Tips for Getting Spiritually Healthy

Confession time. I am overweight. I have diabetes and high blood pressure. It’s the bad health trifecta of the south. I gotta deal with this because I want to be here for Joy for the long haul. Recently, my health insurance offered a monitoring and support system for diabetics, and I signed up for it. They sent me a free glucose monitor, blood pressure monitor, and snazzy scale that automatically uploads the results to my cyber-file. They also offer consultants to help and encourage me. All this is great and I intend to utilize it. But they also want me to tell them what I’m eating. Um, that seems a little intrusive. I don’t want to have to admit to some of the stuff I consume. And I sure don’t want to give up my favorite snacks and treats. Sigh.
One of the most direct and practical books of the Bible is James. James (Jesus’ half-brother) was a no-nonsense kind of fellow. He did not believe His brother’s claims until His resurrection, and then he became the leader of the church in Jerusalem. His letter is filled with straightforward truth. He spoke of sin, bringing it right back to our own evil desires. He said, “Get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent . . .” (1:21); “Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (1:22); “Keep yourself from being polluted by the world” (1:27). Over and over James got to the point of relationships, judgment and love, faith and deeds, taming the tongue, wisdom, submission, humility, arrogance, grumbling (ouch), perseverance, and being trustworthy. He also talked a lot about suffering for the cause of Christ – which he understood well as persecution against Christians started there with the mother church.
And then he said, “confess your sins to each other and pray for each other . . .” (5:16). Here’s the honest truth – there are things about me I don’t want you to know. Not salacious things, but human things – sinner-saved-by-grace things. But you probably deal with them too. And what if we did humbly confess our sins to one another? What if you and a brother or sister committed to prayer over a mutual struggle? James said, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”
Beloved, I need you and you need me. We need to hold one another accountable and we need to hold each other up. Find someone you can trust to love you through the hard stuff. And love them back.

Of Doctrine and Demons and Truth

Paul wrote to Timothy, “Watch your life and doctrine closely” (1 Tim 4:16). Doctrine at its root is teaching – imparting information from one person to another. That’s my calling. But I’m not just teaching history or mythology or fantasy – it is truth. It is the Word of God. And it has the power to change lives. That is why I handle it with the utmost care. It is a huge responsibility.
There are a lot of teachers out there who will try to tell you what the Bible says. I’ve sat under some excellent teachers and some not-so-great teachers. Some teach from a classroom or a lectern, and some teach with their lives. Some teach by being godly examples and some teach us by being examples of what not to do or be.
Did you know that the devil has teachers too? Paul also told Timothy, “In later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons” (v. 1). You’d better believe demons are teachers too. But they don’t always teach in direct opposition to the Scriptures. They often teach in shades of truth. They will take just enough of the Scriptures to make it sound right, then twist it to get you off track.
For example, the culture’s favorite verse is “Do not judge” (Matt 7:1). But they do not understand the context. Jesus is speaking in the sense of condemning people – judging them unworthy of God’s grace. But He affirms “judgment” in terms of discernment. Like helping a brother remove the speck of dust in their eye (after clearing out our own). He says we do not throw sacred truth to dogs or pearls to pigs (v. 6). That is a judgment call. A few verses later, He said we are to be “fruit inspectors” (v. 15-120). He is calling us to wise discernment.
They also love verses about loving others. But they don’t understand that the most loving thing we can do is warn them about the coming wrath of God against those who do not believe in His Son. Humans want love, but the culture demands permissiveness in the guise of love. If my granddaughter wants to play in the busy road does love mean I let her go or I protect her from harm?
Do you see why I am such a stickler for careful Bible study and true doctrine? What you believe, what you think you know, affects how you live – and it affects your eternal security. Be wise, Beloved, only the truth will set you free.

