An Antibiotic for Fear

“And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!” – Mark 4:41

Since I was a little girl I’ve loved fishing. There’s just something about being by the water, holding a fishing pole, watching the red and white bobber, and waiting in anticipation that gives me such excitement! But I don’t care to fish from a boat. I don’t swim well, and being in a boat sort of makes me uneasy. I’m far more at ease being on the banks, able to move around, and feeling that good solid earth under my feet.

The other day my husband and I went fishing. This was a real treat since it was only the second time all year we’ve had time to go. As I stood there, this time fishing on the bottom and trying to feel the fish bite from my line, the waves were ripping! The wind defeating me every time, pushing against my line and removing the tension I’d had in it. It was then that the words of the disciples from Mark 4:41 came to me when they said “even the winds and the sea obey Him”.

They learned this not through Jesus preaching to them, not by explaining to them how He controls the waves, nor by revealing the chain of command of the elements under His feet. They learned His authority over the wind and waves by Him showing them in an example they would never forget.

Jesus had been teaching a large group of people along the shoreline from the boat. But when it began to get dark He told them to cross over to the other side. In fact, Jesus said “Let US cross over to the other side”, telling them His very intent for the future. Jesus then took a nap in the front of the boat.

And then the windstorm came.

And then the giant waves came.

And then the boat began to fill with water!

Where was Jesus? He was still asleep - asleep in the FRONT of the boat. One of the lessons I’ve learned on a boat, thanks to my brother, is never – ever – be in one when there’s a storm! The other is to stay in the back when the water is rough because the front of the boat takes the hit of the waves first.

I think Jesus purposefully placed Himself in the front of the boat to be an example to the disciples. What was the example? His statements when they woke Him say it all. He stood up, spoke to the wind and the sea and said two things.

First He said to the wind and the sea, “Peace, be still.” Whenever we are in a fearful condition, we need to be able to remain calm, and take control of our fear.

Having lived in fear for years after being mugged, I can tell you the only way to overcome it is to control it, and the only way to control it is to remain calm, and control your mind. The more you allow fear to enter into your mind, the more it will control you. As Christians we are to take every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5). That means we control them. We harness them, we cuff them, and we decide how long they stay in our minds. We do not fear what we control.

The disciples were looking at the waves and the water rushing into the boat. In their minds they had thoughts of drowning, of death. What they’d overlooked was the one controlling it in the front of the boat.

The second thing He said was directly to them, and spoke to the root of the problem. He said “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” He didn’t say “that you have just a little faith”. He said “that you have NO faith”.

To have faith you have to have an understanding of who Jesus is. When you know Him, you know His power and His care for you. You trust that all things – fearful or not – are in His control. The disciples admitted their lack faith when they said “WHO can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!” Faith is the antibiotic for fear. Where there is faith, there is knowledge and understanding of the power of God, who is in control of all things. Where there is faith, there is trust in God. Where there is faith, fear dies.


Faithie Robertson
09/06/2011

The Robe, The Ring, and The Sandals

“But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.” – Luke 15:22-24

Being the mother of son who spent the last two years living away from home, I know how it feels to wonder about your child’s welfare. I know the worry of all the questions that would come in the early morning hours. Is he healthy? Is he eating right? Is he cold? Does he have clean clothes? Are his friends the right group of people? These are the things that occupy a mother’s head. It’s not that my son has caused such worry, it’s simply love.

I guess that’s why the story of the Prodigal Son, as told in Luke 15, is one that always speaks to my heart. I can imagine how the father felt those years waiting for his son to return home and waiting for him to “come to himself”. I can imagine him hearing sounds coming down the road the first few months and running out the door thinking maybe, just maybe, his son was coming home. Then I can imagine that one day life just continued on without the father running to the door, but with some sadness.

But then on that day when the son “came to himself” and realized his state of affairs, he realized who truly loved him and returned home. And yes, his father ran out of the house to meet him with open arms. Hollywood could not create a scene so touching!

Of course, this story is an analogy of one coming to Christ and receiving him through faith. Some call it salvation, some call it conversion, and some don’t know what to call it. But what it’s called isn’t half as important as what creates it. It’s an admission of whom you are, “coming to yourself”, and that you aren’t who you should be. It’s then a trust, faith, that God does love you enough to intervene for you, to save you from yourself. And once that faith is born, it is realized in the renewal of your identity. It’s an understanding that you are not who you were, but that you are a child of God.

There were three gifts given to the son that day, and they’re all meaningful, and give insight to the gifts given to the children of God when He receives us as His children.

First, he was given a robe - a covering. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve lived the carefree life before sin, and did it completely naked. Stark naked! There was no shame because there was no understanding of right, wrong, or not living up to an expectation of what they should be. But once they committed the sin of not obeying God, one we’ve all committed, they realized their nakedness and covered themselves with leaves. The leaves hid their nakedness.

The robe given to the son represented the salvation received from Christ. It is His righteousness, His perfection that covers our sins. We’re no longer subjects of shame or guilt. Because we accept Christ as our savior, He does just that. He saves us from ourselves.

