I see it over and over again; people bearing a burden from past sin, or people who believe that God cannot love them because of their current sin struggles.  I know, I have tasted personally what that feels like.  My own sin struggles are not unlike anyone else’s, except that in the eyes of God, I am perhaps even more guilty for all the knowledge of God that He has revealed to me.  So when I hear from people, broken over their sin; feeling unable to come before the LORD; I have a deep empathy for them.  Moreover, I know that this is one of the primary tools that Satan uses against the people of God.  People may feel like because they have cursed God, or committed some other sin in their past, they are unforgivable.  That is not of God.  Jesus came to save not the righteous, but sinners.  When Christ died for you, He didn’t die for a better version of you, but the you you are today.  Every one of your sins was known to Him and He bore them all.  In Him, you are righteous already, free to pursue joy in the righteousness of God.

Two things I want to say.  Every breath I take in front of God, apart from His grace is an offense to His name.  God is INFINITELY holy.  So if someone feels bad about past or current sin, my first response may take them by surprise; the first thing I want to say is that your offense is way worse than you can imagine.  BUT!  God, although right and just to leave us in our sins to our judgment, instead showed His love and mercy for us by taking all of our sin on Himself.  The second thing I would want to say, is that if you have been pierced with Godly grief, a grief not based on the consequences of your sin, but rather a grief that you have offended our Holy God who loves you, that is a blessing from the LORD.  God has given you that grief to lead you to repent and turn to Him.

2 Corinthians 7:9-10 – “As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.  For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” 

My exhortation then is to not shy away from your grief – do not harden your heart against the voice of God, but press into it.  Take every ounce of Godly grief with you to the Lord in prayer, over His Word, and in fasting.  Hebrews 3:15 – “Today, if you hear his voice,do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”  Use that grief to ask forgiveness and make war on your sin, knowing that in Christ, every one of your sins has been paid for already; every sin has been conquered.  Be prepared, although God’s peace in forgiveness is immediate, every sin wrecks havoc on our intimacy with the LORD.  The steadfast love of God will not fail, however, but God will heal those who wait for the LORD.

Isaiah 57:14-19 – “And it shall be said, “Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstruction from my people’s way.”For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:  “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.  For I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry; for the spirit would grow faint before me, and the breath of life that I made.  Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry, I struck him; I hid my face and was angry, but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.  I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners, creating the fruit of the lips.  Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,” says the LORD, “and I will heal him.”

Even knowing the consequences of sin, we would all continue to backslide away from the LORD if left only to ourselves, but God is our healer.  My encouragement today is to lay every burden you are carrying with you at the feet of the LORD.  The steadfast love of God is new each morning, draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

Hosea 6:1-3 – “Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.  After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him.  Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”

Grace and Peace,
Adam

I’m running through Isaiah these days.  It’s amazing to see how God used the physical nation of Israel to demonstrate His glory and steadfast love to the “true Israel” – the body of believers, the Church.  I’ve enjoyed my time in Isaiah so much, that as I’m now in chapter 60 and coming to the end of the book, I’m somewhat sad that I’ll be through soon.  I’m committed to come back before the end of the year and make another pass through though, it is too rich to dig out all that God has for me to see there in one pass.  That’s a long way of me saying – I commend it to your study.

My exhortation today is out of that book, in Isaiah 58:1-11 – “Cry aloud; do not hold back; lift up your voice like a trumpet; declare to my people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins.  Yet they seek me daily and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that did righteousness and did not forsake the judgment of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments; they delight to draw near to God.  ‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?  Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’  Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers.  Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist.  Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high.  Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself?  Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?  Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the LORD?  

“Is not this the fast that I choose:  to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?  Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?  Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.  Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.  And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.”

