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Curing Openhomeaphobia. The Debilitating Fear of Hospitality.

Open-home-a-phobic, noun (op-en-hom-a-fo-bick) From Latin phobicus; Greek phobikos;
1. Someone terrified to open his or her home to guests.
2. Someone filled with anxiety due to the overwhelming feelings that his or her home is not good enough for company, the rooms not large enough, the food not tasty enough.
3. Someone who panics at the thought of fitting hospitality into a schedule jammed with deadlines, timelines and bottom lines.

Symptoms include:
– Gagging at the word “guest”.
– Uncontrollable urges to hide when the doorbell rings.
– Sweating when the church bulletin pleads for people to include internationals for holiday meals.

If there ever was an age in which the beneficial, healing properties of scriptural hospitality was more needed than in this one, I don’t know which age that might be. The AARP Bulletin reported,

“Social isolation has become such a problem in Great Britain that Prime Minister Theresa May appointed a ‘minister of loneliness’ to measure it, determine its impact and develop a strategy to address it.”

In addition to watching what we eat, exercising daily and developing an overall strategy of attempting to be healthy, researchers on aging are discovering it is also important to focus on realizing a sense of purpose, developing positive mental habits and developing meaningful social connections.

What an opportunity for the church in society and for the Christians who follow Jesus to reach out with antidotes to overcome the social isolation that exists and is growing in our contemporary world.

At the Gospel for Asia campus in Wills Point, Texas, we actively promote hospitality in various ways by encouraging staff members to open their homes to one another for times of prayer or fellowship, to have people over for dinner, meet ups or get-togethers, and to build a community amongst ourselves that cares about the needs of our colleagues and neighbors in practical and substantive ways.

Yet a majority of Christ-followers don’t seem to understand that the One they follow was without a home of His own or a place where He knew he could lay His head. And yet He was the most hospitable human ever to walk the surface of this planet. We are not aware that we have developed a raging neurosis, which I term openhomeaphobia, the fear of inviting people into our homes.

For instance, how many of us have recently invited a small group from our church, a few neighbors from our apartment or condo-complex, colleagues from work, even members of our own extended family into our home for a dessert evening or for a meal? How many of us have prayerfully considered who around us are alone, who are suffering from social isolation (maybe we ourselves are part of that statistic!) and have asked, “Lord, what can I do about it?”

Sometimes–often, in fact–it is fear that keeps us from doing what it is our hearts are telling us to do. Long ago, as a young woman, I learned that if fear popped up in the face of any venture that was challenging me to do what I thought I should, it was a sure sign that was exactly what I should be doing.

So, let’s look at some of the cures for this neurosis.

Here are 20 practical remedies for overcoming openhomephobia.

  1. No matter what, always greet people warmly at the door.
  2. NEVER apologize for the condition of your home.
  3. If you are insecure with hospitality, be as SIMPLE as possible.
    Do     only coffee, tea and dessert. Hold a pie party and let the bakers in the group bring the pies. Serve baked potatoes with toppings and a salad. Have a soup-pantry supper. Buy from a local grocery. Serve from pans off the stove.
  4. Hold a potluck.
    Have everyone who comes bring something.
  5. Plan a leftovers party.
    Have guests share their leftovers and add them to yours. Ask, “What’s in your refrigerator? This is what’s in mine.”
  6. Never do an in-depth cleaning before people come.
    Just pick up, light candles, put out flowers. Clean after they go.
  7. ALWAYS accept other people’s offer to help.
  8. Bring people home after church.
    Let them set the table. Serve pancakes. Serve French toast. Serve frozen waffles.
  9. Extend hospitality as a team.
    Team with your husband or wife. Team with your housemate. Team with friends. Team with church members or work colleagues.
  10. Pray before you invite anyone into your home.
    Ask God to provide the guest list.
  11. Develop a list of standard conversational questions to rely on.
    Think about each guest before he/she comes. Try to decide upon one thing you really want to know about him/her.
  12. Include some element of silliness, like holding an evening when everyone brings one funny story to tell. Or eat the meal backwards, beginning with dessert (a healthy one!).
  13. Hold a “craving potluck.”
    Everyone brings something he/she really craves. Do this without pre-planning.
  14. Organize a work-together exchange.
    “We’ll help you with this house project if you’ll help us with this home project.”
  15. When children are included, build some part of the event around them.
    Then everyone participates in the activities. Everyone plays musical chairs. Everyone dances (even the toddler) around the piano player.
  16. Do things for the purpose of healing and welcoming–not to impress.
    What kind of background music will soothe people after a busy day, a busy week? What is something nice you can put on the table for a centerpiece?
  17. Figure out some follow-up.
    Most likely, people will not write thank-you notes. Can you call and tell them how much you enjoyed their being in your home? Can you write a note?
  18. Make SURE everyone is introduced.
    Don’t assume people know one another. This can be done informally, but in larger groups it is better to have everyone tell his/her name and one thing about themselves.
  19. Declare the purpose of the evening:
    “We invited you tonight so you could have an opportunity to get to know one another better.”
  20. It is perfectly appropriate to set time limits. Invite people for dinner from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. You can say (as you stand), “Well, this has been a wonderful evening [or afternoon or breakfast], but many of you have busy schedules tomorrow [or today], as do we, so we don’t want to go late [or long], but we want to tell you before you leave how much we have loved having you all in our home.” (David has often threatened to come down in his pajamas with a similar message: “You all must be getting tired”¦”!)

As a last neurosis cure, remind yourself that the very act of welcome and invitation is a God-like act. When we extend welcome, we are showing to others what God is like.

Romans 15:7:

  • “Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you for the glory of God” (RSV).
  • “Accept one another, then just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God” (NIV).
  • “Therefore, receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God” (NKJV).

Do you think, could it be possible, that if one Christian conquers a neurosis of openhomeaphobia, that one single individual could impact a lonely, socially isolated society? What if tens of folk live a life of hospitality, hundreds of welcoming folk, thousands of inviting folk, ten thousands of accepting folk were cured? What impact, exactly, do you think that would have on this world?

 

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Aim For Righteous And Loyalty

In Uncertain Times Christ's Death and Resurrection Offer Comfort and Hope

It has been said that righteousness and loyalty go hand in hand. In other words, if we’re not being loyal to God then we aren’t going to experience God’s best. Loyal people are honourable people. When you’re loyal, you stick with someone through thick and thin. When you’re loyal, you keep your word to people even if you get a “better” offer.

Loyal people honour their parents and defend their family. Loyal people are respectful.  When you’re loyal, you are a person of integrity. You build trust with others. Is this an area where you can rise higher? Are you faithful in the things you’re committed to? Can you be more loyal?

Today, don’t let the distractions of everyday life keep you from being dedicated to God, family and friends. Look for ways to show honour to those around you. Is there something you need to set aside for the sake of a loved one? Show love by staying loyal. As Scripture promises, when you pursue loyalty and righteousness, you will find the abundant life God has for you!

“He who pursues righteousness and loyalty finds life”¦”  

(Proverbs 21:21, NASB)

Pray With Me
Yahweh, thank You for the promise of life in Your Word. Father, please show me any area where I can rise up higher by pursuing loyalty. Help me, by Your Spirit, to be more committed and supportive to those around me. God, let Your light shine through me, as I pursue righteousness and loyalty today, in Jesus’ Name! Amen.

A special word from the Lord, from Pastor Ray Patrick

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Between A Rock And A Hard Place!

David was between a rock and a hard place. He was in a very difficult situation when he wrote today’s verse. He was actually running for his life from his very own son, who wanted to kill him and take over the throne. Can you imagine? David was probably feeling overwhelmed, distraught, heartbroken, betrayed and abandoned. Have you ever felt that way, when you can’t believe what’s happening to you?

But, notice that David didn’t just tell the Lord all about his problems. He told the Lord about his faith when he said, “but You, God, are a shield around me”¦” David made the choice to focus on God’s goodness no matter what. The circumstances may be tough, but God is working behind the scenes for you. You may have a difficult relationship, but God is your Restorer. You may have an overwhelming need, but God is your Provider. The doctors may have told you that you have an incurable disease, but God is your Healer.

