Are You Brainstained?

    I said to myself concerning the sons of men, "God has surely tested them in order for them to see that they are but beasts." (Ecclesiastes 3:18 KJV)

    Do you ever talk to yourself? I'm not asking about insane mumblings or whispered narration of tasks you are performing. Solomon often uses the expression -- I said to myself... What are you saying to yourself? What is the inner voice that provides a narrative of life as it passes by saying to you? Is it opposing God and Godly thought or affirming God and Godly thought?

   Ever hear the term "brainwashing"? I just Googled it. Here's how Wikipedia defines it -- Brainwashing (also known as thought reform or as re-education) consists of any effort aimed at instilling certain attitudes and beliefs in a person — beliefs sometimes unwelcome or in conflict with the person's prior beliefs and knowledge, in order to affect that individual's value system and subsequent thought-patterns and behaviors.

 

    Is your brain stained? Are you allowing your mind to continuously deepen the stain, or are you washing it with the Word of God? God needs to quiet the -- I said to myself... voice in our heads, and replace it with an ear tuned to the inner voice in our hearts, the voice of the Holy Spirit.

  Could your faith life use some thought reform? Continuous spiritual improvement requires  tuning into God's voice, and a simultaneous tuning out of the inner shouting which childishly demands our attention to its unending stream of worldly opinions. We cannot wash our own brains clean of sin stains. Jesus has to do that. The mind cleansing Word says -- He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior. (Titus 3:5,6)

Where are your thoughts unreformed? Where is your brain stained? Are there areas of thought where you have giving up and stopped scrubbing? Is there a part of you that you've allowed your inner voice to convince you Jesus is impotent to transform? Open the Word. Pray. Scrub your brain stains. Tune in to God. Tune out yourself.

And He was saying to them, Take care what you listen to... (Mark 4:24)

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

The Word, the Root, and the Branches Search for Unity

And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, "Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in." Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. (Romans 11:17-21 NKJV)   

 

   According to church researchers most Christians have an ambiguous theology. We kind of know generally what denominations we disagree with, but we are unable to articulate the particulars of the disagreement. The Holy Spirit instructed me years ago to “die to denominationalism”. Over time I have concluded that every born again Christian is my brother or sister in Christ. This has made me realize that I am coupled at the root with believers with whom I may have sharp theological disagreement. It has become obvious over time, that two Christians, both bent on "rightly dividing the Word of God", my still find themselves in disagreement on minor theological issues. My sense is that God is focused on unity while our flesh, wanting to be right, distinguishes the differences.

 

   Reluctantly, I have tilted in favor of unity. It is amazing how my interaction has changed when I have abandoned the need to explain to others the failings perceived in their theology. I now consciously resist letting the theological anger of another lead to mine in return. Paul’s words to the church in Rome remind to re-center my focus on Christ -- But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.

 

  

   This may seem to be an odd comment coming from a man who has written about the bible and the Lord for years, but I wonder if the root of our disagreement isn’t fed from our habit of spending more time reading the uninspired words written my mortals about the God than we spend simply reading the Word and praying. It seems we’ve become as a church a little obsessed with the next cool explanation. In other words, we boast about the man who has written about the Root rather than boasting about the Root he is writing about.   

   John Wesley called himself a man with a one book library. His method of bible study was simple. Read a verse and pray. If he still lacked understanding he next read every other verse about the same subject or that contained the same word and prayed more. Then he’d ask a trusted Christian friend to do the same and he’d discuss their understanding. (By the way, this included his dear friend George Whitefield who had a very different theological view). As a last resort he’d look to the church fathers and what they’d written.

   First the Root, then the branches.   

   Are you a student of the Word, or of what has been written about it by its branches?

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

Confessing Praise......

   Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. (Hebrews 13:15 NKJV)

 

     Human praise is often well intended false praise. If my friend sings a solo that is actually painful to listen to but immediately asks me how he did, I will undoubtedly praise him. Sometimes I want to praise someone to encourage them but find myself looking hard for something praiseworthy. If I find nothing, I select the best thing I can find and praise that. I think it was Joan Rivers who said -- Anything a man says to a woman about her shoes, weight, dress, hair, eyes, face, ears, shoes, height, shoes, weight, or shoes is probably a lie. Sorry ladies, I really don’t care about your shoes as much as some of you do.

 

…let us continually offer… In the original Greek, this is better translated as continually confess.... This offering requires praise mindedness. If the weight of the Lord’s salvation alone has settled in my heart, how can my praise ever end? Since I recognized the truth of the Gospel, I have lived a life observed through a God-lens provided by the indwelling Spirit and focused by the Word. All provision I see as from Him. All favor from Him. Luck and happenstances are things of my past. My Father is watching over me, attending to my needs, pruning dead limbs and pouring mercy and grace over my life. In the days of the tabernacle and temple, praise was offered at certain times and in certain places. The old is gone, behold the new has come. My continuous praise exists because of His continuous Presence in my life.

 

….a sacrifice… When I research a Greek word it typically has multiple meanings that are dependent on context or other associated words. Here the Greek word means only sacrifice. It is used 29 times in the New Testament and it is translated as sacrifice all 29 times. What do I sacrifice when I praise God? I sacrifice my flesh, my ambition, my pride, and my desire to be worshipped. Praising God in truth sets not only Him in proper perspective, but myself also. When I pour out an offering of words to describe the greatness of my Lord, my prideful somethingness fades to humble nothingness.

 

…. of praise to God… In praising a person or any created thing I can easily outreach the truth, but it is not so with God. With the Lord if I simply state the truth of what He is and has done, I can never exaggerate and I can never finish. That is authentic, the fruit of our lips, worshipping in spirit and truth, God praise. My praise cannot be mechanical, a fleshy offering of my good praise works. It has to be an offering poured from my grateful heart, giving thanks to His Name….

 

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

Brand Evangelists, Downton Abbey, and Loving My Enemies.....

   It is absolutely thrilling when the Lord uses us to bring someone to the knowledge of His saving Grace. It encourages us to want to repeat the process. If we began by sharing our personal salvation testimony, we are encouraged to share it more frequently. If we began by sharing the Gospel, we are encouraged to share it more frequently. But a stubborn fact remains. For everyone we lead to the Lord's salvation, scores will reject His message. Those rejections can accumulate. If we see them as personal rejection of ourselves or failures of ourselves to effectively communicate they can become an obstacle to our holy boldness. Insurance salesmen are trained to expect twenty rejections for each sale and often speak of "collecting the no!", until they have collected enough that they finally get a yes! Too often, we approach the spiritual by trying to apply what works in the natural.

    The Church is supposed to lead the culture, reform the culture, and watch the culture be transformed by the Word, the Spirit, and Gospel. However, I often hear churches today  instead adopting the culture, and in that also adopting  secular sales and marketing rhetoric. Individual churches speak of "marketing their brand" as if they stood separated from Christ, and even applying secular marketing methods to the gospel. We are not called to be  "brand evangelists" for Christ.

 

   The message of Christ is meant to be transferred by attraction rather than promotion. What reflection of Christ in me will attract someone to saving faith? Often we are more like the servants in the kitchen at Downton Abbey, gossiping about those who reside  in the same home rather than loving them so much that we are distinguished by that love. Jesus said --

But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. (Luke 6:35 NKJV)

   Love is the most distinguishing reflection of Christ. Radical love, love that loves its enemies, hoping for nothing in return, is virtually non existent outside of hearts transformed by Christ. Too often it resides in seclusion within the those hearts which have found it. Jesus also said -
 

But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. (Luke 6:32 KNJV) Has your love reached beyond those easy to love family and Christian friends, or does it appear only where it is comfortable?

