Claiming God's promises

A few weeks ago I wrote about the covenant promise God made with Abraham. That was really just a history lesson for us because we are under a new covenant with God, a better one…

  

31 "The time is coming," declares the LORD,

"when I will make a new covenant

with the house of Israel  

and with the house of Judah.  

32 It will not be like the covenant

I made with their forefathers  

when I took them by the hand

to lead them out of Egypt,

because they broke my covenant,  

though I was a husband to them. "  

declares the LORD.

33 "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel  

after that time," declares the LORD.  

"I will put my law in their minds  

and write it on their hearts.  

I will be their God,

and they will be my people.

34 No longer will a man teach his neighbor,

or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,'

because they will all know me,  

from the least of them to the greatest,"

declares the LORD.  

"For I will forgive their wickedness  

and will remember their sins no more."  

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Why is it called new? The New Testament uses two different Greek words for "new": Neos means new in contrast to old. Kainos means "new" in the sense of "unique".

… to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Hebrews 12:24

This scripture identifies Jesus Christ as the mediator of the new covenant, is the only scripture where kainos is used in reference to the new covenant. Every other passage uses neos. So the "new covenant" is unique.

But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises.

Hebrews 8:6

  

This passage tells us the new covenant is better than the old because it has better promises. These promises weren’t part of the previous; they were unique to the new covenant. Chapter 8 in Hebrews Mentions three promises.

Change of Nature

  

Israel didn't have the heart or nature to obey God 

Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!

Deuteronomy 5:29

The old covenant contained no condition for internal motivation to obey God. In the new covenant God promises to put His laws into the mind and write them on the heart of His people (Hebrews 8). Obeying God's law is not a normal human response, Romans 8:7 say’s “the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so”. The new covenant promises the power to obey God, through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, a unique feature of the new covenant.

Sanctification is the process of the Holy Spirit convicting us of our sin and changing the way we perceive sin. This process is not a onetime thing it’s a daily commitment to lining up your mind with God’s word. The nature has change into one of a personal and intimate relationship with God.

Forgiveness of Sins

…"For I will forgive their wickedness  

and will remember their sins no more." 

Jeremiah 31:34

Forgiveness of sins, also necessary for a relationship with God is another new promise and unique benefit of the new covenant. The Levitical system of sacrifices cannot take away sins it just covered them up. Therefore, forgiveness of sins was unique to the new covenant. The Passover wine represents the new covenant in Christ's blood, which was shed for the remission of sins.

Eternal Inheritance

  

Eternal inheritance is another unique and better promise offered in the new covenant. Eternal life is a never ending relationship with God. 

Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

John 17:3

We are heirs of God through Christ, and what meaning would eternal life have apart from God?

If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Galatians 3:29

  

And the promise is the New Covenant with God, with Christ a Mediator, the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, forgiveness of sin and eternal life. And as an heir you have a right to boldly pursue what God says is yours.  

I’m not sure why but a lot of people think they have to walk on eggshells and delicately wonder over these things. The Bible clearly says you are an heir and you have a right to your stuff.

11Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)— 12remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

Ephesians 2:11-13

The term covenant adds weight to this binding blood bought promise. Man might break his promise but God won’t. God is perfect and Holy and He has to do what He says He is going to – every time, no questions asked.

The covenant promise that we are entitled to is between God and us, and once entered into cannot be broken. Not even death releases God from this covenant because the covenant transcends it. Let’s look back at verse 12, the word “foreigner” is translated from the Greek word Xenos which means “without the knowledge of OR new and unheard of”. So prior to being born again you just didn’t know anything about this.

So now that we are saved and have an inheritance that we are entitled to, what’s next?

  

The Bible is the covenant we have with God. You have to read it to understand God’s promise.

What happens if you don’t read the Bible and understand the covenant God has made with you?

  

Ephesians 2:12 says you will have no hope. And you will have no hope because you wont have the benefit of God’s word in your life because you can’t benefit from the Word of God if you don’t know it. In theory you could go to heaven without ever reading the Bible…

That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Romans 10:9

But if you go through life without knowing and understanding the Word of God, you will be living without God’s provision.