Today, things may look impossible, BUT WITH GOD, all things are possible! If you’ll keep that constant attitude of faith and victory, you’ll see the hand of God move in your life, and you will experience the life of victory God has in store for you!

”O LORD, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! …But you are a shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.”

(Psalm 3:1-3, NIV)

Pray With Me
Yahweh, thank You for always being faithful and working in my life. Father, today I open my heart to You and choose to focus on You instead of my circumstances. God, teach me that when things are difficult that I turn to you for my breakthrough. I know that with You, all things are possible and will work for my good, in Jesus’ Name! Amen.

A special word from the Lord, from Pastor Ray Patrick

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Right Friends – The Right Destiny

Don't put fullstop where God has placed a comma in your life

Ponder this, in Christ your destiny is too big to accomplish on your own. That’s why it’s so important to be connected to the right people. You have to understand that God has already placed certain people around you to speak faith into you. He has already placed people in your path that will inspire you, challenge you, and help you accomplish your dreams.

The reason some people never reach their highest potential is because they never get away from the wrong people. Recognise that not everyone is going where God is taking you. You’ve got to connect with people who understand a God given destiny, and can see your spiritual potential and your seeds of greatness.

Today, remember, you don’t have time to spend on people who are always pushing you down, telling you what you can’t do, or never giving you their approval no matter how hard you try. Those are not the friends you need, life is too short to drag people along. If you can get the wrong people out of your life, maybe then God will bring in the right people so you can fulfil the destiny He has mapped out for you.

“One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Proverbs 18:24, NIV

Pray With Me
Yahweh, thank You for preparing the right people to place in my life. Father, please help me to discern the right people You have for me. God, give me the strength to release the wrong relationships, so I have room in my life for the people You have chosen to connect me with my destiny, in Jesus’ Name! Amen.

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Am I A True Christian?

Am I A True Christian?

None of us can run away from doubt, it is always hot on our heels. There is good doubt, the type that keeps you out of trouble, and there is bad doubt, the one that puts you in trouble. The problem is, we tend to get our wires crossed when it comes to our faith.

The question ‘am I a true Christian?’ is one that is often asked by many of us at some point in our lives, but it is the wrong question to ask. This question tends to have a mindset of doing, and not believing. Often, people will start to list the things that make them a good Christian (been there, done that!) such as giving to the poor, observing certain holidays, going to church, being a kind person, showing love, and the list goes on. While those activities and qualities are present in the Christian life, they are not the things that you should measure yourself by because you will always find someone better than you. Comparing yourself to this person will make you doubt ‘how Christian’ you really are. 

I had a habit of doing this, measuring myself against other Christians and seeing how I stacked up. It drove me crazy, I tell you. I would find myself listening to different sermons on how to grow spiritually, how to hear the Holy Spirit’s voice, how to be more discerning, how to pray, etc. while trying to listen out for any false messages by the Christians speaking on this teaching. I wanted to be the best Christian that I could be, and so I believed that if I read my Bible religiously every day, or prayed for a certain amount of time a day, then I would be okay. Or if I jotted down in my journal everything that I could possibly think of that may mean something whether it was a dream that I had or something that I noticed around me… It all just became overwhelming because I was doing it for the wrong reasons. I started to doubt that I was even Christian because I was not as good as the others that I was comparing myself to. There was always someone who was more giving, or kinder, or who was more discerning or was more sensitive to the Holy Spirit. In short, I tortured myself with these thoughts, thinking that if I did not get that aspect of my Christian walk ‘right’, then I was not good enough.

Although I did not admit it to myself at the time, I knew that I was doing it to be accepted by GOD. Crazy, isn’t it? Even though I knew that I had asked Jesus to become the LORD of my life, and was washed clean by the blood of the Lamb, I was still trying to earn His approval because I did not think that I was good enough. The bottom line is that I did not understand just what it meant to be redeemed by Him, to be purchased, to be His. In our own futile thinking, we look at our relationship with GOD as though it is conditional: as long as I do this, I am good with GOD. What nonsense. The truth is that GOD does not need a bunch of ‘good’ Christians, He needs obedient and humble Christians who are prepared to do His work. 

There is also that mindset that if we do something, then we will get something from GOD. Therefore, our relationship with GOD becomes more about getting something out of Him, and not genuinely appreciating Him. Our GOD is a rewarder, He gives abundantly, but when we look at His hand and not seek His face, we are heading for troublesville .

I believe that the question we should ask ourselves is how committed are we to Christ. When we know our level of commitment, then doubt becomes void because you know where you stand. If you’re a once-a-week type of Christian, then you know that you’re not right with GOD. If you only call on Him when you’re in need, then you’re the ‘user’ type of Christian. If you talk-the-talk but do not walk-the-walk, then you’re a hypocrite. If you have one foot in the Body of Christ and one foot in the world, then you’re a lukewarm Christian who is in danger of being locked out of heaven. 

We doubt because we do not understand what GOD requires of us. We base our relationship with Him on the human model which is flawed. Humans love, but we struggle to love unconditionally especially when people have done us wrong. GOD loved the world so much that He gave us His Son while we were still sinners. He made way for us to come to Him, He did not put stumbling blocks in front of us or give us a bunch of rules before we could be saved. He said that whoever believes His Son and confesses Him will be saved- that was it. After that comes our level of commitment to Him. 

The Bible says the he who stands firm to the end will be saved, not the one who believed, confessed, and then went back to living in the world. He told us to come out of the world, to separate ourselves. So I leave you with this: if you have doubt about how Christian you are, check your level of commitment.

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Love is Patient, Love is Kind

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’

Matthew 22:37-39 (NIV)

Yesterday I was lying in bed, listening to my Spotify and the song, “Same Love” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis came on. And normally I just let the music play, usually I have a good dance or sing, but in this moment, I felt like I was being called to listen closely to the words. The song is about homosexuality, which I will talk about in a future blog post. But, as the song came to the end, “Love is Patient, Love is Kind” were the words that were sang as the music faded out. These words reminded me of what my God is; patient and kind. But is also reminded me of the thing I struggle to show to those around me. It reminded me of the second most important lesson in the Bible, the underlying theme in a large amount of Jesus’ parables, the thing I wished the world would show – LOVE.

LOVE. Different from the love that you feel in romantic relationships. It’s such a hard word and it’s sometimes really hard to show love to people you don’t think you should show it to. People who have hurt you, made you angry or upset, annoyed and frustrated you. But Jesus’ second most important lesson was to love your neighbour as yourself. I have had to face this dilemma multiple times when something hasn’t gone how I have planned it, or someone has hurt me whether it be through a breakup, an argument between mates or just by someone who has not thought about their words before they say them. And still loving them after this has happened is definitely a challenge, honestly.

When life gets hard, I retreat. I put walls up around my heart and I don’t want to let anyone in, especially if I know they’ll challenge me. Maybe it’s because I’m a tad introverted, or maybe it’s just because I’m afraid of anything unfamiliar or potentially messy, but I’m good at pushing away when I feel vulnerable. It can be easy to classify people (sometimes without even realising it) and therefore not love others truly as our neighbours. At these times, it can be easier to withdraw from community when times challenge us instead of building relationships with people who are different than us. If everyone had the same view as us, there would be no argument against it to challenge us, no open conversations.

“It’s not community until someone you don’t like shows up.”

I read this quote yesterday. This simple and powerful quote made me think hard. A lot of the time, it’s easy to want to extend love and mercy to the ones who seem needy and helpless, but it can be so much harder to extend that same love and mercy to the people you don’t see eye to eye with or don’t get on. You’ve got to think of it like this; if someone speaks up about their beliefs or opinions than look nothing like mine, I’m tempted to shut down or push back… but true community looks like pressing in and engaging them.

