Petitions/Boycotts - Should We?

What do some Christians hope to accomplish when they petition a company or a government?  Do they believe they are going to convince the company or government to become Christian?  There is no such thing as a Christian company or government.  Do they believe they are going to bring nonbelievers into the Kingdom?  I hardly think that strong arming a company into doing something is a good witness.  Instead the world sees the Christians as a band of bullies, demanding their way yet again.  What happened to being the face of love?  Do we only love when things are going our way?  That sounds like the way of the world, not the way of Christ. In fact, Jesus tells us himself that we will be persecuted and hated:

"If the world hates you,¹ keep in mind that it hated me first.  If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you² out of the world. That is why the world hates you.  John 15:19-19

But even more important is this word from Jesus:

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.  Matthew 5:10-12

So we should REJOICE in bad times and times of persecution.  We know it's coming, Jesus told us to expect it.  And how we react is important.  When our Lord was persecuted, did he ask his apostles to petition the soldiers or the Roman government or the Pharisees?   God tells us to petition HIM, not the world:

Don’t worry about anything; on the contrary, make your requests known to God by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving. And God’s peace which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].Practice what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and model your way of living on it, and the God of peace will be with you.

Footnotes:

1. Philippians 4:9 Hermann Cremer, Biblico-Theological Lexicon of New Testament Greek.

Footnotes:

1. Philippians 4:7 Joseph ThayerA Greek-English Lexicon.
2. Philippians 4:7 William Gurnall, cited by Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.

Phil 4:6-9

His name is Friedrich Nietzsche. He was a German philosopher in the late 1800s. He was the son and grandson of pastors. He despised the Christian concept of God. He asked the question, “What is more harmful than any vice?” He gave the answer, “Active sympathy for the ill-constituted and the weak—Christianity.” He disdained Jesus as God on the cross. He believed Christianity was man’s greatest misfortune. He said the church left nothing untouched by its depravity. He defined good as all that heightens the feeling of power. Weakness was bad.

He used the word “Übermensch.” It can be translated “overman” or “superman.” The Nazis and Hitler co-opted the word and used it racially for a superior white race. But for Nietzsche Übermensch or superman was a counter value to God. Man becoming superman no longer needs God. Our goal in life is to be superman. What use then do we have of God? He would say none. God is dead. He is superfluous. In some ways Nietzsche is similar to Ann Rand and her coldly objective survival of the fittest. Only the strongest have a right to survive.

The point of all this being, Nietzsche’s response to hurt, insult, and persecution would be retaliation; the use of power because power is good and weakness is bad. The conclusion is that anytime we respond to insult, to a hurt, to persecution, with retaliation of any kind, we are more like Nietzsche than Jesus.Pastor Michael Wheatley, West Chester Presbyterian Church

Another aspect brought up by Father Jonathan Morris on FOX this morning is how signing these petitions is like saying you are speaking for all Christians when in fact, you aren't.  Petitions and boycotts are negative, punitive acts that diminish what Christianity is all about.

We need to respond to troubled times in a positive, loving way which is hardly found through petitioning and boycotting.  Encouragement and prayer for those being persecuted are positive ways to respond.  Pray that they would be faithful and obedient throughout their ordeal.  Pray that it would bring glory to God.  Pray that God's will be done.

Finally, the Robertson family will be fine.  They don't need nor have they asked for our petitions.  Their faith seems solid and I doubt the father is going to retract his statement.  Could he have said things in a more loving way?  Possibly.  But no matter how he said it the world was going to find it offensive because the world doesn't get it.  If dropped from A&E the Robertsons will probably get offers from other networks who see dollar signs in their duck calls.  We should be praying that the Robertson family would hear God loud and clear concerning what direction He would have them go at this point.  And pray that OUR family's response would be pleasing to God and glorify Him in the highest.



 

Christmas Hijacked?

There are so many articles and comments from secularists concerning Christmas and how one doesn’t need Jesus to celebrate the holiday.  It boggles my mind how anyone can even see the word CHRISTmas and think it’s okay to take Christ out of it.  All you are left with is MAS.  Perhaps that’s what the secularists should celebrate – but oh, wait, then that would mean they need to go to a church service or mass, right?  They definitely wouldn’t like that.  Back to square one.

 

The more I thought about it, the less sense it made.  I don’t see the secularists hijacking Hanukah or Ramadan, insisting their god be taken out of the holiday so all can celebrate.  I don’t see articles and comments desecrating the Jewish or Muslim holidays.  Only Christians seem to be the focus of hate.  Then it hit me.  Who hates us more than anything?  The enemy.  Yes, Satan and his followers want nothing more than to upstage, desecrate and ruin the day we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior.  Satan has slowly but surely lured us into his world of materialism – lights, music, shopping, gluttony – until even we Christians have been lulled into a stupor. 

 

Awaken sleeping Christians!  Take back Christmas by using the one weapon Satan does not possess -  LOVE!  Spread the love of Jesus through the land and the enemy will fail yet again.  He has no weapon in his arsenal that can overpower the love of Jesus.  Spread the Good News everywhere you go.  Remember what Christmas is really about.  And most of all, invite the unchurched to church so they can hear the Gospel. 

          The best thing we nonbelievers can do, in fact, is be honest about not celebrating the religious side of Christmas. Each Christmas and Easter, churches have to struggle to accommodate the extra crowds who show up for holiday services. While pews may be partially filled or even deserted on a Sunday over the summer, the holidays see a huge increase in attendance as the CEOs (Christmas and Easter Onlys) stop by. The problem is particularly pronounced in Catholic churches, as Christmas is a holy day of obligation. When holiday church attendance is motivated by guilt instead of a genuine state of religious worship, it creates headaches for everyone—and takes up valuable pew real estate. Torie Bosch, editor of Future Tense

This is Satan’s plan -  to keep as many nonbelievers out of the churches, away from Christians, deaf to the Good News, as he can.  Struggle to accommodate the extra crowds?  Those are Satan’s words, not ours – we love the crowds and the opportunity to share God’s Word.  As far as the CEO’s -  hey, it gives us at least two opportunities a year to reach them!  Praise God!!  Remember our battle is not with the flesh and blood of this world, but rather with the spirit forces of evil (Eph 6:12).

