Obeying His Call: The Fullness of the Life of Christ

Matt 10:16-32 – “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. 17 But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. 18 You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; 20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. 21 “Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 22 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. 24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household! 26 Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. 27 “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” 

“The power which men enjoy for a brief space on earth is not without the cognizance and the will of God. If we fall into the hands of men, and meet suffering and death from their violence, we are none the less certain that everything comes from God. The same God who sees no sparrow fall to the ground without his knowledge and will, allows nothing to happen, except it be good and profitable for his children and the cause for which they stand. We are in God’s hands. Therefore, “Fear not.”” – Bonhoeffer, “The Cost of Discipleship,” Ch 25, “The Decision.” (commenting on Matt 10) 


If you are a child of God’s, kept in the Spirit of Christ, you come to no longer fear making wrong steps along your path.  Instead, your only fear becomes the fear of the Lord in denying Christ. Your path is simple: proclaim the life of Christ everywhere you go…that is, the life of Christ Himself, the life of Christ in you, and the life in Christ available for all men who repent and call on Him for salvation. The “everywhere you go,” is less important than proclaiming Him wherever you happen to go. Some go here, some go there, and God will direct. We often get all worked up about which direction to go, taking long periods of time and expending tremendous mental and emotional energy, such that we might walk rightly with God in obedience in the physical places we go and things we do on earth…meanwhile, we give no thought to the fact that wherever we chose or felt led to go, we did not proclaim Christ. The disobedience is in failing to proclaim Christ. What if we spent as much mental energy and dedication to obedience of our Lord simply on proclaiming Him everywhere we went, spending less on where God might want us to go and be? Only then would we have apportioned our seeking of His will and our obedience properly to what matters most. It is as if we are an athlete on the basketball court, trying to decide whether to go right or left…there is likely a best choice, but it is unclear…if we spend our time and energy (there is precious little time and energy on the field of play and in the span of our lives!) determining which way to go, and even choosing well, but we fail to even shoot the ball, have we done well? Certainly not. Too often, we design plays, we seek to be the wisest in our choice of plays and execution of the plays, and then we never even engage in the whole purpose of the play…in basketball, the purpose was to score a bucket, and with the Lord it was to first draw near to Him and second proclaim the life of Christ WHEREVER we go. It is time for us as individual believers to alter our focus in seeking the Lord, looking less for direction for our specific lives (afterall, that is easily selfish in nature), and more to simply be obedient to the call of our Lord WHEREVER we might end up going. Meanwhile, a single sparrow does not fall to the ground without both His knowing and willing, and even the hairs on our head are numbered by our Lord. That’s right, every morning God takes an inventory on even the number of hairs on your head. How much more will He be absolutely present and sovereign in decisions that will alter our lives?! The liberating truth is that we cannot misstep for long if we will obediently proclaim the life of Christ wherever we go, for in proclaiming Christ, what was once a misstep becomes the work of the Kingdom; and living by obedience produced by faith, our hearts will be continually united in Christ. This sounds so simple and easy because it is part of the source of Jesus proclamation that “my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt 11:30). Conversely, as simple and easy as the yoke of Christ is, disobedience to the life of Christ is its proportional opposite, being utterly confounding and impossibly difficult. 


I speak somewhat boldly about this because I have been the self-centered, path-focused believer that I described above. And I am convicted that if I spent half as much fervency in prayer and intentional living to simply obey the Lord WHEREVER I go, proclaiming the life of Christ (that is, equally proclaiming verbally and in living as Christ in both the mundane and exceptional things), my struggle of obedience would not only be more victorious, but I would experience the truth that my Savior’s “yoke is easy” and His “burden is light.” 


When we have been confronted with this liberating truth, the crux of the matter becomes simply obedience to the life of Christ. If we know that when we walk in obedience to the life of Christ WHEREVER we go, we are aligned with Him, whichever path we might have taken originally, then we must simply understand and obey the life of Christ. Therefore, we must spend more time exploring what the life of Christ means in you and me. 


As a sinner, obedience to the life of Christ is first repentance. If we do 100 works of kindness and self-sacrifice daily, ministering to the hungry, needy, and defenseless, but we have not confessed our sin to the Lord, we are not walking in the life of Christ. After confessing our sin, obedience to the life of Christ is in asking Him to replace that sinful nature with Himself. His reply to our pure cry for salvation is that we would “take up our cross daily and follow [Him]” (Luke 9:23). This means that the next step in living the life of Christ is in utterly crucifying my old self, my old life, my entire identity. If any portion of my identity prior to Christ lives on, I have yet to experience the fullness of the life of Christ in me, no matter how noble or moral that old identity may seem. After crucifying our old identities and the sin we were slaves to, obedience to the life of Christ is then surrender to the Spirit of Christ to reign in us. This surrender can only accompany and follow repentance and the crucifying of the old self, or we would still be holding on, if only slightly, to the old self, which is mutually exclusive to surrender. Finally, when we have surrendered and beckoned our Lord’s Spirit to have total dominion over us—our minds, hearts, souls, and lives—obedience to the life of Christ is made manifest in our actions, as we both proclaim verbally the life of Christ wherever we go, and we walk in the Spirit of Christ, abundantly loving in action whomever we come across. We do this as an outpour of the life of Christ within us—it is Christ Himself who is living in action, for “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20). In awe of His grace to give us life for certain death, we then live a life bestowing grace to all who will receive it in Christ. In all of this, there was no mention of how to serve, what action to take, on whom to bestow grace, or where we would live the life of Christ. That is because the when and where are not central—the life of Christ is central and everything else is periphery. And yet, our sovereign God who counts every hair on our heads every morning, is faithful to allow and will only what is profitable for His saints and His Kingdom, down to the minute detail. With that understanding, we can trust Him to guide us and not fear bad decisions of where we might minister, work, play, or live…but instead spend our days and nights praising our gracious Lord and living the life of Christ wherever we might walk. 


Challenge: Tomorrow, when you wake up in the morning, take a moment to pray and consider what obedience to the life of Christ in you means. Consider not where you will go, but instead consider that wherever you end up going, you will obediently live out the life of Christ to every single individual you encounter, as well as alone before God. This becomes a worshipful life lived in spirit, action, and truth. A life of humility and diminished self-thought. A life of surrender and without fear of any earthly thing. This becomes a life of supreme joy and purpose, a life of purified love and kindness, where grace abounds, both given and received. Grace received by you from God, given by you to your fellow man. You may be ridiculed and defamed, you may be physically beaten or even killed, all the while you will be able to say “it is well with my soul” for your soul rests in the grace, promise, and eternal certainty of the life of Christ. You may be highly esteemed and praised, you may be successful and world-changing, all the while you will stand in humility saying “I must decrease, He must increase” (John 3:30) for your identity rests in the life of Christ alone. I pray that you and I will walk in the life of Christ so simply, so powerfully, in such liberty this very day. Amen.

Direction – A Motor Boat of Faith

2 Thess 1:11 – “With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.”

Have you ever asked God for direction? Have you ever in all sincerity presented yourself to the Lord, attempting to be fully abandoned to His any desire and command, but without knowing which way to go? It might be due to a specific decision before you or it might be in the midst of directionless wandering, but in either case, you came to a point where you desired direction, you knew God had specific direction for you, but you did not know what it was? So have I.

I find during these times that at the end of it all…the analysis, the prayers, the listening, the crying out, the searching and seeking…at the end of it all, our response is loosely categorized as one of three actions: we choose to go in the way the Lord would not have us go, we choose to go in the way the Lord would have us go, or we make no active choice in “analysis paralysis.” I have two thoughts about this: 1. How do we get ourselves to do more of the second action, choosing to go in the way of the Lord? 2. Believing in The Sovereign God means more than anything in the world, for even when we have not chosen the Lord, in His sovereignty, grace, and power, He continues to work in those circumstances and bring us back to His preferred will from that point forward, whether or not we made a mistake.

Having a personal relationship with a sovereign, grace filled, fully willing and capable Father God and Savior…I mean really personal, as characterized by frequent conversations and a desire for ever greater unity with Him…this is my only hope. Without knowing that His character is to work for our good (1), that His character is to protect us (2), that His character is to be faithful when we are not (3), that His character is perfect and infallible (4), that He cannot deny Himself (3) and therefore sees all, understands all, works through and in all, and has a place in His heart for us…without knowing this God, my God, and standing on the rock of Christ, I have nothing. And so knowing Jesus is everything, and is certainly everything when we desire direction, especially the more uncertain we are.

I will confess my greatest fear and struggle: I often question whether or not I hear the Lord…or if I’ve ever heard the Lord clearly. Am I being deceived? Have I always been deceived and never knew it? Could I be calling desires of the flesh, the wisdom of man, and the cleverness of the Evil One, God’s voice? What an utterly terrible thought! At these times, there is only one standard to compare these questions to and one place for answers: Scripture. If you have ever come to a place where you doubt your ability to hear from the Lord, please here these words of Truth from the Bible:

John 10:27-28 – “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

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. 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.”

Are you one of Jesus’ sheep or not? Yes or no? No answer in between is acceptable or accurate. I don’t care how good of a person you are, are you one of Jesus Christ’s sheep? I don’t care how much you’ve backslidden and are struggling with sin right in this moment, have you given your life to Christ in sincerity and are therefore one of Jesus Christ’s sheep? No? Then you do not hear The Shepherd’s voice and your every fear is true—you are directionless and floating, and only the divine grace of God in His mercy can move you in a direction such that you come to the point of the path that He would desire for you, most notably to enter His Kingdom by calling on the name of Christ. But right now you are outside of that. I’ll ask again, are you one of Jesus Christ’s sheep? Yes? Then no more doubting—no more! You do indeed hear His voice. You are empowered to do so by the Holy Spirit who was promised and does indeed indwell everyone who has confessed Christ as their God and Savior.

Ok, so I do hear Jesus’ voice. Why do I still not know what to do and feel that I do not have the clarity and direction that I know I need?! Well, many times our lives and our faith in God is much like a motor boat sitting in the water. If you know anything about boats, you know that in order to steer the boat, you must actually have a forward velocity. The forward velocity allows the rudder to push off of moving water, such that the bow of the boat cuts one direction or the other. Furthermore, in many boats, the motor itself turns and the propeller provides the lateral force required to turn the boat to one direction or the other; however, if that motor is not engaged, then turning the motor has virtually no effect. How does this apply? In “analysis paralysis,” we have turned off our motors and have no forward velocity. Now, it is good and wise to take some time to get alone with the Lord and turn off the motors and consider a situation. But sometimes we reach a point where nothing will happen unless we start our motor and begin to move. The amazing thing is that as we begin to move forward, perhaps in the right direction or in the exact wrong direction—we don’t know in that moment—if we then let God steer our vessels, we can find ourselves being redirected in the direction that we should go. Now, if we start the motors and refuse to let the boat be redirected, then we are no better off. We must be willing to step out in faith, keeping a sensitive ear to the Lord the entire time.

To bring this home a little more clearly: I often find myself saying to the Lord, in effect, “If you would show me the way and give me specific direction, then I will start this motor and run full blast in your direction. I just need to know in which direction to point the boat.” And many times, that absolutely clear direction, with physical, concrete proof that the Lord is telling me to do this or that, just doesn’t come. What I find instead is that a healthy approach is the following: “Here is what I think you’re telling me. This is the direction I think you want me to go. I don’t know. I’m willing to be redirected, so please continue to direct me, Lord. Here I go.” At this point we must trust that as His sheep, we hear His voice, we must begin to step out in faith, and we must keep our ears open to His guidance all the more. I find that with a step of faith, it is often the slight forward motion that then brings the clarity of direction that is needed. If there is no step of faith, then nothing happens. And even steps of faith that may not be perfectly calibrated to go in the direction of the Lord’s perfect choosing, as we go, we get guided, so long as we are receptive to the guidance.

2 Thess 1:11 – “With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.”

And so, I encourage you: Stop what you’re doing, consider your heart’s desires and compare them with what you know to be the Lord’s desires. Bring before Him your every anxiety and need for direction. Take time to set yourself aside for prayer, the Word, and even fasting. The direction may be clear. But if not, when you feel that you have no way to find clearer direction and you do not know what to do, search to see if there is a way that you sincerely feel might at all possibly be what God desires. Tell Him, test your heart. Then move. Take a first step of faith, allowing the Lord to completely redirect you. He might, He might not. But either way, the boat is moving and able to be steered. And since we have a perfectly sovereign, grace filled, loving, powerful, willing and capable, Father God who sees all, knows all, and works all things together for our good…since this is our God!...we can move forward in confidence, without fear of misstep.

Step out on faith. Start the boat. Choose a direction. Allow the Lord to redirect you AS YOU GO. May the Lord’s wisdom, discernment, love, and grace fill your heart and mind this very day. Amen.

