The Hairy, Grass Eating, Clawed King/Beast in Babylon....(and in Us)

   God says -- My ways are higher than your ways... (No problem convincing me of that!) I am often bewildered by His ways.

 

    God could have brought the bible into existence with  a mere thought, but chose instead to employ men to write it for Him under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The words of many other ordinary humans are also quoted within the scriptures, and then there are a few significant passages which appear to have been written or dictated by still others. One of these appears in Daniel 4, where the narrative is in the first person voice of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. That's right, Nebuchadnezzar, the same guy who once laid siege to Jerusalem, and ransacked the Temple, stealing everything of value it contained and enslaving God's chosen people.

   As the story begins, Daniel interprets a dream for the king, telling him that if he fails to repent his pride and sin, and begin to worship God, he will spend seven years living as a wild animal. Nebuchadnezzar refused to yield to God for twelve months and then, in his own words, The king spoke, saying, 'Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence [fn] by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?'
31 "While the word was in the king's mouth, a voice came [fn] from heaven, saying, 'King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty [fn] has been removed from you,
32 and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven periods [fn] of time will pass over you until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.'
33 "Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled; and he was driven away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws.

  

      In the bible, Babylon is often used as a metaphor for the world system. As I watch the madness of the world we live in as nation upon nation rejects the Truth of God, I wonder how the result of our Godless madness will be made manifest. Nebuchadnezzar's madness was what psychologists call boanthropy (the delusion that one is an ox). I pray that our understanding will be returned to us, before humanity loses all remembrance that we have been made in His image and are turned loose as beasts.  Paul wrote to the Romans -- Therefore God [1] gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored [2] among them. (1:24)

 

    Nebuchadnezzar learned that he could not really ever see and understand the truth about himself until he first understood the truth about God. Amen. Me too. And for those of us blessed to already have received His Grace in the form of salvation from our sin, let us at least respond as Nebuchadnezzar did -- and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever:  

 

    Surely we can out praise and out worship this heathen king. Has the Lord heard your words of praise and worship today?

 

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

 

  

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My Weirdest Prayer....

   My connection to Christ, my spiritual rebirth, began many years back when I read an explanation of the process of salvation written hundreds of years ago by John Wesley. I don't really remember much of what he had written except the term indwelt by the Holy Ghost. I had never heard that ordinary flawed folks like me could be occupied inwardly by God's Spirit. I began questioning people who said they were Christians, asking, "How can I be indwelt by the Holy Ghost." I got a wide variety of answers, but really no one I asked seemed to have a clue. Frustrated, one day I weirdly and nervously prayed to the Holy Spirit and/or Jesus (sort of a spiritual to whom it may concern) and asked to be indwelt by the Holy Ghost. I'm not really sure what I thought would happen, but at that moment, I was certain that nothing had happened. Spiritual fail. Rejected again.

 

   When I prayed that prayer, my image of the Father was of an angry old man who resented the life I had led and was looking forward to the day He's light my bones on fire. Man, was I wrong. The first notion I had that my prayer may have had some effect was a few days later when I unexpectedly realized that the Father was maybe mellowing on His anger toward me, then after a few more days I was startled to realize that I believed He actually loved me. These remarkable changes happened without opening a bible or hearing the Gospel message. Within another few weeks, I understood the Gospel, repented my sin and gave my heart to Jesus.

 

   How could I have known what was never told to me?

 

   1 John 2:20 NKJV says -- But you have an anointing from the Holy One and you know all things.

 

    The Greek word translated as anointing is chrisma, Strong's Exhaustive Concordance defines it wonderfully -- anointing, referring to the teaching ministry of the Holy spirit, guiding the receptive believer into fullness of God's preferred-will. This anointing functions through faith (pistis), with God inwardly persuading the believer of His preferences.

 

   Wow. That's exactly how He saved me. Through the anointing of the Holy Spirit, the Father guided me into His preferred-will, inwardly persuading me of His preferences. All born again believers experience this anointing through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, but not all seem to be equally aware of His guiding presence. Romans 8:16 says -- The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

 

    So, the inner witness -- with knowledge of all things -- is active within us, witnessing to our spirit. He has also left us that same witness in a written revelation called the bible. Yet we often flail and worry and weep about life's circumstances as if it is impossible to discern an answer, when all we really need to do is ask, then listen.

