Little Faith, pt.1

"Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself" (James 2:17). The message of the New Covenant is that His law is written on our hearts. He is at work to will (desire) and to work (do). You are saved by grace through faith, and that is not of yourself, it's God's gift, so none of us can boast about that. The way you get in is the way go on. (You live the same way you were saved--by grace through faith....

Lest we do nothing, and blame it on God's failure to motivate & activate us, James comes in with a strong confrontive reminder: faith works. If you really believe God is sufficient it will affect your actions. If you believe He loves you, that He is a real being, that He desires fellowship with you, you will not seek to fill the void in your life with anything else. Let me restate that. If you are falling prey to any sin, particularly any habitual, ensnaring sin, then you do not believe God is who He says He is, or loves you the way He says He does, or is sufficient to fill the emptiness in your heart.

It was "by faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out not knowing where he was going.... looking for a the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God." Abraham heard the call of God. He believed ("faithed") God's promise. The only response that faith allowed was to go where God said. To not go, would be to say that God was not faithful to his word. But notice where his focus was. He did not go looking for an earthly city, but one whose architect and builder was God. He did not know where he was going, but He knew that God was able to supply him whatever He promised. His faith was expressed through obedience.

By faith even Sarah herself received the ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who promised. What an example! He who promised is faithful! Sarah "faithed" this fact. She had no ability to do what God had said. She was not able to bear a child. Yet God promised that she and her "as good as dead" husband would be parents. By her faith she "received ability."

The way you get in really is the way you go on! The faith that saved you was not of your own doing; it was the gift of God, so that even in your faith you could not boast any part in the act of salvation. The way you get in is the way you go on. The faith to do the will of God is not of your own doing. It is the gift of God, so you will not boast in what wonderful things you have done for God in your life. In that faith comes the divine "dunamis," the ability, the power, to do the will of God, because He that promised is faithful. He is at work both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

If you truly have faith, you will act on it. He will enable you to. If you do not choose to do His will, it is because you lack faith. If you do not choose to resist temptation, it is because you lack faith. If you are "unable" to do what He has said, it is because you lack faith. If you say you have faith, and you do not have the works to go along with it, then your faith is at best "little faith." I'm right there with you. In the days when men were known by their first name and city of residence, I'd probably have been called Ohyee of Littlefaith. God has often surprised me with His faithfulness in ways that have gently confronted me with my own shortage of faith in a given situation.

Jesus refers to his disciples as men of little faith on five occasion, each time giving a different explanation for their condition. Over the next few days, we'll look at these. I had a blast learning from these; hope you do, too.

Sabbath Rest, pt.4 - Hebrews 4

New Testament Christians didn't have the New Testament. The books and letters that make up the New Testament were being written, but it was 3 centuries later before they were compiled into what we know today as the New Testament.  However, they did have the Word.

The writer of Hebrews declared: "In these last days, God has spoken to us in His Son." The writer goes on to point out that this Word, is greater than the word spoken through the prophets and the angels to the patriarchs of the old covenant. This Word, Himself, is greater than the angels. He is greater than Moses. He is greater than Aaron. He is the outward expression of the invisible God, the outshining of His glory. Therefore, He is worthy of our attention - "more abundant heed." He is worthy of our confidence. He is (He exists)! And He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. If we truly believe that, it will cause us to diligently seek Him. We will give more abundant heed. We will combine His Word with faith in our hearts. (The word the fathers received did not profit them because it was not united by faith in those who heard.) We who have faithed (believed) enter His Sabbath Rest. The Word that we have heard, is the living Word, the Son of God, and the only Way to the Father in Heaven. To doubt this is to call God a liar. To doubt this is sin, and leads to other sins, and causes us to come up short of all He offers us. To fully accept this is our path to the abiding presence of God - and to Sabbath Rest.

Hebrews 4 ends with the reminder that nothing is hidden from God, but all things are open and laid bare to His eyes. This living Word is able to pierce to the depths of our hearts, to divide joint and marrow. He knows us in our innermost being. Makes sense. That's His home, His dwelling place. To think that anything we do is laid out before Him can be quite daunting. Some respond with shame and guilt and try to run. Hebrews reminds us that He is also our great high priest, and rather than run in shame, we should hold fast our confession. He was tempted just as we are, but did not sin. On the basis of His righteousness, He invites us to draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, and find mercy and grace to help when we need it most.

There's nothing to hide from Him. There's nothing we can hide from Him! He sees our weakness, our temptation and our sin. To give us confidence to come before Him, He put His own Son on the throne. He was one of us. He lived here and faced everything we face, yet without sin. Now He is on the throne of heaven, ministering the life of heaven to all who draw near.