 

Articles by nonbelievers:

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/faithbased/2008/12/no_reason_for_the_season.html

 

http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2012/12/24/no_need_to_put_the_christ_in_christmas_if_you_re_not_religious_christmas.html

 

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865592614/Most-Americans-celebrate-Christmas-but-not-all-as-religious-holiday.html

 

Lester

I'm wondering -  do the homeless have their obituaries posted in the newspaper?  Do they have a funeral or memorial service?  Are they remembered at all or missed?  Or are they just a fleeting remembrance in the lives of a few people whose paths they crossed in their final years.  Yet they were someone's son or daughter, brother or sister, aunt or uncle.  They may have had children of their own and are someone's mother or father, grandmother or grandfather.  They were created by God, lived their lives and returned to the earth. 

I don't know much about Lester's personal life.  I know he was in the military.  I know he loved to find funny dog pictures and jokes on his computer to show us.  I know he worked hard in the kitchen on Thursday nights at Halo.  And I know he was saved.  Hallelujah, Praise the Lord.

Those who knew Lester would agree he was a character.  At first meeting, he seemed gruff and aloof.  Quiet, maybe even a little grumpy.  That was the exterior.  Inside, Lester was caring and compassionate.  He would ask about others all the time.  He loved to laugh and tell jokes.  He had a certain way he liked to work the kitchen at Halo and we all learned to do it Lester's way - it was, afterall, the best way. 

The last time I saw Lester he was eating dinner at Halo and I went to say hi to him.  He looked so much smaller and weaker than the robust military guy I met.  His voice was frail and I could barely hear him above all the noise of the dining hall.  He asked about Paul with a smile on his face.  Still thinking about others even with death at his door.

I still don't know what happens to the homeless when they die.  I suppose the state does something with their bodies.  I know that Lester's soul lives on in Heaven and one day the gang at Halo will see him again.  And I know that for me, Lester will be more than a fleeting remembrance as he touched our lives and left an impression.  And if he did that for those of us on Thursday night at Halo, I'm sure he did that for many people he came in contact with.  God bless him, he'll be missed.
 

Blessing

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strongholds

It's become painfully obvious President Obama has lied to us about Obamacare a.k.a. the Affordable Care Act. Yes, the leader of the free world (just think about that one!) is a liar and cannot be trusted.  Is he the first president to lie?  No.  The last?  Probably not.

 Keep in mind this isn’t the first time President Obama has been caught in a lie.  Perhaps we should notice who it is he so easily lies to – for instance, Cardinal Dolan:

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303816504577311800821270184

I find it very disturbing that the President finds it so easy to lie to a “man of the cloth” – more specifically, a Christian “man of the cloth.”  To sit in front of Cardinal Dolan and lie to him, face to face, on more than one occasion, tells me a lot.  This goes beyond politics.  This is spiritual. 

But wait a minute.  Aren't we culpable at least in part?  We Americans have been lulled into a stupor through our life style and our comforts.  We will go along with status quo in order to maintain that level of comfort.  If you look at most of the world, it doesn’t begin to compare with the decadence and lavishness of this country.  People rise each morning in most of the world with one goal – survival.  We arise each morning with the goal of how to please ourselves – what to have for breakfast – where to stop off for a latte -  who to meet for lunch – what to watch on TV when we sit down that night. 
 
Ephesians 6:12, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
 
To deceive somebody means to make another person believe a lie or something that is not true.  When the enemy sends deception your way, it is an attempt to deceive you into believing something that is not true, so you will fall into error.   Strongholds are built through deception.  A stronghold is formed when deception takes hold in a person’s mind.  A stronghold is an incorrect thinking pattern that stems from believing something that is not true.  From the beginning, Satan deceived Eve into believing that God’s Word was not true.  In Genesis 3:4, the devil told her that she will not surely die as God said she would in Genesis 2:17. (from the Great Bible Study)

The enemy has taken a stronghold of many minds in this country through the deception that God has blessed us with abundance for our enjoyment and pleasure.  True, God has allowed this country to prosper, but when much is given, much is expected in return. (reference Luke 12:48)  And now we have a country where over 48% of the people receive assistance from the government – which is taking it from the other 52%.  But here is the real question -  how did this happen?  Can we really blame one person or even the government?  The government is for and by the people – so aren’t the people to blame?  They have voted for those who would give them more and more and more – knowing it could not last forever.  But in our greed and lust, we couldn’t resist the enemy and his lies, so we allowed him to blind our eyes.  And perhaps now the day has come when the price must be paid.  Yet we still refuse to look in the mirror and realize we are part of the problem.  We still want to blame someone else, something else, anyone else.
 
A stronghold is deception that’s taken hold in a person’s mind.  It’s an incorrect thinking pattern based on a believed lie.  People can get incorrect perceptions by listening to Satan.  Nothing in this country will change until we get to the root of the problem - and it's not the people in Washington - they aren't the root - they are the result. 

Since strongholds are built upon lies that we have been fed, the way we tear down strongholds is by feeding on the truth (in God’s Word), which is the opposite of what the enemy has been feeding us.  If the enemy has been feeding us a lie, we need to stop eating the lie and start feeding ourselves the truth.  The weapon we use to tear down strongholds is found in Ephesians 6:17, “… the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”  A sword is an offensive weapon and is meant to tear down and kill the enemy’s troops.  Strongholds are the devil’s assets in war, and he uses them against us. Take up the sword of the Spirit (God’s Word) today, and start slaughtering the enemy’s assets that he’s been using against you!

Perhaps we should remember this the next time we want to put all the blame on President Obama and Congress.  They are simply a product of this country and where it is spiritually.  We have failed to fight the battles and now we must tear down the stronghold the enemy has built.  Take out your Bible today and ask the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom as you read it.

Pax Romana

What Paul is saying in Romans 13 is that Christians have a distinct responsibility as well as a definite advantage in the area of good citizenship.  The christian citizen's first question is not:  "What are my rights? Am I getting justice?" His first concern is: "Am I living by the law of love?"

By concerning yourself with the positive "do's" of love, you automatically avoid entanglement with a long list of "don'ts" that is necessary to insure justice for all.  Obeying the law of love throws a completely different light on good citizenship.  You obey institutional rules and regulations not because you primarily want to avoid trouble, but because you seek the common good of all.  You obey traffic laws not to stay out of jail or traffic court, but because you respect the lives and property of others  You pay your taxes and fees not because you fear a possible chat with the IRS, but because you believe in government and financing its operation. 