Now, I suppose I’m making the presupposition here that as believers, you all fast.  I know it might not be something you were brought up doing, but know that it is spoken of by Jesus as something that is a regular, normal part of a believer’s life.  We see that when Jesus gives instructions on how to fast (Matt 6:16-17).  What’s important here to note is that God’s desire is not merely sacrifice or humility, but a heart that seeks after justice, mercy, and the righteousness of God.  Matthew 9:13 – “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” 

When we fast, it is more than just “removing” something in our life that might be a barrier to our relationship with God; when we fast, we are making an appeal to God for His glory to be manifested in our lives.   It’s is a tangible way in which we are saying to God, we want less of ourselves, less of our flesh, and more of you, more of your Spirit.  So as much as you fast to kill off the desires of your flesh, seek also to bring to life the things of God.  Do justice.  Love mercy.  Pursue wearied sinners with a message of peace through the blood of Jesus Christ.  May God’s grace be upon us all, that we would see more of the glory of Christ manifested in our lives to a lost world.

Grace and Peace,
Adam

What’s interesting to note is that God did not spare the surrounding areas of Judah from the King of Assyria.  God had a specific plan for a remnant of the nation of Judah.  This plan was prophesized by Isaiah.  God said, He would defend Jerusalem to save it, and that this would be done for God’s sake, and for the sake of His servant David (Jesus was born through the line of David), thus Judah was spared because God had an ultimate plan of salvation through Jesus Christ.  Notice also the imagery given.  In the third year, the surviving remnant of the house of Judah was to take root downward and bear fruit.  After three days, Christ was risen.  Those whose faith was rooted in Christ’s atoning death, were purposed by God to bear fruit (reconcile others to God).  Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”  I want you to be encouraged brothers and sisters, God is faithful to defend His work in you.  If you are struggling with sin or otherwise facing temptation, the promise of happiness if only you would trust your flesh and not trust in the Lord, know that God is faithful.  His steadfast love endures forever.

Oh, by the way, I don’t want to leave you hanging… this is what God did to the King of Assyria:  Isaiah 37:36-37 – “the angel of the LORD went out and struck down a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.  Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home and lived at Nineveh. And as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him down with the sword.” 

Those who mock the living God, who trust in their own gods, will reap what they sow.  Thanks be to God that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  My exhortation is to know the fear of the Lord, know the faithfulness of God, and bear fruit in keeping with the gospel – preach Christ crucified to all who woud listen.  You are not an accident, God, our Great Deliverer, has a plan for each of us, and He is faithful and able to secure it.

Grace and Peace,
Adam 

Two things continually amaze me about the salvation of the Lord.  One is how mighty God is to save from people in every different culture, with varying backgrounds and struggles, with varying economic levels, and with varying levels of education.  Each of us who have trusted in the Lord, display his mercy uniquely, in that God has uniquely shaped every one of us.  The second thing that continually amazes me is the exact opposite of the first – how similar we all are.  Ultimately, if you break everything down, we are all just sinners in need of the grace of God through Jesus Christ.  We all have, and continue to struggle with misplaced affections towards the world, when the only lasting satisfaction comes from an intimate relationship with Christ, delighting in the glory of God.

There are times when I want to encourage you with the doctrine of God, for you to see God clearly to better pursue Him.  There are other times I want to encourage you with the wrath of God, to spur you towards true repentance and faith.  I’m not really in a theology-type mood today.  I very much feel like Solomon, when He wrote Ecclesiastes 12:11-14 – “The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd.  My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.  The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.  For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.” Today, I want to encourage you with my own mistakes, so that you will be freed from any lies of Satan that might hold power over you now.  Especially those of you who are younger in years or where you faith is new, I want to encourage you and equip you for a lifelong fight for faith.  Christianity is not a belief to be known, it is not a place that one can “arrive” at, but it is a relationship, a battle for faith, and a lifelong race amidst suffering and sin; it is the path, guided and guarded by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ in you, whereby you are arriving.