True Light

There is a car I meet every morning on my way to work. It is an old police car that the driver probably bought at an auction. The insignia, lights, and siren are gone, but the front push bar is still there. Every time I see him my heart jumps a little and my foot lifts off the accelerator out of instinct. As soon as I realize it is him, I breathe a sigh of relief and motor on. He’s not trying to pretend to be a police officer, but he sure gives the initial impression of one.
Paul warned the Christians in Corinth about false prophets and teachers. He was concerned that they were listening to those who were preaching “a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached to you: (2 Cor 11:4). They were being fooled and falling away from Christ. He said these teachers were “false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostle of Christ” (v. 13). And behind it all was the devil himself: “satan, [who] masquerades as an angel of light” (v. 14).
What is satan’s M.O.? He knows that most people will turn away from total darkness, but they are also afraid to live in the bright, holy light of God. But they will happily live in the “almost” light – as long as they can see what they want to see. The almost light fools people into believing that since they are not in darkness they are good enough. They don’t steal, they don’t kill, they don’t tell big, whopping lies, they don’t (openly) hate their neighbor. They pay their taxes, feed their kids, drive (close to) the speed limit, and let the dog inside when it’s raining. They might even go to church on Easter and Mother’s Day. They are good people. The almost light is good enough.
But the Bible says that being good isn’t good enough. John said “God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 Jn1:5). Not even a trace. He is pure light. Holy light. The kind of light that hurts your eye if you’re used to the almost light. In fact, Paul said “[God] lives in unapproachable light” (1 Tim 6:16). Unless you are in Christ. Because Christ makes us holy. Christ makes us “sons [and daughters] of the light” (1 Thess 5:5).
Beloved, if you are a believer, if Jesus has brought you out of darkness then you are a child of the true and holy Light. Don’t listen to the fakes and don’t settle for anything less.

Jesus Cares About All of You

Several years ago I came home from work to discover that someone had broken into our apartment. What they took was of little value but the one thing they stole that really mattered was my peace of mind. The next day I told a coworker about our ordeal. He said, “Be grateful no one can steal your salvation.” Honestly, I was annoyed that he dismissed my feelings so flippantly – and so “spiritually.” Of course I was grateful that my salvation was eternally secure, but was my relationship with Jesus only good for the next life? What about the days when my heart is hurting, when my body aches, when my nerves are frazzled, and my load is heavy? Do I face those days and seasons on my own?
Let’s ask the widow of Nain whose only son had died. Jesus encountered his funeral procession and his broken-hearted mother. Luke said, “When the Lord saw her, His heart went out to her and He said, “Don’t cry.” He was moved deeply by this mother’s pain and He touched her heart before He touched the son’s coffin and raised him from the dead (see Luke 7:11-17).
When a great crowd of people stayed and listened to Him teach for several days, He was concerned for them. He told His disciples, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.” He miraculously stretched a few loaves and fishes to feed more than four thousand people. He cared about their souls, and their empty bellies (see Matthew 15:29-39).
What would the leper say whom Jesus not only healed, but touched with His own holy hand (Matt 8:1-4). Or the centurion who came to Jesus to beg for healing for his servant? The man was made well by Jesus’ spoken word (Matt 8:5-13). How about Peter’s mother-in-law and a house full of sick and demon-possessed people who received healing? Ask the sick little girl and the sick old woman – Jesus ministered to both of them (Mark 5:21-43). All through the Gospels, He healed the physically blind, sick, and lame, comforted the hurting and marginalized, and ministered to the spiritually unwell.
Beloved, Jesus cares about you – all of you – body, soul, and spirit. He came to redeem and restore and He came to heal and comfort. Trust me when I say you can trust Him with your life – now and forever.

Sin and the Heart

This may surprise you, but I am a sinner. Yes, I belong to Jesus, He has saved me and redeemed me and continues every day to transform me into His image. He has done so much work in my life where sin is concerned. But like every other human being, I was born with a sinful nature and sinful desires. They may be different from the things that tug at you, but sin is a real and present danger for me.
How do we handle our bent toward sin? The Bible has some great advice for us. Here are a few suggestions:
Recognize sin for what it is and don’t make excuses or exceptions for it. (Psalm 51:3-4)
Keep God’s Word close – in your hands, in your mind, and in your heart. (Psalm 119:11)
Keep God closer. (James 4:7-8)
Keep sin-triggers at a distance. Don’t put yourself in positions you know will pull you into sin – whether places, events, movies, T.V. shows, websites, or even people. Take the way out. (1 Corinthians 10:13)
Repent when you do sin. (Acts 3:19).
Pray.
Repeat as often as necessary.
The prayer I find myself returning to again and again is: “Lord, cause me to love you so much that sin has no appeal to me.” I came to that prayer while meditating on Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desire of your heart.” I realized that if God is my delight, then I will desire only Him – and that is a desire He is more than willing to fulfill.
Because it is all a matter of the heart. When the Bible speaks of the heart it is not talking about emotions but of intention. The heart is “the seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, and endeavors.” The heart is under our control. It is affected by what we indulge in – whether sin or righteousness. If God is the delight and desire of my heart, I will take no delight in sin and will instead be repulsed by it.
Yes, I have a long way to go, but this is my heart’s desire. Will it be yours too, Beloved? if you love God with all your heart there is no room in your heart to love sin.

