What’s This Test About?

Tags

Church, Faith, Genesis, God, Jesus, Tests

Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called.

“Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.” Genesis 22:1 NLT

Smarty Pants

In school, the teacher would occasionally pop a test or quiz on us announced; this was meant to test if we had acquired the information that had been given to us, to test if we had it IN us.

This was, of course, a matter which would cause great amounts of anxiety in all the students because we weren’t sure if we had the information in us! Unfortunately, the only way to tell from time to time was to test us.

Inevitably, there was always that one student in every class who seemed to have no problems with tests. They wouldn’t study or do the assignments or homework, yet he/she always passed every test, pop quiz, or exam easily.

I often wondered if there was an extra class I had missed because they seemed so confident. Turns out, they were just really exceptional students who acquired information much more quickly than the rest of us; they were confident because they KNEW they had the required information at their fingertips.

Two Types of Tests

In scripture there are two types of testing of our faith that occurs; one is to produce something inside of us (James1:3), the other is to prove what is already there, such as what’s about to happen to our friend Abraham in Genesis 22:1.

Many times, we’re in need of God to produce something greater in us, endurance, character, and hope, etc. but it’s very important that we understand the God has already placed FAITH inside us!

In a discussion with His disciples, Jesus had just finished telling them to forgive anyone who repents regardless if they offend and repent as many as seven times in a day, to which the disciples responded, “Increase our faith!” as if to say, “We don’t have enough to cover that sort of problem”.

I absolutely LOVE Jesus’ response to them from Luke 17:6;

6He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

You don’t need MORE faith in order to deal with whatever test you’re going through, what you need is a GREATER REVELATION of what God has already placed in you!

How do you get the greater revelation?

The test.

God tests us to REVEAL what He’s already done in us.

Is the test that you’re going through meant to spiritually develop you, or is God showing you what’s already true of you?

Do you know what is already true of you?

He has already given you plenty of faith to make it through this test.

POWER!

THE START OF POWER

As Kim and I raised our three children we strove to raise them in a home where Jesus was actively discussed, worshiped, and we prayed in His name on a regular basis. We greatly desired to have a home where these things weren’t considered strange or out of place.

We didn’t have a bible degree and we hadn’t attended seminary but we understood some of the basics of a daily devotion-lifestyle from our own walk with God that we could put together something that would be fun, engaging, and meaningful on a long-term basis for our children.

We prayerfully considered what would matter the most for our children (and us, after all this was for us too) to learn and practice on a daily basis, we asked ourselves this question, “What would make them powerful followers of Jesus, adults who would walk in the POWER of the of Holy Spirit and the love of the Father?” We came up with 5 components we would do daily with the kids; I’d like to share these 5 components with you this week, one each day.

Perhaps you have a family and could benefit from discovering an easy-to-implement plan for daily home devotion with your children; perhaps you don’t have any children, I honestly believe in POWER and find it to be a very useful tool every single person, adult or child.

PRAYER

Our heart’s desire was to explain to our children without using words (if possible) that we believed in a relationship with Jesus, not a religion. We weren’t concerned with simply going through the motions and missing the greatest love of eternity in our home and in our family.

Our first focus was prayer – it all starts with prayer, conversing with God. Prayer sets our hearts on God, it raises our awareness of God’s presence right where we are, that He was already there waiting for us and that we only then had we recognized Him with us. We taught them to bring their cares and fears, their concerns for others, and simply ask God questions.

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.             Colossians 4:2

HOW IT’S DONE

We would simply ask our children if they had any prayer requests, whether they were about one of our pets or even if they were more sneaky or silly (like asking Mommy and Daddy to change their minds about letting “So and so” spend the night lol) What we found was that they were, more often than not, very concerned about other people, very conscientious towards the needs other people were facing. This also gave us (Kim and me) a chance to model for them; we were able to show them that we too had needs, that we relied on God too, and that we were concerned for other people.

We would give them an opportunity to pray out loud and pray for any of the items we all mentioned. There was no hierarchy or “leave that for your father”; we taught them that their prayers were just as powerful as Mom or Dad’s prayers, that God listened to them.

YOU

As I mentioned earlier, there’s no reason that you can’t begin using this tool today! If you have children or not, there’s not a single reason for delaying. Begin using PRAYER today – it’s the first step to POWER!

