Having peace with God is your invitation to pray, to complain, plead, confess, praise, fellowship and find mercy and help in times of need.

You may be able to choose your sins, but you cannot choose your consequences.

When I read things like this, all I want to say is, “Lord, teach us to really pray!” 

“The Church is not to be a national community like the old Israel, but a community of believers without political or national ties.” 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“When the Bible speaks of following Jesus, it is proclaiming a discipleship which will liberate mankind from all man-made dogmas, from every burden and oppression, from every anxiety and torture which afflicts the conscience.”  

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Exegesis reveals and highlights the intention of the author. Jesus Christ, the Word, exegetes the Father. Go see what the life of Jesus reveals about the glorious will of God for you today. Such a discovery NEVER disappoints!

Bad attitudes impair good judgment 

Bad attitudes lead to bad decisions; they can block any sense of reasonableness, and can even cause you to betray your own common sense.  Let’s face it, a bad attitude is so powerful, it can take a seemingly mature adult and make them look absolutely foolish. 

Bad attitudes have a profound impact on whatever you are doing.  They can take a family outing and turn it into a nightmare.  They can totally ruin a hobby or your favorite sport activity, and even your work performance can be devastated by a bad attitude.  All this is simply what a bad attitude does to you.  It’s far more devastating on what it does to your leadership as others observe you.  Continual bad attitudes eventually damage your credibility.  

If this is what a bad attitude can do, then the opposite must be true for good attitudes in that they strengthen your credibility by promoting loyalty, quality work, and cooperative behaviors. Everyone who serves in any leadership capacity is the example of not only acceptable behavior, but also expected behavior.  Most leaders compromise their leadership strength through nothing more than bad attitudes towards people, the job, and situations.

The bottom line is this – attitude is always a choice.  Maintaining a good attitude is very much like having your own quality control department.  If it’s bad, throw it out.  It it’s good, approve it for display.

To follow Jesus is to simultaneously be fleeing sin. 

We tend to waste our time in the futility of just fleeing sin.

We Are Not Entitled to the World’s Respect

A great interview of Don Carson by Desiring God on how the Christian should approach the current "culture wars." I especially like the emphasis that winning the argument is not the same as winning souls. Anger and fear expressed by Christians is the opposite response we should being living.

http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/we-are-not-entitled-to-the-world-s-respect

Right attitudes are personal energy producers

The need to protect your attitude

An attitude is a perception or a feeling that creates a path for your behavior to follow.  In other words, change your attitude, and you can change your actions. Attitudes can actually shape the course of the future, and are even reflected in the right and wrong decisions that have made history.  

Attitudes are contagious, and for this reason they can set the tone of a day, meeting, or relationship. Attitudes can spread from one person to another without the recipient even knowing it. If you struggle with a bad attitude, it can weaken the resolve of others to stay positive, leaving them vulnerable to the same bad attitude that controls you. I don’t know who said it, but it’s true: “A bad attitude is like a flat tire; you can’t go anywhere until you change it.”

Good attitudes must be cultivated in order to weed out self-centered, negative ones.  You don’t simply stop a bad attitude; you must replace it with a good one. It starts the moment you go to bed, and must be put in practice when your feet hit the floor in the morning. Practice the good attitude, and this will become the stronger, more predictable response.  A good attitude takes no energy, but is energy-producing. It opens doors of opportunities, makes us more teachable, and people will actually enjoy being around us.

All the days of the afflicted are evil, but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast. (Proverbs 15:15)  

Just some random thoughts I've been pursuing today. 

An attitude is a feeling that creates a path for your behavior to follow. In other words, changeyour attitude, and you change your actions.

Jesus Christ breaks the cycle if monotony, purposelessness and emptiness our inflated self-focus creates.

It’s sin that seeks to expose you, not God!

Sin seeks to hide from the eyes of God, and it’s hiding place is in you

In J.R. Tolkiens’ great work, The Lord of the Rings, we find straightaway that the one ring to rule them all possessed a little-known secret: It wanted to be found. If Frodo’s journey was already laden with dangers beyond imagination, the desire of the ring made it all the more impossible. That ring presents a powerful picture of the true nature of sin. Sin wants to be found in you. It seeks to expose itself at the worst possible time. The larger the audience, the  better timed sin plans to throw back the curtain and reveal itself.

