Holding Nothing Back!

Tuesday, July 05, 2011, 6:50 a.m. – The song, “When I’m With You,” was playing in my mind when I awoke this morning. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Matthew 15-16 (quoting 16:5-12, 21-28):

When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. 6 “Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

7 They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread.”

8 Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? 9 Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? 11 How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees...

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. 28 I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

My Understanding: Jesus warned his disciples to be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees. The disciples eventually came to understand that Jesus meant that they were to guard against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees which spread like yeast. Yeast is “a small single-celled fungus that ferments sugars and reproduces by budding,” i.e. by “a form of reproduction in which an outgrowth of the parent separates to form a new growth” (Encarta). I find it interesting that Jesus used yeast to illustrate the danger of the teaching of the religious leaders of his day. “Single-celled,” would suggest they were not operating from the vine, i.e. they were not of God but were operating on their own accord. And, they reproduced offspring that were also separated and operated on their own. Yeast is a fungus and a fungus “lives by absorbing nutrients from organic matter. Fungi include mildews, molds, rust,” etc. (Encarta). Other words to describe “fungus” are decay, rot, blight, deterioration, degeneration, corrosion, etc. So, yeast is a fungus and a fungus is something that robs nutrients from other matter and that reproduces decay. This is how Jesus described the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees of his day.

In chapters 15 and 16, Jesus described the Pharisees and Sadducees in this way:

• They nullify the word of God for the sake of their tradition
• They honor God with their lips, but their hearts are far from him
• They worship God in vain
• Their teachings are but rules taught by men
• They are not of God and they will be uprooted
• They are blind guides trying to lead the blind
• They demanded a sign from heaven to test Jesus
• Yet, they could not interpret the signs of the times
• They were a wicked and adulterous generation
• Their teaching was like yeast, so the disciples were to beware them

You may identify these teachers with legalism and strict adherence to a set of restrictive rules that do not have anything to do with changing one’s heart, and that would be true. They were more concerned with outward appearance than they were with heart change. They were more concerned with following a set of man-made rules, which did not affect the human heart, than they were with ministering God’s love to human lives. Many of today’s modern churches have supposedly pulled away from this form of legalism and works-based salvation and are allegedly teaching the true gospel of grace, and yet many of them are just like the Pharisees and Sadducees while promoting themselves as just the opposite.

They are not connected to the head, Jesus Christ, or they would be following him more than they are following the teachings of men. They are still teaching rules taught by men, just of different men and different rules, i.e. ones that have the appearance of being more centered in God’s grace instead of legalism. And, yet they are asking their disciples to follow these man-made rules (church doctrines, purpose statements and vision statements put together by man, posted on church buildings’ walls and in church bulletins, and of which the people are asked to recite, memorize and follow). And, the church leaders are often bent more toward obeying what they were taught by men in training than they are in obeying God’s word, even to the exclusion of members of the body of Christ who do not fit their man-made image of who should be allowed in their fellowships. They teach books and philosophies written and taught by men that are not in line with the truths of God’s word, and yet they adopt these man-made teachings over and above scripture. So, they are really not all that different from the Pharisees and Sadducees, only they just have a different outward image they are trying to present in order to attract people to their organizations.

Some of the teaching of these modern-day Pharisees and Sadducees includes a grace only philosophy that teaches that repentance and obedience to Christ are not necessary for salvation. And, they go beyond that by stating that Jesus Christ is pleased with us no matter what we do. They offer people a false hope of salvation and empty promises that they cannot fill. They teach man-made philosophies, provide entertainment, and plan and purpose their public services around attracting the world via worldly means. They operate just like any other secular business in using the same marketing techniques I was taught in business school in learning how to start my own business. They reduce God to a genie in a bottle who is there to meet our every need and yet requires nothing of us in return, or to a doting grandfather who would never discipline his grandchildren and just wants to please them and give them what they want in order to make them happy. This kind of modern teaching by our modern-day Pharisees and Sadducees leaves people in their sin, it puts Band-Aids over serious sin issues, and it does not call God’s people to repent of their sins. This is yeast. This is rot. It is decay. And, we are to guard against this teaching.

