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.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
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.
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.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
What matters
In my quest to see more results from the exercising of my faith, the Holy Spirit keeps reminding me that character matters. It’s important to God who we are behind closed doors. Our failures don’t have to be public to be damaging. My private failures can do just as much harm. I suppose if I thought about it for just a minute and looked at the mechanics of faith, I would have come to this conclusion on my own.
Mark 11:22-24 is the great instructor on how to use faith as a child of God. It is from this scripture that most of us have learned about the possibilities of using faith. Mark 11 is the bedrock upon which all our teachings are built when it comes to faith. To paraphrase, Mark 11 tells us that we can profess into existence all the life Jesus bought for us. This passage instructs us to “say”; to use our mouth and tongue to make manifest things that only exist the spirit world. The passages mentions the word “say” three times and “believe” only once. One is tempted to underestimate the importance of the word "believe" because it is only referenced once but that would be a mistake. Despite the fact that is only mentioned once, it is a crucial element in the exercise of our faith. Saying is given more attention but it doesn’t hold more significance. We should be using our mouth and saying what we want to bring into this realm; there’s no accomplishing our full potential without it, but at some point in all that confessing, we need to actually believe what it is we are saying. We can’t ignore the significance of believing. This is where character comes into play.
Character is our credit line. The quality of our character is what people examine when they are deciding to trust us or not. If we have a good reputation for telling the truth, people are eager to trust us. If we have a bad habit of stretching the truth, people know it soon enough and will refuse to trust us regardless of the evidence. The same is true when it comes to trusting ourselves. When we confess something that stretches our faith, it is with the understanding that at some point, we are going to have to believe what it is we are saying. Believing our own confessions can be completely derailed by poor character. If we know ourselves well enough to know that we can’t be trusted because we are one person in public and another person behind closed doors, then we will NEVER believe our own confessions. Who we are when no one is looking is vitally important to living the life of faith. Our character, because it is not hidden from ourselves, tells our spirit how much we can be trusted when we make confessions.
Character will determine how much grace we enjoy. Character matters to God in all things but because so much relies on our character with regards to walking by faith, it is especially important to Him when it comes to deciding how much grace He can lavish on us. Everything God gives us is by grace. We have received nothing from Him accept that which He has given us through grace. We have the faith to believe in Him because HE gave us the grace to receive that faith. We have the light and revelation we have because He poured enough grace on us to understand this much. With more grace will come more revelation and light. We need grace. We can’t survive until the end of this sentence without His grace. When it comes to getting our prayers answered, grace is the crucial element. With greater grace, our confessions become more potent. With greater grace our words mature into physical existence faster. Greater grace equals greater power. And our character has greater impact on the grace we receive than anything else. God does not reward poor character with more grace. He continues to love and minister until our character improves but He does not burden us with more revelation than our characters can manage. To give great grace to an ill-grown character would be cruel. The one with poor character would still be held responsible for the proper use of that grace. Being unable to properly handle the greater grace would only expose that person to greater judgment. God is merciful in His restraint. He desires to lavish great grace on us but protects us from great harm by withholding it until our character is prepared to support the responsibility.
Character is the ultimate demonstration of our faith. What we do when no one is watching shows God what we truly believe. If we serve Him behind closed doors then we are declaring our faith in His ultimate authority in this universe. What we do in public cannot be trusted as a true sample of our character. Our public personae plays such a vital role in our fleshes well-being and comfort that our flesh often develops a mastery of deceit. It is impossible to detect if someone is being genuine or artificial through their public behavior. However, it is easy to detect someone’s true colors if we can see their private behavior. Public scrutiny acts as society’s policeman and distorts our view of people’s true nature. Privacy, however, acts as society’s liberator and allows us to indulge in our true selves. If the person you are publicly, serves God and obeys God, that’s great, but your motives are always suspect. If, however, the person you are privately serves God and obeys God then your motives cannot be questioned. You are serving God for no other reason than you recognize Him as your Lord and Savior.
Character matters. Character determines how much of God’s presence we enjoy. Character determines how much of God’s power we exercise. Character determines the quality of relationship we enjoy with God. Our private behavior is something that no one else can give God on our behalf so He cherishes this as something precious. Character matters and there is NO substitute for it. Our confessions will ricochet off the ceiling and never reach the ear of God without character. Lord help us develop our character so we can be trusted with more of your agenda. Thank you Lord.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Graduation day
That's it, I've had it. I can't tolerate this one more moment. It's a shame that it's taken me 44 years to finally get fed up with this but better late than never I suppose. I'm finally fed up with this child I become when things don't go my way. It's embarrassing to look at all the times I threw a fit like a spoiled brat when I was unhappy with the service I was getting at a restaurant. Or the times I'd throw a fit at work when sales slowed down. I can't stand to even recall the ways I'd pout and slam things down and get snippy with people because a sale didn't go through. It's humiliating to have to admit that I am "that guy."
