When God Doesn’t Say Yes

14 Comments / February 4, 2019

Do you think God is playing favorites when He heals some people and not others? Do you believe that you are somehow inferior spiritually if His answer to you isn’t yes?

While you might say confidently that you don’t believe that, I am afraid that sometimes we lean towards believing like this without really thinking about it. We feel forgotten and neglected and we think that somehow we did something wrong to bring on special punishment from God.

But this just isn’t true. While we do sometimes reap the consequences of sinful choices, not all bad things that happen to us or those we love have to do with our sin or lack of faith. And when God gives an answer to prayer that we don’t like it doesn’t mean He is mad at us. How can I be sure of this? Because the Bible tells me so.

If we take a walk through scripture, we pretty quickly see that many godly men and women were afflicted by many sore trials and tribulations. We all are familiar with Job, who went through terrible afflictions for reasons unknown to him at the time. We read of Jacob’s beloved wife, Rachel, who suffered with infertility and then died during the birth of her second son. We know about Ruth, who lost her husband and traveled with her mother-in-law to a foreign land, leaving behind everything she has ever known.

We read of Daniel and his friends, who were uprooted from their lives and taken on a pagan King’s order to live in his court. There they experienced many temptations and trials. God did not remove the trials, but walked through the trials with them.

We read of Jeremiah, who was God’s special prophet to the people of Israel and yet they hated him. They hated him so much they sought to attack him (Jeremiah 18:18) and put him to death (Jeremiah 26:24). He was speaking for God and was persecuted unmercifully.

As we move to the New Testament, we find countless more examples of godly people who endured terrible trials.  All of Jesus’s disciples except John were martyred for their faith. John himself was exiled to the island of Patmos, to live out the rest of his days far from his beloved home and family. Paul suffered many great things before finally being martyred by the evil Roman emperor Nero. (Read more about the apostles here).

I’ve only mentioned a few from scripture. There is not enough room here to mention every person in the Bible who suffered miserable trials and violent deaths. So why did God allow so much heartache and pain in the lives of those who were sincerely seeking to follow Him? Was He angry at them? Did He want to punish them? Or did He have other reasons?

The answer, of course, is yes, there are other reasons and no, God isn’t mad at us. I believe this biblical answer is two-fold–

First, God is God and will do as He pleases for His glory and His purposes. We grow proud and insist that we must understand the “why”.  If we can’t see how it is all working together then we assume it must all be pointless and cruel.

But Isaiah 55:8-9 reminds us that God’s ways are higher than our ways–

For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.

Deuteronomy 29:29 also puts us back into our place as loyal subject and servant to the Great and Almighty King of the Universe–

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

God is God. We are His to do with as He chooses for His own purposes. We can submit or we can rebel. But it doesn’t change the fact that He is the King of all Creation. And He uses many things to accomplish His purposes, including disease, death, and tragedy.

Second, if we are saved, this world is not our home. As believers we recognize that we are simply pilgrims in a foreign land. We are weary travelers that have much to look forward to. Our best life isn’t now but is still to come! Hebrews 11:13-16 reminds us of this so beautifully–

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off  were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. 15 And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

Notice the first sentence of these verses: These all died in faith. Every one of them died, just as every one of us will, as well. We are born to die. It is life in this fallen world. But those of us who have faith, have a very different future ahead of us. For we have defeated death! (I Corinthians 15:55-57) And we desire a better, heavenly country.

When we turn our focus to our eternal perspective, it changes how we view temporal trials. Oh, it doesn’t take the hurt away but it is a comfort. Our trials are temporary and serve a greater purpose–one that we cannot always see or understand. And we realize that the entirety of our life here on earth–all of the joy, the pain, the pleasure, the sorrow–is but a moment in our eternity.

From studying the scriptures we recognize that trials are a part of life. All lives. And that a godly person is not released from them simply because they follow Christ. But we also can see in His Word that God hasn’t left us without hope. He walks with us through the trial, giving us abundant grace and bountiful mercy.

Sometimes we ask for the storm to calm or the trial to cease but God chooses to say no. This doesn’t mean He has deserted us or is angry with us. Instead, we can confidently know that He has a higher purpose and we can be assured that He will walk with us every step of the way.

So why do some people still insist that when God tells you NO you must be a weak Christian?

Nothing in scripture would indicate this anywhere. So we have to assume they are getting this vain philosophy from the teachings of man.

And, actually, we don’t have to dig very long before finding it. A quick google search revealed several sites run by familiar names and ministries that insist that it is God’s will to physically heal all sick Christians, while deplorably mangling God’s Word in their attempts to back up their premise. This is a blatant falsehood that is slithering its way even into the evangelical church. It is most disturbing because it is NOT TRUE!

We know from God’s Word that we will have trials, we know from His Word that we will get sick and die, we know that we will be persecuted–sometimes unto death. We live in a fallen world. Evil abounds. And all of us, at one time or another, will feel the sting of pain and death. It cannot be avoided–no matter how much a false teacher promises that it can.

I just want to conclude by encouraging you to stay in the Word. There are so many false teachers out there and if we listen to them we can grow quickly discouraged. Is it not incredibly disillusioning to believe that we will be healed if we have enough faith–and then not experience healing? How many seedling faiths has Satan destroyed by this devilish movement?