In contrast to this kind of teaching, which works its way through the body of Christ like gangrene, Jesus taught that if anyone was to come to Christ Jesus:

• He must deny (negate; disallow; forbid) himself (his flesh nature)
• He must take up his cross (death to sin and self; repentance)
• He must follow (obey) Jesus Christ
• He must lose his old life (death to self; repentance)
• Then he will find his new life in Christ Jesus (regeneration of the Holy Spirit)

Jesus was saying, in other words, and he repeated this message throughout his ministry on the earth, that if anyone wants to come to genuine believing faith in Jesus Christ, he must repent (turn from his sin and die to his old way of life), and he must obey the Lord Jesus by following him and his teachings and his will for our lives. If we hold on to our old lives and our old ways of living and lifestyles, thinking we are saved, Jesus is saying that we will lose our lives and that we are not genuinely saved. He said that if we gain the whole world, we forfeit our souls, so if our lives are caught up in pleasing ourselves and in following after the ways of the world and what the world has to offer and we are buying into a lie which teaches repentance and obedience are not necessary for salvation, then we need to go back to scripture and we need to read what it teaches, because it teaches that we must have a radical life change via the working of transformation of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Jesus died and took all our sins upon himself so that we would be free from the bondage to and the control of sin over our lives, and so we would be free to obey him and to follow him.

One day Jesus is going to come back for his bride. Yet, not everyone who says, “Lord, Lord,” will enter his kingdom. If we want to make sure that we are in a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ, that we are truly God’s children and that we honestly and truly have the hope of eternal life, then we need to repent today of any sins we are holding on to, and we need to turn and follow the Lord Jesus Christ in all things, holding nothing back.

When I’m With You / An Original Work / April 22, 2011

When I’m with You, Lord, hear my cries.
Soon I’ll be with You, by Your side.
Harken to me; Lord, hear my plea
When I’m with You and You’re with me

Precious Savior, Lord, and my friend,
Life with You has no final end.
I’ll reign with You eternally
When I’m with You and You’re with me.

Father, God, my only desire.
Your word is in me like a fire.
I’ll sing Your praise all of my days
When I’m with You and You’re with me.

Song Lyrics @ Public Domain

Link to song

A People Divided

I sat down at the keyboard this afternoon, because I sensed the Lord had a song for me today. I prayed, and then I began hearing a tune with lyrics, so I wrote what he gave me. I believe this is a 4th of July message to the church in the USA.

A People Divided / An Original Work / July 4, 2011

Flick’ring torches; hatred; violence;
Crashing windows; guns of men;
We are a people divided
By our love of pow’r and fame.

Idols marching; they’re in chorus;
Their goal to destroy the church,
Tempting us to follow them in
Pure devotion; them we search.

Leave your idols. Follow your God.
Make Him your Lord God and King.
Be a living witness for Him,
And your off’rings to Him bring.

Repent of your sins and worship
Him; a living sacrifice,
Put your all upon His altar.
Leave your old life way behind.

Flick’ring torches; hatred; violence;
Crashing windows; guns of men;
We are a people divided
By our love of pow’r and fame.

Song Lyrics @ Public Domain

Link to song

By Your Example

Monday, July 04, 2011, 3:52 p.m. – The song, “Teach Me, Lord,” was playing in my mind. So, I sat down and wrote out the lyrics, because sometimes handwriting words helps me to really focus on the words and their meanings so that I can better pray through them to see what lesson the Lord has for me through them, especially since, in this case, he was the one who gave me the lyrics in the first place. So, I wrote them out, and as I did, what stood out to me this time were the words about loving others, caring for them, sharing their burdens and helping them to mend their broken lives and/or their hurts. So, I prayed, “Lord, teach me how to love and care for others, to share their burdens, and to help mend their broken lives. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” I read Matthew 14 (quoting vv. 22-36):

Jesus Walks on the Water
22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

25 During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

29 “Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

34 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him 36 and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed.

My Understanding: At the beginning of the chapter we read how Herod had arrested John the Baptist, had bound him and had put him in prison because John had been saying it was not lawful for Herod to have his brother’s wife, Herodias. Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they thought he was a prophet. Then, Herod had a birthday party. His step-daughter (or daughter from Herodias) danced for the people at the party. She so pleased Herod that he promised on oath to give her whatever she asked. Her mother prompted her to ask for the head of John the Baptist on a platter, so Herod granted her request and John the Baptist was beheaded. His disciples then went and told Jesus.

When Jesus heard what had happened to John, he must have been grieved in his spirit. He loved John very much. At the news of John’s beheading, he withdrew by boat to a solitary place. The crowds followed him on foot. When he stepped on land and he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them. He healed their sick, he ministered to their needs and he fed five thousand of them with only five loaves of bread and two fish on hand, and yet there was food leftover. Then Jesus made the disciples get into a boat and go ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. Then, he went up on a mountainside to pray. His time of solitude had been delayed by his compassion on the crowds, so now he took that time to get alone with the Father and to talk with him.

