1 Peter 1:6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,
How do you tell if faith is genuine? How does it hold up to trials? That is the test that Peter puts forth in this passage of scripture. If your faith holds up during the trials of life it is genuine.
It is easy to praise God and serve Him when everything is going well. It is quite another thing to praise God and serve Him when you are in the middle of a fiery trial. When you go through trials but your faith is not shipwrecked by them, it brings glory to Jesus. Many believers suffer silent pain. There are circumstances that occur that produce fear. Many live with anxiety over the future. There are private struggles that we as believers go through that we just do not want to burden other people with. We think to ourselves, "They have their own problems, they don't want to hear about mine." So we pour our hearts out to God. And when we do it legitimizes our faith. When you depend on the Lord to help you deal with your pain, He notices whether or not any one else does. One day when we get to heaven, all that private pain that we experienced that we allowed God to see us through, it will be proclaimed openly in heaven that we suffered well, and made it through with our faith in tact. That testimony will be the testimony that the Savior glories in!!!
Pour your heart out to God today. Give Him your pain. It is when you take your pain to Him, and rely on Him to get you through that your faith is shown to be most genuine.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Kept
1 Peter 1:5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Is it not wonderful to know that if you are truly a born again child of God, you are kept by His power? As the writer of Hebrews communicates to us toward the end of the 6th chapter, this assurance becomes an "anchor" for the soul. Since it is HIS power that keeps us, we know that it is a sure thing.
I know that there are well intentioned folks out there who believe that you can loose your salvation. I get to talk to some of them every time I preach a message on the doctrine of eternal security (smile). I want to lovingly and gently say, they are wrong. I will not go into a defense of my position here. If you would like a detailed defense, let me encourage you to go the church website www.bbcva.org and listen to the sermon from this past Sunday night in which I give a detailed defense of the security of the believer.
I feel sorry for people who do not have assurance. I know in my own life, I have found the writer of Hebrews to be so correct.....assurance of my salvation is an anchor for my soul.
The anchor holds, in spite of the storm. Hold on to your anchor today.
Is it not wonderful to know that if you are truly a born again child of God, you are kept by His power? As the writer of Hebrews communicates to us toward the end of the 6th chapter, this assurance becomes an "anchor" for the soul. Since it is HIS power that keeps us, we know that it is a sure thing.
I know that there are well intentioned folks out there who believe that you can loose your salvation. I get to talk to some of them every time I preach a message on the doctrine of eternal security (smile). I want to lovingly and gently say, they are wrong. I will not go into a defense of my position here. If you would like a detailed defense, let me encourage you to go the church website www.bbcva.org and listen to the sermon from this past Sunday night in which I give a detailed defense of the security of the believer.
I feel sorry for people who do not have assurance. I know in my own life, I have found the writer of Hebrews to be so correct.....assurance of my salvation is an anchor for my soul.
The anchor holds, in spite of the storm. Hold on to your anchor today.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Your heavenly inheritance
1 Peter 1:4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
Life comes at you fast. And sometimes it can be brutal with what it dishes out. But I am reminded that this world is not our home. We are just passing through. As we pass through we have the opportunity to work on our inheritance. Every day of our lives we have the opportunity to build on what is waiting on us in glory. What is waiting on us? An imperishable and undefiled inheritance! Jesus said:
Matthew 6:19 " Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 "but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Remember that whatever you do for Jesus today builds your investment portfolio in heaven. Do something today to lay up treasure in heaven!!
Life comes at you fast. And sometimes it can be brutal with what it dishes out. But I am reminded that this world is not our home. We are just passing through. As we pass through we have the opportunity to work on our inheritance. Every day of our lives we have the opportunity to build on what is waiting on us in glory. What is waiting on us? An imperishable and undefiled inheritance! Jesus said:
Matthew 6:19 " Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 "but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Remember that whatever you do for Jesus today builds your investment portfolio in heaven. Do something today to lay up treasure in heaven!!
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Email exchange
In Sunday's sermon I spoke about the doctrine of election. It generated the following email exchange with one of the members of our church. If you did not hear Sunday's messages, Sunday morning and Sunday night, you may need to go to the website www.bbcva.org and listen in order to have context. I have removed certain parts of the email exchange that could give the identity of the person away. I think it is an example of how two brothers can be on different sides of an issue and have a God honoring discussion about it. I also wanted to put it here to help clarify my position. The sender of this email was unclear where I stood after listening to the sermons. I hope my responses to the emails at least clarifies where I stand whether you agree with my thoughts or not.
