Don’t shy away from the prophetic books

                                                       Posted on May 15, 2023

By Elizabeth Prata

Prophecy gives us urgency. It reveals God’s plan and offers us the wonder of seeing it fulfilled to the jot and tittle, from the past by reading the Bible, and the future as we await His return. Prophecy shows us His holy anger, of which we must fear. We gain comfort and hope- think of Simeon and Anna in the temple, eagerly awaiting the Consolation of Israel, their hope and comfort fulfilled before their eyes as Mary and Joseph came to present the babe. (Luke 2).

I like being heavenly minded. I think of seeing the face of Jesus, singing to Him with all the redeemed. I think of the street of gold, the saints of the past I’ll get to know, and so much more. Being heavenly minded also means seeing the justice of God as He renders it in the final judgments. Judgment, wrath, and hell. There but for the grace of God go I… He took my ragged and pitifully polluted life and turned it into something glorious for the Father. He put in me a new heart and my soul daily being cleansed of sin.

In all the ways above and many more, prophecy demonstrates His glory.

I encourage you all to read and study the Book of Revelation. It is not difficult, and the Spirit will make it clear. You know, it is written in that book that we receive a blessing if we read the Book of Revelation. Zechariah has as much prophecy in it related to the final days on earth as Revelation does, if not more. I enjoyed Steve Hadley’s verse-by-verse sermons from Zechariah. There is so much prophecy in the Old Testament. I guess I should just say that the entire Bible is wonderful. Some say that a quarter of the whole Bible is prophetic. There is history, Law, narrative, poetry, wisdom, and prophecy. Something for everyone! So get to it today, don’t shy away from prophecy, especially Revelation.

Prophecy puts me in my place. I am a crumb, saved by grace, and at His perfect appointed time, placed within the Age of Grace to do His will, and perhaps gloriously see His return while I’m alive. What a privilege. Share Jesus with another, His prophetic timetable is moving quickly toward the climactic moments on earth.

Are Christians Meant to Feel Guilty All the Time?

KEVIN DEYOUNG | MAY 11, 2010


I imagine there are plenty of Christians who rarely feel the sting of conscience or the pangs of regret. But I also know many, many Christians (including the one I see in the mirror) who easily feel bad for all the things they are not doing or are doing less than perfectly. In fact, I’m convinced most serious Christians live their lives with an almost constant low-level sense of guilt.

How do we feel guilty? Let me count the ways. We could pray more.
We aren’t bold enough in evangelism.
We like sports too much.
We watch movies and television too often.
Our quiet times are too short or too sporadic.
We don’t give enough.
We bought a new couch.
We don’t read to our kids enough.
Our kids eat Cheetos and french fries.
We don’t recycle enough.
We need to lost 20 pounds.
We could use our time better.
We could live some place harder or in something smaller.

What do we do with all this behind the scenes guilt? We don’t feel stop-dead-in-our-tracks kind of remorse for these things. But these shortcomings can have a cumulative effect whereby even the mature Christian can feel like he’s rather disappointing to God, maybe just barely Christian.

Here’s the tricky part: we should feel guilty sometimes, because sometimes we are guilty of sin. Moreover, complacency as Christians is a real danger, especially in America.

But yet, I don’t believe God redeemed us through the blood of his Son that we might feel like constant failures. Do Peter and John post-Pentecost seemed racked with self-loathing and introspective fear? Does Paul seem constantly concerned that he could be doing more? Amazingly enough, Paul actually says at one point “I am not aware of anything against myself” (1 Cor. 4:4). He’s quick to add, “I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.” But it sure seems like Paul put his head on the pillow at night with a clean conscience. So why do so many Christian feel guilty all the time?

1. We don’t fully embrace the good news of the gospel. We forget that we have been made alive together with Christ. We have been raised with him. We have been saved through faith alone. And this is the gift of God, not a result of works (Eph. 2:4-8). We can be so scared of antinomianism, which is a legitimate danger, that we are afraid to speak too lavishly of God’s grace. But if we’ve never been charged with being antinomian, we probably haven’t presented the gospel in all it’s scandalous glory (Rom. 6:1).

2. Christians tend to motivate each other by guilt rather than grace. Instead of urging our fellow believers to be who they are in Christ, we command them to do more for Christ (see Rom. 6:5-14 for the proper motivation). So we see Christlikeness as something we are royally screwing up, when we should it as something we already possess but need to grow into.

3. Most of our low-level guilt falls under the ambiguous category of “not doing enough.” Look at the list above. None one of the items are necessarily sinful. They all deal with possible infractions, perceptions, and ways in which we’d like to do more. These are the hardest areas to deal with because no Christian, for example, will ever confess to praying enough. So it is always easy to feel terrible about prayer (or evangelism or giving or any number of disciplines). We must be careful that we don’t insist on a certain standard of practice when the Bible merely insists on a general principle.

Let me give another example. Every Christian must give generously and contribute to the needs of the saints (2 Cor. 9:6-11; Rom. 12:13). This we can insist on with absolute certainty. But what this generosity looks like–how much we give, how much we retain–is not bound by any formula, nor can it be exacted by compulsion (2 Cor. 9:7). So if we want people to be more generous we would do well to follow Paul’s example in 2 Corinthians and emphasize the blessings of generosity and the gospel rooted motivation for generosity as opposed to shaming those who don’t give us much.

