Lord, help me to endure honorably

Well, it's examination time again. On the way home on Thanksgiving, my wife had a small accident that left her with no injuries (thank you Lord) but totalled our car. We have been planning to move into a better housing situation at the end of the month but those plans are in serious jeopardy now. My employer has drastically changed our incentive plan so my bonus check was MUCH smaller than we were anticipating. Our expenses rose slightly recently because of multiple factors. This is the text book definition of a trial. There is no possibility for us to meet all our needs in our own strength.

I know this a trial because about a month ago, the Lord showed me how He expects me to react to trials like this. You can read those expectations in my September 28 post. The short version is, we are to continue tithing, find someone we can sow into who needs just as much or more help than we do and then step back to watch God meet our needs in His abundant, miraculous way. Soooooooo here goes.

I guess I'm partly to blame for this great collision of setbacks because I asked the Lord for an opportunity to demonstrate great faith. I have been seeking an opportunity to graduate to a whole new level of faith. So lo and behold, here tis! I now have a golden opportunity to come unglued and panic. I could very easily become completely unspooled and shout at the heavens. That's exactly what I would have done a year ago. I would have wailed and cried "I can't take it anymore." And expected God to swoop into to the rescue. A year ago, He may have been able to grant me more grace and come to my rescue in spite of that childish response but not now. He has shown me too much of what He expects and He knows how much I know about these things now. If I were to respond childishly like that now, the Lord would be unable to do ANYTHING for me. I would be forfeiting any help from Him at all. I can not, I must not allow my flesh to lead right now. I MUST respond with faith. This is the chance for advancement I have been asking for and I MUST endure this trial with faith and joy. I MUST count this all joy and eagerly expect God's reward for my behavior.

I am so looking forward to my testimony that I will have as a result of this trial. When this trial has run its course, I'll be standing. I'll be standing on the Lord's promises and the devil's neck. I'll be able to tell others from my own experience how the Lord responds to people acting in faith. I'll be able to tell people how delighted God is when He sees us refusing to be intimidated. At this moment, Satan is bringing to mind all the people I know who are doing well financially, who could easily meet this need with their own resources because they have been wiser stewards with their money. The devil is accusing me of lazy stewardship and pointing out how pathetic it is that I can't even replace a vehicle worth less than $2000.00. He's reminding of the shambles my finances are in (as if I needed reminding.) He's doing all he can to get me to abandon my faith. He's giving me every reason he can to get me to disqualify myself for the Lord's provision. I don't blame him. I've been a pretty easy target for most of my resurrected life. It's been very easy for him to bully and harass me into panic mode and then hound me into self-pity. But praise God those days are over!

Right now, as I'm reviewing the situation, I can feel my resolve grow stronger. I can feel my spine strengthen. I can see how the Lord has lovingly crafted a test that is custom-fitted for my level of faith. This is obviously the opportunity I've been seeking. Praise God, I am about to graduate! I am about to stand up and walk like a man! My singular prayer at this moment is that I endure this trial honorably. I pray above all else that I acquit myself admirably. That I do nothing to shame the kingdom or give the enemy the slightest indication that he has won. I pray that this be a spectacular demonstration of faith that gives the Lord all the license He needs to enter into this situation and provide miraculously.

I am off to a good start too. I have already discussed with my wife what we need to do. And despite her tears and anxieties, I have remained positive and have allowed no faithless or idle word to escape my lips. I have been a constant source of reassurance for her. I have also continued to perform well at work. I have not used this as an occasion to pity myself with shoddy workmanship. I am actually quite pleased with my behavior. My co-workers know about my wife's accident, and they know it means we need to buy a car that we don't have any money for right now and their bonuses got severely cut too so they know how tight things are for me. But instead of seeing me get grumpy about all my troubles, they saw me do my job well. They didn't see me cop an attitude or mope, they were treated to the same impromptu off-key singing I use to lighten the mood every day. As far they could tell from my behavior, I am not worried about this turn of events at all. Words can not express how great that feels. I am so pleased with the way I am holding my head up like a man in spite of these troubles. This feels so good, I don't think the miraculous provision God has in store for me will make me feel any better than I do right now. I am still in the middle of my trial and I feel AWESOME!

Thank you Lord for this great opportunity to demonstrate great faith. Help me continue to demonstrate maturity and grace under this pressure as I look forward to your miraculous provision. Thank you Lord for giving me an opportunity to graduate to a higher level of faith.

Things my flesh is not interested in

Praying through
My flesh has no interest in staying up past the point of drowsiness to pray. In fact, not just my flesh but my spirit has no desire to stay up into the wee hours of the night to beg and plead. I wouldn't last 30 minutes. I would however, lose all track of time and happily spend the night actually accomplishing something. But spending the whole night repeating the same request....no thanks. I'll do without and find some way to improvise.

Walking in Love
My flesh is also not interested in learning about love. As far my flesh can tell, love is all about solving other people's problems. That sounds like time and resources that should be spent solving my own problems.

However, if we are to achieve the extraordinary and qualify ourselves for more than just an ordinary life, we must do both of these things. We must be ready and willing to drop everything and obey the leading of the Holy Spirit. Because it is in the denying of our flesh that we honor God. And it is the honoring of God that clears the way for Him to enter into our situations. If there is no denying of the flesh, there is no honoring God. God must be lifted above our flesh. We must prove our allegiance to God is greater than our allegiance to our flesh by making this choice. Praying through and walking in love are two exercises that greatly inconvenience the flesh.

This is where mind renewal comes in. The reason I have spent so many years floundering around ineffectively in my walk with Christ is because I had the wrong understanding about walking in love and prayer. Thank you Lord for giving me fresh insight and revelation on this.

It is currently 5 am (actually 6 am but this is "fall back Sunday.") Less than 20 minutes ago I was sleeping happily. My flesh was content and comfortable. Then something woke me up. It wasn't a loud noise or pain. It was just a gentle exit from sleep into consciousness. It wasn't unpleasant but I do have things I need to do later this morning and it would be best if I was fully rested. So I laid there and tried to go back to sleep. While I was laying there, new revelation came to me about serving the Lord. In a nutshell, the Lord spoke to me about the foolishness of doing everything but the one thing He asks us to do, which is love one another. And how the entirety of His grace and blessings will be showered on the one who walks in love. I thought to myself, "Wow, that's great Lord, thank you for showing me that." and I tried to roll back over and get back to sleep. That's when the Lord spoke to me again and said, "Those who honor me, I will honor and those who despise me will be lightly esteemed." I took that to mean I was supposed to do more than ponder this new revelation. I was supposed to perform some act of honor to the Lord. I was supposed to do something against my flesh's will and seize this very important moment to demonstrate my faith in the Lord. The Lord made it very clear to me that it was very important that I ignore my body's complaints and drag myself out of bed at such an early hour to make sure I properly handled this new insight. This new revelation about walking in love is a vital change in my understanding and will have great impact on me for the rest of my life so it is only fitting that I get up out of bed and act like it's important enough to write down. Here's the added revelation, not only did the Lord give me fresh light on walking in love but He also gave me fresh understanding of the value of obedience. His sharing with me about love was grace. My getting out of bed to write it down was me honoring Him. I feel like I've just passed a test.

I am certain this was a test. I was given the opportunity to honor the Lord this morning and I am so happy to be able to say that I did it! I showed the Lord and every other creature that was watching that I valued the Lord's things enough to make sure they were handled properly. More importantly, I showed my flesh whose boss. I showed my flesh that when it comes to the things of God, we will be crawling out of bed to handle them properly. This is such a big moment for me. Now I'm so excited, I don't think I could get back to sleep if I tried.

This is huge. A lifetime of laziness and carelessness is being erased right now. I can't count the number of times in the past the Lord has shared something with me and I didn't take the time to demonstrate the proper respect for it because it interrupted my sleep or a TV show. Right this very moment, I feel that I have pleased the Lord! This is such an awesome revelation.

Life simplified

I will turn 45 in a month. Since the age of 17, I have been looking for the fast and easy route to riches. With each passing year of it eluding me, I get fooled into continuing this course by the lie that it's too late to do it the slow and steady way. It is whispered into my ear that too much time has been lost and now my only hope is for one of these get-rich-quick schemes to pay off. What is most aggravating about this is the fact that I KEEP FALLING FOR IT!!!! I'm 45 yrs old!. I'm good with computers. I play a pretty good game of chess. I can figure out how to fix things and am usually exceeding expectations. I am a fairly bright individual! Yet, I keep getting fooled into wasting more time year after year by chasing unicorns to mythical treasures. Enough! Perhaps it is too late. Perhaps I have fallen for this myth too many times and I will never achieve my full potential but I will not waste one more minute chasing leprechauns.

Today I began a sure-fire course of action and if I die before I reach my destination I'm okay with being found dead on the road. I take solace in knowing that those who find my dead body will find it on the road to right place. They'll find my fist clinched around the promises of God not some mythical treasure map. Today I set out with a solitary target. Today I put all my eggs in one basket and trust one promise from the Word of God. This promise is found at Hebrews 11:6

Hebrews 11:6 promises me that God is rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. My responsibility is believing this promise. His part is to keep this promise. My part is to demonstrate my belief in this promise by diligently seeking Him. His part is to reward me as I demonstrate my belief. I may have wasted a decade or two but I know I am finally settled on taking the right course. I am fully persuaded that as I diligently seek Him, He WILL reward me.

I find great comfort in this passage. I find it very comforting that it says He IS a rewarder. The Bible doesn't He MAY reward, or He typically rewards, or is likely to reward or OCCASIONALLY rewards those who diligently seek Him. It promises that He IS a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. That means that if I diligently seek Him, He WILL reward me. This is a sure thing. This is exactly what WILL happen. If I diligently seek Him, He will reward me. There is no other possible outcome. Even if it takes the rest of my days to see this reward, I will die knowing that I will be rewarded.