My first mistake over the years has been to make quick judgments about people based on what they claim to believe or their life situations.  I’ve seen enough men and women with bad theology, still love the Lord and pursue Him. I’ve seen men and women with good theology, have absolutely no love for God.  The reality is that we’re all born with bad theology because we’re all sinful.  Only God can reveal His truth from His Word by the Spirit, which only shows much we are all in need of prayer.  This doesn’t mean we stop contending for the Truth, only that I’ve decided that trying to “label” people isn’t as helpful as I once thought it might be.  Ultimately, if you do find someone whose beliefs are so twisted as to blaspheme God and might lead themselves or others astray, by all means we are called to use the Word of God to instruct and rebuke, but that rebuke should always be accompanied by prayer and tears that God might have mercy to reveal Himself clearly to them.  I’ve seen men and women on fire for the Lord for a season, only to fall away.  I’ve seen men and women who I thought never would come to God, become strong contenders for the faith.  Some people will embody 1 John 2:19 – “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.”  Others (like me) will demonstrate for all eternity in a special way the depth of God’s love in salvation, magnificently displaying how God is mighty to save.  Psalm 106:7-8 – “Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wondrous works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.  Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make known his mighty power.”

My second mistake is wanting to compare myself to other believers.  Maybe this is due to my Baptist upbringing where everyone pretended like they were great and acted shocked if someone actually discussed real sin struggles or communicated an absence of passion for God.  This only leads to isolation and allows hidden sin to harden one’s heart against God’s glory in gospel.  This is so very unhelpful.  There is only one “you”.  Sanctification is going to look different for each person.  One person struggles with alcoholism, for me it was a simple thing to stop going out drinking heavily.  For another person it might be easy to not struggle with lust, for me it is a daily battle.  What I exhort you with is this – do not allow Satan or others to discourage you with where you are spiritually, especially compared to others.  Each person has a battle to fight.  Do not look to your right or your left to see yourself compared to others, but always look up, to the right hand of God, where Christ is.  In His light, we are all in need of grace and we are all not where we would like to be (In His presence TOTALLY without sin).  If you have felt judged before, or perhaps are burdened by the lies of Satan that God will not forgive you of past or present sin, be encouraged; today is the day of salvation.  There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:1).  No matter what happened yesterday, if you have a heart to pursue the Lord today that is the Spirit of God in you, praise God for His mercy!  Therefore, as those who are forgiven, saved by the grace of God alone, fix your heart’s purpose to encourage your brothers and sisters in Christ (Heb 10:24-25).

Lastly, a mistake I have made over the years was to believe that there was a point at which I would “arrive” as a Christian.  Such a place does not exist.  There is no piece of knowledge of God, that once gained should produce in you contentment.  Such a Spirit is not the Spirit of one who knows and loves God.  Better is a person who is faithful with what He knows of God than those who are unfaithful knowing much of God.  You do not “arrive” as a Christian by conquering any given sin.  As soon as one sin is “conquered” the new battle with the sin of pride truly begins.  You do not arrive as a Christian once involved in a small group or ministry.  Small groups / a Christian support framework can be helpful, but does not guarantee anything, especially when someone is betrayed by a person they trusted.  Each of these things, although good, are only the means by which God will show you how desperate you truly are. Be prepared, that life as a Christian is one struggle after another.  In the South, where the “success” of churches is based on how big their sanctuary is, few people are truly cautioned well prior to professing faith in Christ.  Jesus counsels us in Luke 14:26-33 – “”If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.  Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.  For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?  Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’  Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?  And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.  So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” God disciplines those He loves (Heb 12:6), suffering produces greater faith (Jam 1:2-3), and ALL things work towards good for those who love God, who have been called according to His purpose (Rom 8:28).  God has plans for your life, not just the next day, month, or year.
 
Do not lament over where you have been, or where you are today.  It is better not to think of yourself at all, but resolve instead to always pursue a greater knowledge of and affection for Jesus Christ.  Let the Spirit of God lead you. Trust that God is faithful to finish the work that he began in you.  When I die, I do not want it to be with a feeling of fulfillment.  I want my pursuit of the Lord only to further my hunger for me.  I want there to be a holy discontentment in my own sanctification, my own knowledge of God, with my own love towards others, such that when I see Jesus Christ, face to face, I will see the perfection, the source of my heart’s eager longing, that was never fully satisfied until that moment that will continue throughout eternity.

