Philippians 4:8 4/24/2018*10*

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

The word “Brainwashing” is a negative term that means the opposite of what it seems. It actually means the polluting of your brain with untruths in an effort to confuse you…  And that is what the world does on a minute by minute basis.

You cannot turn on the television, listen to the radio, or read the news without pollution being inserted into your conciseness by those who have an agenda.

There is an ongoing assault on your mind in an effort to drag you into untruth, and mental sickness. This verse gives you the antidote for that disease.

If you want to be physically healthy, you monitor what goes into your mouth. If you want to be spiritually and mentally healthy you monitor what goes into your mind.

If you live long enough in this fallen world, your brain will need washing.  Like changing an oil filter on your car, you must find a way to remove the filth that contaminates your life. 

This verse says you must choose to meditate on the opposite of what the world constantly pushes on you. Think about the things of God… goodness, purity, truth, excellence.

That is the filter.  Overcoming evil with good.  Put so many cleansing truths and purifying thoughts into your mind that they overpower the garbage of this world. 

You cannot overestimate how import it is to watch your mental diet …” think on these things”.  It’s a choice … and it produces results.

“The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.”
― Marcus Aurelius

Romans 6:13 4/17/2018*15*

“and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”

When dealing with sin you can’t just play defense.

When temptation comes you not only have to abstain…but you also must replace.

This verse not only tells us to stop presenting ourselves to sin…but to likewise start presenting ourselves to righteousness.

If you have a song stuck in your head and you spend the day thinking about how much you don’t like it, it will just become more entrenched.  Instead find a song you love…hum it, whistle it, think about it…and before you know it the other song is gone.

When the enemy attacks with temptation we must not only resist, but we must hit back with righteousness. We don’t just play defense, but like Christ did in the desert, we quote scripture and focus on God’s righteousness. 

The bible says to resist the devil and he will flee from you (James 4:7) …so if there is a sin that seems to defeat you, memorize verses that deal with it. Have a counter attack ready.  When tempted quote those verses and meditate on what they mean.

That is what the enemy fears…that is what will make him flee…the power of God through His Word.

So, the next time you are tempted don’t just block, but counter punch.  

If every time you are tempted it drives you to the Word, maybe the enemy will learn it is counterproductive to attack you in the first place.

“The aim of the gospel is the creation of people who are passionate for doing good rather than settling for the passionless avoidance of evil.”
― John Piper

Mark 1:35 4/10/2018*17*

"Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed."

Sometimes we forget that our relationship with God is more important than our ministry.  We get so busy serving God that we fail to remember that we were created to fellowship with Him.  Viewing Him like a mascot that we cheer for, rather than a Loving God we spend time with.  If we aren’t careful, what was designed as a comforting Father child relationship can become a regimented, legalistic, and structured responsibility. 

Instead of pursuing Christian accomplishments maybe we should be pursuing time with God.  Instead of fighting for the cause of God, let’s fight the temptation to be too busy to spend time with Him. If we don’t, we will find ourselves trying to do the Lord’s work with our own power… and that is a recipe for disaster.  You cannot give what you don’t have.  You must fill your heart with the love of the Father before you can give that love to His children.

According to this verse, Jesus made it a practice to tune the instrument before the concert.  He prepared for the day by getting up early, leaving his bed,  and going off to be alone with God.  Jesus, the God/Man found it important to charge His batteries by connecting to the power of God. Is there any way of avoiding the clear message that we should do the same?

Don’t forget that before sin entered the world, we took long walks in the garden with our loving Father. That is what the cross reestablished, and the restoration of that fellowship is what the gospel is about.

We all have a long list of things to do today, and people who need a portion of our time.  But like Jesus did, we must make time to get up in the morning,  go to a solitary place, and connect with our Father… on purpose, and often.

Commit to intentionally setting aside time to spend alone with God. Church work and ministry accomplishments will never happen without the strength found in stopping the race for a while, being still, and knowing that He is God.

“… no large growth in holiness was ever gained by one who did not take time to be often long alone with God.” - Austin Phelps

1 Timothy 6:20 4/3/2018*22*

“Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge.”

Do you actively defend the integrity of God’s word? According to this verse we have been entrusted with that mission.  We are to stand guard against the forces that would water down truth to make it more palatable.  That will not make us popular, and just like the world hated Jesus, they will often hate His disciples as well.  But that is not our concern, because pleasing God must be our exclusive goal.

