A Battered Warrior

Have We Missed The Mark?

Acts 4:32-35  "All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need."

 

The early church took care of the people, and God's grace was overflowing. I believe that was part of the early appeal of the church, the people saw God in them. Unfortunately today some churches and "Christians" are missing the mark. When we neglect caring for the poor, sharing God's grace, and modeling God's love to the rest of the world we undermine the appeal of Christianity. We were created to be different, to stand out from the norms. Throughout the years we have seen many ministries derailed by scandal and each time one falls Christianity, as a whole, takes a hit.

Imagine if the churches today, your churches, followed the model of the early church... would things be different? The verses state, "There were no needy persons among them." The early church took care of the members, do we? Somewhere we started missing the mark. We started justifying our actions and lowering the standards of what was acceptable - now we have convinced ourselves that we are doing fine, but we have forgot the original standard. Take some time and think about your church and your personal walk with God, are you hitting the intended mark that God set for you or have you adjusted it to suit your standards?

"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door, and deny him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable." - Brennan Manning

 

A Work In Progress...

Philippians 1:3-6  "I thank God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

 

Do you ever feel like a screw up? That you will never be ready to do what you feel God has called you to do? Or worse, do you ever feel that you have made it? That God has honed you and is ready to release you to the world and you have "made it". 

Paul wrote this letter to the Christians at Philippi while he was in prison. His letter was full of joy and encouragement, and also a few warning. These verses tell of the joy Paul feels when he thinks about the church in Philippi, but he also offers some encouragement. He tells them to be confident that God will continue to work in them until it is complete, that he will not quit on them or forget them. That is truly encouraging, God will complete what He began in our lives. He will never leave us and He will continue to transform us.

Some people stop reading there, they are happy about the encouragement, but they miss the warning. When will the work be complete? "...until the day of Christ Jesus." Wait a minute. This letter was written to a group of believers about 60 to 62 AD... that means they died and God was still working. What does that mean to us? It means that God will continue working in us and through us until we die or He returns - His choice. However it also means that if we allow Him to, we will be transformed each day. We will go to bed better than we woke up... that we are constantly under construction and our failures today do not limit our future potential.

Thoughts From Max Lucado

1 John 4:18  "Perfect love casts out fear."

 

 In addition to my normal readings I picked up a copy of Grace for the Moment by Max Lucado. Tonight's entry I just had to share...

    Have you ever gone to the grocery on an empty stomach? You're a sitting duck. You buy everything you don't need. Doesn't matter if it is good for you - you just want to fill your tummy. When you're lonely, you do the same in life, pulling stuff of the shelf, not because you need it, but because you are hungry for love.

Why do we do it? Because we fear facing life alone. For fear of not fitting in, we take the drugs. For fear of standing out, we wear the clothes. For fear of appearing small, we go into debt and buy the house. For fear of going unnoticed, we dress to seduce or to impress. For fear of sleeping alone, we sleep with anyone. For fear of not being loved, we search for love in all the wrong places.

But all that changes when we discover God's perfect love. And "perfect love casts out fear."

 

What You Want Or What You Need?

Acts 3:1-10  "One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer - at three in the afternoon. Now a man crippled from the time of birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I will give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him."

 

After reading this passage, I decided to do some research. During these times, Jews observed three times of prayer, morning (9 am), afternoon (3 pm) and evening (sunset), so these were the busiest times at the Temple. The Beautiful Gate was the preferred entrance to the Temple, combine that with belief that giving money to a beggar was considered praise worthy in the Jewish religion and you have the perfect place for someone to go if they were begging for money. The man had been crippled his entire life and he knew that if he placed himself at the Beautiful Gate that he would most likely receive more money, not only because more people would pass by but there were also more people to see them give him money!

So now we have the scene set, a man that has been a beggar his entire life is positioned at the best spot to to receive money from the people entering the Temple. He sees Peter and John approaching and they tell him to look at them. This must have been normal, because the man looked and expected. Then his life was radically changed. But do you think for a second he was disappointed? I do. When he heard Peter say, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you." I can imagine at that instant he thought "Great, I need money and what is this guy going to do?" I think it would be natural for the brief second to be disappointed.

When we pray for something and ask God to bless us, we typically have an idea of what we think we need or want. How often do we allow ourselves to be disappointed? This story just confirms that often times we are asking God for short term solutions when He is wanting to radically change our lives and situations. Can you imagine, the man was asking for money - most likely to be able to eat, but God gave him the ability to walk! If God had merely met the mans expectations, he would have been back there begging the next day. Do you think the man thought he would be healed that day? He had been begging there most likely his entire life, each day his friends would carry him to the gate and each day he would get a little money. God had a different plan, one that far exceeded the man's expectations when he looked at Peter and John... What is God planning for you?

 

Tired of Trials? Maybe You Are Being Sifted...

Luke 22:31-32  "Simon, Simon. Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."

