A Pile of Gold or a Bible; Which Would You Choose?

Our 10-year-old granddaughter, Emma, and I were driving down the road in Boerne to get a few things at HEB when I told her that I wanted to practice my memory verse with her.

As we drove, I quoted “The words of Your mouth are better for me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.”  Psalm 119:72. Then I said, “Emma, Psalm 119 is a prayer that will shape our prayers if we learn it and pray it. I want to get to the place where if I saw a pile of gold beside a Bible, I would choose the Bible.”

Then I asked her, “What about you?” She thought for a moment, kept looking straight ahead, and said, “I would take the gold and then go buy some Bibles for people who do not have one.”

AMEN! Sure wish I had thought of that! Thanks, Emma.

I will be on a mission trip to India over the next few weeks and will greatly appreciate your prayers for our team. And I am taking some money that Emma’s daddy gave me to buy some Bibles for some pastors who do not have one. I will post about the trip when I get back.

Is "Religion" a Bad Word?

You may have heard some say that Christianity is not a religion, it is a relationship. And yet, James uses this word in a good light. He says that there is something called “pure religion,” teaching us that “religion” is good.

So, what is “pure religion?” The Greek word used in James 1:26-27 (used twice) is the word threskos and is only used two other times in the New Testament (Acts 26:5, Colossians 2:18). It describes devotion, piety, worship. It outlines the daily practice and routine of a group.

Religion can become a substitute for a personal relationship with God, just like marriage can become a substitute for a loving relationship between a husband and wife. When that happens, religion is a barrier to a relationship. But a growing relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ will be religious; pure religion.

These two, religion and relationship, are two that God has joined together. When separated, you have big trouble on your hands. Without a personal relationship, religion becomes empty and leads to idolatry (worshipping worship; a serious trend in the American church today). And without religion, relationship becomes blasphemy (in a personal relationship with God, how could you not worship!).

Personal faith in Jesus Christ has devotion, piety, and worship. There are daily practices and routines that express a personal faith and become acts of worship.

Religion is a good word; pure religion!

The Gospel of Great Joy

The announcement to the shepherds from the angel was “…I bring you good news of great joy…” Joy is the first note of the gospel. Great Joy! So, what is so great about this joy?

First, it is great because this joy is good news for all the people, for everyone; no one is left out. Before the angel said that this good news was for them, he said it was for everyone, even them; even you!

Then, the angel said that this good news was a Person, the Son of David, a Savior, Christ the Lord. In saying that, the angel said it all. The long-awaited and promised, Deliverer, Anointed, Eternal God, Himself entered His creation as a baby boy. This was good news of great joy because of Who had come and what He would do. This is the key to experiencing the great joy of the gospel; knowing your Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord.

There are some who equate joy with happiness, which comes and goes, dependent upon the weather (conditions). The great joy of the gospel is not dependent upon conditions. That is why the book of James can say, “Count it all joy when you encounter various trials, knowing….” You can experience the great joy of the gospel in a great trial, difficulty, or disaster if you know what you can know in the midst of it. Many Christians are not experiencing this great joy because they have not learned what they can know in every situation and so they do not know the first thing of the gospel, the great joy it has in it!

Some are only joyful if their prayers get answered, or people are nice to them, or they receive some blessing of some kind. But the great joy of the gospel is also when prayers go unanswered, when people are rude, crude, and down-right mean to you, and even when you are in a “blessing drought;” even then you can experience great joy, if you know the One who is with you and what He is doing in you, with you, through you, as you, in the world around you! Joy, Joy, Joy!

Jesus said in His prayer (He allowed John to listen in on it) in John 17:13, that He was praying so that His disciples could have His joy fulfilled in them. The great joy of the gospel is the answer to Jesus’ prayer. It is great because it is a great prayer request of Jesus and it if for everyone, who will receive it.

To summarize: The great joy of the gospel is a Person, knowing Jesus Christ the Lord as your Savior and the work that He is doing in you, regardless of the conditions. He is with you and is at work in you, with you, through you, as you, in the world around you; no matter what is happening around you. His joy is yours because of the work He is doing in you, with you….His work is bring out His life from within you for the glory of God the Father. He gets the glory and you get the Joy!

What a deal. What a God. What a Savior. What a season to celebrate.

Staying Un-Offended; Part 2

The first step to staying un-offended is to get rid of anything that has offended you. The word “offended” comes from the Greek word skandilidzo  (pronounced skandel-idzo). Sound like a word in English. That’s right, our English word “scandal” comes from this Greek word. It means to stumble.

 So, one of the ways to find out if you have been offended is to ask yourself what has tripped you up or has caused you to limp, maybe not physically, but in your soul. You get offended when your soul gets wounded. Receiving healing from the Holy Spirit is the only way to be made whole (healed). Until God heals your soul you will limp along, causing others to get tripped up.