Know the Word. Know the Word. Know the Word.

By doing so, we can quickly identify that healing is not always granted. We understand immediately that Christians aren’t promised to be free of trials. (In fact, if anything, they are promised extra trials and persecution for following Jesus. John 15:20). And it’s only through knowing the Word that we can recognize if what is being said to us is twisted, out of context, and inconsistent with the rest of scripture. It truly is our only protection.

And so what does scripture have to say about my initial questions? Is God playing favorites when He heals some and not others? We know without a shadow of a doubt that the answer is NO. And are you spiritually inferior if God says NO to your prayer for healing or relief from a trial? And, of course, we can answer that with a rousing NO, as well.

We can rest assured that God deeply loves us and holds us in His hand–no matter how He chooses to answer our prayers. I will end with these very encouraging verses from Psalm 37:3-4–

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,
And He delights in his way.
24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
For the Lord upholds him with His hand.

When God Opens Our Eyes

4 Comments / January 28, 2019

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of going to Florida with a couple of my dear friends. It was planned before I knew I was headed back to work and, at first, I stewed a bit. Could I really afford to give up five days to vacation in Florida? And then I realized that God was well aware of what my situation would be and perhaps He thought I needed a bit of down-time before jumping from one busy season to the next. I decided to just enjoy it.

Before I left I realized my favorite shampoo was running low. Thankfully, I thought of it while I was at the grocery store and I hurriedly grabbed a bottle from the shelf while shopping a day or two before. I took it home and squeezed a bunch of it into an emptied travel shampoo bottle to tuck into my carry-on. The bottle still had a little water in it from trying to rinse out the previous shampoo so I wasn’t sure if that would mess up the shampoo or not. I wasn’t too worried.

The first morning, as I began to wash my hair in the shower a bunch of water came out of the bottle. Oops. As I took the rather gloppy shampoo and rubbed it a bit in my hands it didn’t feel quite right. As I rubbed it through my hair it was even more weird. Would a little water make that much difference?? I didn’t think so. But, of course, I was using unfamiliar water, as well. Maybe it was harder…or softer…or just different than what I was used to. My hair was notoriously flat and lifeless that day and every day of that vacation because of this weird shampoo experience.

It wasn’t until the final day that it FINALLY hit me!

Like a lightening bolt, it hit me.

As I rubbed that lifeless, watery formula through my hair for the last day, my eyes were suddenly opened. This wasn’t shampoo at all. It was conditioner.

How could I have been so stupid not to realize it before? I still couldn’t confirm it but the more I thought about it the more certain I was that this must be the problem.

When I got home, I pulled the “shampoo” bottle from the shower. Sure enough. The company that manufactures it uses the exact same bottle for shampoo and for conditioner and I had carelessly pulled one from the shelf, never checking to make sure it was actually shampoo.

Now besides feeling really stupid, I felt…well…enlightened.

I finally had solved the puzzle.

And that was a good thing.

And–you know by now–I can’t let such a good analogy pass me by without talking about it here. Even if it does let the whole world know my rather embarrassing story.

Because I think this happens to us. We are listening to our favorite preachers. Reading the books of our favorite authors. Following our favorite celebrity speakers on social media. Perhaps we are in the habit of doing a favorite activity that we’ve never thought about being wrong before. But then something doesn’t seem right. Red flags are raised but we can’t quite put our finger on it. And then God opens our eyes. Through His Word, through a concerned fellow believer, or any other number of ways and, suddenly, we realize and we connect the dots.

What we do at that point is critical. If I had continued to use that conditioner even though my eyes were opened to the truth of the situation, you would have wondered about my intellectual capacity (you may already be wondering that, anyway, given my admission above!) Of course–like anyone else would–I stopped using conditioner and started using shampoo.

And, yet, do we respond this same way when it comes to spiritual things? Do we stop listening, reading, following the wrong things and very intentionally fill our minds with the right things? Do we stop doing something that we know is wrong even though we love to do it? Do we then replace these things with things that are true, righteous, and good, as we evaluate them according to God’s Word? It’s easy to make excuses. There are plenty of ways to rationalize why we can continue to follow someone or continue on in an activity that we know is unpleasing to the Lord.

Now, of course, I would never rationalize using conditioner for the rest of my life.

But we all know why. Conditioner made my hair lifeless and dull. I never use it. Ever. And so the consequences of using conditioner were not pleasant for me.

So no big deal to switch. My life is much more pleasant using shampoo than using conditioner.

And there is probably the real difference. What some of these false and/or compromising teachers teach makes our lives seemingly more happy. What they bring us is attractive to us, if we are living only in the temporal and not considering the eternal. They offer us popularity; pleasing philosophies; encouraging, uplifting (and extremely self-centered) messages. They allow us to have our cake and eat it, too. No turning from the world, no self-denial, no concern for turning from sin. These things matter not as long as we are happy.

And our entertainment and activities make our lives more fun. We look less weird and we are more popular if we just watch, wear, and do what everyone else does.

It is incredibly hard to turn away from teachers and activities that would seem to make our lives more pleasant and enjoyable. It truly is.

But, of course, the question to ourselves should never be: “Is this too hard for me?”