Evening came. The boat was far out into the water. The boat was being tossed by the wind and waves. Jesus went out to his disciples, walking to them on the lake. They thought he was a ghost. They were afraid. He said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” I love it when he says those words of comfort to me at times when I am feeling the wind and waves around me. Then, Peter asked to come to Jesus. Jesus said, “Come.” Peter began walking toward Jesus on the water. When he saw the wind and the waves, though, he was afraid and he began to sink, crying out to Jesus, “Lord, save me!” At least he had the presence of mind not to continue drowning, but to cry out for help. And, help came. Jesus reached out his hand and caught Peter. He said, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” When Peter and Jesus climbed into the boat, the wind died down.

As I considered prayerfully the message of this passage of scripture, especially in relation to the message in this song, the Lord helped me see the example Jesus set for us in loving others, in caring for their needs, in sharing their burdens, and in helping mend their lives.

• Jesus hurts when we hurt. He is grieved when we are persecuted for our faith, and he is grieved when we sin and he sees how sin is hurting us.
• Jesus withdrew and spent time with the Father in prayer in private when he was grieving
• Jesus had compassion on people, and he put their needs above his own, and/or he delayed the meeting of his own needs and he met theirs first
• Jesus met people’s legitimate needs (not necessarily wants)
• Jesus went to his followers to minister to them when they were afraid, lonely and/or hurting in order to bring them comfort and encouragement
• Jesus calmed the storms that were surrounding their lives and he comforted them with his presence and with his power to handle the storm
• When Peter asked to come to Jesus, he said, “Come,” and he gave him the supernatural ability to walk above the waves below him
• When Peter took his eyes off of Jesus and looked at the waves and began to fear and to drown in his circumstances, Jesus rebuked him for his lack of faith
• When Peter called out for help, though, Jesus took him by the hand and he rescued him. And, the waves and wind died down.

The song, “Teach Me, Lord,” talked about us being an example of Christian living to others, yet here I saw how Jesus set the example for us in how to love others with his love. So, I prayed, inquiring of the Lord as to where I am failing to follow his example in how I minister his love and grace to others. And, he answered by giving me a list of questions to ask myself based off of this list of nine ways in which Jesus set the example before us in loving, and in caring for others’ needs. I will not share my specific answers, as those are between me and the Lord, yet I will say that several of them I marked as “needing improvement,” so I am praying for the Lord to show me ways I can improve in those areas.

• Do I hurt when others hurt? Do I hurt for them when they are caught in sin?
• Do I go to the Lord in prayer, inquiring of him, when I am grieving and in need of counsel, comfort, guidance and direction? Or do I try to solve my own problems?
• How do I do at putting other people’s needs above my own?
• Am I sensitive to the legitimate needs of others and do I pray and seek ways I can help meet their needs?
• Do I reach out to people in their needs and offer words of comfort and healing?
• Do I give words of encouragement that will help people to put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ so that they will trust Christ with their life’s circumstances instead of allowing their circumstances to overwhelm them and to overtake them?
• Am I inviting in my approach – not watering down the message, but do I try to find ways to say things that will invite discussion instead of shutting off communication?
• Do I trust my loved ones to Jesus Christ for him to work in their lives, and realize that sometimes they need to go through difficulties and they need to hurt and to work through their pain in order for them to grow? And, then not worry and fret?
• Am I willing to reach my hand out to people who are drowning in sin or in life’s difficulties and to help pull them out of deep waters to safety? Am I willing to expend my time, energy and emotion for them at the risk of rejection and persecution in order to help others to victory over sin?

Those are the questions God gave me to ask myself and that I answered and that I will be working on the areas in which he said I need improvement. I hope and pray you will take these questions to heart and that you will ask the Lord to show you, too, where you need improvement, and for him to teach you how to better love and minister to people’s needs.

Teach Me, Lord / An Original Work / June 12, 2011

Teach me, Lord, to walk in Your ways,
And observe all You command.
May I ever hasten to You,
And desire to not offend.
Teach me how to follow Your steps,
Gently guiding me each day.
May I love and serve You always,
Loving others, this I pray.