1 – Rom 28:8 – “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
2 – 2 Thess 3:3 – “But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.”
3 – 2 Tim 2:13 – “if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.”
4 – Isaiah 6:3 – “"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."
Matt 5:48 – “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Decision vs. Discernment

Decision (n) – 1. The act of making up one’s mind

2. Judgment, determination

Discern (v) - 1. To perceive by sight or the mind

2. to distinguish mentally; recognize as distinct or different

When facing choices, whether easy or difficult, do you set your mind to decide or discern what is best?

I found myself praying and mulling over some upcoming choices with the Lord this week. Sometimes, the Holy Spirit works in a way that separates my ears and mouth. What I mean by this is that I’ll hear something I say in prayer and have an immediate reaction upon hearing the words, as if I am not the one who spoke them. And so this week I prayed, “Lord, please help me to decide and discern what is best. I’m not sure I have enough info and I need your help to make the right decision.” Immediately, I was convicted of the difference between seeking to decide and seeking to discern.

Before I dive into the superlative nature of discernment over decision, let me first give merit to proper decision. A hymn that I love says, “I have decided to follow Jesus,” and it is both beautiful and accurate. As Christians, we have decided many things. First, we have decided to follow Jesus. We have since decided to put on the armor of God and fight sin. We have further decided to take up our cross daily and welcome sanctification. And we may have even made many life decisions, such as where to live, work, go to church, have relationships, and general lifestyle choices. However, in these latter things, the discernment mindset is superior to the decision mindset.

Heb 4:12 – “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

Another quick disclaimer for those of similar temperaments to me and in order to be thorough: finding the dividing line between decision and discernment is very difficult and the lines will often seem blurred instead of clear. Thanks to God that we have His Word, which is sharper than any double edged sword, dividing truth and error, joints and marrow, outward actions or the most subtle inward thoughts. It is a broad sword and a surgeon’s scalpel all in one, lopping off the head of the evil one and also discerning the most subtle truths of God and man. Therefore, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to divide to the uttermost precision differences in attitudes and behaviors such as the decision and discernment mindsets.

Note that decision and discernment, though different, are often overlapped in space and time. For instance, you must first decide to pursue discernment. And once you have discerned, you have the decision to obey God or not obey. Decision in the absence of discernment is the source of catastrophe, both personal and sociological. It is the folly of man to make decisions without the wisdom of God. However, decision with discernment at the helm is the source of living and leading in God’s will. I encourage you to set out to discern God’s very mind, His good and pleasing will, then simply decide to follow what He reveals as His will.

The key truth here is that the decision mindset carries within it the sense of one’s self and will. If “I” make a decision, then “I” have chosen what “I” think is best, regardless of the complexity and how selfless my criteria might be. The key is that I am placing the emphasis on my analysis, logic, and wisdom by regarding anything as “my decision.” Compare this to submission or subordination, where I follow the wishes of another who has made the decision. In this case of submission, I am merely following and not deciding anything myself, except to obey the orders, no matter what measure of analytical skill or logical thinking abilities I may have. Any abilities or judgments of my own are irrelevant in that situation because the decision is not mine to be made, except to obey.

I often set myself into deep thought and analysis to thoroughly consider a situation, decipher facts from misleading fictions, trying to consider all affected parties, and determine the greatest utility between option A or B for the entire framework of affected parties. I know that whichever option can be most pleasing and useful for our Lord is the best, and so I seek to make the best decisions for His will. This is a seemingly noble approach, especially since God has equipped us to learn the Word and live in the Spirit to make good decisions; but when we have listened to the Word or the Spirit, I submit that we have done less deciding and instead, more discerning. Think about it: God already foresaw this decision, and in fact, he has placed it directly in front of you to make this very choice, such that in doing so you grow closer to Him and glorify His name. He knows your affinities, your tendencies, your weaknesses and strengths. He knows to what degree you listen to Him and to what degree you do not. And He already knows the very best “decision.” Now, if your God is with you wherever you go (Matt 28:20) and seeks to speak truth to you and guide you unto all truth (John 16:13), and has all powerful wisdom in all things, and tells us that if we ask we will receive (Matt 7:7-9, Luke 11:9-10), then why in the world would we try to make any component of any “decision” without hearing from Him and choosing His choice in obedience, regardless of how we’ve analyzed it ourselves?

In view of these truths, it is clear that the answer is in seeking His face and discerning His will, not in making a decision. The decision has already been made in Heaven! God’s wants option X! Do you perceive it? How can you be sure that your decision matches His will? The only answer is discernment. And in addition, the seeking to discern God’s will is as much his very will as the specific choice that He desires. Anything less than fully seeking Him in discernment, combined with making the correct choice (obeying His will), is less than His perfect will. Discernment without choosing what God chooses is disobedience. And choosing what God chooses without purposefully setting out to discern His will is His divine providential mercy and accomplishes His physical purposes, but has left us void of the glory of pursuing Him as He wills (We are apt to credit our own logical and analytical abilities in that situation, a dangerous place to be. Even the evil kings of the old testament and every evil man since has been used to fulfill God's purposes.). Furthermore, every good decision ever made by any man was either discernment coupled with obedience or God’s sovereign guiding hand. The former is God’s preferred will and the latter is His allowed will. The former is growth in relationship with God, yet the latter can lead us away from Him personally, as we become more self-reliant...even though in the good decision the physical happenings remain squarely within His sovereign will, our attitude of not seeking Him first leads to greater distance from Him. Therefore, we must both be seeking discernment and and following it with obedience to walk in God’s will.

You see, even though the approach of wanting to make our best decision seems noble, it is like a child who has been sent to the grocery store to pick up a key ingredient for the dinner that their parent is preparing. If the child initially seeks their parent’s guidance and upon hearing that there is a missing ingredient, immediately sets out to retrieve the item without hearing the specific instruction about which item is missing, the child is likely to miss the mark. Now, what an amazing instaneous response of service! What a heart to please their parent! Much like Peter, immediate action shows a good heart, but not necessarily wisdom in the action or decision. Sometimes, we don’t listen closely enough to our Father to hear the rest of the instruction, to discern His specific will. Suddenly, we find ourselves needing to make a decision, and though we may be skilled decision makers, how can that replace discerning the exact will of God?

I do not mean to split hairs here, so to speak, but I do intend to divide joints and marrow, truth and error, and I have found within me a source of error when I have considered big choices a matter of decision making instead of a matter of discernment seeking. The difference is somewhat self reliance versus complete dependence on God. If even a grain of sand’s worth of self-reliance is left in me, it must die, and the same is true for you. Not there yet? Take heart, it is a life-long journey that concludes in the perfection of Heaven for believers in Christ. But until then, let’s be on our way, let’s search out the great boulders or grains of sand of self-reliance and lack of faith in ourselves, confess to the Lord, and be refined for His purpose and glory, which is also our joy. I encourage you to take a challenge with me: the next time we find ourselves saying, either out loud or in our heads, “I need to make a decision” or “I’m not sure what to do,” instead replace those words with “I need to discern God’s will” or “I have not yet discerned God’s preference” in all sincerity. I believe that as we seek to commit our minds to discernment, we will not only find that God responds with true discernment and wisdom, but that we also have a peace in every choice, large and small, that we did not have before. May the God of all wisdom, all peace, all knowledge, all love, and all grace pour out His Spirit upon you this day with discernment for every decision and in all things. 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.

How Does God Lead You?

Close your eyes for a moment and think of God. When you think of God, what do you see?

Now, think of a current circumstance that you aren’t quite sure about, or you’re wrestling with, a decision that you’re not sure how to make, or a desire that you are submitting to the Lord. It has to be current—this is important. Now, thinking about that thing, close your eyes for a moment and think of God. Think of what He is thinking about you and how you are going through that circumstance or decision. When you think of God at those times, what do you see? What is God’s demeanor toward you in that situation? And lastly, how does God lead you?

That exercise is a little abstract and I am not an abstract individual, being an engineer that likes clear guidelines, simple rules, and logic. But I think it is an important exercise because it can be revealing of our mental constructs of God…God as we perceive Him, not necessary God as He is.

The reason for the exercise above is that I’m trying to share with you my recent experience and realization of my flawed perception of God. Specifically, concerning some things that I’ve been praying about recently. This is because my view of Him is too often as the tester and me the test taker. Granted, we do at times receive tests from God and you can see some examples in Scripture; however, I have a very incomplete view of God when I’m calling on His help and direction if I think He is looking at me merely as a tester, simply setting a standard that I cannot reach and can therefore never fully please Him or quite get it right without significant mistakes.

This may sound a little harsh, but I have found that it can be a common view of God. And I’m thankful for the self-realization that I have at times been viewing a perfect, loving, sovereign Father as simply a tester…at least in my mental image of Him in these specific situations. Here’s a fact for you and me: we will come across numerous decisions that are of very high importance and a very high degree of difficulty to discern what is best. There are many reasons for this: limited human knowledge and foresight, yet to be developed faith and relationship with God, temptations and spiritual warfare, and a general difficulty in sorting out the good from the best. God’s plans are always not only good, but the best. Additionally, even in less important decisions that aren’t the highest degree of difficulty, we can easily feel lost without a compass or map.

It can be difficult to separate the affinities of our human flesh from the desires of God. We need a mechanism to hear from Him. A mechanism to be led. Without that mechanism, no matter how wise we have been blessed to be, no matter how logical, no matter what our track record of good decisions, without His guidance we will make many terrible decisions and find ourselves far from His good and pleasing will.

This sounds a little scary and it should. We should be scared to death to walk out from the care and protection of our Father God. We stand in His protection even as we rebel against Him and only on rare occasion does He grace us with the experience of His hand removed from our lives. I say “grace us” with that because it is a supreme reality check that will drive the believer—one who knows a relationship with Jesus—to recognize the error of his ways and come running back to the open arms of our God. Rebellion has been exterminated in that moment. I know because I have experienced it, and I am thankful for God’s perfect way of chastening those whom He loves, including you and me (Heb 12:5-6).

Back to the principal question: How does God lead you? The fact of the matter is that He leads you as a Father. Think of your father or mother or whomever has held authority over you and loves you more than anyone else you know…it could be anyone, so long as they love you and have had an influential role in your life. Imagine wondering, “should I go left or should I go right?” when doing so will have a potentially major impact on your life and you literally have no information about either road. Now think about asking that loving person in your life which way you should go. Now imagine that they have perfect knowledge of each road and a perfect desire for your best well-being. Could you trust them with the direction they give you when you ask? Most certainly.

I have painted this picture of a perfect person in the attempt to display God’s character and relationship with each of us. But I believe this is a very good picture of our God. For me, I think of my Dad. I have full confidence that my Dad will lead me in the way that he thinks is best and that he will do just about anything within his power to enable me down the right road or prevent me from the wrong road. I have no doubt and full confidence in the love of my Dad and his intentions. However, my Dad is a man, just like you and me, with limited knowledge and foresight. So intention is not enough. My point is that I can see God a little more clearly with this example in mind, except with perfect knowledge and foresight. Can I trust Him to lead me? Absolutely! Is He sitting in Heaven with His arms crossed, wondering if I can pass the test? I don’t think so. You see, I think when we approach our Father in Heaven with a sincere plea for His hand and face to guide us unto His preferred will, I think He is bent forward, looking intently at us with joy, and doing His utmost to guide us on His path. This is not the picture of a simple “tester.” This is the picture of a loving Father. A most capable Father.

With this view, we can have every confidence that God will absolutely not lead us whatsoever into any bad paths and decisions. Unfortunately, just as with my earthly father, I do have the option of disobedience and ignoring him. God allows that. But He continues to speak right through it. And if we will turn our ear toward Him, we will hear a Father…a real Father, who is fighting for us with fierceness…who is absolutely doing everything we need to guide us unto the His preferred path. I hope that you can take confidence in that. You don’t have to wonder what God’s response is to your prayer—His response is to absolutely guide and direct you down the correct roads. Never stop listening.

You may rightly ask, “But I just don’t know how to listen. I just don’t hear anything. How would I even know His voice? I’m not sure I’ve ever heard it, and if I did, how would I know it was of Him and not of me?” I hypothesize that you have had these thoughts simply because these are my thoughts. Yet, when I look back, I see His hand clearly even when I didn’t perceive it in real time. One thing I’ve noticed: God sometimes speaks very boldly and loudly, but in my experience, He is usually soft spoken and subtle. I have heard it said that the loudest man in the room is the most insecure. I’ll give room for individual personalities and acknowledge that some people are just naturally loud and God uses that. However, the statement paints the picture that the volume of speech is not necessarily an indicator of the authority of the individual. Someone with authority will raise his voice and others are quieted and listen. Someone with even greater authority will simply talk in a low voice and others will be quieted and listen.

God needs only to whisper and matter can be arranged, created, or destroyed. He can literally breathe life into something or withdraw its life. This is a God that needs only to whisper His commands and we should be so intent on His voice that we respond. Nevertheless, this truth does not offer practical help to one asking the questions in the previous paragraph. A reasonable response might be, “I know what I should do and be, but that doesn’t help me do it.” Indeed. There are two principal means by which God will speak to you…personally. Through His Word and in prayer. Remember, we have this promise:

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. 30 I and My Father are one.” - John 10:27-30

How do we become good, attentive sheep who know the voice of Jesus, our Counselor? It takes some time and effort to grow in tune with our Shepherd’s voice. Think about training an untrained dog. The first time you ask your dog to sit, does he or she sit? Of course not. In time, if you are patient and persistent, and your dog continues to pay attention to you, respecting you and desiring to please you, your dog will learn to sit. In fact, you will both soon enjoy the exercise. Now, please don’t be insulted when I say that we are similar to dogs here. However, I think the gap between us as humans and Creator God is greater than the gap between dog and human. We didn’t create that dog. So the analogy holds, I believe. The point is that we turn toward our Father God with respect and a desire to please Him. God is in turn very patient and persistent. And though we struggle at the beginning, in time, if we will not give up, we will find ourselves learning His commands and obeying with mutual joy. This training is accomplished by time in the Word and prayer, which through the assurance of God's Holy Spirit, we can receive His perfect instruction.

"But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." - John 14:26

Resolve to spend time in the Bible with sincere attention, and absolutely commit yourself to consistent time in prayer, and I can assure you that your Shepherd’s voice will become clearer than ever. Until then, while you’re gritting it out in the unknown, take a step forward in confidence, calling on your Father God. He will not let you go far down the wrong path before helping you toward the right direction. In fact, He is guiding you to His best right now.

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” -Jer 29:11

Amen.

A Foggy Future, a Sovereign God, and a Savior Who is the Way

Proverbs 16:9 – “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.”

Tonight was yet another night that went in no way how I planned it. And I’m thankful for a sovereign God who directs all things for the good of those who love Him (Rom 8:28).

You see, I’m a planner by nature. If that wasn’t enough, this part of my personality is drawn out and amplified in my daily job as a chemical process engineer. The problem with being a planner is that as much as we like to feel that we are in control as we attempt to lay out every detail or even just major markers for the future is that our vision is so foggy as we look forward. This is true in my job in a petrochemical manufacturing plant, as you have to accept the presence of “daily, routine emergencies” that inevitably pop up, and it’s certainly true in the course of our lives.

I will conjecture that well over 50% of those who might read this post would concede that they attempt to plan ahead and find themselves planning beyond their capability of bringing those plans to completion. And I would assert that the remainder of those who don’t put themselves in this category are either in denial or haven’t considered the statement or themselves closely enough (I say this somewhat jovially). Basically, as humans, we have a natural tendency to attempt to control or plan our lives beyond our ability to practically bring those plans to fruition.

For instance, what do you plan to do tomorrow? Go to work perhaps. Maybe do some work on your place of residence. Maybe you have something fun planned. Maybe you simply plan to wake up and eat at some point. Regardless, you have an idea of what you anticipate you will do tomorrow. Think logically and I believe you’ll agree that there will be some details, however seemingly minor, that will not go as you planned…and it’s possible that you will do none of the things you planned to do. Cars break down, people get sick, flights get delayed, alarms fail to go off. Interactions with others divert us from our previously mapped out life-routes, even if they are as simple as what we planned to eat.

Tonight I planned to read the book I just started, “The Case For Christ,” and then take a nap on my flight home. Well, the flight got delayed, and I was able to start the book (which is awesome, by the way). However, I was then engaged in a conversation with the random stranger sitting next to me in the terminal. From that point forward, my night deviated completely from my plans.

Could I have used the sleep? For sure. Could I have used the insightful points in the book? Absolutely. Was what actual occurred better than what I had planned? Without a doubt. The second most important reason why I know this course of events was better than my plans is because I can readily see that God placed this man of God and me in each other’s paths tonight, simply by the fruit of the conversation. However, the most important and universal reason why these events were better than my plans is this: our God is a sovereign God.

Proverbs 19:21 states, "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails." Oh, how true, as I’ve experienced this truth in pleasant examples such as tonight, as well as in very difficult ones from my past.

Where is our faith in God if He is not absolutely sovereign? It is nothing without His sovereignty. If my God is not ruler of all and absolutely guiding the path of those who are loyal to Him, where is my confidence in the next step I will take tomorrow in any direction, especially when it doesn’t go according to plan?

We need to have faith in a sovereign God. Walking through life, looking forward into the future, is like looking though a dense fog. We can get a general idea of where we think we’re going, but we really can’t see very far forward. At other times, the fog is so dense that we cannot see our hands in front of our faces. Think about it: if we cannot expect tomorrow to go exactly as planned, how can we expect next year or a lifetime to go as we would plan? How do we move forward in spite of our limited vision?

One way is haphazardly. We may be bold, we may be courageous, but if our guide is not our sovereign God, we will surely misstep and it is going to cost us dearly. The revelation of our sovereign God comes through Scripture, but also in personal experience as we look backwards at the road we’ve traveled while not walking with God, as well as the road we’ve traveled when walking with God. Reading through Isaiah in BSF this year has driven home one point to me personally above all else: our God is a sovereign God. Additionally, reading though the Old Testament and Bible in its entirety paints an overwhelming picture of the sovereignty of our Lord.

Moreover, the contrast between the fog when looking forward vs. the clarity when looking back at our past can be striking. As we look at where we’ve been and what we’ve come through, we see the preferred road much more plainly, as well as the many pitfalls and jagged snares that threaten our lives. We see the path we walked when not trusting in our sovereign Lord that took us through the snares and pitfalls; but we also see the path that we walked when our Lord was our guide and are amazed at the snares we almost stepped in, only to be saved one step short of them. We marvel further when we recall that those seemed like the worst parts of the journey—the painful correction back to God’s path when we didn’t get things the way we thought we wanted them. Thank our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for redeeming us from our path of evil snares and saving us to Him: the Way, the Truth, and the Life!

John 14:6 – “I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

With our rearview mirror clear, we can glance back at our lives, recognizing the sovereignty of our God, and with more boldness and fervor than ever, step forward into the foggy future with our Savior.

The fog blanketing the future is Time. As beings bound by time, we have a blanket of fog on our futures. But God created time. God is not bound by time and can see the way with utmost clarity—after all, He Himself is the Way. Therefore, we can trust our Guide to guide us unto all truth, who is the Holy Spirit, imparted to those who know Jesus as their Savior:

John 16:13 - "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come."

Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Being guided unto all truth is being guided unto His sovereign way, which is being guided unto life on earth in time and space, and eternally with Him in Heaven.

How can you get in touch with your Creator, your Savior, your Guide, your sovereign God? He promises to come to those who sincerely seek Him.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 – “ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ”

Ask Him, He is there. I once only had knowledge of this truth through Scripture, but I can testify that I now have knowledge through personal experience. How will you step forward into the fog of tomorrow? Will you risk your life, now and eternal, by going forward haphazardly? Will you be paralyzed by lack of vision, unable to move forward from your current situation? Or will you seek, come to know, and trust your sovereign Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, moving forward with confidence, peace, and joy?

Thank you, Lord, that you love me and are there for me. May we seek you with all of our hearts. Forever. Amen.

Recognizing and Responding to the Call - Wisdom from Oswald Chambers

"My Utmost For His Highest," Jan 14(http://utmost.org/called-by-god/):

CALLED OF GOD
"Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me." Isaiah 6:8

God did not address the call to Isaiah; Isaiah overheard God saying, "Who will go for us?" The call of God is not for the special few, it is for everyone. Whether or not I hear God's call depends upon the state of my ears; and what I hear depends upon my disposition. "Many are called but few are chosen," that is, few prove themselves the chosen ones. The chosen ones are those who have come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ whereby their disposition has been altered and their ears unstopped, and they hear the still small voice questioning all the time, "Who will go for us?" It is not a question of God singling out a man and saying, "Now, you go." God did not lay a strong compulsion on Isaiah; Isaiah was in the presence of God and he overheard the call, and realized that there was nothing else for him but to say, in conscious freedom, "Here am I, send me." Get out of your mind the idea of expecting God to come with compulsions and pleadings. When our Lord called His disciples there was no irresistible compulsion from outside. The quiet passionate insistence of His "Follow Me" was spoken to men with every power wide awake. If we let the Spirit of God bring us face to face with God, we too shall hear something akin to what Isaiah heard, the still small voice of God; and in perfect freedom will say, "Here am I; send me."

Pair this up with recent insight from previous days' "My Utmosts:"

"If we obey God, it is going to cost other people more than it costs us, and that is where the pain begins. If we are in love with our Lord, obedience does not cost us anything— it is a delight...
Beware of the inclination to dictate to God what consequences you would allow as a condition of your obedience to Him." - Jan 11

"We seem to think that God wants us to give up things! God purified Abraham from this error, and the same process is at work in our lives. God never tells us to give up things just for the sake of giving them up, but He tells us to give them up for the sake of the only thing worth having, namely, life with Himself." - Jan 8

"He went out, not knowing where he was going —Hebrews 11:8

Have you ever “gone out” in this way? If so, there is no logical answer possible when anyone asks you what you are doing. One of the most difficult questions to answer in Christian work is, “What do you expect to do?”You don’t know what you are going to do. The only thing you know is that God knows what He is doing. Continually examine your attitude toward God to see if you are willing to “go out” in every area of your life, trusting in God entirely...
Have you been asking God what He is going to do? He will never tell you. God does not tell you what He is going to do— He reveals to you who He is." - Jan 2

"There are times when you can’t understand why you cannot do what you want to do. When God brings a time of waiting, and appears to be unresponsive, don’t fill it with busyness, just wait. The time of waiting may come to teach you the meaning of sanctification— to be set apart from sin and made holy— or it may come after the process of sanctification has begun to teach you what service means. Never run before God gives you His direction. If you have the slightest doubt, then He is not guiding. Whenever there is doubt— wait.

At first you may see clearly what God’s will is— the severance of a friendship, the breaking off of a business relationship, or something else you feel is distinctly God’s will for you to do. But never act on the impulse of that feeling. If you do, you will cause difficult situations to arise which will take years to untangle. Wait for God’s timing and He will do it without any heartache or disappointment. When it is a question of the providential will of God, wait for God to move." - Jan 4

I'll admit, I don't have all this put together in my mind yet, either. I know to wait on God, for His timing is perfect. I also know to listen in the waiting and when I hear His still, small voice, to say "Here am I, send me!" I also know that it takes faith, beyond what is certain or logical, such that we will go out like Abraham, "not knowing where he was going." I know that we must count the cost, not just to ourselves to but to loved ones and those around us, and that any cost to us or others is no reason not to obey the call, but rather to prepare our hearts for His work. I know that although the call can bring sacrifice to others and myself, that the call is a delight, for we "Delight [our]selves in the Lord, and he will give [us] desires of [our] heart" (Psalm 37:4). I also know that I cannot dictate what consequences will be conditions of my obedience or what the call may be--but that obedience is our only condition.

The paragraph above is just a brief summary of the "My Utmosts" quoted above, and each is sound and in agreement with the Word. However, how do we apply each of those things correctly, such that we are not either over eager or too hesitant? Again, I'll admit that I'm still figuring it out, but I love to ponder these things and I hope you do, too. I think of it like this:

In the moments before the start of a horse race, each horse is in the gate with the rider poised for the start. But there is silence. Some horses stir a bit, getting anxious for the start--these often get poor starts. Some horses and riders are almost too relaxed or not on full alert, such that when the gate drops, there is a slight enough hesitation to put them in the back of the pack at the start. In any case, all horses and riders are ready to some extent, yet the gate has not been dropped.

Sometimes I think we need to have the attitude of the horse and rider behind the starting gate. We should not try to charge ahead while the gate is in place! We will be disqualified from that race and have to wait for the next one. By the same token, we should make sure we've gotten to the gate and in position, or the race will start without us. But I think we can be like that well-trained horse and rider, ready for the drop of the gate. Until the gate drops, until the Lord makes it clear without a doubt that we are to charge forward, we wait. Immediately upon dropping the gate, immediately upon picking up on that still, small voice, we go out with all we can muster, though we don't know what the race is going to look like--will my horse grab the lead or will I be last? Will the track be slippery? We go out without knowing where we are going, but we go at the drop of the gate. Others will not be chosen by God for this race that we're running, though we may wish that we could run with them. "Run with endurance the race marked out for you" (Heb 12:1). We may feel that we wanted to go with others on their races before us (their calls), or that we want to bring others and not "leave them behind" in our own minds, but God has called each to a race marked out for them. We cannot consider what it is costing them or us to run this race--we simply run the race marked out for us. And though we do not know all the consequences and there was sacrifice in leaving our comfortable stables to get out on the edge in the race, putting ourselves at risk, we can forget all the other distractions and realize the great exhilaration of the race--we are running with the wind in our faces! But only if we have gone through the life-long training, only if we've taken our place at the starting gate, only if we've waited for the gate to drop, and only if we'll charge forward when the gate is dropped, knowing perhaps little more than that a gate has been dropped, we are here and equipped by our Master Trainer, and we must run the race He has marked out for us.

