The Main Thing

There are two things to remember in order to keep our theology in the right perspective. The first is that God is Sovreign overall. He’s still in control. God has a wonderful plan for your life. He had a wonderful plan for his son’s life… his plan for Jesus’ life was for our redemption. This plan included the Jesus’ righteous innocent death in exchange for our sinful life.

The second thing is that God is good. He’s a good, good father. Even though the sea billows roll, it is well, it is well with my soul. Despite trials and tribulations of this world, count it all joy when you encounter trials, for the testing of your faith will produce endurance and maturity in Christ. Therefore let tribulation have its perfect work. Peter needed to be tested to find out that in himself, he was not sufficient to serve his Lord.

Would God’s plan for America be better if God blessed America… or would his plan be better if America realized her demise. Isaiah 55 says, My ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the Apostle Paul said, “my purpose whether life or death is for the further progress of the gospel.” Therefore count it all joy to endure suffering for the Lord.

The purpose of our lives is the “great commission.” Jesus said before his ascension, “Go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them…and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age.” Making disciples is the purpose and the calling of the church, the called-out of God. Our Lord’s question is, “Can I trust you with the gospel?” Paul said, we have been given the gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Salvation is the free gift of God. The gospel of the good news is that Jesus came to rescue and deliver those who are perishing.

When the trial comes, Jesus said, “I will see you through”… He said, “my peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” Therefore in the words of Paul, “I press toward the mark of the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

We are the church, the called-out of God as His living epistles. We are God’s love letters, written not with ink or in tablets of stone, but engraved in the tables of our heart. Our profession or “confession” means to “speak the same thing.” Profession means to walk the talk and talk the walk. As men of God, our calling is to “practice what we preach.” We’re the only sermon some people will ever see and hear.

Men of God place themselves under authority and order ordained by God. Our loving Heavenly Father will “break us from the world.” Therefore count it all joy when you fall into diverse trials and temptations. For when tribulation has its perfect work you shall be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. Jesus said, blessed are they when men shall revile you and persecute you for my sake, for great is your reward in heaven.

Our purpose and our calling is to make disciples of all men. We are the plan. For we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which he has prepared beforehand for us to walk therein. For it is God who works in you to will and to do of His good pleasure.

William Booth had trained his troops in the Salvation Army for two years to teach and preach in India. At their commencement he said, “It would have been better to have shown them five minutes in hell.” We need to be shaken to confront the reality of impending death before we can focus on the solution. To understand the solution we must first acknowledge, “Houston, we have a problem.” The main thing as fellow laborers with Christ, is our great commission… to “snatch God’s elect from the jaws of hell” by sharing the gospel message of salvation with urgency. The gospel message is that Jesus Christ is the solution to the problem of sin and death… for he who was without sin was made the perfect sin sacrifice on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in him.

May we ever live to the praise of the glory of his grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael

Declaration of Dependence

When Jesus is Lord, our lives are a “declaration” and not a question. As Oswald Chambers said, “All God requires is extreme obedience with no complaining or questioning on my part and no explanation on his.” We may not understand his plan, but we trust his heart of love. When we’re walking with the Lord, our lives are a “Declaration” for others to know the love of God. For we are his declaration, his epistles, his love letters, written not with ink or in tablets of stone, but in the tables of our hearts. We are the only sermons that some people will ever see.

Paul said, “for me to live is Christ and to die is gain. Whether I live or die, my purpose is to display the gospel of my Lord.” This is also the purpose of the church, the called-out of God. The purpose of our “band of brothers” is to manifest the Word of God in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation among whom we shine as lights.

Pete’s wife Suzan’s life motto was, “Joy is not the absence of pain, rather joy is the presence of God.” She lived to shine the love of her Heavenly Father. She never cried throughout her ordeal with terminal brain cancer. The only time she cried was tears of Joy when hundreds came to pray for her while she was battling cancer. She said, “your prayers didn’t hold me though this ordeal, they carried me along.”

Pete relates that on his recent trip to Scotland, he attended a church service where the topic of discussion was hell. What we think about life after death will define our life in this world and also in eternity. Most people think that everyone is destined for heaven. However, eternal life is on God’s terms according to His Word, not ours.