My hope and prayer is that God would teach you out of my own mistakes.  Be wise in your judgments, seeking always to build up and encourage those around you, strengthening their faith as well as your own.  Compare your holiness not to others, but to Jesus Christ, and do not be dismayed; rejoice that although a sinner, you have been reconciled to God through His death and resurrection.  The steadfast love of the Lord is neverending.  His love is an ocean, and we have only begun to wade into the water.  Do not seek to be content as a Christian, but know that God has a purpose in all things, and in everything we are to be growing in knowledge and affection for Christ and love for others.  Know you’re loved and prayed for.  May our mutual growth in faith be to the glory of God.

Grace and Peace,
Adam

It’s difficult to balance a desire for unity within the body of Christ and yet fight for correct doctrine from scripture.  There are some academic Christians, for which arguing over nuances of Theology is a great joy.  It’s not for me.  I always look forward to the Day when all believers will be together in Heaven with a full knowledge of Christ, worshipping in Spirit and truth with great joy.  So what do you do?  How do you handle situations in which those you love, who bear fruit for the Lord, disagree with you?  What should win out?  Your doctrine or unity within the Church?  My hope today is to give you some guidance on how you should prepare for these times, because as someone active in ministry, I can tell you, these times will come.

Ephesians 4:12-16 – “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”

My first encouragement is to form a Biblical conviction about the essential truths of the gospel.  Personally, I could care less about how and when Jesus comes back (I hope he comes back today).  I don’t really care if someone is baptized as an infant and later believes, or is baptized only after a profession of faith.  Do I have opinions?  Of course, but neither of those things are essential truths of the gospel.  We are not saved by our works, but by the finished work of Christ alone.  Christ bore the wrath of God in our place, died for our sins, and physically rose again.  I get this from Paul’s message to the church of Corinth in 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 – “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you— unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.”

Are there other things in the Bible I would deem important?  Of course.  Here though, we must determine where to make our stand.  Do we break fellowship with someone?  I would say yes, if they reject any of the essential truths the gospel.  We should love them and evangelize to them, but we should not have a partnership or intimate fellowship with an unbeliever.  2 Corinthians 6:14 – “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?”

So when you find yourself in a disagreement with someone over theology, the first question to ask is:  Is this disagreement over an essential truth of the gospel?

Second, I would ask myself (and them), what are the implications of their belief?  A classical disagreement that occurs over and over again usually surrounds God’s sovereignty – do we choose God or does God choose us?  The answer to that question is actually less important than what an individual believes are the implications of that answer.  If God is not sovereign over your coming to Christ, is He sovereign afterwards?  ie, can you lose your salvation?  is God sovereign over suffering to be able to promise comfort to hurting people? what happens to people who don’t hear the gospel?  is man truly fallen? is there good in you apart from the grace of God that chooses god, that is not good in someone who rejects him?

Sometimes you may find that what you thought was a large disagreement, was in fact not much of a disagreement at all.  I know people who are saved, who believe they chose God, yet still hold that they are saved by grace alone, cannot lose their salvation, God does answer prayer, and God does actively comfort those who are suffering.  While I may personally see some inconsistency in holding those beliefs together, I am quick to put my sword away, and praise God for the beliefs we share.  Other times you may find that what you thought was a legitimate disagreement was only semantics.  Does God allow evil (choosing not to intervene) for His good purposes and glory or does God use the evil of man for His good purposes and glory?  Neither person is making the claim that God Himself is evil.  Both would claim that evil was foreordained as a part of God’s plan for his glory.

Lastly, I would ask myself; based on what I know of this individual, would they be edified by my challenging them.  Obviously if someone disagrees on the essentials of the gospel, I would lovingly challenge them.  If someone disagrees on another point of theology, however, I should weigh the benefits of challenging them.  An example of this would be, I would not get into a conversation about the depths of God’s purposes in evil for His glorification in Jesus Christ with someone who was a new believer, or who had just endured the loss of a loved one tragically.  There are points in time when that would be helpful, but seek always to encourage and edify the person.

1 Corinthians 3:1-3 – “But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.  I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?”

