Month: October 2021

“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”  Hebrews 4:12

I love to read, and I love books. There’s nothing like the feeling of getting a new book, opening it for the first time, preparing to find all the treasures hidden within the pages. A book may take us to places we’ve only dreamed of, or it may teach us things we didn’t even know we didn’t know. I’ve heard people say that books are their friends and I understand what they mean. As a child I made friends with other kids who were characters in various books. I’ve grown to appreciate my friendship with those imaginary children and innumerable imaginary adults in innumerable stories. But in a much more realistic way, I’ve become friends with many, many other people who are, or were, very real and alive on this earth. Because when a book, fiction or non-fiction, touches your mind, heart and soul, you become friends. Not with the book, but with the author of the book. The book is just a means of communication between the author and the reader.

There’s an author like none other Who has written a book like none other. That book, of course, is the Bible. And the author is God. In one sense, the Bible was written by 40 different authors. But even though it was 40 different hands penning the words, all those words came from God. And those words are very special words. They are so much more than just words on a page. They’re living and active! Which makes sense since the author is living and active in a way that no human is or was. The words He gave to each of those 40 men are actually from the heart of the Creator of the universe!

Unlike human authors whom we may never meet, God very much wants to be known through his word. He reveals Himself through the Bible so we can know Him a little better each time we read it. And because it’s alive, it never becomes irrelevant. What other book can you say that about? For thousands of years, people have read the Bible and felt like it was written just for them and for the situation they’re going through right that moment. And it was. God’s word never changes because God never changes. One of the miracles of His word is that it’s relevant for every culture and every age.

God’s word isn’t just relevant, it’s sharp! It’s so sharp it can separate things that are almost inseparable. Separating soul and spirit would be like trying to cut the layers of a piece of paper but God’s word can do that. I take great comfort in that. It’s amazing to me how Satan and the world can worm their way into my thinking. The enemy can make his deceptions look so much like the real thing that I can’t always tell the difference. But God can. His word will divide the counterfeit from the real.

            It’s not just relevant and piercing, God’s word also judges us. Not just our actions, but it goes much deeper to judge our thoughts and attitudes. We may not think we’re doing anything so terrible, and maybe our actions aren’t bad. But the thoughts and attitudes behind our actions may tell a different story. I’m sure we’ve all experienced times when a verse seems to cut into our hearts. If you think that hurts, think how Peter must have felt when Jesus responded to him, “Get behind me, Satan!” Even though Peter was a follower of Christ, Satan still was able to twist his thinking to something that was not God-honoring. The protection against that is both simple and hard. The simple part is to make sure we’re spending plenty of time in God’s word. The hard part is to let that word penetrate deeply enough to shine a light on our thoughts and attitudes. The purpose is not to make us feel terrible about ourselves. It’s to clean away all the filth so we can have a closer and deeper walk with God. As hard as it is and as much as it may hurt, God and His word can bring our dirt into the light so we can be cleansed by Him. So let’s start with the simple part – spending more and more time in God’s word, so He can help us with the hard part. All to bring us to the joy filled part of growing closer to Him.

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”  1 John 5:14

What usually strikes a person first about this verse is that we can ask anything we want. Before we go any further with this, I need to draw your attention to those 4 very important words: “according to his will.”  This isn’t a blank check for a million bucks or three more wishes. Once we get that part out of our brains, let’s look at the rest of it.  We have confidence in approaching God. Why? Because He hears us. Period. Not sometimes, or even most of the time. He hears every single prayer sent His way. Wow! With a promise like this, what could possibly keep us from going to God with every need in our life?

Is it possible we don’t really believe this verse? We know in our head that God hears us, but do we really believe it with our whole being? Or maybe we think (even unconsciously) that we don’t need God. After all, we’re intelligent, capable individuals, right? I’m not trying to diminish anyone’s self-esteem, but if I think I’m those things, I need a bigger picture of Who God is. I only need to compare myself to our omnipotent, all-powerful God to realize I need Him every minute.

Or maybe we’re afraid He’ll actually answer. You know – “Be careful what you pray for because you just might get it.”  If that’s you, just remember that God’s not some cosmic genie that we can control. If we ask for something that God knows is not in our best interest, He overrides our request. He doesn’t give us anything outside His will or outside His plan. Or maybe you think He’s too busy to hear your requests. Just think of all the prayers going up to Him at any one time from all over the world. It’s hard for me to believe that a God who would sacrifice His only Son for me would then be too busy for me.

What’s stopping you from approaching God? Is it one of these reasons or something else? Let’s search our hearts for the reason(s). Then confess any sin of unbelief and turn over to Him any area of doubt. We need to ask Him for a bigger picture of Himself and a truer picture of ourselves. Only then can we approach Him with full confidence.

