"ZERO" Tolerance

"Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls." (Luke 11:17)

I suppose a significant portion of Americans would credit Abraham Lincoln with those words from his famous speech, but it is actually Jesus who said that. It was in response to the thought of some among the crowd who had seen Him cast out demons who suggested it was by the power of Beelzebub that He did those things. Jesus says, Even satan is smart enough to know better than to be divided against himself.

As nearly as I can tell, the church is the only group of people that will schedule a monthly meeting to fight with one another. Worse than those brawls are the critical, divisive, and unfruitful words spoken in the halls, in the parking lots, over the telephones, and along chat lines of Christian people and church congregations.

As Paul wrote to the Ephesians he said, "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." (4:29). In fact, the failure to obey that opens the door to two problems for the church according to Paul. It grieves the Holy Spirit, so the church loses its source of power, and It gives the devil an
opportunity to work. It is time we recognize and PRACTICE a Zero tolerance of divisiveness among the people of God.

Come Ye Thankful People Come

"Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with prasie. Give thanks to Him, bless His name." (Ps. 100:4)

God is great, and God is good. He has all power and authority and He has good intentions toward us. Once we realize that, how can we do anything but give thanks? 'Nuff Said.

Give Thanks

"Giving thanks always and for everything to God the FAther in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,"
(Eph. 5:20)

When Paul wrote to the Thessalonian believers, he said, "In everything give thanks." (I Thes. 5:18). But here, it seems he takes it a step farther when he says we are to be thankful FOR all things. There are many things in our daily lives for which we do not naturally want to give thanks. Heartaches, challenges, problems, difficulties, all types of disappointments come our way. How do we give thanks?

Paul gives this statement as a part of his description of the Spirit filled life. Apart from abiding in Christ, apart from full surrender to Him, apart from living with the Holy Spirit in control, it is impossible to do anything the New Testament tells us is descriptive of the believer's life. Our lives are not lived out by imitating Jesus, the "what would Jesus do" approach. Our lives are lived by surrendering to Him and allowing Him through the Holy Spirit to reproduce Himself in us.

As we look toward a day of Thanksgiving this week, let me challenge you to acknowledge God's sovereignty by not only giving thanks for all of your blessings, but for the difficulties and sorrows as well. I believe that by giving thanks in and for all things we release God's power to work more completely in our lives. Let's practice Thanksliving, not just a day of thanksgiving.

Consider it Joy

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness." (James 1:2)

Those are difficult and challenging words. We have to remember that God is not focused in this world on making us Happy, but is in the business of making us Holy. When Paul wrote to the Ephesian believers he said, "Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him." (Eph. 1:4) God's purpose is to transform us into Christ-likeness, once we have become believers, thus restoring the image of God with which we were originally created.

It is important to remember that James also said, "Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am being tempted by God,' for God cannot be tempted with evil, and He Himself tempts no one." (1:13) God tests us to bring out the best in us. He expects His children to pass the test. He has equipped us to pass the test.

And even though we are tempted to evil by Satan to bring out the worst in us, God has promised to never allow us to be tempted beyond the point that we are able to say "No!" ( I Cor. 10:13). Another incredibly wonderful promise is in I John 2:2 that reminds us that when we stumble and sin, we have an Advocate before the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

So how do you rejoice and throw a party when you face trials? You remember that God trusted you enough to allow this test. He believes you have what it takes. And you remember that God's purpose toward you is good. He is perfecting you in the image of Christ.

Wait

"Blessed is he who waits..." (Daniel 12:12a)

Perhaps nothing in our lives is as hard as waiting on God. But as Rick Warren reminded us in 40 Days of Purpose, God is not so much interested in our happiness as in our holiness. He is in the process of transforming us into Christ-likeness, restoring the image of God marred by the fall of sin. When you find yourself facing difficulties, bring your cares to God. Cry out to Him on the basis of the promises in His Word, and then wait. God will always be right on time. He doesn't operate on our schedule, but on His.

David said, "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him;" (Ps. 37:7). The answer to the need in your life does not lie in what you can figure out or work out on your own. It rests in God. He is Sovereign and He is in control. And as I wrote in the blog yesterday, He is Great and He is Good. That means He has all the power and He has good intentions toward you.

When you struggle with the present, rehearse in your mind what God has done for you in the past. If you have any doubts about God's intentions, remember that He loved you so much He let His only begotten Son die in your place on Calvary's cross and there bear the weight and burden of your sins.