I just lost some of you didn't I? Some of you just jumped off this bandwagon didn't you? "Wait just a minute Max, we like the idea of finding a sure-fire method of getting rewarded but waiting until the day we die sounds an awful lot like NOT getting rewarded." Now is a great time for a little perspective. Let's take a few steps back and look at life from eternity. Even if we spend the rest of our days in this clay pilgrimage in constant lack and bad health but escape all of that forever on our death bed, isn't that still a good reward? Wouldn't that be considered an excellent reward? If that is all you got for diligently seeking the Lord, wouldn't that be enough? Shouldn't that be enough? Of course it would. As a matter of fact, many of us came from churches that preached that. Many of us grew up in churches being taught that. Most of come from a background that professes the misconception that all of our reward is in the sweet by-and-by. Aren't we glad know better! Go ahead and scramble back up on the band wagon, I won't hold it against you.

Here's the really good news. We serve a God who once said: If you being evil know how to give good gifts, how much more shall your Father in Heaven give good things to those who ask Him (Matt 7:11) We know from this passage that Our Father gives good things to those who ask Him. We also know from Mark 10:30 that we don't have to wait until we get to Heaven before we receive our reward. This is all really good news!

Let's review for a moment. The Lord promises us that if we diligently seek Him, he will reward us. He further assures us that He will gives us good things and if that weren't enough, he tells us that we will have these good things now, in this life! What more do I need? More importantly, what have I been waiting for? Why have I wasted anytime at all seeking anything else?

This is where life gets simple for me. I resolve today that I will diligently seek the Lord. The word "diligently" can be translated as "crave" "search out" "investigate" "demand". That is my occupation from now on. I don't care what else the world has to offer. I don't care if I miss out on something. I will be spending the rest of my days diligently seeking the Lord. If some other endeavor presents itself and I determine that it will distract me from diligently seeking Him, then I will have to decline that opportunity. It's just that simple. If it's not diligently seeking Him, then I don't have any business wasting time or effort on it. I can't tell you how much freedom comes with this kind of clarity and resolve.

I have much more to say on this topic and will be expanding my thoughts in the coming days. Tomorrow I plan to look further into the word "diligently". I think it's interesting that this is the commodity that the Lord demands. Until then, if anyone needs to find me, I'll be diligently seeking the Lord.

Seeking first

Matthew 6:33 is one of those major road markers. It gives the direction we are to take whenever we encounter a crossroads. Following the directions at Matthew 6:33 will always lead us where we want to go. Not just our spirit, but our flesh as well. Our flesh is concerned about the food and clothing and housing. Matthew 6:33 is a promise to add all these to us if we make the right choice. By following the directions at this signpost we will always be heading in the direction that will lead to our ultimate happiness.

What I am just now starting to realize, at the age of 44, is that we encounter this crossroad multiple times. We are faced with this choice repeatedly throughout our month, week and day. And it's not the decisions that we make at huge multilane intersections that make the biggest difference. It's the small, moment by moment choices that make the biggest difference. On Monday morning, we are given the chance to seek first His kingdom by going to our jobs and performing with excellence. On pay day, we are given the chance to seek first His kingdom by being a tither. But those are the big intersections. Those choices are important but they don't have the same impact as all those little decisions we make throughout the day. During the day, we are faced with many small opportunities to seek first the Kingdom of God and it's the small decisions that make the impact.

It's the decision we make at 11 PM when no one is around to ask what websites we are visiting that's important. It's the decision we make at work when our coworkers want to gossip that has greater influence. Satan knows better than to come at us directly. He slithers into the small cracks of life and encourages us to make small private decisions that direct us away from the kingdom. These small decisions by virtue of their volume, have the greatest impact on what direction our life takes.

Refusing to worry is one of the most important ways we can seek first the Kingdom of God. A great moment of freedom came for me when I realized that there will never come a day when I won't have something to worry about. Even if all the bills get paid, the enemy can still attack my health. Even if I manage to believe in my healing, the enemy can still attack my marriage. There will always be something the enemy can attack that will give me a reason to worry. It is crucial at these crossroads that we choose to seek first the kingdom of God by refusing to worry.

I didn't say "ignore the problem and it will go away." That's how the enemy would have you interpret that. Refusing to worry is not pasting a fake smile on your face and just pretending not to be worried. Refusing to worry is acknowledging the problem and then obeying God's instruction to cast them onto Him. This is a good time to get our mouths involved and say out loud:"I know my God will provide for this need. I am casting that concern onto Him and going about His business. He will see to that need. I will not delay in my duties to the Kingdom by tending to that need first."

This is not easy. This is not what your flesh wants to do. But its good that your flesh is troubled by this. Your flesh resisting so much is what makes it a worthy trial of the faith. If the flesh didn't have a problem with it, it wouldn't be a trial. If it's not a trial, then there's no chance for victory. If it's not a trial, then it doesn't matter what you seek first. There has to be a choosing of sides. There has to be a point where you rest your entire weight on your faith in God's promises and faithfulness or it doesn't matter. Anything less than that is trifling. And it is in the choosing of what we seek first that God is either honored or doubted. If He is honored, then He has the right to move into our situation and act in our favor. If He is doubted, then He must sit and watch us endure the consequences of our choices. Which means, there will be no blessing or promoting or granting of favor. It is crucial that we seek first His kingdom in every decision because seeking Him first is what grants Him the legal right to act on our behalf.

This is the principle of the boiled frog. You don't boil a frog by throwing him into a pot of boiling water. You set him comfortably in a pot of cool water and then slowly but consistently raise the temperature. Soon enough, you'll have a boiled frog. It's in life's little decisions that the temperature is raised. A bill here, a parking ticket there, a broken tooth, and etc. It is what we do when we encounter these small crossroads that matters the most. If at each of these little crossroads we chose to seek our own ends to the problems, before long we will find ourselves completely out of range of God's voice. If on the other hand, we face each of these small decisions with a commitment to continue to seek God and His righteousness, it's not long before these pesky little imps are dismissed. Because of our obedience, God has the freedom to put us on the heart of someone with great resources. And just like that, our problems are handled by God and we are further along in our pursuit of God.

This is the power of seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. With each little decision to seek first His Kingdom, we testify of our faith in Him and give Him the right to act on our behalf. With each of these little victories come greater resolve and stronger faith. There will never come a day when the problems will ease up and we can choose to seek God without putting a little stress on our faith muscle. But be encouraged. God is good. He keeps His promises. Each time we make the right choice, He moves into our situation with His abundant love. Each time we seek first the Kingdom of God, He adds to us all that we need.

Obedience that comes from faith

For the longest time, I have heard some words that didn't mean much to me. One of these words is "victory." Just about every church I've gone to sings a song about victory during praise and worship. At least once a sermon, the preacher will talk about victory. I've sung those songs and amen'd the sermons right along with everyone else but I must confess, I didn't really have any idea what I was talking about. What is this "victory" we hear so much about? Just recently, I have been taught what this word means and how important it is.

Let me start by stating what victory is NOT. Victory is NOT living to tell about it. That's called survival. Victory is not dealing with the pain. Victory is NOT achieving zen-like detachment from the tragedy while we adjust to life after a loss. That is NOT victory. Well, not for the believer anyway. This is a victory for our enemy. Victory for the believer involves us laying hold of the blessings of Abraham. Victory must include US winning AND the enemy losing.

My most recent victory came just the other day. I was allowing myself another day of self-pity and depression because I was upset with my lack of progress in the area of finances (what else?.) I was allowing my flesh to pout and mope about while doing nothing to improve my attitude. Every minister I can think of has told me what to do about my attitude when it decays like that. I have been told (and so have all of you) to count my blessings, take my thoughts captive, cast down everything that doesn't build my faith and start thanking God for all the abundance in my life. My brain knows what to do. But our brains are part of our flesh. Therefore, my brain couldn't get my flesh to change it's behavior. My faith was not in control. I had allowed my flesh to take control. Then came the miracle. Then something happened that will cause some of you to shout and others to yawn. I got a vision. I got a glimpse of my enemy laughing at me for acting like such a child.

That image of my enemy gloating and laughing over me fired me up. More than all the sermons; that flash of a vision of my enemy laughing at my failure changed me forever. That put the quarter in my slot. That has changed everything since then. That vision did what no sermon has been able to do. That fueled my faith with enough self-respect to grab my flesh by the ear and take control of my life. My flesh has made its last decision. From now on, my flesh will be taking it orders from my faith.

What is most humbling about this is the fact that I've been taught this lesson before. If you'll read some of my previous posts, you'll see that the Lord has been gracious enough to me to teach me this before. Apparently, this is one of those things I need to constantly stay aware of. Nevertheless, after seeing my enemy laughing at me, I once again made a commitment to defeating him and put my flesh under.

This is monumental! This makes living a life of faith possible. I am no longer just mentally agreeing to and seeing the intellectual benefit to living a life of faith. I am brimming with excitement to actually live by faith. It is impossible to live a life a faith if your flesh is still in control. And as long as our flesh is making decisions of any size, it is still in control. So the only acceptable way of life is to deny the flesh any say in any matter.

Incidentally, you'd think we'd have an easy time making this change given our flesh's track record. When we consider all the damage done and the complete lack of real progress towards our goals, you'd think we'd be ready for new management. Why then do we hesitate and chafe at this decision? It can only be because of one reason; our enemy knows how to influence our flesh better than we know how to master it.

Our enemy can influence the flesh. And he does. Our enemy knows what buttons to push. He knows how to lead us into making bad decisions that have terrible consequences. These consequences make living by faith even more challenging. And before you know it, many of us have lost decades of our lives to dealing with the consequences of bad decisions our enemy has conned us into making. We've have allowed the enemy too many easy victories. When I saw him laughing at me, I saw him enjoying his victory.

Now it's my turn. Now that I've had a taste of victory, I want some mo, I want some mo, I want some mooooooo. And I see this victory comes not by making just a mental change, it comes by making a commitment to obeying the Lord through faith. Paul talks about obedience that comes through faith in Romans. Obedience that comes from faith is constant and effortless. It is the difference between being drawn and driven. Obedience that comes from faith is drawn towards victory. Obedience that is driven by something isn't sufficient. Driven obedience won't provide enough motivation to persist against the enemy's attacks. Obedience that comes from faith is perpetually refueled with fresh vision of victory. Obedience that comes from anything else is in constant need of replenishing.

