God is Present

Periodically, I hear from Christians who are concerned that they don’t sense or feel the presence of God lately. Perhaps they feel a lack of joy, lack of spiritual illumination or insight, or lack of God-given direction in their life. If you experience something similar, you are not alone. I’ve been a Christ-follower for about forty years and I’ve had these types of thoughts and feelings at times, pondering stuff like: ‘I don’t think God is hanging out with me lately. Where is God when I need Him? Why do I feel like God is far away from me right now?’ In the Holy Bible, David and possibly other Psalm writers experienced something similar to this (David: Ps. 13:1, 22:1; unidentified authors: Ps. 10:1, 44:24, 88:14).

Let’s first consider three biblical truths about the presence of God; the omnipresence of God, the manifested presence of God, and the redemptive presence of God. Secondly, let’s consider why God’s people sense the diminished or absent presence of God and what it is that they can do to stay in tune with God’s presence.

A. Three biblical truths about the presence of God

1) The omnipresence of God

In latin, the prefix ‘omni’ means all, every, or unlimited. And the root word ‘present’ means close to, near to, here, or indwelling.

Here is a classic Bible passage referring to God’s omnipresence.

Psalm 139:7-12 ESV Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? ⁸ If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! ⁹ If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, ¹⁰ even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. ¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” ¹² even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.

Not only was God especially present in David’s anointed life as king of God’s chosen people, God was and is also present everywhere apart from David.

Jer. 23:24b ESV Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.

God fills heaven and earth sort of like the ocean fills a bucket which has been submerged in it a mile down. The bucket is full of the ocean but the ocean surrounds the bucket in all directions. And of course, God is unimaginably bigger and greater than any ocean.

God’s omnipresence means that God is everywhere-present and is not limited by space in His actions and ability. The does not mean God is everything and everything is God. God is not the wall or the tree or the cow. God is the eternal supreme sovereign all-mighty creator spiritual being, transcendent far above and greater than His creation yet also immanent in that He is personal and we can know Him personally by His grace through faith in Christ.

With God’s omnipresence comes His guidance, protection, and comfort toward His people (see Ps. 139:10). Wherever God’s people are, the Lord’s hand is upon them. Psalm 46:1-2a ESV God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way

David acknowledged that God was always watching over David and thus it was impossible to do anything in which God is not aware of what’s happening.

Job 34:21-22 ESV For his eyes are on the ways of a man, and he sees all his steps. ²² There is no gloom or deep darkness where evildoers may hide themselves.

2 Chron. 16:9a ESV For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth

God’s awareness/sight is forward and backward, up and down, all around, in all directions. He sees everything going on because He is everywhere present. Because this is true, there is no hiding from God whether you are receiving God’s mercy (Jonah) or judgment (Amos 9:1-3) and you can never totally be stranded or lost somewhere where God does not notice you. For example, Hagar was upset and ran away, thinking she was alone in the wilderness when the Angel of the Lord spoke to her. After that encounter, she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; .. Gen. 16:13; and our God certainly sees you and me everywhere and anywhere we are, and He loves us, and cares about us, and desires a relationship with us for eternity.

2) The manifested presence of God

God is a spiritual being who sometimes manifests (reveals) His awesome presence in special localized ways. For example, in the Bible book of Exodus we read about examples of God manifesting His presence in various forms for the sake of humans having more awareness of His localized presence. God showed His glory backside while covering Moses in the cleft of a rock (Ex. 33). God signified His presence through a guiding pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Ex. 13). God’s radiant cloud-like presence in the Holy Tabernacle, sometimes called His Shekinah glory, was a manifested local presence of God (Ex. 40).

Jonah tried to leave the localized presence of God (Jonah 1:1-4), perhaps at the temple in Israel where God possibly spoke to Jonah. Jonah said this later, 2:4 ..I have been cast out of Your sight; Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple. This was from Jonah’s perspective and referred to God’s special temple presence.

The greatest manifestation of God here on earth has been the incarnated eternal Son of God, Jesus Christ (John 1:1-18, Phili. 2:4-8). God became flesh and after He, Jesus Christ, died for our sins He raised from the dead in a resurrected body fit for eternity. Over a forty day period before His ascension He made several appearances in His resurrected body to some of His true followers.

God has manifested Himself in special localized ways at times but this doesn’t mean God is contained.

2 Chron. 2:6b NKJV .. since heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him? Who am I then, that I should build Him a temple, except to burn sacrifice before Him?

Isaiah 66:1 ESV Thus says the LORD: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest?

Stephen cited this passage before the Sanhedrin to point out their error in limiting God to a temple made with hands (Acts 7).

3) The redemptive presence of God

We are in need of redemption by God, our holy Creator, because He is perfectly Holy and we are unholy due to sin in our lives. Sin separates us from God. There is an alienation, a gap, between us and God because God is far away in nature and character from unredeemed sinners.  God is without sin and God’s heaven is without sin and we can’t be in a right relationship with God or enter God’s heaven without God redeeming us, without God saving us from our sin separation with Him, without God saving us from His wrath upon sin in our lives.

Fortunately, God has revealed that He is near to sinners. Acts 17:27 ESV that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,

God is near to sinners and He is the One who can close the gap by graciously drawing us unto Him to save us from our spiritual separation from Him. God has one plan for this major eternally significant sin problem we all have. It is Jesus Christ, the Son of God Savior we all need. We can be reconciled to our Holy Creator through the perfect God-man, Jesus Christ who came without sin, did not sin, and praise God, He took all our sins upon Himself on the cross to pay the divine penalty for our sins. And on the third day, He rose in victory over sin and death and now salvation from our sins is offered to us by God’s grace through faith in Christ as Savior and Lord.

When the sinner cries out to God, “Oh God, forgive me and save me in Jesus’ name,” He or she does not call God down from heaven. God is already near and at work calling the sinner to Himself.

God is looking for hearts to dwell in and this is what He does when a person is saved by Christ, the sinner receives the redemptive presence of God. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are present in the lives of those who are redeemed in Christ:

John 14:23 ESV  Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

Mt. 28:20b ESV And behold, I (Jesus Christ) am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Rom. 5:5b, 8:9 ESV… the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. ⁹ You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

The Holy Spirit assures the redeemed of God’s redeeming presence.

2 Corinthians 1:22 ESV and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

Rom. 8:16 ESV The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

Spiritually, God indwells His people; those who believe upon Christ as their Savior and Lord. If you are not a Christ-follower, I encourage you to check out this blog entry about God’s Plan for True Life/Eternal Life: http://mikesmorals.blogspot.com/2013/09/great-news-gods-plan-for-true-life.html).