Ephesians 4:29 – “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”

My exhortation to you all, is the same as Paul was to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4 – “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:  preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.  For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.  As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry”

but also 1 Corinthians 16:14 – “Let all that you do be done in love.”

May the grace of God in which was lavished upon us in Jesus Christ, be quickly extended to one another as we look to the Day when there will be no more discussions about God, we will all see Him with our own eyes.

Grace and Peace,
Adam

Today’s WFTD should be interesting.  My normal 1-2 times a year bout with allergies is in full swing, and my head feels like there’s a ginormous fuzzy cloud in it that’s getting ready to explode.  Why am I sharing this?  Just trying to foster an openness among the children of God, and encourage myself as to why sometimes it’s better to communicate through writing than in person (in between sneezes).  But, where I am weak, God is strong, so I remain hopeful of God’s ministry to you through His Word.

Today I you to think about what you are proud of.  Growing up you were likely encouraged that you could do anything you set your mind to.  You’d hear not-so convincing advertisements by the Army to “be all that you can be”.  Individuals who “pulled themselves up by the bootstraps” are idealized, with the moral being that you can manufacture happiness in your life if only you work hard enough.  Most likely then, you would say you are proud of some accomplishment, the stage of life you are in, or something similar.

Far from this idea then would be the glorification of one’s weaknesses.  No one would say they found joy in their failures.  It makes you wonder then, why someone would pay to go see a football game where the players were no better than they were.  Likewise, no one would visit an art gallery where the paintings were all done by a 2 year old child.  No one looks out into the ocean and marvels at how significant and great they are in themselves.  Why?  Have you ever stopped to think, that if happiness is found within an individual, why would a person put themselves through the torture of seeing how inadequate, small, and weak they were?  Could it be that we were made to find our greatest joy not in ourselves, but in our Creator?

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 – “he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

There are two types of people in this world.  There are those who believe in themselves, and those who believe in Jesus.  The first is a god unto themselves, proud of their domain, and all they accomplish.  They glory in their shame.  How sad it will be when they stand before God, with all of their good works, and Jesus asks them how they would’ve managed to do those things without the water he created, without the air to breathe He provided, without a body sustained by God.  They will be undone.

1 Corinthians 1:30-31 – “And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

You bring NOTHING to the table of God.  You are not the host, you are an invited guest.

Galatians 6:14-15 – “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.  For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.”

God isn’t “impressed” by anything that you do.  Acts 17:24-25 – “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.”

If there ever was a time to show the worth of prayer it is here.  We come to God as children, dependent upon Him for all things, working under the power He provides.  We are in need of Him every moment of every day.

Jeremiah 9:23-24 – “Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”

Do you know Him?  There are two ways to pursue happiness in life – within yourself for temporal joys, or in a dependent relationship with the Lord.  Pursue a joy in knowing Jesus that is everlasting.  Pursue knowing Jesus Christ crucified, and make Him your only boast.  Colossians 1:15-16 – “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.”   We are all sinners saved by the grace purchased by the blood of the Lamb of God; we are a new creation in Him; we have an eternal possession in Him for our everlasting joy.

Boasting in the Cross,

Adam

What does it mean to walk by faith and not by sight?  What does it mean to walk by the Spirit?  These are the questions I want to touch on today.  It seems unnecessary that I need to explain why we need to walk by the Spirit, after all, every one of us is in a daily struggle with sin.  That said, I do want you to know that there is no such thing as a Christian who has “arrived”, for whom things just come easily.  Each of us must make a decision in the morning and throughout our days how we are to live and who will lead us.  Will we seek the Lord and His leading in the Spirit or will we again pursue the path of Adam to want to be our own God rather than worshipping Him.  This message is scripture heavy.  My hope is that you will pray through it, and that God would grant you a greater filling of His Spirit to lead you for the glory of His name. 

