Joy. It's such a simple word, yet so hard to attain. Life is too hectic for us to truly experience joy right? We have ten thousand bills due at the end of the month, we have to plan to put our kids through high school let alone college and its outrageous cost. When do we ever have time for joy? What is joy anyway?
Most people tend to group joy with happiness. They believe that having joy simply means to be happy, but that isn't exactly true. Joy is not a feeling, just like love is not simply a feeling. Joy, like love, is a mindset that we must keep under control. When you're married, or simply in a relationship, temptation seems to fly at you more than when you were single and uncommitted. I hear so many young people say, "If only I was married, I wouldn't struggle with this sin or that sin," and all the married people laugh and say, "good luck." I talk to married men all the time about the best and worst parts of marriage, and almost all of them will say that temptation increased greatly when they got married. They must be committed to their spouses and must control the urge to walk into sin. The same goes for joy. Joy is not just a feeling. The same way you may wake up next to your spouse and think, "I just don't feel like loving you today" you will wake up and say, "I just don't feel joyous," but should that stop you from choosing to be joyous? Should a simple feeling, or lack there of, stop you from loving your spouse? Absolutely not! When you say your vows it's "for better or for worse!" It's a "no matter what happens, I will always choose to love you!" That's the attitude we need to take when it comes to joy, and when you really sit down and look at all that God has done for you, how can you have any other attitude but a joyous one?
I hate going to work, just like the majority of Americans, but I go because I have to in order to pay for things that I need and want. I walk in the doors a lot of times, especially through the holiday seasons, thinking, "this is going to be a bad day," but when those thoughts come to mind I find myself singing, which is an odd reaction for me. I sing worship songs, hymns, sometimes even a little Christian rap here and there, and I find myself completely restored. The day isn't as long, the job isn't as tough, and the people aren't as big of jerks as maybe I paint them before I changed my attitude. For me, joy comes through praising Him in song. For you it may come through writing, thinking, praying, playing an instrument, whatever. However you experience joy, you have to take control. You have to wake up in the morning saying, "today I choose to be joyous!" You have to walk into work saying, "today I choose to work joyfully as unto the Lord!" Where ever you go and whatever you do, you are the decision maker in whether or not you live joyfully! And note this, you have been given God's authority to speak to demons, to speak to sickness, to speak to any satanic thought and command it to leave! You are not weak! You are not incompetent as a follower, son/daughter, and heir of God! You are strong, mighty, and capable! In Acts 3, Peter and John did not pray and ask God to heal the man at the gate Beautiful! They spoke boldly and said simply, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give to you. Stand up and walk!" Do you see a prayer of unbelief? Do you see them asking God to heal this man? No, they understand their authority, and they walk in it! You have that same authority! Use it! Speak to the demons of depression, anxiety, and stress and command them to leave in the name of Jesus! Speak to your finances, your struggles, your hurts, and your pains, and command victory over them in the name of Jesus! It's your decision whether or not you will live joyfully and with confidence and authority! Don't allow the enemy to steal your joy! When all else fails, look to the cross and remember all that Christ did for you! As the Psalmist writes, "weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning" (Psalm 30:5b). Choose to live victorious!
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Saturday, December 29, 2012
God Gave!
One of the most known, yet least understood verses in the bible is John 3:16. You see it everywhere you go, from sports games to people preaching open air, almost everyone knows this verse, but what does it truly mean? In western society, giving is not something surprising. American culture expects giving, but that's not really the problem. The problem is that they expect to be given to. With an unfortunate growth in a welfare program that seems to have less and less restrictions, Americans expect to be given to.
I remember working at a local food bank, and one of the workers would actually force the men and women who come to get food to simply say "thank you." He looked back at me and began to explain that it's amazing how these people can come and get free food and yet be so ungrateful as if they deserve us doing everything for them. I was in absolute shock at this man's statement. It was so profound and so unfortunately true. Think about how many times you and I have gone to McDonald's or Burger King drive thru's and had to pull up to the line and wait, and how inconvenienced we felt because instead of 3 minutes it took them 5 minutes to get our food. We've complained to the people at the counter and managers over a couple of minutes because they are supposed to have things ready on our time. Just this morning McDonald's in Richmond, IN ran out of orange juice. I had the opportunity to get upset, and was probably justified since they essentially promised me orange juice by ringing it in. However, the manager came out, gave me a refund and offered me a free drink. Hey, looks like sometimes "inconvenience" can actually be a blessing. Unfortunately, that's not how the majority of American's think. We want it now, we expect giving, and if we don't get what we want now, we get unjustifiably upset about stupid things. That's not how the eastern culture sees things though.
