She sat there in her hospital room, old, confused, and alone. A lifetime of bitterness and grudges and pride was being harvested. Her unforgiving heart and her need to be in control had pushed away most of her friends and family, leaving her to walk through this latest health crisis alone. When one of her children reached out to her, she clung to her pride and her bitterness and pushed them firmly away.
It is, by far, one of the saddest, most heart-breaking things I have ever witnessed. And I was reminded of Galatians 6:7–
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
We reap what we sow. It is a principle of life we cannot escape. If we sow seeds of bitterness and unforgiveness and grudges, those seeds will grow into plants and those plants will produce fruit. Deformed, loathsome fruit.
If we sow seeds of love and grace and mercy, those seeds will produce good and healthy fruit.
But there are other bad seeds to sow, other seeds that produce bad fruit. Galatians 6 goes on to say this in verse 8–
For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
Any sowing that is done to our flesh will reap corruption. Any sowing that is done to the Spirit yields everlasting life.
BUT, you may be thinking, that old woman is not me. I am sowing good seeds, I have a good relationship with my family and friends. Lest we get too confident in ourselves, I remind you of something that John Stott once said–
“Every time we allow our mind to harbor a grudge, nurse a grievance, entertain an impure fancy, or wallow in self-pity, we are sowing to the flesh. Every time we linger in bad company who’s insidious influence we know we cannot resist, every time we lie in bed when we ought to be up and praying, every time we read pornographic literature, every time we take a risk that strains our self-control, we are sowing, sowing, sowing to the flesh.”
Oh, we all do it. Every. Single. Day. Maybe not to the extent that will leave us old and alone. But we all sow to the flesh, reaping the consequences of our sinful choices.
God sent His son to forgive our sins and give us eternal life. But salvation does not erase the consequences of sinful choices. We continue to live with those until we die.
Thankfully, living a life that is pleasing to the Lord eliminates so many of those ugly consequences. And that is something we can start to do right now! Today! His commands are not burdensome. They protect us! And what a wonderful protection they are.
We cannot change the consequences that we are experiencing from sinful choices of our past. BUT we can change the future. Here are a few questions we should ask ourselves as we contemplate our future harvest:
What seeds am I sowing that will yield an abundance of good fruit?
What seeds am I sowing that are going to yield the fruit of corruption?
AND…
What can I change to make my harvest so much better?
As God has a way of doing so often, He brings just the right book or sermon along at just the right time. That very thing happened this week. If you’d like to think on this topic a bit more, I recommend this sermon by John MacArthur on the principle of sowing and reaping: The Inescapable Law of Sowing and Reaping.
It has been quite some time since I did a Changed Life post here at Growing4Life. It isn’t because there is a lack of testimonies, that’s for sure. But it is sometimes hard to work out all the details. Many do not feel comfortable writing their stories. Some do not want to relive all that pain or would rather not share their story publicly. Many times I don’t even ask because of a variety of reasons.
However, one person I did ask awhile back was my cousin, Michelle. She kindly said yes and last week she e-mailed me what I am going to share here today.
It is hard to believe that it is coming up on nine years ago this December that her beloved dad was in a terrible car accident. For three and a half weeks, while the rest of world was celebrating the holidays, she was wondering if her Dad would survive. Michelle, her mom, Lorraine, and her sister, Melissa, put their lives on hold while they lived in a tiny church apartment far from home, traveling back and forth to an unfamiliar hospital, as the days melted into weeks.
The shock wasn’t for her family alone. Her dad, my Uncle Larry, was a much beloved member of the family by all of us. He was my mom’s brother and they were especially close. He was the kind of guy you knew you could call if you needed help. He had a great sense of humor and, as an over-the-road trucker, always had lots of stories to entertain us with! But, most importantly, he (and my aunt Lorraine) love(d) the Lord and, with God’s help, have created a wonderful Christian legacy through the lives of their daughters and families.
Michelle, a wonderful writer, is willing to share with us about this time in their lives and how the Lord used it to grow her and so, without any further words from me, I share her story–
O God, our Help in ages past,
Our Hope for years to come,
Our Shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal Home!*
With this hymn flowing through my mind, my eyes searched the buildings of the city that loomed before us. I wondered how would we ever find our destination in the darkness and falling snow? We relied on a traditional map along with limited directions…and ceaseless prayer. Then, appearing through the murkiness like a longed-for beacon, were these bold letters: E.C.M.C. I remember feeling relief mingled with uncertainty. We had arrived at Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo, New York.
The previous day, December 21, 2009, the beloved patriarch of our family had been brought to E.C.M.C. following a tragic auto accident. We had traveled all night to get to Daddy. In the back seat, Mom and I looked pale with the stress and the wondering. The front seat held my husband along with our son and, of all things, his puppy who was too young be left behind. Togetherness gave us hope. Ultimately, we traveled with hope that centered on our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
If you’ve faced a similar pathway, you know that the Lord uses life’s storms to teach and equip us. Here are some of the vital lessons we learned.
The Lord’s Gracious Provision
There were some provisions that came well before Daddy’s accident. Dad always spoke highly of “his boys.” My husband and brother-in-law were the sons he’d never had. He expressed more than once that he was thankful for the men who took care of his girls. Our husbands, who were both pastors at the time, kept up with those responsibilities along with supporting us, our parents, and fulfilling the role of “Mr. Mom.”
During our time in Buffalo, my husband took on various roles. He quickly became our mediator, making and returning phone calls on our behalf and driving us where we needed to be. He became our spokesman, especially when we didn’t even know the questions to ask. When he and our son had to return home, I recorded in my journal – “I feel a bit fearful of Mom and I being ‘on our own.’ Praise the Lord, [Christ] is our Rock (Capital R) and God has moved in the hearts of His people to assist us. We are not alone!”
