Have We Become a Church of Spiritual Leeches?

 "If there is a poor man with you, one of your brothers, in any of your towns in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother; but you shall freely open your hand to him, and shall generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks. (Exodus 

     I've had many conversations with Christians over the years regarding giving. These conversations tend to yield an endless list of self justifications for not giving. If you had overheard some of them you might have thought we were discussing a business plan, deciding which expenses had priority over the others, or a household budget. People often get stuck in a pattern of not giving, reluctant giving, or miserly giving because their thoughts about giving are totally centered on money. Jesus said a lot about giving, and little of it was about money, although He did mention it. 

   ...Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’” (Matthew 25:34-40 NKJV)

   But wait, if we are discussing giving, shouldn't money be the central focus of the conversation? Absolutely not!  Giving has nothing to do with money. It's all about faith. If you have sufficient faith that the Lord will supply your needs, you'll give as He instructs. Your alternative is to trust the strength of your own hand. Few Christians tithe as the bible instructs. Often those who do perceive it as sufficient giving, while the bible sees it as the beginning of giving. Weak faith produces weak giving. Profound faith produces profound giving. 

   I fear we've become a selfish church, claiming to serve a selfless Lord. Our discussions about our primary weekly services focus on how adequately we are served. I like the kids ministry.

The message really spoke to me this week. People at our church are so friendly. The music was awesome. None of these are bad things, but shouldn't we enter the sanctuary of God with a stronger desire to give than to receive? Have we become a church of leeches, sucking up the spiritual lifeblood of our gatherings? When is the last time you attended a Sunday service asking yourself -- How can I give to this service? All my bills are paid, so how can I help someone who is struggling? Who can I share the Gospel with? Is there a way I can serve here each Sunday? For too many Christians, these thoughts never cross their minds, and the poor struggle, the lost remain lost, and good churches seek to fill their weekly staffing needs. 

   Imagine a church where our thoughts were focused primarily on the needs of others, and how we could help satisfy those needs, where a faith induced burning desire to serve drove our giving paradigm, where the words Paul wrote to the Galatian church  were visibly obvious every Sunday morning -- I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Copyright 2014 Mission of the Master Ministries.  May be reproduced in whole or in part without prior written permission if a link is provided to http://wordworkswednesday.blogspot.com 

Master the Ordinary.

Isaiah, inspired by Holy Spirit, wrote (55:11) So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

   I know two men who the Lord saved later in their lives, more than a year ago. I've encouraged both to begin reading their bibles, suggesting that they read the Gospel of John first. One has made multiple commitments to begin, the other has begun reading the New Testament at a rate of just a chapter or two a day. The first continues to promise himself he's about to begin reading, but is stalled without ever starting. The man reading daily is growing and thriving in the Lord, the other is stuck -- an inch past saved.

   When I observe the diverse group of Christians I know, this pattern repeats itself en mass. Those who have mastered the simple feeding strategy of daily bible reading and daily prayer prosper. Their peace increases, their humility increases, and they begin to become a living image of the scriptures they've been reading and the Lord they've been talking with in prayer. Those who attempt to rely on fellowship activities and Sunday messages plateau, stall, then drift back toward submission to their flesh. This occurs in my life too -- when I let my spiritual routine breakdown for any reason.

    John Spurgeon wrote -- Remember, Christ's scholars must study upon their knees.

   When we view God's Word as a book to be intellectually conquered or prayer as a required ritual, neither will open a pathway to fellowship with Christ. But when we view both as conversations with a loving Father, Friend, Savior, and Counselor  our faith is multiplied and our hearts prosper as God understands prosperity. It's almost too simple and it seems to require too little, and yet God's Grace eludes so many. 

   The formula for spiritual growth is very simple. Master the ordinary. Ingest scripture and spend time with the Lord in prayer daily. 

   

Copyright 2014 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    

   

 

 

 

Four, Three, Two, One....Easter!

Matthew 27:50 -- And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.

Mark 15:37 -- And Jesus cried out with a loud voice and breathed His last. 

Luke 23:46 -- And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. Having said this, He breathed His last. 

John 19:30 -- So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished." And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. 

     The bible is unique among literature. It is an anthology that took over fifteen hundred years to write, contains the work of 40 writers from three continents, and was written in three languages. An anthology with these attributes would certainly contain divergent messages and many inconsistencies, but the bible does not. How is this possible? 