So today, Wait on the Lord.

God is Great and God is Good

"Power belongs to God, and that to you, O Lord belongs steadfast love." (Ps. 62:11b-12a)

One of the very first prayers that I learned as a child was for meal time, and we prayed, "God is great, God is good." That is essentially what this passage of scripture says. "Power belongs to God," affirms the reality, God is indeed great. He is so great that one name does not describe Him. He is so great that the vast expanse of the universe cannot contain Him. He is without limit. And He is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond anything we can conceive or think. (Eph. 3:20). God is Great. He is able to do anything that He desires. There is nothing too difficult for God.

If that was the end of the conversation, we might have a problem. Someone who has all power would be greatly dangerous if they did not have good intentions toward us. But the Psalmist says, not only is God great in that all power belongs to Him, He is also good, because steadfast love belongs to His nature as well. God's intentions toward us are good.

Jeremiah said it this way, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." God is love according to the Bible. He loves because of who He is, not because we merit or deserve to be loved. God is not only great, He is good.

The book of Lamentations says, "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." (3:22-23)

God Loves You

"God is love." (I John 4:8)

All my life I have been told, "God loves you." Now I don't know about you, but I don't have much trouble believing that God loves you. My problem has been, how could God love me. I live with me. I know all the bad things that I have done in my life. How could God possibly love me? Maybe you have struggled with that from time to time as well.

God's love for us is not based on how lovable we are. If it was, we would all be in serious trouble. But the Bible says that God is love. It does not teach that He just loves. His very essence is love. He loves because of who He is, not because of who we are. His love is not dependent on our merit. It has nothing to do with what we deserve. It is all about who God is.

We cannot experience God's love apart from Jesus Christ. God loves everyone, and He desires that everyone experience His love. But I John also teaches that "God is light". That means that in His essence He is also holy and just. God's holy nature and His love intersect at the cross. One the cross, Jesus Christ paid the sin debt we owed and could not pay. By satisfying the justice of God, He is able to mediate love to us.

So yes God loves you and He loves me. We cannot do anything to make Him love us more, nor can we cause Him to love us less. We can experience God's love today, by coming to God through Jesus Christ.

WOW!

"An evildoer listens to wicked lips, and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue." (Prov. 17:4)

Wow. When I read a verse like that I get the distinct impression that God is as displeased with people listening to gossip, backbiting, tales and discouraging words as He is with those who are doing the talking. We sometimes think we are innocent if we are not the one spreading the story. But we are just as guilty for listening.

If I am only to speak words of praise to God, witness to the world, and encouragement to believers, then God must expect me to only listen to the same. When we participate in listening, we are joining in league with satan as he seeks to divide the body of Christ. Today, determine to repent of all the times you have listened to discouraging and degrading words about others. Determine that you are going to stop it. When someone calls, or writes, or stops you along the way to say things that are inappropriate, challenge them to stop and get it right with others.

Jesus said in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, that a kingdom divided against itself will not stand. How can we impact a lost and dying world unless our words are filled with kindness and grace? Today, ask yourself if you are a participant by listening. Let God change this about His people. Amen.

Is God Enough?

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Cor. 12:9)

Paul declares the sufficiency of God in his life when he notes that three times he prayed that God would remove the thorn in his flesh, and God chose not to answer what he had asked. Paul declares that he would boast in his wekaness because God would get the glory.

These are not sentimental words. He says, "For the sake of Christ, then I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." What do you say? Does everything have to go your way for you to praise the Lord, or can you rejoice in the difficult circumstances that come your way?

Consider Job. When life fell apart, he said, "The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord." Consider Jacob. It is the night before he anticipates a reunion with his brother Esau, and he was afraid. But in the difficulty of hard circumstances closing in on him, he was able to lay hold of God in a way that he never had before. Over and over in the Bible, we discover that it is in the difficulties of life that people discover God's sufficiency.

Is God enough in your life today? Can you give thanks for the difficulties that come, honestly? Are you content to know Him better? Can you say, no matter what, "Blessed be the name of the Lord?"

Can God Count On You

"For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him." (Gen. 18:19)

The book of Lamentations reminds us, "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." (3:22-23) Because we know that God is faithful, and that He never changes, we can rely on Him, we can trust Him to do what He has said.

The question, however, is can God rely on us. He chose Abraham because He knew His heart was faithful. God knew that He could rely on Abraham to do what He called him to do. God tested him and tried him, but He found Abraham to be a faithful man. God could ultimately fulfill the promises that He made to Abraham, because Abraham proved faithful.

