Create in Me a Clean Heart

In Matthew 6 Jesus continued his sermon on the mount and addressed the issue of doubt, worry, and fear. He said, consider the lilies of the field and the fowls of the air. They toil not neither do they spin, yet Solomon in all of his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If he so clothed the birds of the air and the flowers of the field, will he not much more take care of you, O ye of little faith?

Men of little of faith are like children; they fear the deep end of the pool. They have not learned to trust in the Lord with all their hearts and lean not unto their own understanding. Jesus said, What’s different between you Children of Israel and the Gentiles… the heathen who have no relationship with God? They worry about the cares and the affairs of this world. What makes you different from them? Jesus said, I’ll give you the resources you will need, but you will use these blessings to bless others… by working with your hands from a heart of love to accomplish the purpose for which I have prepared you. In so doing, set your affections on things above and seek ye first the kingdom of God. God will be your sufficiency for blessing you and your family as you use the resources your Father’s glory. Don’t worry about having your needs met… God will bless and abound the work of your hands if you look unto me. Therefore, Seek not worldly treasures. Instead, seek treasures in heaven and not upon earth…. Then when you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all these physical things shall be added unto you.

Most people who consider themselves Christians, have no passion, zeal, and fervor for the things of God. They keep their light of Christ hidden under a bushel basket.

Faith is a muscle that needs to be exercised. Galatians says, neither circumcision… the keeping of the Old Testament law… nor uncircumcision… the ways of the heathen gentiles… availed any thing. As Solomon said in Eccleastes, everything upon this earth that is done for our own vain purposes will come to naught. Galatians 5 says, the only thing that really matters is believing faith that worketh in love. Love activates, energizes, invigorates and exercises the faith-muscle that appropriates God’s blessings into fruition… Therefore, be not weary in well doing…. God will sustain your effort. Then in patiently working, God gives the blessing at the time of harvest.

Our Heavenly Father is intimately acquainted with all of our ways. He numbers each hair on our head. Wherever we go, God is there…. He sees all and is ever present. Therefore David said, search me and know my heart… test my anxious thoughts. Create in me a clean heart, O Lord… a heart dedicated to you… and lead me into the way everlasting.

As we look at the world around us, as the lyric from The Music Man says, “there’s trouble in River City.” There is strife, contention, chaos, and confusion all around us… the devil is up to his old tricks. His job is to divide and conquer… Ultimately his purpose is to separate our hearts from God’s heart. To look at the world we’ll be stressed. To look at others we’ll be distressed. To look in the mirror, we’ll be depressed. However…. To look unto Jesus, we’ll be blessed. Therefore, turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim… in the light of his glory and grace.

Sin separates our heart from God’s heart. Sin is missing the mark. However the emphasis of the word sin, is not on the missing… instead the emphasis is on the mark itself. The mark is the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. You have to look at the target, focus on the target, and then concentrate on and aim deliberately at the target in order to hit the mark. The target is God’s righteousness…. Jesus Christ himself. For he who was without sin was made the perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in Him. If we’re walking in close proximity with him…. He will fill our field of vision. It’s impossible to miss the target at point blank range… when we follow close by his side.

The devil will distract our attention from Jesus Christ… the truth of God and his word. He’s up to his old tricks. He tempted Eve like he tempts us today. He questions the love of God and the Word of God.

To work on our relationships, first we must have our vertical priorities in alignment. Our first priority is to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness….. You treasure that which you love. To love God above all is to treasure treasure in heaven and not upon earth… for where you treasure is, there will your heart be also.

The unbelievers questioned the Apostle Paul… they said, you’re one of those hypocritical Pharisees. How dare you judge us according to your impossible standards of the law of sin and death? However, Paul said, I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that (Holy Spirit) which He has committed unto me against that day of righteous judgement…

David said, search me O God and know may heart and see if there be any hurtful way of unrighteousness thing in me… Cleanse me and lead me in your way… test me… try me and prove my heart. Through the testing of trial and tribulation, the pressure of the test will reveal God’s character in us. For tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience…. God’s tested character, and experience hope… the hope of the resurrection and heaven. And hope maketh not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given to us.