But should always be: “Is this the right thing for me to do?”

We sometimes get a little mixed up about which question to ask. Especially in this self-obsessed world.

And so I encourage you to follow through. If the Lord has been opening your eyes, submit yourself to the pain, acknowledge the hurt, and then turn away and move on. It will be a very real hurt if you choose to turn away from someone you have trusted to teach you the truth. It will be a real hardship to give up an activity that has bonded you to people you love to be with. Yes, it will be a very painful process. But, in the long run, you will be so thankful you did. Just like pouring alcohol on a wound stings dreadfully when it provides a necessary cleansing, so, too, does ridding ourselves of false teachers and ungodly activities.

But when God opens our eyes, He has given us an amazing opportunity. We need to grab hold of it and take it!

 

 

 

What Does the Bible Say About…(Prayer)?

10 Comments / January 24, 2019

Prayer is one of those subjects that can be a little daunting. We know we should pray. We really do want to pray. But, if we are honest, it is downright hard for many of us to make time for prayer without distractions. Oh, we will pray throughout the day (and what a privilege this is!) but to actually pray for any length of time in any consistent manner can be a real challenge. It is so easy to talk about but not-so-easy to put into practice.

The other thing about prayer is that Satan has attempted to hi-jack it for his purposes, invading and deceiving many in the church with a new type of prayer that is never mentioned or supported in scripture. It is called Contemplative Prayer and you can read more about it here and here if you desire to be aware and knowledgeable about this great danger.

Whenever Satan hi-jacks something good it tends to make us biblical Christians nervous whenever the subject is brought up. And we are always wondering: How do we know if what we are being taught about prayer is actually from the Bible? This is a wise and valid question to ask. We are told to test all things (I Thessalonians 5:21).

This week my Bible Study lesson was on prayer. As I worked to prepare for this lesson, I decided to see if Pastor Dean had any sermons specifically on prayer. I was delighted to find that he had actually, in preaching through Matthew some years back, preached on each section of the Lord’s prayer, which is found in Matthew 6:9-13. He also has four introductory sermons on prayer based on Matthew 6:1-7.

As I was listening  the other day, it dawned on me that some of you may appreciate these biblical (and very helpful!) sermons on prayer, as well, and so I decided to put them all here in this one place.

I feel sure these sermons will not only teach and remind you of just how our Lord Jesus commanded us to pray but that they will also give you a new and fresh vigor for your prayer life.

 

How Not to Pray (Matthew 6:1-7)

Praying Like a Hypocrite (Part 1)

Praying Like a Hypocrite (Part 2)

Praying Like a Heathen

 

Overview (Matthew 6:9-13)

The Pattern of Prayer

 

An In-Depth Look at the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13)

The One to Whom We Pray (Part 1)

The One to Whom We Pray (Part 2)

Hallowed be Thy Name

Thy Kingdom Come

Thy Will Be Done

Forgive Us Our Debts

Deliver Us From Evil

The Doxology

 

 

A Disturbing Trend

13 Comments / January 21, 2019

I have been noticing something recently. It’s quite worrisome and I wanted to bring it to your attention.

The Christian world is currently broken down into three categories of people:

1) Those who believe discernment and speaking anything negative about someone (even if it is true and necessary) is evil.

(I am still unsure of where someone finds this viewpoint in scripture? And, yet, so many Christians believe this. Read more about this here.)

2) Those who try to stay balanced–practicing and encouraging discernment while not making it their life’s mission.

(This is where I try to stay because discernment is truly just one part of a healthy Christian life. Although, I have to admit that this can be a challenge when you recognize all that is going on to draw people away from the only true God.)

3) And those who are extremely passionate about discernment and see it as their ministry.

(This is where people can become a little and sometimes a LOT unbalanced if they aren’t very careful.)

But in this third circle, where we find some really good discernment bloggers, I have been noticing a trend. Not with all of them but with some of them.

And it is this: Their refusal to write about certain leaders and authors.

It has been an interesting thing to watch– to say the least. While they will easily (and rightly) give a biblical critique of someone like Beth Moore, Joel Osteen, or Bill Johnson, they say nothing about what’s going on in the Southern Baptist circles with Al Mohler, Russell Moore, J.D. Greear, and others as they change their views on homosexuality and promote the “woke” movement or any of the many other things going on in that circle. Nothing.

Thankfully, there are still a few brave souls who will speak up. But this group is quickly shrinking.

Now, in some ways I get it. To do so would, in a very real way, be to commit blogging suicide.

Many of these bloggers have the ears of certain popular folk that reside in the reformed and/or Baptist circles. And these certain popular folk not only also refuse to speak up about what’s going on but, in fact, join with these men at conferences, on radio shows, and in many other ways.

So to speak up against them would be to, most likely, lose your {relatively small} bit of fame, your preferred “discernment blogger” status, and the support of those who refuse to break with men who are headed pell-mell in the wrong direction.

While these bloggers refuse to say anything, some of them then proceed to tweet unkind words about those that do, indeed, have the fortitude to stand up and speak out. I have seen it and it is just…so wrong.

I don’t really have an answer. I just wanted to go on record saying that I see this happening and it is beyond disturbing and most disheartening.