Can God rely on you? Can He rely on me? Will we be found faithful in all that He has entrusted to us so that He can fulfill His promises? Be faithful today.

There is Only One

There is..."One Lord." Eph. 4:5

Sometimes I hear people say, "My Jesus" does such and such, or "the Jesus I know" is this way or that way, as if there are many different Jesuses. However, there is only one unique Jesus Christ.Other times I hear people say, "I am going to make Jesus Lord". Listen, He is Lord, you and I don't make Him that.

Paul writes here in Eph. 4 that Jesus Christ is unique. Ultimately He is unique in His person. He is 100% God, and He is 100% man; He is the God-man, Christ Jesus. He is God, and in Bethlehem He takes on human flesh being born of the Virgin Mary. Hebrews 1:1-3 tells us that He is the final Word from God. There is no additional revelation of truth.

Jesus Christ is unique in relationship to His work. In order to pay the penaly of all the sins of all the people who would call on Him, it took an eternal person to die. Only God could fit the need. When Isaac asked his father Abraham, "Where is the lamb?" Abraham said, "God will provide Himself."
That is exactly what He did. He gave Himself to die in our place.

Finally, Jesus Christ is unique in His relationship to us. Those who come to Him as Savior also surrender to Him as Lord. He is Lord of all. He owns us because He bought us out of our sin debt. He brought us out of the Kingdom of darkness and qualified us to be citizens in a heavenly Kingdom.

Jesus Christ is unique. He alone is King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. Have you surrendered to His Lordship daily in your life?

Walking? Or just Talking.

"walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called..." (Eph.4:1)

Already I have suggested that in this chapter where Paul writes to the church at Ephesus, and thus God to all of us, he is telling us here that our life should match the name we wear. If we are going to take the name of Christian, which is ultimately the name of Jesus Christ, then we are to walk worthy of that name. In other words, we should be living so closely connected to Him that day by day we are growing in Christ-likeness.

Day to day living is often described as a "walk" in the Bible. So the question I want to raise is, are we just talking a good talk without seeking to live what we say, or are we day by day surrendering ourselves to Him and being transformed to live like Jesus. It is not a matter of imitating Christ. It is a matter of being so vitally connected to Him that He reproduces His life in us.

In Ephesians 4 that walk is directed by living in unity within the Body of Christ. As I look around, I see so many Christians out of fellowship with the Body of Christ and I wonder if Jesus is not saddened that we have neglected His bride. Why are we claiming to be part of the Body, and yet acting in isolation as though the members of the body don't need each other? Pray for God to ignite a fresh passion in the hearts of believers to come together in unity.

One Faith

"One Faith" (Eph. 4:5)

The heart of Jesus' prayer in John 17 is for the Unity of His Church. Paul in Ephesians 4 tells us this unity is produced by the Holy Spirit, but we are to be careful not to grieve the Spirit and to not give the devil any opportunity by maintaining the unity. He instructs us to do that by paying particularly close attention to what we say.

In Eph. 4:4-6 there are 7 different "Ones" that form the basis of our unity. We have already seen that there is only One Body, the corporate universal church, and there is One Holy Spirit that breathes life into that body. And we are united around our common hope of the incredible inheritance we have in Christ and which God has guaranteed in our lives by the Presence of the Holy Spirit. Yesterday we noted the fourth "One" which is the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is also one faith. That is the body of common belief that comprises orthodox doctrine. Yes, there are many things that we can debate and be divided over in interpretation, but the essence of the Scripture, particularly the Gospel is not debateable. There is only one way to become a follower of Jesus Christ. There is only one basic body of truth that comprises the core of faith.

One Lord

"One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism" (Eph. 4:5)

This is the second trilogy of the seven "ones" that Paul describes as constituting the basis of our unity in the Church. The first three focused on the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and these focus on the ministry of Jesus Christ.

As Peter stood on the day of Pentecost and delivered the first evangelistic message in Acts 2, he said, "Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." (v. 36). The Bible tells us that one day every knee will bow and declare that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. The Word of God says, "There is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved."

Some suggest that it is absurd to think that there is only one way to gain eternal life as Christians claim. I heard David Jeremiah say, "The last time I check there is only one way to get into this world. If there is only one way to gain physical life, why are we surprised that there is only one way to gain eternal."

