Living at the Intersection of God's Way and My Own Way

 

   Under the leadership of King David, Israel decided to return the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. Good decision. Good Intentions. Bad plan!

 

   2 And David said to all the assembly of Israel, "If it seems good to you, and if it is of the Lord our God, let us send out to our brethren everywhere who are left in all the land of Israel, and with them to the priests and Levites who are in their cities and their common-lands, that they may gather together to us;
3 and let us bring the ark of our God back to us, for we have not inquired at it since the days of Saul."
4 Then all the assembly said that they would do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.  (1 Chronicles 13:2-4 NKJV)

 

   Eventually, the plan fell apart -- 9 And when they came to Chidon's [xr] threshing floor, Uzza put out his hand to hold the ark, for the oxen stumbled. 10 Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzza, and He struck him because he put his hand to the ark; and he died there before God.

 

  Uzza and Ahio drove the new cart: The names of these sons of Abinadab paint a meaningful picture. Uzza means “strength” and Ahio means “friendly.” Neither were sons of Korah. 

 

   Much service for the Lord is like this - a new cart, a big production, with strength leading and friendly out front - yet all done without inquiring of God or looking to His will. Surely David prayed for God’s blessing on this big production, but he didn’t inquire of God regarding the production itself. This was a good thing done the wrong way. (Guzik)

 

  David, Uzza, Ahio, and all of Israel knew that no one, not even the sons of Korah could touch the Ark without dying. Uzza probably never intended to touch it, but his flawed plan

allowed the possibility, and he was God-tazed and died. He had treated the Ark as he would have treated any other valuable thing, but the Ark had more value than all other things. Uzza didn't die at the hardness of the heart of God, but rather for his own disobedience.

   His intention to help was right enough; but there was a profound insensibility to the awful sacredness of the ark, on which even its Levitical bearers were forbidden to lay hands.” (Maclaren)

 

   This story reminds us that God as interested in the ministry process as He is in our ministry results. How they transported the ark mattered to God, but not to David, so the process he chose ruined the result he intended.

 

   When we devote ourselves to ministry, Satan attacks the result we intend by attempting to corrupt the process we employ. We should always examine our methods until we are confident that they align with God's will and His Word. When we do otherwise, we mock the Lord and indicate that we believe that our ways are higher than His ways, and our thoughts higher than His thoughts.

 

   I've suffered ministry failures by exalting the result I intended to the point that it clouded my view of the process (usually while I ignored the voice of my inner Holy Spirit alarm). When the Lord calls us to ministry and requests a result from us, we need to seek Him for the process in prayer instead of immediately building a new cart to carry it.
  

   Three questions emerge:

 

   1- Are you so outcome focused that you have ignored the inward leading of the Lord in your ministry call?

 

   2- Have you recognized that you are cart building, but have so much time, money  and energy invested in the cart that you continue to load it anyway?

 

   3 - Are there Uzzahs around you who are in danger of suffering for touching your faulty ministry plan?

      
   I live at the intersection of God's Way and My Own Way. My daily life is a series of moment to moment choices to obey God or be drawn to the forces competing to draw me to self reliance. While I've never had to go fetch the Ark, Uzzah's scenario resonates in my heart as I plow through my ordinary days. I want to live in God's Will. I want to make God led choices. I remind myself of these desires every day.

   Still, I occasionally find myself loading a cart that the Lord never told me to build.
 

 

   Copyright 2013 Mission of the Master Ministries, Inc. May be reproduced in whole or in part without prior written permission if a link is provided to http://wordworkswednesday.blogspot.com

 

 

 

The Royal Baby, Searching for Spiritual Gifts, and Measuring the Power of God

Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. (1 Timothy 4:14 NKJV)

 

   Paul admonished Timothy to not neglect his spiritual gifting. He also reminds Timothy that God released a gift in Him as church elders asked the Lord in prayer to do so. So, how/when/where do we get/receive/awaken ministry gifts in our lives?

 

   There is no such thing is a Christian who lacks any spiritual gifting. We know this because Paul wrote to the Corinthian church -- But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all......  But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. God, through the Holy Spirit distributes gifts to each believer. This results from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit we receive at the moment  of our salvation.

 

   A huge market has developed in the Christian community for classes, products, and tests which portend to determine each individual's specific gifting. Seems kind of implausible that God would bless us with gifts, but leave us in need of the wisdom of men to determine the identity of those gifts. I Googled Testing for spiritual gifts, and got over 47 million results. I compared some of the top results and found a wide variety of questions and even the number of things identified as spiritual gifts. So I wondered if we aren't taking these "inventories" too literally. We act as if they are comparable to scientific blood tests, with accurate and irreversible results. Because of these views we tend to think of the results of these assessments as static, lasting and final when actually they provide at best a spiritual snapshot of a moment in time. Can we really rely on the results of our answers to about a hundred multiple choice questions to reveal the limits of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives? I don't think so.  