  

   The door to the Gospel is most easily opened by the power of love. Not some fictitious love, feigned for sake of opportunity, but simple love, genuine love, the love of God which has taken residence in our hearts. In 1 Corinthians 13, the Lord assures us of the power of love with this simple verse -
 

Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:8 NKJV)
 

That's a promise from God. Test it. Try being the love of Christ in the lives of those for whom you are praying that they will find saving Grace, and watch the door to the Gospel fly open!

Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:8 NKJV)

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

  

I am ready to perform My word. (Jer 1:12) God is ready. Are you?

    

    I use a simple (cheap) spiral bound notebook as a prayer journal. When one gets full, I start a new one. I recently ran across an old prayer journal that was only slightly used. It was dated from 2005-06. I turned to the page listing those for whom I was praying for salvation. Most on that old list have been saved, but only after years of prayer. The others I still lift in daily prayer.

 

   I pray because God answers prayer. His Word is replete with examples of answered prayers in both the Old and New Testaments. My life as a Christian is also replete with answered prayers. I am not sure how long I would have continued sending requests to the Lord if He had never responded. His word assures me --  Ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full. (John 16:24) and... If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. (John 15:7)

 

   So I pray.

 

   In personal evangelism, I have a tendency to want to also pray. By this I mean that I can easily fall to the terrible practice of fleshy evangelism based on my skills at quoting the right scriptures and my power of persuasion. That kind of prideful evangelism doesn't emanate from the Lord. My prayer journal always contains a short list of names of people I am asking the Lord to save. I ask the Lord to lead me to a scripture to pray over them when I sit with Him in prayer. I keep my list short -- ten or twelve at the most. I lift them in prayer every time I sit with the Lord. When the Lord's salvation comes to one of them, I mark down the date, then add a new name and scripture to replace them in my daily prayer time.

 

   Today I added a name, and got a scripture to pray over them during my prayer time, and I prayed for them. Having prayed for their salvation I consider them saved. Believing the promises of God, I know it is no longer a question of if they will be saved, but instead, when. God does not disappoint me in these prayers, although His timing and His methods often baffle me. 

 

   I believe this sad truth. Millions are lost in their sin because no one is praying for their salvation.   

 

   Who are you asking daily for the Lord to save? Hoping for the salvation of others is nice, but meaningless. Telling other Christians that you wish someone you love would give their heart to Jesus is just as useless. However, spending time in prayer, worshiping God, praising Him, and then pleading for the salvation of someone you love until it arrives will produce the fruit of salvation.

   Start with a very short list - two or three loved ones you really want to find the peace of Jesus, then pray each day. Stop hoping. Start waiting expectantly.

 

  Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things..." (Jer 33:3)

Following my own advice....

    I recently mentioned the concept of searching for pieces of the image of God in everyone we meet. Remarkably, I once had decided to take my own advice. Two years ago, all day long, everywhere I went, I tried to find something in each person I encountered that reflected God in some way. The results were interesting......

 

    For lunch, I ordered a sandwich at a deli. The young woman who took my order spends her day quickly slapping sandwiches together as they come to her in the form of detailed orders on a computer screen. Her job doesn't require her to interact in any way with the people who have ordered the sandwich via a touch screen menu board. Their order arrives as a number, and when she completes the order she simply places the finished sandwich on the pick up counter and calls out the order number. Even before she made my lunch I observed that as she worked she noticed if anyone showed interest. If they did, she would ask if it was their sandwich she was making. If it was, she'd personalize the automated service and talk to them as she proceeded.

 

 

    When she engaged me in conversation, I told her I that the bible says we are made in the image of God, and that I had seen a reflection of God in her. She laughed as if that was completely impossible.... then asked me what I had seen. I told her that her job is designed by her company so that she is an invisible worker with no interaction with her customers required, but she reaches across the technology to speak directly to each customer, then quoted Paul's words from Colossians that Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God. I told her that when she reached across the technology to speak directly to customers it reflected the image of Jesus who reached across eternity to speak directly to us when we could not have required Him to.