Sometimes “loving your neighbour” will mean loving those who have been the first to accuse, humiliate or abandon you. 1 John 4:12 puts it really clear one how to be the bigger person, to forgive and to carry on loving. It says, “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us.” While loving other through heartache or anger, you will bridge a really scary (but conquerable) gap between pain and life.

If there is one thing I have learnt about His love is that it casts out fear. His love draws life. His love is life. God’s love is patient and kind. If He can extend that to me, then I can extend it to everyone else, most importantly those that have hurt me.

Thanks

Don’t Fear, Only Believe

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The Enemy Will Flee

Ray of Hope

Today’s verse tells us that we shouldn’t just come any old way to God. We shouldn’t come empty-handed to the King of kings and the Lord of lords. What can we bring? What do we have that’s worthy of Almighty God? Our praise. Our thanksgiving. Our worship. We are to enter His gates with an offering from our hearts of adoration, because He is worthy!

Sinners and saints alike have the honour and privilege to enter boldly into God’s presence. Scripture says that we can come to His throne of grace and receive His mercy. Because He loves us, He has given us unlimited access to Himself 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Today, please understand, praise isn’t just about singing songs on Sabbath or Sunday mornings. Praise is the expression of gratefulness to God for all He has done. Praise gets God’s attention. Praise is a powerful tool in the life of the believer because God inhabits our praises! When we enter His presence, He enters our circumstances. When God shows up, the enemy must flee! Hallelujah! So this weekend enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and open the door for Him to move on your behalf!

“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.”

Psalm 100:4, NKJV

Pray With Me
Yahweh, I come to You with thanksgiving in my heart. Father, I enter into Your courts with praise. God, today I declare that You are good, and Your mercy endures forever! Please have Your way in me by the power of Your Holy Spirit, in Jesus’ Name! Amen.

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What Is a Christian to Do About Criticism?

“Everything we do either propels God’s mission forward or hinders the embodiment of His kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven.” – Jeff Christopherson, Vice President of Send Network

Christopherson is right on point. All too often, we fail to see that everything we do impacts the kingdom of heaven on earth.

Since we are the only representatives of that kingdom, every believer must come to the point where we learn to confront ourselves with every word we speak and every action we take–before we say or do them.

The failure of some of us to weigh our actions is a shortcut to behaving like the ungodly whose lives are characterized by contentions and dissensions (see Galatians 5:19—21). In short, there is no room in a Christian’s life for creating strife, friction and discord–especially between and among professing believers.

Recognizing the Danger of a Critical Spirit

Contention usually begins with a critical spirit and exhibits itself as criticism. Whilst conceding that criticism can be constructive or destructive, for the most part, constructive criticism is usually shared privately in the spirit of Galatians 6:1—2 and Matthew 18:15.

It is public criticism that is most destructive. It is also infectious, leveling accusations and condemnations and drawing bystanders into one of Satan’s most subtle schemes in his quest to overthrow the kingdom of heaven.

Jude warns us in his epistle that “certain men have crept in [among believers] unnoticed.” They are of several different kinds: those who have gone the way of Cain, those who have gone the way of Balaam, and those who have gone the way of Korah.

Korah was a critic of Moses. Korah is the poster boy for critics. It is interesting that his story unfolds in Numbers chapter 16, but is so important for us today that Jude wrote a stern warning for the church to beware of being critical.

Criticism assumes that the purveyor knows better than the target of the criticism. That was Korah’s problem. He thought he know how to run the “Wilderness Operation” better than Moses. He really got upset when Moses did not divide a gift of wagons equally among the clans who carried the tabernacle. Korah was of the Kohathites; his clan didn’t get any wagons (see Numbers 7:9).

Read Numbers 4 where the Lord gave Moses specific instructions to follow.

Korah thought Moses was wrong. He complained to his family, to his neighbors and friends, and stirred them to the point of rebellion. As Dr. K.P. Yohannan points out in his booklet “The Beauty of Christ through Brokenness,” “God Himself ripped open the earth and swallowed him up.” In fact, it swallowed up Korah and all who joined in with his critique of Moses, including their wives and children (see Numbers 16:32).

Recognizing Criticism for What It Is

Pastor Ronald Franklin describes all criticism as falling into one of three categories. And he warns us to expect to be criticized. That’s right. We are not going to make it through life without being criticized. So we need to understand the kinds of criticism we may face and understand how to respond in a Christ-like manner that advances the kingdom of heaven.

– Accurate Criticism.

This is valid criticism that may or may not be 100 percent correct. When we know that criticism is substantially correct we should consider it as an opportunity to make needed corrections (see Proverbs 15:31—32.)

– Inaccurate Criticism.

This is criticism that is “essentially incorrect,” but may include a kernel of truth. This type of criticism may allow us an opportunity to teach what the critic does not have correct (see Acts 11:2—4.)

– Malicious Criticism.

This is criticism that is motivated by some personal agenda on the part of the critic. When we’re faced with this type of criticism, it presents an opportunity to minister grace, which advances the kingdom of heaven as Christ intends for us to do (see Matthew 5:44—45.) It is particularly interesting that this is when grace is true ministry on behalf of advancing the kingdom of Heaven.

Social media has opened up a whole new world for criticism–and the world loves it. Even some news media has drifted away from objective reporting to various formats for criticism.

For that reason, Christians must exercise a discerning spirit to not only recognize unwarranted criticism but also to understand the kind of critical spirit from whence those critical comments originate. A discerning spirit can recognize a critical spirit.

Recognizing a Critical Spirit

“”¦true and loving. It comes from a humble, caring heart that wishes the best for the other person. It is not bitter condescending, insulting, or cold-hearted.

“There is a significant difference between helping someone improve and having a critical spirit. A critical spirit is never pleased. A critical spirit expects and finds disappointment wherever it looks. It is the opposite of 1 Corinthians 13: a critical spirit arrogantly judges, is easily provoked, accounts for every wrong, and never carries any hope of being pleased. Such an attitude damages the critiqued as well as the critic.

“Biblical criticism is helpful, loving, and based on truth. Correction is to be gentle. It comes from love, not from a sour personality. Galatians 5:22­—23 says the Spirit wants to produce in us love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. If criticism cannot be expressed in keeping with the fruit of the Spirit, it’s better left unsaid.”

The right place to stop criticism is at the source. If we are not walking in the Spirit, we will follow the flesh. As we have already seen, the flesh is the headquarters for critical spirits.

Ed Stetzer identifies three types of critical spirits:

– The Constant Critic.

You know who they are. They are always complaining about something, always pointing out things that are “not right.”

– The Low-character Critic.

Stetzer says, “I am stunned to see just how much some ‘Christian’ bloggers, in particular, will lie, play guilt by association, and display a complete lack of character–all while calling out someone for something similar. The blogosphere may be their sandbox, but they can be found just about anywhere on the playground.

– The Opportunistic Critic.

These are people who are always looking for a new issue to expose or debate. Stetzer’s advice? See them for who they are.

None of us is or ever will be exempt from criticism. Not a single individual or institution will go uncriticized by someone at some time. Gospel for Asia (GFA) is nearing its 40th year of ministry. Although we have been and continue to be blessed abundantly, we have also experienced criticism. Some of it has been dispensed with love and kindness. Some other, not so much. Our commitment is to honor the Lord in all we do with a sincere desire to please Him.

Let us consider our need for brokenness so we do not become critical spirits nor respond inappropriately to them. Let us remember we are accountable to the righteous scrutiny of a holy God. Let us live our lives in that light and help others to do so as well.

May God help us to not have a critical spirit. May He grant us the wisdom to recognize the different types of critics and criticism for who and what they are. Even more so, may He direct our paths is such a way that we respond in a way that advances the kingdom of heaven.

– ~ – ~ –  ~ –  ~ –

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6 Reasons Why Humility Is Necessary in the Lord’s Work

Make no mistake about it, there is no greater joy than working in the Lord’s service. Nor is there a calling in which we will receive more criticism, resistance and opposition–even more so than being an appointee to the United States Supreme Court!

1. To set aside our personal desires requires humility.

Romans chapter 12 begins with the Apostle Paul urging believers to present ourselves as living sacrifices acceptable to God.

