Stay Strong

'And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.'
                                                                   ~ Isaiah 2:4

As I live out my days in the 'land of not-quite-right,' the desert is a reminder of the desolation of the human soul when it is in rebellion against God.

The dry land without vegetation makes me wonder how the desert foxes, birds and other animals survive in a region comparable to the dry, lifeless bones described by the Prophet Ezekiel.
We see the soulless and Godless production of our political structures, the entertainment people seek to fill their lives with in a numbing and dumbing manner, and in our relationships which remain on a superficial level as love is replaced by lust and man disregards his neighbor.
Things certainly can look bleak through foggy eyes.

We also find that it wasn't much different in Biblical times.

Yet, as THE avenue of God's Word in that time, the Prophets absolutely insist that the world will not end in universal defeat, but in joy, peace and satisfaction.
That may be the reason we are given so many miracles during our lives; both minor and major miracles remind us all of our hope.

Need I remind you of the horrid cancer I had?
Or of when I could feel something, over a period of months, changing within my body?
Or of being declared a 'dead man walking' with mere months to live, only to be sitting here writing these words 6 years after my expected death, but cancer free?

Miracles still happen.
Any Christian who believes the miracles of Scripture went out with the Apostles and the closing of the Canon, are simply wrong.
First, it doesn't make any sense Scripturally.
Secondly, I would say if a person did not believe in a true, God-wrought miracle; we're not talking for the slap-stick, huckster, showy things broadcast on television, but a real miracle brought by God; I would say that person understands neither the Word of God nor the Power of God.
In short, they are in danger of becoming a modern-day Sadducee.
But I digress.

The point of the matter is similar to our time, people are filled with fear; while at the same time having a mysterious hope within us.
The political upheaval caused by the last American election by those on the left, was that

anything less than actions of fear?
I would argue terrorists only seem angry; in reality, they are afraid.
But within the Christian, though fear is all around us, we have a mysterious hope; something we can't quite put our fingers on, but we know that it is there.

When I was sick, I knew this hope so well; it came to life in my life.
Somehow, I knew everything was going to be alright; live or die.
As a result, I was at peace, maybe a greater peace than I had ever known in my life.
For the Christian who is walking by faith, remaining strong, resisting temptation, and relying on the Lord...they have this same hope and peace.

The Prophet Malachi is the last of the Old Testament Canon; after he speaks, God would remain silent for 400 years and not speak to His people.
But the day came when God would speak again, first through John the Baptist and then finally, ultimately through His Son.
All of which, along with every Prophet and Apostle, promise something new in the next world.

In ministry I have seen my share of tragedy and turmoil.
Yet, the message from God is consistent and confident; a time is coming when there is no fear, no false brothers, no betrayal, no cancer, no infants dying, no more tears; in fact, no death at all.
It will be a time when armies cease to wage war; soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines all turning our weapons of war into farming tools.
At that time, God will not speak through something or someone; He will no longer be hidden and speak to us Himself.

With that said, it can be rightly determined that human history, the time in which we live, is a time of transition to something greater and NOT an end unto itself.

But what about today; right now?

Because right now infants do die, false brothers do betray Christians and overthrow pastors, cancer does claim lives, and wars do rage.
Are we, you and I, expected to wait until we die or Christ returns to be satisfied in our desire for the presence of God?
Again, it seems, not-quite-right.

We are not alone in this question.
Once the Prophets died off and God fell silent, the Ancient Israelites began to ask the same questions.
Historically, when the Old Testament canon closed, it seemed to them that Judaism was in vain and their God was in hiding.
Neither was true.

We must remember, as God stayed silent between Malachi's death and the arrival of John the Baptist, His people endured 400 years of silence.
What we feel today when we think God is silent or that He has left us alone is generally very mild compared to the time frame of the Ancient Jews.