4. When we are truly guilty of sin it is imperative we repent and receive God’s mercy. Paul had a clean conscience, not because he never sinned, but, I imagine, because he quickly went to the Lord when he knew he was wrong and rested in the “no condemnation” of the gospel (Rom. 8:1). If we confess our sins, John says, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). We aren’t meant to feel borderline miserable all the time. We are meant to live in the joy of our salvation. So when we sin–and we’ll all sin (1 Kings 8:46; 1 John 1:8)–we confess it, get cleansed, and move on.

This underlines one of the great dangers with constant guilt: we learn to ignore our consciences. If we are truly sinning, we need to repent and implore the Lord to help us change. But if we aren’t sinning, if we are perhaps not as mature as we could be, or are not as disciplined as some believers, or we are making different choices that may be acceptable but not extraordinary, then we should not be made to feel guilty. Challenged, stirred, inspired, but not guilty.

As a pastor this means I don’t expect that everyone in my congregation should feel awful about everything I ever preach on. It is ok, after all, for people to actually be obedient to God’s commands. Not perfectly, not without some mixed motives, not as fully as they could be, but still faithfully, God-pleasingly obedient. Faithful preaching does not require that sincere Christians feel miserable all the time. In fact, the best preaching ought to make sincere Christians see more of Christ and experience more of his grace.

Deeper grace will produce better gratitude, which means less guilt. And that’ s a good thing all the way around.

Another Political Season

Another election season has begun and it's no surprise that it's as contentious and pugnacious as ever.  And it will continue to worsen until the day of the election (and maybe even after as we saw this past election).  

We call ourselves a Christian country - or at least a majority Christian - and yet the behavior on both sides is anything but Christian.  Accusations, name calling, screaming and even calls for violence are an everyday occurrence.  Somehow we feel justified doing all these things and more.  The division is increasing and turning into pure hatred.  While we used to respectfully disagree with the "other side," now each side feels so righteous in their beliefs that they feel the need to demonize the other side.  No longer is there a sharing of ideas or a healthy debate where debaters leave the room shaking hands and slapping backs. 

Brothers and sisters, stop.  Stop this behavior which is anything but Christ-like.  Stop acting like the world is going to end because the other side won the election.  Stop calling names, making unsubstantiated accusations, being disrespectful and worse.  We have a system in place and we work through the system to accomplish our goals in an orderly and lawful way.  And when the other side wins, we take a couple of days to lick our wounds but then we are supposed to be gracious (remember who showed us mercy and grace??) and respectful.  There will be another election to try and be persuasive - unless Jesus comes for His bride before the election and that's even better!!!

Perhaps we aren't opening our Bibles enough and remembering God's instructions. 

Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.  The authorities that exist have been established by God. Romans 13:1

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 1 Timothy 2:1-2

Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor. 1Peter 2:17

The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will. Proverbs 21:1

These are just a few scriptures that command us to not only be respectful, but to pray for our leaders. Our leaders have difficult jobs and need our prayers.  God has appointed them and will use them as He wills and yet He listens to our prayers and can be stirred by them. God doesn't care about politics - God cares about souls; about character; about people.  And His ways are not our ways. . . . . . .

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9

Therefore we are arrogant when we believe we know better than God. We do not have His vantage point or His mind. We see things from our perspective only - our time in history, our color, our sex, our culture, etc. God is above all these things. God is wise, omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. He uses believers and nonbelievers alike. And so we are to trust Him and obey His commands. We would be far better off to be less concerned about politics and more concerned about sharing the good news with others.

What Does it Mean to Walk by Faith?

by Dena Johnson Martin 

"For we walk by faith, not by sight ."(2 Corinthians 5:7).

Those words seem simple enough.

However, I am learning that fleshing out those words, that simple concept, can be a much tougher assignment. It requires tremendous courage and strength. You must be willing to be misunderstood and even abandoned. You must be willing to give up any semblance of control of your life that you thought you might have. You must be willing to look like a complete fool.

But it is a journey of tremendous blessing and reward. It is a journey that is exciting, life-altering, and mind-boggling. It is a journey that will allow you to see and experience God as he was meant to be: in all his fullness and grace. 

What Does it Look Like to Walk By Faith and Not By Sight?

Walking by faith and not by sight requires you to go to a place you do not know, one that God will reveal as you walk in obedience. Just look to Abraham as an example (Genesis 12:1).

Walking by faith means that you continue to cling to the dreams God has planted in your heart, even when you’ve been thrown away, taken to prison for crimes you didn’t commit. Just look at all Joseph endured (Genesis 37-50).

Walking by faith requires a strong determination to follow God’s plan regardless what life throws your way. Look to Daniel to discover how to have the resolve not to sin (Daniel 1:8).

Walking by faith means you have the courage to stand up for the hurting, broken, and down-trodden, to face death yourself for the good of others. Look at Esther and how she risked the death penalty to save the Jews (Esther).

You just may have to play the part of a fool. Think about Noah building an ark for a flood when it had never even rained on earth. Think about Abraham clinging to the promise that he would be the father of many nations even though he was childless at the age of 100. Think about Moses standing before the Israelites in the wilderness telling them they would eat meat until it disgusted them but having no idea where that meat would come from. Think about Joshua marching around the walls of Jericho as God had told him to and wondering what good it was going to do.

If you choose this path, you must be willing to get out of your comfort zone, to run from the Americanized brand of Christianity that so many of us have known our entire lives. You must be willing to let God take your world and turn it upside down, shake it up, and start all over again. You must be willing to let God out of the neat little box that you have put him in, to let him show up as he sees fit.