The source of sin is the nature of the flesh that we inherited from Adam’s fall.. The god of self and his domain is heavily defended territory. How do we defeat the god of self…. According to Corinthians…. The battle is for hearts and minds. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal… they are not of the flesh, but spiritual to the pulling down of the adversary’s spiritual strongholds. The way to pull down these selfish strongholds is “casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ…

To live for Christ, we must die to self…. To our sin nature. For I was crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life that I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

Life upon this earth is but a vapor…. A nanosecond in eternity. Life on earth will soon be passed, only that which is in Christ shall last…. Therefore set your affection on things above, not on things of this earth… search me O Lord and know my heart… Create in me a new heart O Lord and cleanse me from all unrighteousness….

…; that with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength I may love you above all…. To treasure treasures in heaven…To live this life pressing toward Your mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, to the praise of the glory of Thy grace!

Your brother in Christ,
Michael

Yank the Plank

According to 2 Timothy 1:7, God has not given us a spirt of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. In Christ we are complete…. He is our sufficiency in all things. Colossians 2:10 says, We are complete in him who is the head of all principality and power.

God gave us his word so we would be furnished… through and throughly furnished for all good works. Jesus Christ himself is the word of God made manifest. For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which he has before ordained that we should walk in them.

Jesus continued his Sermon on the Mount In Matthew 7. Jesus said, Judge not lest ye be not judged….. Take the log out of your own eye so that ye can see clearly to take the speck out of your brtother’s eye. The problem is not hte speck in your brother’s eye. The real problem is the log in your own eye. The log is the two by four of judgementalism. A critical spirt will kill any relationship. When we criticize, condemn, and complain, then we are in the devil’s ball park…. We are not in hte sphere of God’s will. The devil is the deceiver and the accuser. He fills the hearts of our fallen nature with a critical spirit.

To see clearly you need to “yank the plank.” The plank is the critical spirit. We cannot judge righteously if we’re looking down on another person from a position of so-called self righteous indignation. This is the problem with the Pharisees. They thought they were superior to others and could judge others according to their own self righteous standard. However, only God is the righteous judge. To judge others is the height of blasphemy, inserting ourselves of judges of righteousness where only God himself has the right to judge.

Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? When we speak with a heart of vengeance and vindictiveness, then we’re not spokesmen of the One True God. Instead we’re spokesmen for the god of this world, the devil himself. He is the accuser…. He’s the one who declares us guilty as charged.

However, Jesus Christ who was without sin was made the perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in him. In the spiritual battle, we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against spiritual wickedness from on high.

The devil’s ploy is to set our hearts in the affairs of this world instead of in the kingdom of heaven. We often have a good plan to do good unto others with good intentions. However, as Mike Tyson said, “everyone has a plan of action until he gets punched in the mouth.” Then when blind rage takes over, you’re out of control. You’re in the ring with the devil himself.

A critical spirt is a spirit of condemnation, of focusing on sin, iniquity, guilt, and shame. It’s easy to find fault. When we’re acutely aware that someone has offended us, we fall into the trap of a victim mentality. A critical spirit kills relationships. It builds a resentment bank against the other person… after all, they’ve offended me by violating my so-called right not to be offended.

In counseling sessions, Pete meets individually with husbands and wives. He asks them to list the offenses of the other spouse. Often women will fill up three pages of offenses their husbands have committed. In one such session Pete said to the wife, I’m sure what you said about your husband is true, but I’m more concerned about you. I’m concerned about your critical spirt.

Jesus said, blessed are they when men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake, for great is your reward in heaven.