In this life, we can’t see clearly what God is doing through our suffering and pain. For now we “see through a glass darkly, but then (in heaven) face to face we shall know even also as we are known by God.” While Paul was chained to a Roman guard in prison, Paul said “my circumstances are working out for the greater progress of the gospel. For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

CS Lewis said, “if you read history, the Christians who did most for the present world are those who prepared men for the next world.” William Booth, the head of the Salvation Army recalls that he taught a Christian discipleship course for three years. He said, “it would have been better to have shown them five minutes in hell.” Some believe that hell is a place of eternal life in torment for those who do not accept the savior from sin. Others believe that hell is the place of eternal death. Repent means to change directions: from heading to eternity in hell to an eternity in fellowship with our loving Heavenly Father.

According to scripture, God said, “I have a plan for you: a Plan for good and not for evil so that you will have a future and a hope.” We share the gospel because of the hope of the resurrection and the return of Christ. Jesus said before his ascension, “go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you, and lo I am with you always, even unto the end of the age.” This is our mission and our co-mission…to preach the gospel and when necessary, use words.

At a counseling session with a couple before marriage, Pete asked the bride, “will you hurt him?” She replied, “yes.” He asked, “will you intend to hurt him?” She answered, “no, because I love him.” Sometimes because God loves us, he uses the “gift” of suffering for the furtherance of the gospel. Paul said, after God told him that he would not remove Paul’s thorn in the flesh, “thy strength is made perfect in my weakness, thy grace is sufficient for me.”

As we celebrate the birth of our nation, let us remember that our Founding Fathers understood that pain and suffering is the price paid for our liberty. Freedom isn’t free. The Declaration of Independence was the result of the revolutionary war to “dissolve the political bands” that chained our United States to Great Britain. However, the Declaration of Independence was also our Founding Fathers’ “declaration of Dependence.” The last line of the Declaration reads, “In firm reliance (dependence) on divine Providence (Almighty God) to these ends, we pledge our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” As dual citizens of America and of Heaven, may we declare our independence from the powers of darkness and our dependence upon the power of Almighty God….for thy strength is made perfect in my weakness, thy grace is sufficient for me.

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

Firefighters for Christ

An ambassador is the highest raking official sent from his Sovereign Lord to represent his homeland in a foreign land. As Christians, we are citizens of heaven. According to 2 Corinthians 5;20, “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.”

Phil Hanlen is a professional firefighter. Phil reminds us that, not only are we ambassadors for Christ, we are also his firefighters. A firefighter wears protective clothing to be able to get close to the fire. The temperature near the fire will exceed 1000 degrees. Fighting a fire is a team effort. A firefighter is a student of forcible entry to save a structure or prevent a fire from spreading.

To be a successful firefighter for God requires that we have been through the fire, for Jesus said, you shall be baptized with (immersed in) the Holy Spirit and with fire. Fire in the word of God symbolizes refinement. We have been refined by the refiner’s fire. God himself is the refiner.

Fire is also a destructive force that the devil uses for his own purposes, for the thief cometh not but for to steal, to kill and to destroy.

Phil relates stories about the recent Thomas fire in Ventura and Santa Barbara. That night 250 houses were destroyed in the neighborhood where his engine crew was stationed. The Thomas fire was the biggest fire in California’s recorded history.

There was one old man with a garden hose who refused to evacuate. Phil commanded him to leave but he said, “I’m a retired firefighter and I’ve got this.” He had taken a stand against the fire with his grandson. Phil warned him that if you don’t evacuate, you’ll die in this fire. The old man refused to leave. When Phil’s commander ordered his engine unit to evacuate the area, they saw through the smoke someone walking down the hill from the neighborhood. This guy was the old firefighter’s grandson. The grandfather had driven out of the neighborhood and said he would come back to pick up his grandson but the fire would have prevented him.

As Phil and his crew were evacuating, he saw saw the shadowy movement of someone inside of one house. They stopped their fire truck and discovered an old lady in the house. She had no clue that there was a fire and that she was in imminent danger. This is similar to Christians in the church who have no clue that the devil is lurking right outside their door.

As firefighters for Christ, God expects us to be prepared to rescue his people from the flames raging around us. To prepare, we need to set our affections on things above and not on the things of this world.