In God’s providence, He had already prepared a place for us to stay. The day after Christmas, we moved into the guest house of a nearby Baptist church. In my journal, I wrote —“After settling in to our new ‘home-away-from-home’ and washing clothes until 12:30 am, we had a fairly good night’s sleep. What a blessing to get most of [our laundry] completed. The guest house is cozy and clean. In the morning, we attended their Sunday School. The church family received us warmly. It’s always amazing to see how Christ’s love reaches across the miles and the way we are bonded together with other believers.” Furthermore, the pastor assured Mom and I that transportation would be provided to and from the medical center. I later wrote – “We keep crying and offering thanks to the Lord as we see His provision.”
Strength and comfort came through family and friends who surrounded us with prayer, made visits, gave thoughtful gifts and words of encouragement, and sent a plethora of cards, particularly when Dad celebrated his birthday. The Lord’s faithful provision also included the medical team who skillfully cared for Dad. He had several physicians plus a nursing staff of at least 22 different women and men who tirelessly ministered to his needs.
The Greatness of His Sovereignty
Michelle and her Dad on her wedding day
As days blended into weeks, God clearly revealed His supreme authority. Despite how it appeared, the Lord was completely in control of our circumstances. Although we deeply desired for Daddy to be restored to health on this earth, we eventually began to realize that this may not be a part of God’s plan. When these heart-wrenching thoughts came, God’s sovereignty gave us security. On one particular day, I found, nestled in a pamphlet, an excerpt from Amy Carmichael’s little book, If. A moment of dread passed through me as the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart through her words–“If the burden my Lord asks me to bear be not the burden of my heart’s choice, and I fret inwardly and do not welcome His will, then I know nothing of Calvary love.” I knew, then, that I must welcome God’s will, regardless of the outcome.
The greatness of God’s sovereignty enables us to welcome His will whether or not it makes sense to us.
A truth my husband shared in a recent sermon dovetails with this beautifully– “Prayer is not getting what we want but aligning our will with God’s will.”
The Gift of the Ordinary
At one point, as the unknown future stretched far in front of us, I remember a longing to do ordinary, mundane chores–washing dishes in a fluffy mountain of bubbles, cleaning my kitchen floor on my hands and knees, chiding our two female dogs who always seemed to be fussing with one another. Perhaps these tasks seemed so appealing because, if they were taking place, it meant life had returned to normal. We would be living in a new rhythm of days, one flowing gently into the next and Daddy would be well and whole again. We learned that ordinary days and simple joys are meant to be cherished.
The Goodness of the Lord
God’s goodness was clearly displayed through His Word that brought comfort coupled with conviction. We were filled with confidence in the Lord’s plan as we read Romans 15:13 –“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” I counseled my heart with verses Daddy had recently shared with me — “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” When my Uncle, Dad’s brother, came for a visit, he read Romans 8 to us. What a precious reminder that all things work together for good to those who love God and that nothing can separate us from His love! Even when our precious father went home to be with the Lord on January 15, 2010 the goodness of God remained evident. Certainly the grief was excruciating. Yet, our hearts were gently lifted up by our loving Heavenly Father Who is always and only good. A friend wrote a poem for us that she penned the day after Dad’s funeral. Below the title, When God Is Good, she included this verse – Psalm 34:8 “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him.” An excerpt of her poem asks,
When is God good? Is He good when life is filled with pain, When the dreaded phone call comes, When your world is turned upside down, When it seems there can be no gain? When God is good Do we trust Him?
Perhaps there are easier ways to learn these lessons but those were not chosen for us. Instead, the Lord took us through this difficult time and gave us precious reminders –the graciousness of His provision, the greatness of His sovereignty, the gift of the ordinary, and the abundance of His goodness. And when the next storm comes–and it will–may we find our refuge, our ONLY refuge, in Christ.
“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust.”
Psalm 90:1-2
The author, second from left, enjoys an afternoon at Sight and Sound with her family. Her husband is to her right, her son and daughter-in-law to her left. To the right of the photo is her mom and our aunt, Sarah.
*A portion of the Hymn: O God Our Help in Ages Past
TEXT: Isaac Watts; based on Psalm 90
MUSIC: William Croft
Our lawncare business office got a phone call the other day. It was one of our customers complaining that we hadn’t mowed her lawn that week. We asked the employee who was scheduled to do that lawn if he had mowed it. He most certainly had, he assured us. We told her that she must have missed him.
The next week she called again complaining that we had missed her lawn again. Once more, the employee told us with certainty that he had mowed her lawn. We were getting a little confused at this point and thought there might be more to the story.
The next time the employee returned to her lawn he took a selfie to prove that he was mowing this woman’s lawn. He confidently sent it to the office.
And that’s when we realized what was really going on–
He was mowing the wrong lawn. Somehow, he had gotten her lawn confused with a neighbor’s lawn. Her lawn had not been mowed and her neighbor had some free mowing for a couple of weeks.
How in the world did that happen? And go on for more more than a week? That’s never happened before.
Well, really–it’s kind of the same way we get deceived by false teaching.
We are over here mowing a lawn and when someone tells us it’s the wrong lawn we don’t believe them. It’s that simple. But if we take a “selfie” with that lawn (or, in other words, hold it up to the scrutiny of the Bible) we will see pretty quickly that we are most certainly mowing the wrong lawn.
And here is where humility comes in. Can we be humble enough to admit we were wrong and move to the right place? Hopefully.
But I find that many people aren’t willing to consider that they are even on the wrong lawn.
I just read a quote this morning. I guess it was Providential because it fits in this post perfectly:
Truth invites scrutiny; but error doesn’t like to be challenged.
Biblical truth will stand up to any challenge. If it doesn’t stand up under scrutiny then we are mowing the wrong lawn and we need to move.
Of course, there are so few of us who are even scrutinizing. We aren’t even making sure that we are at the right lawn. We are banking on our families, our friends, our pastors, and celebrity pastors to feed us the truth instead of using our Bibles.
The Bible. The only source for truth. It trumps everything. If what you believe doesn’t match it, you are wrong. If what your favorite teacher teaches doesn’t match it, your favorite teacher is wrong. If what your pastor is preaching doesn’t match it, they are wrong.
So, once again, I encourage you to get in the Word, praying that the Holy Spirit will give you insight as you make a sincere effort to run all through its grid.
Our employee was so sure he was mowing the right lawn that he never even considered the possibility that he wasn’t. Not even a call from the customer caused him to doubt. May we never be so sure of ourselves and our own opinions that we aren’t willing to scrutinize it when we get that “call” to tell us that we may be off on something we have always believed or about someone we have always trusted.
We surely don’t want to be “mowing the wrong lawn” when Jesus returns!
I was having a conversation with an elementary-aged girl about unicorns a few weeks back. As you are probably already aware, they are currently all the rage. You find unicorns everywhere. They are the theme of birthday parties, plastered on lunch boxes, school supplies, girls’ clothing, and almost everywhere else. I have even seen them on baby clothing at Carter’s.
This little girl was telling me how much she loved unicorns. And then she stopped and looked at me: “Wait. Are unicorns bad?”
I do not know why she even asked me that question. I had not said even a word as she went on and on about how much she loved them. And the conversation took place while I was giving her a ride home in the evening so she couldn’t see my face. But she asked it. She asked me if they are bad.
And I had to answer honestly. I had no interest in bursting her bubble, but, yes, unicorns are bad. These mystical creatures are a symbol of feminism, magic/occult, and the LGBT movement, among other things. (Just do a search and see what shows up. It’s a bit disturbing). But I realize that most people don’t know this so I am not making any judgment on you if there are unicorns in the life of the little girls you love. This post isn’t about unicorns but about this little girl’s response…
I tried to kindly explain that unicorns might not be the best thing to love. But she cut me off and announced matter-of-factly that she didn’t care if they were bad because she loved them far too much. Nothing would make her give them up.
And I had to laugh inside. Not that it was all that funny. But how often are we just like that little girl? How often do we respond exactly like her? We are not willing to give up what we love even if God clearly directs us from His Word that we should do so.
Whether it’s unicorns or it’s–
• A TV show, book series, or music genre that we just love but recognize, deep-down inside, that it shouldn’t be a part of our lives.
• An unbiblical church that isn’t preaching truth…but all of our friends are there.
• Bad habits of eating too much, spending too much, drinking too much, knowing full-well we are not pleasing our heavenly Father.
• An unsaved boyfriend or girlfriend that, in our flesh, we want to date.
• Some secret sin that no one knows about or a secret place we go or a secret vice we cling to.
• A grudge or unforgiving heart towards someone that we love to nurse.
• Our penchant for gossip, or “white” lies (a lie is a lie, btw), or cheating our bosses or perhaps even the government (on our taxes).
• Allowing worry and anxiety to consume us and control our lives.
And we respond like the little girl:
I don’t care if it’s wrong, I am going to do this anyway.
Can you see how a seed of rebellion shows it first green leaves at this declaration? Oh, we may not say it out loud or even in our thoughts, but we know. We know when we are holding on to something sinful with an unwillingness to budge.
And this is when a wall starts to grow between us and the Lord.
Jesus says that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments (John 14:15). James tells us we must submit to God so that the devil will flee from us (James 4:7). Peter tells us to turn away from our former lusts and to be holy (I Peter 1:14-16). Paul tells us this same thing in Ephesians (Ephesians 4:22-24).
When we refuse to put away worldly, ungodly things that we know full well are sinful we are quite effectively blocking our own growth as a believer. Rebellion is what caused Satan to be removed from heaven (Isaiah 14:12-15) and it’s what led Eve to eat that apple (Genesis 3). She wasn’t going to let God tell her what was good and evil. She could decide for herself.
How often do we have this same attitude? God, I’ll obey you in this, this, and this but I am not going to give you that. I can make up my own mind about that and I don’t need to submit to you.
But these little decisions and behaviors do not go unnoticed by the God who loves us. I wonder if He grieves at our selfish, spoiled child mentality of wanting what we want and refusing to give it up?
We know that sinful choices always lead us away from Him. And as they lead us away from Him, they are moving us towards heartache, chains, and despair. Affairs, addictions, and broken relationships all begin with a seemingly insignificant decision of rebellion. But, even if it’s not going to lead us into something like that, we know that every sinful choice takes us just a step further away from pure fellowship with God. Rebellion always does this.
I am not here to give you a list of what you can and cannot do, where you can and cannot go, what you can and cannot watch or listen to. But, instead, I simply want to encourage you, as a believer, to follow your conscience. Listen to that niggling doubt that is in the back of your head. Ask the Lord to open your eyes to your sin and to any choices that are leading you away from Him. Be willing to surrender your own will and desires to the God who loves you.
I write this to myself, as well. Maybe mostly to myself. I found this to be oh, so challenging. A supposedly insignificant conversation with a little girl about unicorns filled me with conviction over how I can be so rebellious in the “little” sinful things I refuse to give up.
Maybe that little conversation will convict you, too, which is why I decided to share it.
Just what are we willing to give up for Jesus? What are we willing to give up so that we can have the best possible relationship with Him? Is any sin or selfish choice worth a break in our fellowship with our precious Lord and Savior?
This is for my Christian critics. The ones who label me narrow-minded and arrogant because of what I believe. I hope that this post will also encourage and aid my readers who are also labeled in this way.
There is a really important thing that our critics have forgotten–
We aren’t the ones who moved.
Seriously.
While there was always a remnant of believers who lived according to the Word even during the Dark Ages, we saw that, with the Reformation, there came a return to the important five solas–key doctrines of scripture.
These five solas returned a wayward mainstream Christianity back to its core and we owe much gratitude to men like Hus, Tyndale, Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin (and so many others) who were persecuted and even died because they stood firmly on the Bible and its precepts.
I am watching the first three of these five solas slowly being eroded away by mainstream evangelical Christianity but I still believe them. Many of us have always believed them–even without a history lesson on the Reformation– because they are what the Bible teaches.
The first point, Sola Scriptura (Scripture is sufficient and authoritative) is being ripped to shreds all around us. Belief that God is still speaking flies in the face of Sola Scriptura. Scripture cannot be sufficient if we are still receiving revelation from God. So is scripture sufficient or isn’t it?
I believe it is both authoritative and sufficient. I do not make that statement lightly and I have given the issue both research and prayer. Here are four key reasons why I absolutely believe it is sufficient. I have attached a link after this section that goes into this a bit more–
1) If scripture is not sufficient then we have a veritable Pandora’s Box of chaos. Anyone can say anything and claim it’s from God. And yet there is no way to prove any message is from God. Some will say that if it agrees with scripture then we can know it’s from God. Well, if that’s the case, then why do we need to be told this same thing in a supernatural way? Why not just read the Bible? And here’s another thing we know: Satan masquerades as an angel of light. He can–and does–use these things to pretend to be our godly advisor, only to eventually draw us off the narrow path. My rule: Don’t trust the voice inside my head. There is absolutely no way to know if it is God or isn’t. None.
2) If scripture is not sufficient or the authority of our lives, then we are going to be driven by things outside of the Bible like culture, felt needs, and other dangerous doctrines. Because if scripture is not sufficient then we naturally have to concede that scripture does not tell us everything we need to know. This kind of thinking leaves a very dangerous door open. And it’s the door that brings in most, if not all, false teaching. In fact, this door is the one that Joseph Smith walked through, deceiving millions. He claimed to have further revelation and started the Mormon church. I can’t think of one false religion that did not begin with “special revelation” or a vision from “God”. There may be one, but I can’t think of one.
3) If we are hungering for supernatural experiences directed to us personally, we naturally have to admit that this takes the focus off of God and puts it squarely on us. Our religion becomes about our purpose, our dreams, our needs, our wants. This is in complete and utter contradiction to what scripture teaches, where we read that we are to deny ourselves and take up our cross. (Matthew 16:24)
4) Special revelation breeds pride and division. When we think we should be hearing from God but aren’t we grow envious and jealous of those that are or we grow discouraged that somehow we aren’t spiritual enough. When we think we are hearing from God, we grow prideful and arrogant, thinking that we have some special connection with God that others do not have. The fruits of this movement are clearly disturbing, a fact we must face.
You can find a more in-depth article that I have written on this topic here.
We also see the second and third solas disappearing: Sola Fide (by faith alone) and Sola Gratia (through grace alone) (Ephesians 2:8) If we believe that salvation is by faith alone through grace alone then we must conclude that any religion that doesn’t teach this truth is a false one. And, yet, there is this powerful effort from well-known leaders that would encourage us to unify with Catholicism (faith plus works), Mormonism (works plus faith), and even Islam (works and a little faith). We are all to be one big happy group together serving God. Any refusal or even hesitation to follow after this movement brings accusations of divisiveness and intolerance.
But let’s be honest: Their God cannot be the same as the One, True God. And the real Jesus is obviously not the same as their “Jesus”. How do I know this? Because they require other things besides faith for salvation. Because what they are teaching is not what the Bible teaches. And because their religious rules and regulations are in direct opposition to what Jesus taught in the scriptures (John 14:6).
This is what Orthodox Christianity has believed for thousands of years because this is what the Bible teaches. But sometime in the not-too-distant past, things started to subtly change. Special revelation, hearing the voice of God, dreams and visions–a claim made by only the heretical fringes of Christianity throughout history–became the norm while pastors we loved and trusted started to push us to be joined together with false religions and false teachers.
What is going on??
And then there is the whole moral shift. Two big things come to mind, although I know there are more. First, since the inception of Christianity, the main goal of a Christian was to grow in holiness and godliness (I Peter 1:15-16; Titus 2:12). We were to separate from the world and to set ourselves apart for God’s service (James 1:27; I John 2:15-17). What has happened to these principles? Where is the separation from the world? Where is the encouragement to be holy and sanctified? It has all but disappeared in a “Christianity” that takes the focus off of the Gospel and puts it on fixing the culture. That tells us to follow our dreams and that we deserve our best life now. A warped “Christianity” that ignores true doctrine and bases its false doctrines on felt needs, feelings, and human wisdom and that encourages a sensual, earthly type of worship.
And then there is the latest thing I have to confess I didn’t really think I’d ever see. But here we are. Did you ever think you’d see a day where someone who claims to be “evangelical” would say it is normal to be gay? That God created them that way? Whatever happened to Romans 1 (Romans 1:24-27)? Where does that fit into their premises? And, yet, this is what we have. Respected leaders of the evangelical movement assuring us that it is okay to be a celibate gay person–that God made them like that. (If you need proof, check here and here.)