This is rest. When temptation comes, you identify it and choose to avoid it. You then, by your actions, more than by your words, draw near to God. You submit to God and rest in the victory of Jesus Christ on your behalf over even the temptation. If Satan persists with accusations and tempting, you can simply say, "If I struggle with you, I'm not resting. I choose rest." You do not simply resist the devil. Nor is it a two step approach: 1) Submit to God; 2) Resist the devil. Rather, you resist the devil by humbly yielding (submitting) to God's grace, administered by your sinless high priest from the throne of grace, and the devil will flee.

Sabbath Rest, pt.3

God calls us to cease from our own labor and enter His rest.  This means we trust Him for our growth, our sanctification, our very life.  Jesus declared that man was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath was made for man. In doing so, He paved the way for Paul to issue the warning, "Let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day." In one sense this is a declaration of independence from the law. However, neither Paul nor Jesus was proclaiming freedom from the law in any kind of libertarian sense. This is not a license to do anything we want. Rather, it is freedom from approaching life on the basis of the law. We answer to a standard higher than that of the Pharisees, not because we have an even more detailed and specific set of rules to live by, but because our righteousness is Jesus Christ Himself, the One who not only fulfills the law, but is the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form. We are called to seek Him, and make knowing Him first priority, thereby clothing ourselves with His character.

It is good to read the law. It is good to be familiar with the standard set forth there. God will continue to use it to teach us, to prick our conscience and let us know when we are missing His standard. From it we can learn of Him and of His character. In it is the "scarlet thread" of redemption history leading the way to Christ. But if we approach the law as rules to live by, and seek to do so in the strength of our own determination, even out of a desire to please God, we will find it to be of no use against fleshly indulgence. The law cannot keep you from sinning. Only by seeking Christ as our life, can our flesh be reckoned dead in regard to immorality and can we clothe ourselves in Godly character. This is why Paul preached "only Christ and Him crucified." It wasn't just a salvation message. It was a how to live message. The way you get in is the way you go on. There is no other way for the believer to be righteous before God.

Sabbath rest has nothing to do with a day of the week! Hebrews 4:1-11make this clear. Verse 3 tells us, "His works were finished from the foundation of the world." God created the world in six days. However, this passage would suggest that in the spiritual realm, the most real ream of all, He is still in the "seventh day." That doesn't mean He is doing nothing. Since we are bound to space and time, He is very much at work with us in this context to work out His will in the world. Nonetheless, His works were finished before the foundation of the world. What does that mean for us? It means our salvation was secured from the foundation of the world. "He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world" (Eph.1:4). It means everything needed for us to be "holy and blameless before Him" (same verse) was done before the foundation of the world. "All our prayers were answered before the foundation of the world. "Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him" (Matt.6:8). "All things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them [already], and they shall be granted you" (Mark 11:24).

What God has accomplished in the reality of eternity, enters our space and time reality when we by faith believe that we have received it. This is true of our salvation, and our sanctification. God told Moses (Exodus 31:13), "But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying 'You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.'" That's what the Sabbath is all about. The Sabbath is given as a reminder that God is the one who sanctifies (makes holy). Our responsibility is to quit trying to sanctify ourselves and rest in the One who alone is able to make us holy and blameless and righteous. It was symbolized in the seventh day of the week under the Old Covenant. Under the New Covenant, it is our way of life.

Sabbath Rest, pt.2

In the Old Testament, it is obvious God is very serious about the Sabbath rest. We see it early. In Gen.2:2-3 we are told God rested on the 7th day of creation. In Exodus 20:8-11, the law of the Sabbath is given as part of the 10 commandments. Leviticus 25 sets forth the law regarding the Sabbatic year and the year of Jubilee. In 2 Chronicles 36 we have the story of the fall of Jerusalem to the Chaldeans. All who were not slain by the sword were taken to Babylon as slaves until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths.  The people of Israel did not fully follow the law of the Sabbath, much less giving the land its rest one year out of every seven, much less every 50th year (Jubilee). So, whether you consider the sole reason, or just a symptom of their overall disobedience, giving the land its rest was one of the key reasons given for their 70 years of captivity.

Our own bodies tell us we need a break sometimes. Our failure to do so is the cause for numerous illnesses both physical, mental, and emotional. Even more, it is the cause of much spiritual failure. The difference is, if we don't listen to our bodies, they will shut down. Eventually, we'll get so ill we have no choice but to stop and rest physically and/or mentally until we can recover - consider it a time of forced "sabbath" rest. Spiritually, however, we tend to just explain away our failures and breakdowns as part of life. We convince ourselves we have no option but to sin. It's just the way we are and will be until we get to heaven.