To prepare our hearts, we must practice the fundamentals of the Christian life. Therefore pray, study the word, serve in the church, and meet regularly with likeminded believers. Give generously of your earthly treasures to free yourself to believe God as your sufficiency. Rejoice Evermore and pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks. Finally love God above all and your neighbor as yourself. Jesus said, “in that thou has done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

According to 2 Corinthians 5:16-21, “Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
17. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
18. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;”
19. To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
20. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.
21. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

This is our mission and our co-mission. We are fellow Laborers with Christ. We are yoked together with him in the field to plant, water, and gather in the harvest.

God has called each of us to a different calling. Our challenge is to see our work from a spiritual perspective. Our stories are part of the tapestry that God is weaving through the fabric of the lives of all Christians. Jesus Christ is centerpiece of history. Our stories are unfolding within the context of history…our story in relation to His Story.

May we live to the praise of the glory of his grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael

The Basis of Hope

Psalm 2 is one of the songs of ancient poetry. This passage is quoted in Acts 4 as a Psalm of David. This is a prophetic Messianic Psalm about the coming of Jesus Christ. Jerusalem was conquered by King David. The language of this Psalm spills over the times in which it was written and heralds the coming of a greater king than David himself. Quoting from Psalm 2:6-9:

“6. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
7. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
8. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
9. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

The true king that God installed is above all kings. Literature and legend says that there was a great King who ruled in power and love and mercy. When this great King ruled, the land prospered and great works of art were done while the King reigned. However when the King died, darkness fell upon the face of the land and the kingdom fell into ruin, waiting for the return of the true king who would reign in righteousness and true holiness.

Most monarchies have been ruled by an iron hand…by oppression and fear. Why are so many enamored by royalty? Why do peoples create royal lines and crown them with honor and majesty? Why do peoples give themselves over to the sway of those whom they honor and glorify? It’s because as people we know deep down in our hearts the true King who reigns in righteousness and true holiness…a true Saviour who will save the people from their sins. If we refuse the true King we will honor a lesser King. We were created with a hunger to serve our Lord. Ye are servants of whom you obey.

The natural inclination of the human heart is to set up a King and then reject him. According to Psalm 2:3-4, “Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.”

Lord means owner. However, the basic impulse of the human heart is for every man to follow his own way and his own heart. The central conviction of hell is to confess, “I am my own Lord.” We are captive to whom we obey…I have found the enemy and he is me.

True virtue incarnate appeared upon this earth over two thousand years ago with the coming of the Messiah. We don’t hate the majesty of Kings and Queens. However, men hate the true Messiah. Why? It’s because most religions allow you to be your own person. However, the true God says, “Thou shalt have no other Gods before me.” To approach the true God is an offer to make a unilateral covenant according to His terms, not ours. Men don’t understand their own internal corruption and sin…the nature of sinful flesh that we all inherited from Adam.

We have a King, We need a King, and we are offered to accept the true King according to God’s terms.
Therefore, Psalm 2:11-12 concludes, “Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.”

Believing plus desire equals hope.

Gary relates a story about one his wife’s room mates before he and his wife were married. Her room mate had a large cedar chest, a “hope” chest where she kept her family’s heirlooms in addition to mementos of her hopes and dreams. We all have a hope chest in which we keep our fondest desires and deepest thoughts. Hope is why we get married, believe the best for our children, send them to college and bless them when we give them away in marriage.

Hope is why we read the bible and pray. Christianity is the only religion that gives us an intellectual basis for hope. The other religions of the world give no hope of eternal life in fellowship with our loving Heavenly Father. When our hope is in Christ, confinement becomes spaciousness. Bondage becomes Liberty. Death to self becomes life in Christ.

The story of Guinevere broke the back of the kingdom of Camelot. King Arthur was on the horns of a dilemma. He could either kill the queen whom he loved, or kill the law. We are God’s Guinevere and have committed adultery by serving and loving other gods. Mordred representing Satan said, “kill Guinevere.”

God did justice by executing his innocent son on our behalf. Jesus lived a perfect life and went to the cross as the perfect innocent lamb of God. There was a double transaction: He paid our debt of sin. But the second transaction is that he exchanged for our guilt, the righteousness of Christ. For he who knew no sin was made the perfect sin sacrifice on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in Him.