   The writers of the four Gospels quoted above also differed greatly. Luke and John were disciples from a Jewish heritage who had walked in the dust of the Lord's footsteps for several years. Mark was a scribe who got much of what he wrote through Peter's recollection, and Luke was a gentile physician. Although three were Jewish, their cultures extended from Galilee to Jerusalem, making them as disparate as Americans from Brooklyn and New Orleans. The thread that kept their accounts unified is named Holy Spirit. By His inspiration all wrote. 

    Four left us witness accounts. The only one we know was close enough to hear Jesus' words was John (see John 19:26-27) whom He assigned, immediately prior to His own death, the job of caring for His mother, Mary, who was also present. John was an eyewitness. The others may have been in the group of followers watching from a distance (Luke 23:49), but we aren't clearly informed. Only John informs of of the Lord's final words, It is finished. Maybe only John stood near enough to hear them. While the accounts differ in details, they never conflict. 

   Three recall His loud cry. I wonder if it was startling to see the man who had commanded the wind to quiet, the demons to flee, and the dead to live cry out like one of us. He was like one of us, fully human, and he was nothing like us at all, fully God. 

   Two saw Him breath His last breath. I wonder if, until that moment, the were expecting Him to instead suddenly free Himself, heal Himself, lower Himself from the cross and begin to reign as King of the Jews. 

   One spirit was yielded or given up -- His spirit. Yielding and giving reflect intended decisions. Diminishing the focus on His final breath, and rather refocusing on His decision to let that breath be final, a decision that rescinded his physicality and returned Him to spirituality. Death is often imposed by sickness, or accident or bad human intention or error. This was imposed by a loving Father, watching one child suffer as He saved millions of others. For me, that One saved this one. One Holy God saved one unholy Steve. And while His Spirit was yielded, that decision yielded for humanity the constant presence of Holy Spirit. 

   As we enjoy our Easter traditions, remember that Emmanuel, God with us, initiated Easter not for family dinners, chocolate rabbits or Easter egg hunts but as the day of the final Passover sacrifice of the lamb of God so that Holy Grace can reign over darkness, and to initiate a new exchange, Holy Grace for human faith, joining the hearts of heaven to the hearts of humanity forever. 

   Happy Easter. 

   To the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all those who have known the truth, because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever: (2 John 1:1-2 nkjv)

    Relevant has apparently become a church buzzword. I looked at many contemporary church websites and found it used and maybe even overused. They advertise relevant teaching and relevant preaching. Webster's Dictionary defines relevant as -- Pertinent; applicable. The testimony is not relevant to the case. The argument is not relevant to the question. [This is the sense in which the word is now generally used.] 

   So, if some churches are relevant are there others that are not relevant, irrelevant, un-relevant, anti relevant? If there are, they don't choose advertise it. This word, so popular with churches, appears to be used to mean less different from your culture than you might think. It appears to refer primarily to style, and less to content. 

    Opponents to Christ and His church often argue that Christianity is no longer relevant. They

mock God and any thought of a being higher than a human. They proclaim that in modernity we have grown past the need for God, whom they call a mythical figure. All forms of human excess are proclaimed as good. Any thought of an abiding Truth, proclaimed by a loving God is dismissed prior to investigation and even mocked. By academics, secular humanists, and all who have found and love and have devoted themselves to something God calls sin, God and His Word have been declared irrelevant. It seems we live in a culture that screams, "How is God relevant to my life?" when they should be asking, "How is my life relevant to God?"

   In today's verse, John writes the opposite. He writes under the inspiration of Holy Spirit  -- To the elect lady and her children  (the church and Christian believers) -- whom I love in truth... John acknowledges that there exists a singular, relevant Truth, and he proclaims his love for all those who have found and latched on to this Truth. He makes it clear that he isn't just expressing his love to his friends at his home church -- but also all those who have known the truth... 

   This Truth John speaks of is both inclusive (another popular church buzzword) and exclusive saying -- because of the truth which abides in us. The Truth John speaks of is the Truth of a Father in heaven who so loved the world that He sent us Jesus to pay with His own life for our own sin. Its a simple truth, but more than many can bear. It is also exclusive, excluding many, but not by God's choice or through His wrath, but by their own choice through their rejection of the Gospel. It is not just to be included as equally relevant, but rather it is exclusively relevant. It always was relevant, is relevant, and always will be relevant. 

