"Whatca' Doin'?"

After speaking to so many people each week, teaching classes right and left, preaching two sermons, counseling couples and personal Bible studies, I sometimes forget what I say and to whom I say it! If you find me repeating something in my blog, forgive me of that. My mind just can't keep up sometimes.

My granddaughter came by my office this week and she has her normal routine with me...she quietly knocks on my door and slowly opens it, she peeks in and yells "surprise!", running over and jumping in my lap giving me a kiss and a big hug. Then she says "Carter's comin!" (Carter is her baby brother, my grandson.) On this day, she jumped in my lap, gave me her kiss and hug telling me Carter was coming and she asked me, "Grandpa, whatca' doin'?" I looked at her and said, "Oh, I am just trying to get my thinking cap going today." She smiled real big and said, "Can I help?" to which I replied, "Sure! What do you have in mind?" She said, "Look at your screen..." so I did. Then she said, "Get some good blinks with your eyes so you can see good..." so I did. Then she stated, "Now think! It will happen!" You know what? She was right! Think I did. It struck my mind why the Lord said children are a gift from Him (Psa. 127:3). Children have a way to remind us about simple life things. No wonder Jesus taught us all that unless we are converted like children, we will not enter the kingdom of God (Matt. 18:1-3). We need to learn to trust and stop letting evil and things weigh so heavily on our heart and in our minds. We need to give our minds and heart totally to the Lord, allowing His way to take place, not our ways. It's too easy to get all 'gooey' over little things and stories like this when your children bring them to mind. We need to become God focused. As soon as you read this, where do you think your mind will head? Things that are true, right and pure (Phil. 4:8)? Are we going to set our minds on things above where Christ is seated (Col. 3:13)? Your mind set will determine how much you allow the Lord to lead! Your mind set will be what determines if you react fleshly or spiritual in certain situations! We need to seriously think about that. Maybe I need to ask you, "Whatca' doin'?"

"Forgive Yourself???"

I have heard people make the statement in one form or another, "I know God forgives! I just need to forgive myself!" When I hear that, and I hear it a lot among spiritual minded people, it makes me realize how little people know about forgiveness and the God who forgives. Follow me...man cannot forgive themselves! We never could and never will. That's nothing but pure, unadulterated pride! Forgiveness lay only with God. Sin is abhorred by God and He never takes our sin lightly. When we come to God with humble hearts, seeking His presence through our Lord Jesus Christ, that's when forgiveness is granted. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:9)

Psychologists and many professionals have duped us into believing that we can't find true release until we learn to forgive ourselves. It saddens me when worldly minded people have more impact on our thinking than God and His word. When one speaks of "forgiving themselves", they are actually looking to themselves as the power. I know that might sting a little to some, but we need to think about what we are saying. Forgiveness lies with God alone and He grants it! (II Tim. 2:25)

When guilt and shame batter our hearts and mind, we must not think we need to forgive ourselves. We need to find the power of the blood of Jesus to cleanse our conscience (Heb. 9:14). We need to be honest and face God with our sins. Our fears and lack of faith keep us from doing that. We look for other ways to find freedom because we hurt and don't want to admit to it as it causes us pain. Simply put, we just don't know God! Not once do we find in God's holy Scriptures that anyone forgave themselves! Until they reached and grasped hold of the forgiveness through Christ, they remained guilty and in their sins. Just read Psa. 32 and see how David found forgiveness, and that was before Christ. See how Paul found forgiveness when he had so many imprisoned and killed because of their faith in Jesus. Not once did they say, "I need to forgive myself!" They embraced the forgiveness of God.

We need to think clearly and realize the covenant God has made with those in Christ Jesus. The covenant reads, "...and their sins and lawless deeds I remember no more." (Heb. 10:16-17) If we confess our sins, coming humbly before the Lord, why can't we embrace our Lord and receive what He offers? That takes faith and faith reaches beyond us. But I know there are still those who want to believe that they must forgive themselves...what a tragedy!

"So Powerful, So Simple"

There is simply too much talk and not enough...we want to say action! I will say "belief!" We simply read God's word and set it down, putting little faith in what we read. Instead of reading, absorbing and accepting, we take God's word and set it down like we just finished a newspaper or some magazine. It leaves us drained in the face of life's trials. We need to put our faith in what we read in God's word. We need to let our hearts rest in the Lord and the power of His might. That's enough talk, let's just read, listen and believe...

"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril or sword? Just as it is written, 'For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.' But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor thing present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom. 8:31-39)

What more needs to be said? Do you believe it? Have a good day!!!!

"Filled With the Spirit"

After preaching yesterday, it struck me how little people know or understand the Spirit of God. When we speak of the Spirit, it makes some winch because the lack of understanding. Some believe and teach that the Spirit only works in and through the word. While there are verses to show us the Spirit uses the word of God, He is not the word of God. When Paul says, "and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." (Eph. 6:17), there is a major difference between the "sword" and the one bearing the "sword." The Spirit of God dwells in those in Christ Jesus! Paul taught that that plainly in Romans 8. The word cannot intercede for us but the Spirit of God does (Rom. 8:26-27). We cannot grieve the word but we can grieve the Spirit (Eph. 4:30). We can read and take in the word of God, which is the Spirit's sword, and it performs its work in us bringing us to salvation (I Pet. 1:23-25/I Thes. 2:13). But the word is not the Spirit! The word cannot testify with our spirit that we are children of God. The Spirit of God cries out to God that we are children of His (Rom. 8:16-17). Others want to tie the Spirit to feelings! He is God's Spirit, not some emotion or emotional tie. He was given as a promise, not some emotional outpouring.