This principle is seen in Numbers 32:23 - “...behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out.” I can remember as a young boy being told that God could expose my true sin nature at any time, and this became my erroneous view of the Fear of the Lord. While it is true, it is not accurate in relation to a believer’s relation with God. It is sin that exposes itself, and God’s love and grace which actually keeps it covered. Even when sin publicly hurt

s, it’s God’s grace which heals us. However, sin desires you to blame it all on God. Isn’t this what Adam ultimately did when he was confronted by God? “...The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” (Genesis 3:12)

Sin seeks to attack your thoughts, attitudes, relationships and most definitely your actions and use them as a piece of its machinery in resisting God. It once enslaved you with powers which were aimed to subjugate and separate you from God, and it never ceases in its attempts to pull you back into its slavery; and, if it can’t in reality, it will through deception.

It wants to manufacture you as a sin appliance; a cylinder in its engine; a generator of its influence to provide it with horse-power. Sin wants to make you into an implement of evil; an instrument to be played; a pot in which to store its vileness and a means to a dreadful end. If it can, it will use you as a weapon, and collectively use Christians as an arsenal of evil against anything righteous, and will take entire congregations and use them as power-plants or transformers for its wicked purposes. It will twist the life of a Christian to such a degree that in the end, we become driven by pride and anger which hardly represents Jesus Christ. Sin seeks to hide from the eyes of God, and it’s hiding place is in you.

This is not the right of sin against the Christian, but it is its plan. There is a way; a spiritually natural way to deal with sin when it seeks to find refuge in your body, and I’ll introduce it in my next blog post.

The early church thrived in a culture
far more godless than our own

The issue isn’t what we see in a godless world,
but rather what that godless world hopes to see in us.

As Christians, the culture that made us comfortable, and that we enjoyed has all but disappeared. It’s more important than ever that we commit ourselves to live holy and godly lives. Be encouraged however, for what is new for us, was the soil from which the early church grew and thrived. My novel, Polycarp - a destroyer of our gods, provides insight into how the early church lived, grew and became better followers of Christ because of the godlessness that surrounded them.

Here is an excerpt from a time Ignatius, a prominent pastor in Antioch, sent young Polycarp to help a church in a nearby town that had a very bad reputation.

“As I entered the gates of the old city, I was immediately struck by the grotesque paganism that dominated the city. It was an immoral scene I was not completely prepared to encounter...As I navigated my way through the crowds, I wondered what Ignatius was getting me into; ‘This mission would be better suited for a blind man,’ I muttered to myself. I rode straight on trying not to look to right or left. I was embarrassed and tried to ignore the gross comments and solicitations that both immoral women and men were making towards me. It was profoundly evil, and what is even odder is that I never felt as if they were talking to me, but rather were searching my soul, fishing for any sign or manifestation of secret lust...A wave of apprehension came over me, and I felt intimidated by the dominion of evil before me...’Be sober and watchful,’ I thought to myself. ‘I can hear the roaring lion as he prowls looking for a simpleton to devour.’ I didn’t want that to be me.” 

Where faith begins

This is an excerpt from my novel - Polycarp, a destroyer of our gods, where young Polycarp is being sent by his mentor, the Apostle John, to perform a difficult task where he would face life-altering decisions that would effect the rest of his life.

“A wave of nervousness came over me since I had no idea what he was talking about, or what he was going to compel me to do. ‘I guess it was a good thing,’ I thought to myself. ‘I’ve always had John or Timothy to lean on, but now I guess it’s time to lean on my Lord.’  

I reflected on the great exhortation from the Proverbs of Solomon; ‘Be confident in the LORD with all your heart, and never rely on your limited discernment of life. Instead, in all your ways seek to discover his ways, and you will find his direction lying straight in front of you.’ (Proverbs 3:5-6). I must confess that while I loved that text, I didn’t fully understand it. I guess that is what makes faith, true faith. Faith begins where my ability cannot take me or my sight guide me." 

Let all you do be done in love (I Corinthians 16:14)

Love holds the position of God’s greatest command 

(Love Him with all your heart - Matthew 22:37) 

Love holds the position of God’s second greatest command 

(Love your neighbor like you love yourself - Matthew 22:39) 

Love holds the position for God’s most difficult command 

(Love your enemy - Luke 6:27-35)  

Love is the most important quality a believer in Christ can possess, for without it, you cannot be a follower of God (I John 3:16-18).  Out of Divine love flow all other virtues of Godliness and Christlikeness. 

God has filled you with His love. You are so indebted to God because of His love to you that He simply wishes you to pay any and everyone you meet a payment of His love in you (Romans 13:8).  God’s love is no small aspect of Christian living.  You should be giving away the love of God in you to everyone you meet! 