2. To set aside the world system’s potential path to success requires humility.

Paul follows his plea with another one to not be conformed to this world system. The world system is all about how to become successful, and then how to become even more successful. It is a system built upon networking, self-marketing and public recognition. It is a system based on self and pride.

3. It takes humility to see ourselves as we are and to realize that we are no better than anyone else aside from grace.

In verse 3, Paul admonishes us to not think of ourselves more highly than we ought to. In other words, we must remember that our redemption is only by God’s grace. Believers must function together, understanding that we carry the message of God’s grace to those who have not heard it, to those who stand in need of it, just as we did and as we continue to do. 

Our work is doomed to failure unless and until we approach it with the humble spirit of a servant who is willing to deny oneself before taking up our cross to follow Christ.

But then, we have only just begun. To live a life honoring to Christ, we must continue to deny ourselves daily, or, as Paul told the Corinthians, it is necessary to do so daily (see 1 Corinthians 15:31). Humility is necessary to commence the journey, but it is also necessary to continue the journey.

4. Humility is necessary because we will face criticism.

It’s not that we might face criticism. We will face criticism. It is part of our fallen nature to criticize the work of others. Jesus was certainly not immune from criticism. The Gospels are replete with accounts of the scribes, the Pharisees and the Sadducees criticizing nearly everything the Son of God did or said.

They had to be as annoying as gnats. Yet Jesus, who had “made Himself of no reputation . . . and humbled Himself,” (see Philippians 2:7—8), always received the criticism humbly. If He responded, He did so with love and compassion for men who were wrapped in self-righteousness and pride while claiming to represent Jehovah.

The rise of technology and especially social media has opened Christian ministries to seemingly relentless criticism. No ministry is exempt. Social media and the blogosphere have opened a space in which criticism thrives. It doesn’t take very long to examine the internet to find that everyone from Franklin Graham to Francis Chan and every ministry from Gospel for Asia to World Vision is being publicly vilified by someone who is either outwardly opposed to the Gospel or a techno-scribe equipped with cyber tools first-century scribes never dreamed would exist.

5. Humility is necessary because we will face resistance.

Resistance is a more active form of criticism. Resistance is criticism in action. Have you noticed that the Lord’s work requires persistence? The pushback, especially in this age of social media, requires a relentless focus on keeping our hand on the plow.

Having left our agrarian past behind, we forget that the ground must be readied for the seeds to be sown effectively. In a perfect world (I wonder what Eden was like), the soil would open up just enough to accept the seed. But in our fallen world, the ground resists the plow.

The same principle applies in the spiritual realm. Every part of this world resists the sowing of the Word. To enter into ministry and the service of the Lord, we must understand that this world is no friend to grace. Nor will it ever be.

6. Humility is necessary because we will face opposition.

If resistance is pushback, then opposition is attack mode.

There are places around the world today where simply being a Christian means being exposed to potential physical abuse. Congregations watch as their churches and meeting places are destroyed. Individual believers are victims of beatings, rapes, torture and murder.

Living and working for the Lord in these areas of opposition requires a humility that means accepting the sacrifice of one’s own life as a possibility. But this faith, a faith that considers the existential consequences, is a faith that enables and endures even in lions’ dens and fiery furnaces.

Serving the Lord has always required a humility that willingly sacrifices self as our reasonable service for the One who humbled and sacrificed Himself to save us from the penalty of our sins to bring us into the marvelous riches of His grace.

Do you have the heart to serve Jesus Christ? Are you willing to stand for Him in the face of criticism, resistance and opposition? Perhaps you would consider learning more about us and learning how the Lord can use you through the work of GFA.

Image Source: Gospel for Asia, Photo of the Day

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Dwell In Him

Dwell In Him

God has promised to be your Protector, your Defender, your Strength, your Shelter and so much more. Even when the storms of life come against you, as long as you are dwelling in Him, you dwell in safety and trust–nothing can take away your peace and joy. What does it mean to dwell in Him?

One of the definitions of the word “dwell” means to keep your attention directed toward something. The more you keep your attention directed toward God, the more you will know Him, and the more confidence you will have in Him.

When you focus your heart and mind on the Word of God, and declare His promises over your life, you are dwelling in Him. When you lift your voice in worship and give Him glory and honour, you are dwelling in Him. When you spend time meditating on Him and connecting with Him through prayer, you are dwelling in Him.

Today, are you facing a difficult situation? Give your attention to the Father. Do you need His peace and protection? Focus your heart and mind on Him. As you dwell on Him, you will see His goodness, and you’ll live in peace and victory all the days of your life!

“In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You, Lord, alone make me dwell in safety and confident trust.”

(Psalm 4:8, AMPC)

Pray With Me
Yahweh, thank You for Your promise of peace and safety in my life. Father, I will give You my attention and focus. God, help me to dwell on You. Have Your way in me, and let everything I do bring glory to You, in Jesus’ Name! Amen.

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Evangelical Atheism: Evangelical in Word, Atheists at Heart

Years ago, friends and I experimented with designing listening groups. These small groups with three or four participants met once a month for seven months.

Basically, we listened to one another for two hours. After a time of centering prayer where we became stilled and focused, the first person would begin and share where he or she was in life. When the first person was done, we would go back into silence, and the only way we could respond to the one who had spoken after those short moments of quiet was to ask questions. This pattern continued until we had gone around the group.

Over seven years, I led some 250 people in listening groups and was amazed by the remarkable growth I saw in many of the attendees. I also was transformed in unexpected ways; I certainly became convinced of the healing power that exists when humans feel heard and understood.

We always take the first session of a listening group to get to know one another a little so that we are not complete strangers. One woman sitting in my living room started her story with these words: “I guess you could say that I was raised by parents who were Evangelical atheists”¦”

Whoa, I thought. Now that’s strong! Evangelical atheism?

The woman explained that her parents adhered to conservative Christianity but that their lives were a dysfunctional antithesis to what Scripture explains are the fruits of belief. Over the next month, I kept mulling over this apparent oxymoron: Evangelical atheism. Evangelical atheism.

Evangelical Atheism

Could that be one of the reasons our spiritual fiber is weakening in the West? Are there too many of us who really don’t believe what we say we believe and our dysfunction in living is proof of this personal dissembling? Do the words we say; the thoughts we act out; and the way we function with family, friends, neighbors and work colleagues belie the faith system we say (or in some cases fool ourselves into thinking) we are following? Are many of us really closet Evangelical atheists at heart?–?at least in part?

I often examine why so many Western Christians wonder, Is this really all there is to Christianity? What’s wrong? Why am I so ineffectual? With so much religious feeding going on, why am I still hungry? Polls released about the time of this women’s statement revealed that 10 percent less Americans claimed to be Christian than what was revealed in previous polls. Statistically, this is a huge shift and indicates a frightening trend. We all need to be asking ourselves, “What is really happening?”

The website “Real Clear Politics” (www.RealClearPolitics.com) reprinted an article from the Christian Science Monitor website (www.csmonitor.com) titled “The Coming Evangelical Collapse.” In it, the author, Michael Spencer, a writer who describes himself as “a post-evangelical reformation Christian in search of a Jesus-shaped spirituality,” predicts the demise of evangelicalism as we know it due to seven predicators.

The first one:

“Evangelicals have identified their movement with the culture war and with political conservatism.”

The second reads,

“We Evangelicals have failed to pass on to our young people an orthodox form of faith that can take root and survive the secular onslaught ”¦ our young people have deep beliefs about the culture war, but do not know why they should obey scripture, the essentials of theology, or the experience of spiritual discipline and community. Coming generations of Christians are going to be monumentally ignorant and unprepared for culture-wide pressures.”

Check out the website if you are interested in reviewing the rest of the seven predictions. But let’s concentrate on only one of the predictors: In the years going forward, will that second prediction be one of the evidences of a heretical fissure? Will younger generations hold to a form of godliness but as Scripture says, “without the power thereof”?

