DANGER: Spiritual Alzheimers ...

"And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death."  Rev. 12:11

Recently, I prepared to speak for the local Christian Women's Club where I was asked to share my story of rescue out of darkness into light.  As I worked for weeks on "tweaking" and paring down and revisiting my b.c. and early days of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ, I was literally brought to tears time and time again.  Why?  Because the freshness of where I was before Jesus came into my life and my horrific desperate state appeared even darker to me against the glorious light of Jesus and the position I now (right now this very moment) enjoy in Jesus Christ at the right hand of God the Father!

"And raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus."  Ephesians 2:6

The Danger ... Jesus and I have been walking together now for over 35 years.  Time is racing.  I forget.  I have recently learned this mental lapse can occur too easily within me, thus my blog entry, DANGER:  Spiritual Altzheimers.  Why is this malady so deadly?  The word of our testimony for a believer is the very word which helps to give us victory over the enemy of our soul.  Should we neglect to remember or have it as some surreal memory from the past, we enter into a real danger of being overcome in areas of our lives by the very enemy of our soul.  Barnhouse in his book, "The Invisible War" speaks of the delusion many have of Satan's attempt to "win" the soul of the unbeliever.  Barnhouse contends that Satan already has control over the unbeliever's life.  His desire and subsequent focus in battle is to influence believers in their walk to yield to his influence and dishonor their Lord.  What greater way of dishonoring our Lord than by forgetting the initial, pivotal, life saving rescue!  How easy to fall asleep in our faith when Christ becomes some benevolent distant uncle leaving a miniscule amount of money in his will for our use. 

The Antidote ...   If there is no story for you personally to "revisit" ... there is found eternal life and victory over the enemy of your soul only through the blood of the Lamb of God. Believe in what Jesus did for you by His dying on the cross for your sins and receive Him into your life as your Savior and friend by accepting this free gift.  This is where the loving, for keeps, relationship starts. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."  John 3:16 

And, if you have a story to "revisit", please consider writing out your story as if you were going to speak before thousands.  Pour over it day after day.  I can guarantee, you will be amazed at how your own heart will be strengthened in the battle of life and how magnificent the Lord appears before you!  And, just maybe you will find yourself weeping like myself with each revisit and even acting like the crazy lovesick fool you once were when Jesus first swept you off your feet, how ever many years ago.  Don't be a casualty of warfare and suffer with Spiritual Altzheimers a moment longer!

"Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first." Rev. 2:5

Man of Sorrows by Philip Bliss
1 Man of sorrows what a name
for the Son of God, who came
ruined sinners to reclaim:
Hallelujah, what a Savior!
2 Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
in my place condemned he stood,
sealed my pardon with his blood:
Hallelujah, what a Savior!
3 Guilty, helpless, lost were we;
blameless Lamb of God was he,
sacrificed to set us free:
Hallelujah, what a Savior!
4 He was lifted up to die;
"It is finished" was his cry;
now in heaven exalted high:
Hallelujah, what a Savior!
5 When he comes, our glorious King,
all his ransomed home to bring,
then anew this song we'll sing:
Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Inconsistencies ..... Taking out the lumps.

Inconsistencies ..... Taking out the lumps.

"That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death."  Phil. 3:10 

I just bought a used Vitamix Blender.  It was an expensive but necessary step for me, largely due to our son Andrew's impending jaw surgery.  I had a Cuisinart one and it did a decent job of making smoothies as long as you could tolerate the occasional larger pieces of ice, fruit, or whatever sucked up through or stuck in your straw.  Now the vitamix is a different animal altogether with a two horsepower motor literally crushing everything thrown into the blender.

One "lump" in my life inhibiting the consistency of a smooth, faithful walk with my Lord was brought to the surface this summer.  I flew to Hawaii to assist our daughter Melissa and family with their second move on the island.  I was apprehensive due to the length of the flight and my economy seat purchase.  Ten hours plus is a long ride in a cramped "tin can".

Due to frugality, I specifically prayed to the Lord for a "miracle" ... the free provsion of an extra legroom seat en route. When I got on the plane, I was thrilled to discover my seat in the far back of one section had ample leg room and even a section behind my seat for storage.  It was wonderful and I thanked the Lord ... all was well!   My delight was short lived.  Within a couple of minutes, a woman my age got on the plane to sit next to me and immediately asked if I would consider changing seats with her daughter who was about seven rows up as she would like to sit next to her. I thought to myself, "I don't want to move. This seat is great. Plus, there is a man with huge headphones sitting next to the daughter and who knows how that will go for 10 hours."