Maybe it will be a calling to do something you never dreamed before: foster or adopt children, leave your job and become a missionary, trade in the worldly comforts for heavenly treasures.

Maybe it won’t be that clean and neat and socially acceptable. Maybe, like me, your world will be turned upside down by the pain of adultery and divorce. Or maybe you will be faced with infertility or addiction. Maybe you will have a prodigal child that completely changes the direction of your life. Or, maybe you’ve experienced the loss of a child—a hurt like no other.

I don’t know what your shake up might look like, but I know that if you will give it to God—throw up your arms in surrender and ask him to use it to change your life—he will honor your request. He will take you on a journey, teach you to walk by faith, entrust you with some of life’s most treasured moments.

He will build a faith in you—faith that moves mountains and moves God’s hands. He will teach you to live this life with abandonment, giving you a freedom to walk in all his fullness and grace. He will prepare you to be used mightily in this life for his glory.

Perhaps you’ve already experienced your life being turned upside down, toppled without any control. Perhaps, like me, you’ve found yourself wandering in the wilderness, watching his fire direct your every step by night, a cloud lead you by day. Perhaps you sense you are on the edge of the Promised Land, just waiting for him to give the command to take possession.

And yet, you are tired and weary. You’ve lost friends who don’t understand how you can continue to cling to a promise that is so obviously dead and gone. You are so close and yet feel so far away. You are struggling with temptations to just settle, even though you know it is less than God’s best. You simply don’t know how much longer you can stand.

You are not alone. I see God raising up a remnant of believers, those he knows will be obedient. He is looking for those with clean hands and a pure heart, those who will choose obedience even if it costs them everything this world has to offer. He is looking for those who will throw caution to the wind, believe that he has an abundant life (John 10:10) waiting if we will follow his ways. He is looking for those whose hearts have been purified, whose faith has been strengthened by the trials of this life (James 1:2). He is looking for those who will cling to his promises even when it seems there is no hope.

Be strong and courageous, my friends!

God has specifically chosen you to be a part of this remnant, those who will allow him to take their lives and mold them into what he wants. He has chosen you to have your faith tested and tried, and he promises that the fire will only purify you—not burn you. He has promised that he will be with you every single step, walking with you, carrying you, supporting you. He promises that he is still in control even when life seems to be spiraling wildly out of control.

He is teaching you to trust him so he can do something bigger and better than you ever dreamed possible (Ephesians 3:20-21). He is teaching you to let go and trust him with your heart, your soul, your life (Proverbs 3:5-6). He is teaching you to walk every single day in the spirit so that he can do even greater works in you and through you (John 14:12). He is preparing you to be a beacon of light and hope to a world which desperately needs to see Jesus.

I don’t know where you are on this journey of walking by faith, but I encourage you—beg you, plead with you—to wave the white flag of surrender. Let God take your life, your pain, your loss and use it for his glory. Ask him to do an amazing work in you so he can do an amazing work through you.

Get out of that boat and step onto the water…and never take your eyes off him. It is a decision you will never regret!

Dena Johnson is a busy single mom of three kids who loves God passionately. She delights in taking the everyday events of life, finding God in them, and impressing them on her children as they sit at home or walk along the way (Deuteronomy 6:7). Her greatest desire is to be a channel of God’s comfort and encouragement. You can read more of Dena’s experiences with her Great I AM on her blog Dena's Devos.

By the Roots

James MacDonald

Monday, October 29, 2018

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O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing (Matthew 23:37, ESV)!

I really hate dandelions. The harder you try to get rid of them, the more they hang around. It doesn’t really matter what you spray or what kind of program you get on, they’re coming up anyway. There’s another one—here, there, everywhere. That’s just the way dandelions grow. They spring up all over the place.

And sin, I’m sad to say, is a lot the same. Contrary to popular opinion, the longer you live and the more time you spend in self-examination, that’s how certain you can be of spotting a new one sprouting up where you thought you’d already treated for it.

“THE LORD WANTS YOU FREE, ONCE AND FOR ALL, FROM THE SIN THAT HAS ONLY MADE YOU RESTLESS AND MISERABLE FOR SO LONG.”

But as discouraging as it can sometimes be to discover even more things in your life that grieve the Lord, this dandelion count is to be expected. We were wrong to think we’d become more content with ourselves the longer we knew Jesus, that we could spend more time sitting back, admiring our green fields of self-righteousness. It’s good, in fact, to become more acutely aware of how badly we need His grace. And to find He is not there scolding us, offended by us, but rather is eager to work with us so we don’t stubbornly resist His intentions to bless us, encourage us, and give us life.

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,” Jesus cried out, looking over a rebellious city that God had previously destroyed, then rebuilt, and would destroy again. But notice His heart. It wasn’t harsh. He wasn’t flying off the handle. He was wanting them to come to Him, out of the pain and heartache their sins had cost them, and into His loving embrace. He wanted them free, once and for all, from those things that had only made them restless and miserable for so long.

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem”—hear Him say it again—“how often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”

Here, then, is the encouragement you can take from those patches of dandelions you keep noticing. Are they areas where you’re leaning on a crutch of some kind, rather than leaning foremost on Jesus? Are they matters of job-related integrity? Are they images of other faces appearing at the corners of marital intimacy? Are they pockets of financial fear, where you’re not sure you can trust His Word and the faithfulness of His provision? Are they places where you’re not prioritizing your family, or not being loving and forgiving?