There's no use in trying to deny it anymore. I am "that guy" who throws a tantrum like a five-year old whenever he's unhappy. Well, I used to be that guy. It's humbling to think about having to learn something like this in my mid-40's but I have learned it. I finally got a glimpse of myself on the verge of one of my fits at work today and stopped it before it started. I didn't get philosophical and wax poetic about just being patient. I didn't try to buck myself up with a personal pep-talk and a "We'll get'em next time!" Nope, I just caught a glimpse of myself throwing a hissy and got nauseated. I couldn't stand the sight in my imagination of me pitching a fit and ruining my witness. For the first time in my life, I stopped to think about what kind of damage I'd be doing to the Kingdom of God. For the first time in my life, I put the Kingdom of God ahead of my own need for attention when things don't go my way. For the first time in my life, I chose to do what's best for the Kingdom and put my flesh under. I don't mind telling you, it was difficult and exhilarating all at the same time.
On the one hand, my flesh was unaccustomed to be told "No" but on the other hand, my spirit was invigorated at being held to a higher standard. I don't know enough words to describe how good it feels to know that I have not totally lost my dignity again. It feels so good to know that at some point in the future, God can call on ME to minister to someone who needs to hear about His love. I am still a viable candidate!!! I still qualify for service because I haven't ruined my reputation. I can still be used to bring someone into the kingdom because I haven't made myself into a laughingstock with some childish outburst. I'm getting excited just reliving it in my memory!! I can't believe I'm the one saying this but I am counting it all joy that I faced this trial and passed it with my head held high! I can be proud of the way I acquitted myself.
Would I have enjoyed getting the sales? Probably but I'm not worried about that. I am not my own source. I don't have to make sales for God to provide for me and prosper me. What I do need to do is continue to walk like a man through this world. I need to walk like a man who knows he's a son of God, a co-heir with Christ, a ruler and a victor. I need to continue to show the world that my joy does not come from my sales. God can't do anything with someone whose going to fall to pieces when the enemy attacks with slow sales and whispers of defeat. I've spent a lifetime giving God nothing to work with. Thank God that ended today! Forgive me for the small amount of grousing and griping I did do and as you help me Lord, I will undo that damage. Thank you Lord for showing me in my own mind what I must look like when I meltdown like a man who has no hope. Thank you Lord for the strength to stand up like a man and take bad news with some self-respect and dignity. Thank you most of all for showing me what it means to seek first the Kingdom of God in that situation. When I think about the shame I could have brought to the name of Jesus by blowing my stack, I get sick to my stomach. But when I think about the great exploits I still qualify for because I restrained myself, I get excited. It's graduation day. I've finally made it out of preschool! Hallelujah.
There's no use in trying to deny it anymore. I am "that guy" who throws a tantrum like a five-year old whenever he's unhappy. Well, I used to be that guy. It's humbling to think about having to learn something like this in my mid-40's but I have learned it. I finally got a glimpse of myself on the verge of one of my fits at work today and stopped it before it started. I didn't get philosophical and wax poetic about just being patient. I didn't try to buck myself up with a personal pep-talk and a "We'll get'em next time!" Nope, I just caught a glimpse of myself throwing a hissy and got nauseated. I couldn't stand the sight in my imagination of me pitching a fit and ruining my witness. For the first time in my life, I stopped to think about what kind of damage I'd be doing to the Kingdom of God. For the first time in my life, I put the Kingdom of God ahead of my own need for attention when things don't go my way. For the first time in my life, I chose to do what's best for the Kingdom and put my flesh under. I don't mind telling you, it was difficult and exhilarating all at the same time.
On the one hand, my flesh was unaccustomed to be told "No" but on the other hand, my spirit was invigorated at being held to a higher standard. I don't know enough words to describe how good it feels to know that I have not totally lost my dignity again. It feels so good to know that at some point in the future, God can call on ME to minister to someone who needs to hear about His love. I am still a viable candidate!!! I still qualify for service because I haven't ruined my reputation. I can still be used to bring someone into the kingdom because I haven't made myself into a laughingstock with some childish outburst. I'm getting excited just reliving it in my memory!! I can't believe I'm the one saying this but I am counting it all joy that I faced this trial and passed it with my head held high! I can be proud of the way I acquitted myself.