The reason that this is such a misunderstood verse is because we look at it through a western lens. In the western world we see this giving as if God owes us, but the eastern culture would have been shocked and perplexed. Think about the Grecian and Roman cultures. How many gods did they have? Too many to count. Remember in Acts when Paul preaches in Athens in front of the statue of the unknown god? They had so many, they even had the time to have an unknown one! Similar to America's "tomb of the unknown soldier." With all of these gods, came an awful lot of giving. Not to the people, but to the gods. The gods of this culture, and many cultures around the world today still, were taking gods. They required all kinds of rituals, temples, and sacrifices that did nothing but cause grief for the people.
Another thing to look at is how Jews saw God. I don't feel that God is or ever was a God who simply required rituals, rules, and sacrifices. When we look into the men and women of the Old Testament, they were all very flawed people that God extended His grace to even though they didn't deserve it. Men like David the adulterous murderer who was anointed king over Israel despite his clear disobedience at times. So God wasn't some wrath-filled, vengeful, God as some people, even Christians, try to paint Him as. But that didn't stop some of the Jewish leaders from doing nothing but require the people to perform acts, rituals, or give their time and money to God and the church. Think about the shepherds that were told the news of Jesus' birth. They were social and religious outcasts because their job didn't allow them to attend some of the religious activities that Jews were required to attend.
Eastern culture would have been floored by a God who gave, not with a hidden agenda, but simply because He loves! When we look through the lens of the eastern world view, we see just how profound this verse is, and why it deserves to be so popular. The gift of salvation is free! It's given out of God's abundant love! A love that is not hidden behind an agenda or ulterior motive, but a love that is open to anyone who accepts it! This is what the message of Christmas is all about! This is what the message of the Gospel is all about! Let us share this joy with everyone we meet!
I remember working at a local food bank, and one of the workers would actually force the men and women who come to get food to simply say "thank you." He looked back at me and began to explain that it's amazing how these people can come and get free food and yet be so ungrateful as if they deserve us doing everything for them. I was in absolute shock at this man's statement. It was so profound and so unfortunately true. Think about how many times you and I have gone to McDonald's or Burger King drive thru's and had to pull up to the line and wait, and how inconvenienced we felt because instead of 3 minutes it took them 5 minutes to get our food. We've complained to the people at the counter and managers over a couple of minutes because they are supposed to have things ready on our time. Just this morning McDonald's in Richmond, IN ran out of orange juice. I had the opportunity to get upset, and was probably justified since they essentially promised me orange juice by ringing it in. However, the manager came out, gave me a refund and offered me a free drink. Hey, looks like sometimes "inconvenience" can actually be a blessing. Unfortunately, that's not how the majority of American's think. We want it now, we expect giving, and if we don't get what we want now, we get unjustifiably upset about stupid things. That's not how the eastern culture sees things though.
The reason that this is such a misunderstood verse is because we look at it through a western lens. In the western world we see this giving as if God owes us, but the eastern culture would have been shocked and perplexed. Think about the Grecian and Roman cultures. How many gods did they have? Too many to count. Remember in Acts when Paul preaches in Athens in front of the statue of the unknown god? They had so many, they even had the time to have an unknown one! Similar to America's "tomb of the unknown soldier." With all of these gods, came an awful lot of giving. Not to the people, but to the gods. The gods of this culture, and many cultures around the world today still, were taking gods. They required all kinds of rituals, temples, and sacrifices that did nothing but cause grief for the people.
Another thing to look at is how Jews saw God. I don't feel that God is or ever was a God who simply required rituals, rules, and sacrifices. When we look into the men and women of the Old Testament, they were all very flawed people that God extended His grace to even though they didn't deserve it. Men like David the adulterous murderer who was anointed king over Israel despite his clear disobedience at times. So God wasn't some wrath-filled, vengeful, God as some people, even Christians, try to paint Him as. But that didn't stop some of the Jewish leaders from doing nothing but require the people to perform acts, rituals, or give their time and money to God and the church. Think about the shepherds that were told the news of Jesus' birth. They were social and religious outcasts because their job didn't allow them to attend some of the religious activities that Jews were required to attend.
Eastern culture would have been floored by a God who gave, not with a hidden agenda, but simply because He loves! When we look through the lens of the eastern world view, we see just how profound this verse is, and why it deserves to be so popular. The gift of salvation is free! It's given out of God's abundant love! A love that is not hidden behind an agenda or ulterior motive, but a love that is open to anyone who accepts it! This is what the message of Christmas is all about! This is what the message of the Gospel is all about! Let us share this joy with everyone we meet!
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Grace and Law
In the Christian arena there are continual arguments being made about the ideas of "Grace vs. Law" as if your only option is to choose one or the other. Recently, I have been having more discussions about this, and it only seemed right for me to create a blog, and write about it so that other's can hear what I have to say, and add and formulate their own opinions based upon scriptural evidence.
If you were to ask me a year and a half ago which side I was on, I was a no-brainer grace kid. I loved the idea that there was nothing that I could do to ever earn my salvation. I loved the idea that no matter what I did, no matter how bad I got, that God looked upon me with grace, and that He would accept me no matter what. In the present if you were to ask me which side I was on, I would say both. Listen, Scripture clearly tells us that we are saved by grace. That's undoubtedly true, and if there are any "grace movement" people out there listening, I hope you understand that those who still fight for Law typically aren't against the idea that grace is what saves us. Ephesians 2:8 is pretty clear on the matter. However, just because grace is in play doesn't take Law out of the equation.
Here's an interesting perspective on the matter. Ask yourself, "who was the law given to?" Was it given to outsiders? Was it given to the Amalekites? How about the Jebusites? Was it given to the Philistines? No! It was given to the Israelites. Now ask this, "what was the relationship between God and the Israelites?" Think about all of the men in Scripture that God used to bring about the Law. Abraham, Moses, David, etc. All were worshippers of God. All were men who followed God, even to places that other men would've called them idiots to go. Why would Abram leave everything he knows for a voice in his head? Why would Moses go into Egypt to free people who didn't like him? Why would David, a teenager, think he could take on a giant? Because they knew God. And God gave men he KNEW, and clearly loved, His Law. When I look at that, and I hear people say that God gave us the Law simply so that we know what sin is and to show us we can't live up to the expectations He has for us, it ticks me off. Really, a perfect God gives a Law simply to say we can't live up to it? Simply to say, here's what sin is and you can't avoid it? I don't know about you, but I don't want to serve that God.
Good news though! That's not what it was! God gave these men the Law because He loved them. It was given to them because God considered them His children and loved them enough to set ground rules to protect them. Did it expose sin? Yes, but why? So that these men could see it and avoid it. It wasn't some sick joke to say, "You sinners!" Maybe you've seen the "Jesus Videos" put out by Vintage21 Church, and you see Jesus stand before the people and say, "look at all these sinners! Alright listen up, listen to me I'm Jesus, listen to what I have to say! I have done many wonderful things. I have healed many people O diseases. I have performed many miracles, so that I can tell you this. You are all evil, there is no hope. That's it. Thank you." That's the reputation God's Law has gotten, and it couldn't be farther from the truth. Before we go throwing the baby out with the bathwater, let's really look at why it was given.
If you're a parent, you know that you have to have ground rules set for your children. Why do you set them? To yell at your child for fun? To show them how worthless they are? No! You do it for protection. Now if you believe Genesis when it says we were made in God's image, you should understand that your desire to protect your children from harm through rules, only stems from the image of God inside of you. That was His desire. Look at 1 Corinthians 11:32. Paul says, "when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will NOT be condemned along with the world" (caps added). Or Hebrews 12:5-11. Or Revelation 3:19. All speak of God disciplining us, and all say that it is for our benefit and out of His love for us.
We as a Christian people have become spiritually too immature to see this. We look at God's Law as a burden, as we did our parents rules when we lived in their house. Remember calling your curfew "stupid?" Remember telling mom or dad how they "don't know what it's like to be me, and to have to deal with all these dumb rules that ruin all my fun?" Remember those days? When we call God's Law simply the guideline to sin, we are essentially saying the same thing. And when we take the word Law out of our vocabulary, we are doing the EXACT same thing. We are saying, "God, you don't know what's best for me. I don't need your Law." We need to mature. I LOVE God's Law, because now that I've grown out of being a teenager, I see it for what it really is, protection. Why should I not serve any other God's? Because no other God can give me what YHWH gives me! Why shouldn't I commit adultery or fornication? Because God made me to be with one woman for the rest of my life, and not only do I damage myself and risk things like anxiety, depression, and thoughts of suicide (teen boys who get involved in premarital sex are 8x more likely to commit suicide, while teen girls are 4x more likely), but I hurt other people, my wife, past lovers, children, even parents who have prayed and taught me to do otherwise. I mean if you went through every Law in scripture it's meant for protection of the people of God. Sometimes protection from others, sometimes protection from self, but always protection.
Grace is beautiful and it is what saves us. But once we are saved and become Children (John 1:12) we now are subject to the consequences of our Father in heaven. We are still subject to the Law, however we are not condemned by it. Will we suffer consequences for not following it? Yes. Why? In order that we can share in God's holiness (Hebrews 12). Let us not forsake either, but believe in both Grace and Law!