The question comes, how can we be filled with the Spirit as Paul taught in Eph. 5:18? Let's look closely at this. Here is the verse, "Do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit." Wine controls a persons inner being! Drunkenness affects a persons faculties and diminishes your life. When a person drinks, we know it diminishes our faculties as we can see when people drive and drink. One doesn't have to be drunk to be be affected. However, in this verse we are told not to get drunk with wine. Why? Because it is dissipation! Some versions read "leads to debauchery." Dissipation and debauchery means a wastefulness. It leads one to wasting their life and serves no purpose. Something greater is to control and that is "being filled with the Spirit." When we are speaking of "filled" we are speaking about something influencing, controlling you. How are we to be "filled with the Spirit?" It is not some miraculous feeling that comes across you that makes you "feel" something. In Eph. 5:19-21, there are 5 participles used in the Greek and those participles modify the verb "filled". In other words, here is how to be filled with the Spirit. (1) "Speaking to one another in psalms and hymn and spiritual songs." "Speaking" is the participle! (2) "Singing" is the participle. (3) "making melody" is the participle. (4) "Giving thanks" is the participle. (5) "Be subject" is the participle. What do these mean? Whenever we speak in our songs, whenever we sing and make melody in our hearts to the Lord, whenever we give thanks in all things and be subject to one another, something begins to happen within your being and you allow the Lord's entrance and control in your life! There is nothing miraculous, but simple, common things we give ourselves to and the Lord will respond by filling.

"Being filled with the Spirit" is simply focusing on God and His desires, allowing Him to influence your thinking and heart desires! How many times do we rob ourselves, especially in our worship, not realizing we allow or not allow the Lord's entrance into our hearts by our attitudes and desires! To have little to no interest, to have no desire to speak or sing, to not be thankful for all things and never think others as more important, you cut yourself off from what the Lord wants. Maybe we ought to think of it this way: are we quenching the Spirit of God?

"For Troubled Hearts"

Jesus just told His disciples, Peter in particular, some disturbing news about up-coming events (John 13). Afterward Jesus speaks, "Do not let your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me." (John 14:1)

How many times have we been with people, who are hurting, troubled in heart and frivolously say, "Don't worry about it! Everything will be fine!"? To a broken or troubled heart, those words mean little.

Jesus was not asking His own (or us) to deny what we feel because He had shortly before this confessed that He was going through some deep, inward struggles Himself (John 12:27). What does Jesus mean by saying, "Do not let your hearts be troubled..."?

He is calling on them (and us) to act on the truths revealed and the realities of those truths. Truth is just as real and even more powerful than fears and the inner turmoil one may experience. There is nothing more irritating than people, who have good intentions, who have not suffered or experienced serious heartaches, spew out advice that is so shallow and glib. Remember the saying that was popular for a while, "Don't worry! Be happy!"? They were printed on shirts and made into jewelery. That is one of those shallow and glib sayings. On the other hand, you have those who insist that if you truly trust in God, you will not experience that pain in the heart! Those kind of people are an irritant and have little clue on how to overcome.

Listen, there is no sinfulness in the feeling of a heartbreaking experience! Our sense of deep loss is a great measure of the genuineness of our love. Look at Gethsemane. What was Jesus going through? I can hear people, "If He really trusted God, He had nothing to fear or worry about!" The deep, intense struggles were realities in the heart of our Lord and He felt a great pain. Why? Because of the lostness of His creation and the price to pay for our lostness. That's the deep sense of love for people.

Sometimes things are very difficult when disappointment sets in. People we loved and trusted go off into a depth of sin that leaves us hurting to a degree few understand. The power and depth of the pain is real...but so is the Lord and His truth!

After taking His apostles to the side, with no interference from outside, the last words He said to their troubled hearts, "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." (John16:33) Right there, in Jesus we have our answers. Overcoming is the answer and He is the power for overcoming. Does it hurt? Oh, yes! But the hurt is not to be the focus. The truth of God, the power of Jesus and His resurrection become our hope and focus. The bottom line, we need to believe in the words that our Lord spoke and take them to heart. Only then do we find relief in the midst of pain.