God’s Word teaches us about the omnipresence of God, the manifested presence of God, and the redemptive presence of God. Now, let’s consider some

B. Reasons for sensing the diminished/absent presence of God and how to stay in tune with God’s presence

People try searching for God throughout their lifetime often not realizing God was and is nearby all along. Jacob, after a dream revelation of a ladder from earth to heaven, said, Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”  Gen. 28:17 ESV

In heaven, God’s redeemed will experience a full awareness of God’s awesome presence. For now, on this side of eternity, our awareness of God falls short of that. This is because of many factors. For example,

* God’s plan for our redemption and redemptive living involve faith (Eph. 2:8-9, Gal. 3:11). God doesn’t constantly dangle miracle activity in our lives and around us to grab our attention. He gives us sufficient revelation and expects us to believe Him and His Word and have faith in Him (Heb. 11:6). God is to be the object of our saving and living faith.

* Feelings and circumstances are not as important as God’s revealed truth through His Scripture. Feelings come and go, are up and down. God’s Word is truth and everlasting. (John 17:17, 1 Pet. 1:25, Isa. 40:8). We are to rejoice in the Lord always and be thankful in all circumstances (1 Thes. 5:16, 18). In everything we are to offer up our prayer requests to God and we are to have God-honoring thoughts (Phil. 4:6-8). You can count on God and His Word. Don’t allow feelings and circumstances to be your master, idol, crutch, or hindrance to God’s truth for your life.

* Distractions and lesser priorities get in the way of our awareness of God’s presence (Luke 10:41-42). We need to keep our eyes of faith fixed on Christ (Heb. 12:2). Life is not about you and me as much as it is about God! Our focus needs to be on God more than ourselves or anyone or anything else. We must keep learning and being reminded of God’s revelation to us through Scripture. Study about who God is, how He works, and how we can have a growing relationship with Him.

* We may have unconfessed sins and be non-repentant of our sins (Ps. 66:18, Isa. 59:2, 1 John 1:9). Agree with God about your sins, accept His forgiveness, and ask Him to help you turn from sinful living and turn to living a God-honoring life.

* We experience spiritual warfare (Eph. 6:10-18). The enemies of God (and weakness of our flesh) interfere with God’s revelation of His presence. They don’t want you to be in tune with God’s presence. They would rather you think God doesn’t exist, doesn’t care, and/or is far away from you which is counter to Scripture. Trust God and His revealed truth and learn to experience victory in Christ over temptations to sin.

* Perhaps God is testing you. He tests His people in order to develop our faith dependence upon Him and develop our character, perseverance, and endurance (Jam. 1:2-4, Rom. 5:3-5, 1 Pet. 1:3-7). Learn to redeem your circumstances and testing to the glory of God that His will be done.

* Perhaps you lack spiritual community with other Christ-followers. We are designed for relationships, the primary one with God our Creator, Savior, and Lord, but also relationships with people, especially Christ-followers through a local church commitment. Cultivate spiritual koinonia (fellowship) togetherness with other Christ-followers. Do some Christian life together. Exercise the ‘one another’ commands and principles of Scripture. Don’t do the Christian life without important uplifting God-honoring relationships with maturing Christ-followers.

We regularly need to slow down from our busy lives and re-align our priorities with cultivating spiritual intimacy with our Creator Savior Lord.

Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

Psalm 46:10 ESV

Stay committed to quality spiritual disciplines in your individual life that include things like quality time in God’s Word, praying to God, confession of sin, solitude, fasting, praise, thanksgiving, and worship. Don’t give up on or stray away from these disciplines even when you are ‘not feeling’ God’s presence.

Ask God in prayer to help you search the biblical truth about God’s presence, to believe it, to understand it better, and to apply it to your life regardless of your feelings, emotions, and circumstances.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

Jam. 4:8a ESV

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

Jer. 29:13 ESV

Fear not, fret not, and don’t be discouraged because God has told His people,

“I will never leave you nor forsake you!” Heb. 13:5b ESV

What are your thoughts on the presence of God and how God’s people can stay in tune with His presence?

Mike

Focus Your Eyes of Faith

When I was nine years old I gave my heart over to Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. Throughout my teen years and for a few years in my next decade I had saving faith but I lacked living faith. I had great spiritual moments at church and with churched youth but I also hung around a lot of people who had no relationship with Christ. When I was around twenty, I realized that my life lined up more with the worldly Christian than the spiritual Christian (as Paul wrote about in 1 Cor. 2-3). The Holy Spirit convicted me about this and I knew I needed to better align my life more with Christ and the way of Christ so I began to change who I hung out with and what I did, seeking to focus more on consistently being a God-honoring person.

Christ-followers often read, hear, and know that Jesus is most important in life but yet we get distracted easily. It may be by people or things like circumstances, thoughts, feelings, and busyness. It may be spiritual warfare. It may be God testing our faith maturity. Whatever it is many of us succumb to distractions when it comes to truly following Christ.

Consider this familiar Bible moment of Simon Peter. During the night while some of Jesus’ disciples were in a boat Jesus came to them walking on water. They were afraid but Peter spoke up and stepped out of his comfort zone.

Matthew 14:28-31 (ESV) ²⁸ And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” ²⁹ He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” ³¹ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Peter was first to speak to Jesus and was the one willing to step out of the boat in faith to walk to Jesus. As Peter walked on water to Jesus he saw the wind (or better understood as the effects of the wind on the waves and himself) and Peter took his eyes of faith off Jesus and focused instead on his circumstances and he began to sink and was afraid. He cried out to Jesus for help and Jesus helped him but also gently rebuked Peter for his little faith, his doubt. As our faith dependence on Christ increases, our fleshly fears and doubts will diminish.  

Keeping our eyes of faith focused on Jesus is vital regardless of our circumstances and feelings.

Simon Peter was a leading disciple of Christ who had some great strengths and he also had some weaknesses and mess-up moments the Bible records for us like when Peter rebuked Jesus’ prediction of His own upcoming death and resurrection and when Peter cut off someone’s ear who came to arrest Jesus and one of his lowest points was when he denied Christ three times.

I have denied Christ, how about you? Four of us middle school buddies were sitting at a library table at school one day when one of them started asking about our religion and church involvement. The one kid whom I thought of as a rebellious rule breaker said he was a Christian. I thought, what? No way. Then came my turn. Even though I was actively involved in a Christ-centered Baptist church and I had been a saved Christian for a few years I told those guys that I don’t go to church and I’m not religious. I lied and did not confess my true faith in Christ. I was very convicted by the Holy Spirit afterwards. I confessed that sin, accepted God’s forgiveness, and asked God to help me repent of that. I still struggled in my teen years living two lives, the one with the churched youth group Christians and the one with my schoolmates and neighborhood friends who were not saved. I was half-heartedly following Christ much of that time and He calls us for so much more than that.