Paul wrestles with this type of spiritual split personality in his second letter to Timothy, a young man he mentored and loved. He says, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come ”¦” He continues with a list of disturbing characteristics: self-adulation, money motivation, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. His conclusion after this disturbing list is “”¦ having a form of godliness but denying its power” (see 2 Timothy 3:1—5).

I would maintain that one reason the local church is bleeding millennials, and that so many of them are often spiritually adrift, is that their own parents are living out a faith where religious activity has more to do with form, not with a “Jesus-shaped spirituality.” According to Pew polling,

“Almost every major branch of Christianity in the United States has lost a significant number of members, mainly because millennials are leaving the fold. More than one-third of millennials now say they are unaffiliated with any faith, up 10 percentage points since 2007.”

In the documentary “An Unreasonable Man,” which chronicles the remarkable consumer-safety record established by Ralph Nader, the principle reveals how, when coming home from grade school one afternoon, his father, an immigrant to this country asked,

Have we been teaching ourselves how to believe without also emphasizing how to think about what we believe, and then, how that thinking belief works itself out in the proof of how we choose to live? Are we passing this intellectual and theological knowledge on to the next generation in such a way that they one day will look back and recognize the power of previous spiritual models? Will those younger than ourselves identify and remember our belief linked to lifestyles in such power-filled ways that our example will continue to be a motivator for their belief and lifestyle for decades beyond the span of our own lives?

Orthodoxy and Orthopraxy

There are two great rulers by which insidious, private heresy can be measured. One is orthodoxy, right theology. The other is orthopraxy, right living. Scripture is clear that the marriage of both is the cornerstone of Christian faith. Christ is stunningly clear that belief and living must be in sync. He is particularly livid over the empty performance orientation of religious leaders.

“Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.”?–?Matthew 7:15—17.

The way we live is evidence of what we truly believe. Or another way to look at this is in the simple statement that Christ also makes:

“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” (see Luke 6:45).

What an indicator of orthopraxy! Our tongues tell.

The Apostle John picks up this theme in his first letter: “If we say we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth,” (see 1 John 1:6) and “He who says he is in the light and hates his brother, is in darkness until now” (see 1 John 2:9). Orthodoxy, what we believe, and orthopraxy, how we live it out, must be in sync. Otherwise, our Christian confession is obliterated by our actions.

Not only should individuals be wary of their own hidden heresies in belief or in practice, religious organizations can become horrific examples of incomprehensible splits between living and doing as well. My husband and I have been in ministry throughout the full five decades of our married life. We were in youth work, planted a church in the inner-city of Chicago and pastored an inter-racial congregation, spent 20 years in daily radio outreach, seven years producing and hosting a daily television show, and sponsored 132 pastors’ conference annually. Together we’ve written dozens of published books, traveled on the speaker’s circuit for 20 years and served as directors of various not-for-profit boards.

We are well aware that the demands of ministry are such that it is more than easy to do God’s work, using approaches and techniques that are not God’s ways. Spiritual schizophrenia is all too easy to slip into. Let’s look at a couple of examples of ministries that have worked hard to prevent evangelical heresy.

Preventing Evangelical Heresy

Gary Haugen, a lawyer formerly employed in the civil-rights division of the U.S. Department of Justice, who was also the director of the United Nations genocide investigation in Rwanda, took a huge lifestyle leap, committing what is essentially professional suicide by resigning his high-powered government positions in order to live out a Jesus-shaped spirituality. He and dedicated colleagues have founded and formed the International Justice Mission, which confronts, rescues and protects those women, men and children who are held in thrall to the deeply entrenched sex slave industries in the world.

In the name of the God of justice, legal expertise is leveraged to combat illegal evil. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 provides the tools to combat trafficking in persons both worldwide and domestically. IJM leverages these legal means to combat illegal evil at home and in the world.

In his book Just Courage: God’s Great Expedition for the Restless Christian, Haugen talks about being haunted by John Stuart Mill’s 1859 essay “On Liberty.” (Mill was a philosopher who argued in this essay that “over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.”) The thoughts that gnawed at Haugen were those where Mill examined how words lose their meaning, using Christians as the prime example, since they seemed to have a remarkable ability to say profound things without really believing them. This is evidenced by the way they act and behave.

Haugen writes,

“What became more disturbing was his list of things that Christians, like me, actually say?–?like, blessed are the poor and humble; it’s better to give than receive; judge not, lest you be judged; love your neighbor as yourself, etc.?–?and examining how differently I would live my life if I actually believed such things. As Mill concluded, “The sayings of Christ co-exist passively in their minds, producing hardly any effect beyond what is caused by mere listening to words so amiable and bland.’”

Perhaps this is a 19th-century prognostication of an approaching 21st-century Western spiritual malaise: Evangelical atheism. Yet, Scripture’s warnings against this divide, writing centuries before the analysis of John Stuart Mill, indicate that heresy is endemic to the human character. All believers have the potential of failing while at the same time priding themselves on exterior mental assent to biblical principles of belief.

Need we (need I) begin asking ourselves (asking myself),

“Am I really an unbeliever in church clothes?”

Or perhaps a better question would be,

“Where are the areas of faith in which I am practicing disbelief? Where am I really NOT seeking a Jesus-shaped spirituality?”

The Cure for Evangelical Atheism

I often pause in the outside lobby of bookstores because many of them stack their really bargain books in enticing displays that catch the attention of an avid book-lover like myself. A while back, I picked up (for $5) 7 Minutes of Magic: The Ultimate Energy Workbook. A blurb by Deeprak Chopra graced the cover, “A perfect blend of Western and Eastern fitness to jump-start your day and help you relax at night.” Since I am working at getting eight hours of sleep per night as part of my aging-gracefully attempt, I thought I might pick up some tips for evenings when I need to begin incorporating the 7 minutes of relaxing techniques for those mornings when I can’t afford the hour that visiting an exercise class would take.

The book has sat, unopened, on my bedroom chair for several years.

This 7-minute approach of flow exercises and stretches is supposed to give me a “lightning flash of vitality” after a long night of inactivity. Somehow (isn’t it strange?) that book hasn’t done a thing for me ”¦ just sitting on the chair with the cover photo of some well-toned practitioner stretching from spine to flap.

Get the picture? We must do what we know is good for us?–?or at least we must try to do what we know is good for us. Thinking things are so is not enough to establish a reality that things are so.

When starting the International Justice Mission, Haugen and his colleagues put themselves in a place where they were utterly dependent upon God. Perhaps you can imagine the reality of this need if you think about the way they spend the majority of their time fighting sex trafficking all around the world, going into brothels and dens of human slavery and freeing young girls from their bondage to enforced prostitution.

“This is why I am so grateful for my experience with IJM,” Haugen writes,

“Because it gives me a continual experience of my weakness in which God is delighted to show his power ”¦ We are forced by our own weakness to beg him for it, and at times we work without a net, apart from his saving hand. And we have found him to be real?–?and his hand to be true and strong?–?in a way we would never have experienced strapped into our own safety harnesses.

“In concrete terms, what does that desperation look like? For me, it means being confronted with a videotape of hundreds of young girls in Cambodia being put on open sale to be raped by sex tourists and foreign pedophiles. It means going into a brothel in Cambodia as part of an undercover investigation and being presented with a dozen girls between the ages of five and ten who are being forced to provide sex to strangers. It means being told by everyone who should know that there is nothing that can be done about it. It means facing death threats for my investigative colleagues, high-level police corruption, desperately inadequate aftercare capacities for victims and a hopelessly corrupt court system. It means going to God in honest argument and saying, ‘Father, we cannot solve this,’ and hearing him say, ‘Do what you know best to do, and watch me with the rest.’”

Because of this dependency and because of the intransigency of the evil that is being confronted, IJM staff begins the first half-hour of the day in quiet reflection, to listen, to be still, to sort things through. Then, they gather again?–?every day at 11 a.m.?–?to pray about the life-and-death situations they are facing.