God wants the world to see that you belong to Him.  Christians have lost their mysteriousness” in the eyes of the world, because they do not put a strong value upon God’s love.  Divinely-infused love in the life of a believer restores that mysteriousness. Love is God’s power unleashed in the lives of His children. it is the greatest virtue a Believer can possess!

“A Christian should at all times keep a strong guard against everything that tends to overthrow, or corrupt, or undermine a spirit of love. That which hinders love to men will hinder the exercise of love to God. If love is the sum of Christianity, surely those things which overthrow love are exceedingly unbecoming Christians. An envious Christian, a malicious Christian, a cold, hardhearted Christian is a great absurdity and contradiction. It is as if one should speak of dark brightness, or a false truth!” Jonathan Edwards

I'm not a poet by any stretch of the imagination, and every attempt yields more comic relief than heart-felt script. I can't even make it past, "Roses are red and violets are blue..."  Nevertheless, I do appreciate the complexity, rhyme and deep thoughts conveyed in poetry. George Herbert, a seventeenth century British poet, is by far my favorite. Among all his writings, I find this poem most moving. It is the inspiration behind why I write, and desire to write so much more.

Secretary of Thy praise

By George Herbert (1593–1633)

O SACRED Providence, who from end to end

Strongly and sweetly movest! shall I write

And not of Thee, through whom my fingers bend

To hold my quill? shall they not do Thee right?

Of all the creatures both in sea and land

Only to man Thou hast made known Thy ways,

And put the pen alone into his hand,

And made him secretary of Thy praise.

Man is the world’s high priest: he doth present

The sacrifice for all; while they below

Unto the service mutter an assent,

Such as springs use that fall, and winds that blow.

He that to praise and laud Thee doth refrain

Doth not refrain unto himself alone,

But robs a thousand who would praise Thee fain,

And doth commit a world of sin in one.

Wherefore, most sacred Spirit, I here present

For me and all my fellows praise to Thee:

And just it is that I should pay the rent,

Because the benefit accrues to me.

Thou art in small things great, nor small in any,

Thy even praise can neither rise, nor fall.

Thou art in all things one, in each thing many:

For thou art infinite in one and all.

Faith in God is not a human work

...He surprised me when he turned and grabbed me by my shoulders and with no small measure of exuberance declared, “Even after his death, we all found ourselves unable to battle the doubt in our hearts.... But did our doubts stop his plan? Never! He appeared glorified in our presence on many occasions after having risen from the dead and that same resurrection power was soon to be poured out into our lives.”  He slapped both of my shoulders and boasted, “There are no other god’s of men that can make that claim. That’s our savior, young man, and the One True God.” (A conversation between the Apostle John and his protege, Polycarp; from my novel - Polycarp, a destroyer of our gods).

This truth remains unchanged; our doubts, weaknesses, even weak faith cannot stop the plan of God. Faith is not a human  work, but it is a proof of God’s work through our lives. And that’s the point we often overlook; God’s glory is revealed to impress us and to produce an awe of him. This is why a Christian who sees this reality is called a “blessed” person.

The word “blessed” describes a condition of inexplicable happiness brought about by the impact of something or someone else beyond our personal control or influence. Probably the closest concept I can think of to describe this condition is “luck.” However, this is hardly speaking of a happy accident or being at the right place at the right time. This is the intentional act of God to impact our life with the most exciting news that could be communicated to someone who is actually worthy of opposite treatment.

We are blessed by the force of faith whereby God makes us see not only his plan unfold, but the actual work taking place inside of us to such a degree that we we don’t need physical eyesight to believe, but are convinced of his working in the core of our being.

And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” (Luke 24:31-32)

I think I'm going to start traveling with a tent in my luggage.

http://www.inc.com/chris-matyszczyk/revealed-the-7-dirtiest-things-in-your-hotel-room.html

A Believer's joy-filled position before God

“One day I was passing into the field…and this sentence fell upon my soul:’Thy righteousness is in heaven.’ And…I saw with the eyes of my soul Jesus Christ at God’s right hand; there, I say, was my righteousness; so that wherever I was, or whatever I was doing, God could not say of me, he [lacks] my righteousness, for that was just before him.  I also saw, moreover, that it was not my good frame of heart that made my righteousness better, nor yet my bad frame that made my righteousness worse, for my righteousness was Jesus Christ himself,‘the same yesterday, today, and forever’(Hebrews 13:8). 