I submit the real problem is our definition of sin. We think of the "obvious" sins that we can see. We don't look at the sin that lies at the root. When Andrew Murray, a late 19th century minister in South Africa, grew ill and had to return to Europe for treatment, his church assured his wife she would be welcomed back after he had passed away. While in Europe, he met someone who taught him some significant lessons regarding the relationship between sin and health. In a letter back to his church he wrote that disease came as a result of sing, and was used by God to make us aware of sin in our life and lead us to repentance. Whether you or I agree with that assessment is not my point here. What struck me when I read this in his biography was the list of sins which followed.  He wrote, "This may be lack of complete consecration, the assertion of one's own will, confidence in one's own strength in performing the Lord's work, a forsaking of the first love and tenderness in the walk with God, or the absence of that gentleness which desires to follow only the leading of the Spirit of God."

The point of the New Covenant is that we have a new relationship with God. It is one of abiding in His presence. It is one in which His laws are written on our hearts. It is no longer so much a matter that "it is written," as it is that it is written on our hearts! Paul wrote that he served "the word of God, that is the mystery which...has now been manifested to His saints,...which is Christ in you the hope of glory." The New Covenant relationship with God is one in which the God of heaven Himself, in the person of His Son, takes up residence in the believer, inviting and making the way for the men who were once enemies of God to be made friends with God, and to ever live in the presence of the living God. He administers from heaven the life of heaven to the heart of the believer, so that men who could in no way in their own strength please God, now, in fact, have the righteousness of God Himself. Indeed, since "the way in" is to be in total dependence on God for the work necessary to accomplish salvation, and since we are to "go on" as we got in, there can be no more hideous sin than to neglect so great a salvation!

There is no more vile sin for the believer than to ignore God's grace and attempt to accomplish His will through some method other than that which He has set forth--total dependence upon and yieldedness to His strength, His ability administered in your life by His Spirit in the inner man! This dependence characterized your first love and tenderness in your walk with God. In those days there was a gentleness about you that desired to follow only the Spirit's leading. If Murray's list of sins describes you at any point, now is the time to stop and humbly repent. Here is the where we fail. From here we go on to lack of thanksgiving, and proceed further into the things we would normally consider when we think of a list of sins.

Sabbath Rest, pt. 1

The Greek word most often translated "labor" in the New Testament carries the idea of a wearisome struggle, a tiresome effort.  It appears frequently.  Paul proclaims: "and for this purpose I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me." He says, "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I but the grace of God with me." The list goes on: verses that tell us we labor; but we don't; God does. However, there's one verse about labor that seems to be an exception to that pattern. There's one challenge to labor that is not qualified by saying it is in fact God's grace, or God's power that actually enables the work.  Hebrews 4:11 challenges us to "labor to enter that rest." We are exhorted to labor (to the point of wearisome struggle) to rest.

This is perhaps the most difficult challenge facing the contemporary Christian. Our culture, perhaps more than any in history, demands action. The humanistic influences of this age say whatever we do, we're doing in our own human power and ability. So we're urged to work hard, be all we can be, do all we can do, by the power within us as humans - our own power. We repel at the idea of not pouring all our strength into achieving our goals.

Yet scripture tells us to strive in His strength. This is hard for us. It takes significant effort not to do all we can do and let God do the rest. We are called to let Him be all! This is a struggle. But it is the only legitimate struggle for the Christian! If you are struggling with finances, your spouse, your teenager (or toddler), your job (even ministry), the drivers who are hogging the highway, with illness, with temptation, with being "Christian," or anything else - you are not resting.

Yes, we need self-discipline. We need to take action and not just sit around waiting for good things to happen. But there is a huge difference in deifying man and saying the power within is our own human strength, and ceasing from your own efforts and entering His rest. The difference is the other verses on labor - I labor, but by God's grace and power working in and through me. And there the difference is: I find peace, I rest, I don't burnout, I don't struggle with life's issues.

When I was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in a lymph gland in my neck, I realized that if all the things I'd learned, shared with others and put in my book were true, it was time to live them - put up, or shut up.  It would be a time like no other in my life to apply these truths. It was determined the cancer had started in my tonsils. So, after a tonsillectomy, I began radiation and chemo, followed by another surgery to remove the tattered remains of several lymph glands. Even without the surgeries, the very nature of cancer treatment makes it hard not to focus on how your body feels. You are constantly physically fatigued as your body uses all its energy to not only fight the disease, but to recover from the treatment. It's hard not to struggle with it - to rest and not be discouraged. I found that when I applied these truths, I felt better and recovered more quickly. The doctors described my progress as "remarkable." What's remarkable is the power of God's word when combined with faith.

Now, how you rest is the topic for more than one blog post. In fact, it's one of those principles I mentioned in an earlier post that is interwoven with others - knowing Him, faith, giving thanks. But understanding the principle of rest is a beginning place, and that's what my next couple or few blogs will deal with.

Oaks of Righteousness

Life comes out of death - remember the lesson of the seed (March 19th blog)?  Instead of grain, let's use the acorn as our example.