So, I told the woman that I would think about it but that this seat was carefully selected due to leg space, etc. As the trip went on and as I listened to "praise" music on my headphones, I thought to myself, "Lord, what would you do here?" (as if I was unaware).  While disdaining WWJD bracelets, I briefly allowed myself to imagine having to sit next to a stranger when one of my own precious daughters was in a plane for 10 hours. I begrudgingly then said to the woman, "If your daughter would like to switch with me, I am willing to switch with her."  I later learned the daughter was a mother of quadruplets and had never gotten  a chance to get out or do anything by herself since their birth four years ago. The daughter then says to me after I had offered, "I think my seat is one of those extra leg room seats because it is stated on the tray in front of me."

Well, I literally laughed out loud that I almost missed the "miracle" of an extra leg room seat due to my own selfishness! I then had the privilege of sitting next to a 30 year old man whose title is, "Chief, Cyber Defense Analysis" for our government, United States Pacific Command, and who more importantly is a born again Christian from South Carolina and a pastor's kid!!!!! We excitedly talked for hours and the trip seemed (at least to me:) to last only a few hours instead of 10. Isn't that absolutely amazing!!!!! The woman and her daughter ended up being so grateful and the Lord allowed me to bless them as He blessed me.   I needed to hear the gracious, inspiring words the man had to share with me as a black man in an often prejudiced world and he needed to hear the words I spoke of blessing to a pastor's kid old enough to be my own son.   

So, although the consistency of my life can often be more lumpy than I would like, I am thankful the God of this universe holds the Resurrection power of Christ at His disposal.  And, he gracously pours it out within His own precious children making the inconsistencies smooth, little by little.  Hopefully, I will not soon forget this lesson  next "trip" around!

 

WHAT REALLY MATTERS ....

Sunday, June 30, 2013

What Really Matters ....

Magnificent is a word to describe the beauty of Hawaii where I have been enjoying time with our daughter, Melissa and her family. As we celebrated a friend's birthday at Roy's in Hawaii Kai, the breeze of the ocean air made our outdoor experience delightful. Across from me sat a beautiful Korean girl. She was not a believer in Jesus Christ and has lived in Hawaii for the past six years. As we talked, I mentioned the spectacular faith of those in South Korea who are believers in Jesus Christ. She told me she preferred so much more the Christians in the United States because they were not "over the top" in their faith experience. The Christians in Korea were too passionate in their faith in Jesus Christ.

As I sat and listened to her, I thought of the events of the past week in our nation. The Supreme Court voted to negate the DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) thereby legally enabling states to authorize marriages of same sex partners. In one fell swoop we are now redefining what both our society upon its inception had formerly defined and what the Bible presently defines as a "marriage" sanctioned by God. Marvin Olavsky, Editor of World magazine, astutely recognized the verbage used by the majority who voted against this DOMA, some of which included the words describing Christians who are opposed to the redefining of "marriage" based on Biblical principles.

Dissenter Justice Scalia was quoted as warning: "It is one thing for a society to elect change; it is another for a court of law to impose change by adjudging those who oppose it hostes humani generis, enemies of the human race.” Olavsky then goes on to warn of the impending changes which will affect both churches who hold to traditional understanding of Biblical passages warning against the practices of homosexuality as well as individual Christians who hold similar positions. The end result looks rather "bleak" to say the least and anyone who is familiar with the Scriptures and senses the current world trend knows that persecution of true believers in Jesus Christ is certainly forthcoming in our own nation.

As I thought about the "fear" of impending persecution gripping the hearts of many believers these days and the wistful thoughts of better days gone by as our society continues to make destructive choices and decline morally, my heart was broken in listening to my Korean friend last night. Has the Church in the United States become irrelevant rather than the very salt necessary to preserve the society? And, ultimately, is our own selfish desire for self-preservation sufficient to be the driving force behind Biblical repentance?

What really matters in the church today? Is it the protection, comfort, peace and prosperity for our children and grandchildren? Was this the concern for Daniel as he spent his entire life in captivity in Babylon? Daniel had one pressing concern and we catch a glimpse of it as he cries to the Lord in Daniel 9: "O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name."

When will revival come to the church in the United States? I believe it will be when each of us as believers recognize our personal part in the shame being brought to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ via our own indifference, apathy and assimilation into the world around us. Ironically, even non believers view us as not being "over the top" for the Lord we profess to love. I believe revival will arrive when our ultimate priority for Christ's name becomes greater than our own personal comfort level and we begin to plead with God as Daniel did for His name's sake.
May God give me individually and us collectively a heart that has an ultimate concern for the preservation of His name over our own physical and temporal well being!

Monday, July 13, 2009