Pastor Reggie,
As far as Sunday's sermon I love that you will be doing verse by verse in 1 Peter. I certainly struggle with election and did not envy your efforts to define the ground between free will and predestination. Heady stuff. I ended the night still not quite sure where you plant your flag - although it is clear that you're not on either extreme. Here are some of my thoughts on the doctrine of election; how does this align with your thinking?
a. Definition: God’s decision to choose us to be saved which was made before the foundations of the world (Eph 1:4,5). This act is compatible with all of His attributes and demonstrates His matchless grace (Eph 2:7,8) and displays His glory (Eph 1:6, 12, 14). Considered the first step in the process of God bringing us to individual salvation and its cause lies completely in God and is grounded in His grace. Election is necessary because man is totally depraved, hopelessly lost in sin, and so God makes election a prerequisite for faith and salvation and, thus, receives all of the glory for salvation.
b. Election is unconditional – God chose us because He decided to bestow His love upon us, not because of any good, faith or merit on our part (Rom 9:16,18,22-24). It is not a matter of fairness – God would be perfectly fair to save no one.
c. God’s choice of people to salvation was made freely and for His own purposes before the foundation of the world (1 Cor. 1:27,28; Eph 1:4). Election may assure that those chosen will be saved, but it does not alone save them. People are saved by faith in the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross. Election is not based on foresight or foreknowledge.
d. Reprobation – sometimes referred to as “double predestination” - a very difficult doctrine whereby the condemnation of sinners lies within themselves and is the sovereign decision of God, grounded in His justice (2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Peter 2:8; Jude 4; Rom 9:21-23). The Bible does not present the idea of reprobation and God must not be accused of tempting with evil (James 1:13). Some Christians follow Augustine’s teaching that God is only active in the salvation of the elect and He is passive with regard to the non-elect. At the end of this difficult and challenging road, however, we must affirm that God’s sovereignty must reign over all of creation, and yet He is in no way culpable for evil or predestination to hell.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
My response:
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on election. I will try to clarify where I stand. I can not affirm most what you have shared with me, even though none of what you have shared would be a "test of fellowship" in my thinking. However, I will say that I am not a reformed theologian, and most of what you have shared is right out of the reformed theology hand book. Reformed theology sounds too close to the "double predestination" line for my taste. Points "a" and "d" seem to be in contradiction. As I said in the message, "Any theology that makes God responsible for sending someone to hell is a bad theology in my view." God deciding ahead of time who goes to heaven and who goes to hell, makes Him responsible for condemning someone to hell. The bible says that "whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) Scripture also says that it is not God's will that any should perish but that all would get saved. (2 Peter 3:9) So it is not God's choice before the foundation of the earth that condemns them, it is their rejection of Christ that condemns them. If election is prerequisite to salvation, then there is no opportunity for salvation for those who are not "elect" in that sense, which seems contradictory to John 3:16. If God is responsible for condemning someone to hell because He did not "elect" them, that to me seems to contradict 2 Peter 3:9. So I look for a different definition of election. Election in scripture is presented as being tied up in foreknowledge: Romans 8:29 "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren." God knows who will be saved ahead of time, and they are elect from God's point of view before the earth was formed, because He knew that they would choose Christ before the earth was ever formed. Anything less than that means man does not have a choice. I reject the notion that man is "totally depraved" and has no ability therefore to choose God. Joshua said, "Choose this day whom you will serve......as for me and my house we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24). Peter called his listeners to faith and repentance in Acts 3 because He knew they had the ability to make a choice. He pleaded with them to repent and turn to God. Paul said, we "persuade men" in 2 Cor. 5:11 because he knew they had the ability to choose Christ.
Isaiah 56:3 Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say, "The LORD will surely separate me from His people." Nor let the eunuch say, "Behold, I am a dry tree." 4 For thus says the LORD, "To the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths, And choose what pleases Me, And hold fast My covenant, 5 To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial, And a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off.
To me this passage helps illustrate the point I am trying to make. These people described were not part of the chosen people in Isaiah 56. They were foreigners who chose to join themselves to the Lord. They had the ability to choose to put their faith in, and to follow God. Their election was based on their choice to follow God, not a predetermination. The foreigner described here becomes part of the elect in the sense that God knew ahead of time that he would exercise his "free will" by choosing to "join himself to the Lord."
Agreed on one point.....it is a very difficult issue. And one that takes great maturity to engage without deteriorating into attacks.....and I hope and pray that nothing that I have said, even though I did refute some of your thoughts, is taken as an an attack. I love you and respect your perspective, even when it does not mirror my own.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Response I received:
I just LOVE this kind of discussion and your email is a real blessing. However, the engineer in me always wants to figure "it" out. I have learned that the more I move down that path, the longer the road gets... The pragmatist in me also screams that in light of eternity it doesn't really matter whether we understand it or not, just be obedient and get out and spread the Good News and God will do what God will do.