“For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,” – Isaiah 61:10

The second gift the prodigal son was given was a ring. The ring was a symbol of identity. Often a signet ring would be used with wax to mark a document as having been written by the one owning the signet ring. When we come to Christ, we do receive an identity. We are no longer children of flesh and blood, but children of God, through the gift of the Holy Spirit that connects us to Him.

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name…” – John 1:12

“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,” – Romans 8:16

The last gift he was given was the one I found most intriguing. He received sandals for his feet. To understand the meaning of the sandals we have to go back to verse 15, where it says the prodigal son “joined himself to a citizen of that country”. To “join himself” meant to be taken into slavery. Once a slave, his sandals would be taken from him to prevent him from running away.

When we are living without God we are slaves. Why? Because there really is no freedom found without Him. Living without Christ as your savior means that you are living on your own merits – under the condemnation you bring upon yourself through sin. There’s no freedom in following sin. That road leads to death.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 6:23

Have you ever read the Ten Commandments? They weren’t written for the purification of people, but to show us where we fail. They’re a mirror of our guilt in sin. No one can keep all of the Ten Commandments. No one ever has, and no one ever will – except Christ. This is why there’s no freedom without Him. You’re condemned to the life you have. You have no way to free yourself from the bondage of sin, which leads to death. But when Christ comes, when you accept Him as your savior, His righteousness becomes your righteousness in the sight of God. You become an heir to all that Christ owns as a child of God. You’re not just a slave being taken care of, but a child of God.


“Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” – John 8:34-36

There’s just one more thing about the sandals. Do you know why the child of God can wear the sandals? Because once you’ve found Christ, and understand the joy that comes through knowing him, there is no struggle, no war of wills, no shame, no guilt, and no inner turmoil. There is love without condemnation. You’re content to stay with Him, to live in that love, and not run away.

For someone living without Him, what I just said is a mystery. There is no way to fully understand the joy of knowing someone who doesn’t reside physically on this planet until you’ve experienced the joy of knowing Him who lives spiritually within you. And that is what makes it so hard to explain to someone who is without Christ why they should be saved. That is why Jesus says in John 6:44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.” When God draws you to Himself, then you will understand. Friends, I pray that understanding has or will come your way. There is freedom in Christ, sweet freedom!

Luck, Karma, and Mother Nature

Luck, Karma, and Mother Nature…what do these three have in common?

They are three ways in which Christians and non-Christians deny God and the power of God. It’s not something we intentionally do. We do it unconsciously – not considering how our words feel when God hears them. We don’t consider how they conflict with what we believe in our hearts to be true about God. They’re just sayings - words that we’ve heard all our lives. But the fact that we don’t consider what we’re really saying doesn’t decrease the weight of the sin in saying them.

“But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” – Matthew 12:36-38

Luck is seen as a force that causes unmerited good in our lives, or unmerited bad. “Good Luck”, “Better luck next time!”, “a string of bad luck” and other sayings are so commonly used that we sometimes say them without even considering what we are agreeing to with our words. If you believe in God – you cannot believe in luck. Instead you know that all things that happen are according to God’s will. That includes the good, and the bad. He allows bad things to happen in our lives to make us stronger, and blesses us with good things. Thinking that some other force can bring us good or bad diminishes our belief in God’s power over the circumstances in our lives.

“Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” – James 1:16-17

Karma is actually a Buddhist and Hindu belief that an unseen force will cause the good we do to others to bring good into our life, and the bad we do to others to bring bad into our life. Belief in Karma is the opposite of believe in God’s judgment and mercy.

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. …. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” – Matthew 7:1-2

Mother Nature is the name we’ve given to weather and environmental change. She’s often blamed for things like floods, hurricanes, and even recently the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. To believe that anything other than God could control the weather is to doubt God’s power over the earth that He created. This includes Global Warming. The whole idea that man can cause the earth to be destroyed prior to the day that God decides to destroy it is just another way we deny God’s power.

“Whatever the LORD pleases He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deep places. He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain; He brings the wind out of His treasuries.” – Psalms 135:6.8

It’s hard sometimes to believe things like what we’ve seen in Japan could be caused by a loving God. But to think we could even understand the thoughts and ways of God is to place ourselves on His intellectual level. I know I don’t have His wisdom, and I cannot understand His thoughts. I choose to leave the things of this world in His hands, and as Job said, take the good with the bad.

God holds us accountable for not only our actions, but our thoughts and our words. It’s important to see these three sayings as what they really are – idolatry. They replace the powers of God with other forces.

Overlooking the True Gift

“Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.” – John 6:26

When my son was little we got him a ride-on toy for Christmas one year. He was so excited to take it out of the box and scoot it around the room. But by nightfall, the toy was shoved aside and the box became the center attraction. He climbed into the big box, got markers and began to transform it into a house. He played with the box day after day, taking several items into it. At one point it even became a car – something he could ride in! The ride-on toy sat quietly to the side while he focused all his energy on that box.