 

   Oh, take the test for yourself if you like. It won't harm you, but view the results with healthy skepticism. Don't lament the gifts you find yourself lacking, but rather follow Paul's admonition as he concludes his discourse on spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12 --(vs31) But earnestly desire the greatest gifts.

 

   We are limited, but our Father is limitless, and has often used the least likely candidates for His greatest purposes. A royal baby was born in London yesterday. He is said to be "third in line for the throne". We serve a King who can never be replaced, and when we kneel before Him in prayer, we are first in line at the throne.

 

   We are limited, but often by our lack of earnest desire for gifts we either believe we don't deserve or couldn't handle we neglect God's gifting.

 

   We are limited, but often by the results of a "test" that purported to measure the power of God within us, but really only revealed a hint of His Presence within us at a particular moment in time.

 

   But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26 NKJV) If all things are possible, take your earnest desires to Him in prayer. Receive whatever He gives you with thanksgiving, and don't measure your ability to walk out  His challenging gifting by the assessment of yourself, other Christians, or especially a test created by the human mind.

 

   As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9 NKJV)

 

 

   Copyright 2013 Mission of the Master Ministries, Inc. May be reproduced in whole or in part with prior written permission if a link is provided to http://wordworkswednesday.blogspot.com

 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life-- the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us......and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 

And these things we write to you that your [fn] joy may be full.  (1 John 1:1-5 NKJV)

 

   I want full joy. Why be unhappy? Dave Guzik thinks this verse expresses the importance of relationship over accumulation of worldly possessions--  Most people understand that the important things in life are not things at all - they are the relationships we have. God has put a desire for relationship in every one of us, a desire He intended to be met with relationships with other people, but most of all, to be met by a relationship with Him. In this remarkable letter, John tells us the truth about relationships - and shows us how to have relationships that are real, for both now and eternity.

 

   John, the writer of these verses, knew Jesus intimately. Most scholars agree that John was a teenager when he began to walk in Jesus' dust every day. Teen years are extremely important formative years. Things we learn and accept as truth in those years influence who we are and how we act as adults. If we spend those years learning and practicing the wrong things, we will at best spend years unlearning them or at worst have our lives destroyed or badly misled by what we learned. But John learned the Lord form the Lord. He had countless hours walking the roads of Israel with Christ. He refers to himself as "the disciple Jesus loved". He had a wonderful relationship with the Lord and knew it. In these verses and all of chapter 1, John is exhorting us to a full relationship with Christ. When our relationship with Jesus is properly established, good relationships with others naturally result.

   John says, I heard Him, I saw Him, I touched Him! Jesus was not mystical or theoretical to John. He was the guy he and his friends spent three and a half years with. He was the guy who over time revealed Himself as God in the flesh. He was the guy who confirmed His claim with miracles, but more importantly with intimate personal relationship. John knew and loved Jesus, and he is pleading with us to do the same.

   Why is this so important to Him? John says -- Jesus is the eternal word of life, and that relationship with faith in Him will transport any person from temporal life to eternal life, and that once that exchange is transacted, your joy may be full. Ever hear anyone long for a ten percent joyous life? How about a half joyous life? Neither have I.

   If the landscape of your life is littered with broken relationships, or if you are struggling with one major broken relationship, it might be wisdom to take another look at your primary relationship with Christ for help. Have you heard Him like John? Seen Him like John? Has He touched your heart like He touched John's? As Jesus walked with John, He is willing to walk with us today -- but He won't chase us down our own rambling path. We have to hear His voice, see Him, then walk as John did in Jesus' dust -- down Jesus' path.

   Want full Joy? Follow Jesus.
 

   And these things we write to you that your [fn] joy may be full.



Copyright 2013 Mission of the Master Ministries, Inc. May be quoted in part or in whole without prior written permission if a link is provided to http://wordworkswednesday.blogspot.com

   

 

  

How To Receive a Gift...and Reject It At The Same Time

For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.  

 

  One day, I will die. This is certain. As a man who has existed a few years, this is also obvious. But it is as certain that a healthy child born this very day will also die. Death has no question of if, just when. Paul points to death as the Adamic legacy. Through Adam's sin, death arrived and plagued mankind with its certainty. In spite of this certainty, we never quite get accustomed to it. I lost a sister to cancer this year at age 57. I still can hardly believe she is gone.

 

  What kills me physically is Adam's sin. What kills me spiritually is my own. Humankind has

never developed a method of immortality, and it has never developed an method to erase sin and bring spiritual immortality. Left to our own devices, both are absolutes. Still, we try.