The Christian who lives by the law of love does not see authority as a threat.  Nor does he see imperfections or even gross errors in government as reason to riot or demonstrate unlawfully.  The Christian is not a bystander in his society.  Actually he should be in the thick of the battle for justice, morality and the right.  But the Christian operates with a different motive.  He seeks justice for all, yes, but justice is primarily a negative concept, based on avoiding or preventing the doing of wrongs to others.  The law of love goes beyond justice.  The law of love seeks the positive doing of good to others.  It is the only law a Christian needs.

But perhaps Paul's most important reason for advising support of the Roman government was because he saw Rome as God's tool for keeping the lid on an otherwise hopelessly explosive situation.

Paul believed in using the "pax Romana" (the Roman peace that prevailed during his time) to the advantage of the gospel.  As long as there was peace, even a rigidly (sometimes cruelly) enforced one, Paul saw greater opportunity to spread the gospel.  Whether Rome knew it or not, in Paul's mind Rome was helping him do his missionary work.  And for this reason, the wise Christian would always try to help, not hinder the state.

Fritz Ridenour, How To Be A Christian Without Being Religious

Living Sacrifice

To live as Paul suggests in Romans 12 is humanly impossible.  It is, however, supernaturally possible, as he clearly pointed out back in chapters 6, 7 and 8 of Romans.  Walking in the Spirit is not some quaint religious exercise.  It is for the street, where you live.

Paul is getting painfully practical now.  You say you are crucified with Christ?  You say you have "died to sin and risen again with Christ?"  What better way, then, to test all your new powers than to see if you actually can live and love unselfishly.  To try to love others unselfishly and at the same time be concerned with standing up for your rights is a contradiction in terms.  You cannot serve God and self.  You cannot go around with the Bible in one hand and waving your personal Bill of Rights in the other.

There are all kinds of excuses "to not get carried away" with the list of good deeds in Romans 12.  But the excuses don't make the standard any less valid.  Paul is not nailing up a list of laws that the Christian has to obey without a slip.  He is setting up goals to aim at, to set your sights on.

Of course you won't do a perfect job of unselfish loving.  Of course you may be criticized, even laughed at.  But when Paul talks in Romans 12 of honoring others, of never being lax in Christian zeal, of being glad and patient in trouble, of helping others in need, of praying for those who harm you . . . he is simply putting muscle on the idea of presenting your body as a "living sacrifice" (Rom 12:1).

This business of being a living sacrifice was well put by a missionary who had this advice for a young fellow who was thinking about the mission field:

"Instead of going to the refrigerator for a bite before going to bed, or to the corner drugstore for a coke, try going to bed without it.  You won't die and you won't miss it when you can't get it out here."

"Try cutting the chatter in order to get home earlier or to give more time to studies or devotions.  Out here you may have to go for months at a time without friendly chinfests with others of your own language.  Discipline yourself to eat things you don't like, without choking and without griping."

"Kick yourself out of bed before the heat comes on in order to spend time with the Lord.  Next camp you go to, try sleeping for two weeks on the floor. Find out if your call and Christian joy vary in inverse proportion to the comforts and conveniences."

"I'm not dreaming these things up.  I'm thinking of people who so missed ice cream and candy, who couldn't get along without the fellowship of others, who were always complaining of the cold, or who couldn't settle down to serious work unless they had eight hours on an inner spring mattress, that they made excuses for not getting the work done.  In some cases these were definitely contributing factors to their leaving the field, quitting."

"But I'm not going to the mission field," you say.  Aren't you?  Where do you think you are right now?  Is your home, or school, or place of work really any less a mission field than the streets of Bombay or the Auca country of Peru?

Every Christian is a missionary, because a missionary is one who is sent to bring and to be the Good News to others.  Every Christian is called to present his body as a living sacrifice.  Don't just pretend to love others.  Really love them - by going out of your way to help them, by taking their guff, by overlooking their faults, by refusing to retaliate, especially in the sophisticated game of repartee and cutting conversation that so many of us play so well.

Does your Christianity reveal a bogus brand of counterfeit love?  Genuine Christian love means first that you sincerely, unselfishly offer your daily life to God.  He then proves, tests, and tempers your sincerity and unselfishness by sending you out to live among your fellow men.

We all fail, some of us many times, to show perfect Christian love.  But faith begins where failure leaves off.  We are not only saved from the penalty of sin by faith.  We not only conquer sin and temptation by faith.  We serve and love by faith as well.

It is in this living and loving and serving . . .it is in the daily routine - the "rat race" of life - that you have countless opportunities to be a living sacrifice . . . or just a burnt offering.

Fritz Ridenour,  How To Be A Christian Without Being Religious

Maria Von Trapp

An excerpt from Mark Roberts blog.................

In my last post, I suggested that God’s guidance is not only for our personal benefit, though we are surely helped when God guides us. But divine guidance is often for the sake of others, and ultimately for the sake of God and His purposes.
This truth about God reminds me of a wonderful scene from The Sound of Music. Maria had set her heart upon becoming a nun and was in the midst of her candidacy to join a religious order. But her ability to accept the disciplines of convent life was in question. So, the leader of the abbey, who exercised complete authority over Maria’s life, sent her away to serve as the governess for the incorrigible Von Trapp children. To Maria’s surprise and horror, she unintentionally fell in love with their father, Captain Von Trapp. Fleeing back to the safety of the abbey, Maria tried to bury her love for the captain, a love which would surely compromise her commitment to becoming a nun.

Julie Andrews as Maria van Trapp in The Sound of Music

When the abbess finally gets Maria to talk about what happened at the Von Trapp home, the confused girl confesses her love for Captain Von Trapp. She begs the Reverend Mother for the opportunity to make her religious vows immediately, thereby removing forever the possibility of marrying the captain. But the abbess does a most surprising thing. Rather than accepting Maria into the holy order and protecting her from a marriage that would preclude her becoming a nun, the Reverend Mother orders Maria to return to the Von Trapp home. Disregarding Maria’s urgent pleas for admission to holy orders, she insists that Maria must test her love for the captain and thereby discover God’s will for her life.
Unhappily, Maria submits to the Reverend Mother’s command because she has no other choice. As a candidate for the abbey, Maria has submitted her life to the authority of the abbess. But we can see that this wise woman exercises her authority, not only for the good for her order, but for Maria’s good as well. Her guidance, however authoritative, is supremely wise and gracious, even though Maria cannot see it at the time.
So it with God’s guidance and our response. We obey God’s directions because we should. It’s the only right thing to do. But even when we can’t see how God’s ways are the best for us, they always are. Like the Reverend Mother, the Lord deserves our complete obedience. And, like the Reverend Mother, our gracious Heavenly Father guides us into the life of greatest fulfillment. When God directs us for his own purposes, we discover that his purposes include our blessing and joy.
This illustration from The Sound of Music helps us to see how obeying God can lead, not only to God’s good, but to our good as well. What it doesn’t capture is the miraculous and peculiar way God actually worked in the real life of the real Maria von Trapp. I’ll explain what I mean in my next post.