What amazing grace! This is the basis of our hope.

May we ever live to the praise of the glory of His grace, Your brother in Christ, Michael

True Treasure

Matthew 5 and 6 records Jesus’ “sermon on the mount.” The theme of the sermon on the mount is treasure not material treasures upon earth but instead treasure spiritual treasures in heaven. Treasures on this earth will corrode and pass away but the eternal spiritual treasures in heaven will last into eternity. The question is, What do you value most? Earthly wisdom says to hoard earthly treasures because they have a short shelf life. Everything we own wears out and loses its value. However, God commands us to treasure treasures in heaven that will last forever. According to Corinthians, the things that are seen are temporal but the unseen things of the spirit are eternal. Therefore treasure treasures in heaven for where your treasure is there will your heart be also. Men will follow their hearts into eternity. The treasures of this earth are dust to dust and ashes to ashes. That which is of this earth will be shaken and burned. However treasuring treasures of the spirit of life in Christ in us will last forever.

The greatest treasure is acquired by the power of prayer. Prayer is where the Christian life is lived. Ravenhill said we should learn to pray in “concentration camps.” For thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee because he trusteth in thee. It’s far easier to rest without an answer until we learn to believe God according to the power of prayer. Prayer is to believe God for the scriptures say, “whatsoever you ask in prayer, believing you shall receive.”

Worldly wisdom teaches us to believe and act on things of the world that we don’t understand. We routinely use our electronic devices to send and receive information without understanding the intricacies of e mail and data communications. Likewise, God doesn’t ask us to understand how prayer works, he simply requires that we act on prayer by believing action according to his Word.

Acts 6:24 says “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.” You can’t serve both the material things of this world and the spiritual things of life in Christ. Ye are servants to whom you obey.

The beatitudes beginning in Matthew 5:3 give the requirements for those blessed of God. These blessed attitudes are cultivated by maintaining communication with God in prayer. Prayer connects our heart with God’s heart. Prayer is aligning our heart with our Father’s heart. Prayer is “delighting ourselves in the Lord.” When our delight is His delight, then he will give us the desires of our heart.

James says that ye have not when you pray because you ask amiss, that you might consume it upon your lust. Lust means “over desire.” Lust is anything that you treasure above God. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Prayer is communication with our Father. Communication is co-Union when we unify his purpose with our purpose, his value with our value, and his heart with our heart. Therefore pray in secret so that God can hear your heart’s desire for a relationship in proximity with him. “Perfect prayer” is the manifestation of the spirit of Christ in us. For the spirit beareth witness with our spirit that we are sons of God. For in our flesh we know not what we should pray for as we ought. But the spirt makes intercession for us with groanings that we cannot express in the language of our own human frailty.

Jesus didn’t teach his disciples how to preach. He taught them how to pray. The “Lord’s Prayer” is part of Jesus’ “sermon on the mount” in Matthew 6:9-13. Most people think that prayer is asking God to bless us. However the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples emphasizes that we should bless God: “Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed (holy, sanctified, set apart for your purpose) be thy name.” The first of the Ten Commandments literally says, “thou shalt have no other gods between your face and my face.” Therefore, treasure treasures in heaven. Our true treasure is our Heavenly Father himself.

From the lyrics of “Be Thou my Vision,” may our prayer be:

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art Thou my best Thought, by day or by night Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord Thou my great Father, I Thy true son Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise Thou mine Inheritance, now and always Thou and Thou only, first in my heart High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

Amen.

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

Give And It Shall Be Given

Matthew 6:19 is about treasures. The common translation says don’t lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, but instead lay up for your selves treasures in heaven. In the Greek text, this verse reads, treasure not treasures upon earth but instead treasure treasures in heaven. The word treasure is used both as a verb and a noun. What is it that you value most? For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. To determine where a man keeps his treasures, look at his calendar and his checkbook. These are records of our time and money…. two of the most precious resources that God has entrusted to our stewardship. Jesus said, you’ll know my disciples by their fruit. If you were accused of being a follower of Christ, would there be enough evidence to convict you?