As the acorn dies to being a seed and begins sending its roots deep into the soil, it draws life from the soil which goes into the growing up of the tree above ground.  As the tree continues to abide in the soil, it continues to draw life from the soil and continues to grow large and strong.  It is a long slow process to grow an oak tree, but the results are worth it.  The oak is one of the largest and strongest trees.  It is hardy and healthy, not easily damaged or diseased.  An ash or silver maple may grow more quickly, but they are weaker, more susceptible to disease and shorter lived. 

The ground of our growth is the love of God, demonstrated when Christ Jesus laid down His life for us.  We are rooted and grounded in love (see Ephesians 3:18).  We are buried with Christ in His death (see Romans 6:3-5).  Andrew Murray wrote: "It is as we abide in the ground of His death by faith that we stike the roots of faith deep down into Him, like a planted acorn, and thus His life springs up in us into 'newness of life'; 'resurrection life'; the ascension life within the veil."  This is how we become "oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified" (Isaiah 61:3).

When I first began to study spiritual growth, one of the first resources I found was Miles Stanford's Principles of Spiritual Growth (also titled The Green Letters).  In it, Stanford list several principles, a chapter at a time, among them, "appropriation."  The principle of appropriation says that as you learn what is already yours in Christ, and as you experience a practical need, you will appropriate, or receive from Him what He has already done to meet that need.  This was during a rocky time in my life (a time of "practical need") and as I read this book and others dealing with the Christian life and growth, I began "appropriating" everything in sight!  I was starving for more of the Lord, and I was desiring and "claiming" every principle of life and growth I was learning about.

My life suddenly seemed to get even more complicated and more painful than it already was. God's response to my "appropriating" was in effect: "You asked for it; so, I'm going to give you what you're requesting in a way that you will know I heard your prayer." What He was pouring into my life had multiple effects.
First, He sustained me through a time of great crisis. Second, contrasted to the depth of hurt and confusion in my life, He showed me how suffering can be our greatest teacher. Third, He showed me that I could not handle, all at once, all that I was asking Him to teach me. Finally, He convinced me that my growth - what I was to learn at a given time, the teaching method, and the pace at which He would teach me - is His responsibility!

This is the daily cross. This is always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus. It is coming to an end of all your efforts to take responsibility for your growth away from the Lord who began it. It is resting in Him who is at work both to will and to work for His good pleasure. It is totally trusting that the God who is is a willing and faith rewarder of those who seek Him.

He truly is YHWH Tsidkenu - The Lord Our Righteousness - and YHWH M'Kaddesh - The Lord who Sanctifies.  The way you get in is the way you go on. Trust Him who saved you to also grow you, and you will become an "Oak of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified."

The Way You Get in Is the Way You Grow

The whole point of "going on the way you got in" is faith.  We must be totally dependent on the Father.  The Bible says Jesus could have come down from the cross if He'd chosen to.  He could just as easily, miraculously put Himself on the cross - with less pain, shame and humiliation.  But He came as a lamb to the slaughter.  The lamb was taken to the altar and killed.  It did not volunteer; it was led.  Jesus came as a lamb, not only in His innocence, but also in His yieldedness.  He was led.  He was nailed.  He was crucified. It was done to Him.  Likewise, it is not up to us to nobly go and jump on the altar of sacrifice and say, "Oh, okey dokey, I as of this moment, am dead to self." We may realize we need to, and agree to, but it just doesn't happen at that moment. It's a process.  And it's one for which God is responsible. How it plays out in our lives is not our decision. We, like Christ, are to be yielded to the hand of the One Who is daily renewing us after the image of Him that created our new nature (Col.3:10).

We are to "put on" the traits of the new man. But, how? The new man is the one who died, and whose life is hid with Christ in God (Col.3:3). He is the one who is crucified, yet lives, yet doesn't live, but Christ lives in him (Gal.2:20). The way you put him on is the way you got in - total dependence that He Who began a good work in you is able to complete it (Phil.1:6).

You got in by ceasing from your own efforts and resting in what He did on your behalf.  You go on the same way.  You got in through the cross, you go on by the cross.  You got in by grace through faith; you go on by grace through faith. You could not save your self, and you cannot sanctify yourself! Sanctification is God's responsibility, not yours. "For it is God who is at work in you both to will and to work for His good pleasure! (Phil.2:13)

Consider this: A tree grows during the spring time, about three months out of the year. The remainder of the year is spend solidifying that growth. God does no less with us. He is responsible for our growth. He knows we can only handle so much at one time. He grows us. Then, when He deems best, He stops the growth, [yes, He does] putting it on hold and allowing us to solidify in what we have just learned. The heat and drought of summer, the storms and dying and stripping bare of autumn, and the coldness and death of winter mature us and make that new growth a strong and vital part of us. Then He can build on that the next season of growth.  If we really faith that "He who began a good work in you will complete it" then when the period of fast growth suddenly comes to an end, we will not panic. We will know that He is still in control. We will trust Him, and we will rest in Him.