In light of all of these things we find that–
by default, the narrow road is becoming even more narrow.
Those of us who haven’t moved are not the ones making it narrow. We are standing where we have always stood. But with so many people walking away from biblical Christianity and heading for the broad road, the narrow road has naturally become more sparsely populated.
Those of us who hold to biblical Christianity find ourselves growing lonelier and lonelier. We find ourselves mocked, marginalized, ignored, and sometimes even persecuted. This narrow road is becoming more and more difficult to traverse. It is a rocky, difficult road and it is easy to see why so many leave it.
(Please keep in mind that I am making no judgments on why those who are moving away from biblical Christianity are doing so nor am I speculating anything about their eternal destinies. I am simply, like you, watching, broken-hearted, as so many turn away from all they’ve ever taught and believed. A sad thing indeed.)
As more and more people defect to the mystical, ecumenical, and communist/left evangelicalism, it naturally makes those of us who have chosen to stay where we have always been look narrow-minded and arrogant.
But, again, I want to remind you that we are not the ones who moved. We are not the ones re-defining Christianity. We are not the ones changing how we interpret scripture. We aren’t the ones going against what scripture teaches, teaching unbiblical things such as: Christianity is here to change culture, that Christians deserve to have their dreams fulfilled, that worldliness has nothing to do with godliness, and that the local church is to be designed around the needs of the lost. We are not the ones who are speaking at conferences with those who are clearly false teachers, giving validity to their ministries by speaking alongside them.
What is wrong with this picture? Why are those of us that refuse to move the “bad guys”?
Actually, I know why.
Peer pressure is a very powerful thing. And those that don’t fit in the mainstream have never been and will never be popular. Whether you are talking about church issues or work issues or school issues. The one who won’t fit in with “group think” is inevitably marginalized, maligned, ignored, or persecuted.
And, so, here we are.
If someone out there can give me a valid explanation based on scripture on why I should change my views, I am here to listen with an open mind. If someone wants to show me how my traditional Christian beliefs, backed by thousands of years of Christian history, are no longer correct with an argument that is based on the Bible, I am willing to listen. I am not closed-minded, nor am I hard-hearted or arrogant. I know full-well I don’t have all of the answers.
But here is what I do know: The Bible does have the answers. It has the answers for the here and now and it also has great insight into the future. And its predictions about the last days are becoming a shocking reality more each day in a way I never thought I’d see in my lifetime.The Bible is true and real-life events are most definitely confirming this.
So, forgive me, if I don’t hop on the mainstream evangelical bandwagon. I don’t belong there and I firmly believe that you don’t, either.
We have become a people that responds to issues. Whether it’s our own emotional health (anxiety and depression) or our kids well-being (ADHD, anger issues, rebellion), our situations at work and church (relationship problems), or our marriages (struggles and strife) we work hard to find an escape hatch very quickly. We want to be free of the hassle, inconvenience, grief, and pain that these things bring. And so we quickly medicate, change jobs or churches, or leave our spouse.
Before I continue on, let me be clear about something. I am not judging you individually. I know that some people legitimately need medication, that sometimes we must change jobs or churches, and that there are even times that warrant leaving our spouse. So please know that this is not about any individual but rather about a trend I have been noticing.
It is easier to take the escape hatch than to wade through the unpleasant waters to fix the issue. It is easier to just fix something temporarily than to take the time to fix it for the long haul. Tape is easier to apply than digging and drilling and nailing.
So I do get it.
But there are almost always deeper, spiritual issues behind the issues we can see.
A hyperactive child may be crying out for discipline. Refusing to discipline in a biblical way leads to undisciplined, uncontrollable children.
An angry child may be frustrated by the lack of control he feels because mom and dad are always fighting or perhaps because something happened that they just don’t want to tell you. Instead of parenting to the issue, it is critical that we get to the bottom of things.
An anxious woman has an issue with trusting God and submitting to His will for her life.
An angry man may be struggling with his loss of control over his circumstances.
A struggling relationship at church or work is driven by envy or jealousy.
And sometimes there is no big underlying issue but it’s just a certain stage in our lives or our children’s lives that we must walk through.
And on and on and on the list goes.
But as a culture we have been conditioned to simply fix problems without digging deeper. When we do dig deeper it is through the use of a humanistic psychologist and not through God and studying His Word or even by using a biblical counselor. (This is a tricky area because even a lot of “Christian” psychologists and counselors use a lot of human wisdom that is in complete opposition to what God’s Word teaches. See here for more information.)
And there is nothing wrong with getting the right outside help. Sometimes our pastor or a good biblical counselor or even a friend can help us see things we can’t see. But may I suggest that we first pray and ask the Lord to guide and direct us and start digging into His Word to see if there is something we are missing?
I know that as I have struggled with terrible bouts of anxiety and depression these past few years that it has been a sin issue for me. Yes, I have had a tremendous amount of change in my life over the past 5-7 years, some that I saw coming and some that I did not. And, yes, I have hormones that are wreaking havoc in my body. And, yes, owning a business and having a ministry that is not the most popular can be extremely stressful. But at the end of the day, it was a sin issue. I was not trusting God, I was self-centered and self-absorbed, and I was not in submission to God’s Will for my life. Plain and simple.
I thank the Lord that He showed this to me. It was extremely painful (another reason we avoid digging beyond the issue) and it’s not over yet. I still have days of great struggle and pain. I share this to hopefully encourage you because I know that I am not alone in this. Others have shared with me their struggles in this area.
