative Lifestyles

In America today, self esteem is not only touted as perhaps the root to progress in every area of your life, it is a staple doctrine for teachers, counselors, psychologists and 'BFF's' everywhere you go.

Wikipedia defines Self-esteem as: "… a term used in psychology to reflect a person's overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs (for example, "I am competent-incompetent") and emotions (for example, triumph-despair, pride-shame). Behavior may reflect self-esteem (for example, assertiveness-shyness, confidence-caution)." One social commentator wrote, "Self-esteem is a core identity issue, essential to personal validation and our ability to experience joy. Once achieved, it comes from the inside out. But it is assaulted or stunted from the outside in. A woman with low self-esteem does not feel good about herself because she has absorbed negative messages about women from the culture and/or relationships."

Interestingly, Webster's Dictionary defines self-esteem this way: "–noun 1. a realistic respect for or favorable impression of oneself; self-respect. 2. an inordinately or exaggeratedly favorable impression of oneself. Origin: 1650–60. —Synonyms See pride.

I found this to be quite revealing. As scripture reflects on self-esteem, we are most often pointed away from one's self, and towards others. Our lives, we are told, are to be Christ centered, or 'others centered' (see the awesome book, The Jesus Style, by Gale Erwin), and not self-centered. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not about going through life in a state of self-loathing and walking about with your head hung thinking that this is somehow the secret to a happy life; not at all. I, like God, want all people to live a fulfilled and joyful life, a life abundant. But I want that joy to be real, not mustered-up enthusiasm based on false hopes, unreal expectations and lies about the human 'condition' or false, unbiblical 'name-it-and-claim-it' charismania.
When we look into God's word He seems to be clear on this. Self-esteem defined by the world's standards is not the direction we need to be going. When you read the dictionary definition of self-esteem, it not only implies pride, but names it a synonym and includes as the secondary definition for the word; pride. While having pride in and of itself is not sinful if it is based on just biblical cause (proud to be a Christian, proud to be a lover of Jesus, proud to have read through my bible in a year for the third year in a row…), pride as in worldly a state of 'inordinately or exaggeratedly favorable impression of oneself' is not only unhealthy, it is unbiblical.

The gospel of Mark records these words spoken by Jesus: "³⁴ When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." Not only are we called to deny ourselves (ourselves meaning our fleshly and worldly desires) the way we want to do things, but we are to bear with Christian humility the things that the world throws at us as we devote our live to following Jesus. Our high school counselors will look at our emotionally and hormonally charged teens questioning an 'alternative' lifestyle and encourage them to do what you 'feel is right', and 'whatever your heart is telling you to do, stand proud of who you are, and fight against those who do not support you'. The reality is, that an alternative lifestyle is one that Jesus spoke of above, and Paul writes of in Philippians 2:3-4 reminds us "³Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind; let each esteem others better than himself. ⁴ Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others." Compared to the way the world handles things, that is truly an alternative lifestyle.

Living in such a way that we long to serve others, thinking purposefully to esteem yourself lower than others, considering the interests, thoughts, pains, past and spiritual condition of others before you act, speak or make any decision is a lifestyle that all Christians should seek to live in, and is obviously in opposition to the world. I know, I know… this is not how we are taught to think. Freud and his cronies have been trying to tell us the opposite; that deep down man is good and that all we need to do is simply 'tap into' that good and learn how to express it. But to properly express it, we have to believe it, and to believe it we have to convince ourselves that our lifestyle choice of sin is really the best for us, as long as we believe it to be true. Yet at the same time, psychologist will agree that one of the best ways to feel better about yourself is to do kind things for other people. Random acts of kindness and all that.

Here is where God and the world depart. God tells us to live for others. Man tells us to live for ourselves. Man tells us we need to lift ourselves up and empower ourselves to overcome our adversities, or simply to accept ourselves for who we are and live with it. God tells us that the only power we have comes from Him, and that our works are like filthy rags. Ultimately the world leads us to a sense of self-pride that in the end forces the hair on the back of the neck and stand up in defiance while screaming, 'we will do this MY way and if you don't like it you are a hypocritical bigot!' Every reference to pride in the New Testament is in a negative way. God tells us to kneel in repentance, humble before Him, so that He can heal us.