Church History: The Secret of Success

Why bother to study Church history? For the same reason we study World History and American History and human history in general – to know where and whom we came from and to learn from their successes and failures. The early centuries of Christianity were exceedingly fruitful. We need to discover again their “secrets” to success.
The most obvious secret is their deep conviction that the gospel was true. That man was condemned and had no hope of rescuing themselves. That Jesus, the Son of God came from heaven to earth as a baby, grew to a man who lived a perfect sinless life and died, taking the sins of all mankind with Him to the grave. That He rose again, appeared to hundreds of people, and ascended to the right hand of God in heaven. Those who believe the gospel to the marrow of their bones will declare it. They can’t help it – it just bubbles forth like lava from a volcano.
Another insight we gain from church history is the practical expression of love among Christians. They took to heart Jesus’ command to “Love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 13:34). It was a different kind of love – a selfless, generous, genuine love that stood out in the world. Tertullian said that the pagans remarked, “See how these Christians love one another.” Christians who were filled with the love of Christ expressed that love in practical ways within the church and without.
And strangely, persecution watered the soil of many souls. Huge crowds gathered to watch Christians meet their death in the colosseums of Rome, drawn by the thrill of blood and gore. But the courage, faith, and Joyful disposition of the martyrs pierced their own hearts so that many of the onlookers came away as believers in Jesus Christ.
Now look at the witness of the church today. Are we still convinced that the gospel is true? Are we living out the command of Jesus to love one another? And what of persecution? Here in the U.S., it is largely a minor matter, but in other places in the world, it is life and death. In either case, how we respond to persecution can speak louder than anything we say. And we dare not leave out the presence of the Holy Spirit who is the power behind it all. Are you filled with the Spirit, Beloved? Then be bold, be loving, and be brave. The lost world is watching. Be a witness to someone today.

Doctrines of the Faith: The Spirit and the Unbeliever

We’ve considered the work of the Holy Spirit in creation and in the believer, but how does the Holy Spirit work with the unbeliever? The Spirit has one chief responsibility regarding the unregenerate person: conviction. Jesus said, “When [the Spirit of God] comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8-9). The word “convict” means to refute something or someone with a suggestion of shame. And that is the heart of the matter. Shame has become the enemy. But sin is shameful. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin by calling it what it is: something to be ashamed of.

Perhaps now you see the problem. Our culture has made sin something to be proud of, something to celebrate, and something to hold up as the highest goal for humanity. Those who are caught up in sinful lifestyles are told there is nothing to be ashamed of. Any message from the church that even hints at the shame of sin is shot down. Honestly, I would expect that from a world that is under the devil’s control (1 Jn 5:19).

Unfortunately, the church is falling right in step. Many churches are doing away with the conviction of sin. There is no shame. And that is to humanity’s detriment. Paul explained it like this: “Where there is no law there is no transgression” (Rom 4:15). When the church refuses to preach and teach the truth about sin, the world reasons that there is no such thing. Thus, they feel no shame for their actions. Shame is not a weapon, it is an arrow that points sinners to the cross.

One other way the Holy Spirit convicts of sin is through Christians. No, not bashing people over the head with the Bible or pointing self-righteous fingers in their faces. Christians convict unbelievers of sin by living holy lives. The truth is, a faithful Christian doesn’t have to say a word to bring about the Spirit’s conviction. The contrast between light and dark is obvious. Paul said, “God did not call us to be impure, but to live holy lives” (1 Thess 4:7). Lives that stand out. Why do you think the world hates true believers? Why do you think satan is working so hard to make the church look like the world?

The question is, are you and I helping the Spirit’s cause or hurting it? Beloved, what does your life say?