But mostly I share this because I think it is so important that we do a little digging and wading through the gunk before we find that escape hatch. I believe that we must give some effort and prayer before we head to the pharmacy or walk away from a situation. Perhaps this is just the thing that God is using to teach us and/or our children an important lesson. Perhaps by lessening the pain, we are actually missing out on learning something very important. In our urgency to diminish the pain and grief and hassles, we may be missing out on something very glorious.
And so today I want to encourage you to spend some time in prayer and God’s Word and to be patient as you work through issues in your life and the lives of your children before heading for that escape hatch. God is so faithful and He will meet your needs–sometimes in ways you could never even have imagined! But when we are so quick to fix our own problems, we miss out on seeing His provision.
And sometimes…
We can’t fix the issue. And God doesn’t fix the issue. That doesn’t settle very well with our 21st century selves. We believe we should be able to fix everything. But sometimes God allows a situation in our lives that remains unresolved. Just like Paul’s thorn in his flesh, we plead for it to be removed and God says no. But we know from 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, that we can rest in God’s sovereignty even when this is the case. God has a reason and we can trust Him (Romans 8:28-30).
Life is not fun and we are burdened with all kinds of heartaches and frustrations living in this fallen world. But God is faithful and will meet our needs. But we are so often caught up in fixing and solving our own problems that we leave little opportunity for God to work in the way that only He can.
So let’s take some time to figure out the issues behind the issues, praying and asking the Lord for guidance as we study the Word to find out what He has to say on the matter. And let’s do this first rather than as a last resort.
“But this book {that doesn’t line up with scripture} helped me and made me feel closer to God.”
“We play rock music in our church service {or have sermons based on movies or hold church poker nights} because it makes the unsaved feel comfortable and want to come.”
These are all things that I’ve heard people say at least once. Some more than once. And it makes sense to them. If something works why not use it or read it or do it?
In other words, truth is determined by consequences.
Pragmatism first became popular in the late 1800s and was introduced to society by several different men–two of whom you may recognize. John Dewey (instrumental in creating the public school system) and C.S. Lewis, the “Christian” apologist. I use quotes because C.S. Lewis’s beliefs and interests were actually not all in line with the Cristian faith (see here and here and here for more information). I continue to remain amazed and dismayed that he has become so respected in the Christian world.
There are some real problems with the ideology of pragmatism for a Christian. Although Christians try to join their biblical beliefs with this philosophy all the time, we can see how pragmatism is a slippery slope that leads us away from scripture.
First, we have to recognize that only one thing can determine truth. Is it scripture or is it by what works? We can’t philosophically have it both ways. We will have to make a choice.
For instance, take the Christian who reads a book that makes them feel good but has a message that does not align with scripture and then they go on to recommend that book to all of their friends. They have chosen pragmatism over scripture. By default, they have made the choice to elevate the consequences (their good feelings) over what the Bible says.
Or take a church that brings in secular rock music or worldly movies to their services. They nobly profess to do this to make the unbeliever comfortable. This works. But, again, they are elevating what works (unsaved in their pews and feeling comfortable) over what scripture teaches (Love not the world or the things that are in the world I John 2:15).
In fact, that church had already given in to pragmatism when they realized that their numbers would increase if they chose to market to the unsaved rather than to follow the biblical church model. In scripture we find that the local church isn’t for the unsaved but for the saved; and that it doesn’t exist to make us feel comfortable but to encourage, teach and support us as we strive to grow in holiness. Comfort is never the goal of church. For saved or unsaved. And, yet, pragmatism, would say that comfortable = increased numbers at church. See how this works?
Can you see how this has infiltrated and changed everything?
It has crept into our own lives far more than we even realize. I wrote in this post how I was struggling to get through Jeremiah and mentioned to my brother (Pastor Dean) that I just wasn’t enjoying that particular book of the Bible. He laughed and reminded me that the Bible wasn’t for my enjoyment but to teach me about God. Oh, how dismayed I was to realize that I was viewing my personal Bible reading pragmatically! I was judging my Bible reading by how it made me feel.
Can you see how seductive this belief is? How invasive and natural it has become for us to judge things in this manner? We see it not only in churches, but on a large scale in the corporate world, in the academic realm, and everywhere else. It has invaded en masse and it’s not going anywhere soon.
But we can’t have it both ways. We can’t have our experience determine truth and the Bible determine truth. If we don’t intentionally set a line in the sand and say we choose the Bible, I can almost guarantee that we will be lured away into this dangerous and faith-squashing philosophy.
Second, we have to recognize that if truth is determined by consequences, then it must follow that truth is changeable. What works one year may not work another year. What worked in the past may not work in the future.
But God tells us that truth never changes. His Word is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. It is the same forever. Isaiah 40:7-8 puts it like this–
All flesh is grass, And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. 7 The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”
Peter repeats this thought in I Peter 1:23-25
Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth [i]through the Spirit in [j]sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, 23 having been born again, not of [k]corruptible seed but [l]incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides [m]forever, 24 because
“All flesh is as grass, And all[n]the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, 25 But the[o]word of theLordendures forever.”
From these verses we know that God’s truth does not change. Current culture does not change it. Modern desires and demands do not change it. Because truth doesn’t change.
The Bible remains a blessed anchor in the midst of a world where “truth” is what anyone wants it to be. Where “truth” is what works for that moment.
Pragmatism is a big word but it has literally affected each and every one of us. It is important that we examine our hearts and lives for the fruits of this deadly philosophy that so easily and subtly slip in.
Because we know that the Scripture does determine truth and we know that the truth we find there never changes. What a relief in this ever-changing and mixed-up world!
