Year: 2016

Stealing the blessing

​And the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”  Nathan said to David, “You are the man!” – 2 Samuel 12:1‭-‬7 ESV
We who call ourselves the church, I wonder how often we will find that we the rich and prosperous have stolen from the poor man? 

I wonder how many times we have received the blessing and kept it for ourselves? 

I wonder how many times when we’ve had the power to love available to us to pour out in encouragement,  forgiveness, mercy, accountability, meeting someone else’s needs, etc. but we’ve withheld something for ourselves? 
I wonder how many times we’ve withheld our prayers, time, and that portion of our income from the church to use for ourselves instead,  and in turn how many times the churches have withheld the same from those needy, destitute, aged, sick, and imprisoned so it can be used for the social club atmosphere of a self-serving religious business?

And some will read this message and get mad about it,  because the conviction comes but they are unwilling to yield to the truth in their hearts that they need to repent. They will say proudly to themselves, I don’t have to repent, I’ve accepted Jesus! And I ask,  has He accepted you,  friend? Is there oil in your lamp? Or will He say, “Depart from me,  you workers of iniquity,  I never knew you.” Is He abiding in your life today,  or are you abiding in sin? Do you know the sweet, sweet aroma of the fruit of His Spirit, or just the stench of sin,  death,  disease, worldliness, doubt, guilt,  shame and condemnation? 

If you see the area of your life that does not fit, if the Word has shined light on something in your heart that is keeping you from abiding with Him, will you cry,  “Cut it out and cast it far away,  Lord, and replace it with your Holy Spirit!  Renew me and prove yourself faithful to change me and mold me into that new creation in your hands! Please,  Lord Jesus, come live in me today! Today is the day that grace is new and that salvation comes to me and my house fresh and new!” Or will we shrink back and let the seed be stolen away by the enemy because we enjoy the mental exercise of gaining knowledge through theology and philosophy, but we still believe that it is burdensome to serve the Lord? Will we also steal the praise and worship of our living sacrifice from the Lord, expecting to always asking,  “Bless me, Lord.” But forgetting to cry out,  “Bless the Lord,  Oh my soul!”
We once were thieves, but Jesus…
Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. – Ephesians 4:28‭-‬32 ESV

Not my religion

​I didn’t read the Bible and then feel comfortable enough with what it said to choose it as my religion. 
What sinner could honestly do that? 
No, my eyes were opened to the Truth and I looked at the Word of God and said,  “Wow, my life doesn’t line up at all with that. I really do need Jesus!” Then I repented,  confessed,  and I am walking yielded to His instruction,  with the Word of God as the authority in my life. No, I don’t get to choose what is right and wrong,  I’ve submitted myself to a higher authority than my own opinion. 
So, please forgive me for being a fool that just trusts in God’s Word and seeks to live a life following in my master’s footsteps. No, I’m not perfect. Yes, I have plenty of opportunities each day that humble me and remind me to thank Him for His grace and mercy and to talk with Him and to walk in a different way,  close to Him on that narrow path. 
I realize that many want to add or subtract from it so they can say to themselves, “That’s okay for me to do. That’s not really a sin. Don’t judge me.” And I used to see it that way when it wasn’t about avoiding the things that keep me in an abiding relationship with Him. 
But for me it’s not just about doing good or doing bad – it’s about whether I really love Him, His way,  His will and want to be in His house and close with Him, or whether I’m happier in the world and away from Him. For me,  obedience is not an obligation,  it’s a response from the grattitude of knowing how much I’ve been forgiven,  and it’s something that wraps me up close with Him free from the snare of the enemy that separated me from the One who loves me. 
My obedience is not works,  it is the reasonable service to my King,  my Lord. Even though I will only have the ashes of this life to lay at His feet, it isn’t my ashes that matter but my heart. 
That’s why I say it isn’t a religion,  but a relationship. It isn’t a measuring myself that either leads to guilt or pride, but it is a dedication to a living God who loves me and who proves His love daily,  even breath to breath – not with just things like prosperity, health, honor in the eyes of men – but with that nourishment others just can’t live up to love, joy, peace,  patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, self control. Yes, these things are learned and imparted to me the more that I remain in His presence, in His will, in His love. 
I am blessed beyond measure. Do not think me vain or proud, but please envy me for these blessings and receive them for yourself. He says seek, knock, and I will answer – so seek Him and wait for Him diligently until He returns. 