More The Way You Get In....

"By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourself it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast," Eph.2:8-9.  By grace through faith.  The way you get in is the way you go on.  That's why Paul said he wrote the book of Galatians - to stress that the Christian walk is a walk of grace through faith, and not of works.  "I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ.... You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace," (Gal.1:6; 5:4).  Note he said "fallen from grace," not "fallen from salvation."  The word translated "severed from" is more literally translated "made of no effect" or "made a non-work." (Same word as in last Tuesday's blog from Heb.2:14 where it says the devil was rendered powerless or made of no effect.) 

When we as followers of Christ seek to be justified by law, to live by rules and self-effort, and try to go on apart from the grace that got us in, we are made of no effect.  All our efforts are "non-works," i.e., without result.

Do you feel powerless in your walk with the Lord?  Bless His name!  You are powerless!!  Don't try to do God's work (or simply live the Christian life) in your own strength.  Glory in your weakness.  Rejoice in it.  There is no better place in all the world for you to be than in absolute dependence upon the Father!  So depend on Him.  Rest in Him.  Walk in the grace that saved you! You may find yourself doing some of the same things, but in His strength and ability and not your own.  It will be a work characterized by inner peace, not by emotional turmoil, strife and burnout.  Look at it this way.  Think about what you with all your abilities are capable of doing.  Now, think about the things God is capable of doing, His abilities.  Now whose ability would you rather operate in, yours or His?

Romans 6:6 says we were crucified with Christ that our body of sin might be "made of no effect."  Hebrews 2:14 says that Christ went to the cross to "make of no effect" the one who had the power of death, that is the devil.  1 Cor. 1:18 says the message of the cross is the power (Greek word is dunamis - inherent capability) of God to us who are being saved.  The way you get in is the way you go on.  Galatians 5:4 in essence is saying that if you stop going on the way you got in - if you go back to living by law after having been saved by the grace of God through faith in the work of Christ on the cross - you will be "made of no effect."  That's a pretty serious warning.

That's why Paul said he was determined to preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  It wasn't just a salvation message, it was a daily life message.  The way you get in is the way you go on.

The Way You Get In Is The Way You Go On

Dr. Jack Gray, former missions professor at SWBTS used to say: "The way you get in is the way you go on."  For me, it was a life-changing concept.

What does it mean? Is it scriptural? I guarantee it is far more than a trite cliche.  Colossians 2:6 read, "Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus, so walk in Him?"  See it? As (in the same manner) you have received Him, so (in the same manner) walk.  The way you received Him is the way you walk.  The way you get in is the way you go on.

So, how did you receive Him?  This isn't just "your testimony."  This is getting down to the dynamics of salvation - the common factors by which we all "get in."  Let's consider it.  There are a few key concepts that can open up a world of insight on how to live the Christian life - how to be a Christian.

One that we obviously think of right away, is the cross of Jesus.  Another is Ephesians 2:8 - "By grace you have been saved through faith...."  One we don't necessarily think of immediately is the idea of rest.  We'll look at each.

Is it not true that part of being saved was reaching the place where you realized that you did not and could not please God?  You needed a savior because you could not save yourself.  But Jesus had done everything necessary for your salvation.  So you ceased from your own efforts to save yourself and make yourself pleasing to God, and rested in what Jesus had accomplished for you.  The way you get in is the way you go on.

At the moment of your salvation, you went to the cross.  It was a place of death.  Not Christ's death only, though.  According to Paul in Romans 6, Colossians 3, Philippians 3, and 2 Corinthians 4, you shared in His death.  This is part of the "ceasing from your own efforts."  A dead man does not work.  The way you get in is the way you go on.

Go to the cross daily.  The message of the cross is the power of God to us who are being saved (1 Cor. 1:18)  What is the "message" of the cross?  Is it not death?  Jesus said, "If any man would be my disciple, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me."  Daily!  The way you get in is the way you go on.

I could develop this more, but then it would get pretty long - it's several pages in my book.  I may blog more on it later in the week if anyone's interested.  For now, one last corollary:

If we as Christians would learn to walk the same way we received, it would eliminate a lot of grief and struggle for us in our daily lives, and it would eliminate a lot of confusion on the part of those outside the body of Christ as they observe our lives.  If we would go on the way we got in, others would see how to get in by the way we go on.

Seeds - dying to live

John 12:24 says: "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone, but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit."

My dad planted a garden every year in his back yard. His house sat on an acre, so he was able to have a pretty big garden.  When he planted his corn, he always put four seeds in each hole. One day while helping him, I asked why.  It was a lesson he'd learned from his dad, and he explained it to me with the same poem his dad had used to explain it to him:

"One for the worm, and one for the crow;
One to rot, and one to grow."

