January 16, 2010

"He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give." Matthew 10:1-8

Pat Robertson's statement regarding Haiti being a cursed nation may have been ill-timed and misapplied toward a natural disaster, but it is not entirely wrong. While I doubt that the devasting earthquake was a judgment for their spiritual darkness, I do believe that much of their extreme poverty and vulnerability is do the spiritual and political oppression they suffer.

Their government has been controlled by Godless despots for several generations who have oppressed the people while empowering and enriching themselves. This greed and tyranny has improverished their people and stripped them of individual opportunity. Any government that uses its power against its people will eventually crush the spirit of its people. That is Haiti.

Most of the organizations that exist in Haiti to assist the Haitian people are American faith-based organizations. They are there to bring the hope of the Gospel and to meed the physical and spiritual needs of the people to relieve their suffering, heal their diseases, provide food and clothing to improve their quality of life. It is was Christ commissioned His Church to do. The People of God are there to do what the Haitian government will not or cannot do.

As you watch the world mobilize to respond to the overwhelming suffering wrought by this devastating natural disaster, notice which nation takes the lead and contributes the bulk of the money, supplies, expertise and manpower to the helpless Haitians. It will be us - Americans! That is how it should be since they are our neighbors and since we are so blessed.

But what is it that has given us such superior resources to allow us to meet their needs without disturbing our own? Why are we so blessed and why are they so destitute? Two words: Faith and Freedom. Our desire to help and our ability to help are both results of those two powerful and fundamental principles that empower our people.

Most of the schools, hospital, clinics, orphanages, and churches that currently exist in Haiti and provide the limited measure of hope enjoyed by Haitians exist as extensions of American faith and freedom. We are still executing the mission that Jesus gave these twelve when He sent them out.

As you pray for the Haitians. As you give generously. As you watch the hurt, hunger and hopelessness met and ministered to by American doctors, nurses, first-responders, soldiers, relief workers, and missionaries, thank God for our faith and our freedom. Think how much worse the death, disease and destitution would be if America did not have the will or the wealth to respond. And pray for America - that our time honored blessings of faith and freedom will not be lost. Both are under assault even as I write these words.

Whether Pat Robertson's claim that Haiti has been cursed because of a deal with the devil is open for debate. But it should serve as a cautionary wake up call to America that finds itself at a moral and political crossroads. Will we cling to our faith and freedom or will we make a deal with the devil?

By the way, regardless of what you think of Robertson's statement, he has put his money where is mouth is. His Operation Blessing has sent over $4 billions to needy people worldwide. If you choose to criticize him do it on your knees with your wallet open.

January 15, 2010

"The length of our days is seventy years — or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away." Psalm 90:10

The journey of life is marked by milestones and landmarks. I went speeding past one today as I marked my 60th birthday. That blur in my rearview mirror must be my life!

God has been incredibly good to me! As I look back I and review my life I see His footprints and fingerprints all over the place! I have been blessed beyond belief. And the good news is - I still am!

First, He blessed me with a godly mother. More than any single human being, she has shaped my life. She is one of my heroes. I have am thankful for the family I have. My sisters, brothers, my great children and grandchildren. As well as a large number of nieces and nephews.

Second, I was blessed to be born in a great nation. A land of freedom and opportunity and peace and goodness. It is humbling and gratifying to be an American.

Third, He put people in my path who drew me to Jesus and significantly shaped my faith journey. I am eternally grateful to Him and to them - too numerous to name.

Fourth, He placed a calling on my life and invested gifts in me. He has allowed me the privilege of preaching and teaching His Word and serving His church. I hope to leave a legacy of faith that others will want to follow.

Fifth, He miraculously provided me with a life-partner who has made me significantly better as a person and as a minister. And we aren't through yet!

Sixth, He has blessed me with incredible health, strength and energy that has allowed me to serve him well for a long time. I don't know how long I will enjoy this level of health, but either way I will use whatever strength I have to serve Him. In addition, my wife, my kids and grandkids have also enjoyed great health.

And, He has enriched my life with a host of friends whom I treasure more as the years pass. As I look over my Facebook page I have been flooded with greetings from friends I have known over the years. Some of the friends I grew up with and have known for over 50 years have checked in. Friends that I made in college have checked in. People I have been privilege to serve as pastor from the various churches I pastored, many of them have checked in. Lots of my new friends from FredWes, this amazing church I am serving now, have taken the time to send greetings.

Hitting 60 is sort of a sobering time! According to the Scriptures I am in the home stretch of my race. The Word says that 70 or 80 years is about what we can expect. Only God knows what that number is, and I am fine with that because He has been so faithful with the days He has given me so far! I have always been motivated by the attitude that my best days are still five years ahead! I see no reason to change that!

Pray for me that I will run well on this last leg of the race and run through the tape! Thanks for sharing my journey with me and making it memorable! As gratifying as it is to look back - the best is yet to come!

January 14, 2010

"He answered, 'I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.'" Genesis 3:10

This is a very heart-breaking encounter between God and Adam. It shows the death of innocence and the end of intimacy with God. Things would never be the same. However, this encounter is also very instructive. Let's see what we can learn from their misdeeds.

Observation One - It takes more than being honest with God to be intimate with God.

After Adam's sin he played "hide and seek" with God. He hid and God came seeking Him. When God found him, Adam confessed to his sin. He didn't lie to God. He told the truth. But he was still hiding from Him. Agreement with God did not restore oneness with God.

Our corollary would be when we confess our sins to Christ. He promises He will "forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness". That act of faith can bring us into relationship with God but not automatically into intimacy with him.

Observation Two: Adam's honest confession didn't remove the consequences of his sin.

Adam reveals three damaging consequences of sin in his confession - guilt, fear and shame. Those negative emotions caused him to hide from God.

Guilt is the result of moral failure. Adam felt guilty because he was! He sinned against his own spirit because God gave him a clear command and he deliberately disobeyed. Fear is the result of knowing he was in danger of the judgment. The shame comes as a result of his inadequacy apart from God. These are three very strong negative effects that Adam had to overcome to regain intimacy with God. They kept him chained to his past and unable to enjoy the moment. He was never able to overcome those consequences and restablish the intimate walk with God he had once known. He could hide his sin but not remove it. Adam was doomed to wander on the edge of Paradise the rest of his day. He became a recipient of the grace and mercy of God but never again enjoyed the intimate presence of God.

Observation Three: Intimacy is being spiritually, morally and emotionally naked before God.

Before Adam sinned, he and even were completely naked before God and absolutely comfortable. There was nothing hidden and everything fully revealed. Sin changed that for Adam.

Because of Adam we are born hiding from God. We inherit a nature riddled infected with guilt, fear and shame. How do we come out of hiding? How do we shed the guilt, fear and shame in order to feel like we belong in the presence of God?

Honesty is a good start. Facing the truth about who we and the truth about Who He is and surrendering to that truth will usher us into relationship with Christ. The truth is that it takes faith in the Second Adam to deliver us from Adam. Agreeing with that truth and confessing it will get you into a relationship with God but it won't gain you intimacy.

What does it mean to be intimate with God? It means allowing Him complete access to every area of your life and earnestly seeking to know Him completely. It means clinging to God with the complete absence of guilt, fear and shame. It means coming confidently and comfortably into His presence and feeling you belong.

Doesn't that sound good! It's what the First Adam lost you and what the Second Adam won back for you. He took your guilt! He removed your fear! He absorbed your shame! Don't be content to dwell on the edge of Paradise, enter in and walk intimately with your Creator!

January 13, 2010

"So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life." Genesis 3:23-24

When was the last time you were accused of being perfect?

When was the last time you had a day where you did everything perfectly?

Can you remember a day when your thought and attitudes were perfect?

Do you know anyone who has?

If you are like me, you are perfectly and painfully aware of your imperfections.

So why do we look for the perfect partner, the perfect job, the perfect church, the perfect pastor, the perfect politician, the perfect child, the perfect golf swing, the perfect vacation or even a perfect night's sleep?

Being so flawed and imperfect, where does this nagging notion of perfection come from? Why do we long for perfection when we are incapable of achieving it?

The answer, like many answers about life and human nature, are found right here in Genesis. In this instance, look to the last couple of verses in Genesis 3.

We were created perfect by a Perfect God and placed in a perfect place in perfect relationships and hard-wired for perfection. The Genesis account tells us we were created in the "image of God". Perfection is a huge part of that image.

But, when perfection was not enough for Adam and Eve, they squandered it. Through the means of doubt, delay, deception and desire, they were made to believe that they could improve on perfection by replacing God.

When perfection wasn't enough, it was lost. Ever since Eden, we have longed for perfection. We have dreamed of recreating that paradise. Empires have been built trying to recapture paradise. "Isms" have been created and imposed with the goal of creating the perfect society and recrating paradise. We are still trying to create a world-wide utopia.

Until you understand how we were created, why God created us that way, what we have lost and why we lost it - you cannot understand this relentless inner yearning for perfection.

No wonder we get frustrated. Ever feel like this - "So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?" Romans 7:21-24

One strong evidence of the existence of God is that an imperfect race of people have within their consciousness a notion and a yearning for perfection. Where did that come from? It was wired into us by God. It is the remnant of a paradise lost.

So, are we doomed to live in frustration? Should we reject all notions and desire for perfection? Should we resign ourselves to our corrupt and fallen state? Should we pursue the deception that we can recreate a paradise on earth?

I have an idea!

Why don't you stop chasing perfection and seek the Perfect One? Don't mourn the Paradise lost, prepare for the better one He has gone to prepare for you. Give up on the concept of perfection and get to know the Person of perfection. Confess your imperfection to Him. Familiarize yourself with the Perfect Word of God. Read it regularly. Memorize it. Live by it.

Your need for perfection will either drive you or it will draw you. Let it draw you to Him. Begin today!

Sounds like a perfect plan to me!

January 12, 2010

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' " "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it." Genesis 3:1-6

How did you do with temptation yesterday? Are you using what you are learning? Is what you are learning helpful?

To date we have seen how temptation unfolded for Adam and Eve. First, the Tempter got them to doubt, then he got them to delay, and then he used deceit. Those three elements are a part of every temptation. It is not particularly original but it has been effective for centuries. But the reason it works is more a function of the the fourth aspect of temptation - DESIRE.

The desireable "bait" that hooked them in was the promise that they "would be like God". How did the Tempter know that would be an alluring line? Because it is the one he fell for. It was his desire to rebel against God and usurp Him was the desire that led to the original sin. That desire to be in charge, to have control, to escape accountability is a fatal flaw in the human character. Unless you can subdue that desire you will never be able to resist temptation.

Sadly, the bottom line of temptation is - we sin because we want to. James confirms this truth, "When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." James 1:13-15

Doubt breaks down your resistence to sin.

Delay makes sin look more enticing.

Deceit helps you rationalize your sin.

But temptation is not sin UNTIL WE ACT ON IT and we act on it because we have SINFUL desires.

That explains the primary difference between the first Adam who did yield to temptation and the Second Adam who did not. Jesus was determined not to sin. He never gave in to doubt but clung to the truths He knew about God and His character. He didn't delay and give temptation a second thought. He resisted it quickly and decisively. Nor, did He allow Himself to be deceived about sin. But, the defining difference between the first Adam and the Second was desire.

Adam and Eve sinned because they had a desire to replace God. Jesus WAS God but surrendered that right. He didn't misuse His authority but surrendered it to resist sin. His desire to obey God was greater than His desire to elevate Himself.

Doubt, delay, deceit and desire. That is the profile of a temptation. It has never been a mystery. We have had the example of Adam and Eve for millenia. So, with such a clear understanding of the Evil One's strategy how do we continue to fall?

The answer is most disturbing - WE WANT TO.

Until that desire changes, temptation will continue struggle.

Sure sounds like you need a change in your desires. Who can do that?

Maybe, Jesus - and you!

January 11, 2010

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' " "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it." Genesis 3:1-6

Since temptation is something we deal with on a daily basis, I thought I would spend a few days dealing with it.

Thus far we have established that temptation involves doubt. The Tempter caused Eve to question the character and authority of God. And the second step was delay. Eve stood and gave the Serpent a second thought rather than dismissing him and fleeing.

That brings us to the third step of temptation - deceit. If the Tempter would just tell outright lies, it would be easy to resist temptation. You would hear it and say, "That's ridiculous!" and laugh it off!

But the Evil One is far more cunning than that. Temptation always involves a version of the truth or the truth applied to a wrong conclusion. After he gets you to doubt and after you give it a second thought, then your mind becomes fertile ground for seeds of deceit. When you doubt the truth you will believe the lie.

Our situation is now more complicated than Adam and Eve's. Remember how I said that sin complicates? Here's an example. Because of Adam's sin, you and I now inherit a sinful nature. What that means is that our nature is deceived. What that means is we believe lies easier than we believe truth. So, if Satan could get Adam and Eve to sin when they had a perfect nature, guess what your chances are.

You need to take your cues from the Second Adam, Jesus. When He was tempted He did not delay to respond with the truth. He immediately confronted the deceit with truth - the Truth from God's Word.

The first thing you must do is give your heart to Jesus and receive Him as your Savior. That will connect you with Truth, since He IS the Truth. Also, His Holy Spirit will become active in your life and He is the Spirit of Truth. When you are a Christian you will more readily distinguish truth from lies.

Secondly, saturate your mind with the Scriptures. Hide the truth in your heart and it will transform your mind.

Thirdly, if you are a believer, surrender to the Holy Spirit to fill you and He will take away your old nature and give you the heart and mind of God.

Doubt, delay, and deceit. Its a deadly combo. You had better be prepared to defeat it or, like Adam and Eve, it will damn you.

TRUTH!

January 10, 2010

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' " "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it." Genesis 3:1-6

Temptation has been around longer than man. It goes way back to the Fall of Lucifer, the original sinner who influenced one-third of the angels into joining his rebellion. As a result, they were all booted from Heaven along with him. In my last post I began an examination of temptation saying that temptation begins with doubt. The Serpent got Eve to doubt the God's Word and His character.

Today, I want to take a look at the second aspect of temptation - delay.

When temptation comes to you, run from it as quickly as you can. Be like Joseph who ran right out of his garment when Potipher's wife tried to seduce him. If only Eve had been so inclined! But instead she stood there listening to the Tempter and looking at the fruit.

I believe it was St. Augustine who said, "I can't stop a bird from landing on my head, but I can keep him from building a nest in my hair." What was he saying? "Don't delay around temptation." If you do, temptation will become sin. You must leave before your resistence wears down.

The longer you think about sinning the more likely you are to do it, so why delay? Delayed obedience is disobedience. Disobedience, of course, is sin.

If you want to defeat sin and resist temptation don't say, "maybe" where God has said, "no!"

Doubt and delay are two powerful aspects of temptation that make it hard to defeat. Learn from Eve's mistake and don't repeat her delay. The moment temptation shows up, you ship out!