Jesus went through this very same thing with His followers. When they were hungry, he fed them with 5 loaves of bread and two small fish. They continued to follow Him, not because of who He was and what a relationship with Him could bring, but because he provided food. He showed them signs and wonders. Even in feeding the 5,000 with only 5 loaves of bread and two fish they had missed the miracle and focused only on the food they received. Jesus told them in John 6:26 “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.” How disappointing it must have been for Jesus to see how easily we are distracted.

Even today we miss out on what Jesus has to offer. We find salvation in Him, and often stop there. We never explore the gifts He can give, such as peace, joy, love, and self-control. We take our ticket to Heaven, and walk away holding it high with a sense of accomplishment. Yet the entire time we’re living our lives in misery not understanding that we need Christ most for life – not death.

He’s sitting there quietly, just waiting for you to stop playing with the box and pay attention to Him.

Vitamin F

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” – James 1:2-4

Have you ever experienced a time in your life when frustrations and stress were so heavy that you just wanted to crawl out of your skin and your life and be someone else for a while?

I’ve had a very frustrating week. Chaos has been all over me. It’s as if nearly every angle of life that affects me suddenly decided to go wrong, create stress, put my stomach in knots, and really just wring me out to dry. It was little things, big things, continual worries, and things that just zoned in and stomped on my very last nerve.

Frustration is like being in the middle of a hurricane. You know exactly where you are, you want it to stop, but you just cannot seem to find your way out of it. And the longer you stay, the more stressful it becomes. Life’s whirlwind begins to tear you down, take away your faith and hope, and torment you.

After almost two weeks of trials, I began to ask God why I was in this state. What was He doing with me? I know God is all powerful and satan does not have free reign over me, so I knew He was behind it all. Was I not pleasing God? Had I been slack in my relationship with Him? Was I moving away from Him? I began to see the trials I was under as punishment.

Then I remembered several times hearing people say that as soon as you begin to serve God, look out for satan to begin to mess with you. Was that it? Was it because of a responsibility to serve I’d recently accepted? I began to question whether I was strong enough to undergo all this, and whether the opportunity to serve was something I should drop.

I thank God that at that point He gave me clarity about the situation. I wasn’t being punished - I was growing. God was giving me a healthy dose of “Vitamin F” (Frustration) to allow me to be tried.

When silver comes from the earth, it’s not shiny and pretty. It’s a metal mixed with a lot of other minerals. But when it’s put through a hot fire, a refiner’s fire, the minerals all break apart and turn to ash while the silver is purified and made even more precious.

Sometimes God has to take us through a refiner’s fire to produce from our lives the experiences and strengths that allow us to be even more precious a tool for His work. In order to understand what it’s like to endure any hardship fully – you have to have borne that hardship yourself.

Maybe if I could have seen God leading me through the storm of frustrations, and understood this was a growth opportunity to begin with, I wouldn’t have fought against it so hard. If I knew He was at work, maybe I wouldn’t have broken down, used bad language, given sharp answers, and ran my mouth! But then again, maybe I wouldn’t have experienced the full scope of the trial I needed to in order to be a tool worthy of helping someone else who’d be going through the same things.

A patient person I am not. But God is growing me. I do find joy now in the trials He took me through simply because I know that He wouldn’t bother with me if He didn’t love me so. He chooses to sharpen this tool because He still finds it useful. He chooses to teach me patience so that He can complete the work He has started in me. I will never be perfect, but I will always be under the influence of the One who seeks perfection in me.

How are your sheep?

“Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” – John 21:16

I remember an assignment from high school when our English teacher has us list all the roles we have in this life. For example, today, I am a mother, a daughter, a girlfriend, a best friend, a niece, a cousin, a neighbor, an employee, a co-worker, a customer, and the list could go on and on. These roles define those that my life impacts. The people who I interact with are those that Jesus would call my sheep. As a shepherd tends to his sheep, so I am to tend to those that I am in contact with.

Simon Peter, one of the 12 disciples that followed Christ, had come to a tough spot in his life. He had told Jesus that he would never turn from him – he would always be by His side and on His side! But seeing Jesus in the hands of the enemy and about to be taken to prison, he became fearful and denied he even knew Jesus – not once, not twice, but three times. Soon after that Jesus was crucified and died with Simon Peter still broken and out of fellowship with Jesus.
But Jesus would not leave him out of fellowship!

After Jesus had risen from the grave three days later, he met with Simon Peter and the other disciples. As they were having breakfast, John 21 tells us that Jesus asked Simon Peter three questions. If we were to put this into a movie scene, the disciples would all be present around the breakfast table, probably passing the biscuits and gravy, and the conversation would go something like this:

ACT ONE:
Jesus: “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?”
Simon: “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”
Jesus: “Feed My lambs”

ACT TWO:
Jesus: “Simon, Son of Jonah, do you love me?”
Simon: “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus: “Tend my sheep”.