Pete recalls that he stopped illegally to drop off his son at Jr. high school. A woman in the car behind him honked and gave him a one-finger salute. Pete was about to return the salute when he felt God’s hand on his and heard the voice of God. It said, we need to talk. “When you break the law, I give pagans the right to correct you.” You don’t know what that woman was going through. Maybe she just had an argument with her husband and was late for work. You need to learn to recompense no man evil for evil… but to respond to others with a heart of love.

Pete’s son Chris is a missionary in Scotland. Even though he pastored a church there, his wife knew he had fallen into a season of depression. He was always angry but he and his wife couldn’t uncover the root of his anger. She asked God to intervene and then enrolled her husband in a Pastor’s retreat. At the Pastors’ retreat, Christ was instructed to make a list of everyone who had made him angry. Then his assignment was to write a letter of forgiveness to each person on his list. While Chris was writing the third letter, he heard God’s voice: “They didn’t do that to you, I did.” Chris was convicted and prayed, Father please forgive me. At that moment Chris felt as if the weight of the world lifted from his shoulders. He felt the chains that had weighed him down drop to the floor. He could suddenly see and perceive clearly from a spiritual perspective. At that moment he understand Jesus’ model prayer, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

When we discern in our own hearts, God’s grace and mercy toward us, then we will have no problem forgiving others. He forgave us when we were unforgivable. The wages of sin is death. But even while we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly.

Without God’s mercy and grace resulting in our salvation through Jesus Christ, we would not have the capacity to forgive others. Jesus said, “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:23-24)

From a heart motivated by the love of God, we can forgive those who have wronged us…. Even when we’re maligned and mistreated, Jesus said in the last beatitude: Blessed are they when men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake, rejoice and be exceeding glad, for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

From a pure heart we can love God above all. Through the pain and affliction of this world and despite unjust and unkind treatment from the unsaved, we can pray for them as Jesus prayed for the soldiers who nailed him to the cross, Father forgive them, for they know not what they do. Then we can be a living epistle showing them the example of Christ’s unconditional love. mercy, goodness and grace. For it is God’s goodness and kindness that calls a man to repentance unto salvation… For Jesus with a heart of love, came not into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.

Therefore, judge not lest ye be not judged…. Yank the plank of judgementalism, for in Christ we have been judged righteous, not because of who we are but because of who he is…. Because In that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly….

…That in forgiving others we may be witnesses of God’s grace and mercy to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael

Little Faith

God never honors fear. He always honors faith. The job of the Holy Spirit is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. The gospel is both good news and bad news. The Sermon on the mount is disturbing to men of this world.

The beatitudes are Jesus’ call to change attitudes…. From the attitudes of complaining about the affliction of this world unto God’s blessed beautiful attitudes. Jesus said, blessed are they when men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven.

Jesus said to the multitude, consider the birds of the air and the lilies of the field… If God clothes the birds of the air and the flowers of the field, will he not much more take care of your needs… O ye of little faith. If our faith is believing in our own ability, then we are men of little faith. Jesus said, who can by worrying add even one cubit to his height?

After Jesus had ministered to the multitudes in Mark 4, he said to his disciples, let’s get into the boat and go over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. As they were crossing, a violent storm arose. Even though some of the disciples were seasoned fishermen, their boat filled with water and they thought they would drown. Meanwhile, Jesus was asleep in the stern. They woke him up and said, “Sir, don’t you care if we perish?” Mark 4:39-40 says, “And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?”

In the book of Daniel, Belshazzar, king of Babylon was having a drunken banquet with a thousand of his governors, their wives and concubines. He decided to pour wine into the sacred temple vessels that his father had taken from the temple at Jerusalem. As Belshazzsr’s guests drank the wine and continued their drunken debauchery, the figure of a man’s hand appeared and wrote on the wall of the banquet hall…..”Thou art weighed in the balance and found wanting.”