Would I have enjoyed getting the sales? Probably but I'm not worried about that. I am not my own source. I don't have to make sales for God to provide for me and prosper me. What I do need to do is continue to walk like a man through this world. I need to walk like a man who knows he's a son of God, a co-heir with Christ, a ruler and a victor. I need to continue to show the world that my joy does not come from my sales. God can't do anything with someone whose going to fall to pieces when the enemy attacks with slow sales and whispers of defeat. I've spent a lifetime giving God nothing to work with. Thank God that ended today! Forgive me for the small amount of grousing and griping I did do and as you help me Lord, I will undo that damage. Thank you Lord for showing me in my own mind what I must look like when I meltdown like a man who has no hope. Thank you Lord for the strength to stand up like a man and take bad news with some self-respect and dignity. Thank you most of all for showing me what it means to seek first the Kingdom of God in that situation. When I think about the shame I could have brought to the name of Jesus by blowing my stack, I get sick to my stomach. But when I think about the great exploits I still qualify for because I restrained myself, I get excited. It's graduation day. I've finally made it out of preschool! Hallelujah.
Great verbs
Men...grab a pen. I am about to give you a list of verbs. This is a list of things you get to do as Christian men. Not just things you GET to do, but also things you are SUPPOSED to do. I think this list may surprise some of you so I encourage you again to grab a pen.
One of my frustrations with Churchianity is the role they expect men to play. In too many Churches, men are there to do the heavy lifting, to stack the chairs, to roll out and set up the baptismal pool when needed, to set up the tents for VBS and to sit quietly in the meantime. Men have been relegated to the role of house pet. Don't mess on the carpet, watch your language, put your good shirt on, comb your hair and behave yourself. Well, if I may speak for all the guys out there, that's not much fun. We can do more than that. We have much more to contribute to the cause of Christ. If only someone would demand it from us.
See the problem isn't we aren't willing to do more, the problem is no one is expecting more from us. Too many churches act like you're asking too much of us to show up on a regular and don't want to rock the boat. The truth is, God expects more from us than Churches have been willing to tell us. God expects us to act like bringing our family to church is the most important thing we do all week. God expects men to put the spiritual needs and nourishment above EVERY other priority, including food and clothing. God expects us to live like the revelation we receive on Sunday mornings is more valuable than the paycheck we get on Friday. God expects us to act like we are going to meet with someone of great importance on Sunday mornings and shouldn't be excused from that duty because we had to work overtime this week.
While it seems to be part of our culture to leave the Churchin' and Bible trainin' to our wives, God expects us men to take very seriously our role of spiritual head of the household. The really aggravating part of these lowered expectations is being the spiritual head of the household means engaging in some of the best verbs. We men could be having the time of our lives. The Bible tells us to do exciting swashbuckling things. Things like take captive, cast down and put to death. Not stack chairs! Don't get me wrong, someone needs to stack the chairs and it might as well be the guys because we're strong and like to show off. But guys, in between services you are supposed to be grappling in mortal combat for your family's spiritual well-being.
While you are working, Satan is plotting your child's destruction. When you're not looking, he's whispering things into their ears through their peers and TV shows and music and the internet. One way to combat all this would be shut your kids into isolation and hope he doesn't find a way in. That's not only wishful thinking, it's also kinda lazy and weak. The more excellent way is to square your shoulders and face this enemy head on in prayer and demand that he respect your authority. Stand in the middle of your house and tell Satan to keep his hands off your kids. When a fearful thought creeps into your mind about what kind of mischief they could get into, take that thought captive and cast it down. And then confess a blessing over them, tell Satan that your kids are going to escape his schemes and will go onto accomplish great things in their lives. That's a hedge of protection that God himself will patrol with powerful angels while you go about your duties at your job.
When you get home from your job, make sure you've put your flesh under and put to death every behavior that would harm your kids if they saw you demonstrate it. Whether you want to accept the role or not, you are a role model and your kids will mimic your bad behaviors. Worse than that, they will try to outdo your performance and take it at least one-step further. Wouldn't it be terrible to find out you were the hole in the fence. Just imagine how horrified you'd me with yourself if you found out that the bad behaviors they picked up didn't come from the drug dealer at school but from you.
I usually don't go in for scare tactics. I just think there's something insulting about trying to scare people into behaving a certain way but I'm not trying to get you to change just behavior. I'm trying to change everyone's perspective on a man's role in the body of Christ. I don't want men to think that all they need to do is watch their language and wear their best clothes on Sundays to fulfill their role as spiritual head of the household. Men you are called to do much more than that. You are supposed to ensure there's a well-guarded fence around your family and it's your job to do vicious battle with anything that would dare breach that perimeter. YOU are supposed to speak a wall of protection, prosperity, health, abundance around your family. This is your responsibility. You'll be held accountable for this someday. Jesus demands that you shoulder this duty. This is why you are studying your Bible on a regular basis, not so you can give yourself a "good-boy gold star" on the calendar. Not so you can feel good about yourself but because someone has to do it. If you don't do it, who will? Who will keep your kids and spouse protected while they grow into all the potential God has prepared for them? This is your role in the church men. This is a grand and worthy purpose in life. Doing this is far more excellent than any kind of trophy the world can offer you.