 

The gospel is pure truth, and Paul instructs Timothy to keep it that way. We must not bend the truth to fit our lives, we must bend our lives to fit the truth.  Truth is not defined by comfort, inclusion, happiness, or contentment.  Living in truth often produces those things, but truth is a static component that reflects the righteousness and the power of God. 

It has been said that we must all find “our own truth”. That kind of nonsense is what Paul calls “godless chatter” and is what is falsely called knowledge today by those who seek teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  The mantra is to eliminate “hate speech”, the problem is that those who hate truth, call truth hate, and our culture is quick to attempt to cancel it. There is only one truth… and it does not belong to us, it belongs to God. What belongs to us is the charge to defend it against such mind-numbing conversations.

This verse gives us the responsibility of guarding the purity of God’s word. If you do this, you may be called unloving… but the opposite is actually the case. If I see symptoms of an illness in you but say nothing because I do not want to offend you, that is the opposite of love.  Love points out danger and offers deliverance. That is the gospel and that is our job.

Speak the truth in love.  Never water down the Word, and never let others pollute what God has made clear. Pure gold has been given to us… let us make sure it is gold that we pass on.

“A dog barks when his master is attacked. I would be a coward if I saw that God's truth is attacked and yet would remain silent.” - John Calvin

Romans 5:3-4 3/27/2018*8/5*

"Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope"

It is odd to think about being able to glory in our suffering.

But in other areas of life we readily accept the concept.  In athletics, education, and our occupation, we know that to improve we must be challenged. We must push ourselves and face problems in order to grow and become better.

Scripture tells us to apply that same awareness to our spiritual lives.  Not to look for suffering, but when it comes find the benefit…and the benefit is perseverance.

Perseverance is uncommon today because we see challenges as offensive. We don’t like to be pushed, we like to be comfortable… and until you are challenged you cannot learn to persevere.

No one can claim to be a wonderful husband on their honeymoon. You can’t say you’re a great parent when your child is a toddler…You have to earn it.

When you’ve been married for years and you’re still working hard at it, when your kids are teenagers and you’ve struggled and endured – then you have achieved something.

At that point, perseverance has produced character, and character has produced hope… Not a hope that says, “maybe it will happen”, but a confident assurance… not only in what God will do, but in who God is … a hope that has been proven by years of following Him through valleys and over mountains. That is biblical hope ...and that is the only way to peace.

So, choose to glory in your suffering.  Knowing that perseverance develops character, and character will allow you to rest in a hope that cannot be shaken.

 “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved.”
― Helen Keller

Isaiah 5:20 3/20/2018 *8/19*

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”

How is your moral compass?

We are living in a time where it has become stylish to cloud moral distinctions, and it is considered “enlightened” to blur the lines between right and wrong.

This is the natural outcome of a society that does not acknowledge God and is involved in a thinly veiled attempt to take His place.

Today those who stand for truth are considered intolerant and judgmental. If you wish to be considered progressive and broad minded you must embrace evil and call it good.  You must mislabel what is written on your heart as sinful, and mistakenly call it freedom. 

God says this is a dangerous practice and those involved in calling evil good will suffer for promoting that falsehood.

Step back and re-evaluate what you have accepted. Consider what, out of repetition, has become non-offensive to you and compare it with the clear standards in God’s word.

Right and wrong are non-negotiable. Neither the number of detractors, nor their volume will impact God’s holy standard. And those who attempt to move it will suffer the consequences.

Read the word. Apply it to your life and be one of the few who still offer light in an increasingly dark world.

It may not be popular, but it is desperately needed… and will save you and those who follow you.

“It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare”
-Mark Twain

Luke 22: 60-62 3/13/2018 *10/7*

Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

This passage is one of the most heartbreaking in the Bible. The complete betrayal and failure of a best friend. 

It is hard to imagine what that look from Jesus felt like, but it brought a hardened fisherman to his knees in shame.

It is important that we visualize the look that Peter got from Jesus, as each of us deserve it.  Each of us have betrayed and failed our Savior.  Each of us have been responsible for the pain in Jesus’ eyes.

Christ knew Peter would do this, yet He declared him the rock upon which God would build His church. Jesus never minimized the failure, but He covered it in blood. 

