Content in Nothing

Philippians 4:10-13 (ESV)

¹⁰  I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. ¹¹  Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. ¹²  I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. ¹³  I can do all things through him who strengthens me.  EndFragment

Content is a word that has more than one meaning. In one context it means that which is on the inside. Thus, we look for the "contents" in a box. We say that a movie or book has no "content." We say that someone's speech has great content.

On an other hand "content" means peaceful and serene. It means that we are satisfied with our circumstances. It means that our anxieties are gone. We say that we are "content" after a good meal. We are "content" with the results of a test. We are "content" in our lives.

Or course, we cannot look at the English meaning but the Greek word underlying the English translation. It comes from a compound word which essentially means "self complacent." I don't believe the English can truly give us an accurate meaning. Taken in context, it means a great deal more.

Paul's desire is to tell the Philippians that he if fine. He expresses his gratification of the gift they have sent him. He wants them to know that this isn't the source of his contentment. He is content in all circumstances. His contentment comes from the content that exists within him.

Most people, even Christians, never get to this point. I suppose the world keeps telling them that they must maintain a certain lifestyle. There are things the world says that everyone deserves. The world is wrong.

Contentment is never long lasting as long as we think that there are advantages which are inherently ours. I can't be content if I am hungry when I deserve a good meal. I can't be content when I see someone drive by in a car while I am forced to walk. The funny thing is that abundance in things doesn't actually make our contentment any greater. We always have the capacity to want more than we have. We are always looking at the horizon and never satisfied with where we are for long.

Yet, Paul says he is content whether he has an abundance or nothing at all. He says that he is able to do that with "Him who strengthens me." That makes me think that I and other Christians rarely really depend upon the strength that Christ provides. We look at our circumstances just like the rest of the world. 

Is this because we don't really understand what it is to be content? Have we so defined our contentment with this world that we will hang onto it with our last dying breath? I believe so. I believe we work very hard to be content with the things in the world. We will continue to do so unless we are forced to be content in Christ.

Now, I wished I could say that I was where Paul was. I struggle greatly with contentment when things aren't going well. It makes we reach deep into my faith, call out to Jesus and believe in His deliverance even when I can see no evidence. It makes me do without the things the world says that I deserve. I wish it didn't take a crisis to make me act this way.

So, I know it is possible to be content with nothing to show for it but I struggle to be so. And I reach down today to be that content person.

Burning Down the Houses of All the Snners

Matthew 7:1-5 (ESV)
¹  “Judge not, that you be not judged. ²  For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. ³  Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴  Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? ⁵  You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

The secular world needs to look in the mirror before calling Christians hypocrites. I have heard this label place on me and my church for a long time. It fits but the statement always has a sense of superiority. It sounds like, "You guys are hypocrites but we aren't." Nothing can be further from the truth.

For example, the world determines what is wrong or right by way of popular opinion. They use the rule: If enough people say it; it must be true. Maybe that's why science isn't science anymore. You don't have to be right, you just have to have enough people saying it.

If enough people say a person is guilty; then that person is guilty. It doesn't matter what the truth is. It doesn't matter how much people need to examine the evidence. It doesn't matter whether or not the rule of law applies.  Judging others is the rage in the news. People lose their jobs over rumors. They are blackballed over accusations. (And you thought the days of Joseph McCarthy had passed!)

The world seems to saying: "Get on our side on what we think is right and wrong or you will be sorry." Unfortunately, it seems that the numbers are growing. The world is shouting, "Let's send those sinners to hell!"

Does this court of public opinion choose favorites? Of course it does. There are people who are untouchable. There are people who can't be right no matter what they have done. They are to be discredited if they have crossed the court of public opinion. How dare they oppose the majority's decisions?

Recently, I have read of Bill Cosby being condemned for actions in his past. I can't say whether or not  he is guilty. I do wonder why these things are coming out so long after they have happened. It is almost impossible to prove something didn't happen years later. Memories are unreliable. The physical evidence doesn't exist. Jumping on the bandwagon of condemning someone is common. I once knew a pastor that had been accused of so many affairs that he would have had to have been Superman to have kept up with all the women. The accusations remained vague. The dates didn't match up. But none of that mattered. He was guilty by the court of public opinion.

Surely, Bill Cosby should be prosecuted if he did what he has been accused of. In court he would be innocent until proven guilty. Maybe that's why the world wants to keep this in the court of public opinion. Maybe he is guilty of everything. I don't know. It is not my place to judge him.

Recently, someone told me of the sins of a man that I admired. The man has passed away. I would have like to have remained naive. I didn't need o know. I didn't know what to do with this knowledge. I realized that I could do nothing for the dead man. I couldn't confront him of his sins nor expect to see him recover from them. So, I decided to forgive him and remember all the good things that he had done.

The problem is that anytime we start burning down the houses of the sinners we will eventually find ourselves standing with torches lit outside of our own house.