Teach me, Lord, to listen to You
Speaking Your words to my heart.
May I never stray from Your truth,
And from Your law ne’er depart.
Teach me how to instruct others
In the way that we should go,
Leading them by my life witness,
So that Jesus they should know.

Teach me, Lord, to be a light in
This dark world of grief and sin.
May I always care for others;
Share their burdens; help to mend.
Teach me how to share with them that
Jesus came to set them free,
So that they could be forgiven;
Live with Christ eternally.

Song Lyrics @ Public Domain

Link to song

Sold Out for Jesus Christ!

Monday, July 04, 2011, 10:52 a.m. – The song, “By Your Grace,” is playing over and over again in my mind today. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Matthew 13:1-23:

The Parable of the Sower
1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.”

10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

11 He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables:

“Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
15 For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’

16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. 22 The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. 23 But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

My Understanding: Skipping down to verse 18 first, we read: “When anyone hears the message about the kingdom…” Then we read about four responses to this message. So, first off, I believe it is important to understand what the “message of the kingdom” entails. We know that the Gospel of John begins by telling us about that message. The Word is Jesus Christ. He was in the beginning. He was with God and he is God. He created all things and without him nothing was made that has been made. He is life and he is the Light of men. He was in the world and he came among his own, yet the world did not recognize him, and his own did not receive and accept him for who he is. He became human flesh and made his dwelling among mankind. Those who saw him and who witnessed him in the flesh saw his glory, “the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Philippians 2 continues this description of Jesus Christ by telling us that he was in “very nature God,” yet he willingly left his throne in heaven, he made himself nothing, he was made in human likeness and he took on a servant role. He humbled himself and became obedient to death on a cross for our sins so that we could go free. Hebrews also continues this description of Jesus Christ when the writer of Hebrews states that Jesus Christ is our high priest, who is able to sympathize with us in our weaknesses because he was tempted in every way that we are tempted, yet without sin. Jesus had to be made like us in every way so that he might become our merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, so that he could be the perfect Lamb sacrifice for our sins and redeem us back for God. “Because he suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted” (2:18).

John the Baptist was the forerunner for Jesus Christ. His mission was to prepare the way for Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry and for the ministry of salvation from sin that was to be provided through Jesus’ death and resurrection. John the Baptist preached, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matt. 3:2). Jesus also preached, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matt. 4:17). The “kingdom of heaven” is to be understood, thus, as the Messianic kingdom rule and reign of Jesus Christ, beginning with his earthly ministry, in all his teachings, through his death and resurrection - in order to provide us with salvation from our sins - throughout the life of the church - through which his ministry on the earth continues - and eventually culminating in his return and him setting up his kingdom reign on the earth for 1,000 years, as well as in his rule as God the Son, King and Lord for all eternity. Jesus Christ was, thus, the embodiment of the kingdom of God.

The prerequisite that Jesus Christ and John the Baptist taught for entry into this kingdom was repentance, i.e. turning from our sin and turning to faith and obedience to Jesus Christ. In other words, this is a radical life change of heart, mind, attitude, behavior and lifestyle. Jesus Christ often emphasized the need for an obedient relationship to him for entry into the kingdom of heaven (see Matt. 7:20-22). Jesus said that if anyone was to come after him, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow Jesus. He said that if we live to save our own lives, we will lose them, but if we lose our lives for the sake of Jesus Christ, then we will find our lives.

The New Testament continues this teaching by letting us know that coming to faith in Jesus Christ means dying to our old way of life and it means being resurrected to a new way of life, transformed by the mighty working of the Holy Spirit within us. Becoming a Christian is not a decision to join a social organization, a club, or a church denomination. It is not a decision to clean up our old lives and to try to live better lives. We can’t clean up the old life. When we receive Jesus Christ, it means abandoning our former lives, and it means getting a whole new life and a whole new identity, way of living, thinking, behaving, etc. And, it means leaving our sin behind us and walking in obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ.

So, returning now to Matthew 13:18-23, what I have just described above is the “message of the kingdom” to which four classifications of people responded. The first response mentioned is of someone who heard the message but did not understand it, and the evil one came and snatched away what was sown (the seed of the gospel) in his heart so that it never took hold. In vv. 11-15, Jesus explained that there were people who could physically see and they could physically hear the message of the gospel, but they didn’t really hear and they didn’t understand, because their hearts were hard and calloused to the gospel message. Yet, it is not just this first responder who experienced hardness of heart.