Your points are good and I find myself nodding as I read and wrestle with this. But I can't leave just yet (smile) as I have 2 more thoughts/questions: if God's foreknowledge of who will choose Christ and who will reject Him is the basis for their election, does that not place salvation totally in human hands? In that case, the omni-everything God acts based upon the actions of sinful man... That makes me uncomfortable.
Second thought is more fundamental and has to do with the starting point - If all mankind deserves damnation then we'd agree, I suppose, that God would be Righteous and Holy and Just even if no one was saved. Starting from that presupposition then, the free gift of salvation is based upon God's grace and mercy and He may, therefore, chose those whom he chooses. After all, His will may be that none will perish but has He not chosen them to do so (or allowed them to) when He has the power to have all come to Christ?
I am not set in my ways or my thinking and I truly enjoy the discussion as it causes me to study, reflect and consider alternative views. Thanks Pastor for the exchange. And I have never looked at Isaiah 56 and so especially appreciate that perspective.
-------------------------------------------------------------
My response:
As I read your thoughts I love what you have to say "In that case, the omni-everything God acts based upon the actions of sinful man...That makes me uncomfortable." I must tell you brother that is a compelling notion. It is a breeze that sways me. And in the spirit of Agrippa's conversation with Paul in Acts 26 let me say, "Thou almost persuadest me"...but I have to say, it doesn't totally blow me over there. Let me see if I can articulate why. That line of thinking starts with a base line and works from that place. Here is the base line: if man makes a choice in the salvation equation, then that diminishes the sovereignty of God. For me, I see no conflict between God giving man a free will whereby he can choose God, and the concept of His sovereignty. In fact I would argue that He has such a comfort level with His own sovereignty, that He chose to create beings with free moral choice. They could choose to follow Him, they could choose to reject Him. For me, to limit man as simply acting out in a cosmic play, some script written in heaven before time began, seems to limit omni-everything God to an insecure control freak that is uncomfortable with any beings in the universe making choices other than Himself. That somehow seems to limit God to me. Actually, I think that giving humans the ability to choose or reject Him, strengthens the notion of His sovereignty as opposed to detracting from it.
You make the statement: "If God's foreknowledge of who will choose Christ and who will reject Him is the basis for their election, does that not place salvation totally in human hands?" I want to respond to that part of what you say. I do not see it that way. The fact that the Father wanted to redeem man kind is the basis for salvation / election. And yes God would have been totally Righteous, Just, and Holy if it had been His choice to redeem no one and cast us all into hell. But His desire was to redeem man. So He made a way. It is the Father's desire to save man, followed up by the sending of His only begotten Son, the sinless life, the substitutionary death, bodily resurrection of Christ....it is these things that that provide the basis for salvation. And that was all in God's hands. He did not have to do any of it. All you and I had to do to get saved was believe it. That is why the bible says "It is by grace we are saved". Grace is the Father's desire to save us, and the Son's obedience in allowing Himself to be the propitiation. So grace as displayed in these things provides the basis. Oh, there is more to that thought...it goes like this: "through faith. It is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast." Eph 2:8-9. In this passage the bible teaches us that "faith" is that "through" which we are saved. There was God's part, that was "grace" because He did not have to allow a way, and then there is our part "faith". The spirit of the passage compares His part and our part, presenting the idea that a healthy understanding of salvation is going to always place way more emphasis in the equation on God's part than man's part. God did all the work, really. Man just simply believed that Jesus is who He says He is, and that He did the necessary work as our propitiation. That is why salvation is called a gift. All we really did to get saved was accept the gift. In this sense, believing, or exercising faith is not really a "work". The first century Jew would have the back drop of the law in his thinking, and following the law as a means to salvation. By comparison, having to follow the law to get saved with all its stringent requirements, or having faith in Jesus....having faith in Jesus as a means to salvation and not having to follow the law...now that is a gift.
Pastor Reggie,
As far as Sunday's sermon I love that you will be doing verse by verse in 1 Peter. I certainly struggle with election and did not envy your efforts to define the ground between free will and predestination. Heady stuff. I ended the night still not quite sure where you plant your flag - although it is clear that you're not on either extreme. Here are some of my thoughts on the doctrine of election; how does this align with your thinking?
a. Definition: God’s decision to choose us to be saved which was made before the foundations of the world (Eph 1:4,5). This act is compatible with all of His attributes and demonstrates His matchless grace (Eph 2:7,8) and displays His glory (Eph 1:6, 12, 14). Considered the first step in the process of God bringing us to individual salvation and its cause lies completely in God and is grounded in His grace. Election is necessary because man is totally depraved, hopelessly lost in sin, and so God makes election a prerequisite for faith and salvation and, thus, receives all of the glory for salvation.
b. Election is unconditional – God chose us because He decided to bestow His love upon us, not because of any good, faith or merit on our part (Rom 9:16,18,22-24). It is not a matter of fairness – God would be perfectly fair to save no one.
