When God Grabs the Heart

Just over two weeks ago God graciously grabbed my heart. It was not a pleasant experience, but the fruit of it has been sweet and surprising.

For many years I have worshipped at the altar of the sloppy cheeseburger and fries. In my worship I always washed the hastily chewed and swallowed food down with a cold Coke. This consistent lifestyle worship of the appetite idol led to a number of side-effects in my life:

• Using money to ensure access to my idol instead of stewarding it for God's Kingdom and glory;
• Lying in the form of deceitful "hiding" and partial answers to potentially idol-revealing questions;
• A long, slow roller-coaster of weight gain and loss, living for 25 years within a 65 pound range of weight and thus acting as lord over my body, which Christ died to purchase for Himself;
• Living with the low energy level that comes with a diet of junk;
• Meager fruit of life and ministry because of constant grieving of the Holy Spirit and His filling;
• The detachment from others that comes when this appetite idol was occupuying my mind with thoughts of "I can't wait until this is over so that I can get to my beloved Whopper," or "What excuse do I need to come up with to get me out of the house so I can sneak in a super-sized coke?"
• Having the joy of the Lord choked out of my life just like the fat of my idol was slowly clogging my body's arteries;
• I stole from my family, giving to them a half-husband and half-dad; and I was...
• Betraying the glory of God for the glory of grease. Inevitably I would show in my words and my passion my great love and satisfaction for food. This siphoned off true love and satisfaction in the all-satisfying person and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

To name a few.

How did God get ahold of my idolatrous heart?

He opened my eyes to the sin and idolatry that was there. In my rationalizing, compromising heart I had minimized my sin, compared myself favorably with others, and just plain refused to think too deeply about it. While reading John Owen's "The Mortification of Sin in Believers" I was grabbed over and over by God's Spirit and by the Word of God. I was caught between a rock of long-developed habit and the draw of the grace of God. The time was very dark. There was nothing to see but decades of betraying my Father and My Savior and Lord for a pot of beans, just like Esau. In the darkness there was one thing left for me: the character of God. He receives the repentant, confessing heart (1 John 1:9). He turns darkness to light. He "breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron" Psalm 107:16. He strengthens weak, fearful hands to toss long-held idols into the river of "never again." He opened my eyes somewhat to the sinfulness of my sin and to the astounding price my Savior had paid on the cross to make me His.

My counsel to you if you are struggling with habitual worship of idols in your heart: SEEK THE LORD. Go to Him and cry out to Him for deliverance. Plant your heart in the Word of God, for "The Law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul" Psalm 19:7. Tell the truth; to yourself...to God. Enlist the prayer help of others. If you can get ahold of it, read Owen's work referred to above. Refuse to listen to the whines and excuses and rationalizations of your heart. Don't compare yourself to others. Let the Word of God be your magnifying glass. Realize that life and eternity are at stake here. KNOW that the Lord is gracious and compassionate, full of mercy and that He forgives iniquity, transgression and sin (Exodus 34:6,7). Pray Psalm 51: 1-12 over and over and over. Ask the Lord to show you the sinfulness of your sin. Ask Him to show you just how much you have been forgiven. Ask Him to show you the JOY and SATISFACTION that is in Jesus that you have been tossing aside for mud pies.

Ask Him to show you WHO you have been pushing back into the closet of your heart in order to worship your pitiful, deceitful, Satan-puppeteered idols.

Keep on asking, seeking, and knocking. He WILL answer (Matthew 7:7,8)

May the Lord who delights in setting captives free and regaining the hearts of His own for His exclusive worship make your heart an IDOL-FREE zone.

Discipline for Winning at Ministry and Life

The Apostle Paul lived a life for the sake of others. This included things like not having a wife, eating and drinking simply, working for a living at times when he could have lived on support from others, and adjusting to whatever group he was with so that he would not lose a chance to share the gospel (see 1 Corinthians 9 for all these).

However, living this way was not always easy. Paul, just like you and me was a man with a body that has desires and in which the power of sin was at work (see Romans 7). Therefore, in order to live in a way that was most effective for the gospel ministry at all times, he had to discipline himself in all things.

Paul used the image of an athlete to convey this truth in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. There were athletic games in Corinth, the Isthmian games, that were second only to the Olympic games in Greece. People knew well the image of the runner who trained constantly for the honor of wearing the laurel wreath as winner of his event in the games.

Paul makes several very significant points about the kind of discipline it takes to win at ministry and life all the way until the race finally ends.

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified."

Some of the important truths here:

• There is an important MINDSET that is necessary in life and ministry that will keep us running in a winning manner to the end of the race. Paul says, "...Run that you may obtain it." That is, we must run our Christian life with the determination that we will, by God's grace, succeed in this thing. We are going to keep on. We will not be turned aside. There is a prize out there (Jesus!) and we intend on getting it. We will do whatever it takes to win.


