Month: January 2016

There are great lies among us, and inside us.  Insidious rumors that we desire desperately to believe.  One of the greatest of these deceptions is that indulging our desires for pleasure is the purpose of life.  This is one of the predominant falsehoods of the American dream…that the “pursuit of happiness” is the great goal.  Of course, pleasure does bring temporary gladness…and there’s nothing wrong with enjoying the delights of this amazing world.  But the lasting joy & peace that every human seeks always eludes us just beyond the corner of whatever pursuit we’re currently engrossed in…as long as we hold pleasure as an end unto itself.

Pleasure was never meant to be the source of our wholeness, but a by-product.  We were made to be deeper, with greater purpose, than what mere experiences could ever fabricate for us.

Reflect on the following words of scripture.  I challenge you to ponder them, measure them against your own experiences, meditate on the truths you find in them, and allow them to draw you closer to the Living Spirit of God today:

“For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love…So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions
When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.” (Galatians 5:13-25)

“I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform 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.” (Romans 12:1-2)

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:21)

One could say that, in terms of the Spirit, the best defense is a good offense.

We have this way of thinking that our lives, and the generation we live in, are really unique.  Of course, no YOU has ever existed before, and the circumstances we live in are certainly unique in the sense that they haven’t happened before.  After all, we do live within this thing called “time.”  That being said, there are fundamental principles that drive our personal passions & pursuits (sorry for the alliteration), as well as the greater global dramas that drive people groups, nations, economies, etc.  That’s all just to say that, at the root, we’re not much different than people of the past because we have the same engine.  In a sense, our lessons were their lessons.  Today we all have all the knowledge of the whole world available on our phones, but there are things beyond knowledge that often elude us.

Amazing lyrics from one of my all-time favorites:

Powerball

Politicians
Partying
Pleasure
People

What do these have in common?  When we put too much faith in them, we end up disappointed & disillusioned.  We often tend to put our faith in the wrong things, don’t we?

Faith

…that things will get better if we just have faith.  That’s a real popular thought in our culture.  The problem is that, most often, it doesn’t have an object…a deep reservoir to pull from…a firm foundation to build upon…so we end up having faith in things that aren’t real.  Empty Faith.  Blind Faith.  I love optimism, but looking ahead to hopeful results based upon faulty or absent bedrock is not faith.

God defines faith for us:

• “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
• “Whoever has faith in me will do what I have been doing.  He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12)
• “This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” (1 John 5:4)
• “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James 2:17)

This kind of faith actually works!….as long as it’s a a verb, not a noun.

I do hope that things will work out well for me, those I love, and for my countrymen….but even more, I have faith in the Kingdom of God that Jesus inaugurated.  It’s a higher loyalty.  Here’s how the Apostle John described faith, in more detail:

“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” (1 John 5:1-5)

The original Greek root word used for “believe” and “faith” are the same.  It literally means to “put one’s trust in.”  It’s also the same word translated “trust” in the following passage….what are you putting your trust in today?

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:1-6)

Have you ever watched a post-game interview and seen a well-meaning Christian athlete give God the credit for his performance or his team’s victory?  I usually have a mixed reaction to that…part of me appreciates the person’s sincerity in wanting to share how much God means to him, but often the declaration is accompanied by a sense of self-centeredness and bad theology that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.  I don’t think I’m alone in this.  One the most MIS-quoted scriptures at times like this is “I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength.”  This verse is cherished by multitudes of those of us who cling to Christ…but unless we read it in the context of what comes before and after, we lose its meaning entirely.

Here’s the whole section:

“I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:11-13)

This is an example of how easy it is to make scripture say what we want it to say.  In the end, our relationship with God is not about getting Him to side with our cause…but us getting our own hearts & motives lined-up with His.  I don’t think God cares about helping us become rich or driving nice cars or making our favorite teams win.  He cares about people…our characters, relationships with Him and others, and our willingness to be faithful to His Kingdom in the midst of our short lives in this world.

I’m not so self-inflated as to believe my words will make a difference to any sports heroes, but this was a truth that God impressed on my heart this morning as I was studying Philippians 3 & 4.  I want to allow Christ to transform my heart so entirely that His cause becomes mine, and that my identity & purpose can rise above whatever circumstances I find myself in so that I become part of His work in the world.  I hope this helps you in the same way.