Now did my chains fall off my legs indeed. I was loosed from my afflictions and irons; my temptations also fled away; so that from that time those dreadful scriptures of God [about the unforgivable sin] left off to trouble me; now went I also home rejoicing for the grace and love of God”. 

John Bunyan (Grace abounding to the Chief of Sinners)

Hope - the great stabilizer of our souls

One of my first jobs after college was my dream job. I had been hired by a large international ministry where the opportunities seemed endless, and the friendships I established were of the best kind. The first few years were breathtaking and splendid, but over time, I began to notice a deep discouragement creeping up in my soul. A series of events began to rob me of my happiness. The work environment became toxic and drug my soul down. Hope was drained and I seemed to be performing my day-to-day duties on just fumes.

One day in particular I felt I had been unjustly reprimanded by my boss, which seemed to have become a regular event. I felt trapped, hopeless and filled with despair, even angry. I have never felt so miserable. When I returned home that evening, I walked into my bedroom and saw a note scribbled on a torn fragment of a sticky note laying on my pillow with just a reference to a verse of Scripture. It had been written by my mom, who was aware of the depths of discouragement my heart had sunk.

Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD,
plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

I realized that the passage was part of a letter to the Jews exiled in Babylon, but at that point in my life, it may as well had been addressed personally to me. I soaked it in, along with the surrounding verses. It was like gasoline had been poured onto a little flicker of flame that was immediately rekindled into a bonfire. My hope was renewed, and my weariness was turned into vision. 

It was truly a God-sent message me, for the future days only got worse, and I eventually was left with no other option but to resign. But despair didn’t return. Hope stabilized me and anchored my soul in the will and ways of God.

What I discovered and continue to learn is that hope is the great stabilizer of our soul when we see the glory of God’s gracious thoughts for us. His thoughts are seen in various ways: God supplying our needs; the fact that we are no longer under condemnation, or that even when under discipline (not divine spankings for wrong-doing, but rather divine preparation for future opportunities), it’s all motivated out of his love for us. 

The greater our hope grows, the clearer God’s glorious attributes appear to us. The Scriptures show us where to look and how to see his glory; and to neglect that wonderful resource not only diminishes the strength of hope, but drains our faith as well. Such neglect makes us spiritually blind. 

As Romans 5:2 states; “...we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” We are thrilled in our experience with God’s glory. I believe that the word “hope” captures the essence of all our spiritual desires. In other words, hope is the action of waiting, and when our hope is expressed as spiritual desires, it makes it worth the wait. This helps us understand why we wait for the return of Jesus Christ our “blessed hope.”

II Corinthians 4:16-18 – So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.  For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Are you getting enough spiritual food?

This morning, as I type of these thoughts, I am eating food. I am at one of my favorite restaurants, enjoying a fine breakfast (chicken and waffles to be precise) and sipping on some hot coffee. The food is good and different in some respects from what I normally prepare for myself on a normal morning. I realize without even thinking about it, that a few hours from now I will be hungry again, and will need to eat. That’s obviously not a problem, for I like to eat, and will look forward to enjoying another meal and various snacks throughout the day. This is a happy normal.

So it is for my spiritual man; the spiritual me. I need spiritual food to aid in my growth; to nourish me, give me energy for the day and to satisfy my spiritual craving. Every true Christian has a great appetite for righteousness; specifically for the righteousness of Christ. It is the truest defining point of our faith. Like our normal desire for food, this spiritual appetite is a craving that is fulfilled, only to be sought and easily found again and again. The food for such a spiritual appetite is called the gospel, and it is the daily source of nourishing strength our spiritual man needs every day.

The problem is that we often neglect those meals until we find ourselves desperately weak and in need of nourishment. Indeed, some Christians partake of the gospel once a week during a church service, and given their spiritual condition, only nibble at the portions offered. What a terrible way to live when such a feast awaits us in the living words of God!

All Scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, reproving, correcting and training you in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete and equipped for every good work.   (II Timothy 3:16-17)

We must partake of the gospel every day, and throughout the day. We should preach the gospel to ourselves often. The gospel brings us into the daily discovery of grace, which is the revealing of God’s unfailing favor for you. The word itself means “good news.” I would rather describe it as the best news one could possibly ever come to understand.

Notice the words of Jesus in John 4:32-34 - “But he said to them,‘I have food to eat that you do not know about.’ So the disciples said to one another, ‘Has anyone brought him something to eat?’ Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.’” It is not enough to read the Word, but rather to set our hearts to discover the purpose of the Word in our lives to see how it is the best news possible for today. Go and be fulfilled and satisfied with the Words given to you by God until the next spiritual meal.