• Another important truth here is that winning discipline is UNIVERSAL. That is, we must "exercise self-control in ALL things." I cannot work hard at my study and let my eating border on gluttony (Oh Lord, how I lived there for SO many years!). I dare not think that compromise and laziness in one area of my life will not ultimately affect ALL areas of my life. It will. It does. It has. There is a spiritual domino effect in all of our lives. To win in one area requires some level of winning in all areas of my life. This does not mean or necessitate perfection. Just a mind to fight the battle on all fronts. Often continued failure in one area is due to the effect of failures to discipline in other areas.


• Winning self-discipline always has in view the REWARD. None of us disciplines except for some reward. It may be to look better, to get a better job, to please a boss, or to keep healthy for a long life, but there is some reward we are after. Paul says the runners in the Isthmian games ran for a perishable wreath. This laurel wreath was just leaves and branches, but it was the SOURCE of much praise of man and acclaim. Ultimately though, it was perishable, it would shrivel up, along with the praise. But WE run for an "imperishable" wreath, that is, the crown of righteousness, Heaven itself with Jesus at the center! This is the reward of rewards, the ETERNAL reward. All the glory of Almighty God and His Son to enjoy and serve forever. No shriveling! I must be able to remind myself day by day, as the struggle gets old and hard, that I am after something that is worth it all, the "pearl of great price." The reward of HIM will draw me on through thick and thin all the way to the finish line...a winner.


• My goal in discipline is to "discipline my body and keep it under control." That is, I must be MY BODY'S MASTER, not it my master. I am out to make it my slave every day, every meal, every morning when the alarm mocks me, every fork in the road to take the way of ease or the way of faithfulness. I cannot run the race if my body tells me to quit or slow up or cheat and I obey. I must be in charge by the Holy Spirit's power (Romans 8:13). I will sign no compromise with my body.

What about you?

• Is your mindset, "I am, by God's grace, going to win this race"?


• Are you exercising self-control in all things?


• Do you remind yourself that it is Jesus at the end of the race that you will win and therefore the whole thing, whatever it requires, is worth it?


• Who's in control: you or your appetites?

Run in such a way that you may win...at ministry and life...to the end of the race...for Jesus' sake

The Center of His Plan

What was Jesus' plan for developing people whose lives would result in covering the earth with the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea? What was his method for making "Kingdom-Advancers" who would get the gospel to all nations? What is He seeking to do in my life and your life, if we boil it down to its most basic essence? What is OUR CALL?

Matthew 4:19: "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."

This is the brief, life-changing call of Jesus to his first "full-time" disciples. What does this call include?

• A CALL to follow Jesus. This is the essence of discipleship: following Him. It is personal, not just following a list of rules. It calls for obedience, it calls for submissiveness, it calls for trust that He is leading in a good way, the best way...the way that leads to life and meaning and impact. Following Jesus, as we see from the gospels, calls for willingness to be a LEARNER in all of life, for that is where Jesus teaches (not just in church on Sunday!). Following Jesus is a call to learn to love Him, our beloved teacher and master. If we do not get the FOLLOW part right, the rest will never become true in our lives.

Are you following Jesus, right now, whatever He requires of you through His Word?

• A PROMISE: There is a promise that He will do something in and with us. He will make us "fishers of men." The men who heard this call were fishermen on the Sea of Galilee. They knew about fishing for fish. They did NOT know about fishing for men. Jesus was and is the Master Fisherman of Men. He wins every man-fishing tournament hands down. His stringer is always full. But He fishes for men these days through His disciples. Therefore we must be made into something we are not by nature. No matter how inept I may feel, no matter how much I have failed in the past to be a fisherman for Jesus, I have His promise, if I will follow Him, that HE will make me a fisher of men. How does He do it? First, AS we follow. Jesus knows where the fish are. He needs no sonar to spot the "big ones." As we follow Him He leads us to the fish, the people He wants us to "catch." Jesus also changes our character as we follow Him. He makes us people who love the lost and not just ourselves. He gives us the kind of compassion He had (Matthew 9:36ff). He gives us persistence. Second, Jesus transforms us into fishers of men by giving us the gospels to see how He did it while on earth. Note the difference of approach between an encounter with a Nicodemus vs. a woman at the well vs a Rich Young Ruler vs a Zaccheus. Jesus was always fishing or training fishermen. We don't need to ask, "What would Jesus do?" We just need to study the gospel records of Jesus' life. Third: Jesus trains us as fishers of men by yoking us up to fishermen who have already advanced in His training. Do you know someone who fishes for men (or women or children) faithfully as a lifestyle? Hitch a ride on their life. Ask them to give you some insights re: how they do it. Could you possibly tag along with them as they go to share Christ with someone? Fourth: Jesus equips us to fish for men by supplying us with the proper "bait." We need to share a biblical gospel with the lost. The Holy Spirit uses the Gospel of God, not the gospel of Mike or Fred or Sally to win the lost. Take a look back at the blog for February 18, "Do you share a biblical gospel with others?" Also, you can't do better for learning a biblical gospel presentation than using the book, Telling the Truth by Will Metzger. But, this takes work. Fifth, Jesus makes us fishers of men by making us pray-ers. Prayer is as essential to the fisherman's work as is a fishing pole. God has ordained that prayer will be a part of the salvation of the lost. Fishers of men have prayer lists, whether that list is in the mind, on the wall, or in the notebook. And they persist in their praying. And they BELIEVE as they pray. They believe that God will soften hearts, open doors, and bring lost, Satan-enslaved sinners into His marvelous light. Sixth, Jesus makes fishers of men by linking them up with a fishing team, the church. It is in the church that the full-orbed character of Christ is displayed in relationships and thus shown to be authentic. It is when you can take Jake to church and he meets Bob, who has a past very similar to his, that your witness to Jake takes the next step. Team fishing is superior any day to a solo effort.