Some Christians ask, “how little can I do and have people still think I’m a Christian? How much can I get away with and still survive?” However, it’s not about what we can get away with, but rather how we can serve our Lord Jesus Christ from a heart of love. God has called us to his mission. When we accept his calling our co-mission is to lovingly serve our Lord Jesus Christ and those to whom he has called us to minister. What is it that you value? The things of this earth will take wings and fly away. The worth of one soul won for Christ is more valuable than all the material treasures of this world. Jesus said, “what shall it profit a man if ye gains the whole world but loses his soul?”

There’s a difference between believing in God and trusting in God. The scripture says, even the demons believe and tremble. When we come to the end of ourselves, when we can no longer trust in the things of this world, we have nothing to trust in except God himself. As Mother Theresa said, “God works best with nothing.” As Paul said, Thy strength is made perfect in my weakness…thy grace is sufficient for me.

Our next paycheck can be either that which we value upon earth or it can be an investment into eternity for the kingdom of Heaven. The gospels say, give and it shall be given unto you…pressed down shaken together and running over shall men give unto your blossom. For with the same measure that you give it shall be measured unto you again. According to Malachi, bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse and prove ye now herewith saith the Lord of hosts and see if I shall not pour you out a blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. The blessings may not be in the material realm, for the things of this world are here today and gone tomorrow. The blessing is in the pure act of giving… For a cheerful giver loves God. That we may give our lives to the praise of the glory of His grace who has made us acceptable in the beloved.

May God richly bless you!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael

I Shall Not Be Moved

The Apostle Paul wrote in Acts 20:24 “I shall not be moved.” According to Hebrews 12, the things of this world which can be shaken will be shaken. That which is shaken loose will be burned, for our God is a consuming fire. However the things of heaven, the things of the spirit of God in Christ in us shall not be moved…they shall last into eternity.

Acts 20:18-24 is Paul’s farewell address to his beloved fellow believers in Ephesus: “And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, 19. Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews:
20. And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house, 21. Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
22. And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there:
23. Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.
24. But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.”

Verse 24 in the Spanish translation says, “These things are of no value to me.” There is no moving value of the things of this earth. I shall not be moved from the course my Father has set before me. This is heart of the man of God…to value the things of the spirit of life in Christ. Our hearts are not tethered to the things of this world. Rather, our hearts are tethered to heaven. What is it that you treasure? What do you value most? Treasure not treasures upon earth but rather treasure treasures in heaven.

Death is the veil between life on this earth and God according to Isaiah. When Christ returns, he will tear down the veil of death. What a day of rejoicing that will be… When we all see Jesus, we’ll sing and shout the victory!

Jesus, prior to his ascension said to his disciples, “you shall be baptized with Holy Spirit and with fire not many days hence.” For our God is a consuming fire. The things of this world will be burned up and come to naught. The things of this earth are ashes to ashes and dust to dust. However, that which is of the spirit of God in Christ in us is eternal.

Jesus said, Take heed and beware of covetousness for a man’s life consists not in the abundance of things which he possesses. According to Proverbs, everything that is of this world is vanity. Material things are a vapor lasting but for a moment.

The question is, do we value the things of the spirit of life in Christ above the things of this world? Through prayer, God calls us to dedicate the things of this earth to him…the things which God has entrusted to our keeping.

As Christians we can’t “make a deal with God.” The question for some Christians is, “how little can I do, what can I get away with and still be considered a Christian?” However, the prayer of a man of God is “Lord help me give my all to your honor and glory.” No one can out-give God. He is my sufficiency…he is our portion and our all in all. God is a God of abundance but the abundance of a man’s life consists not in the abundance of things which he possesses. According to Malachi, God said, “Bring ye all the tithes and offerings into the storehouse and prove me now herewith saith the Lord of hosts and see if I will not pour ye out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” The blessings go far beyond material things. Therefore treasure not treasures upon earth. They are here today and gone tomorrow. They shall take wings and fly away. Rather, treasuring treasures in heaven is an investment in eternity.

What is of lasting value? The things of earth shall grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. As Paul said, “I shall not be moved…. For I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that (Holy Spirit) which he’s committed unto me against that day of righteous judgement.”

May we forever live to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael