The Response - National Prayer Gathering

Have you heard about The Response, a national prayer gathering being held in Houston, TX on Saturday, August 6th? I wasn’t 100% sure about it when I first heard, but with the American Family Association (AFA) and my church publicly behind it, I’m definitely going. If you’re not going to be in Houston on Saturday, Aug 6, you can actually still register and get involved in many ways: streaming live video of the event, pray at home, get together with your local church to pray on this day, signup to fast during the week, or signup for a daily prayer guide for the first week of August. Please check it out here: http://theresponseusa.com/

This might be the largest coordinated prayer effort I’ve ever been aware of. Not only the 62,000 prayer warriors in Reliant Stadium, but nationwide, especially with AFA behind it. In the book of Isaiah, God cited Israel as forsaking Him and failing to call on His name (Isaiah 43:22) and furthermore “wondered that there was no intercessor” (Isaiah 59:16) to plead for mercy and grace for a nation in greatest need of those two things. In this passage, Isaiah points to Jesus as The Intercessor, but we as the body of Christ are also to be intercessors right here, right now. This is an opportunity to be lifted from the same allegations brought against Israel, such that God will not wonder “that there was no intercessor” but will instead be pleased by those who sought Him with their whole heart and therefore He is found by them (Jeremiah 29:13).

Isaiah 59:1-4, 15b-16 –

“Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened,
That it cannot save;
Nor His ear heavy,
That it cannot hear.
2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God;
And your sins have hidden His face from you,
So that He will not hear.
3 For your hands are defiled with blood,
And your fingers with iniquity;
Your lips have spoken lies,
Your tongue has muttered perversity.

4 No one calls for justice,
Nor does any plead for truth.
They trust in empty words and speak lies;
They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity…

…Then the LORD saw it, and it displeased Him
That there was no justice.
16 He saw that there was no man,
And wondered that there was no intercessor;
Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him;
And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.”

Within the church community, we often hear Jeremiah 29:11 quoted and I love it, but verses 12-13 are just as important:

Jeremiah 29:11-13 – “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”

When I read the book of Isaiah, I cannot help but see the stark reality that the words do not just describe Israel in the time of Isaiah...they are absolutely a description of the United States of America today. Think about these parallels that we in the U.S. have with Israel: a nation established by God, founded on the Bible and God's principles; a nation that has borne fruit for God's kingdom; a nation that has taken an egregious moral wrong turn, embracing greed, lust, deception, selfishness, and idolatry of all forms; justice and truth have become relative terms instead of absolutes based upon God's holy, righteous standard; a nation that has become prideful and forgotten to give glory to God for our successes. What is chilling is what happens to such a nation, as described by Isaiah: it is torn down and sent into captivity for 70 years. I am going to tell you without any reservation, because this is not far-fetched whatsoever, but is simply the obvious truth as a student of God and his ways with His people and nations that He establishes--if our nation does not repent, cry out to God for mercy and grace, and commit ourselves as individuals and as a people to seeking the Lord first, forsaking and abolishing all of the moral decay that we have embraced as a culture, we as the United States of America will also fall, cease to exist, and become slaves to a foreign nation that hates our God and persecutes us for it.

Isaiah 43:22-28 -

"But you have not called upon Me, O Jacob;
And you have been weary of Me, O Israel.
23 You have not brought Me the sheep for your burnt offerings,
Nor have you honored Me with your sacrifices.
I have not caused you to serve with grain offerings,
Nor wearied you with incense.
24 You have bought Me no sweet cane with money,
Nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices;
But you have burdened Me with your sins,
You have wearied Me with your iniquities.
25 “ I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake;
And I will not remember your sins.
26 Put Me in remembrance;
Let us contend together;
State your case, that you may be acquitted.
27 Your first father sinned,
And your mediators have transgressed against Me.
28 Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary;
I will give Jacob to the curse,
And Israel to reproaches."

I am struck by the contrast displayed in this passage. In the same passage, God proclaims two seemingly opposite things: punishment and salvation. He assures wayward Israel that they will have both. How is this possible? Perhaps punishment by hard earthly circumstances is actually the path to salvation...perhaps that is the only way that a rebellious heart can be humbled and confess the need of a Savior. Verse 25 assures us that in the moment we call upon Jesus, our Savior and Intercessor, our sins are blotted out and we are restored to God. In fact, the preceding 21 verses of this chapter are amazing, offering encouragement and the description and assurance of full redemption for God's people.

The following verses in chapter 1 speak to the future of a nation such as wayward Israel and the U.S.:

Isaiah 1:21-28 -

"21 How the faithful city has become a harlot!
It was full of justice;
Righteousness lodged in it,
But now murderers.
22 Your silver has become dross,
Your wine mixed with water.
23 Your princes are rebellious,
And companions of thieves;
Everyone loves bribes,
And follows after rewards.
They do not defend the fatherless,
Nor does the cause of the widow come before them.
24 Therefore the Lord says,
The LORD of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel,

“ Ah, I will rid Myself of My adversaries,
And take vengeance on My enemies.
25 I will turn My hand against you,
And thoroughly purge away your dross,
And take away all your alloy.
26 I will restore your judges as at the first,
And your counselors as at the beginning.
Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.”
27 Zion shall be redeemed with justice,
And her penitents with righteousness.
28 The destruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together,
And those who forsake the LORD shall be consumed. "

The message in its entirety is clear then, that the wayward nation will be punished, and just as gold is refined in the fire, so are God's people. Even if only a remnant remains faithful, they come forth as pure gold. Let's repent now, and spare our nation. Let's cry out in intercession now, with all sincerity, such that God's ear is inclined to move in favor of us and re-establish us as His people. Repent now and fulfill His greatest will, or face the fire, being purified by the trial, such that a smaller remnant remains. We the people have the choice, and we must make that choice right now. Will you pray with us? Will you speak truth publicly, such that evil is exposed and the Gospel is proclaimed? Will you intercede for a nation on the brink of utter captivity--spiritual first, and then physical? If the worst happens, will you be the remnant, purified by the fire instead of burned away for eternity? I pray that you can answer confidently affirmative to each of those questions.

As for The Response prayer gathering, our nation needs this. Our families need this. We need this. God desires this. Let’s stand together and do this! My prayer is that this isn't just a one day or one week event, but that instead it is simply the kickoff of a prayer revolution in our nation and world. Let's first commit to focused prayer time in the coming week for our nation. Let's next commit to this being our new lifestyle--one of sincere prayer and intercession. May the God of all grace and comfort, of all holiness and justice, of all righteous wrath and chastening of those whom He loves, of all sovereignty and power, the God of our salvation and our Redeemer, our hope and our strength, our Counselor and Intercessor, be glorified in all that we do from this day forward, forever. Amen.

Trial by Fire

When is the last time you read through the entire story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in the fiery furnace? If you have not read it recently, I encourage you to read Daniel chapter 3 before reading this post any further. You can read it by clicking this link: Daniel 3.

I grew up around church, so I heard paraphrases of this story many times; however, as an adult, reading directly from the Bible without any paraphrase, these events have much greater power.

To me, the power of this story is putting myself in the shoes of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. Try to put yourself squarely in the shoes of these 3 men. You were once selected as the best looking and brightest of all your countrymen (Daniel 1:3-7), and while the rest were captive as lower class foreigners, you have been chosen to help govern and lead the current world’s greatest superpower. You did this with a faith in God, who established all of these things for His glory. At the recommendation of your close friend Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar has promoted you even further in his kingdom. Life is good beyond your dreams.

Then one day the king creates a gold image and demands that every single person must fall to the ground and worship it when the signal is given. The music plays and the signal is given. Everyone around you falls to their knees on the ground. Startled, you realize you are the only 3 people still standing and every guard and watchman is looking squarely at you. What do you do next?

Unfortunately, I’m afraid that my response would be one of compromise. Not wanting to make a scene, not yet sure of the situation and all of the rules and repercussions, and knowing that I will not actually be worshipping such a goofy piece of gold, I would probably drop to the ground and blend in with the other people. After all, I’m not actually worshipping the thing, right?

Well, that’s not what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego did. They continued to stand and refused to worship in any way, such that it was obvious to the guards that they were disobeying the decree of the king to worship his idol. Can you imagine if even one of them had decided to compromise? Perhaps the other two would have caved at the sight of their comrade no longer standing with them. There is strength in fellowship with other believers. Realize that if you are influenced by others when they either compromise or stand firm, that there are those who are very influenced by you, as well. Are you compromising or standing firm on the principals of God, even when compromising seems justified?

Instead, they stood together. And together they were brought before the king. At this point, they had time to think the entire thing through, and I know that our human nature with the help of the Evil One would be spitting lies and temptations into our hearts. But these three rejected the lies and temptations. Nebuchadnezzar gave them one more chance to save their own lives by simply bowing and worshiping this false god. Once again, we find them doing something that doesn’t just comply with God’s standards, but they seem to take everything one step further to make it very clear that they will not even give an appearance of forsaking their God. Daniel 3:14-18:

“Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? 15 Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?”
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.’”

First of all, Nebuchadnezzar gave a direct challenge to God and His authority by saying, “And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?” This was not a charge against the three men, which would likely spur us in our egos to rebellion because of unchecked pride, and even in this case any personal pride would be put aside at the realization of our helplessness against this king in his court…this was a challenge to God Himself.

Once again, put yourself squarely in the shoes of these men. The king of the greatest world superpower stands directly before you, giving a direct command, and threatening an immediate execution that will be excruciatingly painful (burning). What do you say in response to this king? Perhaps you try to reason with him or make some sort of an offer…maybe you appeal to any compassion in him. Not these men. These three men said, “we have no need to answer you in this matter.” Wow. A king such as Nebuchadnezzar was probably accustomed to eloquent arguments, yet still likely executed even those who respected his authority enough to argue or even beg. But these men once again went the extra step, stating that they, the king’s subordinates, had no need to answer the king. They were walking to their deaths, barring a supernatural movement of God, and they knew it. Yet they did it and with such great faith as they declared that God would rescue them.

Notice lastly their resolve and absolute abandonment to God in their final statement: “But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” They are stating that if God chose instead not to rescue them and to let them die, they would still never forsake Him. They would rather die than worship any other god…even pretend to worship any other god…even once. How many of us can say that we have the faith to trust God to rescue us from our fiery furnaces? How many fewer of us can say that we have the commitment and abandonment to follow God even if He doesn’t rescue us?

There are many lessons here. Firstly, if you follow the Lord, you will be given opportunity. Opportunity to stand for Him in the midst of persecution. Second, if you do stand for Him in those times, you will be tempted to second guess yourself and compromise…you will need perseverance. Third, if you stand unwavering for your Savior Jesus Christ and Father God, you will face the fiery furnace. Yours may indeed be physical death, but for most of us, if not all, it will be in emotional, physical, and spiritual trials that do not claim your life. To offer ourselves as a living sacrifice is often much harder than a sacrifice that would lead to death, and this is the challenge of Rom 12:1-2:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Most of us just find ourselves in the midst some sort of trial. We’re not quite sure how it came about, we don’t know how to get out, and we surely didn’t choose it! But do we have a relationship with God such that we stare down the Adversary and the trial that awaits us because of our faith, to declare God’s power, and to walk willingly, yet helplessly, into the fiery furnaces in our lives? That is an uncommon abandonment to our Lord.

But let’s not forget what awaits those who are thrown into the fiery furnace. My favorite part of the story is when Nebuchadnezzar himself looks into the fire astonished, as he sees a 4^th man and even declares his appearance to be like “the Son of God.” Brothers, sisters, and friends, when we walk into the fiery furnace, Jesus awaits us. He is there. He has been there for us already, bearing our sin and punishment, tempted as we are but remaining blameless, joyfully dying on the cross for our salvation. He meets us in our fiery furnace.

Nebuchadnezzar’s observation included 4 free men walking around in the fire. What must that have been like for these three men? They were privileged to have the closest contact with Jesus in that moment, a privilege only available to those in the midst of the fire. And not just any fire, one that was 7 times hotter than normal…so hot that it killed the guards who approached the fire to throw them in…yet, not a single hair on the heads of these three men loyal to God were singed.

Finally, the story ends with restoration. Much like the story of Job, after suffering beyond what most of us could imagine, Job was re-established with even more than he had before, and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego were promoted to even higher positions than they held previously. Please do not be swayed by the promise of physical riches as the reward for enduring trials for God’s sake. Our hearts are not after God if that is our motivation. But I can tell you with supreme confidence that what awaits you after the trial is of much greater worth than you ever had before the trial, if you walk through it with God. Life with a closer relationship with Christ is worth whatever it took to get you there, no matter how hot the trial. Do you feel like your trial is worse than anything you’ve ever experienced or the experience of anyone else you’ve ever known? Remember that this fire killed everyone who approached the flames, yet God protected his children and servants Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and He will do the same for you. If you give your soul to Him, a God who has never broken a promise and is incapable of doing so, promises to guard you and “uphold you with His righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

I am inspired by the faith and dedication of these men. I am inspired by the presence of Jesus right in the midst of the fire with them. I am inspired by the response of those who witnessed it, testifying that there is no other God. I am inspired by the restoration of these once condemned men, a restoration that is completed in the day of Jesus Christ and our eternities in Heaven. I pray that you are so inspired, that you face your fiery furnace with confidence and trust in our Savior God, and I look forward to celebrating with you in Heaven for eternity. Through God's grace, love, power, and might! Amen.

What Is Your Response to “Bad News?”

Recently I’ve been reading through the book of Acts. It’s almost peculiar how I’ve had a desire to study the book recently, yet I have missed the opportunity to study it in a group setting twice recently. I arrived in a new Sunday school class shortly after they concluded a long study of Acts; and another Bible study group that I was a part of last year, but cannot be part this year, is about to do a 9-month study of Acts. So apparently, God desires that I study it on my own for the time being.

Reading through Acts, there is no shortage of amazing stories…stories of faith, stories of persecution, and stories of God moving supernaturally and decisively in order to establish and grow the church body. Additionally, Acts is a study on communication between God and His servants. There is so much there—ways that God spoke to different people or the same people in different ways at different times. Ways that different people responded to God or the same people responded differently in different situations (Peter is a good example). There are a lot of circumstances to consider…insurmountable circumstances from which God saved Paul and others countless times…and other times when circumstances were fully avoidable, yet God willed Paul and others to go through them and the saints obeyed at their own physical expense (even to death). The lattermost example is the one that caught my eye today. It is the story of Paul willingly and knowingly walking towards His death, first by shear faith in a sovereign God and secondly to achieve a purpose that would be later revealed to Him. This is an uncommon faith that I’m afraid I don’t yet possess and is therefore worth examining in great detail.

Starting in chapter 19, we see Paul’s sensitivity to the Holy Spirit to know that he would go to Rome to preach the Gospel at some point:

Acts 19:21 – “Afterward Paul felt compelled by the Spirit to go over to Macedonia and Achaia before going to Jerusalem." And after that," he said, "I must go on to Rome!”

At this point, Paul was receiving direction. His direction from the Lord was clear: 1. Go to Jerusalem. 2. On the way there, go to Macedonia and Achaia. 3. After Jerusalem, go to Rome. To say much more is speculation, because I do not find much more specific detail in the book of Acts. One could hypothesize that Paul knew where he was to go and in what order only, knowing that his purpose was to continually spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ, yet not knowing many other specifics or purposes, as well as not fully knowing the timing—knowing order only—nor knowing his final fate in each place, especially Rome. On the entire opposite end of the spectrum, one could hypothesize that Paul, through the Spirit, knew all of these things, including his fate in Rome at this time. I tend to lean towards the first hypothesis, but I think the degree to which Paul knew God’s specific, detailed will for him, ranging from one end of the spectrum to the other, as noted above, is less important. I say this because if it was of utmost importance, it would certainly be contained in the Bible.

Nevertheless, Paul certainly had received direction from God and was obeying to the fullest, regardless of any other foreknowledge. We can take one of many lessons right here. It is a luxury to know what God might have you do two steps ahead, but obedience only requires direction for the next immediate step—we must discipline ourselves to have the kind of faith and obedience that stops asking for an entire roadmap, but can instead trust our Creator, Counselor, Savior, and God with one direction at a time.

Part of the reason I lean towards the hypothesis that Paul’s foreknowledge of God’s will to go to Asia, Jerusalem, then Rome was limited…though with clear direction…is that it appears that more and more is revealed to Paul as we progress through Acts. This wouldn’t be noteworthy if it had already been revealed to him sooner. And in fact, in chapter 20 Paul confesses that he goes to Jerusalem “not knowing the things that will happen to me there.” The use of the phrase “happen to me there” indicates to me at least a consideration of personal harm, for otherwise he might have said “happen there” instead of “happen to me there.” Furthermore, Paul senses danger in Jerusalem, yet look at his attitude (speaking to the elders of the church in Ephesus):

Acts 20:22-25 – “And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. 24 But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
25 “And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more.”

In response, the elders wept, signifying a sincere belief that they would never see Paul again.

In chapter 21, we see an even clearer proclamation of what awaits Paul. It turns out that the Holy Spirit had been preparing his heart all along, and Paul was so sensitive to the Spirit to discern it so early, as seen in chapter 19. This time in chapter 21, the message was much clearer:

Acts 21:10-15 – “And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’”
12 Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
14 So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, “The will of the Lord be done.”

15 And after those days we packed and went up to Jerusalem.”

Think about the news that Paul had just received. I’m afraid that my response would in all likelihood be as Luke and the other apostles and saints who accompanied Paul—“Don’t go!” I would probably cite the prophecy as a providential warning from God and justify a change in plans, saying, “we’ll go another time when this threat is dissolved.” But this wasn’t Paul’s response at all. Why?

“Why?” is a very loaded question because it speaks to the very character of Paul and the extent of his relationship with God. In that situation, faced with that “bad news,” only two kinds of men would continue towards Jerusalem: those who are complete and utter fools, and those who are completely abandoned to God’s purpose, such that Paul’s words are true: “But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” Those of worldly mindset cannot discern between those two types of men, the fool vs. the servant of God, but the Spirit of God testifies to truth such that we can discern godly submission and abandonment. Additionally, such a man would have to be more than abandoned to God’s purpose—he would have to hear from the Lord and be absolutely in tune with the Spirit to know and follow God’s will. Abandonment without communication is haphazard, directionless wondering. Communication without abandonment is stubbornness and heard-heartedness that “quenches the Spirit,” leading to no fruitful work. We must have both, and I hope that we can draw on Paul’s example and at least set our faces towards God with that goal…regardless of how far we are from it in this moment…knowing that we desire such utter abandonment for God’s glory, purpose, and pleasure with such sensitivity and intimate relationship with our beautiful, perfect, powerful, loving Father that we would know and discern His good and pleasing will in every such situation. What an amazing richness of life for Paul and for us with such faith.

Finally, we see in chapters 21-24 that the prophecy comes true and Paul is bound in chains, arrested, and even beaten. How merciful that God allowed him to have a warning. But God trusted Paul with that warning because he was trustworthy. A man such as myself may not show themselves to be so trustworthy…any man who would respond by avoiding Jerusalem when hearing the “bad news” would not be allowed to know such information. Make no mistake, God’s will gets accomplished every single time in all things. We get to choose 1. Which side we’re on, and 2. How willingly we will cooperate and obey the Lord. Consider Jonah. He was to go to Ninevah. He didn’t want to go and fled from God. God captured him in the stomach of a whale for 3 days! Jonah repented and went to Ninevah afterall. Now, he could have just gone there when God told him to. Either way, he was going (though he didn’t realize that yet). Things are much easier in life if we’ll just obey the Lord. In Paul’s example, I think it was merciful for God to give him such foreknowledge, such that he would not be utterly surprised and could have such sweet goodbyes with the Ephesians. And those blessings were only available through obedience in the face of such "bad news."

Notice the first time we see God actually speaking to Paul and revealing his will for Paul to go to Rome happens only AFTER Paul was already captured and had to obey in faith through the Spirit, not before:

Acts 23:11 (while captive) – “But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, ‘Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.’”

If you have a “red-letter” edition of the Bible, you will see these words in red, as they are the spoken words of Jesus. This direct communication could have taken place back in chapter 19, but I find it very instructional that God waited until chapter 24 (these chapters are written in chronological order, so keeping track of time by chapter is appropriate). You see, sometimes we seek the Lord with ears that are only tuned into His voice to the extent that an audible voice alone would be discernable. However, it can be clearly seen that Paul was receiving communication from God the entire time prior to Jesus' words to him, through the Holy Spirit. We can take a lesson here. How is God communicating to you this very day? And if you heard Him, how would you respond? Would you respond in self-interest and preservation? Or would you present yourself as a living sacrifice?

Rom 12:1-2 – “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

We marvel at how Paul discerned God’s will so early on, but Rom 12:1-2 ties these concepts together. You see, by presenting himself as a living sacrifice, he was “transformed by the renewing of [his] mind,” such that he was granted the discernment of God’s good and pleasing will through the Holy Spirit. We usually get it backwards: “If I could discern His will, I would know how and where and with what extent to sacrifice. If I knew details, I could obey them.” Ah, but the converse actually is true: only when we present ourselves as living sacrifices, in worship to our God, then we begin to be transformed by the renewing of our minds such that we receive knowledge of His will.

It’s also interesting that such a verse is contained in the book of Romans. Do you know that it is one of the most influential books of the Bible, a roadmap of pure theology, and is the fruit of an obedient servant of the Lord in the face of “bad news?” Paul went to Rome to die, as most scholars agree he died there in captivity. And in preparation for going there—part of the “clear direction” discussed previously—he wrote the book of Romans…glorious fruit of the obedience and faith described in Acts 19-28.

A close friend of mine recently conveyed the following astute observation to me, after considering 1 Peter 4:12ff, which addresses “fiery trials” experienced by Christians, their necessity and normality, and their great purpose: “You know, we don’t tell Christians what the Bible says often. We try to be sympathetic, which is Biblical too, but how often do we follow it with reminding each other to rejoice to the extent that we partake in His suffering? If my ability to rejoice is based upon the extent to which I have shared in His suffering, then I’m not a very joyful person.” Wow, that convicts me. Being robbed of suffering is to be robbed of the joy of God that manifests itself in obedient, abandoned souls with an intimate relationship with God such that His will is in our hearts and we see as He sees…we see and feel as God sees and feels! What joy as a pure fruit of the Spirit when we partake in such trials for the sake of God’s name. Are you so willing to follow God anywhere? If so, what might God do with your smallest of sacrifices? He has brought billions of souls to Heaven through Paul, and He can and desires to do the same with your life. I pray that we would both accept the challenge and responsibility of presenting ourselves as living sacrifices to God, and may the full pleasure of living God’s will in a beautiful, intimate faith in our Creator and Savior be ours forever. Amen.

Year in Review: June

Continuing with the "Year in Review" of 2010 posts, here are three of my favorites from last June:

SUNDAY, JUNE 6, 2010

A Great Struggle: Trial vs.

Complacency

...There are two sent

ences that jump more than any other to me. The first is “I am sorry for the Christian who has not something in his circumstances he wishes was not there.”... (read more)

SUNDAY, JUNE 13, 2010

Are You Comfortable with the Human Predicament?

...The above speaks to confidence or lack thereof in our own abilities and experiences. However, I would like to extend the idea of comfort to a much broader application: the problem with being human verses the holy perfection of God... (read more)

SUNDAY, JUNE 20, 2010

Silent Spirituality

...It happens most purely when no human knows of your impact, but God sees in secret. It happens when the slightest of circumstances gives glory to God in the eyes of an observer and you never know it until Heaven. And it even happens when you are unfortunately aware of your impact and are seen by others as spiritual... (read more)

Idle Time –The Devil’s Playground or God’s? You Decide.

Eph 5:15-16 - “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”

I’ve been challenged by something this week. As usual, when I feel a conviction or challenge and see that it is a good thing, I consider that it might be good for others, as well. Therefore, I am compelled to share. So I offer the following challenge as a gift. “Taste and see that the Lord is good…” (Psalm 34:8) …then pass it on.

This week I have committed to a time of purposeful seeking of the Lord, due to various things in my life. Some very good things, but nevertheless, things that I need to be very near to the Lord through (but shouldn’t this be the case in all things at all times?). In such times, I have found that fasting is a wonderful prescription given by God to those who want to find intimate time with Him, to draw nearest to His face, His very character and being. However, fasting is not appropriate for me this week. I am on vacation with my father, as we take this time every year to enjoy Nascar together, and just spend quality time together in general. (Upon hearing “Nascar,” your view of me may be tainted forever. Yes, I enjoy Nascar very much…there, I’ve admitted it openly!)

This vacation is a time of celebration and a time of fellowship, and to be fasting would be placing myself in an “unequally yoked” position with my father for the weekend. You see, food is something that we share on this trip and it is an integral part. For me to fast from food would be to deprive my dad of a major joy of the trip—the meals that we savor and share. When asked why the disciples were not fasting, Jesus illustrated, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast” (Mark 2:19). Furthermore, Jesus illustrates in Matt 6 that a fast that is pleasing to the Lord is one done in secret…this would be impossible on my trip. Note: There is a time for fasting, and if God reached out and convicted you or me to do so, there would be no excuse good enough to resist Him, no matter how logical.

So I started asking the question this week, “How am I going to give God a special focus? What can I fast from? How can I ensure that I am devoting myself to Him?” The solution that came to mind was very simple and soon it grabbed a hold of me, leading me down the path of conviction that resulted to this blog post. I decided that I would try to replace “idle time” with two things: either prayer or reading the Bible, or both. I decided that step one would be to recognize “idle time,” which it turns out can be a difficult thing to do. I know that I myself have gotten so used to the technology age that I don’t even realize the amount of time I spend with email, that favorite app on the smartphone, seeking entertainment of other kinds, and most shameful of all…Facebook. (To think I was one of the last of my friends to cave in and get on Facebook…and now it is on my list of distractions.) My tone is somewhat facecious in my list of “idle time” distractions above, especially poking fun at Facebook. But at the same time, this is a legitimate concern, especially in the new technology age that is sweeping our cultures and particularly with the youth of today. Go to a public place and just observe the amount of people looking down at their smartphones, etc. I think you’ll find much greater than 50% of people you observe will have their noses buried in them. Of course, I myself do a lot of worthwhile and productive things on my smartphone, as many others do, too…in fact, it has been a blessing from God for increased productivity in my busy life. But at the same time, what if you and I decided to keep a record this coming week of our “idle activities?” Depending on personality, you might make a spreadsheet or you might just ballpark it by feeling at the end of the week. Whatever rigor your personality allows, what if we took a first step and just tried to identify the quantity of time we spend on such “idle” things?

“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” – 2 Cor 10:4-5

So this week, I have tried to “take captive every thought” a little more completely than I’ve ever tried before. I can tell you that I’ve had varied success at best. But the particular level of success is not my point. The point is that I actually have found myself in the Word and prayer more, and I am so thankful for it! Furthermore, I have discovered an opportunity to discard bad habits and in their place construct very good ones. Here was my conviction that led to this post: why is this week any different than others? Why does the attempt to find more and more time with God feel like something special? Shouldn’t that be the norm? Oh my…yes indeed, this should be the norm. What if I took this week and made it the norm going forward?

Think about someone that you care about more than anyone else. Think about someone that you want to spend time with more than anyone else this week. You know that you make time for that person, both because you like spending time with them and because they like spending time with you. Now think about God. What if He was that person every week? What if you desired God to the point that you wanted to spend every spare moment in communication with Him? What if we really loved God, such that time with Him was insatiable and we sought to spend more and more time with Him every week? What if we desired to spend time with Him to the point that we saw every “idle” moment as an opportunity to pray or open the Bible? How might that change our lives? I know it would be a shift in my priorities and I know with 100% certainty that God would bless it.

And that’s just it: priorities. Do your actions and time allocation show God as your number 1 priority? Mine don’t. I might have thought that it did…that is, until a week where I am purposefully filling every opportunistic moment with prayer and Bible study feels special. If that is the exception, then by definition it is not my normal behavior or priority. Though I may be growing in desire for the Lord, which bears fruit of time in the Word and prayer, my “idle” moments show where my priorities lie…and that means that sometimes that smartphone or Facebook or entertainment is a higher priority than God Himself to me. This is convicting. Are you as guilty as me in this?

Let me make a quick note that I don’t believe the most appropriate response to this conviction is to throw out all of our electronics, renounce all entertainment, and lock ourselves in our homes with just a Bible and a water supply. I’m amused at the exaggeration, but my point is that it is just fine to seek times of rest (in fact, rest is an important command from God for us, as well as a blessing) and occasional entertainment. Facebook itself can be a tool for the Lord, and even the silliness of the status update that reads, “Florida is awesome!” is not at all a bad thing in itself. It’s ok to spend some time texting or playing that favorite game on the smartphone occasionally. It’s ok to have a Facebook account. My point is that we can all take stock of our time allocations and at least become purposeful in our time budget decisions. This is something that I think the Lord will bless and replace a heart of stone with a heart of flesh, and with it place in us the desire to spend more “idle” time with Him (Ezekiel 36:25-27).

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” (Eph 5:15-16)

Using these aforementioned things is one way that we can make “the best use of the time,” the technology age, and glorify the Lord. But to do so, we will have to watch our time and habits closely.

I encourage you to take a couple minutes to do the following exercise. Make a priority list. Start with God and work down from there. List general things, such as family, friends, work…and list specific things (maybe as subcategories) like pro baseball games, running, eating/cooking, and even Facebook. Now, after you’ve made this list, take notes on your time allocation to these things in the next week. I know that much of our time is obligation based, such as a job, but nevertheless, take note of it all. After doing that for a week, list your activities in order of time allocation—highest to lowest. This is your priority list, whether you like it or not. If work is 50 hours per week, perhaps that is right where God wants it to be. But if Facebook is 10 hours per week, perhaps that is not right where God wants it to be. The point of the exercise isn’t to analyze that we’re spending a lot of time sleeping and at work—of course we are, as God seems to have designed us that way. The point is to find those activities that have no place being so high on our list (i.e. “idle time” activities), as well as to identify those activities that have slipped way down our priority list. How much time did you or I spend in the Bible or prayer this week? Where does that fall out on our priority list? I just thought of this excerise and therefore haven’t yet been able to carry it out in my own life, but I’m sure I would be embarrassed to share the results. But guess what—this is our starting point, not our finish line.

Will you step up and take the challenge with me going forward? I write this conviction to you not as one who has conquered it, but as someone who struggles with you. I desire that we would both begin to “take every thought captive,” become aware of our “idle time” habits, and seek to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, sacrificing the selves that we have become, and building up new habits for the Lord. New habits that God will love…new habits that we will love! New habits that will absolutely produce fruit, both in us and in those around us. I am convinced that God has absolutely zero “idle time”—He is working in all things at all times. Therefore, I am confident that God can do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine with an offering such as this (Eph 3:20). My prayer is that you are spurred onward into a deeper relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ through such a commitment. May God’s presence amaze you this week and draw you into more quantity and quality time with Him. Amen.