The next responder is one who received the message with joy, but he had no root, i.e. he had an emotional experience, but he did not really have that radical change of heart and mind that only the working of the Holy Spirit of God can do in the life of an individual. He was not grounded in Christ or in his word. Perhaps he listened to a false gospel message that told him repentance and obedience were not necessary for salvation, and that Jesus would be pleased with him no matter what he did, but that if he “believed” in Jesus, he would have the hope of eternal life in heaven. Perhaps that sounded like a good idea to him, but he didn’t really have the knowledge and understanding of what it meant to truly become a disciple of Jesus Christ, so when the emotion of the experience wore off, and the reality of what he had signed up for sunk in, i.e. persecution and trouble, he jumped ship.

The third responder is one who received the word, but the worries and cares of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth, possessions, men and man-made idols choked out the word of God from his heart and so it did not bear fruit. James is real clear on this subject. He said that if we say we have faith, but our lives do not bear fruit that such faith exists, then our faith is non-existent, i.e. it is dead. So, all three of these responders heard the word. They all had a response, from not understanding and so letting it go in one ear and out the other, to receiving the message with joy but it never really taking root in the person’s life, perhaps due to a false gospel being preached, and to one who heard the word, but the things of this world and this earthly life choked out what he heard. They all had ears to hear, but they were still not truly hearing and receiving what they had heard to where it took root and bore fruit in their lives.

The fourth responder, nonetheless, is one who genuinely believes in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. He hears the true gospel message (including repentance and obedience), and he understands what he is signing up for. So, he makes that decision to have Jesus Christ truly transform his life and to make him a new creature, not just a cleaned up version of the old person. He is willing to take up his cross daily and to follow the Lord and to lose his life for the sake of knowing Jesus Christ so that he can gain eternal life with God in his heavenly kingdom, which begins at the moment that he/she, by the grace of the Lord Jesus working transformation in his heart, repents of his sin and makes the conscious decision to follow the Lord Jesus Christ in full obedience from this point on. Then, he is able to bear fruit in his life in keeping with repentance and with genuine obedient faith to our Lord Jesus Christ.

If you have believed in a false gospel message, and you are relying upon a decision you made at an altar, one day, to get you into heaven, think again. There is a reason Jesus told this parable in combination with the quote from the OT about being ever hearing but not understanding, ever seeing, but not perceiving, because of harden hearts to the truth of the gospel. There are many professing Christians whose hearts are hardened to the truth of the gospel message because they are believing a lie someone told them. And, one day Jesus Christ is going to say, “I never knew you!” Please, don’t rely upon a “sinner’s prayer” to get you into God’s eternal kingdom. Jesus taught repentance and obedience for entry into his kingdom. Believe what he said. Don’t let the truth of the gospel message get choked out of your life because it is easier to believe a lie than to believe the truth. Make a decision today to repent (turn from sin) and to allow the Holy Spirit to radically transform your life through and through to where you truly become someone else who is sold out for Jesus Christ.

By Your Grace / An Original Work / June 27, 2011

Speak Your words to my heart,
Let Your grace and love impart.
Be to me all I need
To love and serve Christ my King;
To love and serve Christ my King.
Change my heart; be like You;
Let me love and serve in truth.
Guide my steps ev’ry day,
As I bow my knees and pray;
As I bow my knees and pray.

Love You, Lord. You love me.
You died so that I’d go free
From my sin; pure within;
By Your grace I’m saved from sin;
By Your grace I’m saved from sin.
Invite You in my heart;
Now I have a brand new start.
Repented of my sin,
So that I’d be cleansed within;
So that I’d be cleansed within.

Live for You ev’ry day,
List’ning to the words you say.
Make You Lord of my heart;
Be Your witness, grace impart;
Be Your witness, grace impart.
Obey Your ev’ry word;
Do the things I’ve seen and heard.
Your word, Lord, in me burns,
While I wait for Your return;
While I wait for Your return.

Song Lyrics @ Public Domain

Link to song

The Debt We Owe

The Debt We Owe / An Original Work / July 2, 2011

I adore You, Lord, my Master.
I worship and praise You, King.
You are such an awesome God who
Loves us so much, grace You bring.
You died to save us from our sin
So that we could be set free.
I adore You, Lord, my Master.
I worship and praise You, King.

Lord, You are our Great Redeemer.
You paid the debt that we owe,
So that we might be forgiven,
And our God we’d come to know;
Be transformed to be like Jesus,
Who conquered, in death, our foe.
Lord, You are our Great Redeemer.
You paid the debt that we owe.

Jesus our Messiah, Savior,
Lord and Master, King of kings,
You provided our redemption,
So we’d live in victory.
From our sin and self You ransomed
Us for all eternity.
Jesus our Messiah, Savior,
Lord and Master, King of kings.

Song Lyrics @ Public Domain

Link to Song

Change My Heart

Saturday, July 02, 2011, 7:32 a.m. – When I woke this morning, the hymn, “Christ Returneth,” was playing in my mind.

Christ Returneth / H. L. Turner / James McGranahan

It may be at morn, when the day is awaking,
When sunlight through darkness and shadow is breaking
That Jesus will come in the fullness of glory
To receive from the world "His own."
O Lord Jesus, how long, how long
Ere we shout the glad song,
Christ returneth! Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! Amen. Hallelujah! Amen.

Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Jeremiah 35:12-17:

12 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying: 13 “This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem, ‘Will you not learn a lesson and obey my words?’ declares the LORD. 14 ‘Jonadab son of Recab ordered his sons not to drink wine and this command has been kept. To this day they do not drink wine, because they obey their forefather’s command. But I have spoken to you again and again, yet you have not obeyed me. 15 Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets to you. They said, “Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and reform your actions; do not follow other gods to serve them. Then you will live in the land I have given to you and your fathers.” But you have not paid attention or listened to me. 16 The descendants of Jonadab son of Recab have carried out the command their forefather gave them, but these people have not obeyed me.’

17 “Therefore, this is what the LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem every disaster I pronounced against them. I spoke to them, but they did not listen; I called to them, but they did not answer.’”

My Understanding: God wanted to teach his idolatrous people a lesson, so he used the Recabite clan to illustrate that lesson. He asked Jeremiah to invite the Recabites to a side room in the house of the Lord and to give them wine to drink, knowing that they would not drink it. The Recabites refused the drink because they were following the commands of their forefather, Jonadab. They said, “We obeyed everything our forefather Jonadab son of Recab commanded us.” So, God used this tribe of people to illustrate a very important lesson to his people. The lesson to be learned was one concerning obedience. The Recabites’ forefather, Jonadab, ordered his offspring not to drink wine, among other commands, so they did not drink wine, because they obeyed their forefather’s command.

Yet, in contrast to the Recabites’ obedience to their forefather and his commands, God’s people living in Jerusalem and Judah had not obeyed God’s commands, even though he had spoken to them again and again, instructing them to turn from their wicked ways, to reform their actions, and to not follow others gods to serve them. God had spoken to his people again and again, and yet they had not obeyed him. They were following their own stubborn wills instead. They did not listen or pay attention to God, their Father. God then declared that the people of the Recabite clan had carried out the commands of their forefather, yet “these people,” referring to his people in Jerusalem in Judah, “have not obeyed me.”

So, God declared that he would bring upon his people every disaster he had pronounced against them. “I spoke to them, but they did not listen; I called to them, but they did not answer,” God said of his people.

It is now 2011. Jesus Christ, God the Son, came to earth 2,000 years ago, took upon himself human flesh, suffered as we suffer, was tempted as we are tempted, yet without sin, and then was crucified on a cross, although he had done no wrong. He did all of this for us so that he could be our faithful and compassionate High Priest (mediator between us and God the Father), and so that he could be our sacrificial Lamb in taking upon himself the sins of the entire world, having crucified and buried our sins along with himself, and then he rose from the dead, thus conquering death, hell, Satan and sin so that we could go free. He did all of this, not only so we would be free from the ultimate penalty of sin, i.e. eternal punishment in hell and eternal separation from God, but he died for our sins so that we would be free from bondage to sin and the control of sin over our day-to-day lives.

So, when we come to faith in Jesus Christ, God the Son, we are crucified with Christ, we repent of our sins, leaving them behind (buried), and then we are raised to new life in Christ Jesus in which we make a conscious decision to now walk with him in obedience to his commands. This transformation of the Spirit of God within us is thus symbolized in baptism. This is what it means to believe in Jesus Christ – death to our old way of life, turning from our sin, and turning to walk in faith and obedience to Jesus Christ via the working and power of the Holy Spirit of God within us as we cooperate with his work of transformation in our hearts and minds to conform us into the image of Christ.