This interaction between Jesus and Simon happened just before Jesus was arrested. Why would Jesus allow Satan to sift Simon (Peter)? Let's first look at what sifting entails.... (I pasted part of the article below http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4925686_farmers-sift-wheat.html)

Manual Threshing

Manual threshing

The first step in process of sifting wheat is to loosen the chaff from the edible grain, which is called threshing. The old fashioned way to do this is to spread the wheat onto a floor made from stone, concrete or tamped earth and to beat it with a flail. This is no longer done in the developed world, but in some places where machines are expensive and human labor is not, manual threshing is still common.

Winnowing

The next step is called winnowing, where the loosened chaff is removed from the grain. The old fashioned way of doing this was to throw the grain in the air, where the lighter chaff would be blown off by even a decent breeze. The heavier grains would fall back to the ground below where they were thrown.

 

The process of sifting wheat would be violent and painful, if you were the wheat - as Peter was. Jesus allowed Peter to be sifted because of the end result. Once the wheat was sifted only the desirable grain remained. Sifting is a purification process. The unrefined wheat is threshed, beaten against a hard surface until it is broken and easily separated from the chaff and grain. The winnowing allowed the chaff to be permanently separated from the grain. By allowing Peter to be sifted, Jesus was allowing Peter to grow and become more refined and a stronger leader - more desirable for God's purpose.

Another element to this verse is that Peter's faith could not fail during the process. If Peter's faith failed he would not have been equipped to complete God's work. He would have missed his calling. All Peter's time with Jesus was to bring him to the point of being sifted... why should we expect no different? We often think of God's calling as a magical walk, almost like a Disney movie with rainbows and blue birds singing. We do not like to consider that we must endure the purification or refining process, only as God shapes us and develops us can we be used by Him for His will. There is peace in knowing God is living in you and that He is ultimately in control, but it is not a guarantee that there will never be trials. During your times of trial, remember to seek God even more, let your faith never fail you... learn to embrace the sifting by knowing you will come out better than you were before.

The Waiting Game....

Acts 1: 3-7  "He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you ar this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority."

 

We have all heard it said many times that we must wait on God's timing, things do not happen according to our timing but only when God wants them too. Sure we have often tried to "force" our own agenda and it might have worked in the short term, but ultimately we must submit and embrace God's timing. 

I was reading the first chapter of Acts and I tried to imagine how the apostles must have felt. They are spending time with the risen Lord, they are eating with him and he is telling them about God's kingdom. They had to be excited, but then he tells them to wait. They had to wait on the Holy Spirit. In their minds they had to be saying, "Oh yeah, of course we need to have the Holy Spirit first... THEN we get to have the kingdom restored. I get it. Ok, Jesus said a few days.. so this time next week we will be living in the kingdom, Great plan God. I love it!"

In my mind that internal dialog would have prompted them questioning that God was going to restore the kingdom then. They had been hanging out for 40 days, within a few days they would receive this great and wonderful gift... it only made sense. The next verses had to crush them, but they had to accept it and they did. 

Just a thought, but if God created the heavens and the Earth in 6 days... how much better is heaven going to be? I try to write a prayer when I finish reading, the areas I need to change, grow, or be thankful for... today one phrase came to me... "help me celebrate the waiting." It is through waiting that God can prepare us to be used, and by waiting on God we are always available...
 

Lover or Liar?

1 John 4:19-21 "We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother."

This simple verse is incredibly deep. What does loving your brother have to do with loving God? Besides the obvious answer, "because God told us to!" - there is a bigger concept in this verse. When you think of God, your finite human perspective immediately tries to limit God - it is our nature. We immediately begin to say what God is and what God isn't. Throughout the Bible we are told that we can not possibly comprehend all of God, that He is limitless, all knowing, etc.

If you can not love your brother - if you can not forgive them and reconcile with them - some one you can see and you are more similar to than God, how can you love God? "Yeah but my brother is evil..." - So are you! When you love God you learn to love as God loves... even at your worst, God loves you. Without God it is impossible to love - we are selfish by nature, so again without God there is no love.

In 1 John 4:16 we are told, "God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him."

Fruits of Wisdom...

James 3:13-18 "Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness."

What does your "wisdom" bring to you? Does your understanding make you restless, worried, or anxious? Heavenly wisdom is accompanied by a spirit of peace and sincerity. What does your "wisdom" bring you? - You will know its source based on its fruits... 

How Typical...

Proverbs 19:3  "A man's own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the Lord."

What is a fatal flaw with our society today? - No one is responsible for anything. Someone breaks the rules and gets injured because of their own decisions - instead of taking responsibility they look for someone to blame, and if they are "true Americans" they look for someone to sue!

When we can not take responsibility for our own actions to each other, imagine what we do to God. We decide to break His rules, His commandments, and then we blame Him for the mess our lives have become. We want no part of Him until we are completely broken, desperate, or both. However, in our pride we immediately start to blame God for allowing these things to happen - "How could God do this to me?" - Newsflash, God did not do it to you, He may have allowed you to venture down that path YOU chose...