I am careful not to change the words of Jesus or speak in His place . That would be arrogant and wrong. By looking closely at the Greek text, understanding the words John 14:1, here is what it seems was flowing from the mouth and heart of our Savior: "Do not let the turmoil you feel control you. The trust you have in God and Me is well placed so make that the controlling reality in your lives." Place your faith, no matter how little or great it is, in the truth and reality of God. Believe the Lord! Believe His word! Believe who He is! "...if it were not so, I would have told you!" (John 14:2)

"Amazing Grace"

God's word tells us that "by grace you have been saved." (Eph. 2:5) Grace is an amazing thing. I'm still learning about it, trying to grasp hold of it better. Grace is simply God's unmerited or undeserving favor extended to us. It has nothing to do with us and every thing to do with God. It comes from God's heart to us through Jesus Christ. It has nothing to do with your performance or good deeds. "But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise, grace is no longer grace." (Rom. 11:6)

Grace is one the most misunderstood, mistaught and abused things from the heart of God. We need to carefully read Romans 6 to get a better grasp of God's grace. Many religious people today teach grace as a blank check from God that allows one to do as he wishes, and God will save them in the end because His grace out-does sin! What an abuse of God's gift. Others teach that God has saved all the religious people, no matter what they teach, because His grace reaches all. People seem to over-look that the grace of God operates in the sphere of the truth! In the church of our Lord, some believe that the grace of God is available as long as you perform. This too is wrong.

Sometimes our songs preach better than preachers! We sing about grace many times, not even aware of what we are singing. Just listen carefully to the song "Amazing Grace". We sing..."how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me." Grace is for the wretched and sinful. Grace is extended to sinners. It is for the one, who in their sins, can only appeal to God's undeserving favor through the death of Jesus. "I once was lost..." Were we? Do we really believe that? When people are lost, they feel the pressure of guilt and the sting of sin. We should feel it! Sin makes people miserable. Grace is for those who are lost and desire help outside themselves. Lost people cannot save themselves by their works! Is that not what Christ's death shows us? "Twas grace that taught my heart to fear..." Grace is a teacher (Titus 2:11-12). It teaches us to reverence God and His majesty. The fear of the Lord is what keeps one from abusing God's grace. Grace is received by faith. Grace produces trust. Grace produces obedience and obedience is not some legalistic rule-keeping. The fear of the Lord brings about a simple obedience to respond to His will. He asks us to respond in faith to receive His grace. Grace is a wonderful teacher. "Do not be carried away by varied and strange doctrines; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited." (Heb. 13:9)

Grace...God's undeserving favor to us undeserving people. Faith in Christ Jesus brings His undeserving favor right into the middle of our lives. We live by His strength, His power while simply humbly following, depending on His grace to get us through and it will get us all the way to the end.

"After Death, What Then?"

I was sent an e-mail asking, "After we die, where do we go while awaiting judgment?" It is a great question and it shows that many a sincere believer has questions about what happens upon death. That shows the confusion that has been created in much of the teaching.

I will share with you some brief thoughts in my studies and I am open for further insight. Mountains of material have been written and people debate this or that. Many jump back to the rich man and Lazarus to show what happens (Luke 16) but I am not sure that will not do because Lazarus is in the bosom of Abraham, the father of the Old Testament. For many believers in the Lord, they think the believer "sleeps" until the resurrection, while others think that one receives a resurrected body immediately, while some teach the righteous are holding up in Hades (back to the rich man/Lazarus) and still others think the believer literally ceases to exist until newly created. I have heard all these ideas at one time or the other.

Paul says in Phil. 1:22-24 that he struggles in choosing to live or die. Here is the part he says if he dies: "But I am hard- pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better." What did he see as better? To be with Christ. He speaks nothing of waiting or a state of limbo. He speaks of being with Christ, where Christ lives! I have heard the arguments over the word "with" but I take things for what they say and try to leave them as they are stated. To "depart", Paul uses a word that soldiers used when they pulled up stakes of their tent and march home to stay or when a ship pulls up anchor and sails to home.

For the true believer in Christ, they depart and goes wherever Christ is! When John gets his visions in the book of Revelation, John sees in heaven, under the altar, the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God (Rev. 6:9-11). They were with the Lord. In my studies, and time will not allow me to go into any depth here, I find that the saint dies and goes to be with the Lord. The only thing awaiting is a new body to be resurrected to bring the three parts of man (body, soul and spirit) back together (I Thes. 5:23/I Cor. 15). The judgment day, well that's for the ungodly and unreconciled! Oh, I know the verses of standing before the judgment seat (I Cor. 5:10/Rom. 14:11-12), but when you look closely at the context, we are speaking about the Lord having to sort out anything that needs to be sorted out, so we don't have to worry about anything getting by. I probably didn't say that well. In other words, just live for the Lord and let Him determine opinions and situations if they need to be determined.

Just think with me for a second: if the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin (and it does), what do we have to be judged on? If my sins were completely taken away (and they are) and I have held with all my heart to the death of Jesus as my salvation, why would I be tried for sins or misdeeds in my life? If we have been clothed with Christ through baptism (and we have), who does God see and who stands good on my account? When we die, like Paul said, we go and be with the Lord. At the judgment, there will be the revealing of the sons of God (Rom. 8) to which creation is awaiting! In the return of Christ, Paul says that "God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus." (I Thes. 4:14) If He is bringing them with Him, where are they?

Do some studying on your own. Look carefully at things and be honest with Scriptures. If I have misspoken, please show me better. I am always willing to learn! Death is the entry to being with Christ.