The Bible is God’s perfect an inerrant word. You have to

• 
  
  
  Hold on to His Word
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  Stand on His Word
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  Believe in His Word
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  Take it and never let it go

You don’t connect to the provision and power of God with tears and pleas; you connect to the power of God through faith. Faith comes from knowing God’s Word and having it written on your heart, and having confidence and understanding the promises He has made to you.

Faith and the will of God can’t operate where it isn’t known.  (Ephesians 2:12 strangers/foreigners)

I’m not saying that God won’t work in and improve your life if you don’t read your Bible and increase your knowledge. But anything He chooses to do is only going to happen by grace and the efforts of others in prayer for you.

Without a study and understanding of Gods word your life can’t unite with the will of God and the amazing specific plan he has your life. You have and inheritance from your Father and He left you His last will and testament, the Bible. Read it, understand it and boldly demand what you’ve been promised.

Hope is a right of your inheritance. Could you use some hope in your life? Take it, God promised it to you so you can walk boldly through any problem knowing you’re covered. Look at

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be."

Romans 4:18

Before Abraham became fully persuaded, he hoped against hope. He decided to not listen to what the world had to say. The world said he was too old to have a kid, the world said Sarah was too old and barren, it would be impossible to have a child. But what did Abraham do? He hoped against hope and trusted God to do what He said He was going to do. And that paid off pretty good for him I’d say. And just like Abraham when the world is beating you down and things look hopeless, you can get some hope in the Word of God.

How could anyone go through life without hope? There is an entire world full of people that we are surrounded with everyday that don’t know about the hope that God has for them. And it’s up to us to make sure they know where to come and get it.

We have been given the winners manual for life in the Bible. The Bible is hope and that hope will overcome any situation. I know this because God promises it and spells it out very clearly in the Bible. And I get my hope from this book everyday. And when people tell me I can’t do something I set my mind to or that I’m crazy for the things I believe in I just tell them it’s too bad they can’t see what I see. And when it doesn’t look like I’m going to succeed I say just wait. Because you can’t see what I see and you don’t know what I know but keep on watching because it is going to blow you away when it happens.

That’s faith

That pleases God

That faith will see you through anything

Because I get my faith through hope and the source of my hope is God.

People can’t be your source. Man will always disappoint you. The Bible has to be your source. You have to read it to have the advantage of knowing God’s promise. God’s promise has no “but” in it. Read it, read it every day, that’s it.

God gives us the reason to know and understand his Word and wraps it up very nicely in a beautiful piece of scripture found in 1 Peter.

…"God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

1 Peter 5:5b-10

I feel that that is one of the most beautiful passages of scripture in the Bible. I’m encouraged to know that through grace alone, God’s mighty hand will touch me. I’m reassured that I can rest because He will take on any burden I allow Him to take.

I know that the God will show me the way to remain in control and the means to resist any temptation I encounter. And I take comfort in knowing that I’m not alone in my suffering and that when I have suffered, and only for a little while, God will restore me and build me up greater than before.

All that and a whole lot more is promised to us… You’re just going to have to read the rest of it yourself.

Grace then peace,

Jeff

Become fully persuaded!

Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness." The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
Romans 4:20-25

Abraham didn’t waver through unbelief which means he never doubted, even for a second, that God would do what He said he was going to do.  And how much was he persuaded?  Abraham was fully persuaded. You can’t be more persuaded than “fully”.

And the Bible tells us that - that belief, that faith was credited to him as righteousness.

Have you have ever wavered in believing God’s promise?  Have you ever had any doubt about your faith? Have you ever questioned if God really would do all the things and stuff you’ve been told He can do?

I’m not proud to say it but I have too.

So how was Abraham able to become so sure, so positive, have this absolute faith that Paul talks about in Romans?  That must have been some meeting that took place for him to have had this unshakable confidence in God’s promise.

Let’s take a look at that meeting….  Genesis 15, we are going to start at verse 1.

After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:

"Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward. "

But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir."

Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."

Genesis 15:1-7

Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

Look at that. Abraham believed and God immediately credited it to him as righteousness.  God made His promise to Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation years ago but Abraham didn’t waver and believed God immediately and God credited it to him as righteousness.

And today we have an amazing parallel to Abraham. Abraham didn’t do a bunch of good works then get counted as righteous.  He believed God would do what He said he would do.  He trusted God and it was counted as righteousness.  When?  Immediately there was NO lag time.