If you go back to Matthew 11:1-6 to the story of the disciples of John the Baptist you will notice that Jesus sent them back to John with a word from Isaiah; actually, from three places in the book of Isaiah. This was John’s book. He knew it backwards and forwards. But this word was more for his disciples than for him. They needed to be following Jesus, not John. It was one of the clearest words on the identity of the Messiah in the Old Testament. Why would they return to John? I guess because he was their friend. They liked him a lot. Many people have gotten offended because they stayed with a friend instead of going on with Jesus!

This instructs us that God’s Word is essential in staying un-offended. But more than staying in the Word is to be looking for Jesus in the Word. The Scribes and Pharisees knew the Word, but missed Jesus because they were not looking for Him in it. The Magi (Gentile magicians) found Jesus by following a star and one verse of Scripture from Micah (Matthew 2:1-12) simply because they were seeking for the promised Messiah, the King of the Jews. Jesus is on every page of the Bible for those who are hungry for Him and for more of Him. Keep your eyes on Jesus and He will keep you un-offended.

 Then, you must be able to know the difference between being grieved and feeling pain and being offended. Jesus experienced grief and pain but never stumbled. He was never offended. A maturing believer living in our sin-filled and fallen world will be deeply grieved and pained over the condition of humanity.

How did Jesus handle this? He prayed. He taught. He wept. He went out doing good. He sent others out to preach and heal and drive out demons. He overcame evil with good. He drove back the darkness with the Light of everything He received from the Father, and He stayed faithfully obedient to the Father. So can you because by faith Christ lives in you, with you, through you, as you, in the world around you. Again, keeping your focus on Jesus and your ears tuned to the Word of God you can not only live in this fallen world, but rise above it for the glory of God.

So, staying un-offended means that you keep short accounts with the insults, the accusations, the sin-soaked world, by continually casting all of your burdens upon the Lord, knowing that He will sustain you, He loves you, He cares for you, He has forgiven you of every offense and so you can too forgive every offense. Let it go. Look ahead. Keep your eyes on Jesus…on your knees, in the Word, and out into the world for Him!

Staying Un-Offended; Part 1

“And blessed is the one who is not offended by Me.” Matthew 11:6. Jesus said this powerful statement to the disciples of John the Baptist. John was in prison and had only been hearing the reports of the deeds of Jesus; not His teachings. As a result, John had become discouraged and confused about the identity of Jesus and even his own, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” Basically John was asking, “Are you who I thought you were, or are you who I thought I was?” That is called confused. So, he sent his disciples to Jesus to hear first hand.

 First question: What were the John’s disciples still hanging around John for? John had clearly pointed his followers to Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29-36). There is a hint that maybe the followers of John were upset over the condition of their Rabbi, John. In fact, as you look at the other Scriptures referring to John’s disciples you notice a progression of offense; Matthew 9:14-17, the question about fasting, and John 3:25-36, the question about why John was losing followers and Jesus was gaining followers. This is an indication that John’s disciples had been offended.

People get offended for various reasons; a close friend or family member gets hurt by someone, unmet expectations, refusing to forgive, but mostly an immature spirit (a cry baby, today known as a meltdown-kid). The problem with being offended is that it spreads, distorts, pollutes, and it probably the number one reason we do not experience revival in our nation. The church in the US is a big cry baby! Mad because it is not getting what it wants, when it wants, the way it wants, with convenience and ease. Staying offended prevents maturity.

Second question: I wonder if the disciples of John expected their Rabbi to be treated better by God? Maybe to them it seemed as though it was not fair. John had been faithful. John had been popular. What happened? Unmet expectations are a major cause of being offended. God had done what they expected. They were offended by God.

Another symptom of being offended is blaming others for your being offended, even blaming God. Blaming others is what small children do, cry babies (my dad had another name for being a cry baby that I have decided not to print; some of you probably know that other name for cry-baby!). But when I find myself in an offended state it is only because I have chosen to be offended. The choice not to chose is made by default most of the time. Refusing to chose is a choice and the default choice will always lead to sin.

Confusion about what is known and what is not yet known is another condition that leads to being offended. One indicator of maturity is the acceptance of the truth that God is at work in all things that happen to you, working them together for good in you, to form Christ in you for His own glory! This means that nothing comes to you until the Father approves it. God does not cause all things, He uses all things to form Christ in you. For a child of God, everything is a stewardship from God that we will give an account for. Impatience rather than perseverance is another mark of immaturity. Refusing to wait upon God and refusing to accept the fact that you do not have all the information yet leaves you vulnerable to being offended.

If you are in an offended state right now, grow up you big cry-baby! It is your own fault. Take responsibility for it and repent. You are hindering the growth that God wants to give you. You cannot give yourself growth but you sure can keep yourself from growing.

In a few days, more on this subject, like, how you can grow up and how to tell the difference between grief, pain, and offense. And what to do about this offensive culture we live in so that it does not get inside you and cause you to be offended. Until then, pray giving everything to God, your offense, your pain, your grief, your unmet expectations, your friend that is hurt by someone, everything that seems unjust to you…give it all to God. “Cast your burden upon the LORD, and He will sustain you.” Psalm 55:22.