We are all sinners… we all have inherited the sin nature from Adam’s original sin. The wages of sin is death. In our own power we cannot balance the scales of God’s righteous judgement. Everyone is weighed in the balance and found wanting… no man is worthy of life eternal.. However, Jesus Christ who was without sin paid the price to balance the scales of our debt of sin.

There are four responses to the invitation to come to Christ for salvation. The first response is outright rejection. Atheists and those who worship the things of this world ridicule and reject outright Jesus’ invitation for salvation.

The second category is those who attend church, but have never made a commitment to accept salvation on God’s terms. They remain lukewarm regarding the message of salvation. They may have accepted Christ but have not committed to Jesus Christ as a disciplined follower. These are the ones whom Jesus said, O ye of little faith. They do not back up their faith with believing action in obedience to Jesus Christ.

The third category is those who think they are saved but they really are not. They believe in a works-based salvation and think that their self-righteous life will earn them entry into the kingdom of heaven.

The fourth category is those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. As Jesus said, my sheep know my voice and they know me, and they follow me and I give unto them eternal life.

The devil distracts people to focus on their own pain… on how others have offended them and hurt them. The devil makes men of this world focus on their victim-hood. Victims remain angry and resentful because of the pain and tribulation that afflicts them daily.

Jesus said, think about the birds and the flowers…. They don’t toil in the field or spin thread to make their clothes. Yet God takes care of them… they thrive and are arrayed with beauty more splendid than King Solomon in his royal regalia. If God so provides for the fowl of the air and the lilies of the field, will he not much more provide for you, O ye of little faith?

Consider the Lord who promises to uphold you with the right hand of his mighty power. Will He not provide for your every need? Jeremiah 1 says, “Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. 7 But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. 8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD. 9 Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.

It’s easy to become overwhelmed by the affairs and the cares of this world. How did Jesus respond? What would Jesus do? According to Hebrews 12, Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross and is set down on the right hand of the throne of God. His joy was God’s revelation of your redemption and mine.

How do we overcome being of “little faith?” Proverbs 3 says, trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding… in all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Our identity is not in our ancestry, our accomplishments, our physical characteristics, or the accolades and praise of others. God does not see us according to our flesh…. Our earthly nature. Instead, when we are born again of God’s Holy Spirit as sons of God, we are what the Word of God says we are, not what the world says we are…

For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but we have received the spirit of adoption… the spirit of sonship, whereby we cry Abba Father, or Daddy, Daddy…. If God be for us who can be against us? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or trial or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? Nay, In all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

We were the elect of God in God’s foreknowledge… From his eternal perspective, we were seated in heavenly places before the foundation of the world. We have confidence in the day of judgement… for in Christ we shall be judged righteous… not because of who we are but because who he is.. for he who knew no sin was made the perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God In him.

When we are born again of God’s spirit, We are not “O ye of little faith.” We have received the “measure of faith” (Romans 12:3). It is the faith of Jesus Christ…. God’s Holy Spirit, Christ in you the hope of glory. Therefore, I know whom I have believed and am pursuaded that he is able to keep that Holy Spirit which he has committed unto me against that day of righteous judgement…

… that according to the faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me, we should ever live in eternity to the praise of the glory of God’s grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael

O Ye of Little Faith

Jesus repeated over and over his themes in the Sermon on the Mount. God reminds us not only who we are, but more importantly, whose we are. In Matthew 6 he reminded the multitude, you don’t need to be anxious and worrisome. Consider the fowls of the air and the lilies of the field…. They toil not neither do they spin, yet God takes care of their every need. Not even Solomon in all his royal regalia was clothed like one of these. If God takes care of them, will he not take care of you? O ye of little faith.

If we rely on our own self serving power then we are men of little faith, However, if we work out out own salvation, our completed wholeness in Christ, with awe, respect, and reverence, then God works in us to will and to do of his good pleasure. Jesus said in John 15, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” When we love God above all, then as Paul said, For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but (Believing) faith working through love.