Just Praise God Anyway

Habakkuk 3:17-19 (NIV)
¹⁷  Though the fig tree does not bud 

and there are no grapes on the vines, 

though the olive crop fails 

and the fields produce no food, 

though there are no sheep in the pen 

and no cattle in the stalls,
¹⁸  yet I will rejoice in the LORD, 

I will be joyful in God my Savior.
¹⁹  The Sovereign LORD is my strength; 

he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, 

he enables me to go on the heights. 

Things don't aways go badly. Sometimes they go so badly that bad is no longer an adequate description. The unexpected bill joins forces with the car breaking down, the washing machine water supply hose breaks and floods the downstairs of the house and the heater just won't come on. It is at this time that your boss tells you that your job is in jeopardy and your daughter reveals a tattoo from a parlor that has been known to spread hepatitis. Meanwhile it is suspected that your next door neighbor may have a deadly communicable disease which he received while on a mission trip to West Africa.

Do you still praise the Lord?

Extremely tough times do not determine what we believe. They prove it.

There was a time I read those verses almost every day. I was spending increasing amounts of time working in the ministry. The ministry was failing. I remember working three weeks without a day off. I worked seven days a week for at least ten hours each day. I took one day off and a lady from the church called me to ask why I wasn't at work. She may never know that she was just an agent of Satan. 

I couldn't get my head above water no matter how hard I tried and I read those verses and shouted, " Yes, Lord, I will praise you! No matter what, I will praise you!" I was very unsure of that last statement. I didn't really know if I would praise Him tomorrow. 

I hung on those last words: The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights." I knew that I was in the lows but if I was ever to get to the heights I would need His strength and sovereignty. So, I praise Him for a future I could not see but knew was coming.

No one escapes bad times. They always seem to last forever. They claim that we are doomed. Yet, those who know the Lord also know that He is sovereign and will give us strength to carry on through the bad times. He will make us as those who will climb the heights. The days of woe do not last for the Lord of glory has His hands on every one of them and limits their ability to cut us off from Him.

So, just praise the Lord, anyway. The bad days have a short shelf life.

Believing Jezebel

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Believing Jezebel

1 Kings 19:1-3 (ESV) 
¹  Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. ²  Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.”
³  Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. 

Elijah was a great prophet. He had seen God do miracles. He had believed God and confronted Ahab. He had the prophets of Baal killed. He prayed and the sky withheld its rain. He prayed again and it rained like crazy.

Yet, when Jezebel threatens him through a messenger, he runs for his life, becomes depressed and prays for death. I know how he felt. I, too, have acted as if the forces against me are greater than those with me, become depressed and prayed for death. It is so easy to believe the conventional wisdom and ignore the spiritual.

We see God so clearly in the victories. He arrived to do a miracle and provide what was needed. He healed someone we were praying for. He gave us a task which seemed impossible and we did it with His strength. We praise Him and know He is right there with us.

But then bad things begin to happen. People go without even though we have prayed for them. Someone dies whom we have put at the top of our prayer lists. The simplest of tasks can't be done. Failure, not victory, seems to be our future.

We call ourselves believers in God but fall into the belief that God is not there. We cry out and He does not answer. We prostrate ourselves before Him and receive silence. The silence makes us forget all the times He has spoken to us. We forget the worship services in which He called us to His service. We forget the times we prayed and He answered. We become like anyone who doesn't know the Lord. And we run.

We believe more in the fear of the future than the God who is already in that future. And why? Because of the present circumstances. We believe that what we are experiencing now predicts our future.

Does defeat predict the future of those who love God? Our flesh tells us that it does. That is why we cannot allow the flesh to rule. It is the spirit which God has placed within us who must dig deep into our faith and reinforce our faith. The Spirit speaks to our spirits to reject the threats of Jezebel.

Does that mean that victory comes instantly? No. The time of distress may still seem like an eternity. So, each day must be focused on living in the Spirit. The Spirit continues to tell us that no matter what things look like, God is still in control.

Isn't that what scared Elijah? Jezebel made him think that God was no longer in control. I don't know about you but that is at the root of my fears. My flesh does not believe that God is in control when bad things begin to happen.

But my spirit knows better.

The Consequences of Living Like There Are No Consequences

Protests would come from everywhere if I were to declare that God is dead. The people from my church would condemn me. People from other churches would dismiss me as an unbeliever. The media would be amused to hear a preacher say something that many of them would agree with. My ministry would be ended soon afterwards.

Yet, many Christians live as if God is dead. They don't think there are any consequences when they disobey Him. They don't see the penalty for the sins they have committed. They are depending upon His holiness being absent from His grace. They don't understand His justice. They believe that nothing happens to them because they have the "go to heaven" card that can't be revoked.

Of course, the nonbeliever has no understanding of justice. He acts without any regard to what will happen. He sees no consequences for his actions as long as he isn't caught.

Consider the parable told about the rich man.