Spiritual Guidance: For Whose Benefit? Part 3

In my last post, I used an example from the movie The Sound of Music to illustrate how God’s directions for us are best, even when we can see this in the moment. Like the Reverend Mother who sent Maria back to the von Trapp family, God oftens “sends” us to places that don’t seem best to us. But, in fact, they are the best.

The real Maria von Trapp

We can see this illustrated in the fictional version of the life of Maria von Trapp. But, in fact, her real life contained some striking examples of God’s unexpected guidance. Here’s an excerpt from the family history on the von Trapp website:
The movie strongly portrays Maria as the epitome of religious devotion in and out of convent life. Most people are unaware that she was raised as a socialist and atheist and became actively cynical towards all religions. Those beliefs quickly and dramatically changed by the chance meeting of a visiting Jesuit priest to Maria’s college.
Maria had entered a crowded church assuming she was about to enjoy a concert by Bach. Instead, a well known priest, Father Kronseder had just begun preaching. Caught in the middle of a standing-room-only crowd, Maria soon found herself caught up in the words of this preacher.
In Maria’s words, “Now I had heard from my uncle that all of these Bible stories were inventions and old legends, and that there wasn’t a word of truth in them. But the way this man talked just swept me off my feet. I was completely overwhelmed by it . . . .” When he finished his sermon and came down the pulpit stairs Maria grabbed his elbow and loudly asked, “Do you believe all this?”
A meeting between the priest and Maria changed her beliefs and the course of her life.
Though Maria was intensely devoted to her convent, she was taken away from the outdoor activities she once thrived on. Her doctor was concerned her health was failing due to a lack of fresh air and exercise. This was when the decision was made to send Maria to the home of retired naval captain Georg von Trapp. Her position was not governess to all the children, as the movie portrayed, but specifically to the captain’s daughter who was bedridden with rheumatic fever. The rest is truly history. Maria never returned to the convent and married the Captain on November 26, 1927. This is the story that has been made immortalized by The Sound of Music.
The von Trapp family began singing publicly, not because it was part of their escape from Austria to Switzerland, as in the movie, but as a result of what must have seemed like terrible misfortune to the von Trapps. When the family lost its wealth in the worldwide depression of the 1930s, they considered singing as a way of making money. At first the father was reticent, but according to one of his daughters, in the end he “accepted it as God’s will that they sing for others.” The family did indeed win first place at the Salzburg Music Festival in 1936, as depicted in the movie. And their singing was part of what helped them leave Austria, though without hiking over the mountains to Switzerland.
In the story of the real Maria von Trapp, we see how God uses circumstances, even apparently negative ones, to guide and bless and use his people. First, God led her to faith through her attendance at an evangelistic event that she mistakenly thought was going to be a concert. Second, her poor health in the convent was what led to her being assigned to the von Trapp family. And that which ended up bringing her family much acclaim, namely their professional singing, was something they did out of necessity when they lost their fortune.
Maria, by the way, remained a faithful Christian all of her life. In the 1950s she, along with her own children, Johannes and Rosmarie, and her stepdaughter Maria, went to New Guinea to do mission work there. Although Maria (senior) contracted malaria and didn’t remain in New Guinea for a long time, her children stayed on for several years, with Maria (junior) doing mission work in New Guinea for thirty years.
So the story of the real Maria von Trapp reminds us that God’s ways are not our ways, and that God’s guidance often comes packaged in unexpected forms. Yet he can use even the unexpected and the apparently negative both for our good and for his purposes.

Jesus Set Us Free

So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law. Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because "the righteous will live by faith." Gal 3:9-11

So if you still claim that God's blessings go to those who are "good enough," then you are saying that God's promises to those who have faith are meaningless, and faith is foolish.  But the fact of the matter is this: when we try to gain God's blessing and salvation by keeping his laws we always end up under His anger, for we always fail to keep them.  The only way we can keep from breaking laws is not to have any to break!

So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don't get tied up again in slavery to the law. Gal 5:1


So God's blessings are given to us by faith, as a free gift; we are certain to get them whether or not we follow Jewish customs if we have faith like Abraham's, for Abraham is the father of us all when it comes to these matters of faith.  That is what the Scriptures mean when they say that God made Abraham the father of many nations.  God will accept all people in every nation who trust God as Abraham did.  And this promise is from God himself, who makes the dead live again and speaks of future events with as much certainty as though they were already past.

How to Be A Christian Without Being Religious
Fritz Ridenour



 

Dr. Jim Garrow

Connecting Dots - A Pastime:

A recent conversation that I was on the periphery of, and listening to, was about the Gods that folks have and believe in and it was mentioned that at the end of a speech today, Obama said , God bless. Which raises for me the specter of who and what the God that Obama references is. As a young man in Indonesia Obama was a devoted muslim and learned to bow to allah and... to obey the teachings of Muhammad. Later as a young lecturer at the University of Chicago Obama sang the praises of a new mentor in Saul Alinsky and his guidebook for community organizers and those that would understand the Constitution and how to go under, over and around it. The book that was known as " The Bible" of the movement is one that many have heard of " Rules for Radicals", a book studied with religious fervor and quoted chapter and verse by the radicals of a previous era but of all its students one has shone as he who rose to the pinnacle of opportunity in the dreamland of marxist heaven. He is now the President of the United States - The Great Satan of his youth at his feet. He can now fulfill the hopes and aspirations of the Saudis who planted him and funded him, along with George Soros whose desire to supplant the democratic republic has kept him awake for decades. And Lucifer himself, to whom the book, "Rules for Radicals" was dedicated, he must be overjoyed at the sheer magnitude of the opportunity to put a stick into the eye of God in stripping away the foundations built on the God breathed Scriptures of the Bible and the great Republic which was dedicated by its founders to the service of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Lucifers devotee having been inspired and empowered and emboldened by the knowledge dedicated to he as the "original radical" must be in "seventh heaven" as it were. We mere mortals are seeing the edge of hell itself. God help us. - Dr. Jim Garrow -

Not Just in Kenya

When will our leaders wake up and realize Islam is not a religion of peace.  Islamists are led by their father, Satan.  This is a battle between the spiritual worlds and our leaders are blind.  The persecution of nonMuslims – Christians and Jews in particular -  will continue until Jesus returns.  We must arm ourselves with the Word of God and pray without ceasing for our brothers and sisters in harms way.

 

 Jihad in Kenya: Women and children were slaughtered if they could not recite the Koran, Jihadis cut the hands off the bodies of their victims and burned their faces.

 

16 Muslims reportedly rape Christian girl

Pakistani pre-teen refused to renounce faith during assault

 

 

Canadian Woman Opens Up About 460-Day Ordeal With Somali Captors: Forced to Convert to Islam, ‘Starved, Beaten and Sexually Brutalized’

Deception

Just finished reading The Owner's Manual for Christians by Chuck Swindoll.  I really needed it.  Needed to get back to basics, to the Root of the vine - for I was in a place no Christian likes to be but finds themselves from time to time.  You may have been there - that "no man's land" where you find yourself distanced from your Father and questioning everything about religion, church and Christianity.  So I put things aside, slowed down, re-prioritized, reflected and got back to basics. 

The amazing thing is when God gives us confirmation that what we are reading and/or hearing is correct and Biblical.  That's what He did for me this week -  starting with Keith's sermon on Sunday and culminating with Swindoll's book today.  Both referenced Satan and his wily ways.

The physical world upon which we have our feet planted is visible.  It can be measured.  It can be felt.  It has color and odor and texture.  It's tangible, obvious.  What is not so obvious is the system that permeates and operates within lives on this earth.  It is a world system manipulated by the pervasive hand of Satan and his demons, who pull the strings to achieve the adversary's wicked ends.  If we are ever to extricate ourselves from those strings, we must be able to detect them and understand where they lead.

Do not love the world, nor the things in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world (the cosmos), the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.  And the world is passing away, also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:15-17)

So what is this system?  What is its philosophy?  What is the frame of reference of the cosmos - its thinking, its drives, its goals?

The first thing we need to know is that it is a system that operates apart from and at odds with God.  It is designed to appeal to us, to attract us, to seduce us with its sequined garb of fame, fortune power, and pleasure.  God's ways are often uncomfortable, but the world system is designed to make us comfortable, to give us pleasure, to gain our favor, and ultimately to win our support.  The philosophy of the world system is totally at odds with the philosophy of God.

Greek grammarian Kenneth Wuest wrote:
Kosmos refers to an ordered system. . . of which Satan is the head, his fallen angels and demons are his emissaries, and the unsaved of the human race are his subjects. . . Much in this world-system is religious cultured, refined, and intellectual.  But it is anti-God and anti-Christ.

Pay close attention to the commercials on television and observe what they're advertising and how virtually every word, picture, and sound is designed to pull you in, to make you dissatisfied with what you have and what you look like and who you are.  The great goal is to make you want whatever it is that is being sold.

But it's not just on television. The world system, the cosmos philosophy, is everywhere.  It's going on all the time, even when you can't see it, and especially when you're not thinking about it.  It's whistling its appeal:  "Come on. Come on. You'll love it.  This is so much fun.  It'll make you look so good, It'll make you feel so good."  It motivates us by appealing to our pride and that that which pleases us, all the while cleverly seducing us away from God.

And over all this realm, don't forget, Satan is prince.

More from The Owner's Manual for Christians by Swindoll to come . . . . . .

Christian Persecution

Here are some excerpts from Walid Shoebat's latest blog.................


Today, Rescue Christians provided significant aid to the Christians of Guinea near Conakry the capitol in Western Africa. About 8 weeks ago in a vicious attack by Muslim mobs, 95 Christians were murdered with 130 injured, as well as the burning of many churches and the destruction of dozens of homes. The population is struggling to recover.




Guinea is about 85% percent Muslim so the Christian population (about 8%) is in grave danger in this country (as they are in many other African countries).


You probably haven't heard much about all the Christian persecution going on in the Middle East lately, so here are some titles from recent articles on the web that will speak volumes on their own:

CAUGHT ON FILM: Churches Burnt And Ransacked In Egypt

 

More Christian Converts Arrested in Tehran and Isfahan

 

Reporter: “monumental attack — unprecedented in modern times — on churches throughout Egypt”

 

Insider In Egypt: Attack On Christians “nothing less than a furious satanic attack”

 

Coptic girl shot in Cairo

 

10,000 Muslims March In Coptic Area Screaming: “Islamic, Islamic, despite the Christians.”

 

Muslims to Christians: “They’re infidels and they’ve built their church without permission”

 

“The Christians in Syria are helpless,” says activist

 

If we think we're having a "bad" day stop and think about these brothers and sisters -  then pray for them.

A Prayer by Charles Swindoll

Father . . . . . dear gracious Father, all of us have experienced failure.  It has left us broken and disappointed in ourselves.  To make matters worse, there are times when a flashback of those failures returns to haunt us.

Renew our hope as we read and reflect on the words of Peter, with whom we so easily identify.  Remind us that, just as You used him after he had failed repeatedly, You will also use us, by Your grace.  And thank You, again, for Your grace.

Father give us grace to match our trials.  Give us a sense of hope and purpose beyond our suffering.  Give us assurance that we're not alone, that Your plan has not been aborted though our suffering intensifies.  Let us never forget that every jolt on this rugged journey from earth to heaven is a reminder we're on the right road.

Lord, since You don't save us and then suddenly take us home to glory, hear our prayer this day as we ask You to bring our attention to those things that will assist us in staying clean in a corrupt world.  Give us an intense distaste for things that displease You and an increased pleasure in things that bring You honor and magnify Your truth.

And, Father lift us out of the mire of our own self-condemnation.  All too frequently we are our own worst enemy.  We focus on our failures rather than on Your rescues. . . on our wrongs rather than on Your commitment to making us right . . . on our puny efforts rather than on Your powerful plans for our good.  Even our attempts at being devoted to You can become so self-centered.  Turn our attention back to You.

Remind us of our exalted position in Your Son.