If we are to exercise the obedience that comes from faith, then we will need a good enough reason to resist the devil's attacks. The only thing that will fuel that kind of obedience against the constant onslaught of the enemy is knowing how good the victory is. The only thing that makes the struggle worthwhile is knowing how sweet victory tastes. What better way to learn how sweet the victory is than actually enjoying it on a regular basis? Nothing tastes or feels as good as winning. So a steady diet of victories is just what our spirit needs to keep exercising this obedience that comes from faith. That's why James tells us to count it all joy whenever we face trials. With these trials come great big helpings of the sweetest thing we can enjoy in this life. Each trial gives us another opportunity to taste victory.

This is victory. Feeling a rush of self-respect when we control our temper and don't throw a hissy-fit at the hostess for not seating us fast enough. When get off the webpage with the racy pictures without spiraling into hours of surfing porn sites. When we bite our lip and just do what our snot-nosed bosses tell us without griping about it all afternoon to our co-workers. This is victory. These are the kinds of behaviors that delight our Lord. Giving into them destroys our witness and ruins our chances of being used for the kingdom. God can not build a kingdom of Love with people who fail to demonstrate obedience that comes from faith. When we stop acting according to our flesh, we give God another viable weapon in the war for souls. That is victory. That is taking a weapon out of the enemies hands, and putting it in the Lord's hands.

We must have faith if we are to see this victory. Without the promise of victory, we will continue to let the enemy beguile us into caving into our lusts, throwing our temper tantrums, quitting our jobs, gambling our wages away or snorting them up our noses. We must have a taste of this victory. Once we get a vision of our enemy lying defeated at our feet, no longer laughing but fearfully contemplating his destruction, we'll want some more.

When we have allowed the enemy to have the victory; when we do what he wants us to do we become his perfect weapon. We not only encourage others to sin, we also give the Church a shameful reputation. When we win the victory of the battle over our behavior, we become his worst nightmare. We show everyone watching how rewarding it is to live by faith. We give God the opportunity to shower His approval upon us so they will want it also. Satan loses his grip on their life and the Kingdom wins another soul. This is victory. Something is lost. And something is won.

Encampments

Psalm 35 promises us that the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him. Many times in my haste to get to my agenda for the day, I have read quickly past this promise without appreciating just how significant this is. This is no small thing. There is an enemy out there that seeks our destruction. Without the protection of this angel, our enemy could very easily accomplish his goal. Today while reading in Acts, I saw a picture of just how robust and adequate this protection is.

In Acts 23:16, Paul's nephew overhears a plot about 40 men who have vowed not to eat or drink until they have killed Paul. First of all, let's take a moment and appreciate the fact that the Lord supplied a spy to overhear the plot. Our God is so good to us. Next, the boy reports what he's heard to Paul. Paul, a Roman citizen, is in the protective custody of the Roman legion at this time. The commander of this legion is forever grateful to Paul because Paul didn't have him killed for nearly flogging Paul. Then Paul, who now has the eternal gratitude of the centurions guarding him needs only to make them aware of the plot against him. Paul doesn't need to do anything else. From the moment his guardians are told of the plot, they go into immediate action to fully accommodate Paul's complete safety. They prepare a cordon of protection around him devoting 470 men to Paul's protection detail. 470 trained Roman soldiers to protect Paul against 40 rash citizens. This is the same protection we enjoy.

Acts 23:23 gives us the full picture. There are 200 regular soldiers, seventy horsemen and 200 spearmen. This detail of 470 men with spears and horses surrounding Paul is a real life example of the encampment of angels that surrounds us. Satan would plant a picture in our mind that we are on our own in our travails. Nothing could be farther from the truth. When we are in the perfect will of God and carrying out his orders, we have great protection that is exceedingly sufficient to handle any assault.

However, imagine Paul's plight if he weren't in that protective custody. If he wasn't in the midst of dispatching his God-given duties, he would have been alone in his defense. We would be wise to ponder this as well. As encouraging as it is to know about His great protection, it should be equally frightening to consider life without it. This should give us new-found appreciation for this encampment that surrounds us. Because we are children of the Most High, because dwell in the shadow of the Almighty, we have a protective guard around us that is at least ten times mightier than our would-be attackers. If we were to step away from this protection, we are outnumbered 40 to 1.

Ponder this image today. Try to see with your spiritual eyes how the angel of the Lord encamped around protects you. Consider the car that DOESN'T drift into your lane and cause a wreck. Think about the virus that doesn't find a vulnerable host site in your body. Think about and give thanks for this protection today. Be careful not to dwell on these dangers but take a moment to appreciate the diligent service of the angel that protects you today. Ponder this and give glory to God for His mercies that are new every morning.

A big price for citizenship

In Acts 22:28 a Roman centurion is terrified of what will happen to him because he arrested Paul, a Roman citizen. He asks Paul if he is a Roman citizen and when Paul says yes, the centurion stammers with worry. The centurion also marvels because he had to pay a big price for his citizenship. The centurion is further horrified to hear that Paul was born a citizen which makes his actions even more egregious. The centurion was on the brink of doing the unpardonable in Rome. He was about to assault a citizen without cause. The punishment for this was death. He had almost signed his own death warrant. Paul was shielded at that moment from punishment because of his citizenship. This is exactly the same protection we enjoy as citizens of Heaven.

Once we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, our citizenship is forever changed to Heaven. We become the protected people of God. We enjoy, or should enjoy, the fully capable protection of God's own promises. This may not be accepted or understood here in the natural but it is fully understood and respected by Satan and his minions. Once we declare and demand our rights as citizens of Heaven, Satan shrinks from his attacks and flees. We have this promise that if we resist the Devil, he will flee. Here's why. Flashing our credentials as citizen's of Heaven will send our enemy running away from us because the punishment for ignoring this law is swift and severe. Remember the herd of swine?

Matthew 8:28-33 tells the story of some demons who were terrified of being tortured before the appointed time. This tells us something veeeeeeeeeeery important. As frightening and terrifying our enemy can pretend to be, we know what frightens him! We know that he is terrified of the torture that awaits him. We also have some clues to our authority here. If the demons thought Jesus had the authority to send them to their eternal torture immediately, and Jesus has given US that same authority, then the demons that dare to attack us are in grave danger. When a demon fails in his attempt to get us to fall into sin and doubt, he doesn't just go back to the bench until his next at-bat. He doesn't get another shot at it. He gets one opportunity to cause us to fall and if he fails at it, he is banished. We can, in our authority in Christ, send a demon to his eternal damnation early! I find that very empowering!

If a demon is successful and gets his hooks into us, then he can abide in our life and wreak havoc until he is banished. Until he finds a soul that will tolerate his presence, he is swirling powerless in the spirit realm in constant danger of being banished to his eternal damnation immediately. This should be very empowering for us to realize. This should completely change our posture. We should not be flinching at every enemy attack, we should be returning fire!

If some demon dares to raise their hand against us or our kids, we should explode with righteous anger and send that imp to his damnation. Word will soon spread throughout the spirit world that we are not to be trifled with and we'll find ourselves dealing with fewer demons. Demons are cowardly, they will only attack the frightened and weak.

Now back to the matter of our citizenship. If some demon attempts to stretch us across the rack to torture us with poverty, lack, sickness, or anxiety, we need to remind him and ourselves that we are citizens of Heaven. We are protected by the Name of the Lord. This should be all that is necessary to make him stop. Just like in our example with the Roman centurion, when Paul simply said the words "I was born a citizen of Rome", his would-be torturers stepped back in fear. When we remind the assaulting demons that we have the power to send them to their eternal punishment right NOW, that should be all that is needed to send them yelping into the nearest herd of pigs. This is our right; we have this authority. We can put the devil on the run!

The Roman centurion in our story paid what he calls a big price for his citizenship. And as a citizen of Rome, he was doing his duty of punishing anyone who violates the laws of Rome. He paid the price of citizenship and was fulfilling his duty as a citizen. This is an important picture for us to study. No matter what price that centurion paid for his citizenship, it was far less than the price paid for our citizenship in Heaven. Notice also that Paul had authority that exceeded that of his captors because he was born a citizen. Our torturer did not buy his right to operate in this world, he stole it from Adam. Therefore, since we were born citizens of Heaven when we accepted Christ as our Savior, our authority to operate in this world is greater than his and he knows it.

Notice also that no matter how important the centurion's role was to Rome, our duty is far more important to God. A great price has been paid for our citizenship in Heaven. With this comes great authority that is recognized by our enemy. We are to exercise this authority. As long as we fail to recognize this authority and use it, our enemy will have freedoms he's not entitled to. He'll use those freedoms to steal, kill and destroy. Our duty as citizens of heaven is to exercise the authority bought for us to stop the enemy from torturing our citizens and breaking our laws. It is a dereliction of our duty to allow Satan so much freedom. Whenever we see his influence, it is incumbent on us to squash it and banish the offending spirit.

What is most remarkable about today's blog is that it is coming from me. I used to be the worst at poking fun at people for saying things like this. I used to do the most obnoxious impersonations of wild-eyed, polyester clad preachers saying things like this. I thank God for showing me mercy for my ignorance. I am now fully persuaded and humbly compliant with God's word in this matter. It is extremely important that we recognize and exercise the authority Christ bought for us. We will not be able to fulfill all the work that has been prepared for us to do if we don't exercise our authority. Enjoy your citizenship today. Exercise your rights as a citizen of Heaven and put the devil on the run.

A better covenant, a greater duty.

As Christians, we enjoy a much better covenant with God than the children of Israel. The covenant they have requires them to find and render a suitable sacrifice, and the sacrifice they make only covers their sins for a certain period of time. We enjoy the privileges brought by the PERFECT sacrifice, the blood of Jesus. Our sins are not covered, our sins are erased. This is just one of the ways our New Covenant is far superior to the Old Covenant. Another great advantage we enjoy under this new covenant is the right to face our accuser. We have the right to defend ourselves against Satan and his attacks.