Nobody wants to keep seeing these blemishes in their lives. But they are less of a cause for condemnation and more of a reminder of how much you need Jesus. So, unlike the generation of His day, who wouldn’t gather up close to Him, who wouldn’t accept His relief, use these sightings to draw nearer to His side. And He will pluck those weeds for you, one at a time.

The field won’t ever be totally rid of them. But you will love Him increasingly, as you allow His uprooting in your life.

Journal

• What are some of the weeds you’ve noticed lately, that you hadn’t recognized before?
• Why does it make sense that our sanctification would be a lifelong endeavor?

PrayLord, I admit to sometimes becoming discouraged. I’d hoped I wouldn’t still be finding so much that needs work in my heart. But thank You for not being surprised at my continual need for You. And thank You for looking on me with grace and compassion, eager to do for me what I can’t do for myself. I yield to You today. I come up close to Your side. In the strength of Your arms, You give me hope in my discouragement. I pray this in the life-giving name of Jesus, amen.

Jesus is Enough

Days of Atonement

by James MacDonald

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21, nasb). Not everyone believes what I hope you believe (what the Bible actually says) about the reason Jesus Christ had to die. Some believe, for example, that God didn’t require a payment for sinners—that He forgives people simply because He chooses to do so, without resolution of any kind. But if that’s true, what was Jesus doing on the cross? Believing this view doesn’t make God more gracious; it makes Him cruel in the extreme. Others believe that the death of Christ merely served as an example. They say the cross shows us how much God loves us. But this view fails to take into account numerous Bible passages that say Jesus “gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father” (Galatians 1:4, esv), how “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3), that He “suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). Here’s the truth: Christ took our place and suffered our punishment for sin. He became our substitute. That’s where the term substitutionary atonement comes from. His death was the legal act whereby He fulfilled the demands of God’s holy law and paid the penalty for sin. He became “sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Even in the Old Testament, Isaiah prophesied, “He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). Be sure you know the word atonement. The death of Jesus Christ atoned for sin, made payment for it. If the gospel were a dartboard, the word atonement would be the bull’s-eye. Throughout this Passion Week, as you read and are reminded of the suffering Jesus underwent, atonement is what you see happening every step of the way. The flogging, the mocking, the blasphemous taunting. The twisting of the crown of thorns, piercing into His scalp. A scratchy robe laid across His open, throbbing wounds. His face, eyes, and mouth, swollen and disfigured. And so much blood—spilled, splattered, shed. This is Jesus Christ, atoning. He would complete it on the cross, but it didn’t begin on the cross. The atonement didn’t somehow start with the nailing. For example, Isaiah 53 describes Christ’s scourge as part of His atonement when it says that “by His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5b, nkjv). All of it is the atoning work of Jesus. It is the wrath of God poured out upon His Son to satisfy the inherent demands of holiness. Someone had to pay. A holy God could not casually dismiss sin with a wave of His hand and the presentation of a hall pass. Holiness demanded that sin must be paid for. What you see then, in Christ’s suffering and death, is Love finding a way to pay for sin Himself. The closer your journey leads you to the cross this week, try to avoid detours that would induce you to think of Jesus merely as your example. Don’t be distracted by signs that point to ways following Christ improves your life. Walk as though you’re moving deeper into a funnel, drawing nearer and narrower, until all you see is “Jesus, my Substitute,” taking upon Himself the demands of holiness so that you can be forgiven. PRAY Lord, what kind of worship is appropriate for such total atonement? “What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord” (Psalm 116:12–13, esv). I will come to You amazed at what Your Son Jesus has done for me. I will surrender my all to You for as long as I live. I will praise You every day for the gift of grace and the sacrifice of Christ, in the name of Jesus, my Substitute, amen.

by James MacDonald

Holy, Holy, Holy


And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:3, ESV)!

On God’s Top Ten list, the very first rule, the commandment that earns the #1 spot, states who He is. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:2–3).

The Church has lost this high and exalted view of God. We’ve grown so cozy with God that we forget who He really is. We have embraced the comfort of His nearness and ignored His holiness. We have emphasized the security of His love at the expense of His transcendence. God is not “the man upstairs.” He’s not a mild, old codger with a white beard. God dwells in unapproachable light. The Bible teaches that no one can see God and live. He is high and lifted up. He is ineffable glory.

We need a right view of God. One of the clearest pictures in all of Scripture is found in Isaiah 6. God gave Isaiah a glimpse, just a glimpse, of who He is, and the prophet fell flat on his face. That singular experience marked Isaiah’s whole life, and his vision is one we desperately need today.

Do you want to know what God is really like? God is infinite holiness—immeasurable, unalterable, unfathomable holiness. Isaiah wrote, “I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up” (Isaiah 6:1). Seated. Not pacing back and forth. Not wringing His hands. Not struggling or searching. He was seated, settled, secure, certain. Why? Because He is in absolute control.

And standing above the seated God are the seraphim who serve Him. Picture two lines of angels, one on either side of the King, calling back and forth in an unceasing, antiphonal chorus. Think of all the words they could say about God. They could call out, “Merciful, merciful, merciful God!” or “Loving, loving, loving God!” But the words God chose to be spoken about Him, in His presence, for all time, are of His holiness. “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” Through countless eons of time and even at this exact moment, the angels are calling out God’s holiness.

When the Hebrew people want to emphasize a word, they repeat it. If someone fell into a pit, that would be one thing, but if it were a deep pit, they would call it a “pit pit.” Nowhere else in all of Scripture is an attribute repeated three times. Only this and only of God: He is “holy, holy, holy.”