c. God’s choice of people to salvation was made freely and for His own purposes before the foundation of the world (1 Cor. 1:27,28; Eph 1:4). Election may assure that those chosen will be saved, but it does not alone save them. People are saved by faith in the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross. Election is not based on foresight or foreknowledge.
d. Reprobation – sometimes referred to as “double predestination” - a very difficult doctrine whereby the condemnation of sinners lies within themselves and is the sovereign decision of God, grounded in His justice (2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Peter 2:8; Jude 4; Rom 9:21-23). The Bible does not present the idea of reprobation and God must not be accused of tempting with evil (James 1:13). Some Christians follow Augustine’s teaching that God is only active in the salvation of the elect and He is passive with regard to the non-elect. At the end of this difficult and challenging road, however, we must affirm that God’s sovereignty must reign over all of creation, and yet He is in no way culpable for evil or predestination to hell.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
My response:
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on election. I will try to clarify where I stand. I can not affirm most what you have shared with me, even though none of what you have shared would be a "test of fellowship" in my thinking. However, I will say that I am not a reformed theologian, and most of what you have shared is right out of the reformed theology hand book. Reformed theology sounds too close to the "double predestination" line for my taste. Points "a" and "d" seem to be in contradiction. As I said in the message, "Any theology that makes God responsible for sending someone to hell is a bad theology in my view." God deciding ahead of time who goes to heaven and who goes to hell, makes Him responsible for condemning someone to hell. The bible says that "whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) Scripture also says that it is not God's will that any should perish but that all would get saved. (2 Peter 3:9) So it is not God's choice before the foundation of the earth that condemns them, it is their rejection of Christ that condemns them. If election is prerequisite to salvation, then there is no opportunity for salvation for those who are not "elect" in that sense, which seems contradictory to John 3:16. If God is responsible for condemning someone to hell because He did not "elect" them, that to me seems to contradict 2 Peter 3:9. So I look for a different definition of election. Election in scripture is presented as being tied up in foreknowledge: Romans 8:29 "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren." God knows who will be saved ahead of time, and they are elect from God's point of view before the earth was formed, because He knew that they would choose Christ before the earth was ever formed. Anything less than that means man does not have a choice. I reject the notion that man is "totally depraved" and has no ability therefore to choose God. Joshua said, "Choose this day whom you will serve......as for me and my house we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24). Peter called his listeners to faith and repentance in Acts 3 because He knew they had the ability to make a choice. He pleaded with them to repent and turn to God. Paul said, we "persuade men" in 2 Cor. 5:11 because he knew they had the ability to choose Christ.
Isaiah 56:3 Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say, "The LORD will surely separate me from His people." Nor let the eunuch say, "Behold, I am a dry tree." 4 For thus says the LORD, "To the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths, And choose what pleases Me, And hold fast My covenant, 5 To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial, And a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off.
To me this passage helps illustrate the point I am trying to make. These people described were not part of the chosen people in Isaiah 56. They were foreigners who chose to join themselves to the Lord. They had the ability to choose to put their faith in, and to follow God. Their election was based on their choice to follow God, not a predetermination. The foreigner described here becomes part of the elect in the sense that God knew ahead of time that he would exercise his "free will" by choosing to "join himself to the Lord."
Agreed on one point.....it is a very difficult issue. And one that takes great maturity to engage without deteriorating into attacks.....and I hope and pray that nothing that I have said, even though I did refute some of your thoughts, is taken as an an attack. I love you and respect your perspective, even when it does not mirror my own.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Response I received:
I just LOVE this kind of discussion and your email is a real blessing. However, the engineer in me always wants to figure "it" out. I have learned that the more I move down that path, the longer the road gets... The pragmatist in me also screams that in light of eternity it doesn't really matter whether we understand it or not, just be obedient and get out and spread the Good News and God will do what God will do.
Your points are good and I find myself nodding as I read and wrestle with this. But I can't leave just yet (smile) as I have 2 more thoughts/questions: if God's foreknowledge of who will choose Christ and who will reject Him is the basis for their election, does that not place salvation totally in human hands? In that case, the omni-everything God acts based upon the actions of sinful man... That makes me uncomfortable.
Second thought is more fundamental and has to do with the starting point - If all mankind deserves damnation then we'd agree, I suppose, that God would be Righteous and Holy and Just even if no one was saved. Starting from that presupposition then, the free gift of salvation is based upon God's grace and mercy and He may, therefore, chose those whom he chooses. After all, His will may be that none will perish but has He not chosen them to do so (or allowed them to) when He has the power to have all come to Christ?
I am not set in my ways or my thinking and I truly enjoy the discussion as it causes me to study, reflect and consider alternative views. Thanks Pastor for the exchange. And I have never looked at Isaiah 56 and so especially appreciate that perspective.