Maybe we should be less arrogant in the way we behave as Christians. Maybe we should be more loving. Maybe when we are acting in the unity of the Spirit. But the message of God is Good News for all peoples, and we do not need to be ashamed to declare there is "One Lord, One faith, and One baptism."

Too Hard for God?

"Is anything too hard for the Lord?" (Gen. 18:14)

When the messenger of God told Abraham that Sarai would have a child, even though biologically it was no longer possible for her to bear children at her age, she laughed. The messenger said, "Why did she laugh? Is anything too difficult for the Lord to do?"

A couple of weeks ago I sat in a counseling session with someone, and an observer said, 'Don't fool yourself. That person will never change." Not too long before that, I was explaining the cost of a mission trip to West Africa, and the person said, "I could never afford that." A pastor lamenting the hardness of the hearts of his church whined, "This church will never do anything for the Kingdom of God." Consider the times you may have expressed similar thoughts to the difficulty or the seeming impossibility of your situation. Ask yourself this question, and be sincerely honest in your thoughts. "Is anything too hard for the Lord?"

Has God changed? As the scriptures suggest, "Are His eyes dimmed that He cannot see, or His arms shortened that He can no longer reach into your situation? Or has God changed. Maybe He doesn't care." Satan will whisper anything in your ear that will cause you to doubt. But remember when these thoughts come, the enemy is a liar.

Paul reminds us in Eph. 3:20 that God can do exceeding abundantly beyond anything that we could ever imagine, or ask for in our prayers. How big is your God?

Hear Jesus' Voice

"My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they follow me." (John 10:27)

Jesus says that one of the characteristics of those who are genuine Christians is they are able to hear and discern His voice. As you know, in the Bible to hear means more than to receive the audio in a way that it is transmitted to the brain as sound. It means to take it in and put it into practice. However, if there is any doubt of that, Jesus goes on to say that His sheep also follow Him. That statement clearly declares that it is characteristic of Christians to do what Jesus says to do.

One of the primary sources of the "Voice of Jesus" is His written Word. Whenever the Bible speaks, God speaks. Every single word of the Scripture is inspired of God. The Bible is not like any other book. It is not man's words about God. It is not the most noble literature ever written, although there is an element of truth in that comment. It is the very Word of God. We do not have the luxury of picking and choosing the passages we like. It is all written for our edification.

So let me ask you a hard question. Are you willing to do anything that God tells you to do? Are you seeking to bring your life into absolute obedience to the Voice of Christ? Keep in mind that when that little voice in your head is contradictory to the Bible, it is not the voice of Christ. God never contradicts Himself. We are to obey all of the Bible, the hard parts included.

No Hope to New Hope

"remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope..." (Eph. 2:12)

Every genuine follower of Jesus Christ needs to daily remember there was a time that we were separated from God because of our sin, and lost for eternity, and deserving of a devil's hell. Paul describes that as a time in our life when we had no hope.

Ephesians describes in the first three chapters so many incredible things that God has done for us through Christ. He has reconciled us to Himself. He has redeemed us from our sins. He has made us to be partakers of all His covenant promises. He has also given to us the Holy Spirit who guarantees our transformation into Christlikeness, and who guarantees our eventual triumph in glory when we are eternally with God. So, now, we have incredible hope. Again, hope in the Bible is not wishful thinking, but a certain assurance of the glory of our future with Christ.

Whatever trials and difficulties you may face today, whatever tests of your faith come, rest in the incredible promises of God made accessible to us through what Jesus Christ has done for us on the cross. Thank God for blessing you with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places through Christ. (Eph. 1:3)

An Incredible Hope

"just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call." (Eph. 4:4b)

New Testament hope is not like a worldly hope which is little more than wishful thinking. NT hope is based on the promises of God and it is absolutely assured. It is hope because it is not yet fulfilled, not because there is any possibility that it will not occur. The "hope" that we have is described in all of chapters 1 to 3 as Paul lays out before us what God has done for us through Jesus Christ and what He is going to continue to do.

If you really want to make this hope come alive, take these first three chapters and place your name in the place of the "you" and "us" pronouns. If you are a Christian all of these statements are true of your life. For example, beginning in 1:3, 'Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed Brad in Christ before the foundation of the world, that Brad should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined Brad for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, etc.'

Go through and put your name in these verses and then pray these verses back to God. The more we cooperate with God's Spirit, the more quickly we are transformed into Christ-likeness by the renewal of our minds through the Holy Spirit's regenerating and transforming work.