Now, look back at John 12:24 and think about those four seeds.  Which of the four was the one that died to bring forth much fruit?  Obviously the ones for the worm and the crow are out of the picture.  Although we might tend to think of rotting as resulting from death, that seed is obviously not the one that grows.  That only leaves one.  So how does it grow if it dies?  And if it dies, why doesn't it rot instead of grow?

Look ahead a few months to when you have a garden full of corn stalks with ears of corn and ready to harvest.  If you pull that corn stalk out of the ground, where is the seed you started from?  You're holding it in your hand, aren't you?  Ears of corn will not grow on the corn kernel itself.  It must cease to be a seed and become a stalk.  It must "die" to being a seed in order to become the corn stalk on which more ears can be produced.

Scripture challenges us to do the same.  As we die to self, we can learn to live in Christ.  As we count all things loss, we experience the crucified life, and find the power of the resurrection on the life side of the cross.  As we experience difficult and painful experiences in our lives, we often think we are going through "Hell on earth."  We compare our hurt to the pain of dying.  We may even think in terms of "bearing our cross."  In reality though, our "cross" is His cross.  The painful experiences are just that - painful experiences.  They only relate to the cross of Jesus to the extent that they point out the areas of our lives where we are operating in our own strength rather than depending on Him.  When we realize that, we'll find that God's word really does contain relevant answers to life's hurts; and even those difficult times can serve to lead us to a victorious, fruitful, abundant life in Christ.  And it begins with the lesson of the seed.

I'll develop this idea more in the next couple of blogs - based on chapter 3 of my book. 
I'm kind of new to blogging, but I know if I go to someone's blog and the posts are really long, I'm less inclined to read it all.  I'd appreciate any feedback on that.  If you would rather have more in each post and not split it up so much, or I'm doing okay, or if I need to make them even shorter - let me know.  I'm not such an artsy person that my feelings would be hurt - I just want to share what's on my heart in a way that others might actually take the time to read it and be blessed, or challenged and would feel free to engage in discussion if they agree or disagree.

Faith is a Verb (or it should be)

God must long to convince us He really wants only our good!  In fact, in Hebrews 6:13-18, God swears that it is His fervent desire to bless us.

Andrew Murray pointed out: "Oh if we would but take time to tarry in the presence of this God and to listen to Him swearing to us that He will be faithful, surely we should fall down in confusion that we ever harbored for a moment the doubt which thinks it possible that He may be untrue and not keep His word."  He goes on, "In the Christian life there is a lack of steadfastness, of diligence, of perseverance.  Of all the cause is simply lack of faith.  And of this again the cause is the lack of the knowledge of what God will and is, of His purpose and power to bless most wonderfully, and of His faithfulness to carry out His purpose."

He is.  He is God - creator, sovereign, loving Father, eternal righteous, holy, almighty, and so much more.  And, He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. 

In Greek, the noun "faith," and the verb "believe" are from the same root word.  In other words, "faith" is both a noun and a verb.  It is unfortunate that it is not so in English.  "Believe" is just used to lightly and for to many insignificant things.  The significance of "must believe that He is" is too easily glossed over.

God has given us six senses.  (Yes, six.)  With five of them, we experience the physical world.  God is a spiritual being and cannot be fully experienced with our five physical senses.  To know Him requires faith.  Faith is not a blind leap into the unknown.  It is the sense by which we experience the spiritual.  By faith we experience the spiritual just as we use to sight to perceive light, and hearing to perceive sound.  You cannot see until your eyes are acted upon by light.  You cannot hear until your eyes are acted upon by sound.  You cannot "faith" until your faith is acted upon by the Spirit.

To come to God, we must "faith" first of all that He is - that He exists and that He exists as God - and second, that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.  If you do not believe that there is some merit in seeking Him, you won't do it.  If you truly believe He will respond to you, that He will allow Himself to be sought and known by you, nothing will hold you back from seeking Him and knowing Him.  If we would only see the surpassing value of knowing Him above all else, we would be at the beginning of abiding always in His presence, before His throne, face to face.  If we could only grasp that His greatest gift is Himself, we would count all else as rubbish, and we would gain Him (Philippians 3:8).

This is the beginning point of the "crucified life" whereby we die to the temporal and cling to the eternal.  By being conformed to His death, we know Him, and the power of His resurrection.  We die to righteousness that is of our own doing (derived from the law).in order to live in the righteousness that is from Him, based on faith.

What will you settle for?

I mentioned yesterday that God doesn't want to deprive us of pleasure, but wants us to find the greatest possible pleasure - knowing Him.