And I wanted to make you, my small circle of readers, aware of this, as well, so that you can be on the look-out for this, too. It is amazing what someone can say by silence.

And, once again, I just encourage you to not hold any person up as your idol. No matter how they helped you grow or helped you see, they do not deserve your undying loyalty.

All of us are sinners that are still fighting with the flesh. All of us fight the desire to be popular and liked and praised. And, as bloggers, this desire can and often does drive what we choose to post or to not post. Blogging for the Lord and His glory alone is not as easy as you might think.

So I’d really encourage you to not rely on just one or two people for the whole story these days. Just as we diversify our assets in financial planning, so we should diversify our sources when it comes to this topic of discernment.

I know this is not a biblical post, per se, but I just felt this needed to be said. Hope it helps. I’ll get back to my normal type of post next time. Thanks for reading.

Test all things; hold fast what is good. (I Thessalonians 5:21)

Running Ahead of God

6 Comments / January 14, 2019

Have you ever faced something that looked utterly unfixable but you just had to fix it? You didn’t know how but you just knew you had to try and do something. And so you come up with all kinds of ideas. You might think of these ideas while you are driving or while you lay in bed at night. Always thinking about how to fix a hopeless situation that so desperately needs to be fixed.

I wonder if Sarah did that, too? Did she lie awake at night wondering if she could help God fix the situation that she and her husband, Abraham, found themselves in? She knew that God had promised land to Abram’s descendants (Genesis 15:18) and yet they didn’t even have any children. That, combined with the fact that she was really old and past child-bearing years, probably caused her much consternation.

I wonder if she fussed and stewed and worried about this seemingly unfixable situation? I wonder if she lost sleep over this?

However she faced this insurmountable problem, she ended up doing what most of us do .

She tried to fix it herself (Genesis 16:1-4). She gave her maid to her husband so that she could have children for her. From our perspective this seems extremely strange. But to Sarah this seemed a very sensible way to fix a very dire situation.

Before we become too critical of her, think about yourself for just a moment. Haven’t you done the same? Oh, it may not have been a situation such as hers that had such far-reaching consequences, but, seriously, haven’t you ever tried to jump ahead of the Lord and fix something?

I know I have. I used to think I could fix situations by talking. God has since shown me that this is unlikely. And that if I am going to talk or discuss I need to wait on His timing instead of jumping ahead and making things worse. Not that I’ve mastered this, by any means. I still run ahead of God occasionally–especially with my family. And it still almost always makes things worse.

There are so many ways we try to run ahead of God instead of waiting. And praying.

Sometimes we do need to bravely and courageously stand up and take a step forward or have a hard conversation. But, so often, we do this without prayer. So often we do this before we seek wise counsel.

History would be very different if Sarah had not run ahead of God and tried to fix her problem without His help. She literally changed the course of history.

Of course, God, in His Sovereignty, knew all of this would happen and His purposes were not thwarted. They can never be thwarted. This thought is a true comfort for all of us who have the tendency to try to fix things.

And another thing to consider here, as well, is that God uses these waiting periods and unresolved situations in our lives to grow us. Romans 8:28-29 tells us that God uses all things to transform us into the image of Christ. When we try to fix things, not only may we botch things up but we may lose out on a wonderful opportunity to grow in Christ-likeness.

The thing I have struggled with, particularly, when this subject comes up is this: I hate for circumstances to be unhappy. I long for my life to be filled with ease and comfort and happy thoughts, and–perhaps even more than for myself– I long for this for those I love, as well. And so this makes it especially tempting to try and fix things.

But, before we do anything, we should probably wait a bit, pray, and then seek wise counsel. Anything we do before that will probably, at best, be unproductive, and, at worst, make things so much worse than they already are.

So let’s leave our circumstances in God’s hands rather than trying to help Him fix things. He can take care of it and He will in His timing. And He will be faithful in letting us know when it is time for action. He does this by opening doors and giving us opportunities that could only come from Him. He does this through the counsel of those who have walked with Him for a very long time, making them not only older in the faith than us but but generally so much wiser than we are, as well. And He does this through orchestrating circumstances in such a way that leaves little doubt it is time for action.

Sarah tried to fix her situation and it made things so much worse. Let’s not jump ahead of God like she did.

Prying Our Hands From This Life

6 Comments / January 7, 2019

Sometimes our hands are tempted to hold too tightly to the things of this world. We can become so focused on the temporal that we neglect the eternal. We can become so wrapped up in the here and now that our grip can become vise-like as we hold on to things that really don’t matter for eternity.

And then God allows a season of turmoil or of question marks in our life. A season where we can’t find our footing. Where we can’t catch our breath. A season where we have no option but to trust Him.

Some of these seasons include things like scary diagnoses, chronic illness, job or career changes, a move across the country, family issues like elderly parents in ill health or rebellious children who walk away from all they’ve been taught. They can be filled with financial troubles, disunity or discord with family or friends, or persecution for being a Christian. Sometimes these seasons include the death of someone we dearly love. Sometimes these seasons are filled with a multitude of challenges that, when added up, feel incredibly burdensome. They usually are filled with question marks and impossible puzzles that we can’t solve on our own and that might never be solved. These seasons are dark and scary and sad. They are painful and difficult and formidable. Some of them are short and some last a very long time. They are always painful and difficult.