And the smoke rose quickly to veil Isaiah’s vision lest he be consumed in an instant by the moral worthiness, by the utter terror, by the majestic purity and power, by the unsearchable, unspeakable, infinite holiness of the triune God.

For when we grasp who God is, as the first commandment tells us to do, we see something else clearly too: our sinfulness. God’s infinite holiness casts our dirty sinfulness into stark relief. You cannot gaze upon the holiness of God without being overcome. Isaiah was broken by this. “Woe is me!” he cried. “For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (6:5)! The phrase means literally, “I’m dead. Done for. Silenced. Bankrupt. Ruined.” Before the holiness of Almighty God, we realize how unclean we are.

How tragic if the story ended there. But once Isaiah saw God for who He really is, the poor prophet was primed for mercy. “Then,” begins verse 6, a little transition word full of hope. Then one of the seraphim flew to Isaiah, lifted a burning coal to his lips, and purged him of sin. We are only prepared to receive and comprehend the grace of God when we have understood His infinite holiness and our filthy sinfulness. Any presentation of the gospel that leaves that out is incomplete. It’s the holiness of God that casts us upon His mercy. Only when we have a right view of the holy God do we begin to see clearly.


JOURNAL
Examine your own theology (your thoughts about God). In what ways do you treat God too casually? How does Isaiah’s vision change your view of God?
In your own words, what’s the connection between seeing God’s holiness and being primed to receive His mercy? 

PRAY
Almighty God, You are holy, holy, holy. Forgive me for my casual attitude toward You. Forgive me for reveling in Your abundant grace and ignoring Your holiness. Help me, Lord, to see You rightly. You are the Lord, and You have no rivals. Just as You reign on the throne of heaven, would You also reign in my heart and life? And as I glimpse Your holiness, I see my own spiritual bankruptcy. Please purge my sin, through the mercy You offer through Your Son, Jesus, in whose name I pray, amen.

Oceans

You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand
And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise, my soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine
Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You've never failed and You won't start now
So I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise, my soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine
Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior
Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior
Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior
I will call upon Your name
Keep my eyes above the waves
My soul will rest in Your embrace
I am Yours and You are mine
Songwriters: Joel Houston / Matt Crocker / Salomon Lighthelm
Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) lyrics © Capitol CMG Genesis

The Meaning of Fellowship

Fellowship. 

What does that word mean in the context of a Christian life?  Potluck dinners?  Church programs? Building cleanup days? Christmas plays and cantatas? Could the meaning in today's culture look different than it did in the time that Jesus walked the earth? What do you think it means?

Read the original meaning David Mathis believes God intended for His church below and contemplate. How far is your church and/or small group from this meaning? And how can we facilitate change? 

In no way am I saying potluck dinners should be abolished (no way - so many great cooks in every church!). But are we sharing a meal or a mission?  Instead of looking at it as taking something away, maybe we could look at it as adding on to what is already in place.  



It’s a shame that the word fellowship has fallen on hard times in many church circles. Nowadays, fellowship means you’re just doing something social together and you just happen to be Christians. That's not at all what is meant by the richness and the strength of the New Testament word often translated as fellowship.

Maybe you hear people pronounce the Greek word as "koinonia." In the New Testament, fellowship refers to a partnership, a collective, a mission where everyone is all in together. They’re risking life. They’re risking all of their possessions. They’re risking their money, to put it in a shared venture together and to have that shared mission and enterprise.

The first thing to say about the fellowship as a means of grace is that it is a mission. Rightly did J. R. R Tolkien call his first book The Fellowship of the Ring. Because there was a lot at stake; they were on a mission together. They weren't just sitting back and having a pipe, sipping on the Gaffer's Old Winyards, and just shooting the breeze in a social situation. The world is at stake and they’ve got to get the ring to Mount Doom. This is what’s involved in a fellowship.

So, when I say fellowship as a means of grace, I don’t mean just Christian social situations but rather a shared mission together. Jesus put his church on mission in the declaration of the great commission—the commission to make disciples of all the nations. That begins locally but then extends internationally. We are on mission together in the gospel. So the first aspect of fellowship is being on mission together.

Another aspect of the fellowship is worshipping together. Let me give you a verse to go with that: Hebrews 10:24-25, where the author says,


And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:24-25)

He's encouraging his readers to come together, strengthen each other, and do that in a context of worship. And so, in that context of fellowship as corporate worship together, we will get various means of grace like sitting together under the preaching of God’s Word and the corporate interactions that happen before, during, and after those gatherings. There's also taking the Lord’s Table together as a means of grace. There's being baptized or watching in faith as others are baptized as a means of grace.

The third aspect of fellowship is our life together as Christians. The text for this one is Hebrews 3:12-13:


Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. (Hebrews 3:12-15)

And the amazing thing about that passage is that it’s not an exhortation to individuals to watch out that their own hearts might not become hardened. Rather, it’s an exhortation to the community to be on the lookout for other people in the community who don’t have the spiritual strength—who don’t have the spiritual wherewithal—to watch out for their own souls. And so, healthy Christians are being encouraged to take notice of others—to be aware enough of others—that they'd be able to speak a gospel-word into their brother or sister's life—encouraging that person in a season of difficulty, dryness, depression, or suffering.

An important aspect of the fellowship is our external mission together, our vertical worship together, and then internal care and love for one another—our being a means of grace to someone else. One of the first questions to ask about fellowship is not "What is this body doing for me? What is this local church doing for me? What is this Christian community doing for me?" The local church will be a means of grace in your life. However, a very important question to ask first is, "How can I be a means of grace to others in this community?"

