Thanksgiving 2015

I want to take a moment to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. May you enjoy the love of family and friends. May your heart overflow with thanksgiving for all the blessing you enjoy. May you know the Lord's presence in your gatherings.

Enjoy!

The Lord Your Stability

“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” 1 Tim. 2:1-2

I came across these verses (the one above & the one inset) when I was looking up Scripture pertaining to prayers for a nation. To be honest with you, I needed them. I got onto social media this morning and was frustrated with many of the posts that I saw from Christians. Calls for war, death, isolation, and the like flooded my news feed. Over and over again I see that patriotism often overrides the governing force of Holy Spirit in our lives. We often forget that the Lord knows the plans that He has for us.

Notice Paul's admonishment to Timothy. Pray. Pray for everyone. Pray for Kings and all those in authority. Why? So we can live peaceful and quiet lives. I realize that this goes against the American way of doing things. We have a voice and we know it. However, I still believe that the greatest weapon we possess is the power of prayer. Our steadfastness to trust the Lord and those whom we place in His care has always been the greatest testimony of the Church. We realize that everything doesn't always go our way (look at the early church), but we can still have confidence in the Lord's heart for us. We don't have to lead the battle cry against rulers. We don't need to sound the call to arms. We need to pray. We need to seek the Lord's will for our lives and the prosperity of our nation. We need to trust the leadership of the Lord in His model prayer, "On earth as it is in heaven..."

I would also encourage us to remember the verse from Isaiah 33:6, "He (speaking of the LORD) will be the stability of your times..." How quickly we forget that it is the Lord that sustains His creation. While I do not believe He controls everything, I do believe He is in charge. He has turned so much of this world over to us. However, in the end, He has a plan. There is a Kingdom that will manifest. There is a church that will rise up. There are sons yet to be revealed. We are the ones who should walk in unwavering confidence. Our Father does not need to micro-manage the world. In fact, I don't believe He does. He trusts what He has placed inside of us. All of us. And He leads, guides, and prompts us to allow His image and likeness to come forth.

These are difficult times. We do face threats that would have seemed foreign to us 20-30 years ago. However, I'm not ready to resign our nation or the world to the forces of evil in our day. Each generation has its difficulties to overcome. Each generation has a choice to make. While I do see a pendulum swing occurring in our nation, I want us to be careful in how we proceed. Especially when it concerns the church. How we handle things will determine the progress (or lack thereof) of the Kingdom.

I see so many people ready to take their stance. They are all to willing to be heard on one side or the other. Where do we stand concerning refugees? What is our take on ISIS? How do we respond to the tragedies like the one in Paris? So many people are quick to make their judgments based primarily upon their own sense of national pride and political agendas. How often do we actually ask the Lord what His heart is for these situations? I'm serious. Do we not believe that God has a thought or two about these things? Or do we simply believe He is on our side because He believes the same things we believe?

There is so much fear dominating the headlines and the reactions of our day. This is what fear does. It causes a reaction. Faith, on the other hand, creates a response. This is where we get to choose. We can either react to the fear that is going on in our own hearts or we can respond to the faith that we possess. Which will it be? I'm reminded of the story of Joshua drawing near to Jericho. It is here that he encountered a man with a sword in His hand. Joshua asked, "Are you for us or our enemies?" The Man responded, "No..." What an incredible answer. While we discover that Jericho was given to Israel, the Captain of the Hosts of the Lord was not there on behalf of a nation. He was there on the Lord's behalf. In other words, God had something invested in the furtherance of Israel.

What has the Father invested in us? How are we to respond to the current circumstances within our nation and around the world? Where do we find our stability?
In the Old Testament we find that God often revealed Himself in the way that Israel needed: Provision, Healing, Righteousness, Shepherd, etc. In our day, we need to rediscover the Lord Our Stability. The High Tower that we can run to. The Wisdom that we need. The Sure Foundation that we long for. If we are going to take a stance, He should be it. We should cry out with the psalmist, "Some trust in chariots. Others in horses. We trust in the Lord our God."

I don't know how it will all play out. I also realize that this is not a game. However, the Church needs to lead the cause for faith, not fear. We need to be a place of refuge in uncertain times. We don't need to further alienate or isolate. The Healing of the Nations lies within us. Making Disciples of the Nations is our call. We cannot lose our identity in all of this. The Lord has greater plans. He is our stability. We trust in nothing less. We believe that He is for us, not against us. He that began a good work in us will complete it.

This is the faith of our fathers. This is what the early church believed in the midst of severe persecution. This is what we have always trusted in. When the Lord is our stability, we can be stable in unstable times. Let us not lose heart. Let us stand fast in Him and continue to abound in His work in the earth. "May the Lord bless you and keep you. Cause His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace." I bless you in Jesus' name.

Stay Tuned...