These seasons often bring us back to proper priorities. They remind us that we are pilgrims in a foreign land and we are just passing through. They start to loosen our grip on this world.

Hard as these are, these seasons also often accomplish much good in our lives, don’t they?

I love Romans 8:28-29–

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Whether it’s a challenging child, a difficult co-worker, a cancer diagnosis, or the death of a dear loved one, God can somehow take all of these things and everything else that happens in our lives and use them for His purposes and His glory. He uses them to mold us and shape us into Christ’s image.

One of the things God has been teaching me through the past few years of constant change is to release my grip on this life. I am not one who rolls with change very well and it’s been no easy task to pry my fingers loose from the life I dearly loved. But God is faithfully accomplishing His purpose in my life, despite my ornery, obstinate heart.

Just when I think I am getting used to one change, along comes another. That is what is happening yet again. Without going into any details, I am headed back to work in our landscaping company for at least this year. While I have always worked for the company several hours each week, beginning this year those hours are substantially increasing. I have complete peace that I am doing the right thing. God has orchestrated many details to show us that this is the direction I am to be going. But I never like change and this is no exception. I also have a plate already full of commitments and feel pretty overwhelmed, so, as of right now, it feels a bit impossible. My mom always said you can only “eat an elephant one bite at a time” so that is what I am going to do. Take one day at a time and do what needs to be done. I am not exactly sure what all of this means for Growing4Life. I am going to do my best to continue blogging but will probably have to decrease the frequency.

I have been thinking a lot about some things during this time of decision.

I am recognizing that my life is not my own. I write a lot about not living by feelings or emotions and yet I find that this is a really big struggle for me. I had a picture of what this time of my life would look like and God is erasing that and giving me a different picture. I am not thrilled about this but God has really been teaching me to yield myself to Him. That I need to follow Him and His will, even if it isn’t necessarily what I desire.

I have also been realizing just how blessed I have been and still am. Looking back over our years often reminds us of how much there is to be thankful for. Whenever change comes, it reminds us to express gratitude for what was. Even if it is gone. Perhaps especially if it’s gone. Nothing lasts forever on this earth. It also reminds us to be thankful for what we have right now. The many blessings that are ours despite the undesired path we may be on. A heart of gratitude remembers to look for the good things wherever we find ourselves in life.

I also recognize that this change I am facing is hardly even a trial on the scale of trials. So many of you are facing such incredibly hard things. And it reminds me that we must be so gentle and kind with one another. That we must be filled with grace as we support each other in our walks through this life. Life can be so hard. An encouraging word or deed can be a true balm to the soul in turmoil.

So let’s be kind to one another today. Let’s take time to pray for someone facing an overwhelming trial or walking through a difficult season. We can strengthen them with our prayers.

And let’s not hold too tightly to the things of this world. For this world is passing away.

And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.          (I John 2:17)

 

 

The Perfect Climate

12 Comments / January 3, 2019

It’s been an interesting last ten or twenty years. To say the least. I have watched as false teachers have deceived thousands of people claiming to be Christians–maybe even millions–with hardly even a word from the true church. As more and more leaders, authors, and pastors compromise, they draw more and more away from biblical Christianity.

Just as mold grows in the perfect climate of damp darkness, so, too, does apostate religion. Why are so many Christians deceived? Why are so many who claim Christ falling away into a self-centered religion that is nothing like what Christ taught? Why are they not holding to God’s Word?

We true believers stand by shaking our heads in bewilderment but if we stop and think for just a moment, it makes so much sense. There are six things that have slowly evolved over time that have made every man, woman, and child who would claim to be a Christian susceptible to false religion. These things have changed so slowly that we may not even have thought about them. The changes have been taking place for 100 years or more but took on warp speed in certain decades. Like this one.

These six things create the perfect climate for false religion to grow. They pose as grave dangers not only for the church at large but for each and every one of us. While there is not a whole lot we can do to change the situation as a whole, we can work to eliminate these things from our own lives and from the lives of our children. We can also be used by God to make other Christians aware of these dangers so that they aren’t deceived.

1. Biblical Illiteracy  This is the first one in both order and importance. Even those who would consider themselves “good” Christians rarely open their Bibles. Many–probably most–who call themselves a Christian are satisfied by a devotional that barely contains the Word of God or they neglect time in the Word completely. Even many preachers have left the solid expositing of the Word in favor of entertaining stories. We have become so ill-equipped. How can we see if we aren’t using our lamp? (Psalm 119:105) How can we fight if we aren’t using our sword? (Ephesians 6:17) How can we examine if something is true or false, if we do not know what is true? (Acts 17:11)

How important it is that we are not among these neglectful and powerless Christians. As you may already know, my main goal here at Growing4Life is to get you in the Word, comparing every single thing by the Word. It is literally our only anchor. If you aren’t in the Word on a regular basis you will be deceived and tossed about.

2. Self-Idolatry Not far behind biblical illiteracy in importance is self-idolatry. Now before you skim over this part thinking it hasn’t affected you, may I challenge you for a moment? God has been opening my eyes to show me that even we believers who really desire to please Him have fallen for this one. At least I have. In many ways, without even realizing it, we have become obsessed with ourselves. We are driven and motivated by our selfish desires and this shows up in a myriad of ways: We read the scriptures looking for personal application and if it’s not there, we quickly grow bored. We love to be comfortable and we hate–and even refuse–to step outside our “comfort zones”. We grow discouraged if we don’t receive praise and gratitude for a job well done or if someone else receives the credit for something we did. We are focused on fulfilling our dreams and finding our purposes. We are preoccupied with how we look, how much money we can make, who likes us, and what people think of us. In fact, it is our love for self that often keeps us from speaking the truth in the midst of all this false religion. We try to avoid pain at all costs. We try to avoid persecution at all costs. And then we call ourselves holy for staying silent. It is so mixed up.

The thing is this: Love of self is the complete opposite of the way of the cross. There is no amalgamation between the two. There are only two religions and they are polar opposites.

One is centered on self: What I can do to earn eternal life or to be close to God; God will help me fulfill my dreams; My feelings and experiences are the determiners of truth; The popularity and praise of people determines the validity of my ministry.

And the other one is centered on God: I recognize that I can do nothing to earn eternal life and rely wholly on God’s grace; I replace my purpose and dreams for God’s plans and purposes; I look to God’s Word for objective truth instead of relying on subjective feelings and experiences; And I am more concerned with God’s glory than with mine.

In fact, true religion is a lifetime of learning to crucify self so that Jesus Christ may be glorified. We, in essence, give up our lives for Christ. Paul puts it like this in Galatians 2:20–

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

3. Celebrity Infatuations We have become greatly enamored with men and women. If we aren’t careful, we start equating them with God and His Word. While I would never judge motives or the heart of any teacher, I am amazed at how many over the past ten years or so have left biblical truth and waded into compromise without nary a word from the Christian community. I have been greatly disheartened to watch their followers follow them right off the proverbial cliff. This is only possible because people have chosen to follow man instead of God. We must be sure that our final word is God’s Word and not man’s (or woman’s).

We are all susceptible to this. It is painful to realize that the person who helped you grow or was a tremendous support to you during a difficult time of spiritual growth can no longer be trusted. I get it. I’ve been there. The easiest thing to do is to close your eyes and forge ahead. But if we are to stay on the straight and narrow we must be Bereans and compare all things said and done–even the things by the teachers and authors we dearly love and are quite attached to–to scripture.

4. Bullying I find it rather ironic, that in an age that is so conscious of bullying, it is going on at a record rate towards anyone who would stand for biblical truth. Both outside the church and within its doors, anyone who would speak the truth in love about these matters of false religion and false teachers is called names, scorned, and mocked. They are marginalized and they are persecuted. It is a very interesting and extremely effective way for false religion to grow. Mock and scorn anyone who dissents. Don’t allow for any differing opinions–even if they are solidly based on the Word of God.

5. Speak Only the Positive Even many well-meaning Christians have fallen prey to this thinking that we can only speak positive words. But, of course, any study of scripture will soon reveal that sometimes we must speak the negative. Jesus, Paul, Peter, John, James, and Jude, and countless others in scripture, spoke both positive encouraging words as well as negative, rebuking words. As believers, we must be carefully balanced. Many times, Philippians 4:8 is used as the defense for speaking only the good–

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

But we must take note that what is true and what is just are not always positive. Sometimes we must think on the negative. Sometimes we must speak the negative. And we are not sinning by doing so.

I could go into the history of positive thinking if I had time today, but, suffice it to say, it is a doctrine of man and not of God. How duped we are if we believe that to speak negative words is sinful. Nothing could be further from the truth.

6. We Compare Ourselves to Ourselves Because things are so messed up, we end up looking pretty good even if we are living a nominal Christian life. We take a look around at the world and even at the church and we can be tempted to think that we do not look so bad. We become complacent and maybe even a bit proud in our faith. This kind of attitude is a bane to our spiritual health. Thinking we stand, we set ourselves up to fall (I Corinthians 10:12). We must compare ourselves to God’s Word. Only there will we see the truth. We have to stop looking around at others and thinking we are pretty good, lest we be deceived.

I have no delusions that this post will make even a dent in what’s going on in religion today. It is way too far gone. My only hope is that it will draw the attention of even a few believers so that we can protect ourselves and make sure they aren’t happening to us personally. I also hope that it will give you, my readers, the big picture and help you understand why false religion is flourishing today in a way it never has before.

God bless you as you seek to live for Christ in this confusing time. He will protect and keep us. The remnant of true believers will continue their march to victory! Of that we can be sure!

 

 

 

Reading Your Bible with SPECS

6 Comments / December 31, 2018

Do you remember *The Prayer of Jabez? Its author ripped a verse out of context and built a whole unbiblical theory around it. And then he wrote a book about it that thousands (or maybe millions?) of people bought and believed. This has happened over and over again and it happens for one reason: Improper interpretation that leads to wrong application.

So much of the unsound teaching and crazy doctrines that are so prevalent today are born out of improper interpretation of scripture which leads to wrong application. I wrote a post recently about interpretation and how important it is. You can find that here. As we head into the new year, I’d like to follow up that post with one on applying God’s Word correctly.

I am hoping that one thing you want to continue or begin in the new year is spending quality time in the Bible. But simply reading a few verses and calling it a day will not be sufficient to mine the treasure of the Word.

I will take just a minute here and caution you about simply using a devotional and reading a verse or two and then some man or woman’s thoughts about those verses. While these can be helpful, they should never be our only time spent with God’s Word. It is so important to study the scriptures for ourselves. As believers, we want to mature from being hand-fed milk to feeding ourselves solid food (Hebrews 5:13-14).

It’s not only important that we read and study the Bible for ourselves but it is also important that we do so in the right way and with the right heart attitude, as was discussed in this post. And then there is one more component: Application. How do we make the most out of its application in our lives? And, even before that, are we really willing to get serious and apply what we read to our own lives? No matter how much it costs us?

Let’s not gloss over this question because this is where we often lose zeal. Are we willing to apply God’s Word no matter how much it costs us? Are we willing to give up worldly things we love? Are we willing to forgive and give up long-held grudges? Are we willing to humble ourselves and forsake our pride? To love the unlovely? To love our enemies? Are we willing to be the odd (and sometimes despised) members of our families and workplaces and, sadly, increasingly, of our churches? Proper application of scripture includes all these and so much more.

As honest students of God’s Word we will embrace the wonderful promises of peace and joy and all of the wonderful blessings held within the scriptures while also understanding that the way of the Cross is one of tremendous sacrifice, difficulty, and persecution.

I just finished reading Basic Bible Interpretation by Roy B. Zuck (which I highly recommend, by the way). It took me awhile to get through, but I finally finished it. The final chapter was on applying God’s Word today. I wish I could share the whole chapter here with you, but, of course, that would be impractical. But one thing he suggests we use for application is the word SPECS. I don’t believe this originates with him and I’ve actually heard of this somewhere before but forgot about it. It was a great reminder and one I thought I’d share here with you.

There are five questions we can ask ourselves as we seek to apply the scriptures, using the acronym SPECS–

S–Does the passage speak of any SIN to be forsaken?
P–Is there any PROMISE to be claimed?
E–Is there an EXAMPLE to be followed?
C–Is there a COMMAND to be obeyed?
S–Is there a STUMBLING BLOCK or hindrance to be avoided?

 

We can use this acronym for any passage we are reading. In the Old Testament, with the exception of Proverbs, we will focus more on drawing principles from the lives and events that we read about. In the New Testament, we will run into much more that applies directly to us, as the Church.

Now don’t forget one extremely important thing: There may be many scriptures that don’t apply directly to you.

We are not reading the Bible just so that we can change us (a self-centered, modern-day thought), we are reading the Bible to know God. This is our main focus: to learn about God. If you are reading the Bible through this year or are spending a good amount of time in the Old Testament in your reading, you may grow discouraged at the lack of application there for you. Please don’t! Our most important task in reading God’s Word is learning about Him.

In fact, may I suggest that, before putting on our SPECS, we answer the question: What does this passage teach me about God?

So why don’t we grab a notebook and pen and put it with our Bible this year as we read? We can write down what each day’s reading tells us about God and then we can put on our “SPECS” and write down any applications as we read the passage in its proper context.

SO are you ready to begin?? Let’s make this year our best and most profitable year yet as we dig into God’s Word with an attitude of submission and obedience. And, in doing this, may we make personal changes that spill out and over into the lives of all those we touch. God is still changing people. May we be the ones He changes this year through the power of His Word!

 

* Here are some links that explore The Prayer of Jabez and its unbiblical principle–

The Real Prayer of Jabez

The Prayer of Jabez and Other Misuses of the Bible

 

Mending Fences (Part 5)

6 Comments / December 21, 2018

Sometimes things don’t work out as we had hoped. And that is when it is hard to trust. But sometimes they do. And those times help us to trust in the times when they don’t. God continues to be sovereign over all, whether things turn out like we want or don’t. Our job is to submit and obey and leave the rest to Him. This is how we find inner peace, even when things aren’t going like we hoped in our circumstances. This is an important lesson Eliza had to learn in this story and, surely, it is one we should all learn.

I really hope you enjoyed this year’s story and, if you have, I’d appreciate if you’d take a moment to let me know. This helps me to decide if I should continue this tradition of writing a fictional story for Christmas here at the blog. You can find this entire story, along with my other Christmas stories, here. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and may we remember the real reason for the season! And now, without any further words from me, here is Part 5 and the conclusion to this year’s story–