He Who Hesitates is Lost

Our grade school band instructor, Mr. Moore taught us, “He who hesitates is lost”

This meant if someone messed you up, or you made a mistake, and you stopped playing, you would become lost in the music.

The band would play on but you would be stuck in the past and if you kept trying to play the same portion of music over and over, it would sound awful and out of place! So our instructor told us to wait for the rest (when the other trumpets stopped playing) then you could join in the song again.

How about you? Are you stuck in the past because someone messed you up, or you made a mistake? Are you still playing that portion of the song over and over?

God doesn’t want you to live in the past!

In Isaiah 43:18 we read, “Do not live in the past events, pay no attention to the things of old” HCSB

If you’re stuck in the past, playing that same old bit – it’s time to wait or REST in the Lord, look and see where He is moving, then …

Join us in the song.

Joy Comes With the Morning

 

For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. Psalm 30:5

My wife went to Portland very early this morning and was able to watch the sunrise over Portland, Maine this morning. The images she sent were nothing short of breath-taking as the sun crested over the ocean and began to touch the coasts of the United States.

How impressive it is that darkness never wins? Not once – not ever. Never. This 

Even if we are weeping over a tragic situation, this scripture pushes us onward with hope that there is a time coming soon when weeping will be inappropriate, it will be unnecessary, it will be replaced with joy!

It’s hard to imagine when everything is falling apart that there could be such an exchange, but that is the power of this little verse, it reminds us that “THIS TOO SHALL PASS”!

We need to stop focusing on the darkness and look for the joy that is coming.

But this verse isn’t simply about temporal joy; this little passage pins the hope we have as believers to our chests and points us towards home! God’s favor isn’t temporary.This is no small matter; this knowledge encourages us, it empowers us, because we can rest assured at the end of all days we are certain that His favor concerning His children simply will not ever change.

This is no small matter; this knowledge encourages us, it empowers us, because we can rest assured at the end of all days we are certain that His favor concerning His children simply will not ever change.

Any pain we experience as children of God is a temporary situation, any tears shed as children of God are momentary, but God’s favor is entirely eternal.

 

Mustard, Anyone?

Most are probably familiar with the New Testament passage from Luke 17:6 “The Lord answered, “If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘May you be uprooted and thrown into the sea,’ and it would obey you!“

I’ve often associated that verse with a similar verse from Matthew where Jesus was describing the POWER of faith, what faith is capable of doing in the life of the believer.

This passage is entirely different and shouldn’t be assumed to be the same at all because the context is different as is the message that Jesus is giving us.

In the previous verses, Jesus had been describing how we are to forgive our brother if he offends us and repents, even if he does it seven times in one day.

The apostles respond incredulously with, “Lord, increase our faith.”

There is a dual issue that I struggle with when I look at their response; on one hand, these were the men who had been part of giving sight to the blind, seeing the dead raised, and lepers healed, but they didn’t feel they had enough faith to forgive someone?

On the other hand, I totally understand because I too have struggled with forgiving someone; whether because I felt their repentance wasn’t sincere or I knew it would happen again, I have struggled as well.

There’s no ambiguity in this text. God is clearly communicating to us, “Relationships matter to Me”. Jesus makes His point clear as a bell as well in the following verses; it doesn’t take much faith to forgive.

With faith the size of a mustard seed, forgiveness can eradicate a bush (the offense) and its complex root system!

The truth is that if Christ has transformed our hearts, forgiveness should be a natural overflow because of the forgiveness which we have received.

We shouldn’t feel that we need to call out to God for more assistance in order to forgive others, all we need to do is remember how much, how greatly He’s forgiven us; if we possess faith which assures us that we’ve been forgiven, it is in that faith where we find that we have all the faith we need.

“You sir, are an oak!”

“You sir, are an oak”

The title of this blog is a quote from one of my favorite films, “Tombstone” but the line has meant a great deal more to me as of late than just a reminder of a humorous moment from the movie.

Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines immovable as such:

im·mov·a·ble

i(m)ˈmo͞ovəb(ə)l/

1. 1:  incapable of being moved; broadly  :  not moving or not intended to be moved

2. 2a  :  steadfast, unyielding  :  not capable of being moved emotionally

In my personal prayer time I’ve begun to pray that I would be immovable like the oak tree, that my time for worship, prayer, and reading would never be considered (in my mind) optional. All too often I am guilty of succumbing to the most common of distractions, neglecting the fountain of the Spirit’s nourishment in place of the ramblings and ongoings of the likes of Facebook or CNN or the refrigerator.

In doing so, the Spirit has revealed to me sins which David describes as “presumptuous“. That word too has moved me as its meaning reveals that my heart could care less what God thinks about my actions, I intend to act in these ways whether they are sins or not. I need to be immovable, unyielding, steadfast towards these things.

Far too long I’ve ignored the connection between the two;                                     inconsistent devotional life and presumptuous sins.

The temptation to think that I have the power to defeat a sinful nature is nothing short of a lie of the strongest order. The truth is that we are powerless to sin and without Christ Jesus we are hopelessly destined to continue in our sin. If I ever think that in myself rests the ability to be “an oak” I am delusional and in need of being redirected to Christ.

As a believer and follower of Jesus Christ I have been made a new creation, the old nature is gone, everything has been made new, yet I struggle at times to remember the work He has done in me, far too often don’t rejoice in the work He has done in me, and ultimately  forfeit the power of the Spirit inside me to overcome these distractions and temptations.

This month our church is focusing on “Resurrection”; perhaps the most incredible writings on the subject can be found in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, chapter fifteen. He ends this powerful chapter with the following words;

“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”                                                            1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV

The work of the Lord which Paul was referencing was the resurrection, specifically Jesus’ resurrection and the hope of our resurrection to come.

We find our strength to be immovable, like the oak, as we abound in resurrection! Let the finished work of Jesus allow our hearts to be filled, excessively overflowing with the hope and power of our resurrection.

 

Taking the Name

• Exodus 20:7 (ESV)

  “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

The thought occurred to me this morning as I was making breakfast; what does it really mean to take someone’s name. Is it simply a matter of using someone’s name out of context or flippantly as I had been taught in Sunday School, or is there something deeper than that?

In our culture, when a wife and a husband wed the wife takes the last name of the husband. Whatever sort of name the husband’s family had made for themselves was now at the wife’s disposal as well. Any influence his name carried, any wealth attached to his name was now all hers too.

When my wife and I wed, she once was known as a Johnston and became a Jones. She took my name. This meant she was no longer the same person she once was; she was connected with me and my reputation, character, and integrity. It also meant that she and I were intertwined by common goals and interests.

As Christians, we take the name of Christ, we bear His name as our identity. We are accepted into God’s family and adopted with full rights and an inheritance with an expectation that we should be kingdom-building, a common goal.

I’m sure many don’t struggle with taking the Lord’s name in vain in terms of using it as part of a swear or curse, but I wonder how many people have “taken the Lord’s name” by calling themselves “Christian” meanwhile refusing to be part of His mission?

We’ve been given spiritual power, influence, and gifts to minister to a sick and dying world. Calling ourselves a Christian without living like Christ would definitely be considered “taking His name in vain”.

Have you taken His name in vain?

This could be an excellent time to live up to the name you’ve been given and work together with Him to build His kingdom!

p.s.    I’m aware that this verse is specifically dealing with how we “use” His name in our speech but scriptures can deal with multiple issues at once, thus an alternate application for this verse. Isn’t His Word amazing!?

Where Are Your Thoughts?

In Romans 8:5 we find a wonderful tool for spiritual examination, the verse reads, “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.”

Where our minds rest tells us a great deal about who or what is in control of our lives. What or who have you been allowing to dominate or control your thought life? Where has your mind been led lately?

Perhaps Bob Dylan said it best when he expressed,                                                                    “Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody”

We’re incapable not serving – we will either serve the flesh (as the Apostle Paul explains throughout the book of Romans) or we will serve God. Allow me to paraphrase from a book I read years ago that expressed it this way, “every day, all day we worship, sometimes it’s God.”

Notice from the ESV Bible the word “set”; not that you have a passing thought that you wish you hadn’t thought but instead a thought which captivates your attention, that place where your mind sets and marinates.