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

I just want to point out a few quick observations.  We are exhorted to walk, not run.  Implied is that we are being led slowly.  Christianity is not a sprint, but a lifelong race.  Second observation; we are going to constantly be in a state of conflict between what our flesh desires, and what our heart and mind desires.  Our flesh will never choose God, we must be led by the Spirit.  Third observation; what is the grounding for being led by the Spirit?  Our union with Christ in His crucifixion.  Our sin is washed clean by His blood.  If we join with Him by faith in His death, then as He was raised by the Spirit to life – we too will have life by the Spirit – to eternal life, enjoying forever the glory of God.  That isn’t something that happens after death, it begins now, when we first believed.

Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

If you do remember nothing else from this email, memorize that verse.  It is the lynchpin of all of Christianity.  There is no other verse in the Bible that I go to more often in my daily fight for faith.  If you trust in the atoning blood of Christ for your sin, to see and delight in Him as your treasure, you have been given the Spirit of Christ.  Jesus Christ lives in you.  Take a moment to think about the implications of that.  The God of all creation, perfectly good and holy, with all power at his disposal, able to see tomorrow as clearly as today is with you always.  What a salvation!  We are not left alone to trust that Christ covered sin, only to be powerless to pursue joy in fellowship with God in holiness ourselves – God gives us Himself by the Spirit to lead us. 

Paul, the man God used to write much of the New Testament, wrote of His own experience of this to the Church at Rome:

Romans 7:18-8:6 – “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.  So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.  For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.  Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.  There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.  For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” 

I love that God gives us Paul’s example.  There are no “Super-Christians.”  He was an apostle of God detailing his own struggle with indwelling sin.  He knew that he was not in bondage to sin.  He knew that Christ’s blood had covered his sin.  He knew that though his flesh was perishing due to sin, his inner man was given life by God through the Spirit.  If anything, as you draw closer to God, you will only become more aware of sin in your life, but… Phil 3:13-14 –“forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” 

We strain forward by setting aside our fleshly desires, and pray that God would lead us to Him.  Grant us a greater desire for you God, than for this world.  The world and all that it contains is passing away, but You, God reign forever.  Help us, God, to have a passion for your glory; to live today as we would in your presence.  All this is done not in ourselves, but by your Spirit.  Therefore, give us less of ourselves and more of You.  Give our hearts new desires for You and Your kingdom, satisfy us every morning with your steadfast love.  Renew in us a clean heart, washed by the blood of Christ, and let us live today for Your glory, for Your name.  Grant us eyes to see You in Your Word and manifest Yourself within us.  Let those around us see You in our love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, and say to themselves Your God is great!  Give us an insatiable desire for You above all things, and pour out your Spirit to us, that we would consider our fleshly desires worthless.  Let us consider whatever gain they might promise as loss compared to Your infinite worth.  You are our savior and master, now and forever. 

So, what does it mean to bring life from death?  It is bringing to life the Spirit of Christ in you, and putting to death everything else.  The Lord’s prayer asks for “daily bread”.  Jesus said that He was the bread of life.  Daily, hourly, we need to set our hearts and minds on Christ.  Colossians 3:1-4 – “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.  For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” 

Christians, know that you are loved and prayed for.  Be encouraged that if you have been united with Christ, nothing can separate you from His love.  Today is a new day; this hour is a new hour.  Today is the day of salvation.  Seek the Spirit’s leading, and know that God is faithful, His peace and joy will be with you. 

Grace and Peace,
Adam

Matthew 5:3-6 – “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.  Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.  Blessed are those who hunger and thirstfor righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”  Matthew 11:28-30 –  “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Romans 8:7-8 – “the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”  Romans 7:5 – “For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.”  Ephesians 2:1-3 – “you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” 

Ephesians 2:4-8 – “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this isnot your own doing; it is the gift of God”  Romans 5:8-11 – “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him fromthe wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.  More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”  Romans 8:1-4 – “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”  2 Corinthians 5:17 – “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

Ephesians 4:22-24 – “in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”  Colossians 3:1-4 – “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”  Psalm 16:7-11 – “I will bless the LORD who has counseled me; Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night.  I have set the LORD continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.  Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely. For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.  You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.”   Romans 8:18 – “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”  

Grace and Peace,
Adam

For as important as the Bible is, in God’s plan for the spread of the gospel, personal sanctification, and His glory, many people are never taught anything about it or how to read it.  After all, let’s be honest…. it’s a thick book.  I didn’t much like reading during school, and those books were a lot smaller than the Bible.  I know I should read my Bible, but where do I start?  These are all good and fair questions.  We’re going to take a day and do a quick overview of the Bible.