Peter denied Christ and wept and I believe he went through spiritual conviction and godly sorrow afterwards. Then during one of His later interactions with the resurrected Christ, Peter needed to be reminded of the importance of following Christ as the priority focus in his life.

In John 21 we read that Jesus had some personal dialogue with Simon Peter. Jesus asked Peter three times about his love for Jesus. Jesus also instructed Peter to “feed My lambs”, “tend My sheep”, and “feed My Sheep” referring to his pastoral ministry. Jesus made reference to Peter’s death and then Jesus said “Follow Me.” Peter saw the disciple John and asked Jesus, what about this man?

John 21:22 (ESV)  Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”

Jesus had just got through saying to Peter, ‘Follow me,’ but Peter was distracted by John’s future, so Jesus told Peter again, ‘Follow me!’ Jesus was emphasizing, ‘Follow me.’

Christ followers, we must prioritize our lives around following Jesus Christ as our Savior and the Lord of our lives, not relegating Him to the backseat or the trunk of our lives but instead submitting to His leadership in our lives and lifting Him up as #1 24/7.

It’s interesting what Jesus said right after He rebuked Peter for rebuking Jesus about the prediction of His death and resurrection. Matthew 16:24 (ESV)  Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Following Jesus is not about signing a card at church, walking up to the altar, gaining a ticket into heaven, getting a new label for yourself, or making sure you do something religious to impress someone.

Following Jesus is about giving all of your life over to the Master of all Masters, the King of Kings, Lord of Lords. You no longer live for yourself or anyone or anything else but Jesus Christ. You want to honor Him and glorify the Lord with your life, moment to moment. Taking up your cross, Luke 9:23 adds ‘daily’, is about your continual committed devotion to Christ and His way of life.

I hope and pray that you are a true follower of Christ and that you will acknowledge and live out this important Bible truth along with me, that we keep our eyes of faith focused on Jesus as our personal Savior and the Lord of our lives 24/7.

Hebrews 12:1-2 (ESV) Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
² looking to Jesus (NLT We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus), the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

This Greek word translated “looking” here in verse 2 is in present active participle form describing an action currently taking place repeatedly. We will get distracted and tempted away from the priority of focusing on Jesus, so we have to fight it, be intentional about it, and cry out to God and others to help us keep our daily living faith focused on following Jesus Christ as He has called us to follow Him. We are to view life constantly through the lens of being a Christ follower. Don’t compartmentalize this. Don’t cast this aside, trying to turn it off or put it on the back burner.

Let’s do these things: Cultivate spiritual intimacy with Christ consistently and regularly. Be passionate about Jesus Christ and what He is passionate about. Prioritize our lives around our relationship with Christ. Talk to Him regularly. Study about Him and His Word applying it to our lives. Tell others about Christ, His Gospel, and our relationship with Him. Let Christ lead us in our decision making. Acknowledge constantly that He is always with you and I and He wants us to know Him better and better and become more and more like Him in character, conviction, conduct, and mission.

I know you are busy with life, maybe with work, academics, relationships, and fun activities but don’t take your eyes of faith off of Jesus Christ. Let’s keep Jesus the priority love of our lives. Let’s keep our eyes of faith focused on Jesus Christ. May God help us be the Christ followers He calls us to be.

What suggestions do you have for how Christ-followers can help keep their eyes of faith focused on Christ?

Mike

God-honoring Decision Making

We all have decisions to make constantly in our lives, some small, some big, and some more important than others. As a Campus Pastor at the world’s largest Christian university, I have many students asking me for help in making life decisions. They want to know which major to declare, which vocational path to pursue, which options to choose regarding internships, whether or not they should marry their significant other, etc.. I find myself sharing a model of God-honoring decision making that I have used over the years.

My wife and I made some big decisions ourselves recently regarding my change of employment, our relocation, and transitioning from living in a parsonage house to renting a house to buying a house. We are God-fearing people who try to make God-honoring decisions and we need help going about it. When it comes to decision making I do my best to look through a biblical lens as a born again Christ-follower. I walk through the following eight steps like a road map for God-honoring decision making and maybe you can benefit from them as well.

1) Pray to God (& fast), trusting Him throughout the process.

2) Seek relevant knowledge and understanding.

3) Seek biblical-based discernment.

4) Seek wisdom from God, His Word, & God-honoring people.

5) Analyze and compare information/options.

6) Wait on the Lord, be patient.

7) Ask God for increased living faith in Him.

8) Go ahead, when the timing is right, make the decision for the glory of God.

1) Pray to God (& fast), trusting Him throughout the process.

Prayer may seem cliché among some folks but it’s absolutely necessary. Christians should be praying to God not just to get help with our requests but to cultivate our spiritual intimacy with God, to grow our spiritual lives, to show our dependence on God, and to worship the One and only true God, our Savior and Lord.

Praying to God is vital in our relationship with Him and in making God-honoring decisions.

Ephesians 6:18a ESV praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.

Phili. 4:6-7 ESV do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

James 5:16b NLT The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

Be a student of prayer. Keep learning about prayer from God’s Word and engage regularly in prayer, including planned quality moments as well as spontaneous moments throughout your day and night. Pray specifically as the Lord leads. Saturate your life and decision making processing with God-honoring prayer.

Example statement prayers: God, show me whether or not I should be looking for a different job. God, reveal to me any red flags in your eyes about this job offer before me now. God, clarify in my heart if this is the person that I should propose marriage to and commit to in marriage the rest of my life.

Be careful about hindrances to effective prayer like unconfessed sin (Ps. 66:18) and praying amiss with the wrong motives (Jam. 4:3) and not praying according to God’s will (1 John 5:14).

Since I often associate fasting for spiritual purposes with prayer, consider going without food (or another important item in your life) to grow your spiritual hunger in God and the things of God showing God that you are serious about Him hearing your prayers and answering them, all for His glory. I have fasted many times over the bigger decisions in my life and it helped grow my dependence on the Lord and grow closer to Him.

2) Seek relevant knowledge and understanding.

Clarify and define the actual decision you are facing and then gather key information.

Knowledge is about facts, data, and information. Do research, learn, and gather knowledge related to the subject of your decision. If you are deciding whether or not to ask a person to marry you then don’t just waste time with him or her doing and talking about trivial things. Ask questions and observe things that are pertinent to the possibility of you spending the rest of your life together as a married couple. For example, Where do you see yourself in 5, 15, 20 years? What are the things that you highly value in life? What are your spiritual beliefs? Who is Jesus Christ to you? How has God wired you for ministry and vocation? What are you passion about in life? How would you describe marriage? Do you want to be a parent? If so, how many kids would you like to have and why?

Ask yourself, what important knowledge is needed related to the decision that needs to be made? Ask others what you should be learning and understanding in relation to your decision. Perhaps you can communicate with someone who has made a similar decision before.