The verse is describing is a pattern of living, not fleeting moments in time, it uses the word “live” according to the flesh which indicates a modus operandi. Think of two totally separate pathways which one could take, leading you in opposite directions. You can’t walk on both of them at the same time. You may stray away from the path and walk more in the direction of the other pathway but that isn’t an indicator that you have totally abandoned course, only in need of a correction and redirect.

 

If your mind is resting in some areas it shouldn’t, the remedy is simple and easy – repent and surrender, follow the pathway of Jesus.

Faith in Jesus Changes You

“Sure, I believe in God and stuff.”

“I have faith in Jesus, I mean I don’t go to church or pray, or anything like that; but I believe, you know?”

“We have to believe in a higher power, but I don’t know who that it, but I believe in one.”

These aren’t exact quotes, perhaps more along the lines of paraphrases of things I’ve been told in years past, I’m sure you’ve heard similar comments as well. You may even adhere to one of them too.

I’m not attempting to knock anyone’s philosophy, simply point out a small fact from the Bible. Faith changes you. Not just faith, but faith in Jesus changes a person.

It doesn’t make you a better person in the sense that you are better than someone else, but it changes your positionality with God. In that sense, a better person than you personally were before.

In Luke chapter 7 we find the story of the “sinful” woman. We aren’t told her sins, not that they would matter, but we are to understand that everyone seems to know her and her sins, one might suggest that she has a bad reputation.

The chapter ends with Jesus making the announcement that her sins were forgiven, and telling her in verse 50

“Your faith has saved you; go in peace”

He didn’t simply accept her sins as though they didn’t matter and forgive her, He didn’t say “You’re a pretty nice girl after all – let’s just forgive those pesky sins”. The faith which saved her was illustrated in the preceding verses.

She repented of her sins – she was contrite – she worshipped.she washed His feet with her tears and dried His feet with her hair. She spent her most prized possession to anoint Him.

She washed His feet with her tears and dried His feet with her hair. She spent her most prized possession to anoint Him. This was her showing of faith. 

This was no small act and it demanded her to abandon any pride or dignity, pushing through the accepted norms of her society, and throwing herself at the mercy of Jesus, with no guarantee that He would be any different from the religious leaders of her day.

To be clear: THIS IS FAITH

Furthermore, this is how faith in Jesus changes us.

Adherence to a philosophy is fine and all – don’t get me wrong – but to so we have faith in Jesus looks a great deal more intense than mental adherence or assent to a set doctrine or religion.

It changes you.

She was changed.

I’ve been changed.

Where’s That “Reset” Button?

There’s no doubt about it, we needed to reset. Things weren’t just bad, they were terrible. The fighting wasn’t getting any better, there was no way to “quick-fix” our way out of this one. We were both right in our own way; it wasn’t that we were unwilling to do whatever it took to save our marriage, we just didn’t know what was needed to bring peace back into our home.

Kim, in her boundless brilliance and mercy offered a “reset” button. I don’t know if it was an approved marriage counseling technique or a therapist approved approach, nor do I necessarily recommend it for everyone, but this was a turning point for us.

We agreed that the terms of the “reset” were simple – we were moving forward just as if nothing had ever happened and we would never revisit the situation again. All was forgiven, words were to be forgotten, and we would move forward.

To this day, I certainly don’t remember precisely what the fight was about, nor do I care to remember; what I do know is that my home was no longer a war zone, the marriage was a union again, and I was crazy in love with my wife.

This was such a beautiful picture of God’s mercy towards us. All that was required of each of us (flawed humans) was faith that we loved each other, despite our grievances towards each other, and the acknowledgment that all had been forgiven, allowing us to move forward.

Romans 5:1                                                                                                                                            Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

That word “justified” has been explained to mean “just as if” I never sinned. I find that to be a brilliant play on words.

In the same way as a broken marriage was saved because we had faith that we loved each other, our faith in God – faith that acknowledges He loves us and forgives us because He sent Jesus to die for our sins – causes justification.

There’s a great deal theologically that can be drawn from this small passage, but in short there are three things we can immediately draw from this:

1. God offers a reset button – which makes things “just as if” you never sinned.
2. It happens only through faith in Jesus – which involves repentance and confession of faith in Jesus
3. You can restore peace in your heart with God – which means your no longer working or fighting against God.

 

Please feel free to contact me if you have questions about how to hit that reset button.