-------------------------------------------------------------
My response:
As I read your thoughts I love what you have to say "In that case, the omni-everything God acts based upon the actions of sinful man...That makes me uncomfortable." I must tell you brother that is a compelling notion. It is a breeze that sways me. And in the spirit of Agrippa's conversation with Paul in Acts 26 let me say, "Thou almost persuadest me"...but I have to say, it doesn't totally blow me over there. Let me see if I can articulate why. That line of thinking starts with a base line and works from that place. Here is the base line: if man makes a choice in the salvation equation, then that diminishes the sovereignty of God. For me, I see no conflict between God giving man a free will whereby he can choose God, and the concept of His sovereignty. In fact I would argue that He has such a comfort level with His own sovereignty, that He chose to create beings with free moral choice. They could choose to follow Him, they could choose to reject Him. For me, to limit man as simply acting out in a cosmic play, some script written in heaven before time began, seems to limit omni-everything God to an insecure control freak that is uncomfortable with any beings in the universe making choices other than Himself. That somehow seems to limit God to me. Actually, I think that giving humans the ability to choose or reject Him, strengthens the notion of His sovereignty as opposed to detracting from it.
You make the statement: "If God's foreknowledge of who will choose Christ and who will reject Him is the basis for their election, does that not place salvation totally in human hands?" I want to respond to that part of what you say. I do not see it that way. The fact that the Father wanted to redeem man kind is the basis for salvation / election. And yes God would have been totally Righteous, Just, and Holy if it had been His choice to redeem no one and cast us all into hell. But His desire was to redeem man. So He made a way. It is the Father's desire to save man, followed up by the sending of His only begotten Son, the sinless life, the substitutionary death, bodily resurrection of Christ....it is these things that that provide the basis for salvation. And that was all in God's hands. He did not have to do any of it. All you and I had to do to get saved was believe it. That is why the bible says "It is by grace we are saved". Grace is the Father's desire to save us, and the Son's obedience in allowing Himself to be the propitiation. So grace as displayed in these things provides the basis. Oh, there is more to that thought...it goes like this: "through faith. It is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast." Eph 2:8-9. In this passage the bible teaches us that "faith" is that "through" which we are saved. There was God's part, that was "grace" because He did not have to allow a way, and then there is our part "faith". The spirit of the passage compares His part and our part, presenting the idea that a healthy understanding of salvation is going to always place way more emphasis in the equation on God's part than man's part. God did all the work, really. Man just simply believed that Jesus is who He says He is, and that He did the necessary work as our propitiation. That is why salvation is called a gift. All we really did to get saved was accept the gift. In this sense, believing, or exercising faith is not really a "work". The first century Jew would have the back drop of the law in his thinking, and following the law as a means to salvation. By comparison, having to follow the law to get saved with all its stringent requirements, or having faith in Jesus....having faith in Jesus as a means to salvation and not having to follow the law...now that is a gift.
Monday, February 20, 2012
The greatest love of all
I caught a few minutes of one of the early shows on television this morning to see an over head shot from a helicopter of Whitney Houston's burial. They were playing her mammoth hit song, "The Greatest Love of All". I actually remember that song quite well. I am not sure why I know so many of the lyrics. I have never sat down with the intentions of memorizing the song. But there was a key lyric that stood out to me as I was watching the scene of the hearse pulling into the grave yard:
"Because the greatest love of all, is easy to achieve. Learning to love yourself, it is the greatest love of all."
Whitney belted that lyric out with an intensity and quality of voice that mesmerized audiences world wide. My personal evaluation is that there has never been a more talented singer.
I must say however, that I disagree with the lyric above based on scripture. It is not love of self that is the greatest love of all.
Deuteronomy 30:19 "I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live 20 "that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."
The greatest love of all, is the love of God. According to the bible, blessing and cursing are riding on it.
I heard on the news that Whitney was raised in church and got her start singing gospel songs. A close family friend stated that Whitney's whole family was Christian. It sounds to me like somewhere along the line, Whitney left her roots and bought into a worldly philosophy that brought her life to a tragic and sad end.
Just reminds us all, the greatest love of all is the love of God. No amount of success, fame, money....nothing can replace it.
"Because the greatest love of all, is easy to achieve. Learning to love yourself, it is the greatest love of all."
Whitney belted that lyric out with an intensity and quality of voice that mesmerized audiences world wide. My personal evaluation is that there has never been a more talented singer.
I must say however, that I disagree with the lyric above based on scripture. It is not love of self that is the greatest love of all.
Deuteronomy 30:19 "I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live 20 "that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."
The greatest love of all, is the love of God. According to the bible, blessing and cursing are riding on it.
I heard on the news that Whitney was raised in church and got her start singing gospel songs. A close family friend stated that Whitney's whole family was Christian. It sounds to me like somewhere along the line, Whitney left her roots and bought into a worldly philosophy that brought her life to a tragic and sad end.