In the days of Daniel when Israel was captive in Babylon, King Belshazzar desecrated the holy vessels from the Temple in Jerusalem. The king had Invited his one thousand governors with their wives and concubines to a banquet. While they were feasting, the king desecrated the holy vessels by using them to drink wine and sharing it with his drunken party. Then everyone in the King’s banquet hall saw the hand of a man appear and write on the wall, Mene, mene tekel upharsin. No one could interpret the strange hand writing. Finally the queen spoke up and said that Daniel, God’s prophet could interpret the writing. They summoned Daniel and he said, the meaning is ….. “thou art weighed in the balance and are found wanting”…. That night Belshazzar was killed and his son took over his throne. God is a God of mercy but he is also a God of righteous judgement.

Bill Gothard who taught youth conferences was approached by an unmarried couple at one of his training sessions. They asked him, what if we do not believe there is a God? He answered, that means that you are living in sin and are not willing to acknowledge the sin that has separated you from God.

According to John 3:19-21, And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

The Pharisees of Jesus’ time were obsessed with the letter of the Old Testament law. They thought that their righteousness was in their behavior… in the keeping in their own strict interpretation of the law’s prescriptions. However, they thought they could keep the law in their own self righteous power. Jesus said to them, In vain do they worship me, they draw nigh with their lips and speak great flattering words with their mouth, but their heart is far from me.

They thought they were worshiping God and performing miracles in Jesus’ name. However Jesus said, I will say to such people, depart from me, I never knew you.

After Jesus had spent many days ministering, he said to his disciples at the seaside, Get in the boat, we’re going over to the other side. As they were crossing the Sea of Galilee, a violent storm arose and their boat filled with water and they began to sink. They bailed and panicked as the water filled the boat. They finally woke up Jesus who was sleeping below deck. He said to the storm, “Peace be still.” Immediately the wind and waves ceased. The apostles marveled that even the weather was subject to His command. Then Jesus said to them. Why were you afraid, O ye of little faith?

There are no victims in the kingdom of God. He turns people from victims to victors. As Paul said, But thanks be to God who always give the us the victory through Christ Jesus our Lord.

When the Centurion came to Jesus and asked him to heal his daughter who was nigh unto death, Jesus said, I’ll go to your house. Then the centurion said, I’m not worthy of you to come under my roof. I am a man of Authourity like you. When I give a command, I rest in the confidence that my command will be done. Just say the word and my daughter will be healed…. Jesus marveled, I have seen no grater faith, no not in Israel…..

God never honors fear… he always honors faith. In our own power we are men to whom Jesus said, O ye of little faith. Our faith is in the object of our faith, Jesus Christ himself. Our faith is in the power of God through his son our Lord Jesus Christ. For it is Christ in us the hope of glory.

Through the trials and tribulations of this world, God will teach us the meaning of hope and the meaning of love. According to Romans 5, for tribulation worketh patience and patience experience ( His proven character in us) and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given to us.

Jesus had prayed to his Father in the Garden of Gesthemane three times, Please remove this cup of wrath of the sin of the world and the guilt and condemnation of fallen man… this cup of my innocent death. This passage does not give the answer to Jesus prayer. However, the Bible is its own best commentary. The answer to Jesus’ prayer is in Hebrews 12: Jesus Christ who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the Thorne of God. Jesus’ prayer was answered when God revealed to him the joy of your salvation and mine.

God is in the business of making men of great faith. He is alive in us when we work out the salvation he has given us… through faith He works in us and through us to will and to do of His good pleasure…. When we delight ourselves in the Lord, his delight is our delight…. His good pleasure is our good pleasure. Then in the power of the faith of Christ in us, God works in us and through us to will and to do of his good pleasure…

That by believing faith that works in love, we may live to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael

Yank the Plank

Jesus gave an invitation to the multitude in The Sermon on the Mount. His invitation into the kingdom of God competed for their attention. It was diametrically opposed to the world’s invitation. The world says that you should judge others from a self righteous position of superiority.