Spiritual Hindsight

“This is a test.” Radio stations are required by the FCC to periodically test their emergency alert system to ensure it is in proper working order before a crisis occurs. They will play the alert sound – that loud, screeching, beeping sound – and then tell their listeners: “This is a test.” I wish they would tell us that upfront. It would save me from a moment of panic.
I thought about that when I read Deuteronomy 13:1-4. Go read it and come back – I’ll wait for you right here.
Deuteronomy is the retelling of the Israelites’ escape from Egypt. The Lord God brought them up out of slavery to bring them into a “good land, flowing with milk and honey” (Ex 3:8). It is also Moses’ final message to the nation he led for forty years. He knows is about to die and he wants to leave them with encouragement and hope and wise instruction. Two thoughts come to my mind about verse .
First, Moses said the Lord was testing the Israelites “to find out whether you love Him with all your heart and with all your soul” (v. 3). I do not think that God was trying to gain previously unknown information. He already knows every man’s heart. John 2:24-25 says, “Jesus knew all men and what was in a man.” I believe that the testing was more for the Israelites’ benefit than God’s.
Second, these testing phases rarely come with a warning. We don’t understand what is happening or why. Job never knew that his hard season was a test to prove something to the devil. He just knew that his life had shattered and he was in misery. The Bible never says that God told Job the whole story. Maybe He did, but it would have been after the fact.
Jesus told His disciples, “You do not understand what I am doing, but later you will understand” (John 13:7). I do not understand why things have turned out as they have but I am hanging my life His promise. Because I know that He is faithful. Beloved, in all the things that don’t make sense, you and I can trust God. As the great Charles Spurgeon said, “God is too good to be unkind and He is too wise to be mistaken. And when we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart.”

Grace

Joy asks a thousand questions a day – that’s how she learns and so I try to be patient with the never-ending stream of “Why?” and “What?” and “How?” Yesterday she saw some honeybees in the ligustrum bush and started asking about what they were doing which became how do bees make honey. So after her bath, we surfed YouTube for videos about bees.  She loves to learn new things and I love to help her explore the world around her.

But sometimes she asks questions with a different motivation. We have rules in our house that have been in place all her life. They haven’t changed just because she isn’t here all the time anymore. She knows the rules well, but sometimes she will ask the question hoping to catch me off-guard and give her a different answer. I may be old and slow, but I’m no dummy. The rules are the rules.

God gave the Israelites the law – the commandments and regulations that must be strictly observed to maintain a relationship with Him. He is holy and righteous and His people must live holy and righteous lives. The law was given to instruct them in His ways and ensure their standing before Him. But the people failed to keep the law – “Everyone did as he saw fit” (Jud 21:25). Which meant they did not obey God’s law. Man was and is still sinful. Sin demands death. The Israelites relied on animals to die in their place, but that was not enough.

Then Jesus came on the scene. He said that He came to “fulfill” the law and the Prophets – but not to abolish them (Matt 5:17-20). What did He mean? The purpose and demands of the law had not changed. What changed was how one approached God. Under the law, all the rituals and rules – God’s “house rules” – must be followed to a T. But Jesus came “full of grace” (John 1:14). He lived the perfect life that man could not live. And He died to fulfill “every jot and tittle” of the law. Jesus – God in flesh – shed His divine blood to meet the demands of the law. All who receive Jesus’ work are under grace.

That means if you are a believer, you can breathe a sigh of relief because Jesus did all the hard work for you. And He sent His Holy Spirit to live in you and help you live out your holy standing. The rules haven’t changed, but how we obey them has. Beloved, you cannot; but Jesus did. Now you can live in grace.

It’s okay to have questions

Doubt can be dangerous for Christians. Doubt often causes us to distance ourselves from God. Distance leads to disobedience and soon our faith atrophies. God wants us to believe without wavering. But sometimes that’s hard. If anyone should have believed without wavering, it was John the Baptist. Even in the womb, Jesus’ cousin recognized the Lord, leaping at the sound of Mary’s voice (Luke 1: 41-45). John’s whole life was, “to prepare the way for the Lord” (Luke 3:4). He declared Jesus as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” How did he know? “The one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen, and I testify that this is the Son of God” (John 1:29-34).
Later John asked a big question, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Luke 7:20). What changed? John was in a prison cell after speaking out against the Roman king and his adulterous marriage. He had faithfully proclaimed the coming of God’s Kingdom. He had rebuked the religious elite and the irreligious royals. And rather than blessings, his efforts brought down wrath. He did what God asked of Him and the results were harsh. He would lose his head over it. Can you blame the poor fellow? Haven’t you and I questioned God for less?
With all that he knew, John – weary and discouraged – began to doubt. But Jesus didn’t chastise John. He pointed him back to the evidence. “What do you see, John?” “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor” (Luke 7:22). Look beyond your circumstances, John. You preached the coming of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 3:1). You spoke of my power (Mark 1: 7). Your own words are being fulfilled in Me. Then He added, “Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me” (Luke 7:23).
My questions made me search for answers. And those answers strengthened my faith. Ask your questions Beloved. He will not chastise you. He will give you answers that will ground and strengthen your faith. Jesus not only has the answers, He is the answer.