Luke 12:16-21 (ESV)
¹⁶ And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, ¹⁷ and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ ²¹ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”


The man wasn't so different from the indifferent Christian or nonbeliever. He didn't overtly oppose God. He just lived his life as if there were no consequences for his own self-satisfaction without paying attention to any larger issues. He has not noticed that his heavenly bank account is empty. Instead he has stored up treasures on earth for himself. This does not prepare him for the journey he will make that night. All his treasures will be left behind and there will be no treasures for him elsewhere.

Would we be more cognizant of what we are doing if we had immediate rewards and punishments? Would Adam have eaten of the fruit that Eve ate if she had fallen over dead a  moment after she swallowed? Would a person give even more if their rewards came immediately? Sure, but, then, God would never be pleased. There would be no faith. No one would freely believe, serve or worship. Each person would be compelled by the immediate consequences for his actions.

I often tell people that there will be consequence even if they don't see them right away.  The chain smoker doesn't see his demise until it is too late. The adulterer is genuinely sorry he has lost his family when he is discovered but lives like nothing will happen as long as he isn't caught. Why should we believe that God would let us act with impunity?

The great preacher R.G. Lee, preached the message "Pay Day Someday" many years ago to congregations who understood consequences much better than we do today. But they had to hear it too.

This Sunday millions of believers will avoid church because they don't know that there are consequences for each action. Would they do so if they knew that there lives would be required of them on Sunday night?

No, I'm not for legalism. I think there are some great reasons to miss church on Sunday. I just don't think that those who can worship should take it so capriciously. I believe there are consequences for our actions and lack of action.

God Is Not Taking the Day Off

Yes, I know better but I sometimes feel like God isn't doing anything about my problems. I cry out for Him to show up and find myself like Elisha's servant who can only see the forces that have surrounded them and cannot see the forces of God who protected them.

¹⁵ When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. "Oh, my lord, what shall we do?" the servant asked. ¹⁶ "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." ¹⁷ And Elisha prayed, "O Lord, open his eyes so he may see." Then the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 2 Kings 6:15-17 (NIV) 

So, I forget that God is always surrounding me and that He is much stronger than those forces which have come against me.

Then, I think that my prayers are necessary to awaken God. I cry for Him to work. I forget that He is working. He didn't take he day off.

¹⁷ Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working."
John 5:17 (NIV)

While I realize that Jesus was rebuking those who criticized Him for healing on the Sabbath, the principle is still true. God didn't take the Sabbaths off. He is aware of the man who needed healing and He was working to heal Him. He, the Father, and the Son were working together at just the right moment to reflect who they are. The evidence of the work comes at the most glorious time but the work was going on even when it could not be seen.

So, I thank God that He is working right now even when I can't see Him doing so.

I wonder if anyone else needed to remember that?

By the Word of the Lord

⁶ Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces. And the glory of the Lord appeared to them, ⁷ and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁸ “Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.” ⁹ And Moses took the staff from before the Lord, as he commanded him. ¹⁰ Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” ¹¹ And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock. ¹² And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.”
Numbers 20:6-12 (ESV) 

Moses had a daunting task. He led a huge group of people to believe in God's promises. They had to take the word of the Lord before they could take the deeds of the Lord. Their faith was tested again and again and they thought they could complain to about and to Moses with impunity. His only solace came from the Lord's speaking to him personally. He must have gotten very tired of what the Lord had called him to do.

So, one day the people complain because they lack water. They tell Moses they would have been better off if they had never listened to Moses. They have forgotten their slavery and look longingly backward at Egypt. They remember their past with fondness and condemn their future. They were acting like Moses and God had no interest in their welfare. That must have hurt Moses.

Yet, he goes before God once again. God tells him to take his rod and speak to the rock before the people and water will come out for them and their cattle. Moses does exactly what the Lord has asked until he gets in front of the people. I wonder if something happened along the way. Did someone complain and question his character again for Moses calls them rebels?

But instead of speaking to the rock, he strikes is twice with his rod. The water gushed out and the congregation's needs were met. However, God is not pleased. He sees Moses transgression as so great that He bans Moses from entering the Promised Land. Does this make sense? Doesn't God take into account our humanity when He calls us to any task? Wasn't Moses due some grace? But we aren't seeing this as God sees it.

God allowed the people to go through the hardships so that they would learn that they did not live by bread alone.

³ And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 8:3 (ESV) 

They must live by every word that God says. They needed to know that God speaks and it is. They saw Moses perform rather than speak. It may seem subtle but everyone needs to learn that hearing God is the same as seeing Him provide, heal, or provide any miracle that is needed. That is why anyone who has received God's promise of salvation can rejoice in it because God has said it. We call ourselves saved even when we are still on this earth because His word has said so. God says it and it is even if we haven't seen Him working.

The people didn't learn to live on God's word that day. Moses action severely hindered their faith. He acted without believing that he could speak on God's behalf for water to come forth from the rock. He struck the rock because he didn't believe. He transferred that lack of belief to the congregation.

I am afraid that I am just as guilty as Moses. I, too, have been striking the rock rather than speaking to it. I, too, have a failure in belief. I, too, need to remember that I must live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. This is really what holds back the congregation I serve.

So, I pray that I will finally believe that I must live by the Word of the Lord.