Self-esteem the world's way leads to tragic ends that force us into a worldview in opposition of God. Biblical pride, is pride placed in one who we choose to Lord over us. Biblical self-esteem is esteeming ourselves as lowly sinners in desperate need of salvation, and living in the joy of the Spirit. As I Thessalonians 2:20 says of Jesus: "You are our glory and our joy!"

When Loss of Life is a Just Price to be Paid

Colossians 3:3"For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God."

Have you ever seen a set of hideous sideburns? I have. I've been a fan of the "king", Elvis, but with the older (and larger) he got, the more ridiculous I thought those sideburns looked. If anyone made them cool it was James Dean, Arthur Fonzarelli, or to today's generation the comic book character "Wolverine". But one thing we know for sure is that the name sake for the term 'sideburns', Civil War General Ambrose Burnsides, made a mockery of the male human face with the fuzzy architecture he carried about with him connecting his mustache with his hairline. Call them what you like, but those things could have been home to six breeding pairs of English Sparrows!

Not that it is any consolation, but Burnside's leadership was at times equally as poor as his choice of facial hair in the eyes of most historians. Starting off his military career with victorious campaigns in North Carolina and East Tennessee, he ended his career with disastrous defeats in Fredericksburg and the Battle of Crater. Later on Burnside better served his country in numerous elected offices, perhaps most notably as a Senator representing the good people of the State Rhode Island. But before he moved on to public service, he retired from military service best known for his actions in a portion of the famous battle of Antietam, at a place now and forever more known as "Burnside's Bridge".

In war, the question posed in the title of this devotional is a question that must be answered daily. As a former infantry soldier myself, I know that from time to time this price must be paid in human blood. Sacrifices must be made in order to gain or retain many God given freedoms. Some will argue this point of view and today's look into this topic (as you shall see shortly) is not meant to delve into that arena and so we will not spent much time there. I recently heard a 1996 sermon by none other than Jon Courson where he so aptly repeated, "Sacrifice releases much reward. Great sacrifice releases GREAT reward", and how true that is. But the bottom line is that sometimes loss of life is required in order that some be saved. This is as necessary to secure a human future free of the entrapments of physical slavery, as it is to secure a spiritual future free from the bondage to sin.

In our church yesterday, we started going through the book of Exodus. As an introduction it was easy to draw parallels between the Hebrews and their plight to escape the slavery of man, and the God designed picture of the same troubles man has in needing to escape the snare of a slavery to sin. I used other parallels in the life of David, the nation of Israel as a whole, and others to help focus the point. While the nation of the Hebrews, there referred to as the 'sons of Abraham' were no doubt enslaved by the Egyptian King who did not know Joseph. But God's point was that their slavery was far deeper than just the physical.
Paul put it best in Romans chapter 6: "⁴ Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. ⁵ For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, ⁶ knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. ⁷ For he who has died has been freed from sin."

By Paul's point in human history the comparison, the 'picture' if you will was not no longer needed. In Moses time as God raised him up to be their deliverer from the bondage of slavery, the symbolism of the true coming Savior was needed. The Hebrews needed the symbolism of the death of the innocent lamb. They needed the symbolism of the doorframe and lintels baptized in the blood of that lamb. They needed the symbolism of the eating of the bitter herbs. They needed the symbolism of leaving their old home, and to leave for their new home with nothing but the clothes on their backs, and what they could carry in their arms. But now we no longer need the symbolism, as we now have the example in Christ.

Having given our lives over to Jesus to be our Lord and savior, bringing His gift of the Holy Spirit into our own hearts to lead us, it is easy to see that we need a Savior. It is time that we let Jesus be our Lord. The old man is dead and buried, and we must leave him there. It we are with Jesus in the death of our sin, we are with Jesus in the life of our spirit, and therefore this life needs to reflect the source. Dying to one's self is important. Dying to one's self so that Christ might live in me is the justifiable loss of life required so that we might live. The loss of our life is not only justifiable, it is necessary that the new man, renewed in Christ might live. Letting the old man die, is the just price to be paid for life eternal.