“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:25

            How do you remain close to God? What do you put in place to make sure your life with Him doesn’t become stale or start to slide away from Him? What practices are in your life just because you love God and want to know Him better? There are a few different aspects to the Christian walk that are vital. Things like prayer, and praising God, and immersing yourself in His word. When we neglect those things, we can be sure we will eventually fall into sinful thoughts and attitudes, which then lead us to sinful behaviors because we will no longer have the mind of Christ. We will harden ourselves against the voice of God and will become immune to the leading of His Spirit. It doesn’t happen instantaneously. Rather, it’s a gradual fading away from Him and His presence.

            Another practice that keeps us close to God that I see diminishing more and more in our society is church attendance. Maybe it’s because we use that word “attendance” when we actually mean something much more. We attend a concert, or a lecture. We sit passively and observe. Oh, maybe we sing along with the musician, or we take notes at the lecture. And maybe we even learn some new insight. But in reality, we could leave those events without ever truly engaging our hearts and our minds. We can do the same with church attendance. Go. Sit. Listen. Repeat the next week. That’s not what I’m talking about. What I really mean is church involvement. God doesn’t want us to go to church every Sunday just so we can sit in a pew and then leave. He’s asking more than that. And He’s offering more than that.

            I don’t want to sound legalistic about this. It’s not like God is wanting us to attend church so we can mark off a box. Rather, He knows that we need community. We need one another to fellowship with, to share our burdens with, to care for and pray for one another, and just to do life together. Now that it’s possible to watch many of our churches online, there’s great temptation to do just that. Online participation is better than nothing if we’re not able to attend. For example, if we’re sick or out of town. But it should never be used as a replacement for attending and participating when we’re able to do so. If you think I’m sounding holier-than-thou on this topic, let me confess that this is something I struggle with. Some weeks, online worship can be a huge temptation. That’s why I’m writing on this topic. I have made the commitment to change in this area and want to encourage others to do the same. I think of an old Keith Green song that says, “Jesus rose from the dead, but you can’t get out of bed.”

            I’m excited for this journey of getting back to where I was before. I’ve made the commitment to attend in person every single Sunday when possible. While I’m there, I hope to connect with those I know, and meet some new people. I want to let God use me to speak into their lives and open me up to hear Him speaking to me through them. I’m expecting new opportunities of service to open before me as well as new chances to learn more about God in community with others. I know I’m going to be greatly blessed. God knows we can’t do this alone. He made us to need one another. Ultimately, we need Him. May our focus always be to connect with others with the intention of drawing closer to God – together.

“Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted . . . Your gold and silver are corroded . . . You have hoarded wealth in the last days.” James 5:1, 2, 3

            It is so easy to overlook these verses. There are several ways we can assume these verses don’t apply to us. The one I see most often is to assume these verses don’t apply to us. I’m not rich, right? It’s pretty easy to drive around and find houses bigger than mine, to notice people with clothes that are nicer than mine, to hear about those who are able to travel more often and to places I can’t enjoy. There are lots of people richer than me. But that’s looking the wrong direction. What about those who live in homes much smaller than mine or have no home at all? Or those who have very few clothes to wear, or who have never been able to travel? Especially when we look outside of our own country. If you are living at poverty level in the United States, you are among the top 13% of the wealthiest in the world. That means that 87% of people in the world have less than you. That’s right. If you’re at poverty level in our country, you’re rich!

            What do these verses mean for those of us who are wealthy? Does it mean that having money or possessions is evil or bad? I don’t think so. What these verses are alluding to is our attitude about them. The first question we need to answer is who do they belong to? Are they yours? Are they mine? Scripture tells us that all we have belongs to God. He gave it to us to use, but it’s still His. Do we think of it that way? Do we ask or wonder how He would want it to be used? Or do we only think of our own comfort and desires?

            I’ve heard of people who wish for a solution to world hunger. Well, I have one. If all people shared their money and possessions so that everyone has an equal amount, none of us would starve. Of course, that will never happen on this earth because we are all sinful, selfish humans. But that shouldn’t stop those of us who are in Christ from sharing what we can with those who are in need.

            So what does that mean for all of us? Does that mean we give away all we own? I don’t think so because then we would simply become a burden on others. Do we choose to live on as little as possible, sell all our possessions that aren’t absolutely necessary so we have more money to share with others? I’m not so sure that’s right, either. I believe that God gives us some things simply for our enjoyment. In other words, they may not be a necessity for life, but God still wants us to enjoy His gifts to us. I don’t have an answer to these questions. I struggle with where the line is in my own life. And maybe that’s the answer. Maybe God wants us to continue to struggle with this, continue to seek His will, continue to hold all our finances and possessions very loosely. Maybe it’s in this day-to-day struggle of how we think about our wealth that God will show us more and more of Himself. That’s a treasure worth having!