ACT THREE:
Jesus: “Simon, Son of Jonah, do you love me?”
Simon: “Lord, you know all things. You know that I love you.”
Jesus: “Feed my sheep.”

Jesus gave Simon Peter three chances to redeem himself – to come back into fellowship with Jesus - because he had three times denied him. I think that He wanted Simon Peter to understand that each one of those times had hurt their relationship.

Each time Jesus asked, He also gave Simon a way to show his love. He asked him to feed and tend to His sheep. Jesus wasn’t talking about a herd of real sheep. He was talking about His followers. The feeding and tending they would need would not only be a physical one, but a spiritual one. Simon Peter was instructed to spiritually tend to the needs of the followers of Christ by teaching them and leading them. His duty would not be to show love to Jesus, but to show love to those that Jesus loved by serving them.

Today we’re often in the same situation as Simon Peter found himself. We have a love for Christ that we will admit to Christ, but often deny to the world. It’s sometimes easier to deny Christ - or just keep silent, which is also denial - in a group of people that would ridicule us as “greater than thou” or “Jesus Freaks”. Christianity is not popular in all circles!

Not stepping up to the plate when God gives us an opportunity to stand for Him causes us to lose fellowship with Him. It is sin. Many of us don’t realize we’re not in full fellowship because we’ve not once stepped out of the batter’s box. We go to practice every Sunday morning, and learn how to swing the bat, but we never step up to the plate to find out how wonderful it can be to hear God, our audience, cheer for us! We’re either afraid of failure or, as Simon Peter was, the other team.

Jesus instructs us just as He did Simon Peter, to prove our love for Him through our actions. We are to tend to, take care of, and feed spiritually those around us.

So who are your sheep? They are those people you interact with every day. They’re your children, your family, your friends, your coworkers, your employers, your neighbors, your mail carrier, your auto mechanic, your hair dresser, your cashier, your plumber – anyone you come in contact with.

If these people were asked if you were a Christian, if you loved Christ, what would they answer?

Would they know?

Have you shown them?

How are your sheep?

The Reprobate Mind

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.” – Romans 1:18-19

After that verse, I’m sure several readers are saying, “So what’s this about?” I’ll tell you. It’s about a little tugging of my heart God delivered this morning saying to me that I cannot complain about this not being preached from our pulpits if I’m unwilling to step up to the plate and deliver what He has taught me. My grandmother use to say, “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander”, meaning the rules you set for others have to be the rules you follow. So get ready for this to be hard medicine, because today I’m cleansing my own soul of the sin of silence. It’s easy for me to deliver the things God gives me that don’t condemn and hurt others. I suppose that’s why it’s been hard work for God to pull this one out of me. Today I have no choice.

My heart has been broken for the plight of the gay community. God seems to have focused my heart on it many times. We have made this sin so politically correct that no one dares to stand in adversity to their lifestyle. To the gay community, and my gay friends, I have to say this: The most UNLOVING thing I could do is not tell you what keeps you from having a more intimate relationship with Christ. This is written in love. To those who judge me as being “a hater”, I ask you: Is God is also a hater since He has made a stand against it many times in the Bible?

I can first remember our media presenting this lifestyle to us as a joke back in the early 70’s with shows like “Sanford & Son”, where Fred thought his son Lamont was gay, and was accepting of it, and joked about it. There was also “Three’s Company”, where they pretended that Jack, played by John Ritter, was gay so that the Landlord would let him live there. It was presented to us time and time again as funny, as just something different. Then we began to see the media take a different stand.

It was mainstreamed to us as just another lifestyle choice by shows that made the opposition to the lifestyle out to be uneducated, haters, and greater-than-thou types. We were given shows that portrayed HIV sufferers as innocent victims. The Armed Forces adopted the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that in effect, accepted this lifestyle. Our schools were inundated with teaching that we were all free to make this lifestyle choice. Gay talk show host, gay musicians, gay politicians – they all came out of the woodwork in droves. Today we’ve been so conditioned to accepting the gay lifestyle that even our preachers don’t want to stay up and say what God has said for thousands of years: This is wrong.

Nothing I can say on this subject, or any other, is worthy of anyone hearing if I don’t have God’s word to back it up. So what you will read here is God’s view of homosexuality from His Word.

We’ve all been taught the story of ancient Sodom and Gomorah, who in Genesis 19 were destroyed by God. It was after the flood – after man had become so wicked that God had said in Genesis 6:6, “And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.” God instructed Noah to build an ark to save himself and his family because God’s intent was to punish the wickedness of man.

Yet just a few short decades later, when Angels went to the town of Sodom to visit Lot, the men of Sodom tried to rape them. God’s wrath against their sin caused him to destroy both cities with fire and brimstone. The archeological remains of those cities show great amounts of sulfur to this day, which is found in brimstone.

But even with the evidence of what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah, there are still those that say “but that was the Old Testament, we’re not under grace.” Yes, this is an Old Testament account of God’s wrath. Yes, we are under a new covenant with God of grace, and not the law. But does God change? Hebrews 13:8 says “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”, and that’s New Testament teaching. God’s view of sin doesn’t change because we become morally corrupt.