The KJV uses the word counted instead of credited and I like that because it infers that God is keeping track of things.  The original Hebrew word used was “chashab” which translates to being charged or imputed.  You can’t have “chashab” removed or taken away, it’s yours.  SO in other words when God writes your name in His book, you’re counted and God’s pencil doesn’t have an eraser.

And while that might sound too easy, he believed and immediately he was credited as righteous, it isn’t any different than the measuring stick God uses for all of us.  We don’t work to become righteous; Jesus did that for us…

Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

Romans 5:18-19

We make it too difficult.  We don’t have to work to become righteous, God gives it to us.  You can’t do enough good works or try hard enough to get into heaven, that will never work.  Just like Abraham we must simply believe God…

That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Romans 10:9

So if we believe that through Christ we have been justified and the cross was His act of obedience, and we believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead…  We have been given the righteousness of Christ Himself.

It’s that simple and we make it too difficult. Believe and be counted as righteous. And you don’t have to do anything else for God to mark you as counted, as chashab, in His book.

So, Abraham believed and God continued…

He also said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it." But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?"

Genesis 15:7-8

God tells him that He is the one that gave him everything he had and He was adding to that a child, their heir he asked about. And the response of Abraham is one that you have probably made yourself…

“How can I believe you God”? He told God to prove it to him. And isn’t that really the question everyone wants to ask?

God, how can I be sure...

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  You’re going to take care of me?
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  You’re going to protect me?
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  You’re going to take care of my kids?
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  You’re going to help me pay my bills or get a job?

How can I be fully persuaded you are telling me the truth God?

Unfortunately most people who make a profession of faith, are born again then stop right there and never ask God that question. That’s too bad because just like Abraham, we have the right to boldly ask God to confirm His covenant with us. The apostle Paul tells us that through Christ:

Let then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Hebrews 4:16

We have the right to approach God and have Him confirm His promise to us so that we can have the faith to be able to live a life that knowing that:

God said it

I believe it

I'm going to heaven

I’m going to read my Bible everyday and God WILL speak to me

That’s it. Nothing really bold or difficult about that once you realize that God has to do everything He says He’s going to do. Once you have confidence that God will do everything He says He’ll do. To build your faith you need confidence.

So how Abraham was able to be confident in God’s promise?

So the LORD said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon."

Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."  

When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates- the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites."

Genesis 15: 9-20

God told Abraham to make a sacrifice, a very specific sacrifice with specific instructions. But more importantly Abraham just did what he was told to do, no questions asked. And each of us must decide for ourselves what sacrifice we are will to make for our relationship with Christ. I have come to believe that the relationship you have with your Maker is directly related to what you are willing to give up in its pursuit. Every un-godly activity in your life is another layer between you and God and the more of these you remove, the closer to Him you get. We have to replace the things of the world for the things of God. It really is that simple. We have to do what the Bible tells us to do, without question and give God a shot at making good on his promise.

Remember that at the time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.

Ephesians 2:12

Those who are separate from Christ are operating in their own power. And when we, as born again Christians begin to operate in our power instead of God’s, we are separating ourselves from Him and the power He has made available to us all. We have to get out of the way and let God work in our life. Look back at verse 12, Abraham was under God’s power when he went into this deep sleep and when Abraham had gotten out of the way and let God do His thing, that’s when He came down and sealed the covenant with him. And when you stop working and trying, when you make the choice to get out of God’s way, he’ll seal His covenant with you too.

Grace and Peace from Him!

Jeff

Have you suffered lately?

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice”.

Philippians 4:4

There is little doubt in my mind that Paul was an optimist.  The Pauline Epistles are an amazing collection of encouraging words written to a people who at the time needed a lot of encouragement.  In the early church Christians died for their faith and beliefs as a common occurrence.  Our Brothers and Sisters from that era were often used as sport and feed to lions in public displays at the Coliseum.  Early Church records reference groups of Christians huddling together in prayer, as the lions attacked their cries of joy and prayer were often heard over the screams of pain.  The Roman Emperor Nero is said to have coated Christians in pitch and burned them alive to light his garden at night and better see the chariot races that took place for his enjoyment.  I know that I wouldn’t want to trade places with those in the past and they would probably laugh at what I call suffering.