However, in Matthew 7:1-5 Jesus said, “JUDGE not, that ye be not judged.
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
3 And why beholdest thou the mote (splinter) that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam (the plank) that is in thine own eye?
4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

Jesus said, “yank the plank.” The plank is the two-by-four in your own eye. It is the plank of judgementalism. The three “C’s” that will kill a relationship are criticizing, condemning, and complaining. When we think we’re right and others are wrong, pride goes before a fall and a self righteous heart that looks down on others in self righteous judgment will kill any relationship. Jesus said, the way you judge others is the way God will judge you. If you accuse another of failing to meet a standard, do you yourself fall short of the same standard?

In Marriage Counseling sessions, Pete asks each spouse to list the things that the other spouse has done to offend them. One wife will wrote down three pages of things her husband had done that offended her. Pete said, “I’m sure that these things your husband did that have hurt you are true, but there’s one thing I’m most concerned about. It’s your attitude of criticism, judgement, and condemnation.”

Suzan, Pete’s wife made a deliberate effort not to offend her husband. She would say, “Please don’t get angry, but we need to talk.” She diffused Pete’s anger before she approached her husband with a word of reproof and correction. Humility and meekness is required before we can receive loving correction. Correction means to restore to an upright position. Come let us reason together, though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow.

The rules of the devil’s game of condemnation begin with critical spirt. A bitter heart spews hurtful words that tear down, deconstruct and destroy. A critical spirt focuses on how I’ve been wronged… how others have offended me. These malicious thoughts are earthly, selfish, prideful and devilish.

Peter asked Jesus, how many times should I forgive my brother? Shall I forgive him seven times? Peter thought that this would exceed the letter of the Law that said to forgive three times before exercising just retribution. Jesus said, don’t forgive him seven times, but seventy times seven. Paul said, as God has forgiven you, so also do ye.

If my heart is bitter because of unforgiveneess, then I need to forgive the other person. Otherwise the poison of resentment will infiltrate my heart. Resentment is like drinking poison and hoping that the other person will suffer the poisonous effects.

The devil’s job is to divide and conquer. Criticism divides us against others and feeds our fallen nature with the devil’s character of egotism, selfishness and pride. A critical spirit separates our hearts from God’s heart. For God did not send his son to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved.

Pete’s son Chris spoke about a season where he fell into depression. Even though he was pastor of a church in Scotland, his wife knew that her husband was oppressed by a spirt of anger and depression. Neither of them could determine the root of Chris’ anger. She prayed for her husband and then registered Chris for a Pastors’ Retreat. At the retreat, the first assignment was to make a list of each person who had made you angry. The second assignment was to write a letter of forgiveness to each individual. As Chris was writing the third letter, he heard God’s voice saying, “They didn’t do that to you, I did.” Chris prayed, “Father please forgive me.” Immediately Chris felt the weight of anger, bitterness and resentment lift. It was as if the heavens opened and he could see clearly again. At that moment he understood The Lord’s Prayer…. “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

When we understand the depth of God’s love and forgiveness for us, then we will have no trouble forgiving others. In our own power we do not have have the capacity to forgive. However, when we received salvation through Jesus Christ we were empowered with God’s Holy Spirit… we received the super-natural nature of of Christ. Even though the wages of sin is death, Jesus paid for our sin with the price of his own precious innocent blood…. For Jesus Christ who was without sin was made the perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in Him. Having been born again, through the power of Christ in me… I forgave and set the prisoner free, only to find that the prisoner was me.

The world teaches us to seek just retribution. However, Thorough the power of the Holy Spirit, forgiveness, mercy, and the love of God triumphs over vengeance….

Destructive words from a vengeful heart tear down, and make enemies by causing strife and division. These are tools of the devil whose purpose is to steal, kill, and to destroy.

However, we are called into the unity of the spirit to build up… to edify one another in love.

