The Joy Of The Lord Is My Strength.

Do you ever get overwhelmed by the joy that comes from Jesus the Christ? Yesterday I almost asked Jesus to dial it back just a bit. Such peace, such contentment, such amazing grace. I am so, so very undeserving of this kind of treatment.

Can praying with thankfulness really be done?

A couple posts back, in something I called “What The . . . ?” I touched on the fact that so many Christians that I meet seem to worry and fret about life just as much as your average everyday pagan.

Today, John over at “Discovering The Real Jesus In Monroe” brought up the radical nature of Jesus’ teaching, especially his teaching on money, clothes and possessions. John is right of course. People the world over are tremendously status conscious. If you don’t possess the Spirit of Jesus, if you don’t know what it’s like to be forgiven and to be part of the family of Creator God, then one’s worth and value, one’s sense of security and belonging must come from fleeting things like looks, or intelligence or wealth etc.

The verse that I used in that previous post was, “Do not be anxious about anything; but in everything, by prayer and petition and with thanksgiving present your requests to God. And if you do this, the peace of God which is beyond anything that the human mind can understand or comprehend will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” This verse goes hand in hand with “Humble yourselves under God’s mighty hand, so that at just the right time He will lift you up. Cast all your anxieties on Him because He cares about you.”

Jesus said that if we put Him first in our lives we will not have to worry because He will provide for us everything that we need. Can you imagine a life without worry and anxiety? Talk about radical thinking. If people stopped listening to what the world teaches and if they trusted Jesus enough to actually obey Him, it would put people like me out of business. Virtually all the clients that I see have at some level become incapacitated by worry, anxiety and depression. I’ve said before, but I’ll say it again here, most people that I come into contact with feel as though they’re irresponsible or negligent in some way if they don’t worry. Reality is, worry, at least for those whose goal in life is to serve their Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is a complete waste of time. In fact it's flat out disobedience and an insult to Him who created us.

What I really wanted to point out today was this. Did you notice that bit about, praying with thanksgiving? Do you know what that means? Have you experienced what it means?
. First of all, Jesus gives several examples, both in word and by example of what He means by asking God for what we need. Some people say things like, “Why should I have to ask God for something when He already knows what I need?” The why doesn’t really matter. The fact is, asking someone for something is perhaps the single most powerful form of communication between humans and it’s no different between us and God. While teaching on prayer, Jesus said via two or three parables that God listens to us, He considers what we are saying and He bases His decisions upon what we are saying to Him. Jesus taught that not only are we to ask our Heavenly Father for what we need, we are to be persistent in our asking. According to Jesus, our Heavenly Father who loves us far more than our earthly parents could ever love us will see to it that what we need is what we will get.

. Second, when one’s will is in sync with God’s will, thanksgiving is a natural outcome of prayer because one knows that whatever you are asking for is exactly what God wants for your life. For example, “Lord God, Creator of heaven and earth, please make me into the kind of husband and dad that you want me to become.” Knowing that this is God’s will for me, and confirming / showing / confessing by my words that I also want that for myself, I simply ask.

Based on the amazing and wonderful experience of previous changes that God has brought about in my life, thankfulness is a natural outflow of this type of prayer because the result is as good as done. Having asked for these changes, all I need to do now is watch as my life unfolds in such a way that will bring about the needed changes. Do I need to be more patient? God will bring into my life situations whereby I can exercise and develop greater patience. Do I need more self-control? God will bring into my life opportunities for me to turn to Him when I’m tempted to give in to various cravings that wouldn’t be good for me or for my family.

Years ago, in my pre Christian days, these kinds of changes were impossible. While I still have a long way to go, Creator God has brought me so incredibly far. Not by my might or by my power or by my strength, or by my mind over matter efforts, but by every word that flows out of the mouth of my Saviour and Lord - including the verses listed above.

Hey Atheist! Get Jesus or get out of the Army!

Some guy in the U.S. army has been told that, and it wasn't with only words. In fact he’s been told that in a far worse manner, via harassment by fellow soldiers. The harassment reached such a level that this young man feared for his safety. (Sigh) Christianity takes another blow from it’s supposed followers.

Actually, I know a tiny little bit about where this guy is coming from. I’ve worked in secular institutions for my whole career, so, as a Christian I’ve had to keep my head down and really concentrate on what it means to reflect Jesus’ love toward others. Nevertheless, when surrounded by those who are hostile to Christianity one’s light shines brighter than ever. In one such place the CEO was a full fledged shaman. He went on vision quests and had his own totem spirit - the whole deal. He hated Christians. To make a long story shorter, one day he told me that as long as I held to my Christian beliefs, I’d received the last promotion that I would ever get under him. Ironically, within the year he was let go for financial irregularities and I was promoted to Director of a different institution. Where was I going with that story? Oh ya - nowhere. It’s just a story.

Anyway, so many people who call themselves Christians put themselves in situations whereby they must learn a “Christ-like” attitude toward other people from non Christians. In this case, this young soldier, an atheist no less, nailed Jesus’ teaching perfectly. His goal was to seek the best for his fellow human beings regardless of their beliefs or race or any other qualifier.

The actions of the "Christian" soldiers and that of their Superiors is what happens when we as parents model for our children the Law of God instead of the Grace of God. It’s deadly. It’s hypocritical. It’s wrong, wrong, every time wrong.

What the . . .?