Though God is waiting for you to admit your sins and seek forgiveness... He wants to restore you and have a relationship with you. It requires your humility and ownership of your actions - but in His perfect love He will not condemn you for you mistakes, He will actually separate you from them and restore you... That is Love.

Solid Advice....

Proverbs 17:1  "Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting with strife."

 

In these uncertain times, when bills and pressures mount, find comfort in this Proverb. This simple verse is amazingly deep. True peace and quiet comes from within, from our heart and soul. We know that God wants us to have His peace and His joy - He continually reminds us to "be still".

When we feast, we feed our flesh not our soul. When I think of a "house full of feasting" I think of a place that is like Thanksgiving dinner everyday - a Vegas style all you can eat buffet. More food than you could possibly eat, now add a person that you have unresolved issues with - someone you can not stand. You have to sit beside them at the table - or better yet, right across from them. Each bite you take, every time you lift your eyes from your plate you are forced to look at them, and the conflict and inner turmoil mounts. Will you enjoy the meal? There is every kind of food and pleasure in the world right there, but you are miserable inside. - It is impossible to heal the heart by feeding the flesh.

God works on our hearts. As we gain His peace and His understanding, we realize that we do not need all the "feasting" the world desperately tries to convince us we require and desire. Through forgiveness and repentance we are transformed and brought to an inner peace. When you are at peace with God, you are satisfied with "a dry crust" and true peace abounds.

K.I.S.S.

Psalm 131  "My heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things to wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore."

We often allow ourselves to worry about things we can not control or understand. Even when things are going smoothly we catch ourselves wondering, "What am I missing? Things can not possibly be this smooth, something bad is going to happen - I can just feel it!" Inevitably something happens and we have this sense of relief - "See I knew it!"

Think about all the energy we waste trying to figure things out or prevent things from happening that are well beyond our control. What if we spent that same energy on our relationship with God? If every time you started to worry, instead you opened your Bible and turned to God for comfort; how different would your life be?

When you feel the pressures of life starting to build try turning to God. Think about this - God created you from dust, the only thing we can make with dust are those little drawings when we have neglected our house work - heck we are puzzled with how those dust bunnies get under our beds.

Let's not concern ourselves with things beyond our control - Let God be God and you be you... when worry abounds remember K.I.S.S - turn to God.

 

What a Promise!

John 14:11-17  “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”

 

 

 

    Jesus has just told his disciples that He is “… the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (v. 6) Phillip then asks for Jesus to show them the Father. Take a moment to reread the verses above. What is Jesus saying?

   

    Jesus tells them that by seeing Him they have seen the Father and He tells them that if they cannot understand that, then at least believe on the evidence of the miracles. He gave them something tangible to believe and grasp, His miracles demonstrated His power and confirmed who He said He was.

The next verse is an amazing promise… Jesus says that we will be able to do “greater things than these”. Unfortunately most people read this verse and skip to, “You may ask me for anything and I will do it.” Notice they conveniently skip the parts about brining “glory to the Father” and that “in my name” thing. This great promise is often manipulated to justify praying for that new car, that you will win the lottery, and a myriad of other selfish desires - after all Jesus said anything we ask for right?

When we truly ask for things in Jesus’ name, we are acknowledging and submitting to His will, not our own. As we align our hearts with God we will notice our prayers will start to change, our focus will shift from ourselves and towards God. This shift is the critical to the fulfillment of the promise, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” – Jesus commanded us to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37)   

People always warn you to “read the fine print” when you buy a car or sign a contract, it is a caution so that you totally understand the terms. Why is it when we look at a promise God gives us, we try to pick and choose what we read, which parts are binding, and most importantly what is in it for us? We must read the Bible with the Spirit of truth. God can not lie and will honor His promises – we must do our part as well.

Do Not Be Discouraged...

Psalm 37:23-24   "If the Lord delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand."

 

  This verse should provide us all with a great deal of comfort; God will not let us fall!  We keep our eyes and hearts focused on Him, continually seek Him and His ways, God will not allow is to fall - Stumble yes, fall No! The God that created the universe will hold us up with His hand, what more do we need?

 

Want To Encounter God?

John 14:21  "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

1 Corinthians 2:14-15  "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgements about all things."

 

    How often do you pray? Some people pray daily, others whenever there is a crisis, and still some only when their favorite sports team is about to lose a big game. People tend to pray more when there is drama or trouble in their lives or those that they care about - sometimes their prayers are answered and other times they are not. So people ask, "Why doesn't God answer me?" The appropriate question would be, "Do you have a relationship with Him?"

I would guess that if we counted the number of times someone prayed and compared that to the number of times they actually read their Bible we might understand the source of the problems. The Bible helps us learn about God's character, His nature, and His ways. This knowledge helps create the foundation for the relationship.

I would guess to say that if you are looking for an encounter with God, maybe you need to look at the time you spend with him and compare that with the amount of time you spend making requests of God.