And Paul gave us a little glimpse of how easy his life was in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 and here is a quick list of his joy:

·         whipped with 39 lashes (5 different times)
·         beaten with rods (3 different times)
·         pummeled with stones (1 time)
·         shipwrecked (3 times)
·         adrift at sea (one night, one day)
·         journeys (frequent)
·         danger from rivers
·         danger from robbers
·         danger from his own people
·         danger from Gentiles
·         danger in the city
·         danger in the wilderness
·         danger at sea
·         danger from false brothers
·         toil and hardship
·         sleepless nights (many)
·         hungry and thirsty (often)
·         cold and exposed
·         the pressure of anxiety for all the churches (daily)

And the reason Paul found joy in these things was that his circumstance forced him to turn to God.  Joy is a gift from God and it doesn't depend upon circumstances but found in Jesus' unchanging character and promises.   Jesus is the only way to true strength and the power to endure ANY circumstance.  Paul found his joy in Christ, not life and we all need to look beyond the present, finding joy in the promise of our future – Heaven.  That’s a good trade any day.

While our problems today don't compare to those of the early Church, they are still very real to us and have very real impact on our lives.  So how do we deal with them, how do we find joy in all things like Paul did?  When I find myself in a bad spot looking for the good in a specific season of my life I find tremendous comfort in the follow verse:

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

John 15:9-11

I like knowing that Christ takes a personal interest in my joy and He offers it freely if only I choose to receive it.

Be blessed today!

Jeff

Barrier to prayer

I took this down recently but have decided to repost it due to a LARGE number of request...

Recently a friend asked me to pray for them in reference to some trouble they were having with their “Ex”. Of course me being me, I felt the need to add response to their email in addition to adding the appeal to my prayer list. Hand out some good Godly advice before I got to their request.

I made some good suggestions and my reply was full of Biblically sound advice. Pray for them no matter how hard it may be. Satan can and does use the unsaved to mess with our lives. Ask that God give you, and them, direction. Concentrate on being the parent you need to be – not them. I even referenced a difficult situation I had recently with my Ex that I didn’t feel was right. I made sure to include that I had approached God in prayer for them even though with some difficulty. In other words – You think you have it bad, listen to this!

Feeling pretty good about what I offered up I pressed the send button.

Before I shut my laptop I noticed a daily devotional from Greg Laurie that I read everyday titled "Barrier to prayer" in my inbox. I always like reading his stuff and opened it up. Little did I know it would have the effect on me that it did.

The barrier to prayer was forgiveness.

Reading through this devotional about forgiveness was a very humbling experience for me. See my friend had described a scenario that I felt needed to be addressed with prayer because I had been handling a similar situation that way. (I have a bad habit of thinking I know all the answers sometimes, OK – all the time) Like most devotionals this one was lead into by scripture:

So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.

Matthew 5:23-24 NLT

I do pray for my Ex-wife frequently but it wasn't until I read that devotional that I realized that while I had forgiven her in the past, I was harboring new resentment that had re-ignited the old. All the prayer for her soul was being muffled by a mountain of resentment. I felt like I was making a sacrifice by praying for her, but as the scripture said - God would rather I leave that at the altar and forgive her.

I had told my fried the ONLY thing you can do FOR your Ex was pray for them. I was wrong. As much as we should pray for the "difficult" people in our lives, we also have to forgive them. Even if they haven't asked or think they need forgiving.

The entire premise of being a follower of Christ hinges on forgiveness. I forgot to put that at the top of the list of things He has done for me and it usually makes the bottom of the list of things I want to do.

Being passionate for Christ comes easy to me. Loving Christ comes naturally when I see Him working in and improving my life. And learning about Christ is awesome. Being humbled by Christ hurts a little bit, but I always welcome it, most of the time after the fact. But forgiving like Christ forgave me – not so much. And forgiveness is what allows everything else to be fully engaged. Without forgiveness we can't experience the fullness of God or be blessed to the extent He wants to bless us. God expects us to do the same thing for others that He did for us.