Keep your scope of research relevant to what’s helpful in making the decision and realize that you don’t need to know everything to make a decision. As you gather relevant knowledge organize it and order it according to priority. Seek to understand relevant knowledge that can be useful to you in the decision making process and in moving forward once you make the decision.

Some of the relevant knowledge you should be gathering may relate to how God has wired you for life, work, and ministry for His glory. For example, What spiritual gift(s) has He given you? What talents, skills/abilities do you have? Strengths? Weaknesses? Your personality? Experiences?

Be curious. Ask a lot of questions. Ask God in prayer to help you gather relevant knowledge and understanding for your decision at hand.

Proverbs 10:14 ESV The wise lay up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near.

Proverbs 2:6 ESV For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

I’ll write about wisdom in a separate step. For now, concentrate on gathering relevant knowledge and seeking to understand that knowledge and what has value to you.

3) Seek Biblical-based discernment.

What I mean by discernment is being able to distinguish between right and wrong and deem what is worthy in the eyes of God and what is not. God’s Word contains truth from God that provides us a moral compass in life. When it comes to decision making, if God’s Word declares something is wrong in His eyes then don’t chose sin, don’t chose to go against God’s Word and will for you.

If you are considering a job opportunity with a higher paying job living in a more preferable city, but the employer has a reputation of unethical practice then say no. If you are a single maturing Christ-follower and wondering if you should date a nonbeliever you are attracted to, don’t date this person. I’ve done this before. It’s the wrong decision.

Don’t compromise when it comes to biblical principles for God’s people today. Obedience to God is essential. Even Jesus emphasized submission to the will of God the Father (Mt. 6:10, Lk. 22:42).

Bible verses related to discernment:

Hebrews 5:14 ESV But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

Romans 12:2 ESV Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Ephesians 5:10 ESV and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.

See also Prov. 14:8, 1 John 4:1.

Here are some other principles to consider related to discernment:

Be a person of God-honoring integrity (Prov. 10:9, 22:1).

Honestly consider warning signs (Prov. 10:17, 27:6).

Learn from past decisions and experiences. Do you have a pattern of behavior and decision making that is not good? Learn from past mistakes (Prov. 26:11). Redeem failures for good.

Be careful about your association with evil and wrongdoing (1 Thess. 5:22).

If you have doubts on whether something is right or wrong then don’t do it until God impresses on your heart more clarity of spiritual conviction (Rom. 14:21, 23). When in doubt, leave it out.

Consider your heart motives regarding the potential decision. Honestly assess them (Eccl. 8:5, Prov. 15:28).

Be careful about being blind and naïve by your emotions and facts. You may be looking to change jobs because your current job is difficult and you want relief from that so you think the ‘grass is greener’ at a different employer. The truth is that other place of employment is not a perfect place to work and there are no perfect employees. God may want you to endure where you are to develop and grow you and to minister to others through you.

Sometimes you have a choice and neither choice is a sin. In such cases, God gives you some freedom to make a decision. You can be in His will with either choice as long as you are seeking to honor Him with your life.

4) Seek Wisdom from God, His Word, & God-honoring people.

Wisdom is a combination of knowledge, understanding, and application of valued truth in one’s life. Wisdom is information of value applied to your life.

Here’s a simple example of practical wisdom at work. There is some solid knowledge out there that consuming a lot of calories and not being very physically active will cause most people to gain weight and become less healthy. I’m in my late 40s and find this sort of information valuable in my life as I enjoy comfort foods and I’m exercising less than when I was younger. The wise thing to do is to eat and drink healthier more consistently and only consume the junk food stuff occasionally as special treats and I need to be physically active regularly. This is wisdom and when I actually apply such valued knowledge to my life I’m being wise.

We all lack wisdom. We all need wisdom. Thankfully, God generously gives wisdom to those who ask Him for some (in faith; Jam. 1:5-6; Prov. 2:6). God-honoring wisdom can come directly from God like by way of the Holy Spirit but often comes from God through His Word and through people, especially God-honoring people.

Psalm 119:105 ESV Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Prov. 19:20 ESV Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.

Prov. 1:5 ESV Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance,

See also Prov. 13:20, 2:1-15, 16:16, 3:21-22.

It’s wise to consider first what’s important to God then consider what’s important to you. Search the Scriptures for wisdom. What can you learn from God’s Word related to your decision at hand? What does God’s Word reveal related to your decision?

Consider your overall purpose in life and the spiritual implications of your decision. Seek to know God better and better as your Savior and Lord, become more like Christ in character and in conduct/mission, and glorify God. How will your decision affect your spiritual life and impact the lives of others? Christ followers are salt and light in Christ in this world, ambassadors for Christ, instruments of righteousness. Consider how you can make a greater impact on advancing the kingdom purposes of Christ.

If God’s word is silent in relation to your decision at hand then offer up your God-honoring desire before the Lord. Ps. 37:4 ESV Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

This verse doesn’t mean God gives us everything and anything we want. Our desires need to line up with His will and His glory. This is more likely to happen when you are consistently submitting your life to Christ and are filled with the Holy Spirit. God cares about the desires of your heart when you are delighting in Him, glorifying Him, and depending on Him. God blesses God-honoring desires.

Seek wise counsel from others. There are times when we need someone else’s help in processing the different aspects of a decision to be made whether a second opinion or an expert opinion. Consider God-honoring leaders in your life. Perhaps a local church pastor, a parent, a teacher or coach; someone to help you confirm and/or remove some inclinations and doubts you have. I have reached out to many people over the years for wisdom; like my wife, dad, mom, pastor, friends and co-workers in ministry. You need sound God-honoring advice not just something said that you want to hear. And of course, if you are married, your bigger decisions should be discussed and processed together.

5) Analyze and compare information/options.

(i.e. cost/benefit analysis, pros & cons, + & -, strengths & weaknesses)

When I make bigger decisions I like to analyze and compare relevant information by comparing the positives and negatives related to the decision. This usually includes two columns on a paper or in a table in a word processor program. One column includes the factual and perceived positive things if I make a certain decision. The other column includes the factual and perceived negative things if I make a certain decision. My wife and I did this before we committed to buying our current house. First, we compared staying in our rental house to relocating and buying a house (via mortgage). When we moved forward looking for a house to buy, we found two prospective houses that rose to the top of our list and we did a comparison analysis between the two. And when we became very interested in one particular house then we created a strengths and weaknesses comparison related to our decision on whether or not to move forward in buying this particular house. Here’s a shortened example of the strengths/weaknesses comparison: 

House/Property Strengths	House/Property Weaknesses
4th sleeping area bedroom space	Lots of traffic/road noise
Bedford County; lower taxes than Lynchburg city	Distance to work and church is 10 miles one way; further/longer than we are used to or prefer
Long, fairly flat, large fenced-in back yard	Carpet in sleeping areas includes many stains, and is very worn beyond repair
Newer roof; windows on top level; Vinyl siding	Paint, clean up needed in sleeping areas and elsewhere in house

The list was a lot longer than this but hopefully you get the idea. I believe analyzing and comparing information/options is a wise thing to do in decision making especially regarding bigger decisions. These types of exercises help give you a realistic picture of your options and potential decision to make. They help you more honestly assess if the weaknesses can be lived with or improved upon and if they far outweigh the strengths in the long run.

Proverbs 14:15 ESV The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps.

Christ commended analyzing, planning, and counting the cost in decision making (Luke 14:28-32).

Consider outcomes and risks. Prioritize, examine, and evaluate the information you have gathered.

6) Wait on the Lord, be patient.

Most bigger decisions in life don’t require an immediate response. You usually have some time to make the decision and time is often needed before making a big decision.

Waiting on the Lord, being patient, enduring, and longsuffering are all God-honoring qualities. Patience is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22) for born again Christ-followers. God wants and expects His people to be patient, not to impulsively act hastily and foolishly. Often, hasty decision making brings negative consequences (Prov. 21:5).

Be cautious about the lure of ‘instant gratification.’ We often want things soon when waiting is often God’s plan for us.

Also, recognize that many things are out of our control; for example, waiting for a prospective employer to get back to you after the first interview. You could follow up and show some persistence but you also have to learn to give some things time. You have to learn to be patient. Having more time can allow you to spend more time on the steps of God-honoring decision making. God also will use time to develop us and our dependence on Him. God knows what’s best for us so we should wait on Him to lead us in decision making.

Psalm 25:5 ESV Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.

Ps. 27:1 ESV Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

See also Isa. 40:28-31, Heb. 6:15, Prov. 18:13, 19:2.

 7) Ask God for increased living faith in Him.

A student once came to me asking for some counsel about deciding between two good paths after he graduates. And I asked which would take greater faith on his part; staying here for graduate school and student leadership ministry or raising money and ministering God’s Word in England in a public school setting. The latter takes more faith and it’s the latter the student chose. I think God is more pleased with such a decision because greater faith is needed in moving forward to the England ministry and God is pleased by our faith in Him.

Hebrews 11:1, 6 ESV Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Christ sent out His disciples two by two to do some traveling ministry and told them to take very little with them; only a staff, no bread, no bag, no money, no second tunic, but to wear sandals (Mark 6:7-9). Christ wanted them to live by faith for basic provisions while on this mission trip. He noted in the passage that some people they encountered would be hospitable and others would not. Christ wanted to test and strengthen their faith as they stepped out of their comfort zones to minister in His name. So, He took away everything they might depend on other than the simple clothes on their backs, the sandals on their feet, and the staffs in their hands. God would ultimately be their provider for everything they would need to fulfill for what they were sent to do.

There is a saving faith (trusting faith in Christ as your Savior) and there is a living faith (trusting Christ to be the Lord over the life). With great living faith in Christ you will depend greater on Christ and experience diminished fears and insecurities in your flesh.

Ask God to increase your faith in Him. Luke 17:5 ESV The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

See also Mark 9:24, Rom. 12:3.

Be sure that your decision embraces the necessity of living faith in God. Taking God-honoring steps of faith in your life decisions will declare your dependence upon God, grow you in Christ, and please God.

8) Go ahead, when the timing is right, make the decision for the glory of God.

Sooner or later you make the decision. While trusting God along the way and giving due diligence to a God-honoring decision making process there will come a time when you make the decision. If you keep stalling and don’t make a decision then eventually your indecision is the decision.

When it comes to the right timing, consider any deadlines and due dates and trust God to impress upon your heart when to actually make the decision. You may be nervous about the outcome and consequences but that’s why you place your faith in God and go through a God-honoring decision making process such as this.

Be confident in Christ knowing that God will continue to work in and through you His good will.

Philippians 2:13 ESV for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Romans 8:28 ESV And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Go ahead, make a God-honoring decision when the timing is right and live for the glory of God.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

⁶ In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. 

Prov. 3:5-6 ESV

What do you think about this decision making process? 

Mike

Broken and Poured Out; a Great Example of Loving Jesus

It’s getting close to that time of the year in the Christian calendar known as the Passion Week of Christ. Probably when you first think of ‘passion’ you think of feeling well in a good sense about something or someone, extra joy and excitement and fulfillment. Passion can also refer to suffering and this is how it is used in Acts 1:3. The Greek word ‘paskho’ is translated as ‘passion’ in the KJV and ‘suffering’ in the ESV.

This Passion Week of Christ is one of the most important moments in all of human history. Jesus Christ triumphantly entered Jerusalem but later in the week was arrested, put on trials, beat and brutally punished, crucified, died for our sin, and then rose in victory over sin and death as the glorified Son of God.

During that week, before Jesus was arrested, a brief event occurred that demonstrated one person’s amazing love toward Jesus. God’s word teaches that God is love, that God demonstrates His great love toward us (especially through the Gospel of Christ), and we are called by God to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength as well as love our neighbor as our self.

In Mark 14, we read a great example of loving God in the flesh, Jesus Christ, and it’s on this passage I want to park in this blog because it’s important for Christ-followers to keep cultivating and growing our love for Jesus. 

Mark 14:1-11 ESV
¹ It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him, ² for they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people.” ³ And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. ⁴ There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? ⁵ For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her. ⁶ But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. ⁷ For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. ⁸ She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. ⁹ And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.” ¹⁰ Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. ¹¹ And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him.

What are we meant to remember and learn from a woman who broke an alabaster jar and poured out expensive perfume/cologne on Jesus? She teaches us how Jesus Christ and His message and ministry compels His true followers to love Him with an amazing love.

Here are four aspects of this woman’s amazing love toward Jesus?

1. She loved Jesus devotedly, vss3-9.

This woman’s amazing devotion of love toward Jesus stands in bookend contrast to the plotting of Jesus’ enemies to kill Him and the betrayal by one of His disciples.

Throughout the region, people were taking sides about what to do with Jesus. Even among His closest disciple followers, one was deciding to let his true colors of greed and disloyalty toward Jesus show and to side with the enemies who would bring about Jesus’ death. In the midst of growing tension and the impending actions of the religious leaders, one woman expressed her loyal love to Christ in a bold and unmistakable way. Her love for Jesus was not a passing emotion; it was marked by strong devotion.

I love the hymn, “I have decided to follow Jesus.” One lines goes like this: “Though none go with me, still I will follow. No turning back, no turning back.” This is how true Christ-followers love Jesus. They unashamedly express their loving devotion to Him above every other loyalty. They leave their comfort zones to express their love to and for Jesus. They show the world their love for Jesus. This woman loved Jesus devotedly.

2. She loved Jesus extravagantly, vss3-5.

John implied in his Gospel account that this woman is Mary of Bethany, the sister of Martha and Lazarus. John also wrote that the ointment was poured on the feet of Jesus which she wiped with her hair. This Mary popped up three times in the Gospels and each time she was at the feet of Jesus. Elsewhere she was eager to learn from Jesus and in another moment she was grateful Jesus raised her brother from the dead.

The nard plant was used to make perfume and it was probably imported like from India. The pure nard was very expensive.  This was probably Mary’s most precious possession. It was close to a year’s wages for the average worker. The average individual income in Lynchburg, VA is around $20,000 per year. Imagine a perfume worth $20,000 today being poured out on someone.

This was a stunning example of love, devotion, and worship. By custom, she would show hospitality and honor to a distinguished dinner guest by sprinkling His head with a drop or two of this stuff, but in this instance she poured it all onto His head and feet.

And then came the wet blanket followers of Christ who thought the value of this expensive perfume was wasted, that it could have been used in a more practical way. They scolded her, criticized her. John’s passage mentions that Judas Iscariot was the leader of this criticism and that he was a thief so his motives were questionable.

I don’t have a lot of assets and money in our culture. Do you think it would be wasteful if I poured out something worth $20,000 onto Billy Graham or Mother Theresa in some sort of anointing ministry moment? How about onto my wife? And what if Jesus Himself was literally physically here this morning? Would it be a waste if I wanted to sacrifice so much to show my love to Him?

We see this sort of extravagant love toward Christ so rarely that, when in happens, it is almost scandalous. She loved Jesus devotedly and extravagantly.

3. She loved Jesus beautifully, vss6-7.

Jesus rebuked the rebukers. He stood up for Mary and noticed what nobody else in the room noticed or mentioned? He saw the beauty of her devoted and extravagant act of love. I love this phrase, “she has done a beautiful thing to me”. This is the God of the universe in the flesh acknowledging and commending Mary for this beautiful act of love toward Him.

Jesus was impressed by the sheer beauty of what she had done to him. He was about to experience a brutal, ugly, humiliating death and along the way He received some beautiful love. In the midst of angry conspiracy, harsh rebukes and personal betrayals, here was an act of love so obviously beautiful that it was like a rose growing in a garbage dump of sin. The ugliness of so many people’s sins make the beauty of her sacrificial love toward Christ even more meaningful. What do you say other than, “That was beautiful love given to our beautiful Savior”?

There will always be opportunities to minister to the poor in this world but how often do you have opportunity to minister to God in the flesh? Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, was in the house – and only one person seized the moment and gave Him the kind of honor and worship He deserved. And she did it for no other reason than loving Him. She broke and poured out the best, most precious possession she owned. Beautiful! This was a physical expression of what was true in her heart toward Christ. She loved Jesus devotedly, extravagantly, and beautifully. And lastly,

4. She loved Jesus gratefully, vss8-9.

Jesus connected the woman’s act of love to His coming death on the cross. Did Mary intend this all along? Some think she did and others think she didn’t. If she did, this was tremendous spiritual insight. What matters is what Jesus thinks about our acts of love toward Him.

This was the only anointing His body received before His death. In spite of the many times Christ had warned of His suffering and death, perhaps Mary was one of the few to take Him seriously. She was the sister of Lazarus who had heard His powerful life-transforming teaching and witnessed Jesus bring her dead brother back from the tomb, miraculously alive. She had personally experienced the grace and saving power of Jesus. Her loving act was fueled with gratitude for His unmerited favor.

Doesn’t it make sense that those who experience gospel grace be filled with loving gratitude toward Christ? We have spiritual hindsight now that Christ has already gone to the cross for our sins. In the eyes of Christ, her loving act was looking forward to the Savior’s atoning work, to the centerpiece of God’s redemption plan for humanity. Praise God! Thank God for Jesus Christ and His Gospel ministry.

Jesus commended her by saying, “She had done what she could.” That is all that God has ever asked any person to do.

In response to her love, Jesus etched her amazing display of love toward Him into a lasting tribute that will extend through and around the world wherever and whenever this gospel is proclaimed. Twenty centuries later, as these words are being shared right now, here, her memorial shines once again. It still fills hearts with its sweet aroma, even in our day, that this Christ-follower loved Jesus devotedly, extravagantly, beautifully, and gratefully.

I’m wondering how well we are doing at loving Jesus in such ways. What precious thing in our lives have we broken and poured out lately before the Lord as a sacrificial love offering to Him? How are we doing at loving Jesus devotedly, extravagantly, beautifully, and gratefully?

What does such love toward Jesus look like in our lives today? That depends on how the Spirit is leading you and me. Maybe, it means you and/or me are to sell a lot of our possessions or give them away to people in need for the kingdom of Christ, for God’s glory. Maybe God wants you and/or me are to downsize our spending for the sake of being more generous. Maybe, God wants you and/or me are to serve Him differently with our time, giftedness, and resources. Maybe, God wants you and/or me to go to a place that is unreached with the Gospel. Maybe, God is calling you and/or me to stop following the American Dream of materialism and instead live ‘all in’ for Jesus Christ to advance His kingdom purposes. Maybe God is calling you and/or me to be more outwardly passionate and public about our love for Christ and His kingdom purposes through us.

What do you think about this woman’s example of loving Jesus in Mark 14 and what I’ve written about it here and what are your ideas on how Christ-followers can show such amazing love to Jesus these days?

Mike

The Christian & Profanity

There are some words in our English speaking culture that are generally acknowledged in society as profanity aka foul language, bad words, cussing, swearing, cursing, obscenities, or expletives. What is profanity? The word profane means unholy, irreverence or contempt for God or sacred principles, vulgar. The biblical concept for ‘holy’ is based on God’s character and refers to being morally/spiritually pure and set apart from sin/evil. In God’s case, He is one of a kind uniquely holy as God (1 Sam 2:2) but He also calls His people to be holy for He is holy (1 Pet. 1:15).

This world is saturated with profane cuss words; they are heard (or read, or viewed) in the neighborhood, at school, our homes, at work, from movies, TV programs, internet videos/postings, articles, books, and magazines. And it isn’t just the non-Christians who are using profanity. Some Christians communicate foul language as well.

I won’t try to list a bunch of cuss words here because identifying them can be shocking and disgusting for some people. You know, this d-word, that s-word, this f-word and so on. Words themselves can be subjective in meaning and usage especially among different cultures over time. This is why we aren’t given a list in the Bible of which words are cuss words. So, we must rely on biblical principles to guide us and the conviction of the Holy Spirit in this matter.

Here are some things to keep in mind when identifying profanity. For a given word, does the culture in general consider that it could be used as a profane/cuss word? Does the modern dictionary consider it a vulgar, cuss, profane word among other definitions and uses? Also consider how the word is being used. What’s the motivation, attitude, and purpose behind it? Is the word being used in anger, frustration, or for shock value? Is the word being used to tear a person down? Is the cuss word being used just because it is popular in our culture? Is the word used in a sexually derogative way? Usage context is important as well. For example, the word ‘hell’ is a word found in the Bible, a noun, a place God made to send Satan and demons to (and it’s where people who haven’t been saved by the Lord go in eternity). You can use ‘hell’ in an edifying God-honoring way or you can use it in a profane way (use your imagination).  If you are ever curious as to whether or not a word and its use is profanity that dishonors God, then ask God in prayer to give you insight and conviction about it, research the word, and ask a maturing Christ follower about their biblical based conviction.

Here are some Bible verses to consider about the subject of profanity:

Eph. 4:29 ESV Let no corrupting talk (NLT foul or abusive language) come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace (NLT be an encouragement) to those who hear.

The word ‘corrupting’ here in the original Bible language of Greek, sapros, means rotten, putrefied, worn out, not fit for use, bad quality, worthless. And the word ‘talk’ here, logos, can just as well be ‘communication’ so this includes writing, texting, emailing, and social media posting. It’s not just what rolls off our tongue but also what language we communicate and how and why we communicate what we communicate.

A key reason I am writing about this subject is because I have recently noticed more and more Christians posting things with foul language on-line and I have met with some Christian college students who use foul language. In my opinion, if you post something on-line with profanity, even a graphic/picture, it is like wearing a t-shirt in public with profanity on it and this should not be so for Christians. Hey, check out this cuss word. I endorse the use of this cuss word. It’s okay to use this cuss word and on and on it goes.

A similar passage is Col. 3:8-10 ESV But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

Here the Greek word for ‘obscene’, aischrologia, refers to foul, obscene communication. The word ‘obscene’ in our culture refers to what is indecent, offensive to moral decency.

Eph. 5:4 ESV Let there be no filthiness (NLT obscene stories) nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

2 Timothy 2:16 ESV But avoid irreverent (NKJV profane) babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness,

The Greek word for profane here, bebelos, can mean unhallowed, ungodly.

James 3:2-12 is a great passage about the problem of our tongues (our communication). Here is an excerpt; 8-10 ESV ⁸but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. ¹⁰From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers,^£ these things ought not to be so.

Sometimes profanity includes using God’s name in vain and God’s Word clearly states this is wrong. Exodus 20:7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. If you are not honoring and glorying God with the use of His name, you are using His name in vain.

When we use certain words we should be wondering if God considers it unholy, dishonoring to Him even if no one else is around to hear or no one will read what we have submitted. Is this communication right in the eyes of God? If there is uncertainty whether it is profanity or not then take the high road in Christ and avoid using it. This is why I now avoid using words like ‘crap’ and ‘crud.’ They both have some vulgar connotations in our culture. Oops, I just stepped on some toes with that. When you are suddenly frustrated why not go with ‘bummer’ or ‘I don’t like that.’ There are word options that are not associated with profanity.

When you miss the nail and hit your finger with the hammer do you yell out a cuss word? Why not yell out ‘Ouch!’, ‘That hurts so bad!’ or just yell out noise like a scream? Why use a word that is associated with profanity? Our communication reveals the state of our heart. If the heart is not holy unto the Lord then unholy things will be communicated. I think a Christ-follower who is consistently filled with the Holy Spirit will have more self-control in such matters, will have goodness in the heart that pours out (fruit of the Holy Spirit) and using a cuss word becomes less and less likely. I’m not saying that a cuss word will absolutely never come out again. What I am saying is that consistent non-use of profanity is possible with God’s help and our proper response of increased living faith in Him and consistent holy obedience to God based on His Word for His people.

I believe that a maturing Christ follower will mature in biblical discernment between right and wrong in what and how they communicate as well spiritual convictions about what is okay regarding unnecessary profanity in what we watch, view, hear, and read. For me, this has been a spiritual process over the years to where I’ve come to the place in my life where I rarely use profanity. I can’t remember the last time I did, but I am not so good at saying no to various movies and TV shows that include unnecessary profanity. I could improve in this area of my life because I believe Christ-followers should be concerned as to not only what we communicate and how and why but also as to what we subject ourselves to for the sake of entertainment and leisure activities. A true believer in Christ has a new nature, is a new creation, and has the indwelling Holy Spirit along with the fruit of the Spirit. Christ-followers are called the temple of the Holy Spirit. Using profanity is a work of the flesh and at odds with the Holy Spirit within you (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Gal. 5).

Maybe you don’t even realize that you communicate profanity and associate yourself with profanity. Maybe you think you are doing well not to use the major cuss words in our culture, but yet you use some ‘softer’ cuss words yet those words and their usage don’t honor and glorify God, don’t build up others, and don’t build you up in holiness and Christ-likeness. If you’re not sure cussing is a part of your life try asking someone close to you about this, if they notice you using cuss words or taking a lot of cuss words in.

Profanity will hinder your personal spiritual growth, harm your relationships with other people, undermine your salt and light in Christ testimony in this world, and have a negative impact on your spiritual intimacy with God.

There are other biblical principles related to the importance of our communication like keeping your tongue from evil, the tree is known by its fruit, what comes out of your mouth is what defiles you, we are to be gracious in speech, we are to set an example in our speech for the believers, and God will hold us responsible for the words we communicate (i.e. Ps. 34:12-14, Mt. 15:11, Col. 4:6, 1 Tim. 4:12, Mt. 12:33-37, 15:11; Luke 6:45). Take the time to study God’s Word on the subject of character and communication that honors and glorifies God. And if you are a believer in Christ who learns of another believer communicating profanity in some way, then speak the truth in love to them; use grace and truth, trusting in the Lord for help.

As Christ-followers, yes, we have freedom in the grace of God, but this doesn’t mean we have a license to be unholy in our communication. We are called to pursue holiness in Christ (Eph. 4:24; Titus 2; 1 Pet. 1:13-15 and 2:24).

And as always, in the Christian life, the principle of 1 Cor. 10:31 (So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.); is applicable. Whenever you wonder about what’s right and wrong regarding words, language, and communication; ask yourself, “Does this word and its use glorify God?” If the word is associated with cussing then why use it at all? Are you glorying God with your communication? To understand what glorifies God, learn from Scripture about God and His holiness and what pleases Him.

We all can and should ask God in prayer for help regarding the use of profanity our lives. Consider these two verses that should be prayed to God: Ps. 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Ps. 141:3 Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!

God’s Word teaches that our words matter. Our communication matters. Our thoughts matter. Our attitudes matter. And these things matter not just in how we influence other people but they matter to God who is perfectly Holy and everywhere present (Ps. 139) and calls us to glorify Him. We should care most about what God thinks of our communication.

What, how, and why we communicate what we do matters to God and it should matter to a Christ-follower. May the Lord guide us, His people, away from using profanity and away from accepting profanity as morally okay. Let’s honor God with our character, our convictions, our conduct, and our communication; all to His glory. Let’s resolve to be holy for God is holy.

What are your thoughts about profanity and the Christian life?

Mike

Six Baptisms; #2 Baptism by Holy Spirit (& into Christ)

This blog entry is the continuation in a series called ‘Six Baptisms.’ The first entry ‘#1 Baptism by Fire,’ which includes an introduction to this series, can be read at http://mikesmorals.blogspot.com/2014/03/six-baptisms-1-baptism-by-fire.html

As I wrote previously, the Greek word “baptizo” in the New Testament of God’s Word means to immerse, submerge, and/or cleanse.

It is by God’s special grace through faith in Christ through which a person receives Christ as Savior, receives the Holy Spirit, receives imputed righteousness from Christ, and receives the fruit of the Spirit among other divine blessings. We, unholy sinners, can enter into a current and eternal relationship with God by His grace through faith in Christ. This is amazing and this spiritual process of salvation in Christ involves a spiritual baptism sometimes referred to in Scripture as ‘baptism of the Holy Spirit, ‘baptism into Christ,’ or ‘baptism into one Body.’

I believe these biblical phrases refer to the same spiritual act of God in the life of a Christian today. This spiritual immersion and cleansing involves a spiritual union with and identification with the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ and His universal Body of believers.

Let’s consider some Bible verses that refer to this spiritual baptism.

Matthew 3:11 ESV “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

John 1:33 ESV I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’

John the Baptist taught here that Jesus Christ baptizes with the Holy Spirit which is different than the baptism John the Baptist was providing people before the public ministry of Jesus Christ. I’ll write more about water baptism and what John was doing in a later entry.

Galatians 3:26-27 ESV for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

This phrase ‘baptized into Christ’ refers to a spiritual immersion into Christ.

Romans 6:1-11 ESV ¹ What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? ² By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? ³ Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. ⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. ⁷ For one who has died has been set free from sin. ⁸ Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹ We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. ¹⁰ For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. ¹¹ So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

To be baptized into Christ, to be a born-again saved Christ-follower, means to die to your sins (vs3) and to live a new life through the resurrection of Christ (1 Pet. 3:21).

What does this look like for a Christian? Consider Paul’s testimony: Galatians 2:20 ESV I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

1 Corinthians 6:17 ESV But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, ²⁰ for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Christians are spiritually placed into Christ, in union with Him, and they have the Holy Spirit within them, and so we should live accordingly.

In 1 Cor. 12, Paul was dealing with a situation where the Corinthian church was splitting into factions over the issue of spiritual gifts. Overemphasis on certain spectacular gifts had led to the attitude that some people had the most desirable gifts, while others were deficient. In response, Paul wrote, "We're all one (in Christ)! Don't divide up into cliques!" And to prove his point, he wrote this to the Corinthian Christians, 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 ESV For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

What’s his main point here? All true Christ-followers share the reality of being baptized into Christ by way of the Holy Spirit. The phrase ‘into one body’ here refers to the Body of Christ, not meaning His physical body, but referring instead to His spiritual body which includes the universal Church of true Christ-followers in which He is the head.

Titus 3:4-7 ESV ⁴ But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

I believe this passage refers to the baptism of the Holy Spirit through Christ.

When does this spiritual baptism occur? In modern day Christianity, I believe that the ‘baptism of the Holy Spirit’ and ‘baptism into Christ’ (& into one Body) occur simultaneously at the salvation conversion moment in a Christ-follower’s life. There is a spiritual justification conversion moment in God’s plan of salvation for people today. This is the moment when the person called by God begins trusting Christ as their personal Savior and Lord. It is God who declares the person is saved, and that they now have a position in His heaven, and he or she is reconciled with Him. I believe it is at this salvation moment that the person is sealed by and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, baptized by the Holy Spirit, and baptized into Christ and into one Body. Consider, in addition to the above verses:

Ephesians 1:13 ESV ¹³ In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

Romans 8:9 ESV ⁹ You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

So, for personal example, when I was nine years old I received Christ into my life as my Savior and Lord. In that spiritual salvation conversion moment I was baptized by the Holy Spirit and baptized into Christ (& into one Body).

There are moments in early Christianity when some individuals received the baptism of the Holy Spirit after a salvation conversion moment; such as at Pentecost to the original Apostles (Acts 2) and to some Samaritan believers in Acts 8:14-17. I believe this was just part of the transition period from the incarnated days of Jesus Christ, to the beginning of the Christian church, and to the spread of Christianity to Jews, to Samaria and to the ends of the earth. By the time we get to Acts 10, I think we have the model for today; personal impact of the Gospel, trusting belief, and receive the Holy Spirit.

These days, I believe the ‘baptism of the Holy Spirit’/’baptism into Christ’ is a one-time spiritual act by God at the salvation conversion moment that spiritually identifies a person with God. There doesn’t have to be miraculous signs and wonders or dramatic recoveries from addictions or other major things occur at that moment, although salvation itself is miraculous and a big life-transforming deal! Praise God! If you are a true Christ-follower already you don’t need to seek a baptism of the Holy Spirit. It already took place.

Each genuine Christ-follower has the Holy Spirit in their life as God’s gracious gift; however, they are exhorted to be filled with the Holy Spirit (aka ‘led by’, ‘walk by’ or ‘walk in’, and ‘live by the Holy Spirit’). This means the individual Christ follower must decide regularly to ask God to fill him or her with the Holy Spirit, to choose to regularly yield to/submit to the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 5:18 ESV And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,

Galatians 5:16-26 ESV But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. ¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. ²⁴ And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

The above passage gives us a glimpse of what it looks like to be a Holy Spirit-filled Christ-follower in contrast with being characterized by the immoral works of the flesh. Which do you align more with?

Being filled with the Holy Spirit is part of ‘progressive sanctification’ in a Christ-follower’s life. This maturing spiritual sanctification in Christ varies for each believer in their lifetime. There can be many fillings of the Holy Spirit, all the while the Christ-follower continues to be indwelt by and sealed by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit-filled life is characteristic of the Christ-follower who acknowledges their ‘baptism of the Holy Spirit’/‘baptism into Christ’ and they live accordingly for the glory of God.

I hope and pray that you have been baptized by the Holy Spirit and into Christ and are living accordingly. What do you think about this subject in Scripture and what I’ve written about here?

The next entry in this series will be about ‘baptism by water.’ 

Mike