Refresh us with frequent flashbacks  -  "God is for us."

Lord, renew our spirits with the realization that we're Your possession.

Then, with those joyful thoughts to spur us on, may we rise above failures, find joy in the midst of suffering, grow strong despite temptation, and slay the dragons of guilt within us so we might enjoy more deeply than ever Your ultimate embrace.

Through Christ I pray.
Amen.

Another Holocaust?

What a fallen world we live in where innocent men, women and CHILDREN can be so horribly exterminated in such an inhumane method by their fellow man.  Over 400 precious children lie wrapped in white sheets, row after row, in Syria - the victims of mankind using chemical weapons against them.  Oh Lord, your heart must break over and over for these babes.

And so our leaders discuss what we, as the greatest country in the world (for now), should do.  There are some saying we need to first know without a shred of doubt who is responsible for this attack. Then proceed to punish them with bombs  Others say no matter who has done it, we need to stay out of it - it's not our concern.  There are those who use it for political posturing as that's what everything seems to boil down to in America these days.

I would ask this:  Are we not hypocrites when we condemn those who have hurt and killed innocent lives?  We see the children wrapped in white cloths and we cry.  We cannot understand how anyone could do this.  Yet we do it every day of the week - 24/7 - here in America.  We abort MILLIONS of innocent babes every year, many in late term abortions, and many simply because they are an inconvenience.  Is it any different?  Does God excuse us yet condemn those in Syria?  I think not. 

Wake up America!  Protect your babes!  They cannot speak - no, they cannot scream - they cannot hide.  They lie there in what is supposed to be the most secure and protected place God could place them - inside a mother's womb.  How can we betray them the way we do?  

 

 

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are LIFE, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

 

 

Our Declaration of Independence states that GOD has declared these rights - not us - we are to respect these rights. Let me ask you this - How can one have the right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness if that one doesn't first have the right to life?

 

 

 

 

 



Speak the truth in love

In Ephesians we are told to speak the truth in love (Eph 4:15).  I must admit this particular scripture has given me a lot of angst.  What exactly does "in love" mean?  After all, everyone has their own opinion of what love is -  from flowery language; hugs and kisses or using a soft voice to not saying anything if you can't say something nice.  In today's society we are leaning more and more to the side of political correctness by going so far as to tolerate what we know is sinful behavior.  We fear hurting someones feelings and having others view us in a bad light (their opinion).  Is that really love?  Or is that what we currently define as love?

Throughout time we see different cultures emerge with their own set of standards.  Yet God has one set of standards and those standards have not changed or wavered.  It is our desire to excuse our own sinfulness and to rule our own lives that drives us to change definitions.  When this occurs we Christians need to heed God's word and understand what His definitions mean in our lives.

Below is an article I found as I researched the true meaning of "speaking in love."  It resonates truth to me as the author scours the Scriptures to proclaim God's will for us.  At the end I had to wonder if I was guilty of diluting the truth so many times out of fear of man's opinion when I should have been only concerned about God's opinion.  Man's opinion is tainted - God's opinion is truth in it's purest form.  I am to live for Christ, not for man - and to serve man means to speak the truth - boldly and in love.  Let Christ be my example.  Amen.

SPEAKING THE TRUTH IN LOVE

 E. Phillips

". . . But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ." (Eph. 4:15). The setting of this verse indicates that the "speaking in love" concerns the doctrine of Christ which provides the "unity of the Spirit" and opposes the being carried about

with "every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive." This speaking in love also concerns the edifying of the body and the putting off of the old man and putting on of the new man; it involves "neither give place to the devil." (vs. 27).

What does Paul mean by "speaking the truth in love"? Does he mean that no plain, condemning of sin, rebuking language should be used? Does he mean that "name calling" should not be used? How shall we go about determining what the apostle meant by "speaking the truth in love"?

 

Before "searching the scriptures" to determine what this expression means, perhaps it is in order to inquire how one tells when another is NOT "speaking the truth in love." What standard is used? What do those who condemn us for not speaking in love mean by "speaking in love"? Some of them

mean that those who speak "boldly" are not speaking in love; others mean that condemning words are not speaking in love; some mean that when a brother's name is used in connection with a false doctrine or practice, it is not speaking in love. Just how do we determine when one is "speaking the truth in love"? Since the apostle Paul was the instrument of the Holy Spirit to pen these words, let us observe how Paul spoke to see what "speaking in love" means?

It means to speak BOLDLY the word of God. "Great is my boldness of speech toward you. . ." (2 Cor. 7:4). It means to use PLAINNESS of speech. "Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech." (2 Cor. 3:12). It includes RUDE (unskilled, unpolished) speech. "But though I be rude in speech. . ." (2 Cor. 11:6). It means to make MANIFEST or to reveal. "That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak." (Col. 4:4). It means to speak to PLEASE God and not men. "But as we were allowed of God to be put in truth with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men,

but God, which trieth our hearts" ( I Thess. 2:4). "For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ" (Gal. 1:10). It means to speak the truth without FEAR. "Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid,

but speak, and hold not thy peace." (Acts 18:9). It means to speak to put another to SHAME. "I speak to your shame. . ." (I Cor. 6:5) . It means to speak the TRUTH and only the TRUTH. "Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity." ( I Tim. 2:7).

It means to speak SOUND DOCTRINE. "But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine . .. Sound speech, that cannot be condemned. . ." (Titus 2 :1,8). It means not to speak in the ENTICING WORDS of man's wisdom. "And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom. . ." (I Cor. 2:4). It means to REPROVE works of darkness. "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them" (Eph. 5:11). It means to REBUKE with all authority, sharply, and before all. "These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority" (Titus 2:15). "This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith" ( Titus 1:13). "Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear" (I Tim. 5:20).

 

It means the CALLING OF NAMES. "Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme" ( I Tim. 1:20). "For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world. . ." (2 Tim. 4:10). "Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works." (2 Tim. 4:14). "But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith. Then Saul, (who also is called Paul) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, and said, O full of all subtlety and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?" (Acts 13:8-10).

Whatever "speaking the truth in love" means, it does not forbid speaking boldly, plainly, making manifest, to please God rather than men, to speak without fear, to speak to shame evil doers, speaking only the truth, sound doctrine, reprove with all authority, sharply and before all, and calling names of those in sin.