Jesus told us the way would be narrow (Matthew 7:13-14), but this is starting to take on new meaning, isn’t it? If we don’t look past the surface then the Christian road looks pretty wide. There are still so many all over the world that go to a “Christian” church every Sunday and that claim to have a relationship with God. But when we start to scratch away at that bright exterior, what we find underneath is ugly.
While claiming to have a relationship with God, these “Christians” have divorced themselves from the Word of God.
What does this mean? It means that they are biblically illiterate, they do not live their lives according to the Word, and they do not hold the Word has their authority for their “Christian” life.
Their feelings, their desires, their dreams have that place and their “Christianity” is there to help them achieve their dreams and to escape pain.
Wordless Christianity is not Christianity. Let’s be clear on that, shall we? Christianity that is not based on the Bible is not Christianity. It’s just another false religion that has hi-jacked the name.
The Bible has been the anchor of Christianity since its inception. In other words, always. And, yet, more and more increasingly, we find ourselves defending the Bible in our conversations with…
…other Christians.
What is wrong with this picture?
And we find ourselves vastly discouraged and–if we are honest–left wondering if we have missed something. Maybe we are the ones who are wrong?
Until we go back to the Bible and recognize that not only does it re-confirm what we believe but that every thing taking place fits right into God’s timeline for the last days in an incredible and awe-inspiring kind of way.
Wordless Christianity is like a cancer. It is infiltrating and consuming even the most conservative of churches. And as it does so, we find that there is really no place for those who still hold to the Word. Churches that aren’t based on the Bible do not want pesky little congregants that keep reminding them that they have left the straight and narrow. And so, eventually, this person ends up doing one of two things. They shut up or they leave.
If you are in a good church where the Bible is still upheld as the authority and your pastor preaches the hard truths from scripture along with the pleasant ones, consider yourself blessed.
But many–maybe even many of you reading this–are struggling to find a solid church. It is such a sad situation.
As this wordless Christianity takes over we find it also affecting the Christian culture. When you unhook Christianity from the Bible then anything goes. And, suddenly, it is okay to do just about anything and still call yourself a Christian. The only verse that most seem to know is Matthew 7:1 “Judge not” and this is used completely out of context on a regular basis. If you mention anything as a sin–anything at all– you are judgmental. And this is the greatest and gravest sin of all (according to the Christian culture).
So what to do?
There is nothing really to do but to hang on for dear life to God’s Word. Is is our only anchor. Our churches, our favorite celebrity preachers, our favorite singers, our families, our friends may fail us. They may lead us away from the Word. We must stay in the Word, knowing it by studying it so that we can give a proper defense of biblical Christianity (I Peter 3:15) and so that we can discern truth from error (Acts 17:11; I Thessalonians 5:21).
Historical Christianity has always viewed the Bible as sufficient, as its authority, as its very lifeblood. Since the first book of the Bible was written, it has served as an authoritative source of comfort, strength, guidance, correction, rebuke, and growth. It has always been recognized as a special book unlike any others.
Satan recognizes the power that is in this Book and so this gives us a greater understanding of his monumental effort to detach Christians and Christianity from the Holy Bible. And he’s done a spectacular job, hasn’t he? It would seem fairly clear that this battle has been won–at least in America.
So how do we respond?
I believe we must encourage others to study and know the Bible. Nothing is more important. In a culture where most people simply watch video clips or mindless TV, this is a challenge. In a culture where books that are geared to the individual’s fixing specific problems and helping them achieve their dreams are the best sellers, this is a challenge.
But let us remember–the battle is the Lord’s and, one by one, He calls those who are His (John 6:44). May we be used by God to aid and encourage the few who seek to find the Truth and join us on the narrow way.
This summer has to be one of the wettest on record in our area. And not only the wettest but, for the last eight weeks, also the most humid. There are certain diseases and fungi that are inevitable when your lawn is wet, humid, and without sunshine for days on end, no matter what kind of Turfcare program or fertilization you use.
Customers are calling us, “What is wrong with my lawn?” and they are frustrated because they have paid for a Turfcare program and it’s not working. And we have to tell them that even our best Turfcare plan isn’t designed for such unusual conditions as these.
And this got me started thinking about entertainment.
Just follow me. I know it’s a big switch.
I think some of us Christians do this same thing. Our Turfcare program is our Bible reading and church attendance. We believe we have ourselves protected and covered. And the wet, humid weather pattern is our entertainment habits. We engulf ourselves in the evil of this world, by filling our brains with books, music, TV shows, movies, and video games that blaspheme God, that are filled with violence, that promote sinful sexual relationships, that use crude and profane language, and that teach ungodly philosophies.
We seem to think that because we read our Bibles we are somehow immune from the effects of these things.
But we aren’t. The ugly fruit that is born in our hearts from our sinful entertainment habits is told in the current Christian culture that is now starting to teach that homosexuality isn’t a sin. This is just a natural direction to go for professing Christians that have already been hardened to couples living together and rampant divorce. It’s a natural progression for a Christian culture that has accepted almost any sin known to man via the little screens positioned strategically all over their homes.
Christians find themselves weak and powerless and prayerless. And they can’t understand why. But I propose that it is a natural outcome for people who have soaked themselves in sorcery and witchcraft at unprecedented levels. For people who watch other people having sex on a screen and torturing, maiming, and killing others in cold blood. For people who hear their precious Lord’s name taken in vain and no longer even cringe. It’s a natural outcome for people who have filled their minds with all that God hates.
No amount of Bible reading or church attendance can withstand that deluge of evil coming into your mind.
This is why God has commanded us to be holy and pure (2 Timothy 2:22; James 3:17; I Peter 1:15-16). Growing in Christ includes both filling our hearts and minds with God’s Word, as well as eliminating evil influences.