I keep all the lessons, sermons and devotionals I’ve written over the past few years in a file and can access them by different topics. I searched “forgiveness” and found something I wrote in the series for the “One Month To Live” challenge:

"Forgiveness isn't about you and them-it's about you and Him"

 

I love how God chooses to reveal Himself in my life. This time He made sure that little devotional about forgiveness was in my inbox right after I gave someone what I thought was good advice. God’s way of telling me I don’t know it all. Love that.

I asked God to help me forgive my ex-wife this morning –again. Maybe He can get to work on her soul now that He can hear my prayer...

Do you have anyone you might need to forgive or ask forgiveness of?

 

Blessed only by Christ love,

 

Jeff

The Living Bible

I have a secret that not many people know about, until now I guess. I’m what’s known as a Bible Geek. If you've never heard that term before it’s not surprising because it’s not widespread in use. But a Bible Geek is someone who collects Bibles. I won’t tell you how many I have because you would probably consider me ridiculous after hearing the number but suffice to say, it’s a bunch of em.

When people come to my place or even my office and see that I have so many Bibles they are usually a little shocked. I’ve become very good at justifying my habit to others and once I get through my spiel they usually start asking Bible related questions. Almost everyone ask “So which one is your favorite”? I never know how to answer that because if I keep a Bible I really like it. See I have given away a lot more Bibles than I own, usually with the Book of John marked with the ribbon and a note with my phone number to call me with any questions. But in order to explain which Bible is my favorite? I need to share a little story 1st…




His name is Bill. He has wild hair, wears a T-shirt with holes in it, jeans, and no shoes. This was literally his wardrobe for his entire four years of college.


He is brilliant. He is kind of profound and very, very bright. He became a Christian while attending college.


Across the street from the campus is a well-dressed, very conservative church. They want to develop a ministry to the students but are not sure how to go about it.


One day Bill decides to go there. He walks in with no shoes, jeans, his T-shirt, and his wild hair. The service has already started, so Bill starts down the aisle looking for a seat.


The church is completely packed and he can't find a seat. By now, people are really looking a bit uncomfortable, but no one says anything.


Bill gets closer and closer to the pulpit. When he realizes there are no seats, he just squats down right on the carpet.


By now the people are really uptight, and the tension in the air is thick.

About this time, the minister realizes that from way at the back of the church, a deacon is slowly making his way toward Bill.


Now the deacon is in his eighties, has silver-gray hair, and is wearing a three-piece suit. He is a godly man — very elegant, very dignified, and very courtly. He walks with a cane. As he starts walking toward this boy, everyone is saying to themselves that you can't blame him for what he's going to do.


How can you expect a man of his age and of his background to understand some college kid on the floor?


It takes a long time for the man to reach the boy.


The church is utterly silent except for the clicking of the man's cane. All eyes are focused on him. You can't even hear anyone breathing. The minister can't even preach the sermon until the deacon does what he has to do.


When the deacon finally reaches Bill, the church watches as this elderly man drops his cane on the floor. With great difficulty, he lowers himself and sits down next to Bill and worships with him so he won't be alone.


Everyone chokes up with emotion.


When the minister gains control, he says, "What I'm about to preach, you will never remember. What you have just seen, you will never forget."




So what is my favorite Bible? It’s the Living Bible, the Bible that I hope we all represent to those who may never have read one.


I think our greatest shortcoming as Christians can be how we interact with those we consider of the “World”. But the truth is we were all part of that world until “something” happened and that “something” was usually a “someone”.


As you go through your day and week think about that "someone" who made the difference in how you looked towards the faith you now have. Think about the way you perceived them at the time. Would someone that didn’t have Christ in their life perceive you that way?


Be careful how you live and how others see your life if you make it known that you follow Christ. You may be the only Bible some people will ever read.


Grace and peace,


Jeff

Who's your audience?

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-His good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2

No matter what action we take, we are taking it for a reason, an audience if you will.

When I’m at work I wear certain clothes and keep a steady demeanor.  I do this because the clientele I service have that expectation of a person in my position.  You could say I’m playing to my audience.  I’m very mindful of what I say and do when I’m with my children.  Always attempting to validate the lessons and principles I represent to them.  Even when we aren’t aware of it, we are playing to an audience of the general public and judgments are made about us based on how we deal with the different elements of our day.  