That’s a cure for Evangelical atheism if I ever saw one?–?a long dose of Jesus-shaped spirituality; a contemplative discipline observed before entering into International Justice Mission’s particular daily dangers of holy mission.

A Jesus-Shaped Spirituality

Through the years, David and I have also been impressed with the ministry of Gospel for Asia. The visionary founder, KP Yohannan, connected with us early in his ministry. We were drawn into his vision and passion to help the people in Asia. K.P. has truly been a pioneer in challenging the Western-missionary effort to understand that brown-skinned brothers and sisters might be better equipped, less costly to underwrite, already familiar with customs and languages and filled with a passion for their own lands that lead them to willingly undergo beatings and persecutions for Christ’s sake, than many white-faced brothers and sisters.

Gospel for Asia’s initial drive to establish local fellowships has blossomed into 3—4 million or so believers who are being pastored and discipled by Indian nationals.

In addition to local fellowships, GFA-supported workers have responded to the most hopeless of social situations with practical and effective ministries: student sponsorship to educate some 70,000+ children; medical teams working with health issues and teaching the basic preventive measures that ward off 80 percent of those physical problems, which usually are present in the long lines at local clinics. GFA’s field partner is one of the largest installers of clean water wells and filters among the development organizations worldwide and, in addition, provides means for micro-businesses, which give initial start up tools to create sustainable incomes. Widows are tended to, children are invited to after-school programs, families are strengthened. The list of good works goes on and on.

Many fine relief and development organizations do the same; the United Nations, for example, sponsors excellent social outreaches in most of the countries of the world. The difference, I would maintain, however, between GFA and other large, well-known operations is that GFA doesn’t just deal with the physical failures caused by poverty or ignorance or natural disasters, it deals with the spirit of the dilemmas: 

What is it in the human heart that also leaves people vulnerable in the machinations of systemic exploitation? What is the spirit lacking in the heart and soul of this child, this man or woman, this family or this community?

GFA understands that it is facing more than surface difficulties; there are deep endemic prejudices, racial and tribal injustices and institutions adamantly committed to keeping others entrapped by the economic failures that benefit others. GFA comprehends that it must get to the spirit of the matter, and since its inception, that fight has been accomplished through committed and regular and unusual amounts of time that its home offices in various centers and among its staff within 14 Asian countries spend in dedicated, determined prayer.

This is not an organization that mouths the belief that prayer is the basis for ministry, for touching the heart of God, for receiving direction and guidance without also activating a systemic organizational commitment to hours of prayer for its work in the world. GFA is a praying organization.

David and I, personally, have often been shamed by GFA’s commitment to a kind of prayer that we have not activated nearly as well in our own ministry outreaches.

So, what do you think about all this? What would happen if we Evangelicals, all of us, sincerely asked the question:

“If I really believed what I say I believe, how would it radically change what I think and speak and do?”

I’m looking at my own heart, conducting an honest self-examination, quietly considering my own bent being, finding hypocrisies I haven’t wanted to face, and with God’s help, yanking out those insidious roots that lead to hidden heresy, to actions and attitudes that are decidedly unchristian. I am examining the heretical possibilities in my own approach to living out my faith. I desperately do not want to die having a form of godliness but denying the potential power of it to change my life and the lives of those around me. And I want to concentrate my prayers on the younger generations?–?on grandchildren and millennial friends?–?in such a way that they can identify some kind of radical difference in my life. I do not want to leave a legacy of being an ordinary, everyday Christian.

How about you?–?are you willing to search for and possibly find any hidden closet evangelical atheism? Then, let us both deal earnestly with the following question asked by Christ of His followers:

“But why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and do not do the things I say?” – Luke 6:46

– ~ – ~ – ~ – ~ – ~ – ~ –

Sources: Pew Research, Religion Among the Millennials

Click here, to read more blogs on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

Go here to know more about Gospel for Asia: GFA | GFA.org 

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LGBT lessons row: More schools stop classes

Gay campaigners celebrate outside the Houses of Parliament in London. AFP: Andrew Cowie
LGBT lessons row: More schools stop classes

In the latest update from crazy ville here in the UK today British politicians in parliament will be discussing whether they have the right, not you, to decide what relationship and sex education advice your child will have in school.

One hundred and six thousand parents have signed a petition saying that they should be the ones who decide when and who teaches their children about LGBTQ matters. But the government ‘big brother’ says it knows best. It wants to make its new relationship and sex education lessons compulsory by 2020 and they’re already beginning to roll those in.

Now what it means for four and five year olds in the UK is that they will be taught LGBTQ issues and they will be taught about transsexual relationships. Now this is before they’ve ever really had a proper science lesson or a biology lesson and this before they’ve had a chance to go out, run about, play and be a child or in fact learn how to use a bathroom or nappy nightmares. 70 percent of schools say kids are starting school in nappies. So our British government thinks that before a child has learned to use a bathroom or be out of nappies the most important thing is to make it compulsory that they learn about LGBTQ issues and accept the latest narrative on trans.

Something is going very badly wrong here in Britain. Our kids are being indoctrinated in schools and it’s time parents stood up and made a stand. Get involved.

Get in your schools, get those letters in saying you do not want your child to be part of this mandatory madness and perhaps before a child is indoctrinated into the latest trans thinking they should at least be able to enjoy life or find out a few biological facts for themselves. Get involved. Write to your school. Do not be complicit in the indoctrination of our children.

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Drown Out Critical Voices

Drown Out Critical Voices

One of my greatest pet peeves is negative critical people. Whenever you set out to do something great in life, there will be negative destructive critics. If you’re going to be a great business person, coach, student, leader or employee, there will be opposition. The more success you have, the more opportunities there will be for distractions. The higher you go, the more haters will come out. 

When you start stretching to a new level and pursuing what God has placed in your heart, the jealous people, the critical people, and the small-minded people come out of the woodwork and start making negative comments, but you don’t have to let that distract you. If you feel under pressure, if the critical voices are coming against you, know that it’s because you are making a difference. Don’t let them throw you off course. 

Today, instead off letting negative critical voices pull you down, dig your heels in, set your face like a flint, and say, “I will not get distracted. I will not get drawn into battles that don’t matter. It doesn’t matter what others think; it matters what God thinks!” Today, look beyond the critics. Stand strong in adversity. Press forward to what lies ahead and win the prize of life that He has prepared for you!

“Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise”¦”

(Micah 7:8, NIV)?

Pray With Me
Yahweh, today I choose to let go of the negative voices, offenses and hurts from critical voices. Father, I choose to focus on You and the good plan You have for me. God, please give me Your peace and joy, as I move forward in the victory You have prepared for me, in Jesus’ Name! Amen.

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You Won’t Be Alone Anymore

You Won't Be Alone Anymore

Jesus had many names that identified His character. One of those was also Emmanuel, which means “God with us.” Before Jesus came to earth, the Spirit of God resided in the temple. The people had to go through all kinds of rituals to become clean enough to go near to Him.

As believers today, we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, He is the one who cleanses us and makes His home in our hearts. He becomes one with us, closer than the air we breathe. Isn’t it good to know that God is always with us?

Today, I want you to know, God’s peace is always with us. His joy is always with us. His power is always with us, and His victory is always with us. The next time you feel alone, think about this Scripture. Know that He is near because you serve Emmanuel–the God who is always with you!

“Behold, the virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel-which, when translated, means, God with us.”

Matthew 1:23, AMPC

“Immanuel (Hebrew: meaning, “God with us”; also romanized Emmanuel, Imanu’el) is a Hebrew name which appears in the Book of Isaiah as a sign that God will protect the House of David.”

Wikipedia

Pray With Me
Emmanuel, thank You for choosing to make Your home in me. Father, thank You for filling me with Your peace and joy. God, I bless You today, knowing that You will never leave me nor forsake me, in Jesus’ Name! Amen

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Your Blessing Is On It’s Way

Your Blessing Is On It’s Way

Sometimes it seems like God is taking a very long time to answer your prayers. Many times, people can miss God’s best simply because they give up before they see their blessing come. Don’t let that be you! Be encouraged today, your answer is closer than you think. If it seems like things are getting more difficult, remember, when the intensity heats up, that means you are closer to your victory.