Just reminds us all, the greatest love of all is the love of God. No amount of success, fame, money....nothing can replace it.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Blow the trumpet
"Blow the trumpet in Zion; sanctify a fast; call a solemn assembly; gather the people" Joel 2:15
Most fasting is a private matter between an individual and God. There are however, occasions of public fast. The example cited above in the book of Joel would fall into that category. Whenever there is a public fast, there are a couple of key ingredients. I want to go over them because I called our church to a public season of fasting and prayer during December to last through the end of February.
1) The corporate fast is called for by a spiritual leader
2) There is some compelling reason for the fast that typically involves emergency
I know that many of you are participating in the season of prayer and fasting in various ways and I want to encourage you as we are in the last month of our season by sharing some ways that you can pray specifically.
Pray for the families in our church for financial provision. Several are out of work. Many have had to take jobs making less money. Many who own businesses are struggling to make ends meet. Many of our Senior Saints are living on fixed incomes, but their expenses are constantly rising.
Pray that God would provide the resources that Bethel needs to do all that God is calling us to do. Pray that there would be no ministry effort that goes undone, that God is calling us to do, that is not done because of a lack of funding.
Pray for spiritual growth in our church, so that we as individuals, and corporately would bring much glory to God.
May God richly bless you as you continue to do the hard work of intercession!!!
Most fasting is a private matter between an individual and God. There are however, occasions of public fast. The example cited above in the book of Joel would fall into that category. Whenever there is a public fast, there are a couple of key ingredients. I want to go over them because I called our church to a public season of fasting and prayer during December to last through the end of February.
1) The corporate fast is called for by a spiritual leader
2) There is some compelling reason for the fast that typically involves emergency
I know that many of you are participating in the season of prayer and fasting in various ways and I want to encourage you as we are in the last month of our season by sharing some ways that you can pray specifically.
Pray for the families in our church for financial provision. Several are out of work. Many have had to take jobs making less money. Many who own businesses are struggling to make ends meet. Many of our Senior Saints are living on fixed incomes, but their expenses are constantly rising.
Pray that God would provide the resources that Bethel needs to do all that God is calling us to do. Pray that there would be no ministry effort that goes undone, that God is calling us to do, that is not done because of a lack of funding.
Pray for spiritual growth in our church, so that we as individuals, and corporately would bring much glory to God.
May God richly bless you as you continue to do the hard work of intercession!!!
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Practical considerations for fasting
In the forty days of Jesus' fast in Luke 4 we are told that "he ate nothing" and that "he was hungry". Satan tempted Him to eat. That seems to indicate that Jesus was abstaining from food but not water. This is usually what is involved in a fast, that is abstaining from food but drinking water.
There are several examples of an "absolute fast" where people abstain from food and water. All of those situations appear to be a desperate measure of dire emergency. For example Ester instructed in Ester 4:16 "G, gather all the Jews......and hold a fast on my behalf, and neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will also fast as you do." Ester had been informed that an edict had been declared by the King to have all the Jews exterminated on a particular day. She was going to approach the King and ask him to repeal his edict. Ester knew that if her request displeased the King, that her life could certainly be in jeopardy. So she requested to have all the people engage in an "absolute fast" for 3 days to seek the intervention of God in the situation.
The human body cannot go without water much more than three days. Moses and Elijah did absolute fasts of forty days that must be considered supernatural. I would caution you that the absolute fast is the exception, and should never be attempted unless you have an absolute very clear command from God, and unless is it absolutely clear to you that God wants you to do otherwise, do not go beyond three days.
Most fasting will involve abstaining from food but continuing to drink water.
I also want to offer a practical word of caution to those who have health issues.
If you take medications that will burn a whole in your stomach if you do not eat food, I would caution you not to totally abstain from food. For you a fast may be a reduction in food intake as opposed to totally doing without food. During your "semi-fast"eat enough food to get you out of the danger zone for stomach problems that your medication would cause if you took them on an empty stomach. But eat no more than what would be required to get you out of that danger zone.
If you have diabetes or some other health issue that causes you to have to pay special attention to your diet, exercise great caution in regards to totally abstaining from food.
It may be wise to consult your physician about fasting if you have extenuating medical issues. It may give you the opportunity to have an interesting spiritual dialogue with your doctor. Imagine having this conversation with your doctor:
"Doctor, I don't know if I ever mentioned it to you before or not, but I am a Christian. I am really sensing a drawing from God lately to develop more intimacy with Him. The bible teaches Christians that fasting is a way to do that. However, I also want to consider practical matters before starting a fast. Now Doc, you know the medications that I am taking. You know my health issues. How much food would I need to consume if I wanted to cut my consumption to the absolute minimum without putting myself in danger physically?"