Yet, many professing Christians have skipped over this understanding of what it means to truly believe in Jesus, and have reduced faith in Jesus Christ to nothing more than an intellectual assent to what he did for us on the cross and/or to an emotional decision to have him as Savior of their lives so that they will escape hell and will go to heaven one day. They have bought into the lie that repentance and obedience are not required of God for salvation, yet the New Testament teaches us just the opposite. So, not only have they believed a lie, but they are trusting in a false hope that will not save them.

And, there are many who, at one time, made a right decision to believe in Jesus Christ via genuine repentance and faith, followed by obedience, but have since slipped away from their pure devotion to their Lord Jesus Christ and are now following after men and man-made idols and their own selfish passions and desires of the flesh rather than following and obeying their Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, they have, as well, stopped listening to God’s voice when it speaks against their sinful behavior. God is still speaking to their hearts, yet they will not pay any attention to what he is telling them, they will not listen, and they refuse to obey because they want to live their lives how they want while giving God lip service, or only doing for God what they feel comfortable doing, thinking God is pleased with them.

And God, who is the same yesterday, today and forever, and who does not change like shifting shadows, feels the same way about our sins, our rebellion, and our refusal to listen and to obey as he did about his people and their disobedience back in Jeremiah’s day. And, he will send his judgments upon us if we refuse to repent and to turn from our wicked ways, because he is a loving and just God who wants us to come back to him before it is too late.

The song that follows was given to me by the Lord, and is the prayer of my heart to him. I pray that it will be the prayer of your heart, as well, and that you will make him the Lord of your life today and that you will leave your sins behind and will walk with him in faith and obedience from this day forward.

By Your Grace / An Original Work / June 27, 2011

Speak Your words to my heart,
Let Your grace and love impart.
Be to me all I need
To love and serve Christ my King;
To love and serve Christ my King.
Change my heart; be like You;
Let me love and serve in truth.
Guide my steps ev’ry day,
As I bow my knees and pray;
As I bow my knees and pray.

Love You, Lord. You love me.
You died so that I’d go free
From my sin; pure within;
By Your grace I’m saved from sin;
By Your grace I’m saved from sin.
Invite You in my heart;
Now I have a brand new start.
Repented of my sin,
So that I’d be cleansed within;
So that I’d be cleansed within.

Live for You ev’ry day,
List’ning to the words you say.
Make You Lord of my heart;
Be Your witness, grace impart;
Be Your witness, grace impart.
Obey Your ev’ry word;
Do the things I’ve seen and heard.
Your word, Lord, in me burns,
While I wait for Your return;
While I wait for Your return.

Song Lyrics @ Public Domain

Link to Song

Hope for Our Future

Friday, July 1, 2011, 5:34 a.m. – The song, “Awestruck Grief,” was playing in my mind as I awoke this morning. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Jeremiah 31:

…3 The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying:

“I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with loving-kindness.
4 I will build you up again
and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel.

…6 There will be a day when watchmen cry out
on the hills of Ephraim,
‘Come, let us go up to Zion,
to the LORD our God.’”

7 This is what the LORD says:

“Sing with joy for Jacob;
shout for the foremost of the nations.
Make your praises heard, and say,
‘O LORD, save your people,
the remnant of Israel.’
…a great throng will return.
9 They will come with weeping;
they will pray as I bring them back.
I will lead them beside streams of water
on a level path where they will not stumble,
because I am Israel’s father,
and Ephraim is my firstborn son.

10 “Hear the word of the LORD, O nations;
proclaim it in distant coastlands:
‘He who scattered Israel will gather them
and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.’
11 For the LORD will ransom Jacob
and redeem them from the hand of those stronger than they.
12 They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion;
…and they will sorrow no more.
13 Then maidens will dance and be glad,
young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into gladness;
I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.

…17 So there is hope for your future,”
declares the LORD…

19 After I strayed,
I repented;
after I came to understand,
I beat my breast.
I was ashamed and humiliated
because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’

… 21 “Set up road signs;
put up guideposts.
Take note of the highway,
the road that you take.
Return, O Virgin Israel,
return to your towns.
22 How long will you wander,
O unfaithful daughter?

…31 “The time is coming,” declares the LORD,
“when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah.
32 It will not be like the covenant
I made with their forefathers
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to them,”
declares the LORD.
33 “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel
after that time,” declares the LORD.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34 No longer will a man teach his neighbor,
or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the LORD.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”

My Understanding: God loves us so much that he sent his only Son, Jesus Christ, to take on human flesh, to suffer as we suffer, to be tempted as we are tempted, yet without sin, and then to die on a cross as a common criminal, although he had done no wrong. Jesus Christ did all this so that he could take upon himself all our sins, crucifying and burying them with him, and then so he could triumph over them through his resurrection back to life so that we could go free.