It always seems darkest just before the dawn. Remember God is faithful, and He’s working on your behalf. Don’t cast away your confidence today, because your reward is coming. And just like a new mother forgets about her labour pains once she is finally holding her newborn, you’ll forget about your struggle when you are holding on to your promise. Today, while you are waiting on God, keep an attitude of faith and expectancy. Wake up every morning and say out loud, “I’ve come too far to give up now. My blessing  is coming. I will reap my harvest.” Stay in faith and look for His hand of blessing, because He has promised you victory, and it’s closer than you think!

“Do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.”

Hebrews 10:35, NKJV

Pray With Me
Yahweh, today I stand believing that You are working things out for me. God, give me Your strength to stand in faith, until I see every promise You have for me fulfilled in my life, in Jesus’ Name! Amen.

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GOD is Love

GOD is Love

“He who does not love does not know God, for”¦ God is love”

1 John 4:8

“I AM WHO I AM”

Or in other words I am the one who is ‘eternally existing’, outside of time and space, which He has created.  John wrote in his Gospel account of the life of Jesus that:

“In Him was life, and the life was the light of men”

John 1:4 

Later in the same Gospel Jesus spoke the following awesome words:

“Most assuredly I say unto you, before Abraham was, I AM”

John 8:57

No wonder the soldiers fell before Jesus when He spoke the words “I Am”¦” to them.  “I Am” is the name of God which translates into the Hebrew tetragrammaton – YHWH (Yahweh).  It is in this name that we discover the essence of God — who He really is.  He is life that has always existed, exists now and will exist forever.  The flames that Moses encountered in the burning bush did not destroy it because the bush had been created by the Creator. We also read in Scripture that God is a consuming fire – fire as in energy or life. The word “life” in Greek is the word “Zoe” which means a life giving force or energy. 

Just imagine for a moment an energy source far more powerful than the stars or even the sun. The sun itself is a ball of energy with billions of atoms and molecules whizzing around at high speed. Yet God created the sun and the stars and indeed the whole universe. When we contemplate the night sky or the world around us the evidence of the existence of God is plain for all to see. Nature adheres to laws that have been set in place by a Creator God. For there to be a design in nature there has to be a designer – God. Only a fool says in his heart there is no God! (Psalm 14:1).  Atheists are like clay pots who say there is no potter! 

What does all of this energy do?  God is a consuming fire — but not a fire that destroys — else the bush would have been burnt to cinders.  No, this fire is a fire that burns with life. So how does this fire or life express itself?  Where does all that energy go? Or does it just burn where it is — just being, just existing, just “amming”? 

When we examine the Scriptures it is clear that God did not want to just ‘Be’ or ‘exist’ on His own. When we read Genesis 1 we see God creating light, the stars, the planets and the earth, plants and animals and then finally man, in His own image.  Man was the crown of God’s creation; but why did God create man in His own image? Well, what did God do with Adam and Eve after he had created them? Did He just ignore them and let them get on with tending the Garden? No!  Instead we read in Scripture that He fellowshipped with them in the ‘cool of the evening’. This energy, force, power, this life created mankind for a purpose — relationship.  Why? The Godhead itself is a loving relationship — intertwined and inseparable. The love relationship within the Godhead was to be reflected in God having the same intimate and loving relationship with mankind. We read in Genesis 1:26:

“Let Us make man in Our image according to Our likeness”

Well, that statement in the Word of God just blew away all monotheistic religions!  God is ONE but that oneness expresses the UNITY in love of the triune Godhead. A perfect love expressed in a oneness that is indivisible. Didn’t Jesus Himself command us to be one — as He and the Father are one? One united in a bond of love. So, God is one but also three. This is the very nature and mystery of the Godhead. We are also, individually, triune beings — spirit, soul and body made completely in His image. Isn’t that an awesome thought?

Let’s now consider the first three verses of Genesis Chapter 1. Here we find the Spirit of God hovering over the face of the waters — the Holy Spirit brooding, like a mother hen, full of energy but, as yet, no direction or purpose for that energy to flow.  In the Hebrew the Word for the Holy Spirit is Ruach or Chai. This word literally means ‘breath’. Then God, the Father of this triune entity, thinks ‘Creation’.  However, nothing happens until the Father speaks the Word, the ‘express image’ of the Father (Hebrews 1:3). The Word is, of course, Jesus. He is the ‘Wisdom’ of Proverbs:

“When He marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside Him as a master craftsman’

Proverbs 8:29, 30

And the ‘Word’ of John’s Gospel

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us”¦

John 1:14

Notice that the very first thing that God created was light — again energy, power and life:

‘Then God said “Let there be light”; and there was light.’

Genesis 1:3

In order for God to extend the relationship already existing within the triune Godhead it was necessary for Him to create another being in His image – a creature that would be able to freely converse and have relationship on the same level as God.  Why did God do this? Because ‘God is love’ — love within a triune entity. The ‘all consuming’ fire that Moses met in the burning bush was and is a passionate love; a desire for intimate relationship. This desire can only be expressed fully when there is someone to pour out that love upon. However, love is a gamble. Will that created creature reciprocate or return that love? Rejection is painful. It was a risk that our loving creator God was prepared to take.

Herein lay the challenge — creating a being that can freely choose to love — or not to love. That creature has to have the freedom to choose — otherwise it’s not love but control or manipulation.

Adam and Eve fell into sin and that was their free will choice. They chose to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This violated the ‘Covenant of Love’ they had with God – just as a marriage is broken by adultery so Adam and Eve committed spiritual adultery. Instead of love and life, sin and death came to rule and reign in their hearts. The enemy enticed them to break their covenant with God — but he could no more make them sin than God could make them love Him. 

So, why didn’t God wipe mankind off the face of the earth and start all over again?  Love constrained Him. Love seeks restoration and reconciliation — never separation.

The closest relationship we have in the human sphere to this expression of God’s love is the covenant relationship that exists between a husband and a wife. That’s why divorce is so painful. When there is no one to shower your love upon; you suffer bereavement. Yours raison d’etre (reason for existing) is removed.  Likewise God suffered bereavement when Adam and Eve committed spiritual adultery. Sadly, we often look at things from our own selfish perspective — rarely from God’s. How Adam and Eve’s transgression must have pained Him!

So, a God, who is love, could not wipe out mankind when Adam and Eve sinned.  Instead He provided a way to restore that fellowship – so that love divine could continue to flow and express itself.

The Father part of the triune God sent the Word, the Son, to provide a way for the world to be saved through Him:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever  believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”

John 3:16

Notice the word ‘gave’ — love always seeks to give and never to take. Just as Jesus hung, in naked agony on the cross — so the Father heart of God was naked for the entire world to see. Just as Jesus’ heart was pierced by the Centurion’s sword — so the heart of God was pierced and a river of love gushed forth cleansing the world of sin — for all who choose to come and drink from His cup of sacrificial love. Such amazing love!

Love also trusts. Trust is an attribute of love. You always trust the one you love.  That they will never hurt you, leave you or forsake you. When Adam and Eve sinned they broke that trust. The serpent cast doubt upon God’s Word. Remember his words:

“Did God really say?”

Genesis 3:1

Oh if only Eve had adhered to the Wisdom of Solomon in Proverbs 3:5:

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding”

Adam was as much to blame. He was standing beside Eve. He did not rebuke the serpent and so failed in his duty as steward over God’s garden. He broke the trust God had placed in him to take care of His creation. Their suspicion, that perhaps God was hiding something from them, gave birth to a rejection of His love.

They doubted His kindness, His goodness and His love for them. They were told not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil for their own benefit; just as a loving mother may tell her child not to touch the fire — or it will burn them.