All of the above alludes a specific call for ministry. As if we as riders and horses are committing to something new and different that is full-time ministry. Indeed, this fits, I believe, and you and I may very well need to read it that way. However, we might want to examine in what way we define "full-time ministry." When you hear that, I'm sure you think of pastors and missionaries, etc. Indeed, they are included. But could you be in full-time ministry right where you are? Could you be an engineer, school teacher, doctor, or lawyer in full-time ministry right now? I believe the answer is "yes." We often think about "going out without knowing" as being discarding all for the sake of a career in ministry. That may very well be your call--do not dismiss it if He is asking! And if you're unsure, then you can still start in obedience by making your life and career full-time ministry right now. The difference is attitude and approach to the work day. The difference is attitude and approach to friendships. The difference is attitude and approach in your thought life. We can "take every thought captive" (2 Cor 10:5) in the working world, doing everything "...with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters" (Col 3:23) being ambassadors for Christ every day.

I do not want to discount the calling to pastors and missionaries here. I believe that as many will read this, less are going to commit to such service for God than He has called. "Many are called, but few are chosen." As O.C. writes, few prove themselves chosen by responding to the call. In encourage you, in whatever way the Holy Spirit is guiding you right now, do the following:

- Listen for God continually while you wait and as you go out
- Wait for the Lord's direction that you KNOW is from Him
- When you act in obedience, go out without knowing or being hindered by the consequences for you and others
- Check to make sure that whatever the sacrifice, you still have the full joy of the Lord
- Start living for Him in full-time ministry right where you are today
- At any snare, at any success, at all times, "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess 5:17)

If you can satisfy these conditions, I believe that the Lord has you right where He wants you, your life will never be the same and for the better, and we are one step closer to walking down the path of His preferred will.

If this is all confusing, I understand. You might throw everything written here out the window and do just one thing: pray. You don't need me or anyone else to tell you what God can tell you Himself through prayer and sincere study of His Word. I write these things to be a catalyst in your relationship to Him, not at all to be a substitute. Your inspiration can start while reading here or "My Utmost" or any other Christian writing, but it must immediately be fed by the Source, God Himself. This is endeavored through prayer and Scripture.

May the Holy Spirit speak to you today, and may we both respond to His voice in the way that is most pleasing to our Father in Heaven. Amen.

Seeking a Prophet – When We Desire a Word from the Lord Today

This week in Bible Study Fellowship (BSF), we were studying Hezekiah and the events during his reign as king of Judah, specifically when Assyrian king Sennacherib threatened to overtake Jerusalem and the entire southern kingdom (Isaiah 36-37). Hezekiah’s response to intense pressure and impending exile by a foreign nation was most impressive—He sought the Lord immediately and with utmost sincerity. I know we can all take a lesson from that.

One of the interesting actions that Hezekiah took upon hearing the threats of the invading army outside of the city was his summoning of Isaiah. Isaiah was the prophet appointed by God in the kingdom of Judah throughout the span of several kings, including Hezekiah. Isaiah was the Lord’s man—God spoke directly to Isaiah with words to speak to the rest of His people. I believe that Hezekiah recognized this fact and rightly revered Isaiah as being God’s chosen messenger.

Hezekiah tore his clothes and went straight to the temple upon hearing the news from the Assyrian army commander. He also sent for Isaiah, signifying his total and utmost seeking of God. He needed to hear from God for guidance or encouragement or repentance or just any word from the Sovereign God of Israel. God responded by speaking through Isaiah. The response was to have faith and be reminded of the promises He had made: in this case, the king of Assyria would not enter the city and his entire army would be wiped out. How, they did not know—but this was the word of the Lord.

See Isaiah 10, specifically v. 32-34, for the prophecy of Assyrian demise years earlier. In Isaiah 36-37 we see them come to “the hill of Jerusalem” and “shake their fist,” yet they were wiped out as chapter 10 depicts (and again in another prophecy in Ch. 37). You see, the Assyrians did more than taunt Jerusalem, filled with God’s people, and Hezekiah, who was God’s appointed king—they insulted God Himself, saying, “Do not let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, ‘The LORD will deliver us.’ Have the gods of any nations ever delivered their lands from the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand? 20 Who of all the gods of these countries have been able to save their lands from me? How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from my hand?” (36:18-10) We might reply similarly to Hezekiah and say, “silly man, those gods were fake. In having those “gods,” they had no God!” Nevertheless, this kingdom of Assyria dared to exalt themselves above God and publicly ridiculed Him. In Hezekiah’s sincere prayer, we see a powerful attitude that we should all seek to possess:

“LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 17 Give ear, LORD, and hear; open your eyes, LORD, and see; listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.
18 “It is true, LORD, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands. 19 They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. 20 Now, LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, LORD, are the only God.” (37:16-20)

Hezekiah’s plea wasn't simply for his wellbeing or the wellbeing of any loved one or even his entire people—His plea was for the integrity of the Lord to remain sound, so that all would know Him as the only one real and true God of the entire world. Hezekiah’s grief went beyond his fate and that of his people—His grief stretched to the blaspheming of the name of God. And within the sincerity of that prayer, and the truth of the Assyrian pride and defaming of God Almighty, God moved swiftly. He not only sent word to Isaiah to comfort and strengthen Hezekiah and Judah, but He sent His wrath to the Assyrians. We read later how the angel of the Lord actually killed about 185,000 of the Assyrian warriors as they slept. Only a handful, including King Sennacherib, woke up the next morning to the horrifying and inexplicable scene. Later, King Sennacherib was killed by his sons in the temple of a false god, according to the prophesy the Lord gave Isaiah in response to Hezekiah’s request (37:7, 38). Our God is good and His Word has perfect integrity and truth.

This is a riveting story that could be made into a blockbuster historical-style film. However, my inspiration tonight goes back to Hezekiah calling upon Isaiah in his time of distress, in addition to going straight to the temple. You see, a righteous man such as Hezekiah would know full-well that Isaiah was the Lord’s chosen prophet—He was effectively the mouth of God to these people. The Lord’s prophecies through Isaiah were fulfilled both in their day and in generations to come (more prophecies about Jesus come from Isaiah than any other prophet). So we see that in times of distress, good kings sought prophets to bring a true word from God—to bring guidance, to bring conviction when repentance was needed, to bring encouragement when the Lord’s favor was with them…and simply to receive whatever it was that the Lord desired to tell them, for better or for worse. Seeking the Lord’s prophet was seeking God, for they knew that God would speak through him.

I think we can apply this directly to our lives. Are you in a bit of a quandary right now? Would you like to hear from God on what to do, what to choose, or where to go? Are you undergoing trial right now? Do you need to be convicted for repentance or encouraged that the Lord is with you and will deliver you? Do you need hope? Do you simply seek His presence and to hear from Him in a very real way? Do what Hezekiah did—seek the Word of the Lord.