Interestingly enough, we beg for God to come near; but when He does approach, the light is so bright we are often scorched.
Throughout the Bible, we see humans respond to God's nearness in fear; creating a greater distance spiritually without fostering faith with a few exceptions.

We become disappointed when God seems distant; times when we begin to lack faith or waver in our hope.
But what could not be achieved through power displays and the voices of the Prophets, it would be won and secured through the suffering of Christ.

In Jesus' suffering and ultimate reconciliation, God has provided the way to draw near to us; yet, we must also draw near to Him.
This street runs both ways.

You and I don't have to be perfect Christians; it's never going to happen anyway.
Our perfection will come in the next world, this too achieved through the suffering of Christ on the Cross.
Our guilt, removed.
Our distance, bridged.
Our hope, secured.

So, walk confidently Christian, in humility.
Share grace with those you can; pray without ceasing with joy in your heart.

Disregard those who try to produce fear within your spirit.
Because, my friend, there is a greater day coming when we will enjoy His everlasting peace.

Until next time, win one for the good guys.

As He Is

"We must lay before Him what is in us, not what ought to be in us."

                                                                                 ~ C. S. Lewis

Prayer is a funny thing.
Not funny 'ha ha,' but funny as in odd, different.

In prayer, a person may speak freely with the Sovereign Lord of the Universe, without reservation, hinderance or hesitation - though we rarely come to Him as we should or say what truly needs to be said from our hearts.

Psalm 139 teaches us that God knows our words before they are even our words; He knows them when they are mere thoughts.

And maybe, just maybe, our thoughts are our real prayers; for, in the words of Jesus, 'As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.'

The truth of life is that humans tend to remain shallow at one level of our relationships; we tend to keep people at a distance, a controllable distance from our true thoughts and feelings.
The same would happen with God in our spiritual life if He could not read our thoughts and know our hearts.
We would keep God in a comfortable place for us; but real spiritual growth happens at times when we tend to be uncomfortable, challenged.

In reality, unless we are fully honest with God or a friend, or a spouse; that relationship never deepens.
Instead, we will go through the motions of a relationship, but the relationship will only remain superficial.
The challenge for every Christian is to trust God with what He already knows about us.

But there is a problem.

The problem is that we often see God as someone we should cower before, instead of seeing Him as a person like Jesus.
We forget that it was Jesus who is the 'perfect image' of God the Father.
We lose sight of the fact that it was Jesus who willing sought the greatest offenders.

We need to be reminded that He alone is worthy of our trust.

In the military, Chaplains are identified by their occupational badge; each showing the broad faith group to which they belong.
A Christian has a Cross, a Muslim a Crescent, a Rabbi wears the Tablets; but it is the Eastern Religions who are represented by a Wheel, a Prayer Wheel.
Buddhist Temples have a large version of these prayer wheels; they constantly turn this wheel believe that the gods will respond to the requests.

This may seem odd and extremely foreign to Christians, but the reality is that we view things very similar when it comes to prayer.
In the Christian world, people believe if they do something, anything of value or contribution with the Church, or if we give more in the offering, then by all means God is obligated to respond.
We lessen the very meaning of prayer in doing so because we have based God's response on a transaction rather than a personal relationship.
And it is that personal relationship which He desires most with us.

Every person who comes to God in prayer, comes to Him with preconceived notions that we've learned throughout our lives; unfortunately, most of our notions are wrong, being formed by our experiences, popular psychology instead of Scriptural authority.
In the words of Jedi Master Yoda, 'We must unlearn what we have learned.'

For all the things which God is, God is not a cosmic kill-joy.
God is not a judgmental, Super-cop waiting to nail you to the wall.
Yet, God is to be revered, loved and praised for His graciousness rather than feared on trembling knees; although He is fearful in a Holy way.

There are those who were abused by the biological fathers in life; for them the Fatherhood of God is skewed and their notion deviates from the true love and grace of God the Father.
Others have been taught that God is a ruling Autocrat, rather than a benevolent dictator with your eternal destiny and good in His heart.
Still others, maybe most, see faith as a spiritual bargaining chip with God because nothing in life is free; therefore, why should grace be free.