I believe I follow a behavior pattern in line with what the Bible tells me God wants from me.  Most of the time that is.  But I have a huge desire to please people around me and give them what they want.  I’m even guilty of making an allowance to what I know is right in order to deal with a specific issue occasionally.  Modifying principle to meet individual circumstance may seem reasonable and acceptable to do, but it’s really just practicing situational ethics.  Situational ethics is when we initiate a certain behavior or practice that is motivated by individual circumstance.  Give them what they want; it isn’t really a big deal and no bodies going to get hurt. 

But the Bible tells us the only audience worth playing to is Jesus Christ.  As Christians we have the Bible, God’s living breathing Word, to point out the behaviors He wants to see in us.  If we allow obedience to God’s Word to penetrate every facet of our lives, situational ethics becomes obsolete.  Most of what is considered good in “the world” is also in line with God’s will.  God tells us to look at the interest of others before ourselves.  If you’re in business you are to provide good service to your customers.  You would be hard pressed to find an audience those principles wouldn’t play to.

But sometimes we’re expected to just “go with the flow” and let things just happen like they are going to happen.   But when we choose to adjust our beliefs we are really just saying God wasn’t right as far as this situation is concerned.  And this friend is when we have to decide what’s important in life.  Jesus recognized we would all be in this position and left us with His thoughts.  You can find His response to this very question in Matthew 6:24.  

Which audience are you going to play to today?

Do you ever have doubts?

Do you ever find yourself doubting your faith and beliefs?  

Have you ever caught yourself thinking “is this real”?

The Lord has done so many things in my life and I’ve seen and experienced things that can only be attributed to a Divine Creator.  But the truth is I still catch myself questioning things and trying to assign rational explanations from time to time to things that can only be credited to God.  Fortunately that doesn’t happen very often (anymore) but it just wouldn’t be truthful to say I don’t have the occasional doubt.

I don’t know why but some Christians don’t want to admit that they have questions about Church Doctrine or basic Theology, much less admit they suffer bouts of doubt from time to time.  Somewhere along the way some develop the idea that questioning God, or admitting that we don’t understand something is a sin.   I’ve even heard it referred to as “spiritual treason”.  I believe you would have a difficult task in front of you if you went looking for anyone who claimed a deep faith in God who wouldn’t admit to the occasional doubt.

John the Baptist was a prophet and by that definition, God spoke to and through him.  Certainly someone who had that relationship with God would never suffer from doubt right?   Wrong.  While sitting in prison he sent a message to Jesus asking:

"Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"

Matthew 11:3

John the Baptist communed with God and baptized Jesus.  If he had doubts, something tells me it’s OK if we do too.   

In his book  “The Myth of Certainty,” Daniel Taylor doesn't choose to use the term “doubting Christians” he refers to the doubters among us as “reflective Christians.”  Nobody received all the answers when they made the decision to give their life to Christ, it doesn’t work that way.  Our growth is directly proportional to our desire to learn and the commitment we make to do so.  I like being a “reflective Christian” and love that God always remains faithful to us no matter what.

I pray that the grace and peace only available through Christ touches your life today.  

In His precious name,

Jeff

Why Christ?

Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

Hebrews 7:25

God has spoken!  He has spoken and sent us a message of victory and not left us to wonder for our spiritual direction.  We have the Old Testament Prophets who shared a unique insight towards God but more importantly, He spoke completely through Jesus Christ.  We don’t serve a silent God, our God has spoken and we must search out the meaning of His message with the same zeal we would if given a map to buried treasure.

So what’s so special about Jesus?

1. He is the Creator.  All things belong to Him and began with Him.
2. He is God, the radiant outburst of the Father’s glory who has not hidden His divine nature.
3. His plan is being fulfilled today as events unfold as told in the Word, by His hand.
4. He has met every spiritual need we will ever have by dying for our sins.  And know He sits at His Fathers side praying for us.

And that is just how he is revealed in the first chapter of Hebrews!  The truth is that given the simple facts about Jesus that there is no doubt He is worthy of our praise and worship.  He is not just our friend or Counselor but an eternal God, to whom we must give our complete obedience,

In F.F. Bruce’s commentary on the Book of Acts, he is quoted as follows:

“We should not disparage any of the leaders of the great world-religions, but the simple truth is none of them is entitled to be called Savior of the world.  Jesus alone bears this designation, and there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved”.