 

   Remember, Strong's definition said that the receptive believer will be guided by the Holy Spirit into the fullness of God's preferred will. You know you are a Believer. You know you are indwelt by the Holy Ghost. But, are you receptive to His guidance? 

 

   What mystery of life are you trying to solve by the power of your own intellect, that could be simply understood by seeking the guidance of God who has united Himself with your spirit, and searching the written revelation He has left you?

 

   Ask, and it will be given to you. (Jesus of Nazareth, A.D. 33)

 

 

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

Hey Jude......

Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. 
For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God [fn] and our Lord Jesus Christ. (Jude 1:3,4 NKJV)

 

    Jude, the half brother of Jesus, wrote this small epistle. Imagine his life. He grew up in an ordinary working class home in the village of Nazareth in a large Jewish family. Little brothers often look up to and emulate their older brothers. In Jude's life his older brother, Jesus, became known to him as God's anointed Son. The are few secrets among siblings. Jude's testimony of his faith in Jesus as the Christ, coupled with his brother James', may make them the most compelling witnesses ever.

 

    Jude says that he found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith..... He was properly concerned because he'd learned that certain men have crept in unnoticed... who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny

the only Lord God [fn] and our Lord Jesus Christ. The spirit which animated those deceptive "certain men" still exists and animates the enemies of Christ today. Our culture stands in stark opposition to the cause of Christ, incessantly attempting to redefine God and His Word in ways that suit their flesh driven purposes. This is not a new phenomenon, but rather a continuation of an ancient battle over Truth. Moral decline has always ebbed and flowed. We appear to be living in a period of acceleration of this decline.

 

   So, what to do?  Jude answers us with an exhorting voice -- contend earnestly for the faith.....  The Greek word translated as contend is a term often used to describe the continuous struggle experienced by a wrestler who refuses to be overcome by his opponent. Do I put that kind of effort forth every day for the cause of Christ? I cannot say that I do, so Jude's challenge resonates in my soul.

 

   What Christian efforts qualify for this kind of earnest contention? Of course, sharing the Gospel qualifies. This is God's plan. Saved people save people by sharing Christ. Also. sharing the Word. The bible needs to be on our tongue. Secular conversations rife with opinions can be often redirected by simply saying -- I'm a Christian and I believe the bible which says.....

 

   In addition, we can support, with prayer, encouragement and finances, faithful pastors who unflinchingly declare the Word from their pulpits. Provide the same supports for lay teachers. Likewise, we should withhold support from those who are unfaithful to or oppose God's Word.

 

     Missionaries epitomize contending for the faith. We should support them, but also every form of local missionary like Sunday school teachers, those who make communion preparations, and small group leaders.

 

     Finally, we should contend for the faith by the daily witness of our transformed lives, always deflecting all the glory for our transformation to the One who saved us.

 

   Have you responded to Jude's call? How will you earnestly contend for the faith today?

 

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

   

Is Someone Living Rent-Free in the Apartment of Your Unforgiveness?

   I often find myself judging others through a harsher lens than the one through which I judge myself. A basic human urge to not find myself worse than others can sometimes result in searching for their sin to assure my heart that I am at least no worse than them, and if I am honest, I admit to hoping to find them worse than me -- and by implication, finding my self better than them. This mindset is sin because it breaks God's command that we not judge. Jesus said -  Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. (Luke 6:37)

 

   So what's the antidote to the recurring sin of judging others? I find these things fruitful...

   1- Refuse to receive condemnation. Romans 8:1 says --- There is therefore no condemnation fo those who are in Christ Jesus...  In some places the bible speaks of Christ being in us and in others as us being in Christ. Both are true for believers. He is in us by His Spirit and we are in Him by faith. Pastor David Guzik wrote --

 

   The verdict is not “less condemnation.” That’s where many of us are at - we think that our standing has improved in Jesus. It hasn’t improved, it’s been completely transformed, changed to no condemnation.

 

   We don't have less condemnation. In Christ, we have none. Condemnation may be often offered to us by people and by Satan, but we can confidetly refuse it, citing this scripture.