No one said this would be easy. Jesus prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane proved that. Even for Jesus, He had to commit to sacrificial and costly prayer sapping the energy out of him, and draining Him physically and spiritually to align His will with that of the Father in Heaven. We must be willing to do the same. Dying to self, and making sure that the old man stays dead sometimes requires hard work, and dancing on the grave of things of the past in the joy of our future. When it seems too hard, we must remember the sacrifice paid. Romans 5:6 tells us, "For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly." A sacrifice was made for us, it is high time we sacrifice for Him. The only sacrifice we can give to God that will have any affect is to make ourselves a living sacrifice; Holy and acceptable to God which is our reasonable service.

This type of sacrifice may not be the same as those paid men under command of Generals like Burnside. But if we, through patriotism, honor and duty are willing to do so for our nation created by God, why not for God Himself?

The Christian Mulligan?

1 Corinthians 15:31
I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

How many times have you been faced with circumstances in your life where you throw your head into your hands and think, "man, if I could just do that over". If you are like most of us, it has happened more than a time or two I'm guessing. My point; we all have things we wish we could have done differently. The good news is that God can use even our foibles for good, but will we?

Our Wednesday night bible study is going through 2 Samuel. In there we see David make mistakes, Amnon make mistakes, Absalom make mistakes and others as well. Bad choices are not limited to the Old Testament either. Most of the disciples fumbled from time to time. Paul fought God's will in his life and tried over and over to take the message of the Gospel to the Jews, when God had given that responsibility to Peter. Peter tried to tell Jesus what to do, and then later denied Him three times (not bad for the first "Pope"…), and was later restored. Judas gave Jesus up to the enemy, and in spite of feeling remorse, did not repent.

Mulligans are something we'd all like to have in life, not just golf. Yet as bad as we want them, would we really do things differently if given the chance?

God is a God of mercy. He is a god of second, third and forth chances. But He is also a God of justice, and we are fallen, sinful creatures pushed and pulled by the world, the old man, and by our human nature. But being indwelt with the Holy Spirit, each believer has been given authority and power over sin, the world and the old man. Our problem is that we give in to him too often. Our Spirit is willing, but our flesh is weak. Scripture proves we are not alone in this position. This being the case, how many of us really would do things differently if given the chance? I'm going to probably shock you and say, not many.

Sure, it's easy to say, "I would do things different", or to look at a decision we made and failed our faith or offended a brother and say, "I've grown a lot since then", or "I'd never do that/act that way if I had a second chance". But let's be honest with ourselves and examine our hearts, and our actions, because God has surely already given you a second chance at a behavior, or a choice. Just because we do not physically go back in time like some ethereal 'slider' from some late '80's TV show, does not mean that God does not give us second chances.

How many times have we mishandled a corrective action with our children only to repeat it the next day? How many times have we been course without spouse one day, and do the same thing the next? How many times have we made a decision to do something, say something, think something ~ knowing that it is not God's intended best for us (His will), and then done it again sometime later on?

You see, God is a God of second chances, but we are children descendant of sin. Born as sinners, we are indwelt with the Spirit of God at our conversion and instantly and permanently forgiven of all our sin, past and present. We are given the power to overcome sin in all circumstances, and yet we still choose self over God over and over. We need to make sure the old man is dead. We will have failings, and for them we are certainly forgiven, but if our heart does not seek to please God rather than ourselves we will not change. We can never make the wholesale change in our life towards choosing God, until we have made the fundamental change in our heart. That change; Die to self.

Each day when the sun comes up, God has given us another chance. Each day we much choose to live for Christ and die to self. Stop thinking the 'what if I had a second chance', because you do. Even is an offense has been made yesterday, you have today to make it right. No, words cannot be taken back once they have been said, but appeals can be made and love can be shared. Make today the day that you decide to choose the Spirit over self. We are refreshed daily, why not die daily? To stip ourselves OF ourselves is perhaps the single most important thing we can do in practical Christian living.

Thanks for reading, and have a nice die… I mean day. J

Compromise

Standing firm against the world and tradition.

Mark 7:8
For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men —the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.”