The Israelites of the Old Testament had no concept or awareness of Satan. Satan makes an appearance in Genesis and that's the last time we see him interacting with the people of the Old Testament. We see him again in the book of Job, but Satan's not interacting with Job and Job is not even aware of Satan's activities. Job thinks it's God doing all this to him. This ability to see who is attacking us is a great advantage. We know (or should know) that when hard times afflict us, it is not God attacking us, but Satan. We know better than to blame God for things Satan is doing. We know it is Satan that is accusing us. Unlike the Jews of the OT, we know who are accuser is.

This is a privilege in our society that we sometimes take for granted. In our rule of law, we have a right to face our accuser. Not everyone enjoys this privilege. In the military for instance, charges can be brought against you and you can be tried without ever hearing the charges much less facing your accuser. The charges can be classified and the person bringing the charges does not have to present himself at your trial. That puts the accused at quite the disadvantage. In that system, to be accused is to be convicted. So one of the privileges we enjoy as citizens of this country is the right to hear the accusations against us and know who is making the accusation. Additionally, if we are falsely accused, we have the right to sue the accuser and seek damages. These are great privileges that I hope none of us ever need to use. The great news is, we enjoy those same privileges in God.

Unlike the Israelites of the OT, we know who is accusing us and we have the right to defend ourselves against his attacks. This is a privilege so few of us are taking advantage of. It's one thing to not know about a right and fail to use it, it's another thing altogether to just neglect to use a right that's been bought and paid for and laid at your feet. Jesus went to the Cross, and then to grave and then to Hell to win this privilege for us. To just refuse to use it is inexcusable. The only thing you can call that is laziness or fear. We have a right to defend ourselves against our accusers. And to have the right is to have the duty. We are shirking our duty as Sons of God to allow our accuser to lay any charges he wants against us without consequence.

It is negligence in our duty because we are not supposed to spend our days scratching and clawing away at our maintenance expenses. Jesus didn't put this sword and shield in our hand just to get the cable bill and car payment made. We are supposed to be using our resources to advance the Kingdom. If we are so preoccupied with dealing with the damage we've allowed the enemy to ravage upon our lives, then we don't have the time, energy or resources to do the real work of the Kingdom. We were not left here to fight the battle of the phone bill. We are put here to fight the good fight for men's souls. It is our right, privilege and duty to put the devil under our feet and never let him up!!

If he tries to plant a thought of fear or despair in our mind, don't waste time wailing and crying to God about what are we gonna do. Take that thought captive, banish it with the Word of God and then set your mind back on things above.

If he tries to steal $500 from you for a new transmission, don't wail and cry to God about how every time you save up ten dollars you get a bill for twenty. Don't waste any time blaming God or getting mad at God about how things never work out for you. Do your duty as a soldier, use the weapons you've been given. What's our weapon in the battle of lack? Tithing and giving. If the enemy tries to steal from us, we are to continue to tithe faithfully, find someone we can sow into and believe God to honor that act of faith by meeting that need. Satan's intent is for us to not tithe and give him more entry into our finances. But here's what people of faith do in that situation. Not only do we continue to tithe but we also find a single mother whose drowning in diaper and daycare debt and get her car tuned up for the winter. We may not have the $500 for a new transmission but we've got $100 to make sure her car has a new battery, spark plugs and wipers. We didn't get our transmission fixed, but we made sure that her car will start for her every morning when she needs it as she driving to one of her three jobs. So now our enemy has not only failed to defeat us, now he's on the run because the single mom is telling everybody she sees about God fixing her car for her! How do you think God feels about things like that? Is God pleased with that? Like I heard someone say one time, I bet he punches lone of the elders in the arm and says "Did you see that? That's my boy!" This is how we win this fight. We win it just by fighting it. That gives God all the license He needs to move into our broken transmission situation and fix it in His abundant way. Don't blame God for your broken transmission. Don't take money away from Kingdom work. Show the devil that when he attacks your finances, that just inspires you to put more of it into the Kingdom. This is our great privilege. Not only can we defend ourselves against our attacker, we can make him pay a penalty for picking on us.

The really great news is we are guaranteed the victory. If we will just stand up to this bully and face him, we'll win! But thanks be to God who always causes us to triumph! All we have to do is not shrink from it. Just do our duty, exercise this great privilege of fighting along side the King of Kings and face the enemy. This is all that is required of us. Let's just resolve in our hearts and minds that when the enemy picks a fight with us, we'll fight him. Let's promise ourselves that we won't bring reproach to the crown and cower in front of our enemy. Let's not be the ones who lets Satan take anything away from the Kingdom without a fight. If he decides to reach his hand into the Kingdom and try to steal something from it on our watch, let's make sure he regrets it. This is our great privilege, and to have the privilege is to have the duty.

Are you sure you're saved?

Did anything REALLY happen when you prayed that prayer? You're still the same person. There's nothing new about you. All this talk about being a new creation is false and you know it. You still look the same, you have the same name and despite the fact that you have changed some of your habits, you are the same person you were before you started praying.

This probably sounds familiar to all of us. This is Satan's fall back defense when all else fails. When he can't tempt us enough to fail, he rolls this lie out to make us feel like we are unnecessarily missing out on some fun. When we are disappointed by some lack or setback, he whispers this in our ears to make us doubt our own resolve. When we are frightened or tempted to be frightened, he uses this lie make us doubt the promises we are clinging to. This is something he uses on all of us because it is so effective at making us doubt our authority or get confused about our rights.

Doubt and confusion can stifle our walk. It can completely cripple us. We must be totally convinced that something REALLY happened when we got saved. We need to be fully persuaded that we are a new creation; that we are different from the person who got saved. We need to be convinced of this because we need to know we have the authority of Christ if we are going to wield it. If we aren't convinced we have His authority, we won't wield it effectively.

The truth is something REALLY did happen when we got saved. Some of us can remember a flood of peace flowing over us like nothing we've ever felt before. There have been many nights that I've had to relive that moment just to encourage myself. At the moment we honestly surrendered our lives, Heaven became our eternal destiny. The old man we once were was erased from the annals of time and all of Heaven recognized us as Children of the King. At that very moment, we became so much more than Satan ever was and he knows it. And now that we no longer serve his purpose, he must eliminate or neutralize us. He can't slay us without us giving him an opening and we enjoy a cordon of protection so elimination is unlikely. The only thing left to do with us is neutralizing us.

Convincing us that we are not really saved serves nicely as good reason to not get too carried away with this new-found fervor for God. Convincing us that this new fascination with Jesus is just another fad does a fine job of stealing our zeal. This lie creates doubt and confusion which makes us hesitant about walking boldly in our authority. This has the effect of neutralizing us. If we are not walking confidently in our authority as Sons of the Most High, then we are not advancing the Kingdom. We essentially become a non-factor. That's what Satan calls "mission accomplished." He can't steal our eternal salvation from us but he has greatly diminished our ability to reach other who have not laid hold of their eternal salvation yet. Worse than that, he's planted the seeds of condemnation and will be beating us up with accusations of being "luke-warm" in a very short time. Given enough time and opportunity to execute this plan, and he'll have us depressed and desperate. Not long after that, we become a cliche, yet another Christian that's started off with Jesus and is now some boring, religious, judgmental jerk that no one wants to be around. Let's not be fooled into thinking it's coincidental how frequently this pattern gets repeated. And it all starts with making us doubt the validity of our salvation.

This should be the first thing we set out to teach new Christians. We need to know that according to God, we really are a new creation and we have rights and privileges as believers that we didn't have before. Imagine how different our lives would be if we started off good but got progressively better instead of what typically happens. The typical cycle starts with a huge upheaval of our lives fueled by new-found joy for all things concerning Jesus. Then with time, the fervor weakens and eventually abates completely. Now all of our friends who were watching us to see something genuinely miraculous see us waxing lame. Now we've lost our credibility too and have made Satan's job easier. Imagine if instead of that scenario playing out repeatedly, we knew right away how much power and authority was at our disposal?!What if we were more acquainted with our authority. We'd waste a lot less time stumbling around ineffectively in the fight for souls. This is an easy fix. We need to change the initiation process.

The popular and trendy way to introduce new believers to their new life places an unhealthy emphasis on what Jesus is going to do for them. I think the emphasis needs to be on what God can now do through them. If a proper amount of training went into adjusting this, I think we'd see a whole new kind of revival. If each new crop was made aware of the fact that they now possess Heaven's gun, badge and credit card, we'd see a lot fewer Christians falling back into old habits. We'd see a lot fewer moral failures and repeated cycles of straying and returning. We'd see a lot fewer new believers struggling with the debate about whether they are really saved or not. They'd be too busy watching the enemy flee from the lives of their loved ones. They'd be too preoccupied with winning battles to be wasting time wondering about how saved they are. They'd me manufacturing all the evidence they need to be convinced of their new life and station.

It's pretty hard to convince someone they're not a soldier when they're holding a weapon and winning a battle. What can settle the debate once and for all in our minds about being saved? How about looking across the battlefield and seeing Jesus lead the charge in the same direction we're marching. As for me, if you were to ask me if I'm sure I'm saved, my response is this: I'm pretty sure I am but maybe you should ask that shrieking and shriveled up demon in front of me what he thinks. I'm as saved as I'm gonna get and now it's time to start acting like it.

What's the real mission

Behavior modification is easy. Any animal trainer can teach us how to get people to behave in a certain way. This is the business of con men and wardens. God's goal in our life is much higher than that. God is on a mission to change hearts.

God's mission is accomplished when we change our behaviors for the sole purpose of drawing closer to Him. It's what happens when we stage a revolt against our flesh and purposely do the opposite of what it craves for the good of the Kingdom that shapes us into His ideal for us. When our flesh wants to lash out at someone whose hurt our feelings but we restrain ourselves and put the concerns of the Gospel ahead of our own, we honor God. This is God's mission in our life. To shape us into the person we'd be if Adam had never allowed that serpent to deceive him and his wife. God has no interest in watching us sit like a poodle wanting a biscuit. He's not amused by us going through ritualistic calisthenics. It doesn't delight God to see us go through the motions of a church service. We do those things for our benefit. We do those things to keep our flesh in its proper place so we can govern it.