This promise of Jesus makes something plain: at the center of His Kingdom plan is EVANGELISM and DISCIPLESHIP. That is what He is up to in you and me.

How do I know I am following Jesus? How's fishing?

Tossing Idols, Delighting in the Lord

From the New Living Translation, Second Edition:

Job 22:23-30: "If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored - so clean up your life. If you give up your lust for money and throw your precious gold into the river, the Almighty himself will be your treasure. He will be your precious silver! Then you will take delight in the Almighty and look up to God. You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows to him. You will succeed in whatever you choose to do, and light will shine on the road ahead of you. If people are in trouble and you say, 'Help them,' God will save them. Even sinners will be rescued; they will be rescued because your hands are pure."

This is an astounding passage of Scripture. It gives us God's promises to people who put away their idols to love and worship God only. What are these promises?

• God will become their treasure.
• God will become their delight.
• Their prayers will be heard and answered.
• God will be glorified.
• There will be success and fruitfulness.
• Their impact on others, especially through prayer, will be powerful.

Perhaps you have wondered how you can have a heart that finds great delight in the Lord. Perhaps you have wondered how to finally be free from the idols of your heart, maybe that ONE idol that has kept hold of your heart for years...decades. Why do my prayers seem so impotent? Why is there no more fruit in my ministry to others? Why is God not more glorified in and through my life?

There is only ONE WAY all of these things can happen in any believer's life: we must TOSS our idols into the river of discarded gods and dust off the throne of our heart for occupancy by God alone. There can be NO joy in God while food or drink or sex or laziness or money or relationships with others or fear of the future rules my life. The human heart has room for one ultimate treasure: it is God or it is gods. It is the Gold and Sliver of the Almighty or it is the cheap trinkets of earth.

Can you taste what it would be like to have HIM as your only treasure? Don't you desire to be fruitful in His service? Do you long for the assurance that comes when you KNOW there is no other god before Him? Are you hungry for a prayer life that has impact for the Kingdom?

Again, there is one way and one way only. TOSS the IDOLS! Idols of the heart are deceptive...they promise what they can NEVER deliver: life, meaning, joy, impact, peace, assurance, love... Idols DISPLACE the deep love of Jesus with the cheap love of stuff.

"Lord Jesus, grant repentance to our idol grasping hearts. Grant us grace to toss the idols and grab ahold with all that we are to the true and lasting Treasure. Be our Treasure, be our Joy, be our fruitfulness, be our all. We seek to toss the idols in VAIN until your strengthen our hands and arms with the courage that will no longer settle for lesser things. Do this through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray...Amen."

Solution to a Hardened Heart

We talked a few days ago about what a hardened heart is. I wanted to add a few more specifics regarding God's solution to a hardened heart.

• 
  Repent – “Lord, I realize that I have stopped being teachable before you. When I have read your Word I have not come with a hungry heart. I have not come to corporate worship with the intention of applying and obeying Your Word. I have not been expecting You to speak to me. Father, please forgive my closed ears and grant to me a renewed appetite for Your Word…for You. Grant to me the heart of a disciple; a willing, obedient disciple.”
  
  Fear the Lord – When reading the Word or hearing the Word taught or receiving an encouragement or admonition from another believer:
  
  -Pray for ears to hear what the Lord Jesus would teach you.
  -Remember it is God speaking. It is His Word, not the word of men.
  -Remember God desires to speak first of all to you as you listen, not primarily others.
  -Work hard to hear: listening carefully and attentively, taking notes.
  -Apply what you learn. This word from God’s Word is for putting into practice: thinking, speaking, acting in more godly ways.
  -Seek to take away at least one truth that you will meditate on further and apply.
  -Share what you have learned with others.
  
  Walk with the Righteous – stay in fellowship with believers who love the Word of God, live in it and live it out, and who will challenge you with it.
  Hebrews 3:12,13

The Relationship Between Forgiveness and Love

In Luke 7 a woman who was known as a "sinner" broke all the cultural taboos and actually came into the house of a Pharisee, came up to Jesus, and lavished grateful love on the Savior with hair and tears and kisses and precious ointment.