Think about the witness that would be to your physician if he or she is not a believer!!!
Now by all means, if you have a clear command from God to fast, and you absolutely know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have heard His voice......then far be it from me to give you any advice that would cause you to disobey God. If it is not that clear to you that you are hearing from God on it, I urge you to take the advice that I have offered on this blog post if you are an individual with health issues that need to be considered before entering a fast.
There are several examples of an "absolute fast" where people abstain from food and water. All of those situations appear to be a desperate measure of dire emergency. For example Ester instructed in Ester 4:16 "G, gather all the Jews......and hold a fast on my behalf, and neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will also fast as you do." Ester had been informed that an edict had been declared by the King to have all the Jews exterminated on a particular day. She was going to approach the King and ask him to repeal his edict. Ester knew that if her request displeased the King, that her life could certainly be in jeopardy. So she requested to have all the people engage in an "absolute fast" for 3 days to seek the intervention of God in the situation.
The human body cannot go without water much more than three days. Moses and Elijah did absolute fasts of forty days that must be considered supernatural. I would caution you that the absolute fast is the exception, and should never be attempted unless you have an absolute very clear command from God, and unless is it absolutely clear to you that God wants you to do otherwise, do not go beyond three days.
Most fasting will involve abstaining from food but continuing to drink water.
I also want to offer a practical word of caution to those who have health issues.
If you take medications that will burn a whole in your stomach if you do not eat food, I would caution you not to totally abstain from food. For you a fast may be a reduction in food intake as opposed to totally doing without food. During your "semi-fast"eat enough food to get you out of the danger zone for stomach problems that your medication would cause if you took them on an empty stomach. But eat no more than what would be required to get you out of that danger zone.
If you have diabetes or some other health issue that causes you to have to pay special attention to your diet, exercise great caution in regards to totally abstaining from food.
It may be wise to consult your physician about fasting if you have extenuating medical issues. It may give you the opportunity to have an interesting spiritual dialogue with your doctor. Imagine having this conversation with your doctor:
"Doctor, I don't know if I ever mentioned it to you before or not, but I am a Christian. I am really sensing a drawing from God lately to develop more intimacy with Him. The bible teaches Christians that fasting is a way to do that. However, I also want to consider practical matters before starting a fast. Now Doc, you know the medications that I am taking. You know my health issues. How much food would I need to consume if I wanted to cut my consumption to the absolute minimum without putting myself in danger physically?"
Think about the witness that would be to your physician if he or she is not a believer!!!
Now by all means, if you have a clear command from God to fast, and you absolutely know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have heard His voice......then far be it from me to give you any advice that would cause you to disobey God. If it is not that clear to you that you are hearing from God on it, I urge you to take the advice that I have offered on this blog post if you are an individual with health issues that need to be considered before entering a fast.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
The right motive for fasting
Matthew 6:17 "But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
Throughout the bible fasting is abstaining from food for spiritual purposes. There are health benefits. You can find plenty of articles on the internet regarding the potential health benefits of fasting. That must never be the motivation if you are going to achieve anything that will aid your spiritual life. In fact, motivation is the single most important factor. Wrong motivation when it comes to fasting will render it unproductive for your spiritual life.
The Pharisees wanted everyone to know when they were fasting. They would let their appearance become disheveled to give the outward impression that they were suffering through a fast. They were fasting and they wanted everyone to know. Jesus was teaching that they had their motive wrong. The motive ought to be to grow in intimacy with God, not to put it on display so everyone else can see how spiritual you are.
That brings us to a major reason for fasting....intimacy with Christ. Consider this passage:
Luke 5:33 Then they said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?"
The Pharisees were watching Jesus and picking him apart attempting to find fault with him. They thought they had an issue that they could get some traction on, so they bring it up. Notice how Jesus responds to their criticism:
Luke 5:34 And He said to them, "Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35 "But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days."
Jesus is saying, the purpose of fasting is to achieve intimacy with Me......I am with them face to face, so there is no need for them to fast now.....but one day I will be crucified and ascend to the Father, and when I am no longer with them physically, then they will fast.
So the motive is intimacy with Jesus.
To what degree do you desire intimacy with Jesus?
I played some football in High School. I had had a football coach that during a tough game would get us huddled up and say, "This game is going to boil down to who wants it worse. We are in a dog fight. The dog that wants it the worst is going to win. YOU GOTTA WANT IT!"
Can I say to you that when it comes to achieving deeper intimacy with Christ, YOU GOTTA WANT IT! If you are just fasting so that you can feel better about yourself because you did something spiritual you won't grow closer to Christ.
Before you fast, check your motive. Make sure there is but one thing and one thing alone that is driving your soul to fast.......to know God deeper.