So what does Jesus say about homosexuality? It’s certainly not a God-given lifestyle. It’s not genetically implanted by our Creator. In Matthew 19:4-5 Jesus says “…Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female… For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?” Jesus was pretty specific in what God considers to be a marriage relationship: a man and a woman.

Also in the New Testament we read in Romans 1:24-32 we read what the Apostle Paul said about homosexuality:

“Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.”

The word “debased” in the sentence “God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting” has been translated from the Greek word “adokimos”, which means rejected, failing the test, castaway. God has basically dusted off his feet from those who practice such sins.

Some of you may be saying “But God doesn’t give up on His people!” Well, He gave up on the angels that followed Satan and cast them out of Heaven, He gave up on Sodom and Gomorrah, and He gave up on all of those living before the flood. In the words of Jesus Christ from Matthew 10:13-15 even we are instructed to give up on those that won’t listen to God’s word: “If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!” Would God ask us to do this without being willing to do it Himself? Of course not! When He has “given them over to a debased mind”, He has walked away. But punishment is inevitable.

I find it ironic that we see mentioned in this text the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, don’t you? These cities are also mentioned in Jude 1:7 where it says they are “set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” They are to be an example to you and me!

2 Peter 2:4-10 also mentions the destruction of these gay cities, as well as God’s inevitable punishment of homosexuality, when it says “and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; … then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed.” Note that he says they are ”self-willed”, indicating that they are not born gay, but choose to be men who lust for men and women who lust for women. God does not cause sin.

The question then comes “Can a saved person live the lifestyle of a homosexual?” I’m not sure I’m qualified to answer that one. We look upon the appearance of men, and we are told that we will know them by their “fruits” (Matthew 7:15-23). But only God can look upon the heart of man.

The question then arises, can a man be given over to a debased mind, and still receive the mind of Christ as we are told we receive in salvation? 1 Corinthians 2:11-16 says: “For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy[d] Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”

What Paul is saying is that through salvation (which is, admitting we are sinners, believing in Jesus Christ as the son of God, and confessing Jesus to others as our Savior) we have received the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of Christ dwells in us, and NOT the spirit of the world. He also says that “natural man”, which is man before salvation occurs and we become spiritual, doesn’t receive the things of the Spirit of God, and perceives them all as foolishness. But because we have the Holy Spirit within us, we have been given the mind of Christ. Can Christ have a mind that is “debased”? No.

Paul has more to say about the ability of the saved to live in sin. Romans 6:1-11 says: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Paul explains that because we have been saved, we have accepted as our own death the death of Jesus Christ. We have been buried through baptism just as Jesus was buried. We were raised from that baptismal grave just as Jesus was resurrected, so we could receive “newness of life.” He says we should consider ourselves dead to sin, but alive in Christ Jesus. We are “united together in the likeness of his death” just as a man in taking a woman as his wife is united to her and they are one in God’s eyes.

Does that make saved people perfect? No! But just as a man and woman become more and more alike the longer they are married, the longer you’ve been saved, the more like Christ you should become. Salvation gives us a new way of life. It’s a life that is lived under the grace and mercy of God, in that we are not sinning blatantly as a child who rebels in the face of its parents with a “what are you going to do about it?” attitude! We confess our sins daily and try to become more like Christ, because the Holy Spirit that lives in us requires it for us to have peace.

Paul continues on in Romans 6:12-16 by saying: “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?”

We’re instructed to turn from sin, and not to “present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin.” If we give into sin, we allow it dominion over us, and we become a slave to the life of sin. Paul continues on in this chapter referring back to the acts of “uncleanness” and “lawlessness leading to more lawlessness”.

Throughout the New Testament you will find the words uncleanness and lawlessness. Uncleanness is translated from the Greek word “akatharsia”, which is defined as “a state of filthiness, especially in relation to sexual sin”.

As Christians, we are expected to rise above sin, to be transformed into the image of Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:17-18 tells us that the Spirit is working this within us. It says “Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” The work that God has begun in us He will complete when we get to Heaven. But that doesn’t mean we have the right to live freely in sin here on earth. What kind of light can we be to those around us if we continue to live in sin?

There are those that will read this and say that I have no business talking about the sins of others because I myself am a sinner like all the rest. To those I say yes, I am a sinner, and proudly saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. And just as Jesus spoke out against sin, I’m supposed to do the same thing. Philipians 2:4-5 says “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” What kind of friend would I be if I sat silently by while I watched the sins of my friends pull them further and further from God? What kind of Christian would I be if I didn’t follow the words of Christ which instructed me in John 13:34 to “love one another as I have loved you”?

May the wisdom of God’s word guide you.

May the love of God be with you.

May the mind of Christ be within you.