Prayer and daily scripture reading serves to remind our flesh that we serve God. It's in the daily practice of studying scripture and diligently seeking God that our minds are renewed. We don't do these things as if we're doing God a favor. We do these things, if we are doing them properly, for the sole purpose of reminding our flesh of who's boss. Outside of that, the daily routine has little value. If we set out to do these things just to appease Santa God and hopefully curry favor with him, we soon lose our energy for it. We just don't have enough resolve to do these things for the wrong reasons for very long. But if we focus on the real mission, we eagerly fall into a happy routine.

Doing the right thing for the wrong reason takes all the value out of doing the right thing. The value of the sacrifice is crucial because that's what attracts the grace of God. Behaving as a model Christian for the wrong reasons is just as damaging as improper behavior. Behaving for the purpose of currying favor is not a sacrifice. It is duplicitous and unholy. Behaving well for the wrong reasons is actually self-worship and God sees right through it. God can tell when our motives are selfish, He wouldn't be much of a God if He couldn't.

So if God's real mission in our life is not to get us to quit cussing and drinking, but restore us to person we'd be if sin never entered the world, then what's our real mission? Our real mission is to please God. Our mission is to weigh every decision and action on this scale: Does this please the Lord? If it doesn't, we shouldn't do it. If it does, we should do it quickly, courageously and lovingly.

Our mission tomorrow morning is not to read x number of verses or say a specific number of prayers. It would be in our best interest to do these things because that behavior will help us achieve our actual goal but it's not our actual goal. Our actual mission tomorrow morning is to please the Lord. Our mission is to please God with every step we take and decision we make. This should set us free. This should clean up our to-do lists. If we eliminate every behavior in our live's that fails this test, we'd replace clutter with abundance. Where there was once noise and activity, there would be music and purpose.

It will take courage to do this. There will be some habits and some associations that need to be broken. But take heart, God is delighted when we do things for the sole purpose of pleasing Him. I guarantee you that you will be delighted with the way He rewards you for it. James 4:8 says "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." His real mission is to mold us into someone we should have been all along. Our real mission is to happily join Him in this.

The Bible is also a dictionary

One of the most important skills we will develop as we grow in our faith is rightly dividing the Word of God. So many of us, myself included, have spent years living less of a life than God intended because our understanding of His word was flawed. For instance, years ago, I heard a preacher discuss this frequently quoted phrase from scripture:

"The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away."

I have heard that phrase my entire life and always right after something disappointing. This is what people say when they are trying to deal with a loss or a set back. They don't know why it happened and they salve their fears by saying this. This gives us the feeling that God had good reason for taking something precious away and ultimately we just need to trust Him because it's for our own good. Well, if the truth be told.....

It is true this phrase is in scripture. The Bible does say "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away." You can find that phrase in the Bible but that doesn't mean it's the truth. In fact if you think about it, there are a lot of things said in scripture that are not truth. The Devil is quoted several times throughout scripture and nothing of what he said is true. Evil kings, sorcerers, and various others are quoted and what they have to say is not true. I've actually toyed with the idea of titling this post "The Bible is full of lies" just to see the reaction I'd get. Of course I won't do that, that Bible is not to be toyed with but you get my point. Not everything that everyone says in the Bible is truth. One of the things that falls into this category is this phrase from Job. It is true that Job said it, it is also true that Job was wrong when he said it. The Bible is very clear about who did the taking away.

So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
Job 1:13 And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house:

Job 1:18 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house:
Job 1:19 And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

Job 2:7 So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.

The Bible is very clear on this. Satan did the destroying and the killing and the taking away. Not God. Job had no understanding of Satan. Job wasn't even aware of him, so in his ignorance, he did what many of us do today, he blamed God for something Satan had done.

I said all that to say this. The Lord showed me another phrase that I've heard since my youth. Mercifully He also showed me where to find the explanation. Since my earliest days, I have heard the phrase "David was a man after God's own heart." I never knew where that phrase came from until this morning. It can be found at Acts13:22.

'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart;...

What I find most exciting about this is the second part of the phrase defines the first part. In the first part is the common phrase "David was a man after God's own heart" and throughout my life, people have felt free to interpret that however they saw fit. I have heard people say it was because David was such a devout worshipper. I have heard people say it meant that David was so zealous for the things of God. I have heard people tell me it means many other things that suited their particular sermon topic. BUT...the very next phrase tells us what it means. The next phrase says:

...he will do everything I want him to do.'

This is how the Bible defines being a man after God's own heart. According to God's own words, a man after His own heart is a man that will do everything He wants him to do! That's it. That's what it means. We would be distorting scripture to try to say it means something else. It would be an improper use of scripture to use the first part of the phrase without using the second part of the phrase. If we let someone tell us it means something else, we are allowing them to distort scripture. This is very dangerous and should be avoided at all times.

Here is another example of the Bible explaining its own terms:

24 No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand by and be devoted to the one and despise and be against the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (deceitful riches, money, possessions, or whatever is trusted in).

25 Therefore I tell you, stop being perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink; or about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life greater [in quality] than food, and the body [far above and more excellent] than clothing?

This is an example of the Bible defining it's own terms. According to these verses, one of the ways in which we serve is to be constantly concerned about a thing. This is from the Amplified Bible so it puts in sharper focus but verse 25 commands us to stop being perpetually uneasy about our life. Therefore according to the Bible, being constantly preoccupied in our thoughts about something is a form of serving that master.

These are just two examples of the Bible acting as its own dictionary. Learning to see these definitions is vital to our growth in the faith. We must learn to let scripture tell us the meaning of its terms and phrases. If we leave it up to preachers and so-called scholars, then we are limiting ourselves and potentially being led to destruction. David Koresh was burned alive with dozens of people who allowed him to tell them what the Bible says. Jim Jones convinced hundreds to drink poisoned kool-aid in an African jungle because they allowed him to define scripture for them. This is one of our duties. This is one of privileges.

It is a great honor for us to have the Creator and Ruler of the Universe come and tutor us in His word. This is a major part of seeking first the Kingdom of God. This is how we will be led into the abundant life Jesus bought for us. This is a skill we must diligently strive to acquire. We must learn to see the Bible as its own dictionary.

The Map!

Long before there was Google maps and Yahoo maps and GPS, people were given driving directions in chapter form. Step-by-step or turn-by-turn instructions were given to guide people to their proper destination. This is the same method we find in scripture. In 1 Timothy 6:11 and 2 Peter 1:5. In these two passages we have step-by-step directions to our destination.

1 Timothy 6:11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.

2 Peter 1:5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;6 and to knowledge, self‑control; and to self‑control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.

This serves as our guidance system. Following this path will always lead us into closer fellowship with God and out of the troubles of this world. If we find ourselves lost in the woods of worldly drama, we can always find our way out by pursuing righteousness. Pursuing righteousness, will cause us to act in godly manner, which will strengthen our faith. The renewed vigor of our faith will result in more love which will provide us with the strength we need to endure with brotherly kindness until we see the salvation of the Lord.

Because it's not the surviving or enduring the trial that's key. One way or another, we will survive the trial. The truly important thing about a trial is HOW we endure it. Do we endure the trial like a child being spanked; kicking and screaming. Or do we endure the trial with dignity and faith. Suffering the blows with praises to our King. This is the way we honor God and grow up quickly in our faith.

It's very easy to lose sight of the ultimate objective in the midst of a trial, that's why it pays to memorize the instructions. We start at any point by pursuing righteousness, as we pursue righteousness, we find godliness. This godliness will build our faith and then it's off to the races! Once we get renewed in our faith, there's no stopping us. We will surely find ourselves at our destination.

What else besides Faith?

Let's look at this from God's point of view. We would not be abusing our privileges as co-heirs with Christ to view living by Faith from His perspective. We are after-all, sons of God. We are made in His image, His Spirit lives within us, and we have the mind of Christ. Surely, we are well within our rights to look at something as if we were sitting on the throne. Not usurping the throne, just looking at something from there.

From God's throne, Faith, looks like the only viable method for accomplishing His goal. What's His goal? Well, to save us all from hell. To bring us all into eternal and splendid fellowship. To set us free from the curse of sin and death. To undo the tragedy that happened in the Garden of Eden. The most expedient and painless path to that destination would be for God to just suspend all justice. If God's only goal is to ensure all of His children receive Heaven, He could easily forget the sin debt altogether for everyone without condition. He is God after all, He is bound by nothing. He could eradicate His own laws and allow everyone entry into Heaven without exception. If that is what He decided to do, there is no power anywhere that could successfully rebel against Him. However, that would not suffice. That would essentially grant Satan the throne he tried to usurp. That would be letting Satan decide who gets to go to Heaven. Think about that for a moment.

Think about an eternity where Satan sits on the throne. This brief vapor we call "life" is hard enough with just his influence being felt. Can you imagine how horrifying an eternity would be if he actually had power?! That would NOT be Heaven. That would be Hell, in fact, worse than Hell. So, just forgetting the laws of Righteousness and granting everyone amnesty is not a viable solution. But God has devised a way for any of His children to lay hold of the life He intended for them. But that way is the ONLY way and no amount of negotiating, or tinkering, or bargaining on our part is going to work the same. We must embrace this method. We must live a life of Faith to achieve the life He has made available to us.

Only a person who has lived the life of faith will be fit for eternal life in Heaven. Only living by faith will equip us to endure an eternity in God's presence. If you are a person of faith, you will be courageous from all those trials that you endured. You'll be loving because of the Nature of God will abide in you, savvy because the Wisdom that taught Solomon would rest on you. You'll also be diligent because of all the time you spent studying and memorizing scriptures. All these attributes are necessary for people to have if they are going to rule and reign throughout eternity. Likewise, only people like this will draw more people into fellowship with God.

Can God use such a person as this? Can He use brave, loving, smart, hard-working people? Does He have any use for their opposite? Is there a purpose of the Kingdom that can be served by cowardly, self-centered, flaky, bums? Not a one. Living a life of Faith is the only method that will transform us from the people we were when we got saved to the people we need to be. Only living a life of Faith will perform the transformation and develop the kind of people God can use.