In the days of Hezekiah and Isaiah, the Word of the Lord came through Isaiah (though, God could certainly speak in any way He wanted and sometimes did speak in other ways). You see, they knew right where to go—go to the prophet! Today, we should seek such a prophet—except there is no prophet like Isaiah so prominent and known to the king and every townsperson. Nevertheless, God has ordained that we should not need to seek Him through another man—He has given us two infinitely powerful things: the Bible, which is the Word of the Lord, and the Holy Spirit, which is God filling our very bodies to guide and convict us. We also know that “the Word became flesh” (John 1:14) in the form of Jesus Christ, who is called Immanuel, meaning God with us. God brought Himself to us through Jesus, His Word embodied, to live with us, to die and make propitiation for our sins and redeem us, such that God could remain with us via the Holy Spirit. We can go directly to Him, our High Priest, who was tempted just as we are, yet remaining blameless (Heb 4:15). He therefore understands and has the strength to conquer the sin that so easily entangles us (Heb 12:1). "Let us fix our eyes upon Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith" (Heb 12:2). Let us go to His Word daily, let us pray and learn to recognize His voice in the Holy Spirit.

Do you see it? Do you see that if you seek answers from God this very night that He has made a way for you to receive them? In Hezekiah’s day, he set apart one man, Isaiah, who was cleansed when the hot coal was applied to His lips after He confessed His sinful nature (Isaiah 6:5-8). And today, through Christ and receiving of the Holy Spirit, we can call on God sincerely, just as Hezekiah went directly to the temple and immediately called upon Isaiah. We can ask Him tonight and confess our sins and need of His perfect holiness (enter the temple), and we can open the Bible to receive His very Word to us. Pray about where you might read, or simply throw it open. In encourage you to pray, though. Keep your ears open as you pray daily, in between prayers, for He will speak through sermons, wholesome songs, brothers and sisters in Christ, and even in your very core (perhaps He might even speak through a blog such as this). Whatever the experience is for you, find a way into the Word. Start anywhere and read. Make a habit of it, and you’ll begin to find that He is speaking to you. Some days you’ll wonder if what you’re reading was written just for you this very day because it is so on-point—the Holy Spirit is alive in you then! Don’t you know that the Word is alive (Heb 4:12)?! It is, and I speak of these things not because I have been told them, but because I have experienced them. Even still, I would do well to heed my own encouragement here, and get into the Word and prayer with all sincerity every spare moment and increasingly every day. We have to make the time.

We can have direction in times of impossible decisions. We can have conviction when we don’t know where we’ve fallen and how to get back to God. We can have comfort and hope in the midst of impossible odds and the most threatening trials. Go to the temple, and seek a word from the Lord: Open to Him in prayer, and open His Word to hear His truth and a personal reply to you. "Cast your cares upon Him, for He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7). Do you know what that means? He loves you—you! He is listening to your thoughts right now, and if you’ll open to Him, He will fill you. Will you give Him 5 minutes today? Will you give Him 30? How sincerely are you seeking Him? He will not only match your sincerity, He will more than doubly meet your sincerity—He is infinite, He is not the limiting factor. Our experience of Him is equally as powerful and sweeping as our sincerity in seeking Him. Let us seek Him to our utmost and receive from Him His highest. Amen.

Reference verses worth reading:

Heb 4:12-16 - “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven,[f] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Heb 12:1-3 – “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

John 1:12-14 – “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

1 Peter 5:6-11 - "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen."

The Best for the Journey

Imagine you have a son who is 18 years old. You have plans to buy him a reliable car that is also extremely pleasing to him in every way—aesthetically, performance, interior, reliable, easy to maintain, fuel efficient. Now you’re on your way to go get the car that you have picked out for him, and let’s say that you actually know what you’re doing and have picked out the best car possible for him in every way. On the way there, your son sees a bright red (his favorite color on a car) sporty-type car for sale and points it out in exclamation. That’s the car he wants! “Dad, can we get it please?!” You say no, but he insists that you at least take a look. Knowing better, but seeing that he won’t appreciate anything until he is appeased, you go to look at the inferior car…plus, if he’s listened to you growing up, he’ll see what you see anyway, right? It actually looks pretty good, especially from a distance. You notice some exterior inconsistencies, but you’re really concerned about what’s under the hood. This car has 99,000 miles on it. Being a car guy (and since this is hypothetical), you know that the engine on this model breaks down within the first 105,000 miles without exception, most within 100,000 miles. Incidentally, your son is about to set out across the nation and back on a road trip with trusted friends, driving the car you pick out today. That’s a 6,000 mile trip, so you’re guaranteed that this thing is going to break down, and as Murphy’s law would have it, it would probably be on the opposite end of the country. You know this, your son doesn’t. Well, he’s in love. He wants this car. But you say, “no.” He doesn’t understand, but you tell him that you have something better, so much better in mind for him. He doesn’t believe you, or maybe he does, but he’s too mad to admit it. Why couldn’t that dealership be next door?—then he’d only be mad for a couple seconds. Oh, but the drive to the next town over, 50 miles away, is grueling. You hardly talk. In fact, you find your son’s behavior and comments toward you so repulsive, you wonder if you should even buy a car at all! Perhaps cancel his trip! But then, you have patience and understanding, and you continue on your journey with your son.

At last you arrive at the dealership. There she is—bright red, sleek and smooth, excellent condition coupe with only a few miles and a wonderful interior…and under the hood, the most reliable and powerful, fuel efficient engine in its class. Your son is in heaven. “Thank you, Dad!” You both share smiles and he’s almost in tears (not that he’d admit it). He says to you, “Wow, Dad…I had no idea what you had planned for me…I couldn’t have imagined…I can’t believe I fought you over this!”

And that, my friends, is a great picture of us with our Heavenly Father. He, the all-knowing, all-loving, all-patient Father who is looking out for us, doing “infinitely more than we dare to ask or hope for.” (Eph 3:20) He “know[s] the plans [He] has for you, plans for good and not to harm you.” (Jer 29:11) Will we trust Him today? Will we patiently endure the seemingly infinitely long journey to his chosen blessings for us, realizing that they aren’t so long after all? Will we at least ask Him, when we’ve picked out for ourselves what we want in our lives? Will we yield when He says, “no,” and begin to realize that it’s not just for His good, but for ours?! Finally, will we recognize Him as our protector and provider when we have at last received the next reward? I sincerely hope so. That is my prayer for you and myself. Amen.