We need to think not only about how to receive God’s Word in Bible intake and how to speak to God and receive the blessing of being in communication with him in prayer, but also how to be a means of grace to someone else. How can my life in Christ be a means of grace to someone else?

Here's one way to think about it: it’s amazing that God put these holes in the side of our head. And what you can do is you can put words in those holes for somebody who’s struggling or for someone who’s dry. What that person needs is a good word—a manifestation of the gospel. Perhaps they’re so spiritually lethargic that they’re not ingesting the Bible well for themselves via reading and studying and meditation. Maybe they don’t have the heart to pray. But what they do have, typically, are holes in the side of their heads. And you can put gospel words into those holes, so that even when they're is not doing well spiritually, you can help them by speaking a word of grace into their lives.

Rooted in the Local Church

God has often used this to bring people back from dangerous spiritual situations. Bringing back a sinner from his wandering as James 5:19-20 talks about. This is being a means of grace to others. It’s most important that this would happen in covenant contexts. A lot of grace can flow in situations where it’s a Christian community. But where there is covenant membership in the local church is the place where lives flourish as we experience receive God's grace through significant relationships.

So, for instance, we wouldn’t say, "Well I love these people enough, I don’t need to commit to them." Rather, we’d say, "I love these people enough that I’m willing to commit to them in sickness and in health, when times are joyful and when times are sorrowful," as you would do in a marriage. Hopefully you wouldn’t say, "I love her enough; we don’t need a commitment and we don’t need a piece of paper." No! The question is, "Do you love her enough to commit; to be there in sorrow, in pain, and in sickness?"

That’s the opportunity we have in covenant fellowship. We say, "I love these people enough that I’m going to commit to be there in the hardest of times. In the worst of times. When they’re the driest. When they’re the most depressed. When they the most need help, I want to be there and I want to be God’s means of grace in their life. And I want to be that means of grace in my life as well."

To listen and watch the video click here.

His Unconditional Love

When we first came to God, we came empty-handed, accepting everything He had to offer us by grace. Now God is calling on us to jettison the loads we carry and come to him empty-handed again - humble and repentant. He wants to renew our minds, transform us, and show us how to love Him and our world. We need to come to Him with upturned hands. God's love expressed through us toward Him and toward others is possible, but it's not our love - conditional; it's God's love - unconditional, with no nasty side effects and no strings attached. 

To be healed of all the pain caused by conditional love, we have to set aside all agendas and seek God for Himself.  The prayer of the heart - waiting in stillness and in silence - is truly the only way we can let go of our focus on ourselves and put it on God. It's the only way to find our heart's desire, the rest in His loving presence that He promises.

Jan Harris, Quiet in His Presence 

A Life of Faith

Living a life of faith is not a no-brainer.  Faith requires us to think more critically than we ever have before, because our decisions - the big ones and the little ones - have lasting implications for us, for our children, and for all of humankind.

It is in the knowing God, really, that we quit worrying about whether he'll betray us or turn the locust loose on us.  Because it's in that knowing that we understand it isn't about who we are, and what we have or haven't done. It's about who God is, and what he's already done.

Sometimes that knowing comes on the darkest of nights, when all you can really see is the frost-coated stubble of a season passed.

Karen Spears Zacharias, Where's Your Jesus Now?

Live Before You Die - day 9

If you are still breathing, it is never too late for God to intervene and restore what the locust and canker worm have eaten.  Disobedience to God's will is not a trivial matter.  God's grace does not guarantee that we will never have to live with negative consequences of our actions.  Many times, even though God forgives and restores, there are still scars that remain from disobedience, and often the process of correcting our errant route is long and painful.

If you are going in the wrong direction, before you do anything else, you need to stop!  Even if your mistake was not caused by deliberate disobedience against the known will of God, you need to acknowledge your mistake and ask for forgiveness.

For the child of God repentance should be a lifestyle.  To repent means to "turn," to change one's mind and direction.  We tend to think of repentance as primarily turning away from something, as in turning away from sin and making a one-hundred-eighty-degree change to the opposite direction. It is what you turn to that makes the difference. If we think of repentance only as a one-hundred-eighty-degree turn, then we fail to understand that sometimes a minor but crucial fine-tuning is necessary to keep us calibrated with the heart of God.

Repentance is the practice of the righteous.  We must constantly turn our hearts to God - from darkness to light, from the flesh to the Spirit, from the temporal to the eternal, from death unto life.  Sometimes repentance may have nothing to do with sin at all.  It may simply be a slight correction in mind-set or attitude that brings our spirits back into alignment with the Spirit of God.  Turn to Jesus and you will automatically turn from sin.

There is a big difference between learning from the past and living in it.  We need to learn from our mistakes lest we repeat them. But we cannot go back and change the past. We must move on with the remaining time we have and live from this moment forward in obedience to the will of God.  To live in the past is to insult the spirit of grace and the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross.  He paid the price so you could be forgiven from the mistakes of the past.  If you have been washed in the blood of Jesus, God does not condemn you, and neither should you condemn yourself.

Daniel Kolenda, Live before you die

Live Before You Die - day 8

When you find something that makes you want to jump out of bed in the morning, when you find something that challenges and thrills you, when you find something that you sense you were made to do, chances are you are getting close to discovering God's will for your life.  This does not mean that obedience, death to self, and sacrifice are never required or necessary.  But when a person is doing what he was created to do, there is a taste of sweetness in the sacrifice, a sense of fulfillment in the obedience, and an enduring hope in the suffering.