Remember these verbs, take captive, put under, cast down and put to death. These are the things you GET to do as a Christian man. Do them eagerly, do them daily, do them well.
One of my frustrations with Churchianity is the role they expect men to play. In too many Churches, men are there to do the heavy lifting, to stack the chairs, to roll out and set up the baptismal pool when needed, to set up the tents for VBS and to sit quietly in the meantime. Men have been relegated to the role of house pet. Don't mess on the carpet, watch your language, put your good shirt on, comb your hair and behave yourself. Well, if I may speak for all the guys out there, that's not much fun. We can do more than that. We have much more to contribute to the cause of Christ. If only someone would demand it from us.
See the problem isn't we aren't willing to do more, the problem is no one is expecting more from us. Too many churches act like you're asking too much of us to show up on a regular and don't want to rock the boat. The truth is, God expects more from us than Churches have been willing to tell us. God expects us to act like bringing our family to church is the most important thing we do all week. God expects men to put the spiritual needs and nourishment above EVERY other priority, including food and clothing. God expects us to live like the revelation we receive on Sunday mornings is more valuable than the paycheck we get on Friday. God expects us to act like we are going to meet with someone of great importance on Sunday mornings and shouldn't be excused from that duty because we had to work overtime this week.
While it seems to be part of our culture to leave the Churchin' and Bible trainin' to our wives, God expects us men to take very seriously our role of spiritual head of the household. The really aggravating part of these lowered expectations is being the spiritual head of the household means engaging in some of the best verbs. We men could be having the time of our lives. The Bible tells us to do exciting swashbuckling things. Things like take captive, cast down and put to death. Not stack chairs! Don't get me wrong, someone needs to stack the chairs and it might as well be the guys because we're strong and like to show off. But guys, in between services you are supposed to be grappling in mortal combat for your family's spiritual well-being.
While you are working, Satan is plotting your child's destruction. When you're not looking, he's whispering things into their ears through their peers and TV shows and music and the internet. One way to combat all this would be shut your kids into isolation and hope he doesn't find a way in. That's not only wishful thinking, it's also kinda lazy and weak. The more excellent way is to square your shoulders and face this enemy head on in prayer and demand that he respect your authority. Stand in the middle of your house and tell Satan to keep his hands off your kids. When a fearful thought creeps into your mind about what kind of mischief they could get into, take that thought captive and cast it down. And then confess a blessing over them, tell Satan that your kids are going to escape his schemes and will go onto accomplish great things in their lives. That's a hedge of protection that God himself will patrol with powerful angels while you go about your duties at your job.
When you get home from your job, make sure you've put your flesh under and put to death every behavior that would harm your kids if they saw you demonstrate it. Whether you want to accept the role or not, you are a role model and your kids will mimic your bad behaviors. Worse than that, they will try to outdo your performance and take it at least one-step further. Wouldn't it be terrible to find out you were the hole in the fence. Just imagine how horrified you'd me with yourself if you found out that the bad behaviors they picked up didn't come from the drug dealer at school but from you.
I usually don't go in for scare tactics. I just think there's something insulting about trying to scare people into behaving a certain way but I'm not trying to get you to change just behavior. I'm trying to change everyone's perspective on a man's role in the body of Christ. I don't want men to think that all they need to do is watch their language and wear their best clothes on Sundays to fulfill their role as spiritual head of the household. Men you are called to do much more than that. You are supposed to ensure there's a well-guarded fence around your family and it's your job to do vicious battle with anything that would dare breach that perimeter. YOU are supposed to speak a wall of protection, prosperity, health, abundance around your family. This is your responsibility. You'll be held accountable for this someday. Jesus demands that you shoulder this duty. This is why you are studying your Bible on a regular basis, not so you can give yourself a "good-boy gold star" on the calendar. Not so you can feel good about yourself but because someone has to do it. If you don't do it, who will? Who will keep your kids and spouse protected while they grow into all the potential God has prepared for them? This is your role in the church men. This is a grand and worthy purpose in life. Doing this is far more excellent than any kind of trophy the world can offer you.
Remember these verbs, take captive, put under, cast down and put to death. These are the things you GET to do as a Christian man. Do them eagerly, do them daily, do them well.
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