Christ is also a good example of speaking sharply and directly to sinners of their sin. Read the 23^rd chapter of Matthew where Jesus condemned the religion of the scribes and Pharisees in no uncertain terms. Was Christ speaking in love? In Revelation 3:19 Jesus said this: "As many as I love, I rebuke

and chasten. . ." To rebuke sin is to speak in love.

False teachers usually deceive by appearing to speak in love. This impresses those who do not care

for the truth. The doctrines of devils include "speaking lies in hypocrisy. . ." (I Tim. 4:2). Even some elders arise "speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them." (Acts 20:30). This is not speaking the truth in love. Some men use "good words and fair speeches" to "deceive the
hearts of the simple." (Rom. 16:18). Some "speak great swelling words of vanity" to "allure through the lusts of the flesh" (2 Pet. 2:18). All of this could not be "speaking the truth in love" by Paul's own definition of it.

Most of those who criticize for speaking boldly and plainly the truth of God, and rebuking with all authority, sharply and before all, think of the love as applying to the individual to whom the preaching is done. They view it as loving sinners so as not to hurt their feelings and expose their error too sharply. The real meaning of "speaking the truth in love" is to have that love for Christ, for the truth, for the church, and for the lost souls of men so as to hold nothing back that is profitable for them. Some have not the love for the truth that they might be saved. (2 Thess. 2:10). We must love the truth more than the "feelings" of men.

Our attitude must be right even in speaking sound doctrine. To preach Christ without sincerity just to add affliction to someone, or out of envy and strife, is not right (Phil. 1:15,16). But this is not determined by the boldness and plainness of speech, nor by sharply rebuking sinners and erring

brethren before all. We make no apology for speaking the truth in love. This writer is not conscious of having ever written or spoken in envy, strife or bitterness. At the same time he intends to continue to speak the truth in love just as it was done by Christ and the apostles. As I find it written
in the Book of books, I shall continue to speak it with boldness and plainness of speech, God being my helper. If I know my own heart I desire none to be lost, but all to come to repentance and be saved.

 

 

 

 

 

If we take responsibility for what we seek,

God will determine what we will be.

 

 

Charles Swindoll, The Owner's Manual for Christians

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Beware the Killers!

Beware!  Don't be taken by surprise.  There are killers on the loose today.  The problem is that you can't tell by looking.  They don't wear little buttons that give away their identity, nor do they carry signs warning everybody to stay away.  On the contrary, a lot of them carry Bibles and appear to be clean-living, nice-looking, law-abiding citizens.  Most of them spend a lot of time in churches, some in places of religious leadership.  Many are so respected in the community that their neighbors would never guess they are living next door to killers.

They kill freedom, spontaneity, and creativity; they kill joy as well as productivity.  They kill with their words and their pens and their looks.  They kill with their attitudes far more often than with their behavior.  There is hardly a church or Christian organization or Christian school or missionary group or media ministry where such danger does not lurk.  The amazing thing is that they get away with it, day in and day out, without being confronted or exposed.  Strangely, the same ministries that would not tolerate heresy for ten minutes will step aside and allow these grace-killers all the space they need to maneuver and manipulate others in the most insidious manner imaginable.  Their intolerance is tolerated.  Their judgmental spirits remain unjudged.  Their bullying tactics continue unchecked.  And their narrow-mindedness is either explained away or quickly defended.  The bondage that results would be criminal were it not so subtle and wrapped in such spiritual-sounding garb.

This day - this very moment - millions who should be free, productive individuals are living in shame, fear, and intimidation.  The tragedy is they think it is the way they should be.  They have never known the truth that could set them free.  They are victimized, existing as if they are living on death row instead of enjoying the beauty and fresh air of the abundant life Christ modeled and made possible for all of His followers to claim.  Unfortunately, most don't have a clue about what they are missing.

There is another danger lurking in the shadows.  Rather than assault grace, some prefer to debate it to death.  Similar to the days of the Protestant Reformation, grace has again become a theological football kicked from one end of the field to the other as theologians and preachers, scholars, and students argue over terms.  They behave like frustrated coaches trying to gain advantage over each other.  Theirs is a classic no-win debate that trivializes God's great gift of love, leaving confused masses no other choice but to watch the fight from the stand confused, polarized, or, worst of all, bored.  Grace was meant to be received and lived out to the fullest, not dissected and analyzed by those who would rather argue than eat.  Enough of this!  Grace must be awakened and released, not denied . . . enjoyed and freely given, not debated.

Grace received but unexpressed is dead grace.  To spend one's time debating how grace is received or how much commitment is necessary for salvation, without getting into what it means to live by grace and enjoy the magnificent freedom it provides, quickly leads to a counterproductive argument.  It becomes little more than another tedious trivial pursuit where the majority of God's people spend days looking back and asking, "How did we receive it?" instead of looking ahead and announcing, "Grace is ours . . .Let's live it!"  Deny it or debate it, and we kill it.  My plea is that we claim it and allow it to set us free.  When we do, grace will become what it was meant to be - really amazing!  When that happens, our whole countenance changes.

Charles Swindoll, The Owner's Manual for Christians

Grace

If there is any singular truth that distinguishes Christianity from all other religions, all other systems of belief, it is grace.  In false religions, enough is never enough.  They require followers to sacrifice more, achieve more, suffer more, learn more, or improve more.  But the Christian enjoys peace with God by grace.  We need not fear the animosity of evil spirits or the cruelty of demanding, angry deities.  We never need to worry about whether our deeds were sufficiently good to earn a secure afterlife.  We never need to fear death or divine judgment.  We rest securely in the unearned, undeserved, freely given gift of eternal life with our Maker, who has promised to accept and embrace all who receive His grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.

Charles Swindoll, The Owner's Manual for Christians

Authority

A new view of authority and a new view of society says that our culture needs healing not by rejecting our culture or its structures, but by healing the people who are in it.  They need to know what the Word of God says and be called to bring themselves under its authority. . .  under God's authority.

excerpt from a 2013 sermon given by Keith Myer, Harvest Baptist Church, Salisbury, MD

The 'How Far Can I Go' Fever

by Ron Hutchcraft

 

I wonder what the question most asked by Christian teenagers is? I don't have any formal research to report to you today, but I have been listening to teenagers for a lot of years, and a lot has changed over those years. But I'm not sure the big question they have has. It was and continues to be, I think the most asked. It's not, "How do I have better devotions?" Or, "How can I serve the Lord?" It's, "How far can I go?" Wish I'd have a dollar for every time I've been asked that question. And they're not talking about driving privileges when they ask that question. How far can I go? Actually, long after our dating years are over, you know, that still seems to be the question we're dealing with. That's too bad.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The 'How Far Can I Go' Fever."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Ephesians chapter 4. I'm going to begin reading at verse 22, "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your mind; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."