I confess I don’t understand the really odd disconnect in this area of entertainment. It is like we have the rest of lives and then over here in a little box we have our entertainment. It is the one box we don’t even consider submitting to God.
But why?
May I challenge you today to start purifying your life in regards to your entertainment. May I encourage you to submit this area of your life to God without reservation? If you don’t feel convicted about this then I would suggest that you start digging in the Word in regards to this specific topic, asking the Lord to open your eyes and show you the truth about what you have been reading, watching, and listening to.
Too many of us are the lawn with the great fertilizer program and yet find ourselves full of disease because we have been submerged in the world’s philosophies and sinfulness. By choice.
Somehow that makes it worse. We choose to put ourselves in this condition. Unlike the weather that is outside of our control, what we fill our hearts and minds with is our choice.
God wants all of our hearts. He desires that we live in purity and holiness. He calls us to repent and leave sin far behind us. This is hard under the best of circumstances, but it is almost impossible when we are filling our heads with all that we are supposed to turn away from.
And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk c]”>[c]properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.Romans 11:11-14
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. I John 2:15-17
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/ September 17, 2018 September 17, 2018
In this confusing world where the depth of our love seems to be determined by our agreement and approval, we Christians can find ourselves a bit out of step. Love is not approval. True love tells the truth. But how exactly do we balance love with truth? Particularly the extremely unpopular truth of God’s Word?
We all recognize the two extremes, don’t we? Those that focus only on truth are often considered harsh and unloving. They are prone to arrogance and a lack of consideration for the needs and feelings of others. On the other side, those that focus only on love are so worried about the feelings and felt needs of others that they end up not really actually loving them because they aren’t willing to tell them the truth.
Ahh. That fine balance that we Christians need to find in a world that defines these things all wrong.
This is no easy task.
On Saturday, I was invited to speak to a lovely group of women in the southern NJ area. They asked me to speak on this balance and, while I can’t share everything I shared with them in this one post, I did want to share just a bit of it.
I believe we all struggle with keeping this balance between truth and love. I know I certainly do. As fallen sinners, we all tend to lean in one direction or the other. It takes constant attention and earnest intention to keep from tipping over to one side or the other.
Hopefully, these four things will help us all to keep that delicate balance–
1. REMEMBER—We must always remember that we are sinners and imperfect vessels that God has chosen to use to spread His truth. We don’t have all the answers. Let’s be more concerned about the truth of God’s Word than we are about our own opinions and our passion to be right. We must be humble. (Proverbs 11:2; Colossians 3:12; James 4:6)
2. ACCEPT—Accept that others are not always going to see the truth. We must concede that it is God who softens the hard heart. It is God who makes the blind to see. Changing others is utterly and absolutely outside of our control. (Ezekiel 36:26-27; John 15:5; Romans 8:29)
3. LISTEN—Learn to be a good listener. Ask questions. What makes someone tick? In what ways is their past affecting their present? Why are they hung up on certain things? This turns the person we are talking with into a real live person with feelings and thoughts and a history, rather than being just an annoyance or even our enemy. I would add that it is also amazing just how much you can learn about someone by listening, which gives us so much wisdom and insight as we seek to share truth with them. (Proverbs 18:13; James 1:19)
4. SPEAK—When we are given the opportunity to speak up, we must do so with love and grace. People are not going to simply absorb the Bible and truth because you are a nice person. (Ephesians 4:15 and 25; I John 3:18)
Let’s talk a bit more about speaking up. I think this is where so many of us get hung up. We probably do not realize that we have bought into the lie that love remains silent and speaking up is unloving. However, this is not a biblical truth and we see no biblical precedence for this anywhere in scripture (Matthew 28:19-20; Ephesians 5:11; 2 Corinthians 2:14-17; Colossians 4:6; I Peter 3:13-17).
It is also not a logical truth by the world’s standards, which we can see from the following examples–
First Example:
There is a blind girl crossing the street in the path of an oncoming car. Which is the more loving thing to do? Ignore her as she walks towards life-threatening danger or shout at her and push her out of the way?
Second Example:
I am driving by your house at night and I see that it is on fire. Which is the more loving thing to do? Keep driving along and ignore what I saw or stop and start shouting FIRE! as I run into your house, rudely awakening you?
Third Example:
I am a doctor and you have come to see me about severe headaches. After running some tests I find out that you have a very serious disease. Am I more loving to simply not tell you this? Or is it more loving to share this most unpleasant truth? You will not like what you hear, so if we are going to remain consistent with the world’s definition of love, the most loving thing this doctor could do is remain silent. And, yet, we know this isn’t really love.
Can you see the parallels here? Just because someone doesn’t want to hear bad news (you are going to get run over or your house is on fire or you have a terrible disease) doesn’t mean we don’t tell them that bad news. In fact, I think we can all acknowledge that just a basic love for our fellow man compels us to most certainly tell them.
And yet, somehow, we have fooled ourselves to believe that this doesn’t carry over into the spiritual world. The lost are headed to eternal hell and Christians are being rendered ineffective because of false teaching and false doctrine in unprecedented numbers. And we aren’t willing to do the most loving thing of all–speak up and tell them the truth from God’s Word.
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Finding the balance is so difficult in all areas of life, but perhaps in no area more than the spiritual. For by finding true balance, we face the opposition of the whole world and most of the church. We will experience the hatred and animosity of the whole world and, more painfully, much of the church. But our guide must be the Bible. And from there we know that we must be carefully balanced between both truth and love.
The purest kind of truth embraces love because love is a part of that truth. ~John MacArthur