It was Paul who said, "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us" (Rom 8:18). And James even goes so far as to say "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds" (James 1:2).  How is it possible to have joy in the face of difficulties, trials, and suffering?  It is possible because when we are in God's will, there is an unexplainable grace that accompanies us.

"But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ" (Ephes 4:7).  Not only did He give gifts, He also gave grace according to the measure of the gift.  The Bible says this grace is given to every one of us according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Whenever God calls you to do something, He will always supply the perfect measure of grace so you will be able to operate in your gifting.  But whenever you try to operate outside your gift, you will find it difficult, burdensome, and miserable, because there will be no grace for it.

When God's gift and grace are resting on a person for a certain task or calling, he is able to do with joy what would seem difficult or even impossible to others.  Don't make the mistake of trying to force those around you to do what God has called you to do, and don't look down on them for doing something other than what you think is so important. Recognize that, as Paul said, "Each has his own special gift from God, one of this kind and one of another" (1 Cor 7:7).  If you think everyone should be doing one particular thing, chances are, that is what you are called to do!

Daniel Kolenda, Live before you die

Cleansing of the Temple

The following is from an Easter Devotional put together by Covenant Fellowship.............

It often doesn't take long for heartfelt devotion and passion for God, to drift toward simply going through the motions.  Left unchecked, it can lead to hypocrisy - living your life with the appearance of devotion and love toward God that is not really there.  That's what happened to the Jewish people in New Testament times and the fig tree was a perfect illustration of this.  Jesus approached a fig tree with big, shiny leaves but no fruit.  On the outside the tree looked well, but it wasn't doing what it was created to do - produce fruit! So the Lord cursed the fruitless tree.  When Jesus approached the beautiful marble walls and gleaming gold pillar capitals of the temple with throngs of worshippers gathered around, all looked well - on the outside.  But the Jews received his strongest rebuke.  Jesus cursed the blatant hypocrisy and greed by turning over the tables and condemning their selfish practices.  The temple court was meant to be a place of prayer and worship for the Gentiles.  It was a place where men and women outside of Israel could seek God.  But it had become a den of robbers that hindered the Gentiles from praying and seeking God.  The same can be true today.  When we claim to have faith in Christ, but don't live lives transformed by his love and grace, we may hinder men and women from clearly hearing and responding to the gospel.  Unbelievers can see right through an outward "show" of religion.  Jesus wants us to know that how we live matters.  It matters that we pursue purity and obey God's Word.  It matters that we pray and seek God with sincere hearts.  Jesus died to free us from the trap of hypocrisy and to give us His Spirit, who purifies us and empowers us to live lives in line with the truths of the gospel.

Pray that God would help us to live pure lives that are dedicated to the glory of God, obedient to the Word of God and committed to prayer.

Max Lucado's

Jesus Washes the Disciples Feet

It has been a long day. Jerusalem is packed with Passover guests, most of whom clamor for a glimpse of the Teacher. The spring sun is warm. The streets are dry. And the disciples are a long way from home. A splash of cool water would be refreshing.

The disciples enter [the room], one by one, and take their places around the table. On the wall hangs a towel, and on the floor sits a pitcher and a basin. Any one of the disciples could volunteer for the job, but not one does.

After a few moments, Jesus stands and removes his outer garment. He wraps a servant’s girdle around his waist, takes up the basin, and kneels before one of the disciples. He unlaces a sandal and gently lifts the foot and places it in the basin, covers it with water, and begins to bathe it. One by one, one grimy foot after another, Jesus works his way down the row.

In Jesus’ day the washing of feet was a task reserved not just for servants but for the lowest of servants…The servant at the bottom of the totem pole was expected to be the one on his knees with the towel and basin.

In this case the one with the towel and basin is the king of the universe. Hands that shaped the stars now wash away filth. Fingers that formed mountains now massage toes. And the one before whom all nations will one day kneel now kneels before his disciples. Hours before his own death, Jesus’ concern is singular. He wants his disciples to know how much he loves them...

You can be sure Jesus knows the future of these feet he is washing. These twenty-four feet will not spend the next day following their master, defending his cause. These feet will dash for cover at the flash of a Roman sword. Only one pair of feet won’t abandon him in the garden. One disciple won’t desert him at Gethsemane—Judas won’t even make it that far! He will abandon Jesus that very night at the table…

What a passionate moment when Jesus silently lifts the feet of his betrayer and washes them in the basin!

Jesus knows what these men are about to do. He knows they are about to perform the vilest act of their lives. By morning they will bury their heads in shame and look down at their feet in disgust. And when they do, he wants them to remember how his knees knelt before them and he washed their feet…

He forgave their sin before they even committed it. He offered mercy before they even sought it.

John Piper - Why Christmas?

Will Jesus Find You, Too?