This was beyond understanding for the Pharisee as he reasoned that Christ should have rejected the woman since if He WERE a prophet he would know who she was. Jesus did not reject her. He welcomed and received her lavish love.

Jesus did not miss the chance to offer truth to the Pharisee. As He often did, He told a story. This story was about a moneylender who had 2 debtors who were unable to pay their debts. One owed what would for us be about 2 month's wages. The other owed a debt of about about 20 month's wages. The moneylender for some reason cancelled the debt of both of them.

Jesus' question to Simon, the Pharisee, "Which of them will love him more?" v.42. Simon's answer, "The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt" v.43. He was right!

The greater the debt that is paid for someone, the greater their love for the one who paid the debt.

Jesus goes on to contrast the love being lavished on Him by this "sinful" woman with the lack of love of Simon the Pharisee. Not even the common courtesies had been offered to Jesus as a guest of the Pharisee. The point: the love of this "sinful" woman demonstrates her understanding that she has been GREATLY FORGIVEN. Simon's un-loving hospitality demonstrated that he had not been forgiven at all. He was one who considered himself righteous but was actually "sick."

How great is the love you lavish on the Savior? Do you understand, if you are a serious believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, that He has given Himself to suffer a Hell of punishment for YOUR SIN? It was not a portion of Bill Gate's fortune that was paid for your forgiveness. That would be pennies from a piggy bank in comparison to what Jesus has paid. It was the very life of the sinless Son of God, the eternal God become also man, creator and sustainer of the universe, who suffered in your place so that you could be forgiven by the holy God.

How much have you been forgiven? The price that had to be paid is the measure. God the Son for you.

Perhaps like me you need to cry out to God for the mercy of having your eyes opened to the immensity of the forgiveness that has been given you freely (in terms of what YOU had to pay) because of the infinite worth of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Do you find your love for Jesus has grown cold? Or, has it never been stoked up to white hot lavishment?

Cry out to Jesus.

Immerse yourself in the Word of God, especially those passages that deal with the sacrifice of Christ.

Think on it often.

May your love and mine for the Redeemer burst into a flame of never-dying love fueled by the deep awareness of HOW MUCH WE HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN and the PRICE that was paid that we might be.

Lips that Feed

Proverbs 10:21: "The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of sense."

Lips, of course, refers to words, to the speech of the righteous. How can words "feed"? Words can feed the HEART, the SOUL. Remember Jesus' words in Matthew 4:4, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God."

Man eats bread to live, but bread alone does not nourish true life. True life, spiritual life, is nourished by the Word of God. This tells us HOW the righteous' lips feed many, they feed the hearts and souls of people by sharing with them, speaking to them, the Word of God.

Note:

• The righteous' lips are characterized by the truth, the Word, of God.
• The righteous' speech is designed to build up, give life to, feed and nourish the heart of others. It will be an intentional thing and it will be an overflow of their righteous life.
• It is the lips of the RIGHTEOUS that feed many. This would seem to refer to those who are practically wise and obedient to God's Word, not the fools they are contrasted with. Of course, this can only be those saved by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, but the emphasis here is on the practically righteous, whose ways align with wisdom.
• The lips of the righteous feed MANY. That is, it is their LIFESTYLE to speak the Word of God to others. This would seem to indicate that their very way of looking at all things is formed by the Word of God and therefore their speech, whether commenting on, warning against, encouraging, or any other type of speech will be guided by and full of the Word of God.

Note Also:

• Fools die for lack of sense: That is, they have no appetite for the words of the righteous that feed the soul. They will not listen to God's Word and gain wisdom...therefore they destroy themselves, limited to their own wisdom. Their souls starve to death on the wisdom of the world.

Implications:

• Am I righteous? Do I live in obedience to the wisdom of God found in His Word? If not, I don't have much to say that will feed the souls of others.
• Am I immersed in the Word of God? This is what man lives by...are my words giving to others the living bread of the Word?
• Do I intend to speak to others to build them up? Ephesians 4:29 is excellent here.
• Do I listen to others, especially those who are wise and righteous? God has fresh bread from Heaven's ovens for me through the lips of the righteous around me...do I have ears to hear so that my soul may be fed?

Glorify the Owner

So... whose are you, anyway?

Let's say I worked long and hard and scrimped and saved to buy that car I've always wanted. My dream car. After years of blood, sweat, and tears the whole purchase price was collected and I went down to the dealer and exchanged the money for the car. I get into my baby and drive oh, so carefully home. I park it in the garage, wipe the dust from the drive off the doors and bumpers, and go inside. Meanwhile, the neighbor's teenager comes over and, wowed by the shiny newness and the obvious power under the hood, decides to take MY BABY for a ride. Problem...he doesn't know how to drive. Not to worry, he gets in anyway, tries to imitate what he's seen his dad do a thousand times, and puts MY BABY in reverse. Bam! The left rear bumper now carries a sample of the paint of my garage. Bam! That lovely lilac bush is now leveled. Bam! I thought that mailbox would stand forever! I hear the racket, run to the window, and fall to my knees in abject horror as I see MY BABY, my just-a-moment-ago-dust-free-shiny-new BABY half way in the street with scratches and dents and a crazed teen running for his life.