This should help us have the right attitude about the next trial we face. Notice I said "the next trial we WILL face." Without a doubt, there is another trial coming our way. It will either build our character or reveal it. And unless we want to face it more than once, we should make up our minds ahead of time to pass it by enduring it with Faith.

We need to keep the larger goal in mind. Let us be ever mindful of the fact that "Pain is Weakness Leaving the Body." Let us be prepared for every trial with understanding that we are subjecting ourselves to God's rule and keeping our promise to SERVE Him. In His perfect wisdom, He has declared that living a life of Faith is how we will become the people He desires us to be. So, as life unfolds before us, let's be ever mindful to let every decision be directed by a willingness to allow Faith to do it's work in us.

This is the process described in 2 Peter.

2Pe 1:4 In this way he has given us the very great and precious gifts he promised, so that by means of these gifts you may escape from the destructive lust that is in the world, and may come to share the divine nature.
2Pe 1:5 For this very reason do your best to add goodness to your faith; to your goodness add knowledge;
2Pe 1:6 to your knowledge add self-control; to your self-control add endurance; to your endurance add godliness;
2Pe 1:7 to your godliness add Christian affection; and to your Christian affection add love.
2Pe 1:8 These are the qualities you need, and if you have them in abundance, they will make you active and effective in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is the life we signed up for when we accepted his free gift of salvation. Let's embrace it and enjoy every minute of it.

I am laying hold of the abundant life Jesus bought for me!

I just love saying that. I repeat it out loud multiple times during the day. Whenever I think of it, I just say out loud "I am laying hold of the abundant life Jesus bought for me." This has already begun to make a difference. My mind is being blessed with new revelation into God's word. My spirit is being invigorated with new found courage and resolve. I am actually starting to believe that I can walk in the exceeding joy and abundance that Jesus bought for me on Calvary. This is a huge turning point in life.

For as long as I can remember, life has been a never ceasing game of survival against the constant onslaught of lack. Lack and the fear of greater lack has prompted me to make some bad decisions in life. Lack has given me license to yield to my carnal impulses. Lack and my focus on it has led to feelings of desperation. Lack has not served one good purpose and yet I have tolerated for it so long. It has suddenly occurred to me that if Lack was a person, I wouldn't allow them in my house. If Lack were a person, I wouldn't associate with him. If Lack were a person, I'd put as much distance between us as I could. Think about it for a moment. If Lack were a person, would you let them come into your garage and steal the transmission out of your car? Would you let him take a baseball bat to your plumbing and cause leaks? Would you let him steal the motor out of your washing machine? If Lack were a person, I'd fight him. And I am just realizing that I haven't been fighting him with the right weapons.

Lack has more ammo than my flesh can defeat. Lack can assault my finances on so many different fronts. It is impossible to effectively shield myself from his attacks with just my paycheck. If you look at anybody's life, you'll see they have the same limitations. No matter how much someone makes, Lack can still rob them. There never seems to be enough.

But I have more than enough ammo to fight him in one arena. I have my words! I can fight Lack and beat him back into the dark hell-hole he crawled out of. I can use my words and my faith to defeat him. My words are imbued with power from the Most High. I have His authority to proclaim a thing and demand its obedience. My faith filled words, the same tools that can move mountains, can defeat Lack. If I try to fight Lack on his terms, I will lose every time (I have the scars to prove it.) But if I fight Lack on God's terms, exercising my authority as a Son of God, Lack must obey my commands. So, I command Lack to depart from me. Stay away from me and my house. Take your hands of my life. I am talking to Lack just like I'd talk to a person and he must obey me for God has placed all things under the authority of Jesus. Jesus has given me permission to exercise His authority. So by the authority of Jesus, I command you Lack to get out of my life and take your cohort Debt with you.


We'll pick up here tomorrow.

Report card time

Great is your faithfulness. Your mercies are new every morning and I am sooooo grateful for that. I wrote something on this blog roughly one month ago about seeking opportunities to bless people with my words when I speak to them. I just reread that post and I have to admit, I allowed the enemy to quickly snatch away that seed. In the past month, I have become more, not less, consumed with my own goals. I have become engrossed with pursuing sales and promotion at my job. I have barely made the slightest effort to ease someone else's burden. Oh well, at least it's only been one month. It's not too late to correct my course.
I think the secret to making a sweeping change like this is keeping the right objectives in mind. When I wrote the post, my objective was to please God and allow Him chances to reward me as He sees fit. When I went to work the next day, I got uptight about finances and somebody else's performance. I completely lost sight of pleasing God. My objectives turned carnal instantly. But I thank God that He has shown me mercy by gently showing me my sin (what else do you call it?) So I begin again.
This too is another secret that I've recently learned. As long as it still called today, we can begin again. If we see that we have been missing it in a certain area, we can always make corrections. Each new day brings another chance to write our legacy. I need to be reminded of this frequently because my enemy often tells me that too much water has passed under the bridge and changing my ways now won't make any difference. That's a lie and I refuse to allow it to live in my presence.
Here too is yet another secret. Once we've recognized that we've been believing a lie, we can banish that lie from us forever. We can deny it the privilege of living in our world. We may not be able to kill it completely, the day when all our enemies are finally cast down has not yet come, but we can refuse to allow them live in our presence. We can cast them as far as the east is from the west. That is only a sliver of the power we possess as sons of God.
I am enjoying a new found treasure of power and possibilities. Reading that blog from just month ago has reignited my commitment and reminded me of my greater goals in life. This is a great day. I will remount and attack this dark world with new fervor tomorrow. Praise God for His mercies that are new every morning.

What a hassle

I consider my ministry to be the evangelist to the couch potato. Just as Peter was sent to Jews and Paul was sent to Gentiles, I believe I am sent to the lazy and self-centered. I was raised by a TV set for the most part. My parents both worked and did not get home from their terrible jobs until 5 or 6 in the evening. This meant that I spent much of my time alone after school. For my own safety, I was expected to let myself in and then stay in until my parents got home. Such is the life of a "latch key kid." It's not a bad life. It's certainly better than some who come home to abusive parents. It's better than having no parents at all. The only real drawback is you develop some bad habits that tend to follow you through the rest of your life.

For one thing, must of us are kinda chubby. Not all of us are morbidly obese but most of us carry an extra 15 to 50 extra pounds. We didn't develop a fondness for running and jumping and climbing and swinging and swimming that some kids did because we didn't do a whole lot of it. Now in our adult years, it just doesn't look like a lot of fun.

Another bad habit we develop is this notion that we are the center of the universe. We didn't get put into many situations where we had to share. There was no one else around to change the TV channel or play with the toys. We had it all to ourselves. Therefore, we didn't learn how to get along with people. It was easier to just avoid other people so we could have the toys to ourselves. And that is the worst habit of all the we develop. We always look for and take the easiest route.

Jesus told us not to always take the path of least resistance. But taking the path with resistance might entail meeting with resistance. What if we are not prepared to overcome that resistance? What if we encountered something that required us to (gulp) work hard? What if something came up that prevented us from getting back to the couch? What if something didn't come easy? Then what do we do? If it involves more commitment and effort than a few minutes concentration, we lose interest. If it requires taking ridicule or criticism, we are definitely not interested. We can't risk having our feelings hurt. In fact, we don't want anything bad enough to work for it. And now, after nearly a lifetime of being dissatisfied with life I am ready to make some changes. I am ready to repent of the sins that have done the most damage in my life. And I don't think I'm the only one.

I think there are millions of us out there. We're not bad or mean people but we don't have a great deal of depth to our character. If the going gets tough, we typically get lost. We don't have much appreciation for hard work. We don't know what it means to hang tough. We've never given ourselves to a goal and committed everything we have to accomplishing it. In fact, we don't even think in those terms. We don't understand what a sentence like that really means. It may be better to look at this group by contrast. Let me explain my people in terms of what we aren't.

We are not the people that stand on the podium with the Gold Medals at the Olympics. We are not the people whose name is on the office door or building or street or city or country. We are not the people whose name is on the invention or patent. We do not have our names on albums or marquees or movies or TV shows. We are not the names you'll find in the record books. All of these achievements require great effort and sacrifice. We do not make sacrifices or great efforts. We sit comfortably and applaud others as THEY do great things. And then wonder why life seems so pointless and empty. The central imperative in our lives is the comfort of our flesh. This is our great aim in life and this is our great sin.

Aside from this lack of willingness to work hard, there is another reason we never rise above our own mediocrity. Most of us have never been trained to be brave. Most of us don't know how to stand up to a bully. Most of us don't know the glory of courage because it is rarely required of us. Most of don't know that if we just stood up like a man and took a few shots, we'd live to tell about it. Most of us don't know how much pain or discomfort we can actually take. For instance, I have never dared to want something so badly that losing it would crush me.

I have never risked the kind of disappointment that would leave me crippled. I have cowardly lived outside the arena of really living. I have been unwilling to put in the effort when things get tough and I've protected myself from disappointment by not wanting anything so badly that could potentially destroy me if I lost it. I have launched into a thousand different enterprises but have never risked everything to make sure one of them succeeds. But not anymore.

Those days are over. I have come to a realization that what my life lacks is not resources or insight or revelation. What it lacks is real purpose. There are very few things in my life I wouldn't drop and walk away from if it became too much trouble. Outside of my faith and my marriage and my dogs, I can't think of anything I'd put any extra effort into. So what do I have to show for a life spent like this? Not much. No legacy. No lasting impact on the world. Nothing to distinguish my existence from anyone else's.

This should not be. I have been uniquely created and great works have been prepared in advance for me to do. Lord show me how to get from where I am to where I am supposed to be. Lord, lead me to these great works you have prepared for me. I repent of my laziness and self-worship. I want to live the life you bought for me and I'm willing to put in the effort it takes to lay hold of that life. Ephesians 2:10 assures me that I am your workmanship, you have made me and you have prepared good works for me to do. Lord, I am reporting for duty today. I want to give my life real substance and meaning. I want to do the work you have called me to do and I'm willing to crawl off the couch to get started. Where do I start?