The king’s drink

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Going to have me an Arnold Palmer for lunch today. 
Arnie, I didn’t know you, but I knew about you. And I love an Arnold Palmer from Chick-fil-A, and I have been drinking them even before I knew the association with your name. 
A whole lot of people in this world knew about you, were fans, knew your stats and sayings and even what you liked to drink. But out of all of those, there were probably only a few that were bold enough to call themselves your friend. And I bet there were even some that told other people you were their friend, but you never really knew them. I wonder how many people just wanted the honor and recognition and benefit of being associated with a name like “the king” of golf? I wonder how many you actually would think to yourself near the end of your life, “You know, _______________ was really a friend. He was always there with me through thick and thin.”
And Arnie, you might even wonder why I’m using your name now to share a message on the Internet when I didn’t really know you,  when I wasn’t a friend. It’s because I see the parallels to the friends of another man, not the king of golf, but the King of Kings. Thinking about these parallels,  I hope first and foremost that you had that friend who is always faithful and true and who never leaves us or forsakes us. And that ship has sailed for you. Your time is up and clearly this message is not for you. I hope that we who still have breath in these lungs know that friend, and that we don’t just know about Him, or just claim Him by name,  but that we are friends,  close with Him,  enjoying His truth,  His life,  His way – that we are not deceived into not knowing Him, into just being a fan, or into denting Him in our lives even as we claim Him with our lying tongues. 
Arnie, you have met that last breath,  and your body will go back into the ground – dust returning to dust – just like our bodies will one day ourselves if the Lord delays His return.
I love an Arnold Palmer to drink. The sourness of the lemonade with the sweetness of the tea. That perfect combination of the right amounts of both is amazing. To me, it’s like the perfect combination of Truth and Love, the perfect combination of receiving the blinding light revealing what was still dark in our hearts, along with the salty tears and blood of mercy that washes the place clean where it has been cut out and cast away by that great sword of the Word of God. And I’m hungry and thirsty for more of that salt and light, for more of those healing waters, for more light shining through and for more darkness being overcome. 

Come, have a drink with me. Don’t expect it to be so sickening sweet that you can’t bear it for long without finding the sugar has rotted your teeth – and don’t expect it to be so horribly sour that you can’t get it to go down at all. Let’s enjoy that drink made from a measure of both.

Imperfect friends, Proud enemies

​If you know you’re imperfect,  I love you. Let’s be friends. Let’s help each other. 
If you think you’re perfect and that you never do anything wrong – I love you,  but I need you to stay far away from me and my family until you get yourself some help. 
Don’t be mistaken, I know that I’m imperfect. I’m not trying to be perfect. 
But I have found a better way than remaining where I was yesterday. It is a path of change that comes in trusting a higher authority than self, in an authority who does say this is right and that is wrong, but He also says even though you are imperfect I love you, and He says I’ll help you along the path if you love me and remain with me. 
Yes, it takes a commitment, and a surrender to walk in a different way, to follow a different path, but that doesn’t make me a proud, perfect warrior in my own eyes, but should keep me a humble, obedient child in my own eyes. 
You see, He wins my battles. If you see any strength, any love, anything precious and valuable, it’s just a reflection from me standing so close to my Father. 
And if you see my pride and love for goodness and kindness and honorable things, it’s my pride in Him and His ways more than hatred for the absence of those things.
You see, my hatred for rebellion and wickedness and evil is really just because I hate the idea that anyone would miss out on the blessing of His light shine down, the outpouring of His love spilled out, the freedom from those traps set by an enemy that seeks to destroy us. 
I hate that instead of running into the light, we shrink back and cower in the dark. I hate that we’ve been eating the poisonous fruit from the thorny weeds that grow in the darkness that we have become afraid of the nourishing fruit that grows in the light. I hate that we cower in shame because of the lies of the enemy, trying to hide or deny our nakedness and rebellion instead of simply acknowledging our error,  accepting His authority, receiving His grace,  and remaining in Faith, persevering to the end. 
So, no, I’m not perfect. I trust in the Lord that I will remain above reproach, but understand that I will be kept humble by my imperfections, because I am called to share this Good News, and I am called to follow in His footsteps. 
Don’t think that I am bold enough to talk about sins and dangers that I have not encountered myself – no, I do not point and laugh at what you are trapped in – that is not what I do. Those are lies the enemy whispers in your ear to try to discredit me.
I testify to what I have seen overcome in my own life. When I speak about wickedness and sinfulness that I have seen slain and trampled underfoot, it is my testimony of His power and authority and faithfulness. It is my testimony that the old life of sin that I loved so much was a lie and a trap. I’m simply a witness to the justice handed out against my captors,  those unseen enemies of truth, those who prey on the minds of my brothers and sisters still in captivity.
Do not let your sins,  your mistakes, take over your true identity. Do not let them claim your name. When I say that all ___________ shall not inherit the Kingdom of God, I hope that you can say,  that is not my name. Child of God, that is my name. 
And if you can’t say that you are a Child of God, I don’t want to see you cast into the pit. But I do want to see the poison and wickedness overcome by the light and destroyed and replaced with what is best and perfect – even if it isn’t yet, even if it is a slow process,  even if it is in His time and not my own,  I hope and pray that you will be delivered from whatever it is that controls your desires and that you will decide to lay it down, turn away from it, and walk back into the arms of your living Father, to be led by his hand along the path that is best.