If there is one thing that I have learned about trying to keep up a blog it's this: Life often takes over.

With that being said, I do hope to get back to a normal schedule next week. I appreciate those of you who stop by and read my posts. Thank you for your feedback and encouragement. Blogging has been a great way for me to put my thoughts down on virtual paper. A way to express what I think, feel, and what I am experiencing in my own journey. It's an opportunity I don't take lightly. The journey will continue. Until then I hope that you can continue to find some edification through the things that I have already posted. Personally, I revisit these subjects often in my own life.

May the Lord continue to reveal His goodness in your life. Talk with you soon.

The Offense of the Cross

Galatians 5:11, "But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed."

When I consider the offense of the Cross, you have to understand how I think. The Cross is offensive for several reasons. It's offensive because of its brutality. Many people within Christendom have studied out the physical, mental, and emotional aspects of this type of death. Let's just say that we have nothing to compare it to today. The Cross is offensive because it runs against logical thinking. How could something so brutal, so tragic, and so misconstrued be the very thing that brings salvation to all mankind? The Cross is also offensive because it goes against the religious mindset. It proves once and for all that the hoops we have jumped through, the rituals we have performed, and even the sacrifices people have made were not enough. The Father has chosen once and for all that Jesus would be the perfect sacrifice. That His death upon the Cross would be the very thing that released us from the power of sin. That the Cross would be an enduring symbol of humanities cruelest intentions resulting in the Father's greatest good.

When Paul talks about the offense of the Cross to the church in Galatia, he is referring to the latter. He is letting this group of Gentile believers in on the incredible liberty brought to them through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Circumcision may not seem like a big deal to us, but in those days (especially among the Jews) circumcision was the sign that you had been set apart. Circumcision was the enduring symbol of your rightness with God. The mark of your separation. The very thing that told the world that you were a true child of Abraham.

Imagine that you were to go to a church today and discover that in order to become a member that you had to be circumcised. Of course this means that you also have to imagine that circumcision wasn't the practice of Western culture. Imagine being 20, 30, 40, or much older and having to go through this ordeal just so you could be considered a true believer. There's a reason why we do this to our sons right after they are born. Much of the Gentile world (if not all of it) did not practice this when they sons came into the world. It would go against their cultural practices. However, there was something much bigger at stake. Jewish zealots, professing to be Christians, with letters from the early church leaders, were coming into the churches that Paul planted and telling these Gentile believers that they needed to do one more thing to be justified. They must be circumcised. This particular letter deals with the subject, and Paul doesn't mince words describing what needs to happen to these men.

Yes. The Cross is offensive in many ways. Especially toward our religious ways of thinking. The Cross lets us know that the Father and Son have done all of the heavy lifting. It reassures us that everything that needed to be done has been done. Tells us that "It Is Finished!" Reminds us that we can add nothing to what Jesus has accomplished, and that we dare not take anything away.

The Cross puts an end to sacrifice.
It puts an end to doing something to be justified.
Puts an end to the traditions of men.
And leads us into a life of faith, trust, and unbridled freedom in the Lord.

The Cross also reminds us of the price our Heavenly Father was willing to pay to redeem us. The demonstration of the Father's love for the world. The proof, if you will, that He would mine any depth, scale any height, and go to the greatest lengths to bring us back to Himself. The Cross also reminds us that we can get it so wrong. That we can absolutely miss what God is doing right in front of us. That we can kill the very thing that God has sent for our good.

While religion today embraces the Cross on the surface, I believe it struggles to accept the full reality of what the Cross has provided. So many believers are still living in a dual covenant. They "trust" in the Cross but lean heavily on the Law. The confess their faith in what Jesus has done, but struggle to live in the liberty that has been provided. We may not circumcise as a means of being justified, but we have our own lists. Many continue to judge on the outward appearance. Continue to hold to dietary restrictions (what you eat or drink). Continue to hold to form of godliness but deny the power thereof. Losing themselves in performance.

Personally, I embrace the offense of the Cross. There are some who will judge my freedom. Others that will judge my confidence in my identity in Christ. There will be people who scrutinize how I live out my relationship with the Father. They will do the same to you. I just wonder why we cannot seem to grasp the beauty of one of our old hymnals, "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness..."

Take some time today to reflect on the offense of the Cross. Be in awe of the Father's goodness towards you. Stand amazed at His ability to take one of the ugliest moments in human history and turn into one of the most glorious demonstrations of love. Hear the words, "Father, forgive them, they don't know what they are doing." Tremble in the shout of "IT IS FINISHED!" Feel the weight of the Father's heart for you and the entire world. And remind yourself that your Heavenly Father believed you were worth it.

May the Lord continue to reveal His unfailing love for you. May you experience His peace and presence today. May you trust whole-heartily in His faithfulness. May you never lose your wonder.