While waiting for them to finish speaking...

we should not be preparing our next sentence. The Lord gave me a new assignment today and I can't wait to try it. I've been mildly frustrated lately by the fact that my life and ministry are still in the holding pattern so I launched into a deeper study of His word. I have declared again that nothing is more important to me right now than seeking His kingdom and laying hold of the life He bought for me. In this pursuit, I came across a man named E.W. Kenyon. If you're not familiar with him, I suggest you seek out some of his writings. He wrote some Bible study courses and other materials which I'm already finding profitable. The Lord Himself, His Spirit that speaks to my inner man, has reminded me frequently that He is a rewarder of those who DILIGENTLY seek Him.(Hebrews 11:6) The Lord appreciates diligence on our part when we use it to find Him. He's gracious enough to give us insights and inspiration even when we fail to demonstrate diligence, how much more generous he must be when we purposely set out to please Him with our diligence. This is one of those precious gifts that we can offer up to Him.
So, as an act of diligence, I have started taking this advanced Bible Course by E.W. Kenyon. Lesson 3 is titled "Acting on the Word" and the lesson revolves around James 1:22 and Matt 7:24. Be a doer of the Word and be like the wise builder who built his house on solid ground.There are questions to be answered at the end of these lessons and as I was trying to answer one about how to walk in love, the Holy Spirit gave me a great idea. He showed me in my imagination what I should do the next time I have a chance to speak to someone.
The next time I have a conversation with someone, while they are talking, I will be praying this prayer: "Father, what do you want this person to know about you? What lie has kept them from fully trusting you? Give me the words to dispel the darkness in their understanding of you so they will turn to you." Instead of my usual practice of just waiting for them to stop talking so I can talk again, I'm going to be praying for and believing to receive words that will have a real impact on their lives. I trust that as I do that, I will start to gain a reputation that will please the Lord and the people in my environment. Word will start to spread about how people just seem to feel better after talking to me. They may not be able to express why they feel better, but they'll remember the feeling of relief or hope or inspiration or revelation. I trust that as I make a habit of this, people will be eager to talk to me and walk away from our encounters feeling refreshed in their spirits. I trust that as I faithfully use the words precisely dictated by the Holy Spirit, the people I encounter will feel better afterwards and not necessarily know why. All they will know is that they enjoyed speaking with me and will seek more opportunities to do so, which will give me more opportunities to speak love into their lives, which will make them more hungry for God. I also trust that while I'm tending to my Father's business in this practice, He will be looking after my interests. He will be giving me favor with men, He'll be opening doors and preparing a table for me in the presence of my enemy. I have decided that I will no longer try to look after my own best interests. It is no longer my goal to win a debate, display my own wit, promote my own popularity or defend my own goals. Henceforth, it is my goal to be a conduit for God into the lives of the people around me. I will be looking out for someone else's interest. I will be seeking their benefit, not my own. This is a radical new approach for me.
For years, for as longs as I can remember, I have gotten by in this world by being the funny guy. It will be a whole new experience for me I'm sure. To just drop my need for constant approval and ego strokes and focus in on the spiritual needs of someone else is a completely foreign impulse. Instead of being so preoccupied with my own emotional needs, I will be purposely striving to meet the spiritual needs of others. I sense that this will be very freeing to me. To be finally relieved from the burdensome duty of catering to this self-absorbed flesh sounds exhilarating. I am certain the Lord will richly reward me with the privilege of seeing the impact He can have on someone's life.
I'm thinking about some of my co-workers who are bound with self-hatred and I'm excited for them. I know the Lord is going to make the most of our time together and give me just the right phrase or illustration or reply that will make them aware of His presence and affection. I'm not necessarily expecting scripture verses. I'm expecting vernacular terms that have the most meaning to them. Phrases that will nestle into their memories and keep releasing faith into them. I know it won't be flattery because He despises that. I know it won't be condemnation because that is a weapon of the enemy. I think it might be something simple like a genuine compliment they can't dodge. I think it might be a reference to something benign that reminds them of a time in their past when they were closer to God. I am truly bubbling with excitement to see God in action like this. I am even more excited by the fact that I get to be a part of it all. I feel like God and I are up to something that no one else is aware of. I feel like I'm in cahoots with God and I'm going to see amazing transformations happen in their lives. Transformations that lead to great new works for the kingdom.
I can't wait to start reporting on these great transformations on this blog. Stay tuned.

This is not a lemonade stand

Jesus is quoted several times saying that he must be about his Father's business. Jesus wasted no time while in the flesh with anything less than being about his father's business. He went from one place to the next leaving miracles and changed lives in his wake. He was always doing what he heard the Father tell him to do. I find it interesting that Jesus never spent one moment trying to figure out why he didn't get what he prayed for. He had one recorded moment in the garden where he asked three times for some other way. And honestly, who wouldn't? He knew what lay ahead of him. And as the Bible tells the story it's not like God ever said "No." When his disciples all reached for their swords, Jesus told them to put them away because he knew he could summon an army of angels with a word. Drawing from that, one must conclude that God left it up to Jesus to decide whether the passion was going to play out or not. It was Jesus who decided to follow it through to the end. I said all that just to say this; Jesus did not have any doctrine that allowed for prayers going unanswered. It was not part of Jesus' thinking. To even conceive of a prayer NOT getting answered was way outside of Jesus' theology. He lived with the expectation that if he asked for it in faith, he would have what he asked for. That is soooo different from what I have heard from so many pulpits in my Christian life. I have sat under far too many pulpits that spent the majority of their time teaching me how to deal with disappointment. This is not a proper way of thinking for someone who intends to live by faith.

The point of our time down here is not to learn how to take our lumps. Don't get me wrong; there is a right way and a wrong way to handle disappointments. When life disappoints you, you'll keep your head up and maintain polite behavior if you're a man of faith. You won't give the enemy the satisfaction of seeing you whine and cry about it. You won't mar the reputation of Christ with spastic outbursts and childish tantrums. You'll stand there like a man or pick yourself up off the ground like a man spit the blood out of your mouth and praise God. But that should not be the ultimate goal of your faith. The ultimate goal of your faith should be learning how to harness this wonderful gift called faith to accomplish the work God has prepared in advance for you to do.

Christianity is NOT about learning to be a good loser. It's not about humbly scraping by on the left overs of this world while we wait for the rapture bus. Being a Christian brimming with abundant life does not mean losing with grace. It means winning! Christ is the victory that overcomes the world. Following him should not be an endless succession of losses that we take in stride. Following Christ should be going from one victory to the next. Each victory eclipsing the last in magnitude and amplitude. Learning how to make peace with all the disappointments in life is NOT what being a Christian is all about. This is why we have so few men who want to be a part of our churches. Manly men don't want to sit through some silly rituals while a meek house-pet of a man tells them how to handle life's bruises. Real men want to learn how to WIN! And the church has done a terrible job of that for so long. We don't want to hear how it makes us more like Christ in our Spirit when we don't get what we want. That doesn't even make sense but that's what we get so often. We are told that if life deals you lemons, make lemonade and here are some of my favorite recipes. Well, pardon me but I prefer coffee thank you very much.

Mark 1 relates a story of Jesus teaching in the synagogues. Mark points out that the people marveled at the fact that he spoke as one who has authority, not as a teacher of the law. Not as someone who studies the law but as one who exercises the law. That's the major difference between saved and unsaved isn't it?! Non believers, theologians and the like, speak in hypothetical contrivances about faith while believers actually exercise their faith and get their needs met. The major difference for me came when I was taught that I can operate in this life, here and now, as one with authority. My life will never be the same now that I know I can exercise authority over the things that invade my life. I can repel them or defeat them. I can summon them and I can sow them. I do not have to spend my days defending myself against the forces of this universe. I can actually exercise my authority on them. To what extent is a matter of time and maturity but that's completely beside the point. The point is, for years I was told how to deal with these forces as they inflicted themselves on me. Now I know the truth. Now I know that I can, that I have the authority even if I haven't developed the capability yet, I at least know that I have the right to DIRECT those forces. This is not making lemonade!

The point of this life is NOT to keep a stiff upper lip, behave yourself, and watch your language. We are saved for a reason. We are saved and given revelation and authority to actually accomplish something with our faith before our tour of duty is over. Don't think for one minute that you are fulfilling your duty to Christ just by attending church and "being a good person." In his death, burial and resurrection, Jesus took back the authority that Satan stole from Adam so he could restore us to a position of authority. Now that we have this authority, let's find a more noble use for it than just being the most optimistic person anyone's ever met.

Things your flesh might say

Do you remember that TV game show "The $10,000.00 Pyramid"? I thought it was one of the most entertaining shows and have never been able to channel surf past it. Even today when they show the reruns from the episodes from the late '70's and '80's, I stop surfing and watch it to the end. If there are back-to-back episodes, I'll watch the next one too. One of the categories that cropped up frequently was "Things _____ would say." And the player giving the clues would start making statements in the first person of whatever filled the blank. For instance, if the answer was "Things a washing machine might say", the player giving the clues might say "Why do they have to do laundry everyday" "How many times this week did they wear that shirt?" "I hate the way jeans get tangled up around my agitator." "Oh no, those towels are too heavy on that side, they're gonna knock me out of balance when we start spinning." and so on. It was a really ingenious game and it gave me an idea about today's blog. Today I thought I'd let my flesh have it's say about this whole walking with Christ thing. After all, our flesh is probably the most put-out and inconvenienced participant. Paul instructs us to give our flesh the harshest of treatments and I thought it would be profitable to hear its side of the story. So here are some things I have heard my flesh say as I have tried to press in and become more like Christ.

1)Who asked for living water?-The flesh has no appreciation for things of the spirit. It only knows what it feels and when its thirsty, it wants ACTUAL water. It has no use for some metaphysical concoction or metaphor. When your flesh is thirsty, it wants a drink and it doesn't matter how you try to sell it, if it won't satisfy my physical thirst, my flesh is disappointed. When we tell our flesh that we have access to "Living Water" the only it hears is "There is no ACTUAL water. Try your best to deal with disappointment." To the flesh, Living Water is synonymous with No Water and it is not happy about it.