______________________________________

      I hummed merrily along with the Christmas music playing on the TV. The music, along with a fake crackling fire picture, was courtesy of a local TV station. It would play for a few hours on this Christmas morning.
      I gathered the ingredients of my homemade apple spice coffee cake and started mixing it up. It was a long-time tradition and one we all loved. I’d put it in the oven and then go and get Mom and bring her here for the day.
      Greta came sleepily into the kitchen while I was making it.
      “Merry Christmas!” I said cheerily.
      “Merry Christmas,” she groaned, “why is it that the older you get the less you care about getting up on Christmas morning?”
      “That just means you are growing up!” I laughed.
      “So Aunt Evie never contacted you?” she asked. It had been three weeks since we had prayed in that booth. And the three of us had continued to pray—sometimes together and sometimes alone– every day since then.
      The world that had seemed bright and cheery only a moment before suddenly darkened. “No, she didn’t. I guess it will never happen. But God has His reasons. I can’t change her. I can only control me.”
      That’s what I had learned through this whole ordeal. While I was deeply saddened that Evie wouldn’t forgive me, I recognized that I had now done all I could do and, in that, I found peace. I had lived out Romans 12:18 and it had changed my perspective.
      While peace with God was always possible through His Son, peace with and between people was not always possible. I needed to learn to be okay with this hard truth. I understood that now.
      “Well, we will have a great Christmas, anyway!” I gave Greta a quick kiss and then grabbed my jacket, “I’m going to get Gram. Can you take the cake out when the timer goes off? I might be back because it needs to bake a full hour, but just in case—”
      “Sure, Mom. I’m going to go read but I’ll listen for it. See you soon.” Greta smiled as she held up her Jane Austen novel. She poured herself a glass of orange juice and took it, along with her book, to her favorite chair in the family room.
      It took me considerably less than an hour to pick up Mom. Traffic was nil on Christmas morning and I was soon pulling back into my driveway. In front of the house was a red SUV. For a brief moment I wondered who was visiting, but then I remembered that the neighbor’s often had their visitors park in front of our house. They must have some family visiting for Christmas.
      I went around and helped Mom across the icy driveway. It had snowed again lightly last night and with the cold temperatures it just wasn’t melting. She gave me a hard time for helping her but I knew, down deep, she appreciated it.
      I opened the front door to the sound of voices. At first I thought it was the TV but then I recognized one voice.
      No…
      It couldn’t possibly be…
      “Evie?!” Mom shouted her name with glee. She pulled away from me and Mom and daughter ran toward each other.
      “Evie! Oh, Evie! I knew you’d come! I just knew you would!”
      Tears streamed down both of their faces. I, on the other hand, stood back. I was still unsure exactly how this would go. It had been a very long time and there was so very much “water under the bridge”.
      After a few minutes, Evie pulled herself from Mom’s embrace and turned toward me.
      “I have decided that enough is enough. I want to forgive you. I am working on it. This is my step towards forgiveness.” She said hesitantly and then proceeded to introduce us to her family. Her husband, Mark, stepped forward and shook my hand. With thick, wavy blonde hair and glasses, his firm handshake and serious brown eyes were nothing like Rick’s. I was thankful for this. And then she pulled her children forward. Ten-year old Bryce looked just like his father. Eight-year old Trace looked like Evie. And five-year old Savannah looked like…
      “Why she is the spitting image of you, Eliza!” My mom said what we were all thinking.
      “She is, isn’t she?” My sister laughed and it was a happy laugh. It was the laugh I remembered from our childhood days.
      And that’s when I knew that everything was going to be alright.

      And it was. From that time forward, the two sisters became friends again. Eventually they became best friends again. But that would take some time.

      For this year, it was enough for me that we were together. It was the best Christmas gift ever!
      
      

Because We Just Don’t Know

2 Comments / December 20, 2018

We had our company breakfast at a local restaurant the other day. We usually do a fun get-to-know-you game and this year was no exception. One of the questions asked in this game was: What is your favorite thing about Christmas? Everyone’s answer seemed to have the same theme–

FAMILY

Each one, without exception, loves getting together with family.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this. Life is so fragile. It hangs on a fine string that can break at any time. While life and death are never outside of God’s sovereignty, we all experience things that remind us that– at any time– someone can be taken from us.

Each Christmas spent with those we love is a tremendous blessing. Each springtime, each Fourth of July, each Thanksgiving, each ordinary day we spend with family and friends are true blessings.

So what’s my point?

First, I think we sometimes take these things for granted. Let us not neglect to thank the Lord for His grace and mercy in allowing us to be together as we celebrate His birth.

Second, if we remember how fragile life is it might give us more love and grace for one another. It’s easy to be easily irritated or annoyed by someone who isn’t like us or who grates on our nerves. But if we remember what life would be like if they weren’t there, it reminds us of how important it is to redeem each moment we have with them.

Third, let’s ask those we love about their lives, their interests, their histories, and how they came to know the Lord. There is so much I wish I would have asked my Grandma but she died before I was given the opportunity. We spend so much time talking about things that don’t matter. Perhaps we could think of a few questions to ask others this holiday season that dig a little deeper than “how’s the weather?” It is through conversations like these that we can grow to understand and appreciate one another.

And, fourth–and most importantly–we should share the Gospel and point people to the Lord and His Word as often as we are given opportunity. We don’t want to be the one who is eternally sorry because, too afraid or too worried about what other people thought, we chose not to speak up and share the Truth with someone who isn’t with us next year.

Life is constantly changing. Some changes are exciting and fun.

And some are not.

So let’s not take even a moment for granted this holiday season. Let’s love one another and encourage one another and have meaningful conversations about God, His Word, and the Gospel. Because we just don’t know know what next year–or even tomorrow–holds.

 

P.S. I will post the final installment of this year’s story (Mending Fences) tomorrow and then I will be taking off from writing for a few weeks because I will be hanging with my family during the holidays and I want to focus on them as much as possible! Happy Christmas to you!

 

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