It is not only in the area of earthly pleasures that we settle for less than God desires for us and offers to us.  It is also in the area of Christian living and lifestyle.  We have so many plans, programs and events that we consider to be part of living the Christian life, that we don't know how to just be Christian.  The reverse of that is true, too:  We don't know how to just be Christian, so we come up with plans, programs and events in an attempt to make it happen.    We think church is something we "go to" and that Christianity is the things we do.  Instead of equipping the saints, the church manufactures what it calls a Christian life composed of classes, seminars, etc., etc.  We are so convinced that this is being a Christian that we teach people this is how they must live.  We are proclaiming religious activities instead of teaching people how to love God and live in His strength.  Instead of equipping the saints, we are engineering a lifestyle.

We proclaim God's standard in this area of life or that.  We forget that God is "Yahweh Nissi" - the Lord My Standard.  We want so much to be holy that we try to find all the things we need to do to be holy.  And in all our efforts and doing we never quite make it.  The only way for us to "be perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect" is to allow Him to be both "The Lord Our Standard" and "The Lord Who Sanctifies [Makes Holy]".  We settle for so much less than He desires for us when we seek to raise up a standard, and that standard is anything less than God Himself.  (No wonder Jesus said your righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees!)  As Andrew Murray put it: "It's not the law, and not the book, not the knowledge of what is right, that works obedience, but the personal influence of God and His living fellowship."

Your Father knows how to give good things to His children.  Your Father longs to give good things to you!  He craves the privilege of giving you great joy.  He takes great delight in giving you great delight.  He has fun blessing you!  How the Father's heart must break because His children do not believe He really loves them that much.  How He must yearn to convince us He really wants only our good.  Believe that He really is, and that He really is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

The Competition

God is contending for the affection of His people.  He loves us dearly, deeply, passionately, and He longs for us to love Him with the same fervor.  But we love the world.  We count everything except Him to be "gain."  We mouth the words from time to time, but do not yet truly mean it when we say, "I count all things lost for the surpassing value of knowing Him.

What you value, you spend time with.  You treat what you value with respect and tenderness.  What you value, you say nice things about (in other words, you praise). So think about: what is worthy of being valued by you?  What is more worthy of being valued by you than He is?  All things are eclipsed by the surpassing value of know Him!



"Without faith it is impossible to please God, for he that comes to God must faith that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him."  First believe that He is.  But also, believe that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.  The implication is, He wants to be sought.  He is willing to be found - to the point that He won't hide in obscurity.  Seek Him and He will reward that effort.

We are talking about a God who has a song that He likes to sing about you (see Zephaniah 3:17)!  He created you for fellowship with Himself.  He desires that everything about your life be to the praise of the glory of His grace.  He wants you to enjoy Him.  He is not trying to make you miserable and take all the pleasure out of your life.  He is simply trying to help you stop settling for the meager pleasures this world offers, when you could have the much greater pleasure and joy in life that you can find only in Him!

Knowing Him

Okay, so here's where it gets fun - sort of.  We can wrap our brains around the idea of counting all the "good" stuff in our lives as loss if it's getting in the way of knowing God.  But go beyond this.  Go beyond the things you count as gain.  Paul says, "More than that, I count all things to be loss for the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord."

We think in terms of:  "My divorce was a tremendous loss!"  Or, "My business failure and the resulting financial disaster was an immense loss!"  Or, "My illness not only made me physically weak, it was a loss of time and money!"

Listen deeper.  "Count all things to be loss for the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord."  If you are looking at the loss you experienced, and mourning it and grieving over it, you are still valuing what you lost.  Count that loss itself, the very experience of it, as loss, for the surpassing value of knowing Christ.  Let your experiences, good or bad, gain or loss, all result in your receiving the greater benefit of knowing Him.

No, I'm not saying stifle your emotions.  I'm not saying it is a sin to grieve over a loss.  You will!  You're human, and you were created with emotions.  You need to grieve over things that hurt.  Feel your hurt.  But don't live there.  Don't stay there forever.  At some point, let your hurt cause you to let go of this world of temporary things a little more, and cling to Him.  "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us."

ALL things in life - good or bad - anything that we just keep holding onto that interferes with our holding onto Him - we need to learn to let go.  If we will learn to count both our gains and our losses to be loss for the surpassing value of knowing Him, nothing the enemy throws at us can have a lasting effect on us.  This is what Hebrews 2:14 is referring to when it says Jesus' death on the cross rendered the devil powerless.  The word translated "powerless" in that verse literally means "of no effect."  Not only did Jesus' resurrection overcome death, it made Satan of no effect.  It's like working all day on a task and getting no results.  It would be like pushing your lawn mower all over your yard, motor running, blade spinning, but not cutting any grass.  Or more familiar to most of us, like working for a couple of hours entering something on your computer and closing the program without ever saving your work.  You did the work, but there are no results.  You gotta realize Satan doesn't cause sickness, broken relationships, or wars, or tsunamis or anything else just for the sake of inflicting pain and suffering.  His purpose is to interfere with man's relationship with God - with your relationship with God.  When our focus is on knowing Christ Jesus, and we count all things as loss anyway, even the things the enemy throws at us will result in our knowing Christ.  The results he was seeking to accomplish will never happen!  It's makes Satan of no effect.  This is the crucified life in practical application.  This is being crucified with Christ. 