Funny how things work like this. I was reading to my lovely wife in bed the other night, something we'll do for each other from time to time, and the book I chose to read from was an all time favorite of mine titled, "Practical Christianity". The book is written by William Wilberforce whose life story was so brilliantly told a few years back in the movie 'Amazing Grace'. Something that I read there struck me, as it always does when I read this book. In spite of the fact that this book was written in the mid 1800's its content is still true today. The next night, I reached for a different book for my nightly reading, and the same theme is brought up again, this time by another author in a book that was just published in 2009. Funny as in God is orchestrating this in His sovereignty so I need to be paying attention.

The theme has to do with compromise. It's about allowing ourselves to get to the point spiritually where we begin to allow ourselves to slip in our convictions, allowing more and more of the world into our lives; he whole boiling of a frog issue again. Turn the heat up slowly and the frog will never jump out. He'll feel like he's in a hot-tub and the next thing you know he's cooked. The problems with compromise are that it is almost always done with our knowledge, and yet we allow it just the same.

Today I applaud the leaders of the new North American Lutheran Church who, acting as righteous dissenters, left the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America who last August voted at the national assembly to formally allow pastors in committed same-sex relationships to lead their congregations. At some point one has to say enough is enough, and choose the unchanging dogmatic absolute truths of God as given to us in scripture. Several hundred congregations of the ELCA have been functioning as rogues refusing to submit to church authority, as they should in such a case where church or secular law comes into conflict with God's law. Now, they will have their own denomination submitted to the Lord's authority on this issue.

But consider this: for this event within the ELCA to take place, someone had to stand firm on God's word, and stop the compromise. And compromise is exactly what it was.
William Wilberforce wrote: "Their standard of right and wrong is not the standard of the Gospel: they approve and condemn by a different rule: they advance principles and maintain opinions altogether opposite to the genius and character of Christianity." This is compromise. As we begin to give a little, the enemy takes a lot. In an explanation as to how we allow ourselves to get to that point, author Graham Scroggie said of compromise, "It causes us to be silent when we out to speak, out of fear of offending. It prompts us to praise when it is not deserved to keep people our friends. It prompts us to tolerate sin and not to speak out because to do so might give us enemies".

Let me be perfectly clear. The gospel is an offense to some people. Yet to those people whom are offended by it, they need salvation as much as the ones who are not offended but are still not believers. Galatians 5:11 states, "And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased." Paul is himself aware that there are people who will be offended by the truth because it goes against their traditions. In regards to people's faith, the truth often times goes against the traditions that people have known all their life. Truth often times finds itself in opposition to what we 'know' or have been taught. What we sometimes do not consider is this: We do not like to compromise, but the truth CANNOT compromise.

What does this mean? In the end we can 'think' or 'feel' whatever we like, and sincerely believe that we are right, and yet be just as sincerely wrong. We HAVE to give, because the truth is always right, the truth in uncompromising, and the truth is unchanging. And Jesus IS the truth. So to choose our ways, our traditions over the truth of the scriptures because it makes us 'feel uncomfortable', or because we are somehow 'offended', we are looking Jesus in the eye and saying one of two things:

1. I'm offended by the cross, and I'm walking away.
2. I'm offended by myself, and walk towards Him.

I'll close with another quote from William Wilberforce.
"Bountiful as is the hand of Providence, its gifts are not so bestowed as to seduce us into indolence; but to rouse us to exertion; and no one expects to attain to the height of learning, or arts, or power, or wealth, or military glory, without vigorous resolution, and strenuous diligence, and steady perseverance. Yet we expect to be Christians without labour, study, or inquiry… The diligent perusal of the Holy Scriptures would discover to us our past ignorance. We should cease to be deceived by superficial appearances, and to confound the Gospel of Christ with the systems of philosophers; we should become impressed with the weighty truth, so much forgotten in the present day, that Christianity calls on us, as we value our immortal souls, not merely in general, to be religious and moral but specially to believe the doctrines, imbibe the principles, and practise the precepts of Christ."

[note: By the way, to my critical proofreaders, those are not misspelled words in the quote, it's the King's English!]