THE REGRET OF DISCERNMENT

“But the manifestation of the Spirit is GIVEN TO EACH ONE FOR THE PROFIT OF ALL: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another DISCERNING OF SPIRITS, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually AS HE WILLS.” – 1 Corintians 12:7-11

A few months ago I prayed and asked God to give me the gift of discernment. I didn’t make it an earnest prayer. I didn’t beg God for it, or even become broken wanting to receive it. I just asked, and God gave it. The Bible says that He gives these gifts as He wills, and it pleased Him to give it to me.

Has I known then what I know now, I would have never asked for discernment. The old cliché holds true, “Ignorance is bliss.”

The spiritual gift of discernment is one of seeing what God sees on a spiritual realm. It’s one of being able to tell the truth from lies, what is fake from what is genuine, and what is good from evil. This has opened my eyes to things around me that have broken my heart and changed the course of my life. Because these gifts are given to each of us “for the profit of all”, and because it is so powerful, I have to share what God has shown me.

There will be those that think I’m a lunatic…and that’s okay. At the end of the day, there will always be some that understand us and some that don’t. But at the very end, I only have to worry about what ONE judges me to be, and in Him I will be found faithful.

All around us there are forces at work that are evil. Some are small, and some are great. But just as it takes a tiny rock to start paving a road of detour, the tiny evils are just as important to understand as the great ones.

In case you don’t believe there are evil spirits around us, let me tell you what the Bible teaches. Ephesians 6:12 says that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” The question usually arises as to where they come from, especially since God looked on all He created and said that it was “good” (Genesis 1:31). These evil spirits are the result of a revolt in Heaven. Lucifer (a.k.a. the Devil) was created as the angel of worship (Ezekiel 28:11-15). But when he decided to try to become higher than the “Most High” God, he was cast out of Heaven (Isaiah 14:12-15). He took with him one third of all the angels of Heaven with him (Revelations 12:3-9), and those are the evil spirits we war against.

If you have doubts about any of what you just read, don’t go further. Don’t take my word for it – look it up. It’s important you believe the enemy is real, or you won’t see the battle and you won’t fight.

What God has shown me is that there is a war going on here on Earth. It’s a great war, but one not seen by human eyes. It’s spiritual, and it’s deadly. Because of it we see many evils in our world that otherwise would not exist. We see children killing their parents, parents killing their children, same-sex relationships, false religions, addictions, spiritual possession and oppression, and I could continue till tomorrow. In short, if it were not for the evil that surrounds us, there would be no news but good news to report.

The problem is because the enemy is not seen we choose not to fight. We deny the power of the force that is rising up against us, and we sit comfortably and silently on our sofa’s. Like I’ve already said, ignorance is bliss. But ignorance is also dangerous!

The overwhelming thread of what God has shown me is this: anything worshipped or held higher than God in our lives is evil. It may have its very roots in Christianity, or be something completely non-Christian. If it takes your focus off God, it’s evil.

So you went to church today. That’s great. But why did you go? Did you go because it was expected of you by your friends? Did you go to prevent a post card from your Sunday school class saying they missed you, or a call from your pastor? Did you go because you didn’t want to disappoint your pastor? What is good can be made evil. When an archer pulls back the string on his bow and sights in his target, it only takes a glimpse of something else to cause him to miss his mark. Likewise, even when we have worship in our target, it only takes putting anything else in our sights as a goal to cause us to miss our mark.

I have seen worship that is not for God but for man. Raise your hands, pray loudly and long, shout out to God…but if you do it for man to hear and not for God…you’ve missed the mark. Sing beautifully of the works of our Lord…but if you do it to get the praise of men and not of God, you’ve missed the mark. What was your focus at church? Was it on what you were wearing? Was it on what someone else was wearing? Was it on anything other than putting your heart in the hands of God and hearing what He has to say to you?

Paul said in Galatians 1:10 “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.” We make ourselves a bondservant – a slave – to men by choosing to please them instead of God. When you choose to follow another, you oust God from the throne of your heart, and you place that other person or persons on that throne. Whoever sits on that throne rules over your circumstances. Do you really want to relinquish that throne to anyone other than God?

It may be you didn’t go to church today. Maybe you had a child that didn’t want to go, and you just gave in to not going yourself. Who sat on your throne today? Maybe you decided to go Christmas shopping instead of going to church. Who sat on your throne today? Maybe you were too tired from your Saturday night activities to give God your worship today. Who sat on your throne today?

Anything and any one that comes between you and Christ becomes your god. Look back at the Israelites during the times of 1 Kings and 2 Kings when the nation of Israel was split between Judah and Israel. God split the Israelites into two nations in the first place because Solomon chose to follow the women in his life instead of God.

When he married women who were pagans he took on the worship of their gods. He didn’t stop worshipping God, but he asked God to “share” the throne of his heart with those other gods. He worshipped Ashtoreth, Milcom, Chemosh, and other gods. But that small stone that paved the way to his path of destruction was his love for his pagan wives. 1 Kings 11:4 says “his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God.” Are you not worshipping God because your wife or husband isn’t? Who’s sitting on the throne of your heart?