What would YOU do?

That's a scenario none of us would ever want to experience. Yet I give it as a SMALL, FAINT illustration of what so many of us have done with our lives. What I have done with my life and my body for so long!

The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20:

"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."

Note:

• This may be something we do not know: God the Holy Spirit lives within us and dwells in us as His temple. The Jewish temple was a sacred and holy place. The MOST SACRED and HOLY place on earth. Why? Because the HOLY GOD chose to be there. It was a place that was to be revered, respected, and entered with awe. It was totally set apart for God's purposes and for His service. We are God's temple.
• God living in us does NOT mean that God needs to come along for the ride and adjust to our "lifestyle choices." God living in us means WE ARE NOT OUR OWN. Whatever we do with our lives and with our bodies is done WITH ANOTHER's PROPERTY! We are HIS BELOVED, we are His PROPERTY.
• He is living in us and we are His property because we were BOUGHT WITH A PRICE! What was the price? 1 Peter 1:19: "The precious BLOOD OF CHRIST." God paid what was infinitely most precious to Him to purchase you and me to Himself - His SON. Jesus' perfect life cruelly tortured and publicly humiliated on the cross for the sin of sinners was the price God paid to make us His. Oh, think about it.
• We are not our own. God paid for us. The proof of ownership is the Holy Spirit living in us. The END of the matter: "So GLORIFY God in your body" v.20.

My redeemed life as a believer is NOT for my glory, NOT to take for a joy ride (I don't know how to drive this life in any way but to destroy it!), NOT to live out my purposes... it is for GOD's GLORY. He is to be the end of all my living. I am HIS. If I do not live my life His way, I abuse and misuse His property. I ignore the price He paid for me. I spite the suffering of Christ to make me God's. I callously take what is precious to my Father in Heaven and ruin it.

Oh, let us all repent of our foolishly living as if we owned ourselves. Let us bow in humble sorrow for taking what is precious to God (because of the PRICE that was paid) and going on a "joy" ride that in the end only wrecks HIS BABY.

Do You Share a Biblical Gospel with Others?

Is it possible to share a "non-biblical" gospel with others? Perhaps a better question would be, "What is the gospel that Jesus and the apostles shared with others?" and then to ask, "Am I sharing this gospel with others?"

What is required to share the gospel in a biblical way?

• God: God is Maker and therefore owner of all of us. That makes us accountable to Him. God is Holy and requires that we be like Him, that we love Him, and that we keep His laws.

See here: Acts 17:26,27; Leviticus 19:2; Exodus 20:1-17

• Sin: We have all failed to keep God's laws in both actions and attitudes. We are sinners, not just because we have sinned, but because by nature we go our own way and not God's.

See here: Romans 3:9-20; Romans 3:23

• Death: The just judgment we all deserve from God because of our sin is death. This death is separation from God and is therefore physical and spiritual and ETERNAL.

See here: Romans 6:23; Revelation 20:11-15

• Jesus: God is also merciful and loving and has therefore made a way for condemned sinners to have their judgment removed. He has done this through the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

See here: John 3:16; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 6:23

• Respond: God requires sinners to repent and believe, that is, to TURN from their selfish, sinful ways of trying to save and satisfy themselves so that they might TRUST in the Lord Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection ALONE to save them from their sin and judgment.

See here: Mark 1:15; Acts 17:30; Romans 10:9-10

Is this the "gospel" that you are sharing with others?

May the Lord who has given us Good News (gospel) to share be gracious to us to know that Good News and to be courageous and loving to share it with family, friends, and those who are sovereignly brought into our lives from time to time.

The Wisdom of Saying Just Enough

Proverbs 10:19: "When words are many, trangression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent."

The wise man tells us here that with an increased volume of words comes the certainty of sin. It's a fact: talk too much or too long and you will hurt someone, regret something you've said, or just plain look the part of the fool.

What are some times when we are likely to talk too much?

• When I dont' know exactly what I am trying to say, or
• When I am angry and want to make it clear that I am angry and what/who has made me angry, or
• When I am just plain being silly, or
• When I am nervous around someone and don't know what to say in their presence, or
• When I have not done my homework and still want to sound informed, or
• When I've had too much chocolate!?

WHY would we ever talk too much?

• We want to be the center of attention, or
• We want to inflict pain on someone else...verbal pain, or
• We want to control the conversation or situation.

What is God's solution to too many words?