John wrote that the Truth of Christ -- will be with us forever. Truth lasts forever. Who Jesus is and what He has done for us will last forever. Who we are and how Jesus loves us and guides our lives deeper into His Truth will last forever. Bob Dylan wrote -- The times they are a-changin'. He was right. Most of what we can see with our eyes are temporal things, and temporal things (the times) they are changing and always will. Styles change. Social norms change. Our culture changes too, but the Truth as expressed and left for us in the bible, never changes. It will be with us forever. 

 Hold onto temporal things with a gentle grip. When they begin to slip away, let them. Latch onto eternal things, and never let go. If you do --  Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. (v3)

 Copyright 2014 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 

Hearing the Voice of God....

 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever— the Spirit of Truth, Whom the world cannot receive (welcome, take to its heart), because it does not see Him or know and recognize Him. But you know and recognize Him, for He lives with you [constantly] and will be in you. (John 14:16-17 Amp) 

   

    I know many people who have for various reasons decided to seek professional counseling to help them work through life difficulties they have experienced. Some were restored by counseling but for others it seemed to have little effect. I've noticed that those who readily accepted the credentials and abilities of their counselors fared far better than those who questioned or in some cases openly mocked the individual who was trained to and trying to help them. 

     It is similar for those of us who have invited Christ into our hearts. 

  Jesus asked our heavenly Father to send the Holy Spirit to indwell the hearts of all Christians. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby)... He did not come because He needed anything from us, but rather to be a companion Witness in our lives. He does not live in everyone ...the Spirit of Truth, Whom the world cannot receive..., but instead indwells the hearts of born again Christians. Those outside of Christ, the world, cannot receive Him ..because it does not see Him or know and recognize Him... He exists in their presence and is very active in their world, but their lack of acknowledgement of Christ shields Him from their view. It is as if they were standing in a hospital Emergency Room bleeding to death, unable to see the help that surrounds them. 

 Through Christ, the eyes of our Christian hearts have been opened and we  ...know and recognize Him. He is ever and forever present and active in our lives ...for He lives with you [constantly] and will be in you. When He arrives, He comes as an X-factor, subtle and unknown. We don't yet know His voice or leading. We may fear His power and are reluctant to cede control to Him. But over time a relationship is birthed and we come to know, trust and love Him. 

    And yet, repeatedly, I close my heart to His goading and guidance and spend frustrated hours wrestling with life's difficulties by myself. What must Holy Spirit be thinking as He watches me ignore His input? He never shouts louder, but the problem isn't the volume of His voice. The problem is that I am listening less, or worse, I turn my back on Him. 

    C. W. Studd put it like this long ago -- How little chance the Holy Ghost has nowadays. The churches and missionary societies have so bound Him in red tape that they practically ask Him to sit in a corner while they do the work themselves.

   Paul said it like this -- For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8 5-8)

   My prayer this morning is simple. Lord, let the Spirit dominate and my flesh submit. 

   Have you listened to your Counselor (Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby)  lately? The power, wisdom and counsel of our loving Father has been placed within us. All we have to do to receive it is ask and listen. 

    Copyright 2014 Mission of the Master Ministries, Inc. May be reproduced in whole or in part if a link is provided to http://wordworkswednesday.blogspot.com 

     

   

   If the world hates you, you know it hated Me before it hated you.  (John 15:18 NKJV)

   Everybody wants to be loved. Nobody wants to be hated. Fear of ridicule has a name, catagelophobia. While this word describes the most severe form or phobia of fear and ridicule, most of us have experienced and reacted to ordinary uncomfortable and unwarranted criticism. In the verse above, the Lord of the universe, Jesus, promises us hatred by the elements of the world which have rejected Him, or have not heard of Him, and He reassures us that the world hates Him too. 

    In my life, this Christian focused ridicule has usually been subtle. As I began to grow in Christ years ago, many non Christian friends just quietly withdrew their contact. This often happened with good reason, I was no loner interested in the things or behaviors that they preferred. The Apostle Paul said it best- The new has come, the old is gone.  

   I did have a few very vocal critics of my new life in Christ. I was confronted by some with being "too religious". Others seemed to think that constant reminder of past sins would draw me back to them. And a few goaded me me with the most vile expressions and condemnations of the Lord they could utter. 