Blessed Like a Tree

Psalm 1 and 2 are both the introduction to the book of Psalms as well as the conclusion. They combine to reveal the outcome of a person who allows God’s Word to shape their prayers and life.

Psalm 1 begins with the phrase, “Blessed is the man who…”  The first thing about the blessed man is seen what he has said “no” to. He has seen that a person cannot serve God and the world; the two are opposites. The ways of God are not the ways of man.

The ways of man are seen in the downward progression of first listening, “…does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly,” then in keeping company with, “…nor stands in the way of sinners,” then in sharing the influence that has been received and reinforced by that company, “nor sits in the seat of the scoffers.” That way has been rejected by the blessed man because God’s way has been chosen.

God’s way begins with His Word. “But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.”  The delight he has developed in God’s Word is the result of meditating on it. At first God’s Word seems hard to understand. Understanding does not come from more and more study, it comes from the Holy Spirit. He and He alone reveals the truth and delight of His Word. Meditation on the Word means asking the Holy Spirit over and over, as the Word is mulled on over and over, for light and meaning.

The Hebrew word for “delight” is hapes (pronounced hop-is) and means to feel great favor and pleasure in something because of its intrinsic qualities. It is mostly used in the Old Testament of God and the “delight” He has for various things. For example in 1 Samuel 15:22 when Samuel told Saul that God has greater delight in obedience than in sacrifice. This means that the delight you develop for God’s Word actually comes from His Holy Spirit in you. He delights in His own Word and shares that delight with you!

The blessed man is described “…like a tree, planted by the steams of water,” A tree that is planted by the steams of water speaks of intentional planting. God plants us in His Word. His will is that we stay in His Word with the Holy Spirit teaching us all the days of our lives.

When you stay in the Word, the Word grows in you and, like a tree, produces leaves and fruit. Leaves and fruit are the only two things a tree produces. Without leaves and fruit a tree is just firewood.

 The first one is “…that yields fruit in its season,” The fruit that the Word produces is the glory of God. God designed our lives to glorify Him and Him alone. The way that He designed this to take place is by being planted in His Word. His will and ways have not changed since the beginning. Every occasion and situation in life is another opportunity for the glorious light of God’s characteristics to shine forth from your life, if you are planted in His Word. Whether it is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness…it all reveals God’s glory.

The other thing is tree produces is leaves. The promise of God for the blessed man is “…and its leaf does not wither,” So, what are the leaves of our lives in Christ? There are two references to the leaves of the Tree of Life, Ezekiel 47:12 and Revelation 22:1-2. The Ezekiel reference describes the Tree of Life during the Millennium (the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth following the battle of Armageddon in Revelation 20:1-6), while the Revelation reference describes the Tree of Life in the New Heaven and Earth following the Great While Throne judgment.

In both passages it describes the purpose of the leaves as healing for the nations. One thing we all know about the shade of a tree; it is refreshing. To sit under the shade of a great tree is restful whether there is a hammock involved or not!

The promise of God for the blessed man is that his life will always be an invitation to others for them to enjoy the rest and refreshment of God in his life. There is something about just being around someone who is planted in the Word. It is refreshing just to be near and to listen to someone like that.

Psalm 1 sums up the blessed man by saying “…in all that he does, he prospers.” The Hebrew word “prospers” is tsalock (pronounced tsa-lock), which means to complete, to triumph, to be strong, to overcome. It does not mean that you will have an abundance of things; this is the “American” definition of prosperity. Prosperity in the Bible is more related to being faithful than the accumulation of things or having it easy. Being prosperous, according to God’s definition, means that you will rise above every circumstance in your life with God-honoring and Christ-exalting glory!

Be sure that you stay in God’s Word, meditating in it, growing by it, and being fully aware of God’s beautiful purposes being carried through to fullness by it. You will be blessed just like God designed from the very beginning.

How To Be Blameless

Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible as well as the longest prayer in the Bible. It is as beautiful as it is instructive. It teaches us how to pray, which is the most important prayer request you can ask; “Lord, teach us to pray…” Luke 11:1.

                                                         
The first three verses of Psalm 119 are the only verses in the Psalm that are not a prayer.
 
“Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD. Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with their whole heart. They also do no wrong, but walk in His ways.”
 
These verses describe the outcome of allowing this prayer to shape your prayer life for a lifetime of praying. The three words and phrases that it uses to describe that life are blameless, keep His testimonies, do no wrong.
 
Some are overwhelmed by the impossibility of ever becoming blameless, or always keeping God’s testimonies, or never doing wrong. But that is because we think in terms of performance but the Bible does not; it presents perfection as progress in a particular direction; and that particular direction is in following God’s Word.
 
Progress is seen in the three phrases walking in the law, seeking Him, walking in His ways. The only way this can be done is to trust and obey, one step at a time; not with perfect performance but by faithful progress in His Word.

Allow God’s Word to shape your prayers and begin seeing what He can do. “Lord, teach us to pray…”