• Restrain your lips. Put a lid on it! How? By the Spirit, whose fruit is "self-control" (Galatians 5:22,23).
• Think about what you are going to say before you do. Unfiltered words can destroy a relationship. What will be the likely impact of what I am about to say?
• Think about the other person/people who are listening. Give much thought to Ephesians 4:29. Will this build up my brother, sister, friend?
• Ask more questions. Show that you care by inquiring. Do I really want to know what is going on in this person's life? If not, perhaps I should not be saying ANYTHING at all!!
• Consider how what you say will reflect on the Lord Jesus Christ and your testimony as a believer. 1 Corinthians 10:31

"Lord, grant me the help of your Spirit to think about my words before they leave my mouth forever. Give me such love for You and others that I speak with THEM in mind, and not just myself. When I would speak angrily, grant me grace to put a lid on it! May I be seen and HEARD as wise because of both the QUALITY and QUANTITY of my words. For Jesus' sake, Amen."

Jesus' Compassion and Teaching

In Mark 6, after returning from their 2x2 mission, Jesus was taking his disciples to a lonely place for some R&R. However, this was the time when Jesus' popularity was at its height. Mark records, "Now many saw them going and recognized them and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them" Mark 6:34.

So much for plans to rest! Jesus and the 12 were obviously exhausted from non-stop ministry and were in need of some solitude. It was not to be at this time, however.

How would you have felt? I might have thought, if not said..."Why can't they leave us alone?" "Are they trying to kill us?" "Can't a disciple get a minute's rest?" "Jesus, let's change directions and get away from these leeches!"

Not Jesus. Mark tells us, "When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd" v.34

My response: probabaly agitation. Jesus' response: COMPASSION. Compassion is to feel the need of another and to do something about it. My response: how does this inconvenience or tax ME? Jesus' response: what is THEIR need? I would look at the outward person, Jesus looked at the heart.

Jesus saw these crowds as needy sheep, not leeches or unwelcome interruptions.

How do YOU see people? I don't know about you, but I constantly need to cry out to the Lord for NEW EYES. If I see people as Jesus did there's a good chance my heart will not be repulsed but moved to compassion for them.

An important note: How did Jesus respond to these people's need?

"And he began to teach them many things" v.34b. What do unshepherded sheep need? What do sheep need to be shepherded? TRUTH! And not just a neat little quote or two. They need to be taught "many things." It is for lack of truth that people are held in Satan's bondage. People need the truth of who Jesus is, what He has done, what He offers, and how to know Him. Believers need to know HOW to walk with Jesus in all of life. This requires TEACHING. No one guesses themselves into maturity and righteousness. Is this not why the Great Commission requires "teaching them to obey all that I have commanded"? Most often when someone is suffering bondage to a sin or habit they need TRUTH, God's truth, God's solution to their problem. They don't need practical to dos that will only be applied like a bandage to a deep wound. Truth gets to the HEART of our problems.

Who is there that God might be calling you to share His TRUTH with?

One more way that Jesus responded to this crowd's needs: He fed them...perhaps 20,000 of them. Jesus DOES care about our physical needs: food, clothing, finances, housing, etc.

He cares about YOUR HEART and YOUR BODY...ALL of you.

And...He calls us to care for others in the same way.

Do You Have A Hardened Heart?

Most of us have heard the somewhat frightening and usually applicable to SOMEONE ELSE phrase, "hardened heart." I found it interesting that the gospel writer Mark includes a statement in 6:52, in reference to the 12 disciples, that "their hearts were hardened." Think of it. These men had been with Jesus for some time (1 1/2 to 2 years?), witnessing His divinely powerful work and listening to His astonishing preaching and yet THEY had hardened hearts!! Even the most committed of us can have hardened hearts!

What was this condition called "hardened hearts"? Mark tells us that their hearts were obviously hardened because they "did not understand about the loaves" v.52a. WHAT did they not understand? Apparently, the miracle of Jesus feeding as many as 20,000 people from one lunch SHOULD HAVE taught them that it is not an astounding thing that this same Jesus could also walk on a stormy Sea of Galilee. But when Jesus identified Himself during the storm and got into the boat, the men were astounded, as though this were a revelation of Jesus that was totally unexpected and unlike anything else they had seen or experienced. In others words, what the 12 SHOULD HAVE learned about Jesus when He fed the 5,000 (20,000?) was that He has control over nature, over material things. They SHOULD HAVE learned that He has divine power equal to ANY problem or need that could arise. But they somehow missed it.

It certainly wasn't the only time they missed the point. Look at Mark 8:17...it's even worse.

Well, I can see myself in their sandals...how about you?

A hardened heart in believers has to do with a condition where we are not seeing and learning and understanding what God is seeking to teach us because our heart has ceased to be open and teachable and willing/obedient. This condition is referred to in numerous places in Scripture.

• Hebrews 3:12,13
• Jeremiah 7:23ff
• Psalm 95:8
• Proverbs 28:14

Proverbs 28:14 is a very significant passage because it gives us a very helpful definition of what a hardened heart is.

"Blessed is the one who fears the Lord always, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity." This passage teaches us:

• A hardened heart is the OPPOSITE of a heart that fears the Lord. To fear the Lord is to trust, be humble before, reverence, and obey the Lord. Therefore a hardened heart is one that is unbelieving, proud, not worshipful, and disobedient.
• Whereas the person who fears the Lord is blessed by the Lord the one who hardens his heart falls into calamity. It's one or the other: blessing or calamity. The determiner is whether our heart is hardened or fearing the Lord.