The Apostle Paul here is saying on behalf of our Lord, "Get as far away as you can from your old self. You're done with that. Don't flirt with that. Don't hang on to that. Take it off like old, dirty clothes that don't fit you any more." And then he goes on later in this chapter to define what some of those old self things are, like being deceitful, destroying people with your anger, cheating, stealing, bitterness, dirty talk, dirty jokes, and sexual sins. He says, "Be new! Be like God in your holiness."

Well, that doesn't leave much room for flirting with sin does it? It means being fixated on living up to God's purity. Now, unfortunately, we seem to be missing God's best because of what I call that "how far can I go fever". We keep asking how far can I go to the edge of sin without falling over. How far can I push the truth without actually lying? How far can we push our definition of divorce to let me or someone else close to me out of an unhappy marriage? How far can I go in flirting with someone without being unfaithful to my mate? How far can I go sexually without being immoral?

There are so many areas where we're like those hormone-dominated teenagers. We want to get away with everything we can on the edges of sin. That's just the wrong question, "How far can I go?" When you play on the edges of sin, you fall over and we're missing the whole new self that's the reason God redeemed us and Christ died for us.

It's not "How far can I go toward the edge, how close can I get to the edge?" It's more like, "How far inside God's boundaries can I live?" The question ought to be, "How far can I go toward being like Jesus? How far can I go toward real holiness? Purge the compromises, Lord. Purge all these flirtations I've allowed with sin. Take away this desire to get away with as much earth stuff as I can." We've pushed the boundaries, but God has not moved them and He never will.

You know you're growing up in Christ when you want to do anything to have His blessing and to be like Him. Then the question is no longer, "How far can I go?" But it's, "How pure can I be?"

Withholding

Are you living for the Lord or for yourself? Perhaps that is too general a question, so let me be more specific. Is there anything God is asking of you that you are withholding from Him? Is there any point of contention between you and Him? Not till every controversy is settled and the Holy Spirit is given His full place can He reproduce the life of Christ in any believer.

An American friend, now with the Lord, whose name we will call Paul, cherished the hope from his early youth that one day he would be called "Dr. Paul." When he was quite a little chap he began to dream of the day when he would enter the university, and he imagined himself first studying for his M.A. degree and then for his Ph.D. Then at length the glad day would arrive when all would greet him as "Dr. Paul."

The Lord saved him and called him to preach, and before long he became pastor of a large congregation. By that time he had his degree and was studying for his doctorate, but, despite splendid progress in his studies and a good measure of success as a pastor, he was a very dissatisfied man. He was a Christian minister, but his life was not Christ-like; he had the Spirit of God within him, but he did not enjoy the Spirit's presence or experience His power. He thought to himself, "I am a preacher of the Gospel and the pastor of a church. I tell my people they should love the Word of God, but I do not really love it myself. I exhort them to pray, but I myself have little inclination to pray. I tell them to live a holy life, but my own life is not holy. I warn them not to love the world, and, though outwardly I shun it, yet in my heart I myself still love it dearly." In his distress he cried to the Lord to cause him to know the power of the indwelling Spirit, but though he prayed and prayed for months, no answer came. Then he fasted, and asked the Lord to show him any hindrance there might be in his life. That answer was not long in coming, and it was this: "I long that you should know the power of My Spirit, but your heart is set on something that I do not wish you to have. You have yielded to Me all but one thing, and that one thing you are holding to yourself - your Ph.D." Well, to you or me it might be of little consequence whether we were addressed as plain "Mr. Paul" or as "Dr. Paul," but to him it was his very life. He had dreamed of it from childhood, and labored for it all through his youth, and now the thing he prized above all else was almost within his grasp. In two short months it would be his.

So he reasoned with the Lord in this wise: "Is there any harm for me to be a Doctor of Philosophy? Will it not bring much more glory to Your name to have a Dr. Paul preaching the Gospel than a plain Mr. Paul?" But God does not change His mind, and all Mr. Paul's sound reasoning did not alter the Lord's word to him. Every time he prayed about the matter he got the same answer. Then, reasoning having failed, he resorted to bargaining with the Lord. He promised to go here or there, to do this or that, if only the Lord would allow him to have his doctor's degree; but still the Lord did not change. And all the while Mr. Paul was becoming more and more hungry to know the fullness of the Spirit. This state of affairs continued to within two days of his final examination.

It was Saturday, and Mr. Paul settled down to prepare his sermon for the following day, but, study as he would, he could get no message. The ambition of a lifetime was just within reach of realization, but God made it clear that he must choose between the power he could sway through a doctor's degree and the power of God's Spirit swaying his life. That evening he yielded. "Lord," he said, "I am willing to be plain Mr. Paul all my days, but I want to know the power of the Holy Ghost in my life."

He rose from his knees, and wrote a letter to his examiners asking to be excused from the examination on the Monday, and giving his reason. He retired, very happy, but not conscious of any unusual experience. Next morning he told his congregation that for the first time in six years he had no sermon to preach, and explained how it came about. The Lord blessed that testimony more abundantly than any of his well-prepared sermons, and from that time God owned him in an altogether new way. From that day he knew separation from the world, no longer merely as an outward thing but as a deep inward reality, and as a result, the blessedness of the Spirit's presence and power became his daily experience.

God is waiting for a settlement of all our controversies with him. With Mr. Paul it was a question of his doctor's degree, but with us it may be something quite different. Our complete surrender of ourselves to the Lord generally hinges upon some one particular thing, and God waits for that one thing. He must have it, for He must have our all. I was greatly impressed by something a great national leader wrote in his autobiography: "I want nothing for myself; I want everything for my country." If a man can be willing that his country should have everything and he himself nothing, cannot we say to our God: "Lord, I want nothing for myself; I want all for You. I will what You will, and I want to have nothing outside Your will." Not until we take the place of a servant can He take His place as Lord. He is not calling us to devote ourselves to His cause; He is asking us to yield ourselves unconditionally to His will. Are you prepared for that?

Watchman Nee, The Normal Christian Life