 

    2- Forgive yourself of the sins God has forgiven. Forgiveness is a gift from God. A gift requires a receiver. God freely forgives as we repent, When we truely receive this gift, our sin guilt is erased. This is possible only by the Grace of God. Receive the gift of forgiveness. Let go of guilt and shame. Hebrews 4:15 says -- For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses....

 

    3- Stop collecting offenses. Start seeking opportunities to forgive others. Jesus told Peter to forgive 7 times 70 times in one day to one person's sin. Most of us will never offer that much forgiveness in a day, but we can make a choice to find opportunities to forgive each day. Pray for the Holy Spirit to prod you when those opportunities arrive. Don't allow the magnitude of the offense determine what you will forgive. Jesus forgave His killers even as they were killing Him.

 

   Often our habit of judging has been formed over many years when our flesh dominated our behavior. Now His Spirit dominates. The new has come, the old is gone... But the old flesh may try to claw its way back into our hearts. Intentionaly forgiving can replace the habit of judging.  

 

   Recieve the fullness of God's forgiveness, step out from under condemnation and live in the freedom of Christ.

 

  Who can you set free today from your judgement and condemnation?

 

   Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, [fn] and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. (Gal 5:1)

A Backfired Exorcism, A Beating from Hell, and the Descendants of the Seven Sons of Sceva

  Acts Chapter 19 recounts a weird story that occurred in Ephesus. There was a Jewish high priest named Sceva who had seven sons. These brothers formed an itinerant exorcism team and attempted to make a living casting evil spirits out of people. Apparently they stumbled across information that a guy named Paul was easily and consistently casting out evil spirits in the name of Jesus of Nazareth. The seven sons of Sceva decided to improve their brand by applying Paul's method, and they had some successful exorcisms by usurping the name of Jesus of Nazareth whom Paul declares. The Lord himself had predicted this possibility saying --- Many will say to me in that day, Lord have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in your name, and done many wonders in your name? And then I will declare to them -- I never knew you.... (Matthew 7:23-24a NKJV)

 

   Well, it didn't turn out too well for Sceva's boys. They attempted to cast out a demon in Jesus name and got a surprising response when the evil spirit asked -- Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you? (Acts 19:15 NKJV) Then he beat them up! This might seem funny, but I'm sure it wasn't to them! One evil spirit possessed man, beat all seven of them senseless, beat them out of their clothes, beat them until they ran screaming like little girls, leaving a path of blood as they fled that house.

 

  It often happens that people obtain or lay claim to a Christian title but lack the authority and power that should accompany it -- power that only God can provide and will provide to those He knows. They create a calling that they think they'll enjoy or be successful at, and claim that God has called them, much like like the seven sons of Sceva claimed the power of the Name of Jesus, but never knew Him.   

 

  I recently read that the average American pastor spends ten minutes a day in both personal prayer and bible study with the Lord, and the average Christian spends three minutes a day. If these numbers are even close to accurate, it seems like Sceva's boys have multiplied, and taken over our churches, claiming the Name, the Authority, and the Power of someone they don't even know. They also claim a right to the benefits that accrue to Followers of Christ, without a clue of how to follow or even find Him. It would be like declaring yourself married to a spouse you never saw, couldn't describe, didn't really know where they lived or how they felt about you. That kind of marriage would result in a relationship that had very few benefits!

 

 Paul wrote that we should all - Desire the greatest gifts.... of God. That's a good thing. But we'll never acquire them unless we intimately know the Giver. That doesn't require much, but it's apparently more than many will give. It requires time spent daily in intimate prayer, and time spent in His Word. There is no substitute for either. Its really that simple.

 

   If you encountered a powerful minion of the Devil from Hell, how would he react to you? Would he see you like Paul, walking in the authority of one of Christ's own, or would he laugh and beat the hell out you?

 

   We aren't told what ultimately happened to Sceva's sons. It is possible that this experience turned their hearts to Jesus. I hope so. Their time has come and gone, but the end of our story is not yet written.

 

   Will your next chapters be written describing your intimacy with God? Will Jesus one day welcome you as an old friend, or will He wonder who you are?

 

 

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

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

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