I’m blown away, almost on a daily basis, with people who should know better, yet who are consumed by worry and anxiety. They're worried about money, worried about their kids, worried about this and worried about that. In fact, poke around a bit regarding their tendency to worry and they admit to feeling guilty or irresponsible if they don’t worry.

These are Christians! These are people who claim to trust God with their very souls. Yet trusting Him to take care of their daily needs is seen as optional or even impossible.

I ask, “When God says, “Do not commit adultery,” is that something that’s optional, with adultery being a good thing in some instances?” They reply, “Of course not.”

I ask, “When God says, “Do not steal,” is that something that’s optional, with stealing being a good thing in some instances?”
They reply, “Don’t be silly.”

But when I ask, “When God says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, with prayer and petition present your requests to God. If you do this the peace of God which is beyond anyone’s ability to understand will guard you heart and soul in Christ Jesus,” is being anxious and worried optional? Is being anxious and worried actually a good thing? When, we’re told that God is a “present” help in times of trouble, when we’re told that God will supply every need we have, and when Jesus says, "If you put me first in your life, everything that you need will be provided for you" are those things to which we don’t need to pay attention? Or do we really need to go after things in the same manner of worry, depression and anxiety as do the pagans that surround us?

Many, many Christians don’t seem to realise that we, as Christians are perfectly safe, even though this world is not our true home. Many, many Christians seem to not be aware that when we put Jesus first in our lives, goodness and mercy really do follow us all the days of our lives.

I don’t get it! Where is the victory that members of the family of God can experience? Why don’t people get the fact that Jesus can make us more than conquerors even in the midst of tragedy, chaos, hardship, death of a loved-one, persecution or poverty or danger or sword?

I want that victory. I love it. I cling to this promise, not as if, but because my very life depends on it.

Thank you Lord for your presence. Even though a thousand may fall at my left hand and ten thousand at my right, it will not come near to me because Creator God is my shield and my defender.

Saving Faith In Jesus

In my life and in my work I’ve seen, generally, three types of faith regarding Jesus.

Intellectual Faith:
I’ve counselled numerous Pastors who have held this type of faith. They possessed Doctorates in Theology. They filled their respective houses of worship. From a Biblical perspective their stated doctrines were bang on. But a relationship with the living Christ was beyond their ability to describe. Instead, their ability to cope with the stresses of life was based on various mood altering drugs, or relationships; both hetero and homosexual, or through accumulating the material things that so many in today’s world seem to look to reflect back to them their value and worth, security and belonging. By and large these were individuals who told me in detail about their ability to speak in tongues, and prophecy even though their children hated them and their wives wanted to leave them.

Temporary Faith:
“Please God, if you will just get me out of this mess I promise to live for you forever.” We tend to hear about those few (less than .5 % is my guess) who actually follow through on this type of ill conceived promise. More common is the person who rushes home to tell his story of rescue, only to slowly and inexorably slide back to the mundane and corrupt life from which he has emerged just a few hours previous.

Saving Faith:
This is the decision to accept the offer of salvation that Jesus has presented, either through a friend, a sermon, a movie, a song, a Bible passage or in whatever form it may have come down the chute. A saving faith in Jesus comes to someone who has weighed the evidence, weighed the consequences and decided to take the step toward what his heart is telling him is the real deal. This faith is humble, quiet, grateful and strong

Christianity Heats Up.

Conservative estimates put world-wide conversions to Christianity at 200,000 per day. 60% of those are in countries where becoming a Christian could cost you your job, your family, your possession or your life. I hope western atheists keep pushing to rid the world of Christianity. It would be good to see a true revival of Christianity in Europe and North America.

Mohammad - Disingenuous Or Just Stupid?

Islam is a working example of failure by design. I don’t mean failure in numbers of adherents. People are actually drawn to Islam precisely because of it’s fundamental flaws. Unlike Christianity which is based upon a relationship with Jesus, what some people love about Islam or any other man-made religion is that it requires lots and lots of work and ritual and doing, doing and doing some more.

The mistake that Islam and all other man-made religions make is in believing that obeying a set of rules or laws creates a righteous person or nation. The reality of human nature is such that it doesn’t matter how many times a day you pray or how many times that you wash your hands or how many laws your country has governing this or that behaviour. Doing the right thing is an inside job. It does not come from external coercion. If, as a leader you've staked your country's future on the belief that laws are going to keep your society safe, then you’d better have a huge and lethal group of people enforcing those laws.

Islam’s mistake is nowhere more obvious than in its laws forcing women to keep their bodies totally covered. Requiring women to cover their bodies so that men aren’t tempted to lust is an idea completely devoid of insight into the workings of the human soul. Every man ever born knows that lust is a function, not of the eyes, but of the inner self. Whether by willful stupidity or just plain ignorance, Mohammad failed to instruct his followers in the truth that not having sex with someone else's wife in no way indicates that you have a right attitude toward women. This is like believing that my attitude toward my fellow human beings is on track because I haven’t killed anyone.

You will know the true condition of a society’s soul by observing what happens when moral constraints are removed. This was obvious in the fall of Saddam Hussein's Iraq or in the fall of New Orleans after the flood. In humans whose hearts are rightly oriented, the police could leave town from now till eternity and the thought of doing crime would be no greater than it was before the law enforcement left. People whose hearts are rightly oriented don't need the threat of a radar-trap or a security camera in order to do what's right.

Islam has not to date nor will it ever figure this out.