The Audit of a Lifetime by Ron Hutchcraft

Oh, when the auditor leaves from our annual audit, man, our administrative team is high-fivin'. Partly because, well, again we got a clean audit this past year, and our ministry's been blessed with that year after year, and partly it's just because it's over! They worked pretty hard to be ready for all the things the auditor wanted to check out.
In the business world, and sometimes even in the Christian world, audits aren't always happy. Auditors can find things that get you in trouble with your boss, with the government, even with the law. Audits uncover hidden secrets.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Audit of a Lifetime."
Now, I have a meeting scheduled with the auditor in the future. Except, I don't know when it is, because the appointment is with The Auditor, and only He knows when my audit of a lifetime is going to be. Fact is we're all facing the audit of our lives. Our word for today from the word of God in Romans 14:12 says "...each of us will give an account of himself to God."
There will be no exceptions, "...each of us." There will be no excuses, "...will give account of himself to God." No blaming your spouse, your parents, your kids, your friends, your coworkers. I will answer for me and me alone. Also, there will be no secrets. "God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ" - Romans 14:12 says that. The Auditor knows every website we've ever visited, every e-mail or conversation we've been involved with, every sin we thought we got away with.
Many times I've seen a road sign with these stark words: "Prepare to meet your God" (Romans 14:12). Since heaven's all-knowing Auditor will expose everything about my life, it actually makes sense to work on what I'll face in His presence. The Auditor has let us know what He'll be auditing. I'd like to know that now.
Now, I know He'll be auditing the words I speak. Jesus said so: "Men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless (or worthless, that means) word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted and by your words you will be condemned" (Romans 14:12). All our words, including the gossip, the angry stuff, the putdowns, the dirty stuff, will be there to meet us on the day of judgment and there will be no denying my own words.
The Auditor's also going to examine why I do what I do. The Bible says, "Wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts" (Romans 14:12). I'm not too excited about those new full body scans that they're installing at airports; they reveal what no one else can see. But that's nothing compared to God's full heart scan at the judgment seat. No matter how good what I've done may be, it will burn if my real motive was me, not Him. God cares a lot more about why we do than what we do. If it wasn't for His glory, if it wasn't because of pure love, it will never survive the audit.
Then Jesus said, "Give an account of your management" (Romans 14:12). The audit is going to be about what I've done with what He's given to me: my money, my influence, my home, my abilities, my opportunities. I'm suspecting that a lot of us are going to be feeling the shame and sadness of what might have been, of how much we could have done and should have done.
And then there's this really sobering warning of what's going to come up at the audit. "When I say to a wicked man (the Bible makes it clear that's all of us), 'You will surely die,' and you do not...speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood" (Ezekiel 3:18). Whew! God will confront me with all the people I didn't tell about Jesus, whose eternity depended on hearing about Him.
I guess the hardest-hitting exposure at the audit of a lifetime will be about what we do with Jesus. The Bible says about Judgment Day, "...the books were opened. Another book was opened which is the Book of Life...If anyone's name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire" (Romans 14:12). What an unspeakably horrific moment.
Jesus checks the Book of Life to see if a person's name is there. If it's not, it's too late. It's entered there when you pin all your hopes on the Christ who died on the cross for your sin. If you never have, you can have your name put in His Book today by giving your life to Him.
The Auditor's told us how to take the dread out of the audit. It says, "If we judge ourselves, we would not come under judgment" (1 Corinthians 11:31). Face it now so you don't have to face it then. It's no wonder He's so deeply interested in how we live our life. He's pretty heavily invested with His blood.

Costly Grace

Having just read The Cost of Discipleship by Bonhoeffer, I found this article to be interesting and so true!  I dare say if Jesus were walking this earth today, his message would still shock many.  We like to think we are following him, but his message has been watered down, diluted and popularized for the masses.  Time to get back to true discipleship!

REAL DISCIPLES OR NOT?? - The Big Question-by LibertyWorld."Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring
repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without
confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace
is grace without discipleship, grace without the Cross, grace
without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.
Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it
a man will gladly go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great
price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the
kindly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye
which causes him to stumble, it is the call of Jesus Christ at which
the disciple leaves his nets and follows him."
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship.

(Hitler had Bonhoeffer shot because he chose to bow to Christ
rather than to the Gestapo.)

Matthew 28:19 reads "Go therefore and make disciples of all
nations..." R.S.V., and most versions. The Greek reads, "To
become a pupil." "Enroll as a scholar."Christ did not say to make
"converts," but rather to "make disciples." "Followers." In verse 20
He says, "Teaching them to 'observe' all things whatsoever I have
commanded you..." Again the Greek reads to "hold fast." How
very imperative it is to hold fast the teachings of the Lord Jesus
Christ!

The 'gospel' of our Lord Jesus Christ is not the gospel that is being
preached in most pulpits today! Today's gospel is "another gospel,"
it is not the gospel of the Scriptures! Generally speaking, the church
that provides the best and the most entertainment is the church
that garners the greatest number of attendants.

Much of today's gospel is a false gospel, built on false premises,
built on false teaching! Should any sincere Christian question this
statement, let this individual read Matthew chapter 7:13-28 and
verse 29 which says that those who heard Christ's teachings were
astonished. Can you imagine the astonishment of people today
also, if His message were being preached and taught in our pulpits!

And they of the church
And they of the world;
Walk hand and heart,
And only God who knoweth all
Can tell the two apart.

Hear what Dr. A. W. Tozer has to say on this matter, "Any
objections to the carrying on of our present golden-calf Christianity
is met with the triumphant reply, 'But we are winning them.' And
winning them to what? To true discipleship? To cross carrying? To
self-denial? To separation from the world? To crucifixion of the
flesh? To holy living? To nobility of character? To hard self-
discipline? To love for God? To total commitment to Christ? Of
course the answer to all these questions is 'No'." John Fletcher
said, "More is said from our pulpits in favor of sin than against it."

"No longer is the thundering message of the prophet of God
heralded from the sacred pulpit, warning against the wrath of a
holy and just God against sin" - Wesley Duewel.