In this verse we see the truth that our hearts are NEVER STATIC or NEUTRAL. Either we are fearing the Lord or hardening our hearts toward Him. Either we are inviting the blessing of the Lord because we are hearing him, obeying him, humbly worshiping him OR we are inviting calamity (evil, wickedness) into our lives because we are giving lip service without the reality of an open, teachable, willing heart.

Where are you? I have found recently that I can have a hardened heart and not even know it (that seems to go along with the "denseness" that characterizes a hardened heart). When you read the Scriptures, are they alive? Do you read them to hear and know the Lord? When He points out something from His Word - as you read or hear it taught - do you obey? HOW EASY it is to be one of those James pegs: hearers but not doers of the Word.

What is God's remedy for a hardened heart? Hallelujah! There is a remedy. It may sound all too familiar:

• Confession and repentance: "Lord, I have been turning a deaf ear to you. I have been following my own plans for life instead of yours. Have mercy on me...forgive me...cleanse me...give me ears to hear. Show me how to turn a listening ear and an obedient heart and a humble, worshipful posture towards You."
• Fear the Lord: listen for HIS voice in the Word; posture yourself as a disciple who will do whatever He says; TRUST that His way is best and that HE delights to give power to the weak so that they learn to fear Him in a life-giving way.
• Make sure you surround yourself with others who fear the Lord. Hebrews 3:13: "...Exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin."

The Lord can and will pour the oil of His Spirit on your hardened heart so that there is a new softness, a new openness, a new joy, a new teachableness and understanding of spiritual things, a new blessed walk with Him.

DO IT LORD!

The Relation Between Faith and Reward

John 5:44: "How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?"

The issue in this verse is FAITH in relation to the FEAR of man and the FEAR of God. If we are motivated by the fear of man, "accepting praise from one another," instead of fear of God, "effort to obtain the praise that come from the only God" we CANNOT believe. Why?

• Our focus in the fear of man is man and man is NOT the object of true faith. Fear of man means we are trusting in man to meet our perceived needs instead of God - men are our idols. We will always desire to please the one(s) whom we believe we stand to receive the most from and the most satisfaction from. In the end faith and obedience is about REWARD.
• To desire to please God means we BELIEVE He will reward us and that His praise of us is WORTH our commitment and obedience. If we believe His reward is best, we will trust Him by obeying and following Him. To live for God's "well done" is to live by the faith that believes "He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." It seems, then, that it is impossible to believe without a strong motivation of REWARD - a deep confidence that God is GOOD, and that this goodness is beyond just what He gives...HE IS GOOD! (Psalm 119:68). HE is desirable - faith should be most fully motivated by the prospect of receiving the ONLY GOD HIMSELF! Ultimately His reward is HIMSELF!

So...

• If I want to be stronger in my FAITH IN GOD,
• I must believe that HE is a REWARDER,
• and to believe that God is a rewarder,
• I must believe that God is GOOD in His very eternal nature,
• and the goodness that will keep me believing God is the goodness of God rewarding me with HIMSELF!

I trust the Lord because I believe that trust will be rewarded...and the reward is no less than to receive God Himself. That reward infnitely exceeds any reward man can offer: atta boys, acceptance, money, fame, reputation, sex, things galore...

God's goodness in rewarding my faith and obedience by giving Himself to me brings glory to Him, becomes the steady foundation of my faith in Him, and leads to my ultimate satisfaction!!

What do you want from life? If it is LESS than God Himself (not His gifts), you are, as someone has said, TOO EASILY SATISFIED!

"O God, may my heart, too easily satisfied with lesser things, be so famished for YOU that I am pressed beyond the praise and reward of man, beyond desire just for Your gifts, until I find satisfaction in YOU ALONE. In Jesus Name, Amen."

Courage from I AM

After Jesus fed the 5,000 (men, + perhaps 10-15,000 more women and children!?), he sent his disciples across the water to Bethsaida, up on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus then retreated up on the mountain for prayer. Soon the disciples were in trouble, rowing against a contrary head wind. Jesus saw them.

Sometime between 3 and 6am Jesus went to the disciples "walking on the sea" Mark 6:48. Mark tells us that Jesus intended to "pass by them." Why? We don't know. Perhaps this was another stormy classroom for the disciples' faith. Perhaps Jesus intended for them to see him and cry out for help so that he could once again reveal His deity to them in nature-subduing power. Every storm is a classroom of faith. However, like the 12, we don't always pass the quiz.

The disciples DID cry out, but NOT for Jesus. They just cried out in fear, thinking the form walking on the water was a ghost. Jesus immediately identified himself to them. HOW Jesus did this is glorious.

Jesus said, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid" v.50.

"Take heart" = Be bold. Be courageous. Be willing to face this difficult situation or this unknown presence without fear.