What is the Bible?

Objectively, the Bible is a collection of 66 books, separated by Christ’s birth.  All those books prior to Christ’s birth being referred to as the “Old Testament” and all the books occurring after Christ’s birth being called the “New Testament”.  The Bible was written by approximately 40 different authors over a period of time of close to 2,000 years.  In it, there are many different literary styles, including poetry, parable, history, law, prophecy, and narrative.

As a believer, the Bible is the living Word of God.  As such, although written by men, God inspired and guided their words such that the Bible is correct and without error.  Quick side note, that some suggest that translation errors over time have caused the Bible to no longer have this distinction – 1) The bible isn’t from original texts, thus you’re not getting translations of translations of translations and 2) any word differences are minor and do not impact in any way the overall revelation of God and His plan for salvation through Jesus Christ.  The Bible, put simply is God’s revelation of Himself, specifically of Himself in Jesus Christ.  Jesus says in John 5:39 – “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me”    John 1:1,14 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

The Word of God is the means by which one is saved, the means by which one is sanctified (growing into the image of Christ in holiness), and is used for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, and growing in righteousness.

Ephesians 2:8-9 – “by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,”
Romans 10:17 – “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

2 Corinthians 3:15-19 – “to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”  (how do we behold the glory of the Lord to be transformed?  by reading Moses – reading the Word of God)

2 Timothy 3:16 – “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” 

That’s about as quick of an overview of the Bible as I can do.  Now, I want to turn our attention to answer the question, what does my reading my Bible have to do with the glory of God? 

To answer that, we need to look at the Trinity.  What are the differing roles within the trinity, and what purpose do they share?  Again, books have been written about this, so I’ll do my best to keep things short.  God, the Father, purposes/wills all things.  Jesus Christ, the Son, executes the will of the Father in perfect obedience.  The Holy Spirit, empowers the work of God and communicates the will of God.  When you read your Bible, you are entering into God the Father’s plan for you to know and enjoy Him forever.  That plan was secured in Jesus Christ, who is the object of the entire Bible.  Everything points to Jesus.  The Holy Spirit is the means by which God transforms sinners, bringing them from death to life, through Christ.  What purpose do they each share?  They each are pursuing the glory of God, to make the glory of God known and enjoyed.   If someone makes a profession to love God, and goes about “cleaning up their life”, who gets the glory for that?  THEY DO.  If someone makes a profession to love God, and seeks to transform their heart to love God more, and in the process God transforms them into the image of Christ, who gets the glory for that?  GOD DOES.  God’s glory is manifested in the life of a believer who is pursuing joy in knowing God.

Do you want to know more about who God REALLY is?  God Himself wants that for you, and has given you a teacher in the Holy Spirit who dwells within every believer.  The primary means by which God is going to accomplish that in you is through the Bible.  This is because the object of the Bible is Christ, therefore, when you are transformed by fixing your eyes on Jesus, God gets the glory.  God gets the glory because He wills you to know Christ, He empowers you to know Christ, and your ability (as a sinner) to know Christ was secured by Christ Himself on the cross. 

Where do you start?  After all, the Bible’s a big book…

First know that there is no wrong place to start, just START!  That said, in knowing that the whole Bible is the revelation of God in Jesus Christ, it might be helpful to start where Christ is most fully displayed – the Gospels.  Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.  Read one of them or read all of them, that’d be a great place to start.  Pray and ask that God would reveal more of Himself in Jesus Christ to you, for you to enjoy.  Pray that God would give you a desire even to begin to want to read about Him.  That said, do not wait for that desire, sometimes it will be there, other times discipline will take over, but continually ask that of God. 