How glorious to know that God uses broken people.  

The enemy would have you believe your failures disqualify you. But God’s Word is filled with unqualified people that He uses to do extraordinary things.

Don’t listen to the lie. You cannot be disqualified when you were never deserving in the first place. 

Your qualifications rest in the work of another, and He has restored you.

The only credentials you need are humility, remorse, and repentance… and a fierce belief in the power of the Blood. 

You have been redeemed by another.  You have been given the power to be free, and to change the world. 

When you stumble and fail him ... Do as Peter did...grieve, repent, accept His forgiveness... and then get back to work.

“We must not offer people a system of redemption, a set of insights and principles. We offer people a Redeemer.”
― Paul David Tripp

2 Timothy 2:15 3/6/2018*11/21*

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”

Are you an approved worker who is not embarrassed about your bible use and knowledge?

This week I have been blessed to be in the Holy land. It has become evident to me that though I have been a Christian for 40+ years, there is much I need to learn. 

Seeing the bible in living color has been an amazing pilgrimage but one that has challenged me as well. 

To see the garden where Jesus prayed to not drink the cup I gave Him… to look at the same shoreline Jesus saw as He walked on the sea of Galilee … to walk the steps He took as He carried the cross that should have been mine… these were emotional, confirming, and encouraging moments. 

To see the dead sea scrolls...to see proof of prophecies written thousands of years before they were fulfilled…to see the mount of olives where He ascended, and where He will return… these have challenged me that there are prophesies yet to come that I must handle correctly. 

The verse above says we must do our best, there must be effort on our part to use scripture correctly. It is a powerful weapon and a great responsibility. 

Give it your full attention, study it daily, train yourself in the ways of righteousness, so that when He returns you will not need to be ashamed of how you handled the most powerful tool ever given to man, His holy word.

“No man is to be credited for his mere authority's sake, unless he can show Scripture for the maintenance of his opinion.” - John Wycliffe

Psalm 119:9 2/27/2018*

"How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to your word" 

Seems like a simple question with a simple answer. But if that is the case why don't we do it? 

Why do we spend so much energy skirting around the Word of God instead of using that same energy to follow it? What causes us to engage in "Theological open field running" as we weave around the clear teachings of the bible in an effort to justify our actions?

If you look at the lives of those who walk according to the Word and compare them to those who do not, the difference is clear. Sin is destructive. Yet somehow, we believe we will be different. We think we can ignore the truth and avoid the consequences. 

We cannot.

Why don't we stop scheming - and simply follow His Word? What if the answer is right in front of you? What if your bible is the map that can stop you from going down all these dead-end roads.

There are a thousand people, on a thousand web sites, all with different "answers" for your problem. But there is only one who knit you in your mother's womb, and His way is the only way to purity, righteousness, and peace.

Follow His Word. Stop trying to avoid the clear truth and just do what it says. He is the way, the truth and the life ... His Word alone is your true north and will allow you to keep your life pure. 

"If there is any verse that you would like left out of the Bible, that is the verse that bought to stick to you, like a blister, until you really attend to its teaching." 

 - Charles Spurgeon

1 Corinthians 3: 1-3 2/19/2018*

“Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly - as infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for solid food. In fact, you are still not ready, for you are still worldly...”

How long have you been saved...Are you growing?

Paul had founded the Corinthian church approximately three years earlier and he is a little put out with their lack of spiritual growth. He is disappointed that they are still infants in Christ needing milk and unable to break from their worldly chains.

What kind of letter would he write to us? Many of us are decades into our walk with Christ and still on a spiritual bottle. Still worldly and focused on temporal, instead of eternal things.

Did we check the box of salvation and miss that it was a beginning not a destination? Have we forgotten that the very purpose of our “re-birth” is to grow in Christ?

If so, then it’s time to change that. It is time to commit to growth.  If three years was too long for the Corinthians to remain worldly, then it is past time for us to grow up as well. 

Start this week consuming a daily serving of God’s Word so you can grow into the warrior God intended.  Dig into the meat of the Word and begin to develop spiritual strength and break free from all the worldly things that drag you down.

Be intentional. Nothing is more important than becoming who God made you to be and doing what God made you to do.

"Spiritual growth depends on two things: first a willingness to live according to the Word of God; second, a willingness to take whatever consequences emerge as a result."

- Sinclair B. Ferguson