When the Israelites had worshipped their idols and gods for a time, God’s jealousy finally grew into anger. He destroyed thousands because of their sin and tore down their elaborate cities and temples of worship. The book of Jeremiah tells of what God told Jeremiah he would do to the Israelite people because of their sins of worshipping false Gods. God warned them, pronounced their punishment, and delivered it. Punishment from God always comes with a warning.

Another form of evil in our world today is completely non-Christian. Perhaps you don’t realize the pagan worships that surround us today. They still exist, but many times are not recognized because we’ve stopped preaching against them. Here are just a few.

One of the oldest pagan forms of worship is astrology – the worship of the stars and moon. Deuteronomy 4:19 says “And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the LORD your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage.”

Do you read your horoscope, which is based on astrological signs and beliefs? In God’s eyes, this is evil. You may say “but I don’t believe the horoscope, I just do it for fun!” God has said in Ephesians 4:27 not to “give place to the devil.” If God has pronounced this as evil, and you take part in it, you take part in something evil – regardless of whether you believe the horoscope or not. You’ve given it an opening to your mind and heart by reading it.

Another ancient form of pagan worship is witchcraft – which is the worship of spiritual things in the evil realm (a.k.a. satanic). This one is one that is sneaky! Paul himself said in 1 Corinthians 11:14 that satan himself will disguise himself as an “angel of light”, which means a Godly apostle. Witchcraft has many names, and many forms. The best way to define witchcraft is that it is the worship of any supernatural power that is not God.

Witchcraft is centered on tonics, spells (a.k.a. “blessings” or “curses”), and belief in the “energy” of things. There are those that believe certain stones contain powers or energies that can benefit them, and carry stones that are to provide energy, harmony, peace, or prosperity. You can even buy these rocks on the web with instruction booklets of how to “charge” your rocks! This is witchcraft because it is the pursuit and belief of supernatural powers other than God. Do you own such a rock? How about a magnetic bracelet that’s suppose to heal you? How can expect God, who made all the rocks, to sit on the throne of your heart if you believe these rocks can bring you supernatural power?

Witchcraft has become a religion that is growing in our nation today and taking many by surprise that it is what it is because it has been renamed to Wicca. (Note: Not all who practice witchcraft are Wiccan’s, just like not all Christians are Baptist!)

There are also those that visit or call psychics in search for answer, which is called Divination. God even warned against these things when He was describing the promised land to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 18:10-12 when he said “There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you.” A psychic, hypnotist, fortune teller, voodoo practitioner, tarot card reader, bone reader, tea leaf reader, herbalist, or anyone that presents themselves as being able to supernaturally tell you things about yourself or your future – which is called divination - is evil in the sight of God.

Owning the devices that are used and believed to provide these supernatural connections and powers is also evil because it gives an opportunity for evil in your life. Some of these are Ouija boards, tarot cards, books of superstitions, books of tonics (which are sometimes referred to as herbal remedies), and so forth.

Likewise, watching movies that are violent, horror movies and those that take part in evil acts are also a doorway for evil to enter into your life. Paul said in Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” Giving your mind over to evil for even a few minutes of watching these things gives an opportunity for evil to grow in your life! Ever watch a horror movie and wake up in the night terrified? Who is reigning over your circumstances then? Certainly not God!

I am amazed at the number of people I’ve seen since God has given me discernment that are Christians and yet they play in these areas that are satan’s playground! It breaks my heart because some of them are people I hold dear to my heart. There is no place in any of these for a Christian. They are evil and will lead to the same destruction that God brought up on the children of Israel in the Old Testament. Yet we as Christians do not take a stand against it. I myself was watching Wife Swap on TV one day when a family that practice witchcraft was brought on and was to exchange mothers with a Christian family. Of course, as Hollywood always does, the Christian woman was not your average Christian, but one that in all respects seemed to be deranged and bent!

You may see these things as small and insignificant. So what if you read your horoscope in the Saturday paper! So what if you watch horror movies at Halloween! So what if you visit the palm reader at the fair! Be forewarned. The path of destruction is paved not with large boulders, but tiny little stones.

I think the greatest challenge facing Christians today is not in fighting the fight against evil, but in understanding – discerning - that it exists all around us. We cannot fight what we do not identify as the enemy, and far too often when we do see it, we choose to remain silent and be “politically correct.” Unfortunately, being politically correct is often being wrong in God’s eyes because He has commissioned us to proclaim the truth. Who is sitting on the throne of our hearts if we sit silently when God has asked us to speak?

UNTIL IT'S COMPLETE

“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” – Philippians 1:6

A great part of being a Christian is having the Spirit of God within you. This, because God is love, gives you a great love for those around you. 1 John 4:8 tells us that “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” When you’re a child of God, loving others is inevitable.

That can be a wonderfully warm and beautiful thing, but it can also be a grevious burden.

There are times when we see those around us slipping into their past, forgetting that God has redeemed them and brought them out of the lifestyle they are returning to. It’s hard to see this happen because those of us that have lived with and without God understand that true joy only comes from living in His will.