1 Thes 4:10-12 says, Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe:
11 As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children,
12 That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.

Hebrews 10:23-25 says: Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Why? Because as God has forgiven you, so also do ye… that we may build each other up, as members in the body of Christ, each a vital part according to God’s divine design perfectly working together, growing up and supporting each other in love for God’s glory…

That together we may live in the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace glorifying our Heavenly Father!
Your brother inChrist,
Michael

Consider the Lilies of the Field

Jesus continued his sermon on the mount, God’s revelation about living life in the kingdom of the King of Kings. Life in Christ is diametrically opposed to the kingdom of this world. The kingdom and kingdoms of this world will soon come to naught… they are here today and gone tomorrow. However, life in the spirit of the living God liveth and abideth forever. The things of this world will soon be past, only that which is done in Christ shall last.

In Matthew 6:24 and following Jesus said, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Jesus said, you cannot serve worldly riches and God at the same time. The motto of the United States is “in God we trust.” There is irony in this American motto inscribed on our coins and currency. The irony is that most Americans trust in Money as their god instead of the Lord God Jehovah. The the great American dream is to pursue money and the things money can buy instead of pursuing God.

How do you worship God instead of material things? The pursuit of happiness is not in seeking the blessing, but in seeking the Blessor. Jesus continued in Matthew 6: 25 and 26: “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
28 So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

It’s easy to be distracted by the cares and the things of this life. Worry over the physical things that sustain our mortal bodies drive men to anxiety.. Doubt, worry, and fear separate our hearts from the pursuit of the Lord. However, as Proverbs says, Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding, In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths. God is our sufficiency…. He is the one who provides all our needs.

God has given us the resources of this world and has called us to steward the things with which he has entrusted us. We’re called to administer with our hands the the material goods he has proved for us and then minister with a heart of love the relationships that he has called us to nurture. These things include: our work, our time, and our money. We serve with a heart of love our wives, our families, and our brothers and sisters within the body of Christ.

When our heart is set on the things of the world, when is enough enough? Worldly. things cannot satisfy…. There is a constant craving, an insatiable appetite and a continuous hunger for the material things that we cannot obtain…. The world says, “He who dies with the most toys wins”. However, from God’s eternal perspective, He who dies with the most toys…. Is dead. You can’t take it with you.

Despite the cares and concerns of this life, Jesus knows our every weakness. He also knows what we really need. Paul asked God three times to remove his painful thorn in the flesh. He said, Lord, I’ll serve you better without this constant suffering. The first two times God did not answer. The third time, God answered Paul’s prayer, but it was not the answer that Paul expected. However, this is one of the great lessons of life, learned only through suffering, pain and tribulation. God’s answer was, “My strength is made perfect in thy weakness… My grace is sufficient for thee.”

God is blessed when we endure the pain, the hardship and the testing with a singing spirit. There is nothing in this life that God can’t handle. God is the God of grace… he alone is our sufficiency.

Jesus said, sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Live in the present… all you have is now. Our joy is in the Lord. It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey. A Sabbath day’s journey was the distance you could walk in one day according to Jewish law. The Christian’s journey is walking with the Lord one step at a time and one day at a time.

The concept of the “denarius” was a day’s wage. This was enough pay to keep a roof over your head, and to keep your family fed and clothed. It wasn’t enough to store up a “rainy day fund” for tomorrow. Jesus said, I’m your sufficiency for today…. Don’t worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will take care of the things for tomorrow. Your responsibility is to live in today’s day-tight compartment… Walk with me on today’s sabbath day’s journey. I am your sufficiency and your strength for today’s walk… todays Journey.

As Americans we are taught the pursuit of happiness. However, Jesus taught that joy in the Lord supersedes happiness. Happiness depends on circumstances… upon happenstance…. However Joy in the Lord is everlasting for he said, “I shall never leave you nor forsake you.”