2) "I don't want to be led by the Spirit. That's takes too much concentration. Can't God just bless me?"-Never forget that the main goal of our flesh is getting back to the couch to make sure the TV and remote control still work. If it requires more effort than that, our flesh is not interested. Being led by the Spirit means being quiet and letting someone else speak; also not very interesting to our flesh. Being led by the Spirit sounds too much like looking the word up in the dictionary instead of someone just telling you what it means. Even though, we eventually mature to that point where hearing from the Holy Spirit seems almost effortless, the flesh is not interested in developing that skill or any other skill for that matter.

3) "I don't care about having the mind of Christ."-That sounds like a death sentence to the flesh. If the mind of Christ moves in, what happens to my mind? So Christ gets to tell me what to do now? Thanks but no thanks.

4) "I'll take the path of least resistance. Every time."-So I can get back to the couch.

5) "I don't want to be filled with Holy Spirit."-see number 3. If the Holy Spirit moves in, what happens to me? That could be the end of some of the fun we've been having.

6) "I don't really see the big deal about God's presence. In fact, if God does show up, that could ruin my plans for the rest of the day. Is there no other way to get His blessings? Can't He just, ya know, zap us with the money without keeping us in church all day?"-God's presence is oppressive to our flesh. Our flesh feels threatened by God's presence. This is how we can tell how carnal we're being. If someone talks about asking for God's presence and we get defensive about it, we probably need to put our flesh under.

In fact, if we hear any of these things from our inner man,we probably need to put our flesh under. Paul tells us to "beat" our body into submission. It doesn't sound like it's going to go quietly. It sounds like we're going to have a fight on our hands. This is something I have struggled with my entire life. I will go through seasons when my spiritual strength is great and my flesh obeys. But then there are seasons when my spirit is too weak to enforce its will on my flesh. I've noticed that it's never a case of my flesh growing stronger, flesh doesn't grow stronger;that's too much like work. It is always a case of my spirit getting weaker which gives my flesh the opening it needs to rebel.

So that's what spiritual growth looks like from the perspective of our flesh. It's no fun at all. I wouldn't count on our flesh ever getting excited about growing up in Christ and leading the way. I think it's going to be dragged kicking and screaming off the couch into the abundant life.

"I beat my body into submission." "I have the mind of Christ." "What I hear the Father say, I do." Answer: Things my spirit might say.

Things I want to do with my faith

With a title like that, you’d expect me to start with something grand and altruistic. Only a fleshy, craven, self-absorbed person would start this list with anything less than “create world peace” or “evangelize the entire world.” It would be especially shocking if someone topped this list with something worldly like a new car or a bigger house. Well….prepare to be shocked I guess. Believing in a new car is right at the top of my list of things I’d like to do with my faith. See, I think this list needs to start with the easy things and then progress into the more difficult things like world peace. I think it would be easier to believe in a new car than world peace don’t you? I’m not talking about just any new car. I’m talking about a jeep in fact. A green jeep with a 3” lift, a brushbar, a winch and foglights. I’m also believing it will have both the soft and hard tops with it and the stereo sound bar that attaches to the roll bar. A person with a dry wit might understate that I’ve given this matter “some” thought. This is something that I would like to accomplish with my faith. And if you were honest with yourself, you’d admit that some part of you wants something very similar. Maybe for you it’s a Porsche or ’66 Corvette or Lambourghini Countach or stainless steel kitchen appliances or a trip to Europe. Whoever you are, there is something in this world and of this world that makes you stop and stare. And you’d like to know how to use your faith to believe it in. It’s alright to admit this. In fact, it’s really harmful NOT to admit this. You see, I think the world has been robbed of some great feats of faith by this superficial spirituality that says it’s carnal to desire anything of this world. Because of this teaching, so many of us have not learned how to exercise our faith on a grand scale because we don’t dare exercise it on a small scale. I’m very glad my father in the faith learned how to believe in some money for a pair of shoes. After he believed in some shoes, he went on to believe in some other nice clothes and now he’s using his faith to believe in some really grand things. I’m also very glad that Brother Hagin learned how to believe in his healing. Talk about a grand scale. The world was changed forever when Brother Hagin threw his legs off the bed and tried to stand. Your life and my life would be completely different if that hadn’t happened.

I can’t help but think about how different life is for some people in Haiti today. There is a good number of people in Haiti that have food, shelter, medical attention and eternal hope because my spiritual father led us to believe for a boat. This boat that we drew in with our faith was the only vessel available to reach some of the victims of a tsunami in that region. Without that boat, relief would not have arrived for several more weeks. These are the kind of things that faith can do. This is the difference we can make with our faith. But sadly so few us ever achieve great things with our faith because we were taught it’s carnal to believe for anything material.

It’s less carnal to admit you like some nice things in this world than it is to try to defend your sense of false humility. Denying yourself the finer things in life is not humility. It’s actually quite the opposite. It’s pride. You think you have a right to the moral high ground and are spiritually more mature than people who desire things in this world. That’s spiritual pride and it’ll kill you if you let it. You’re better off just admitting that you’d enjoy having some nice things. I know we’ve been told for hundreds of years not to desire those things by preachers who distort the words of Christ but it’s really OK to desire the finer things in life. Tell me which is worse, wanting better living conditions or lying about wanting better living conditions? It’s not a sin to want. It is a sin to lie. Who could blame you for wanting the best life has to offer? What’s wrong with wanting that? Nothing. It’s NOT wrong to desire the finer things in life. I’ll tell what’s really wrong is living a lie pretending you are not interested in worldly things while you do your best to accumulate them apart from God. If you don’t think we, God’s children, should have a nice home, then why are you living in one? Shouldn’t the money you’re spending on that be spent sending Bibles to North Korea? The truth is, we all want the finer things in life but most of us have been brow beat into believing that it’s not right to ask God for them. We’ve been taught that it’s not right to use your faith for life’s luxuries. Why has the enemy worked so hard to fool us into believing it’s wrong to use our faith to believe in a new car? Because look what can happen when someone learns to use their faith? Pulpits have taught us from Matthew 6:31-32 which says don’t be like the pagans who chase after food, clothing, and shelter, God knows you need them. And then they combine that with James 4:3 which says you ask but don’t receive because you ask with the wrong motives. I’m certainly NOT going to argue with scripture but when presented this way, we are left to draw their own conclusions when things don’t get added to us. Most of us spend our whole lives feeling like we have to plead and beg things from God’s hands. This is not true. And most of us also think that until we have grasped perfection in our Christian walk, not just seeking the Kingdom of God but actually finding it, God won’t bless us with those things. The implication is the only thing we should be asking God for is spiritual things which means we need to add the rest to ourselves by our own efforts. Don’t ask God for food, clothing and houses, God knows you need them and He’ll pass them out to you as He sees fit depending on how pleased He is with your efforts at seeking His kingdom.

I think the Lord may be somewhat frustrated with all the wasted time and energy spent trying to gain stuff with human effort when the faster more efficient route would be to just believe it in. Do some sowing and reaping, and confessing and thanking instead of all that sweat of the brow stuff. Think of all the kingdom time that has been wasted by people putting God’s agenda behind their monthly expenses. Think of all the prayers and other resources that could be devoted to kingdom matters that have been squandered into worries about our car payments and house payments. Or time that we’ve spent working 2 and 3 jobs that could have been better spent in direct service to Him. Think about how much time could have been devoted to gaining revelation, real answers, about reaching the lost that has been spent in anxiety over finances. I think it frustrates God to see so many of us anxiously fretting over the cable bill when He’s more than willing to effortlessly meet every need. I think He’d be happier with many of us if we just showed enough faith in His goodness to cast our cares upon Him and then focus in on Kingdom matters. To do that would mean we’d have to be convinced that lack is not part of his plan for us. We’d have to be convinced that if we stopped focusing on the bills, someone would take care of them.

How can we possibly avoid being preoccupied with the basic necessities of life? What would make it possible for any of us to put aside our concerns for our physical welfare? Let me ask it this way, if you had a million dollars set aside somewhere, would you be stressing over the monthly bills? No. You could lay aside your concerns about those things because you know you have the resources to meet those needs. If we knew we had the resources to meet all our needs, would we be wasting any time or tears worrying about it? Not one minute would be spent fretting over a bill. We’d stop asking silly questions like “What are we gonna do?” “How are we gonna pay this.” Well, in light of Philippians 4:19, why can’t we do that right now? Maybe you personally don’t have assets in the millions but you know someone who does don’t you? Do you have a good relationship with that person? Do you think if you asked Him to meet a need, He’d say “Yes”? Do you think He’d EVER say “No”? Then for the sake of all those souls that need to hear the gospel and don’t have any more time for us to waste crying about our phone bill, let's just flat out ask God for what we need and want. Let's trust Him to keep His promise to supply all our needs and move on. Let's stop wasting time hemhawing about whether God wants us to have a new car or not. If you want a new car, ask Him for a new car. Don’t waste time and energy trying to gain a new car in your own strength and resources. Ask Him for it, ask boldly. He respects that. He responds to the kind of faith that will stand boldly before His throne and trust Him to do what He says He’ll do.

In His word, He promises to supply all our needs according to His riches. He said He came to give us life superabundantly, He promises to give back to us in good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, He told us in the parable of the prodigal son that when we return from our self-absorbed wasteful journey He will shower us with the finest things in His treasury, He is eager for us to have all the nice things that life has to offer. Why? Because He loves us and that’s His generous nature. It’s in His generous nature to overwhelm His loved ones with His goodness. What’s a brand new car to someone who created all the stars in a hundred billion galaxies? What are new appliances to someone who created this and every other planet? More important than CAN we ask God for the things we want is SHOULD we ask God for what we want? He wants us to use your faith for those things so we learn how to believe in some REALLY big things. Your dream car, your dream kitchen, your dream vacation is small potatoes. We can go on to do great things with our faith, let's not be shy about asking for the small and grand things.