But WHY? Why should they, why should WE be courageous in the face of the opposing winds in life and when we are confronted with frightening prospects?

"It is I." It is I are the Greek words for "I AM." Be bold, be courageous...because I AM.

I AM was God's identification to Moses in the burning bush (Exodus 3:14). I AM is Jehovah or Yahweh. I am has several significances:

• The Eternal, Unchanging One
• The Self-Existent One
• The Covenant-Keeping One

Jesus wanted the 12 AND HE WANTS US to know WHO HE IS. He is I AM. HE is God. He is eternal, unchanging, self-existent (dependent upon no one and no thing), and He keeps His covenant of love and forgiveness without fail for His children.

Some further definition of who I AM is is seen in OT hyphenated names of God, such as:

• Jehovah-Jireh: The LORD who PROVIDES
• Jehovah-Nissi: The LORD who is my BANNER (of protection over me)
• Jehovah-Shalom: The LORD who is PEACE
• Jehovah-Shammah: The LORD is THERE
• Jehovah-Tsidkenu: The LORD my RIGHTEOUSNESS

Now think of the glorious encouragement Jesus gave the 12 in that contrary wind as they cried out in terror, "Be courageous, I AM (is here)."

Jesus would speak the same words to you and me today, whatever the contrary wind or fear that we are facing..."Be courageous, I AM."

• I AM the Provider for your financial need.
• I AM the Protection you need from the devil and people's intentions to hurt you
• I AM the Power you need in the person of My Spirit to love and be kind and self-controlled
• I AM the Wisdom you need for this difficult decision
• I AM the One who will NEVER leave you or FORSAKE you.
• I AM the One in whom all the promises of God are yours to claim.
• I AM

Friends, He will never cease to be I AM. "Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever" Hebrews 13:8.

If the Lord Wills, We'll Stay Home!

We were recently headed to another part of the country for a work/help/vacation time, but we were headed off at the pass by God's will (weather and sickness).

Theologians talk about God's will in two primary senses: God's known will and God's unknown will or God's revealed will and God's secret will. ALL things ultimately happen according to God's will, but we do not always know what that will is. God's revealed will is found in the Scriptures. If I am wondering whether I should love my wife...God makes HIS WILL plain for me in Ephesians 5:25. If I am wondering if God would have me look at pornography or not...He makes His will plain in 1 Thessalonians 4:3. If I wonder whether I should share the gospel with family and friends, Matthew 28:18-20 gives me God's will on the matter. Through command, principle, or example, the Bible gives me everything I need to know to know and do God's will. It's IN there.

But what about matters that ARE NOT in God's Word? Should we go on vacation tomorrow or next Wednesday or in April instead? If matters that are dealt with in God's Word are all in line (such as: Do we have the money? Can I do this and be faithful to my job? Are we going somewhere and will we be doing things that are healthy and spiritually beneficial for us as a family or couple AND that glorify Christ? Can we go with our obligations at home taken care of?) then we are FREE to make the choice that seems best/wisest to us. But we are to make that choice with the theology of God's will in mind.

James deals with this in the 4th chapter of his letter.

He says to be careful about stating your plans as if you control the universe. Do you or I control the weather or even our own existence? Tornados could come through, like they did in Tennesee and Arkansas, etc. yesterday. Snow could make driving hazadous like it did for us. A child could get the crud that seems to be hitting every family this winter. The transmission in the van could decide that your departure date is the perfect time to die.

James says, "...Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring" v.14. We ALLknow this is true!

He also asks and then answers, "What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes" v.15.

We do know how God wants us to plan and we do know what we want to plan. But we DO NOT know if those plans will take place because, while God HAS made known His will for us to plan, He HAS NOT made known what HE will do that will allow those plans to come to fruition or not. We do know ONCE things take place, but not until. So then, should we not plan? NOT AT ALL! The Bible encourages us to plan (Proverbs 20:18, e.g.).

In this area there is a tension as in all areas of truth and action. James gives us that tension in v.15: "Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.'"

And so we plan, yet we make our plans with the knowledge that God, not us, is in control, and that because God is in control and has not made us privy to all His plans and decrees, our plans may not be the final plan.

How does this help us?

• It helps us to make plans with the caviat that protects us against devastation when our plans don't go "according to plan." That caviat is, "If the Lord wills..."
• It helps us to remember that God, not us, is in control. Reminder that God is the Sovereign One is a good thing. It affects not only our response to changed plans but it affects HOW we plan.
• It helps us with our disappointment (yes, we STILL get disappointed, even to TEARS!) when plans change. We can truthfully say to ourselves, "Self, God willed this. And His will is ALWAYS good, whether or not it looks or feels like it right now."
• It develops the character that comes from acknowledging and submitting to the good will of God.
• It puts us in the place for God's best.

The Lord has willed that we stay home. Praise His name! It was rough to be turned 180 degrees when our plans called for a 90 degree turn to the east. What are we doing now? Making further plans...with "if the Lord wills" stamped over all of them.