Joy is not the absence of pain, rather, Joy is the presence of the Lord. According to Romans 8:35-39, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

In him we live and move and have our being… The Lord takes care of the sparrow and the lily of the field. Will he not therefore, also take care of you… as children of our loving Heavenly Father? He is our sufficiency in all things…

… that we may live to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael

God’s Refining

Jesus led by his example…. He walked the talk and talked the walk. In Matthew 6 Jesus continued his Sermon on the Mount. After teaching the multitude about treasuring treasures in heaven instead of treasures upon earth. He continued, You cannot serve two masters, either you will love one and hate the other. You cannot serve God and mammon… the material things of this world.

Therefore take no thought… don’t worry about the things of this life. Is not life more than food and clothing? Consider the birds of the air and the Lilies of the field…. They toil not neither do they spin, yet Solomon in all his glory.. in his regal regalia was not clothed like either of these. Are you not much greater than they the sparrow and the lily? Will God not take care of your needs? Therefore seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.

Seek God’s righteousness and not the righteousness that the world considers righteous. Righteousness is only in the things of God… the things of his Holy Spirit. For He who was without sin was made the perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in him.

In Philippians 4:6-8, Paul said by revelation… be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanks giving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace that passes understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

The context of this verse is about joy and the love of God…. To rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice. To let your moderation, your yieldingness with in love in things that are insignificant, be known unto all men.

The word supplication in Greek means “request for needs.” What is it that we really need? God is the God of Providence. He is the Jehovah Gireh, the All sufficient one. He alone is our sufficiency. He is our all sufficiency for all things according to His will. Ultimately all I need is thee. According to the hymn Be Thou My Vision, Thou art my best portion by day or by night… Nought be all else to me save that thou art.

In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul thought that his need was for God to remove his thorn in the flesh. He thought that he would be a better apostle for Christ without the pain. He prayed three times for God to remove this thorn. The first two times God did not answer. The third time, God answered Paul’s prayer, but it was not the answer that Paul expected. However, this is one of the great lessons of life, learned only through suffering, pain and tribulation. God’s answer was, My strength is made perfect in thy weakness… My grace is sufficient for thee. God is the God of grace… he alone is our sufficiency.

God will deliver us in the fire, through the fire or by the fire… for Tribulation, the pressures and trials of this world work patience when we endure the trial. Then patience produces experience… it reveals tried and tested Character. It proves God’s character within us. As the Psalmist said, the crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, but God tests and refines the heart of man. That which is left after the refining is the true character of the spirit… the character and the qualities of God in Christ in us.

Pete recalls that after his baby son died shortly after childbirth he went to the recovery room with his wife. Suzan had brought her daily devotional Come Away with Me and they began reading. The day’s devotional said, I deepen you in the furnace of affliction and prove you in the refining fire of trial and tribulation. Lean hard upon me and I will deliver you through what this present moment seems like a wind of destruction. My restoration will follow…. I have you in my own intensive care. Therefore draw upon the resources of my grace. Then you will go through the trial with a singing spirit. Peace in the midst of the trial is in The comfort of the Holy Spirit.

Through the trial and tribulation, tribulation works patience and patience reveals the proven Character of God, and this experience produces hope… that the sufferenings of this present time are not to be compared with the glory that shall follow. And the Hope of heaven maketh not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad by the Holy Spirit which is given to us.

The world looks at trials and tribulations as problems…. However from God’s perspective these trials are opportunities to know the meaning of hope and the love of God. LIfe’s greatest lessons are learned through the furnace of God’s refining fire… then the dross and slag of the contamination of this world will be burned away…. What endures is the character of God himself, the fruit of the spirit of life in Christ…. Love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance.

Through God’s refining fire, we can sing to the praise of the glory of His grace! For thy strength is made perfect in my weakness, thy grace is sufficient for me!

That we may rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice! Therefore, rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks. For the Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting, and his truth endures forever….

… that we may ever live to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael