Trivial Pursuits

The Bible constantly warns us of two things: the pursuit of the temporary--stuff, and the pursuit of "rubbish"--the accolades of men. The reasons are obvious--but so often trivialized; which is, I suppose, to be expected. But not condoned. When our hearts are set on stuff, they are not set on the permanent--the spiritual, the "things above." And as Jesus warned us, stuff, and the worries that inevitably come with stuff, turn fruitful lives into barren lives. The things of this world are the weeds that choke out fruitfulness. "Love not" is His command. "Don't pile up" is His command. There is no satisfaction to be found in the temporary because it doesn't last. How big is your pile of stuff?
The desire for the accolades of men, the "rubbish" as Paul calls it, turns us into men pleasers. It makes our obedience eye service. Such an attitude sabotages any hope on our part of coming to know Him in all His fullness. If the voices I listen to, if the rewards I crave, are not His--are not His Spirit's leading and the Father's "well done," I lose the inner confidence of His love and our relationship is strained at best, quenched at worst. There is no satisfaction to be found in the works of the flesh--the hay and stubble of human effort designed to conspicuously gain man's approval. They will not survive the test of fire. And "fiery trials" are a certainty not a perhaps in the life of each one of His children. How big is your pile of rubbish?
And sometimes those two desires intertwine, do they not? We seek stuff to gain the approval of men. We accumulate in order to impress. And what a collection of garbage that will be. And then we spend our days enveloped by worry and anxiety and insecurity lacking the contentment that can only be found by resting confidently in His love, His provision, His Spirit's inner peace and witness. Beware. Don't let your heart, your love, be wrapped up in the trivial nature of stuff. Don't let your confidence rest in the fickleness of man's approval. Don't let a heart of good soil be inundated by the weeds of earth's worthless treasures.
"Having food and raiment" let us be content. Having a heart that longs to do only those things that please Him let us bask in His loving assurance as His faithful bond-servant and His beloved child. Do you really need more than you have? Do you really need another smile instead of His? And yes, those are rhetorical questions. In our hearts, we know the answers. In our lives lets by His Spirit's empowering grace live the answers day by day.

Unspeakable

"Wide, wide as the ocean, high as the heavens above, deep, deep as the deepest sea is my Savior's love. I, tho' so unworthy, still am a child of His care; for His Word teaches me, that His love reaches me, everywhere."

"For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen."

"Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gifts!"

"Wide, wide as the ocean, high as the heavens above, deep, deep as the deepest sea is my Savior's love. I, tho' so unworthy, still am a child of His care; for His Word teaches me, that His love reaches me, everywhere."

A Hearing Heart

We know the story. God came to a young man named Solomon who was going to be king over His people and told him: "Whatever you want. Just ask and it's yours." And what he asked for and what God gave him was--literally--a "hearing heart." If only I could stop and reflect on that truth--that a wise heart is a hearing heart--a listening heart. Do you desire godly wisdom? Be slow to speak and quick to listen. Let the meditation of your heart be acceptable in His sight. Be still and listen for His voice. Nothing gets in the way of discernment more quickly than doing more talking than I do listening. Listening even at times builds discernment in the heart of the one who is sharing his heart's problem with me. Numerous times as someone has "talked through" his or her dilemma with me, the solution to the problem becomes abundantly clear to that person without me saying anything more than, "Yes, you're right. That's what would honor God in your situation." How often has it been rewarding to respond to a question with silence, with time alone to think and pray through the "answer" before actually going to the person and saying anything at all. Quietness and reflection--part of a hearing heart--are invaluable in developing godly discernment. Why are we so afraid to say, "Can I pray and think about that and then I'll get back to you with an answer?"--instead of just blurting out, thoughtlessly, the first thing that comes to mind? And how often have I shunned wise counsel--a fool's pride--instead of listening, hearing, those whom God has given insight and wisdom, those in whom God has already developed a listening heart, a teachable spirit. May those whom we love and care for, those who come to us for help, know that they will find a listening, hearing heart. There can be no godly discernment without such a heart.

"Make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding."

Fear of the Lord

"The fear of the Lord is to hate evil."

First, in my own life. Then in the lives of those I love. Then in the culture in which I live. Why?

Evil affects my relationship with my Savior.
Consequences. There are always consequences for evil in anyone's life and in the culture in which I live. Guaranteed. The God of love is the God of righteousness. And justice.

"The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be shortened."

"In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence."

"The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life."

"The fear of the Lord is the instruction for wisdom, and before honor comes humility."

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom"

My attitude toward evil reflects the depth of my reverence for my God. And the breadth of my wisdom.

I cannot love God with all my heart and soul and mind and strength and love my neighbor as myself if I do not hate evil.

Give Thanks

For the redeemed, nothing is more essential on a moment by moment basis than a heart of gratitude.

A vile sinner by birth and choice, He has made you His new creation.
In the time of trouble, He shelters you under His wings.
When your world is in turmoil, He is your Rock of deliverance.
When the winds of adversity roar, He empowers you with the eagle wings of faith.
When men deliberately carry out their evil schemes against you, He transforms it into His lovingkindness.
When the night is long, His mercies are new every morning.
When everyone else forsakes you, great is His faithfulness.
When you come to your senses in the midst of the pig pen, He and His angels will dance and rejoice before the throne of grace.
Your giants He will slay with the sword of His Spirit.
In your abject weakness He will fill you with His joy, empower you with His strength, comfort you with His grace.
In your life--He is always the I AM of your present tense: I AM the Bread of Life, I AM the Light of the world, I AM the Water of Life, I AM the Good Shepherd, I AM the Resurrection and the Life, I AM the True Vine, I AM the Way, I AM the Truth. He is your Bread, your Light, your Water of Life, your Good Shepherd, your Resurrection, your Life, Your True Vine, Your Way, your Truth. This moment and every eternal moment to come--He is your I AM.

"Praise the Lord!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty expanse.
Praise Him for His mighty deeds;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.

Praise Him with trumpet sound;
Praise Him with harp and lyre.
Praise Him with timbrel and dancing;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipes.
Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Hallelujah!"

Oh! give thanks unto your Lord, for He is good!

A Revolutionized Life

God is in control.

All things work together for good.

My God shall supply all my need.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and He will direct your paths.

If we really believed those simple truths--and lived like it, it would revolutionize our lives.

Steps

When we choose to sin and disobey God, we take a step away from a sense of His abiding presence--which makes it easier to take the next step away in disobedience.
When we choose to obey God, we draw near to Him and sense more deeply His abiding presence as He, as He promised, draws near to us--which makes the next step of obedience easier.
Mind that first step. And it's always the next one. You never take one that's insignificant.

Think

Sin begins in the mind--the thoughts. "Casting down imaginations" "Taking every thought captive to obedience." "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he."

And you don't think it matters what you feed your mind?

"Be not conformed . . . be transformed by the continual renewing of your mind"

"Here is a last piece of advice. If you believe in goodness and if you value the approval of God, fix your minds on whatever is true and honorable and just and pure and lovely and praiseworthy."

"Set your mind on things above where Christ sits at the right hand of the Father."

Cast down. Take captive. Renew. Fix. Set. How healthy is your mind? How holy--Christ-like--is your life?

Same question.

Sin

One of the Wesley brothers once said, "Give me men who love nothing but God and hate nothing but sin." Such a man was Joseph. Surely the devil had him "right where he wanted him." He had been betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery. Now, even though a slave, he found himself in a place of prominence and importance. He had gone from being abased to abounding. Then, Satan came with the lure of pleasure and sin--the daily temptation of Potipher's wife. Even though Joseph resisted day after day and tried to stay away from her, one day Satan had him with her and they were all alone. How easy for Joseph to forget God's claim on His life and enjoy the pleasure of sin for a season. No one would know. Yet, Joseph would not exchange the blessing of God for the satisfaction of the creature--his natural man and its desires. Don't think Joseph was some super human individual who was not really tempted by her. He was one hundred percent human that's why he wouldn't even be with her. You resist temptation by fleeing from it, not by trying to stand up to it on your own. Joseph defeated temptation by avoiding it and when it reached out and grabbed him, he left his coat and fled as quickly as he could. He would not forget his God even for a moment.
And what happened? He was accused and convicted of the sin anyway. But not in the eyes of God; so that, even in jail, God was with Joseph and prospered him. The only way to the palace was through the prison. Joseph's resistance to temptation--his fleeing it--put him in the place of blessing, even if in human terms it appeared that the exact opposite was true.
What will it be for you? The pleasures of sin for a season or the blessing of God in all that you do--no matter where you find yourself? The only road to blessing is to flee temptation--at full speed. Leave your coat behind if you must, but flee. God's blessing awaits.

Impact

One of the greatest impacts that trials have on our life--perhaps the greatest--is that when we find Him faithful--His presence a comfort, His grace sufficient, His strength empowering, His other kids encouraging--it deepens our love for Him.

Fear

One of the greatest enemies of faith is fear. Paul told Timothy that fear robs us of our power, our love, and our sound judgment. Think of what little a Christian has left if those three are forfeit. It would be impossible to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. It would be impossible to love your neighbor as Christ loves you.
Fear causes us to disconnect with the power God has placed within us in the person of our Helper, our Teacher, our Guide, and our Comforter--the Holy Spirit. We hesitate to yield to His leading, frustrate His sanctifying work in our lives, and render our gifts ineffectual in His service. We are afraid to trust Him with ourselves. And then though the very life of God abides within us, we become powerless--unable to minister to those to whom God has sent us.
Fear also makes us incapable of loving others as Christ loves us--faithfully, unconditionally, honestly, susceptibly. We become afraid of being hurt, afraid of being taken advantage of, and even afraid to embrace His love and forgiveness of us. We cannot love the unlovely, forgive the incorrigible, or allow ourselves to rest in His unchanging love. We become slaves to the opinions of others and to our opinions of ourselves. We fall short of the maturity God wishes to develop in us, the proven character that reveals itself through tested love. Mature love casts out all fear.
Fear affects our ability to make sound judgment as well. Our decisions are influenced by what others might think of our choices, not what God thinks. We fail to see the hand of God in our afflictions; consequently, we fail to evaluate our circumstances in light of God's truth. Being unable to trust God with all things, we wallow in the futility of our own human efforts, fret with worry, and victims of a subtle paranoia. Nothing clouds sound judgment like being fearful.
How then do I defeat fear? You must rest in, really believe in, God's promises. He is with you always. He has taken care of all your tomorrows yesterday. You can cast all your cares on Him. He is the God of lovingkindness and mercy--even as we go through the consequences of our wrong choices. The Spirit is greater than the power that is in the world. His grace is sufficient no what the depth of our weaknesses. We can survive a broken heart; in fact, a broken heart will empower us with a deeper sense of His love for us, and our need to love our neighbor.
Fear is the enemy of faith because faith is the destroyer of fear.

Endure All Things

Endurance: "rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer."

Endurance = Steadfastness

"Behold we count those blessed who endure. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful."

Love "endures all things."

Exhaustion

Physical exhaustion and spiritual exhaustion often go hand in hand. One can produce the other. As we wage a great spiritual battle, often we begin to feel the inward struggle in outward signs of listlessness and self-pity. Our spiritual wrestling wears out our physical bodies and minds. What are we to do in such a situation? Find help. It is not a sign of spiritual failure to lean on the Christian friends God has given you. It is a sign of spiritual wisdom. It takes great strength to rely on fellow travelers on the journey home. Why do you think God tells us to be sure to spend time with other believers? And I mean "tells us." It's not a suggestion. How can our Christian friends hold us up? Prayer--never hesitate to tell others how desperately you need it. Also, friends can help us by taking on some of our responsibilities from time to time--especially for those of us who haven't learned to say "no" yet. Other people can do the job just as well as you can. They have the same Holy Spirit you do to enable them. And we can also help ourselves by taking time to rest, to find a place of solitude to spend some time with Him. Rest is a holy, sacred obligation for the child of God. Our Savior, who had a body that got just as tired as mine does, often went off alone to rest and pray. Are you exhausted? Worn out by the struggles and responsibilities of life? Don't throw your hands up in despair. Throw your hands up in prayer. And go to those who love you in Christ and ask them to help you hold up your hands as well. They will be delighted to do so. And later on it will be your turn to say, "throw your arms around me and let me help you on the journey home as you so graciously helped me."
To not admit your tiredness and to try to go it alone is arrogance--spiritual arrogance. Is there anything more foolish spiritually than that?

Whim

The Holy Spirit has been given us to guide us into all truth. As we are sensitive to His leading, He teaches us God's truth, explains to us the thoughts of God revealed in His Word, and directs our behavior in line with the truths we have been taught. He is consistent in His directions. Unfortunately, we live in an age that has substituted preference for truth--for faith. We have decided that our personal ideas are legitimate commentaries on Scripture. We fit the Word of God into our lifestyles instead of adjusting our lifestyles to the teachings of God's Word. We have replaced faith with whim.
One of the areas always influenced by such leanings is our attitude toward the world. When we determine for ourselves how to live, we are always caught up in the things of the world and the pleasures we think they can afford us. But the Spirit always leads to righteous behavior. He is not a lover of the world or the things in the world. And there is no excuse for our not knowing that. When I believe that since I am redeemed by grace I can live anyway I please, I am in great error. Such a mindset and the behavior it produces cannot be tolerated by the holy God. As He told the church at Laodicea, He would rather we be cold than lukewarm. I believe that a Christian whose lifestyle is indistinguishable from the world's lifestyle yet claims that that is a lifestyle that the Holy Spirit has led him to is worse than the secret Christian who just lives like the world without claiming to be a child of God. The lukewarm Christian like the nation of Israel in the Old Testament blasphemes the name of God. When our Christian liberty causes us to violate God's truths, we are grieving the Holy Spirit that lives in us. We are sinning against His love for us--and the truth He has taught us. And misplaced love always turns our hearts to the wrong treasure. And the wrong treasure always puts us under the deception of the wrong master. Thus, the longer we pursue the wrong treasures, the more we are convinced that they are the right ones. We live in the dark convinced we are walking in the light. And the only way God can bring us back to the right love and the control of the Spirit He has placed within us is to take away our treasures. Trust me. It is better to live rightly and to love rightly with those other things in their proper place than to lose them all. But our God is a jealous God who loves us enough to return us to the right path for His Name's sake and for our good--no matter what the cost.

Consistency

Consistency is really just being what you ought to be--not being influenced by the situation to change your behavior. If we are Christ-like, we must be consistent. "For I am the Lord, I change not." "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever." God never acts in any way inconsistent with His character.
And that's the key to our consistency--God's character. The problem is that we spend our entire lives trying to sanctify or "spiritualize" the natural man--our character. That's impossible. Why else would the Lord give us a "new creation," the perfectly consistent life of God to live and reign within our hearts? The only way for me to live a consistent godly life is to quit trying to make myself more Christ-like and to surrender to the will of the life of Christ that is already in me in the person of the Holy Spirit. The natural man--that's me--can never act consistent with God's character. The Holy Spirit--God--can never fail to act consistent with His character.

"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me."

Beyond All These Things

Paul told the Colossians to "beyond all these things, put on love." The question arises, what are "these things"? What are the things that must be "put on" before I can "put on" love? Obviously they must be highly significant character traits if they are the necessary foundations for clothing ourselves in love. And the ability to put on those things that lead to love is based on our understanding that there are no distinctions in the family of God, no distinctions between those who are in Christ and who have Christ in them. There are no national distinctions, no ritual distinctions, no intellectual distinctions, no societal distinctions. We are all equals in Christ. Each of us as necessary as the other, each as vital as the other, each as loved as the other. Christ is all and in all.
What then are the foundations of love? The first is compassion. Compassion is the ability to automatically be moved by the needs of others without any regard for the character, circumstances, or choices that produced the need. Compassion, without the slightest hesitation, places one's own needs in the background and focuses on how to meet the need of the other.
The second foundation for love is kindness. Kindness never seeks to repay evil with evil. Kindness always thinks in terms of what is the best thing I can do for that person at this time. Kindness needs no reason or excuse to be kind. Kindness is not a "pay back" for an act of kindness done to you. It stands alone without any thought of "payment."
The third foundation is humility. Humility is the ability to readily, joyfully, pour oneself out for others. It is the spontaneous desire to serve others, to be the least in the kingdom of God. It is the determination to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to meet the need of another. Humility is the positive response to God's call to His servants to lay down their lives for Him by laying down their lives for others.
The fourth foundation is gentleness. Gentleness is the desire to stoop down and lift up another, the desire to come along side of one who is in pain and sorrow and say, "lean on me." Gentleness is ever attentive to the cry of the one of the one hundred who has wandered away. Gentleness thrives on restoration.
The fifth foundation is patience. Patience never watches the clock. Patience is never in a hurry and trusts the timing of God. Patience is the ability to love someone where one finds him. Patience endures. Whatever someone does or does not do in response to love affects patience not in the least. Patience waits without ever changing its character.
The last foundation is forgiveness. Forgiveness is the ability to respond to the actions of others as Christ responded, and responds, to our actions. Forgiveness sees the actions of others as paid for by the blood of Christ. Forgiveness sees every hurt as already dearly and lovingly paid for.
Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and forgiveness. All these must be "put on," worn in such a way that all can see them active in our lives, if we are going to be able to "put on" love. If any of these are missing from our daily lives, we have not yet learned love. Perhaps we have not yet accepted the truth that every believer is just as important to God and just as much God's beloved child as we are. The second commandment, "Love your neighbor as yourself," is just the first commandment put in practical, everyday, demonstrable language. We must put on love.

Hindrance

I think that one of the things we struggle with as believers is the refusal to set aside those things that are a hindrance to our Christian walk--be it sin or something I've become more attached to, more devoted to, than to Him and His desire for my life. The refusal to confess sin--a choice that takes me one deliberate step farther into the darkness away from Him--hinders my fellowship with the God who is light. I lose all sense of His presence and the joy and peace that that affords me in my daily walk. The refusal to lay aside for His sake something or someone that has become more important to me than He is--my latest idol--reflects my soul's desire to worship me and my wisdom.
The really idiotic thing about these choices is that they are perceived as a matter of freedom--being in control. The exact opposite it true. Romans clearly warns us that the sins in our lives are chains--bondage, not freedom. Giving into them or holding on to them doesn't fulfill my desire and free me from their stranglehold, but instead, such choices create in me a deepening attachment and dependence. Our not being able to give up the thing that the Spirit has shown us is a hindrance to our walk only proves that it is our master and that we are its slave. It has power over us to control our choices. Power that belongs to the Holy Spirit, the person God has given us to lead us into the way that we should go, the way that sets us free. We wonder at the weight of our struggle toward sanctification when we ourselves are the ones forging the chains around our feet. And the solution is so simple. Confess, let go, walk in the light. And it is something we must do every day.
When I agree with God about the sin in my life--that it is indeed sin, or when I agree with God that something, some person, or some idea is keeping me from full devotion to His right to my life, He sets me free to do what ought to be, and needs to be, done. Such a choice will renew my sense of His presence, bathe my walk in the light of His truth, and reflect to others the freedom and joy that comes from pleasing Him daily.

Eternity

We have the wrong opinion of eternity--of everlasting life. First, we always picture it as something that hasn't started yet, as something future. But eternity has always existed. It is a "now" not a "yet to come." At this moment God sits on His throne in "eternity present" just as He sat on His throne in "eternity past" and just as He will sit on His throne in "eternity future." He is, not He was or He will be. His name is the great "I Am." It was that exact truth that Jesus used to admonish the Sadducees when they tried to make a joke of the idea of eternal life and the supernatural. "I Am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." With that rebuke He silenced those "intellectuals" who tried to deny the existence of eternity. God is the God of the living, not the dead. "He who believes in me shall never die."
And I do not have to wait "to die" to experience eternal life. The moment the Holy Spirit regenerated me and made me a child of God, an escapee from death's sting, I began to live eternal life. I am already a child of eternity. How did Paul put it, "Christ, in you, the hope of glory." And that's an important concept to remember on a daily basis. Often we are told to be careful what we do or say because we do and say it in the presence of God. Yet, for the child of God, it's so much more than that. I do not merely live in God's presence, God's presence lives in me. That's why everything I do is so significant. I am in fellowship with Him--a "partnership," a participation exists. He participates in everything I do. It is no wonder that my apathy toward the spiritual can grieve the Holy Spirit who resides within me. It is no wonder that my failure to spend time in the Word and in prayer leaves me spiritually listless and insecure. I don't allow the Spirit to lead me; instead, I force Him to come along with me. I "drag" him from place to place--and claim He is a burden.
As a child of God, you have begun to live your eternity. You have eternal life now. God's presence is in you. Live in such a way. Live a life dominated by the indwelling presence of God.