 

    If you examine a hundred evangelism tracts, almost all try too quickly to reveal to people the failings of their sin. While it is a biblical truth that they must come to clearly see in order to be saved, it is so confrontational that many people immediately close the conversation. My sandwich maker was instead fascinated that something in her might reflect God, and she easily spoke with me about Jesus. She was smiling and happy to consider spiritual matters when the conversation began in an encouraging way. I think the Holy Spirit taught me something very important in that conversation. I’ve since had several others that went similarly, although the various participants reflected God in various ways. All spoke easily and openly with me about Jesus. I'm certain they each were intrigued enough at the accusation of reflecting God that they told someone else about the conversation.

 

    The bible tells us -- (Hosea 4:6 NKJV) -- My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. All of those I spoke to about the way they reflect the image of God allowed me to freely quote the bible to them as the definitive source of truth. All were told that Jesus died for their sins. I told my sandwich maker that she probably also reflected in some way images opposing God. I told her we all do from time to time and shared Romans 3:10 - There is no righteous man. No, not even one.... I was able conclude by informing her that Jesus didn't just come to talk to us, but to die to pay the price for our sins. She seemed completely unaware of this information. It's going to cost me a couple more sandwiches to complete sharing the Gospel with her, but its well worth the price.

 

    And by the way, she had some piercings and was wearing a pentagram, had a couple of not so good tattoos. She dressed in a sexual provocative way. Many things about her appearance could have informed me not to waste my time on her if I had let my natural evaluation supersede my search for God's image in her.

 

    The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9 NKJV)

My Reluctant Prayer........

    Lately I've been struggling with prayer. This is not typical for me. I enjoy prayer, no - I love it. Long, deep prayer that transports me from my earthbound confinement into the presence of the Lord. Once there, I experience Jesus as I would experience having a cup of coffee with a friend at Starbucks. We talk intimately. I can tell him anything, ask anything, reveal everything. I pray expectantly. I believe His words - anything you ask in My name, whatsoever you ask, ask and you shall receive. My expectation is also based on years of experience. I pray, He heals. I pray, He provides. I pray, His peace arrives. I pray, someone is saved. When I finish, I slowly return to reality, refreshed and strengthened.

 

   But lately, it has not been like that. It has been like work. It's like I'm praying with one eye open, ready to return to the demands of my flesh. Ready to recheck Facebook or read my email, but not ready to devote myself to prayer. I feel disconnected, anxious, and concerned. I know there is nothing wrong in the heavenlies that is causing this disconnect. The problem resides in me. It isn't sin, the first suspect when I experience any interruption in my relationship with the Lord. And it isn't faltering faith, I believe as strongly today as I ever have. Lately, I must order myself to pray. I get alone, say the same words of praise I've often repeated, but they seem without purpose. I begin to pray and in five or ten minutes I want to quit. My mind drifts, and I find myself excusing myself from prayer, promising to return later. Then I don't return. Its been weeks since I've sat with the Lord for an hour in prayer.

 

   I'm not the first to experience this. The great prophet Elijah, after calling fire from heaven in prayer, and calling drought ending rain from the sky in prayer, found himself at the point of spiritual exhaustion.  But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, "It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!" (1 Kings 19:4 NKJV)

That's how I feel. Exhausted. Unable to see the Lord's path for my life that leads to the next assignment. God sent Elijah an angel with food and drink and who provided safety in the shade of the broom tree where Elijah could rest. And it worked. So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God. (1 Kings 19:8 NKJV) 

 

   God first revealed to Elijah his human weakness, then strengthened him to to things beyond his human ability. God met him on the mountain, and whispered hopeful redirecting words to Elijah, then told him bluntly to get back to walking in his calling.  

 

   Maybe that is what the Lord is trying to tell me too. Get out of your self absorption, and get back to walking in your calling. Until I am rested and fed and encouraged, I'll take the tried and true advice gleaned from centuries of praying intercessors -- pray through.

 

 

Copyright 2012 Mission of the Master Ministries, Inc. May be quoted in whole or in part if a link is provided to http://wordworkswednesday.blogspot.com .