He died on the cross for our sins to provide salvation from sin to all who will believe in Jesus Christ as Lord (master) and Savior of their lives, via repentance (turning from sin) and obedience (walking in the ways God would have us go), by God’s grace working in and through us in regeneration via his Holy Spirit. God sent his Son to die on the cross for our sins so that we could be free, not only from the ultimate penalty of sin, which is eternal separation from God and eternal punishment in hell, but God set us free from bondage to and the control of sin over our day-to-day lives so that we no longer have to live according to the desires of our flesh, but so we could be free to walk in fellowship and obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Yet, many who proclaim belief in Jesus Christ are still living in bondage to sin, and sin is still controlling their lives and determining their steps, as though Christ had not set them free. They are unfaithful to God. They love to wander away from the Lord and to follow their own selfish desires. They worship and obey their man-made idols in place of or more than they worship Almighty God. So, God is calling out to his lukewarm church and is asking them, “How long will you wander, O unfaithful daughter?” He is asking his daughter, the church, to take note of the road she is on, i.e. the path of life she is taking, and to return to her God and to Jesus Christ, her first love.

He has given us his Word, Jesus Christ, and his written Word, as well, and he has placed his Holy Spirit within us to teach us, lead, guide, counsel, and convict of sin, etc. So, his law is in our minds and in our hearts because the presence of God in the person of the Holy Spirit lives within us. He forgave our sins and he set us free from them, so we don’t have to live according to them any longer. So, we are without excuse.

Still, if we will come to him in humility and repentance, in awestruck grief, turning from our sin and turning to walk in faith and obedience to Jesus Christ, our Lord, he will restore us. He will discipline us, because he loves us so much, and because he has great compassion for those he loves, in order that we will return to him. Yet, when those who are presently wandering away from God return to their Lord Jesus Christ in faith and obedience, he will then comfort them with joy in place of the sorrow that resulted from the divine discipline they had to endure and/or that resulted from their sorrow and grief over their sin.

God used watchmen to herald his messages in the Old Testament, and he still calls men and women to be his watchmen today to say and to cry out to his church, “Come, let us return to the Lord your God and to Jesus Christ, God the Son.” His watchmen (and women) also call upon God/Jesus Christ in prayer and say, “O Lord, save your people! Bring a revival to your church in this nation, we pray.”

And, just as God promised then that his people would return, I believe he is promising now that a revival of his church will come. They will come with weeping, i.e. with awestruck grief over their sins. When they return to the Lord, their God, he will bring them back and restore them to a right relationship with himself, and he will lead them in the way they should go on a level path where they will not stumble. Being revived does not mean we live in sinless perfection, but what it does mean is that we are no longer living in willful sin and rebellion against God or in lukewarm faith, which is unproductive, lifeless, and absent of the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives working in and through us. When we do sin, we repent and we turn from our sin, and we make a conscious decision to walk in faith and obedience in the power of the working of the Holy Spirit within us, as we cooperate with him and his work.

So, if you are living a lukewarm Christian life, absent of the power of God in your life due to unrepentant sin and apathy toward the things of God; if God is barely a thought in your mind or he is only thought of occasionally when you need something or when you are attending a church service; if you are living for your own pleasures and are not concerned about whether or not God approves of your lifestyle; and/or if you are taking God’s grace for granted and/or you see his grace as a free license to live however you want while still claiming your ticket into heaven, then my prayer for you today is that you will hear God calling out to you to come back to him in repentance and obedience and that you will give the Lord Jesus Christ your all today, holding nothing back.

Awestruck Grief / An Original Work / April 21, 2011

When in awestruck grief o’er my sins, Lord, I bow,
Will You hear me, Lord, and forgive me just now?
I am so amazed that You could love me so.
Yet, Your love and kindness ever fill my soul.

Lord, You are amazing, and gracious and kind
To have offered Yourself for us when we’re blind.
You were crucified on that hill, Calvary,
When they hung Your body to die on a tree.

Now that You’ve redeemed us and, thus, set us free,
I pray, Lord, for all on this earth to believe
In Your sacrifice, Lord, cleansing all our sin,
So that we can live for You, and die within.

Song Lyrics @ Public Domain

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