 

   Paul wrote - For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God... We kind of get that, so when we know we're in trouble, we look for our own solution. God knew we would, and reminded us and the Ephesian church (and us 2:8-10) For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast

   When an occasion warrants that I get someone a gift, I take the task seriously. I like to get people gifts that they will appreciate. The best gifts provide a solution to a problem. If your car is old and broken down and someone gives you a new one, that's a great solution! I've received some great and timely gifts. Even if they weren't of great financial value, if they provided a solution to a problem that was concerning me, my appreciation of the gift was great. I while back, when I was without funds, someone stole the tires and rims from my car. The sister I mentioned earlier bought me new tires and rims. The ones that were stolen were old and worn. The replacements were new and better. I still appreciate those tires every time I drive that car.

 

   The bible says that as believers we have received from Christ the gift of righteousness  There is no greater gift. It provides the solution to the problems of both my physical death initiated by Adam's sin, and my spiritual death initiated by my own sin. The solution to the sin problem that has plagued humanity is available by grace....through faith in Jesus' work on the cross. Jesus hand is always extended, offering this gift to all. I simply need to receive it.

 

   But there is a strange phenomenon in the church. Many professing born again Christians still walk out their days in a continuing effort to accomplish self earned righteousness, to attain worthiness of the gift, to repay God for something of infinite value. They struggle and suffer (two things they believe they deserve) and they rarely experience Peace. The idea of Grace is more than they can accept. They still bear the weight of the sin Jesus has lifted from their shoulders. They profess Christ, but never share the Gospel. You cannot give away what you have never received. You can't explain what you don't understand. In fact, they often argue for limited Grace, expressing a conviction that some work must be added to Grace for it to be effective.

 

    Yep, The wages of sin is death.... That's true. ....but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus. That's true too. In your heart have you received the gift of righteousness by Grace through Faith, or are you professing Christ and trying to earn His favor?

 

Copyright 2013 Mission of the Master Ministries, Inc. May be reproduced in whole or in part if a link is provided to http://wordworkswednesday.blogspot.com

  

Are You a Carnal Christian?

   I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? 
   

   What's a carnal Christian? Is it even possible to be a Christian and remain carnal? Carnality implies a life led by the demands of the flesh rather than a life led by the Spirit. Most new Christians retain some amount of carnality. Over time, as they marinate in the Word and spend time in prayer, they grow continuously more spiritual and become less carnal. The possibility of returning to carnal thinking and carnal living always exists if we lose the disciplines of prayer and bible study.

 

   Redpath wrote -- “The carnal Christian is a child of God, born again and on his way to heaven, but he is traveling third class.” 

 

   This implies that the people Paul is addressing are born again Christians. He calls them "brothers" and "babes in Christ". This implies that they are born again, indwelled by the Holy Spirit, but are still leading lives dominated by their flesh. They are saved, but stuck in the lowest possible level of freedom in Christ in a perpetual battle with their spiritual immaturity. Paul inquires of them -- are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? 

 

   Here's a vivid depiction of carnal Christianity. Notice that the state of being, either natural, carnal or spiritual is determined by the position of Christ.

 

 

   If you find yourself in depiction 1, you are not a Christian. Give your heart to God today. Repent your sin, ask Jesus to enter your heart, and find a good biblical church where you can grow and prosper in Christ.

 

   If you find yourself in depiction 3, Praise the Lord. You are walking as the Lord would have you walk.

 

   But if depiction 2 best describes your life, Christ is in your life but you are still seated on the throne, you are best described as a carnal Christian. Most Christians find an occasional day when this best describes them, but if it generally describes your life, how can you transition to depiction 3? The answer is so simple that many remain stuck in carnality, unable to see it. Ask yourself these simple questions.

 

   1 - How is my prayer life? Most carnal Christians have virtually no prayer life. At the end of the Azuza Street Revival that initiated the Pentecostal movement over a century ago, a final prophecy was given describing a falling away that would become apparent in our days -- An over emphasis on praise to a God they no longer pray to. The good news is that if your heart is cut by the truth this prophecy exposes in your life there is a simple and immediate solution -- take time to pray. Prioritize prayer. It will may begin as a task, but will quickly become your favorite time. Sit with the Lord in prayer until you become vividly aware of His Presence.

 

   2 - Who is seated on the throne of my life? Part two of that same prophecy says -- An overemphasis on the gifts of the Spirit rather than the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Saving power comes from Christ alone. No person can make any effort that bolsters their own salvation. However, submission to Christ is a daily choice. Is your heart submitted to the will of God today? Are you submitted the Lordship of Jesus Christ? 

 

   See, it is simple -- but not easy and certainly not automatic.

 

   Are you stuck in carnality? Find the fullness of freedom in Christ. Pray, read your bible, and relinquish your throne to Him.

 

 

Copyright 2013 Mission of the Master Ministries, Inc. May be reproduced in whole or in part without prior written permission if a link is provided to wordworkswednesday.blogspot.com.