Praise Jesus name today and rest in His finished work.

Grace and peace,

Jeff

If I were the Devil

If I were the Devil. . .

I would gain control of the most powerful nation in the world;

I would delude their minds into thinking that they had come from man's

effort, instead of God's blessings;

I would promote an attitude of loving things and using people, instead of

the other way around;

I would dupe entire states into relying on gambling for their state revenue;

I would convince people that character is not an issue when it comes to

leadership;

I would make it legal to take the life of unborn babies;

I would make it socially acceptable to take one's own life, and invent

machines to make it convenient;

I would cheapen human life as much as possible so that the life of animals

are valued more than human beings;

I would take God out of the schools, where even the mention of His name was

grounds for a law suit;

I would come up with drugs that sedate the mind and target the young, and I

would get sports heroes to advertise them;

I would get control of the media, so that every night I could pollute the

mind of every family member for my agenda;

I would attack the family, the backbone of any nation.

I would make divorce acceptable and easy, even fashionable. If the family

crumbles, so does the nation;

I would compel people to express their most depraved fantasies on canvas and

movie screens, and I would call it art;

I would convince the world that people are born homosexuals, and that there

lifestyles should be accepted and marveled;

I would convince the people that right and wrong are determined by a few who

call themselves authorities and refer to their agenda as politically

correct;

I would persuade people that the church is irrelevant and out of date, and

the Bible is for the naive;

I would dull the minds of Christians, and make them believe that prayer is

not important, and that faithfulness and obedience are good enough to get by;

Hmmm...I guess I would leave things pretty much the way they are."

Does passion drive your life?

But now I said to them, “You know very well what trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire. Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and end this disgrace!” Then I told them about how the gracious hand of God had been on me, and about my conversation with the king. They replied at once, “Yes, let’s rebuild the wall!” So they began the good work.

Nehemiah 2:17-18 NLT

In my personal Bible study I’ve recently started Nehemiah, and always love when I find my way back to this wonderful historical book. And what a great time to read this book while our Ministry is taking the One Month To Live challenge as a group. And while Nehemiah was a great man and a hero of the Old Testament, he was also a man of great passion.

Nehemiah had a passion, rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem that had been damaged during the Babylonian Empire take over years before. Through prayer God revealed to Nehemiah a goal, and he pursued that goal passionately. With king Artaxerxes blessings and checkbook, he began to rebuild the wall at a frantic pace. Obstacles after obstacle presented themselves in the effort to stop the rebuilding effort but Nehemiah would not be shaken. When enemies threaten to attack the workers during construction he issued orders to carry a sword in one hand and tools to work in the other. During shortages of food he shared his personal food stores given to him by the king with those who did the work. In the end the wall was rebuilt in 52 days. And while we don’t know for sure the amount of damage that was repaired we know it was extensive and 52 days for repair was quite a feat.

Nehemiah was driven by passion to reach his goal. I know I need to be more like Nehemiah in my daily life.

Too often in life we let other people or circumstances determine what’s important. Our schedules and lives are re-arranged to make things work “better”, but better for who? I’m sure it would have been a great deal “better” for the enemies of Jerusalem if those working on the wall would have quit when threatened. But Nehemiah decided it would be “better” for the rebuilding of the wall, his passion, if the workers carried swords. Nehemiah wouldn’t let anyone or anything stand in the way of his passion.

So how often do we let the passions in our life become insignificant or put to the side because something else comes up? How come the things we are passionate about in life are those we feel can take away from the easiest? Why do we take the passion out of…passion?

In the One Month To Live challenge the purpose is to identify what keeps us from having a life with no regrets. A life filled with love and learning that allows us to boldly proclaim Christ and His place in our life. And to live passionately in those pursuits.

The question we ask ourselves in the 30 day challenge?

If you only had month to live what would you do? This question determines what’s important.  If you had one month to live what wouldn’t you do in the next 30 days? That question will tell what’s keeping you from doing the things in the 1st question.

So what are you going to do today that you are passionate about?

 Grace and peace,

 Jeff