It can be painful to watch those you love as God teaches them this very same lesson. You pray. You beg. You exhort and try to teach them because this is what God has instructed us to do (Hebrews 3:13). But nothing happens.

I was struggling with this a few months ago when God opened my eyes to HIS work. Philippians 1:6 says “He (God) who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” I had always read this verse and thought it was talking about me – God was going to complete what He’d started in me. But this time He showed me something more. This verse isn’t just a promise to me about me, it’s a promise to me about those I care for as well! He is telling us that we can rest and be confident in that if our loved ones are His – He is always at work, and He is always going to be at work.

When an apple tree is planted, it’s an apple tree. But sometimes it will take years before it bears fruit – even a single apple. Then after it’s had apples for year after year, you’ll sometimes see years of no apples. The tree hasn’t changed. It’s still an apple tree. But because of it’s environment, sometimes all that tree can do is hold onto life! But wait and rest assured. Apples will come again!

Thank you, Lord, that we can leave our loved ones in your hands, and be confident in your work in their lives. Thank you that we can rest assured that you are at work even when the fruit is not there. You will not stop the work you have begun in them – or us - until Christ returns!

We're Sorry Children

“I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD.” – 2 Kings 22:8

His Grandfather was Manasseh, one of the most evil of all Kings of Jerusalem. His evil was in the form of idolatry. He was an astrologer – one who worships the sun, moon, and stars. He practiced witchcraft. He got his answers for life’s decisions from mediums and spiritualist instead of God. He worshipped the carved images of the gods of those God had removed from the land of Israel before giving it to the Israelites. But he really can’t be blamed completely. Manasseh was one of a long line of kings who had turned their backs on God.

God is patient, but He is also just. He will always punish sin. The problem is sin is never personal – it always affects others.

Manasseh’s sin was so great that it caused God to declare in 2 Kings 21 that he would bring such calamity on the children if Israel that the ears of whoever heard it would “tingle”. He said he would “wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.” He would forsake the few of Israel that remained and deliver them into the hands of their enemies. Why? Because they had provoked him to anger with their continual sin.

But Manasseh dies, and still no calamity.

His son Amon reigns, and still no calamity.

Then Amon’s son Josiah reigns. He became king at just eight years old. It’s often said that the heart of a child is pure, and Josiah’s was. He ordered that the money being taken at the temple be used to restore it, which was a decree given years ago by another King that followed God’s commands. And in the clean-up of God’s house, something happened. The priest found a book.

It wasn’t just any book. It was “The Book of the Law”, which is most commonly known as the Pentateuch, the first 4 books of our Holy Bible. The fact that it was lost and even the priest didn’t know where it was when it was in the House of the Lord tells you how little respect they had for God at this time.

The priest sent it to King Josiah, and it was read to him. As it was read to him, his heart broke. He saw the evil of his forefathers. He saw their neglect for the very God that had brought them out of slavery and given them the land they now trashed. He saw God’s love for them. And he felt the shame that years of idolatry had brought on his people. He tore his clothes in anguish and cried because he knew they had broken the heart of our loving God.

Immediately, he wanted reconciliation with God. He wanted God to speak, and at this time that was only happening through prophets. He sent a messenger to the prophetess Huldah, who had heard from God. God in fact had decided to bring destruction on the children of Israel, and all because of their idolatry. He said “My wrath shall be aroused against this place and shall not be quenched”, which in our terms means God said “enough is enough…this time you’re going down!”.

But that isn’t all God had to say. God still is the God of love, the God of forgiveness. He spoke to the prophetess concerning Josiah. He said in verse 19, that because Josiah’s heart was tender, humbled, and broken when he learned of their sin, that he would let him live out his days before the destruction would come.

Can you imagine living as Josiah after that day? How would you look your children in the face knowing they would live on after you, and suffer God’s wrath. How would you look at the face of a newborn and feel anything but anguish and pain?

Today we live in a world much like Josiah’s. We read our horoscopes to see what the day will bring…and ignore God. We call up fortune tellers to see what mysteries of our life they can show us…and ignore God. We use tarot cards, have our own “spiritual journeys”, and meditate to find our inner energies…and ignore God.
We seek answers where they cannot be found… ignoring the one with all the answers. Sure, we may escape the wrath of God in our generation, but what about our children?

Parents…seek Him while He can be found. Look at the faces of your children and see the destruction that the lack of Christ in your lives is already bringing upon them. They don’t value life. They’re starving themselves to feel better about themselves, or eating themselves to an early grave. They’re cutting themselves out of the pain that’s in their hearts. They’re turning to drugs, to alcohol, to sex and perversions, and anything they can find to make it “better”. We’ve given them violent games, violent moves, and violent music and said “here, have fun!” We’ve dismissed proper discipline because it’s not politically correct. We’ve stopped teaching them the Bible and taking them to church because life is just too busy.

Is this really what we want for our children?

Are we so selfish that we won’t take time to help them find the God they need?

God have mercy on us all. We have become the people that were destroyed…again.