Overall, the Bible can be divided simply this way anticipation, culmination, explanation.  The Old Testament is the anticipation of the coming Savior, Jesus Christ.  The Gospels of the New Testament are the culmination of the savior, Jesus Christ.  The rest of the New Testament is the explanation of what it means to know the Savior, Jesus Christ.  Many people camp out in the New Testament, and to begin with, I’d say that’s not a bad idea.  I will say, however, that there is a richness to seeing the attributes of God in Jesus Christ, in the Old Testament.  Example:  Yes, God is loving, however, God hates sin, and that has not changed Christ.  Just as He destroyed the Earth with a flood and He destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, God’s wrath will be poured out on sin for eternity.  That is the measure of God’s holiness and justice. 

Ok, you’ve started reading your Bible – how should you read it?

My encouragement would not to treat the Bible simply as another book that should be read through.  Although you might glean some knowledge of God that way, we are encouraged to meditate on the Word of God day and night.  This means there should be some in depth study on your part, including memorization. 

Psalm 1:1-2 – “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.”

Joshua 1:8-9 – “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

A good method for this is called “Observation, Interpretation, Application”.  Basically it involves studying a text (maybe a chapter, or maybe just a few verses) and looking at it from a high level down to a detail/personal level.  It is fairly self explanatory, but begin not by interpreting what you think the text means, but by simply looking at what it says.  Observations are the “Who, What, When, Where, and How” type questions.  Interpretations take the next step to say, this is what I believe this text is trying to say.  Applications take the next step and say, this is what I believe God is trying to tell me about Himself and His will for me from this text.  Again, books have been written on this, but a quick Google search would give you some follow up resources/practice on this.

http://www.ashlandgracepoint.com/templates/System/details.asp?id=22571&PID=61220

Well, I’ve covered a lot of ground here today.  Definitely this isn’t an exhaustive study, but my hope is that you can feel like you have a good starting point from which to jump into reading you Bible.  The purpose of God in salvation is for you to know Him and enjoy Him forever.  The Bible is a gift from God to us that is meant to guide us into knowledge of Him for our enjoyment.  My hope is that you would delight yourself in the Lord and that God would reveal to you more and more of Himself.

Grace and Peace,
Adam

Proverbs 3:7-8 – “Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.  It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.”

My exhortation today is for you to be honest with yourself.  The commandments of God are not meant to be a burden to you, but a delight in knowing God, and having the peace of God rule in your life.  If you are struggling with pornography, get an internet filter.  If that won’t work, then get rid of your computer.  If you struggle with materialism, give most of what you have away and go serve the poor.  If you struggle with alcoholism, stop going to bars and stop putting yourself in situations where others will be drinking.  You might be saying, well if I did that, then I wouldn’t have a social life, I wouldn’t be able to go out. Maybe, but what does Jesus say?  Matthew 5:30 – “And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.” 

Here’s usually where I get accused of legalism religious fundamentalism.  If I was saying that doing those things would keep you from being a sinner and in need of the grace of God in Christ Jesus, they’d be right, but I’m not.  Taking action that outwardly limits your potential for sin is not legalism, it is wisdom.  I would rather be accused of legalism, to limit outward sin and continually ask God to change my heart to love Him more, than to keep the praise of men, and my soul be lost for eternity.  Make no mistake – if you play with sin, it will kill you.  If you say to yourself, “I’m saved, I live under grace”, and then go about your life without a fear of God and continually dance with temptation – you might not be saved.  This is what it says in 1 John 3:9 – “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.”

I’m not here to say where to draw the line with temptation is, because I believe it is different for each person.  I’m definitely not calling people to a monastic life either.  What I am encouraging you to do, is know yourself;  know where you fall, how you fall, and remove the possibility to fall as much as is reasonably possible.  No material thing, no computer, no bar, can replace the peace and joy of an intimate relationship with God.  Do you believe that?  If you do, then take action in line with your belief, you will not be disappointed.  Fear the Lord – run from sin – and let the peace of God rule your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Grace and Peace,

Adam