    I in no way enjoyed these criticisms, and in a way, they had the opposite of the intended

effect -- they encouraged me. I remember thinking a few years after the Lord saved me, Have I really changed enough to irritate them? 

   Some of the most difficult criticism for me to sort out came from people in the church. One mean spirited church lady I knew justified it, calling it holy gossip. It took a while for me to realize that many of them attended church with religious fervor, sought to hold positions of authority, but did it all without spiritual rebirth. They had staked out positions, powers, and principalities, and found it abundantly annoying if the Lord promoted anyone past them. My testimony made them very uncomfortable, and when I actually read and loved the Word and was transformed by it, it was more than they could bear. Jesus said -- But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,[h] 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; (Matthew 5:44 NKJV)

   But while their voices were loud and harsh (and rarely constructive), over the years there have been many more who noticed the changes that the Lord brought in me and approached with open hearts, curious and willing to listen. The Lord has taken a harvest from among them and brought a harvest from their testimonies too. 

   So, take heart hated Christians, dreaded followers of Jesus. What the world hates, the Lord loves. Find joy in snide remarks and always be quick to share humbly the Gospel that snatched you from the fire. Don't fall in to deep catagelophobia. Instead, simply shake off the criticism they lob at you and remain of Jesus' narrow path. 

    Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 




Copyright 2014 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  

Erasing Error Instead of Correcting It.....

And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them. So they left Him and went away. (Mark 12:12) 

    What do you do when you find the Word of God pressing against you?  This is an important question, because as the Holy Spirit leads us through the ongoing process of sanctification, many times the Word will instruct us and the Holy Spirit convict us. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness... (1 Tim 3:16) If humility and submission to the authority of the Word reign in your heart, you'll submit, repent, and ask the Holy Spirit to guide a course correction in your life. But humility's nemesis, pride, often has a different plan, suggesting that we simply ignore or erase our error instead of correcting it.

   When Jesus walked the earth in flesh, the rulers of God's Temple in Jerusalem had allowed spiritual elitism to infect their minds. They liked being the ones who had all the answers, and when Jesus arrived with better answers, and the Word (in the flesh) pressed against them, they let pride driven envy infect their thoughts and block a corrective teaching about their leadership. Members of the Sanhedrin felt they had paid their dues through service to attain the positions they held in the Temple hierarchy. Still others, the priests of God, had inherited their jobs by right of birth as descendants of Aaron, and they felt prideful entitlement. Both groups had enjoyed a long season where their authority was never questioned, so instead of looking to the final Arbiter for answers, they had become their own arbiters. They had barked human inspired orders and the multitudes had obeyed them. Now, a Servant Lord had arrived with Truth on His tongue and it infuriated them. The Psalmist wrote --  When with rebukes You correct man for iniquity, You make his beauty melt away like a moth; Surely every man is vapor.... John Wesley expressed their situation like this -- How wonderful is the providence of God, using all things for the good of His children! Generally the multitude is restrained from tearing them in pieces only by the fear of their rulers. And here the rulers themselves are restrained, through fear of the multitude! 

    What do you do when you find the Word of God leaned against you? What do you do when you realize you are wrong, sideways with the Lord, caught in sin? We've all had the experience of abrupt conviction by the simple hearing of God's word. Those moments test our claims of submission. I'd be less than truthful if I didn't admit to you that I have myself applied the Pharisaic solution, and plotted against the word. I've experienced conviction and instead of submitting to it's instruction, searched the scriptures for a loophole that would excuse me.  I've even resorted to reconsidering contradictory doctrinal positions that I thought might excuse me where God had accused me. I've worn a scriptural hearing aid that would allow some thoughts in but protect me from the menacing truth of my sin. I've wasted a lot of time and effort and taken many winding paths only to find myself standing back at the foot of the Word, with my heart fully convicted. Prideful resistance of God was a forty seven year habit for me before He, by Grace through faith, saved me. That's when I first experienced the blessing of Divine correction. Still, well rooted old habits and favored sins like to try to push up new shoots every now and then. 

   The writer of Hebrews reminds us -- Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:11)  If we I want to yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness, we have to yield to the Vine-dresser's pruning Spirit.

   Where in your life is the word of God leaned against you? Where are you pushing back instead of submitting? Where are you listening to everything or anything on your spiritual iPod except what Holy Spirit and the Word of God are instructing?

    For whom the LORD loves He chastens...

Copyright 2014 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