And yet, when all is considered, we are left with the image of Christ we are given in Scripture.
A man who sought out the hurting, touched those shunned by society, gave grace freely to the greatest offender and called the most unordinary people to do extraordinary things in His name.
Amazingly, while Jesus was on earth, not one person asked Him what God was like; they asked Him many things and could have asked Him anything they wished.
But they never asked Him what God was like; they could see that He is the 'perfect image' of the Father.

With this said, maybe Christians ought to get rid of the images we have about God and find the person the image is supposed to represent.
His name is Jesus.

Until next time, go win one for the good guys.

God Still Speaks

Since the dawning of the church age, there are times when Christians, Churches or even entire denominations have wanted God to act in a personal, constant, up-close way.

Personally, I would argue that He does.

Yet, those that fail to see the movements of God in the world point to the Nation of Israel from long ago wanting that kind of experience with God.

But the history of Israel which has been recorded tells me that I should not want this.

The reason - there are great disadvantages. 

The first and foremost is the loss of personal freedom; the freedom the Apostle Paul so boldly proclaimed and was continually praising God for giving it to Christians by grace.

In ancient Israel, however, there was nothing outside of God's laws and rules.

And amazingly, the closer God came to the people; the further the people withdrew.

To think we modern, educated, sophisticated Christians living under grace would do any different than our forefathers, is to remain in blissful ignorance of the reality we are presented in Scripture.

In our day and age, Christians tend to believe that everyone would follow a God who made Himself obvious.

Certainly, millions would come to faith if only the world was set straight and fairness was universal.

But Scripture tells us otherwise.

King Solomon was known for his wisdom; obtaining 1,000 wives and concubines along with 1,000 mother-in-laws would tend to argue differently.

While that is a common joke, Solomon was very wise but blundered in his ruling of Israel; for, the nation began to model politically the faults of Solomon personally.

Solomon took Israel to its greatest heights as a nation and people; yet he also led Israel from being a nation dependent on God to a self-sufficient Superpower, losing the vision which God had called upon them in the world to perform.

In spiritual terms, as Israel conquered and ruled, the Kingdom of the World began to trump the Kingdom of God.

As this took place, the success and power which the nation and its people obtained soon eliminated any disappointment they may have had in God but it also eliminated their desire for God as well.

The truth is, even today in our lives, the more we obtain the good gifts of grace, the less likely we are to think of the Giver.

Again, many desire the obvious displays of old; but should we?

Examples from Scripture teaches me differently.

If we yearn for the power of God, such as that of Elijah or Elisha, we are craving the wrong things.

Somewhere, my Charismatic and Pentecostal brethren just felt their heart sink and inch; but please hear me out.

You see, this is not a denial of the gifts of the Spirit; nor is it a rebuke of my brethren who may believe slightly differently than myself.

No, this is an appeal for the Church, the Body of Christ, to desire the right things from God that we may reach our sick and sinful society.

Elijah and his successor Elisha were the exceptions among the prophets; the signs and wonders they performed in their time were truly magnificent.

But these two men were but a blip on the screen of history; truthfully, they had no long term effect.

That shouldn't surprise anyone when you take into consideration the fact that the first time left the sight of the nation of Israel they began to worship a gold calf - and they had just seen the plagues decimate Egypt.

But today, the people of God have been blessed; for, the Holy Spirit came and remains with us, in us and among us.

His whisper, His still, small voice came to the prophets of old and was a preview of our modern era.

As He appeared and would one day enter every child of God, He changed how the faithful view the voice of an all-powerful God.

Please don't misunderstand, Elijah and Elisha were great, powerful men of our Holy God.

But we must also examine the faithfulness of other men, such as Micaiah, who stood against Ahab and his prophets.

You see, after Elisha died, the prophets did not have much of a power display; yet, they were full of the Spirit of God.