In the Christian arena there are continual arguments being made about the ideas of "Grace vs. Law" as if your only option is to choose one or the other. Recently, I have been having more discussions about this, and it only seemed right for me to create a blog, and write about it so that other's can hear what I have to say, and add and formulate their own opinions based upon scriptural evidence.
If you were to ask me a year and a half ago which side I was on, I was a no-brainer grace kid. I loved the idea that there was nothing that I could do to ever earn my salvation. I loved the idea that no matter what I did, no matter how bad I got, that God looked upon me with grace, and that He would accept me no matter what. In the present if you were to ask me which side I was on, I would say both. Listen, Scripture clearly tells us that we are saved by grace. That's undoubtedly true, and if there are any "grace movement" people out there listening, I hope you understand that those who still fight for Law typically aren't against the idea that grace is what saves us. Ephesians 2:8 is pretty clear on the matter. However, just because grace is in play doesn't take Law out of the equation.
Here's an interesting perspective on the matter. Ask yourself, "who was the law given to?" Was it given to outsiders? Was it given to the Amalekites? How about the Jebusites? Was it given to the Philistines? No! It was given to the Israelites. Now ask this, "what was the relationship between God and the Israelites?" Think about all of the men in Scripture that God used to bring about the Law. Abraham, Moses, David, etc. All were worshippers of God. All were men who followed God, even to places that other men would've called them idiots to go. Why would Abram leave everything he knows for a voice in his head? Why would Moses go into Egypt to free people who didn't like him? Why would David, a teenager, think he could take on a giant? Because they knew God. And God gave men he KNEW, and clearly loved, His Law. When I look at that, and I hear people say that God gave us the Law simply so that we know what sin is and to show us we can't live up to the expectations He has for us, it ticks me off. Really, a perfect God gives a Law simply to say we can't live up to it? Simply to say, here's what sin is and you can't avoid it? I don't know about you, but I don't want to serve that God.
Good news though! That's not what it was! God gave these men the Law because He loved them. It was given to them because God considered them His children and loved them enough to set ground rules to protect them. Did it expose sin? Yes, but why? So that these men could see it and avoid it. It wasn't some sick joke to say, "You sinners!" Maybe you've seen the "Jesus Videos" put out by Vintage21 Church, and you see Jesus stand before the people and say, "look at all these sinners! Alright listen up, listen to me I'm Jesus, listen to what I have to say! I have done many wonderful things. I have healed many people O diseases. I have performed many miracles, so that I can tell you this. You are all evil, there is no hope. That's it. Thank you." That's the reputation God's Law has gotten, and it couldn't be farther from the truth. Before we go throwing the baby out with the bathwater, let's really look at why it was given.
If you're a parent, you know that you have to have ground rules set for your children. Why do you set them? To yell at your child for fun? To show them how worthless they are? No! You do it for protection. Now if you believe Genesis when it says we were made in God's image, you should understand that your desire to protect your children from harm through rules, only stems from the image of God inside of you. That was His desire. Look at 1 Corinthians 11:32. Paul says, "when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will NOT be condemned along with the world" (caps added). Or Hebrews 12:5-11. Or Revelation 3:19. All speak of God disciplining us, and all say that it is for our benefit and out of His love for us.
We as a Christian people have become spiritually too immature to see this. We look at God's Law as a burden, as we did our parents rules when we lived in their house. Remember calling your curfew "stupid?" Remember telling mom or dad how they "don't know what it's like to be me, and to have to deal with all these dumb rules that ruin all my fun?" Remember those days? When we call God's Law simply the guideline to sin, we are essentially saying the same thing. And when we take the word Law out of our vocabulary, we are doing the EXACT same thing. We are saying, "God, you don't know what's best for me. I don't need your Law." We need to mature. I LOVE God's Law, because now that I've grown out of being a teenager, I see it for what it really is, protection. Why should I not serve any other God's? Because no other God can give me what YHWH gives me! Why shouldn't I commit adultery or fornication? Because God made me to be with one woman for the rest of my life, and not only do I damage myself and risk things like anxiety, depression, and thoughts of suicide (teen boys who get involved in premarital sex are 8x more likely to commit suicide, while teen girls are 4x more likely), but I hurt other people, my wife, past lovers, children, even parents who have prayed and taught me to do otherwise. I mean if you went through every Law in scripture it's meant for protection of the people of God. Sometimes protection from others, sometimes protection from self, but always protection.
Grace is beautiful and it is what saves us. But once we are saved and become Children (John 1:12) we now are subject to the consequences of our Father in heaven. We are still subject to the Law, however we are not condemned by it. Will we suffer consequences for not following it? Yes. Why? In order that we can share in God's holiness (Hebrews 12). Let us not forsake either, but believe in both Grace and Law!
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