Throughout the bible fasting is abstaining from food for spiritual purposes. There are health benefits. You can find plenty of articles on the internet regarding the potential health benefits of fasting. That must never be the motivation if you are going to achieve anything that will aid your spiritual life. In fact, motivation is the single most important factor. Wrong motivation when it comes to fasting will render it unproductive for your spiritual life.
The Pharisees wanted everyone to know when they were fasting. They would let their appearance become disheveled to give the outward impression that they were suffering through a fast. They were fasting and they wanted everyone to know. Jesus was teaching that they had their motive wrong. The motive ought to be to grow in intimacy with God, not to put it on display so everyone else can see how spiritual you are.
That brings us to a major reason for fasting....intimacy with Christ. Consider this passage:
Luke 5:33 Then they said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?"
The Pharisees were watching Jesus and picking him apart attempting to find fault with him. They thought they had an issue that they could get some traction on, so they bring it up. Notice how Jesus responds to their criticism:
Luke 5:34 And He said to them, "Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35 "But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days."
Jesus is saying, the purpose of fasting is to achieve intimacy with Me......I am with them face to face, so there is no need for them to fast now.....but one day I will be crucified and ascend to the Father, and when I am no longer with them physically, then they will fast.
So the motive is intimacy with Jesus.
To what degree do you desire intimacy with Jesus?
I played some football in High School. I had had a football coach that during a tough game would get us huddled up and say, "This game is going to boil down to who wants it worse. We are in a dog fight. The dog that wants it the worst is going to win. YOU GOTTA WANT IT!"
Can I say to you that when it comes to achieving deeper intimacy with Christ, YOU GOTTA WANT IT! If you are just fasting so that you can feel better about yourself because you did something spiritual you won't grow closer to Christ.
Before you fast, check your motive. Make sure there is but one thing and one thing alone that is driving your soul to fast.......to know God deeper.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
It's time
It's time to move on from making a case for fasting to other matters concerning this lost biblical discipline. But one more blog entry to make an appeal that I feel in my heart and spirit needs to be made to some of you out there reading this.
Reggie, you ask, "Why are you going to such lengths to try to make a case for fasting?" Because you need to be totally convinced in your spirit that what I am saying about fasting is true or it will avail you nothing. If you have not totally bought into the notion that it is a biblical discipline that absolutely needs to be just as much a part of your Christian experience as prayer and giving, you will not approach it in the right frame of mind and heart. If you approach it with the wrong frame of mind it will not work for you. You can not approach fasting with an "experimentation" attitude. "Let me try this to see if it works for me." You have already doomed it to fail. I want to get into reasons to fast on the next blog post or two.......but before I do......if you are not totally on board with this idea, please understand that you are rejecting something that has been portrayed in the bible as something Jesus assumed people would do. I must lovingly say to you that if you are not on board, it is because you are stiff necked and not responsive to the Lord, and are resistant to the Holy Spirit. You have defined what your Christian experience will consist of according to your own tastes and not according to biblical revelation....and the Holy Spirit is not involved in anything that does not line up with the Word of God. Folks this is serious stuff. Fasting is not some item on the Christian buffet that you choose if it suits your fancy. "Well, that fasting stuff just isn't for me." Then biblical Christianity isn't for you. You have created a Christian experience that you like instead of being instructed by the biblical revelation.
It is a very dangerous thing to be presented with truth and reject it. It is not even the fruit of a true child of God.
May the Lord soften every heart that has hardened itself against the truth of God.
Reggie, you ask, "Why are you going to such lengths to try to make a case for fasting?" Because you need to be totally convinced in your spirit that what I am saying about fasting is true or it will avail you nothing. If you have not totally bought into the notion that it is a biblical discipline that absolutely needs to be just as much a part of your Christian experience as prayer and giving, you will not approach it in the right frame of mind and heart. If you approach it with the wrong frame of mind it will not work for you. You can not approach fasting with an "experimentation" attitude. "Let me try this to see if it works for me." You have already doomed it to fail. I want to get into reasons to fast on the next blog post or two.......but before I do......if you are not totally on board with this idea, please understand that you are rejecting something that has been portrayed in the bible as something Jesus assumed people would do. I must lovingly say to you that if you are not on board, it is because you are stiff necked and not responsive to the Lord, and are resistant to the Holy Spirit. You have defined what your Christian experience will consist of according to your own tastes and not according to biblical revelation....and the Holy Spirit is not involved in anything that does not line up with the Word of God. Folks this is serious stuff. Fasting is not some item on the Christian buffet that you choose if it suits your fancy. "Well, that fasting stuff just isn't for me." Then biblical Christianity isn't for you. You have created a Christian experience that you like instead of being instructed by the biblical revelation.
It is a very dangerous thing to be presented with truth and reject it. It is not even the fruit of a true child of God.
May the Lord soften every heart that has hardened itself against the truth of God.
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