In my book, which this blog is based on, I share more insights that work together to help not only make this easier to accept, but also show how to do it.  (I almost said easier to do, but it really is easier said than done).  Over time, I'll share more of that here as well.  At this stage, a lot of the ideas are foundational.  Knowing Him definitely a foundational principle for Christian living.  It should be our top priority, and nothing is of greater value.  The amazingly wonderful thing is, God is willing to be known by us!  He is.  He exists.  And, He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

What things were "gain" to me?

Philippians 3:1-11 - "But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ...."

I was born and raised in a Baptist, church-going family. I was a "good kid" - a leader in the church youth group, class chaplain through most of high school. I helped found a Christian service club at the school. I was "called to the ministry," attended a Baptist college, majoring in Religion and minoring in Greek. I married a good Baptist girl who said she was "called to be a pastor's wife"....  My good name was gain to me. So was the respect of my peers and loved ones. Serving the Lord "in the ministry" was gain to me. Knowing what I was going to do with my life was gain to me. Having a wife who shared that ministry was gain to me, and so was going to seminary.

And I lost it all.  The marriage was a little stormy, mainly because she married me to get away from her alcoholic parents and "hoped the love part would come later."  After a few years, she decided she wanted out and left. (That's the short version - relationships are always more complicated than that.)  At any rate, all those dreams, all those things I counted as "gain," slipped through my fingers.

"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.... and no one shall snatch them out of My hand" (John 10:28).  Over time, because He never let go of me, I realized that I had been clinging to all the trappings the world could offer a young man entering the ministry, more than I was clinging to Him.  Because He never let go, I learned that all those things I had been clinging to were temporal - including "the ministry."  (Hopefully, "ministry" will have eternal results, but a ministry career is itself temporal).

Whatever you are clinging to: a job, a ministry, "the" ministry, your parents, your spouse, or children, or siblings, a house, a car, a pet, or even your own life - let go.  Fall into the Father's arms.  Nothing can snatch you from there.  Cling to Him.  Seek Him first and His righteousness, and everything else you need in life will be added back to you.  Quit trying to get your needs met.  Meet Him.  Love Him.  Seek Him.  Know Him.  Count all those things you have considered to be gain, or a benefit to yourself to possess, as loss.

(Tomorrow, we'll take this to the next level)

God! Why?!

"Why?" is usually the first question out of our mouths when something bad happens.   When we feel devastated, hurt, confused - we want to know why. 
What am I supposed to learn through this? 
I just don't understand why all this is happening to me! 
Why did my wife leave me and the kids? 
Why is my child living a life of sin? 
Why does my husband drink so much? 
Why was I abused as a child? 
Cancer? Me? Why, Lord!?!
God! Don't you care? I though you were a loving God?!

God's word seems to set forth some very clear guidelines to answer these questions.  Maybe I'm being too simplistic about this.  Then again, maybe being "simplistic" is just exercising the "faith of a child" to which He has called us.  Maybe it is time the body of Christ "simply" accepted what God is doing.  Or just maybe, we have failed to realize that God really is doing something!  I suspect that we do not really believe that God is active.  As we look at the world around us, we see only that which is obvious to our senses, and much of it is not so good.  We know man was created to have dominion over the earth.  We have come to accept that we forfeited that dominion to Satan in the fall of Adam & Eve, and that we do not yet see all things under his (man's) feet (Heb.2:8).  Unfortunately we stop there, and miss the wonderful victory offered in the verses that follow.

In addition, we tend to compartmentalize our lives and separate the spiritual from the everyday.  In fact, we look at the everyday stuff as the "real" world and the spiritual as, well, spiritual stuff - it's kind of nice, and we know it's important, but we're not really sure what to do with it.  Further, we separate spiritual truths about what God has done for us, and will do in and through us, and about spiritual growth and maturity from practical application and ministry (in other words how to live in the "real world").  Even when churches teach both, they seem to separate them.  We talk about the cross, denying yourself, resting in the Lord, faith, etc.  That's one aspect of the Christian life and it goes in this box over here.  Then we talk about ministry, witnessing, discipleship, prayer and other aspects of the Christian life as a completely separate line of teaching.  And never the two shall meet!

Fact is, in my opinion, the "spiritual" stuff is the foundation, the motivation and the power for accomplishing the practical.  That's what Paul meant when he said he only preached "Jesus Christ, and Him crucified."  He wasn't saying he preached nothing but evangelistic messages.  He was teaching that the cross of Jesus Christ has implications for all of the Christian life.  As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.  The way you get in is the way you go on!  The cross of Jesus is the power (the ability, the inherent capabilities) of God Himself released in those who are being saved.