Instead of power displays, they turned to preaching the very Word of God itself.

Instead of showing the people the power of God in signs, they spoke the Word of God and His power was known.

The Major Prophets had no power displays; instead of miracles and stunning events, they simply looked out among the people and said, 'Thus says the Lord...'

May I ask a bold question?

Shouldn't God's word be enough for us today if it was enough for Isaiah, Ezekiel and Jeremiah?

You see, the preaching prophets do something that the power prophets did not do; they give a voice to our disappointments in life.

At times, they were angry with God, disappointed with His decisions, in a fog as to what He was doing and occasionally despondent. 

Is there any Christian who hasn't felt the same at times?

To be blunt, they asked, 'How can an all-just God permit such an unfair, messed up world?'

My friend, that is a wonderful question.

Have you ever read the Bible and missed the questioning of God by the men who proclaimed Him?

If so, let me give you a small sample:

Isaiah once stated that He was 'truly a God who hides Himself...'

Habakkuk was despondent and removed from understanding in saying, 'justice never prevails.'

As Jeremiah watched Jerusalem fall, the King shackled and blinded after witnessing women cook and eat their own children, he simply concluded that God was 'a warrior powerless to save.'

Does this sound like men who fully understood all that God was doing?

Do they sound like modern televangelists today?

In believing Scripture and these Men of God over what passes for the 'leaders' of Christianity today, I must say that anyone who believes a Christian never suffers and all will be roses and sunshine continually - they are truly an idiot speaking falsehoods contrary to the written Word of God and the experience of the People of God.

For here's the amazing thing about what these Godly men said in ancient times: God talked back.

Then and now, God speaks through His preaching 'prophets,' men of God ordained to carry the Word of God to the masses.

And when God spoke to Ancient Israel, He defended how He ran the world; and God wept because he was being locked out.

He pointed to the Prophets themselves, the very men who questioned His justice and judgments, and presented them as proof of His concern.

He had sent them to speak His Words; the people, however, heard the words but did not listen to the meaning from the Lord.

In short, God was saying to them, 'How can you complain about the silence of God when you have the Prophets as His mouthpiece?'

In a similar manner, how can we complain today that God is aloof, or doesn't care, or is removed; especially when He has given us the Church.

You see, God did not consider 'mere words' as an inferior form of proof of His existence,

His truth, His love or His concern.

Words in fact had a much longer-lasting effect than miracles.

Do you doubt?

Elijah and Elisha effected their generation; the words of David are still be sung in the Psalms today.

Let me ask, which of these have a longer effect, or a broader reach?

It is the written Word of God.

The Prophets inscribed for us a permanent record; just as we do today electronically.

And from the questions and statements made above, God answered and it is recorded for us today.

With Isaiah, God did not argue when He was accused of being hidden; it was true. God had withdrew His presence from the people who rejected Him.

With Jeremiah, God was disgusted with what He saw taking place in Israel; the hands meant to pray and praise Him were covered with innocent blood.

With Ezekiel, God saw Israel's rebellion and they had crossed a line; He simply gave them over to their sins - being carted away to another land.

And Zechariah, God had called out to Israel - but they refused to listen. In response, God withdrew and did the same.

Is God shy to our needs today?

Absolutely not.

God has, however, expressed His deepest feelings to us through His Prophets and Apostles; these accounts are written in His Word.

Through we may wish at times for great displays of power through the unexplainable power which God Himself owns, this is not the answer to strengthening our commitment to the Lord.

And though we don't have the same visible out-workings as our forefathers, God has not withdrawn His presence.

For the Christian has the Holy Spirit within, and this power is the greatest known to man.

At times, it may seem God is absent, that in our fallen and disastrous world He is removed.

That is what the ancients thought; they thought wrong.

Search His Word and you will find God very near; concerning our plight, His face is still streaked with tears.

Until next time, win one for the good guys.