However, love is always ready to forgive. God’s first action was not to destroy, to seek revenge, or even to teach them a lesson.  He is not a God of wrath — whom we must seek to appease — lest He come and strike us dead with a bolt of lightening!  Oh no, far from it! Instead He immediately sought a way to restore fellowship. Love does that.  God sacrificed an animal and clothed Adam and Eve with its skin. This was the first blood sacrifice ever recorded in the Scriptures.

Why was a blood sacrifice necessary to restore man’s relationship with God? 

Adam and Eve saw that they were naked. The glory covering of the Father’s love was gone and the glory of God cannot rest upon anyone who is in sin. Sin brings separation just as adultery separates a husband and wife. Only a blood sacrifice can bring restoration to a broken relationship with a holy God. Fig tree leaves will not suffice. Their sin, in that animal blood sacrifice, was covered. However, it was only a covering. Their sin could not be completely erased. Only the shed blood of God Himself could do that.

Imagine a coffee table that has a stain upon it. Visitors are coming and you don’t want the stain to show so you cover it with a white tablecloth. Hence, the blood of animals covered the sin nature of man – but they could never remove it. However, the blood of Jesus was more than sufficient to erase the stain completely. So Jesus, who is God, came and shed His blood, the blood of God Himself, on the tree of Calvary. His sacrifice has now given life to all who seek restoration of their love relationship with God. 

But why was it necessary for blood to be shed? 

We find the answer in Leviticus 17:11:

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul”

Leviticus 17:11

And:

“”¦without shedding of blood there is no remission” [forgiveness]

Hebrews 9:22

God is love and life is the expression of that love. When life-giving blood is shed as a sacrifice of love then un-forgiveness becomes forgiveness and separation becomes reconciliation and restoration.

God always seeks to have fellowship with us. That’s why Enoch was translated (taken up out of the world to be with God forever).  God could no longer bear to be without him (Genesis 5:24).  We all need to spend quality time with the Lord. The very first ministry of every Christian is to fellowship with God. Remember the first commandment – to love the Lord, our God, with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. He created us for that reason. All too often we get busy doing things for God instead of being with God. That’s why Jesus told Martha that Mary had chosen the better portion (Luke 10:42). It is only from a deep intimate love relationship with God that everything else will flow.

Jesus admonished us to build our house upon the ‘Rock’. Without our foundational relationship with the Father being in place we can forget about anything else (Luke 6:47-49). The marital analogy is a good one. When a husband and wife begin to spend less quality time together it won’t be long before that marriage will begin to crumble.  It’s exactly the same concerning our relationship with the Lord.

Oh, how many times have I been in a Church meeting and the Pastor ministers to his congregation our of ‘dry bones’!  He/she is so busy they have little time to spend with the Lord. Often this is because the five-fold ministry is not in place in many Congregations and the Pastor is trying to do everything. No wonder there are undernourished sheep everywhere living on stale manna instead of on the fresh and living bread of the Lord. Fresh manna can only be given out of an overflow of the heart of the person ministering who has been, and continues to be, in deep intimate communion with the Lord.

“For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things”¦”

Matthew 12:34, 35

Proverbs 8:17 states that our Father loves those who love Him and who diligently seek Him. The word diligent means to be thoroughly industrious – to attend to everything with proper care and attention. We all need to ask ourselves the question — are we seeking God’s hand i.e. what He can give us or are we seeking His face i.e. God the Father for Himself regardless of any reward.

In Proverbs 4 we are admonished by the Lord to give:

“”¦attention to My words;

Incline your ear to my sayings.

Do not let them depart from your eyes;

Keep them in the midst of your heart;

For they are life to those who find them,

And health to all their flesh.

Keep your heart with all diligence,

For out of it spring the issues of life.”

Proverbs 4

To ‘attend’ to something means to give our full undivided attention.  How many times, however, do we leap out of bed in the morning and dash off to work without even saying grace over our eggs! Or hurry our lunch and fail to say thanks to the Lord for blessing the work of our hands that morning! How many times do we rush home at night, have our supper, and then collapse in front of the T.V. – feeding our souls on programs that Jesus would never dream of watching. Then, finally, we crawl into bed at night, setting our alarm for the next day too exhausted to even say goodnight to our Lord and Saviour — let alone pray! If we treated our wives/husbands in the same way they would soon be filing for divorce. Too many of us reserve God for ‘Sunday only’. 

Oh, how we daily pain our Father’s heart – and then we have the audacity to expect Him to reward us!  However, the writer of Proverbs, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, quite clearly says that God rewards only those who diligently seek Him.  Our heavenly Father causes those who truly love Him to inherit wealth and to fill their treasuries (Prov.8:21). This is the key to walking in God’s divine prosperity.

“I love those who love me and those who seek me diligently will find Me”¦

That I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth,

That I may fill their treasuries.

Proverbs 8:21

The apostle Paul admonished us not to grieve the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30).  God is easily grieved. Why? – Because He is love.

Only as we truly love the Lord for who He is and not for what He can give will we be blessed with long and prosperous lives. The Lord looks upon the heart. He sees our heart motives in everything we say and do (1 Samuel 16:7). So, let’s repent of our luke-warmness towards God lest we suffer the consequences:

“”¦because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.” (Revelation 3:16)

When we are lukewarm we are covenant breakers — we are guilty of breaking the first commandment as I mentioned previously:

“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart with all your soul with all your strength, and with all your mind”¦”

Luke 10:27

With the awful possibility that Jesus may say to us at the judgement seat of Christ:

“Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?” and then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you’”

Matthew 7:22, 23

Intimacy with our Father must always be the number one priority in our lives.  Everything else will then fall into place. Whatever trials, tribulations or troubles we may face our heavenly Father has the answer to every one. Nothing is too difficult for our Father who created the Universe. The size of your challenge is dependent upon the size of your God. Remember David and Goliath. David knew that he was well able to slay the giant as he did not consider this ‘mighty warrior’ towering over him. Instead his focus was on his much mightier Father God with whom he had a blood covenant.

How will you hear your heavenly Father’s voice, from many other voices speaking to you, if you don’t spend quality time with Him? How can we know whether it’s His wisdom speaking into a situation? It could be our flesh speaking to us, the pizza we ate last night, or, worse still, the devil.

If an acquaintance of mine phones me I might not immediately recognize their voice.  Perhaps I have only spoken to them once or twice before. However, if my son phones up I will at once recognize his voice.  Place him in a crowd of a million other boys of the same age and similar appearance and I would still be able to tell him apart from all the others.  Likewise, with our heavenly Father. We need to make Him the number one priority in our lives and then we will know His voice. This is easy to do when we have a deep revelation of His love — for He loves us with a love deeper than the deepest ocean, wider than the east is from the west and higher than the highest mountain! 

Jesus Himself said that His sheep hear His voice and they follow Him (John 10:27). So, if you are one of the Lord’s sheep then you will hear His voice and you will follow Him.

Finally:

“”¦We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose”

Romans 8:28

I will never forget the day when divine love pierced through the darkness of my life.  I had recently returned from Greece where I had been responsible for overseeing a travel business. I had a baby to bring up by myself and my mother, whom I loved very much, had just died of cancer. I had no money at the time — just a pile of debts. I was suicidal. I knew exactly how many paracetamols to take to end my miserable existence. However, I myself was constrained by love — love for my baby son. Who would look after him if I took my life? There was no one. Nobody cared — or so I thought.

As my son was sound asleep one night I picked up an old Bible. I’d not read the bible since I was a child. I remembered with affection my father, who was a God-fearing man. He always insisted that my older sister and I attended Sunday school every week. We had to walk two miles to the local village and back from our Devonshire farm house. I remembered the worksheets we were given to do at school and the strict Christian R.E. teacher urging us to complete them before the bell went for the next lesson. I remembered the times that I was in the Sunday school play and the detestable poetry verses I had to memorise. Once I obstinately refused to memorise them — to the horror of my sister who glared at me from the audience as I stumbled over my lines. ‘Who cares?’ I thought ‘It’s only a stupid Sunday school play for stuffy old pew warmers!’  I was quite rebellious at times but, in my own way, I believed that there was a God — out there somewhere who had some purpose for my life. I remembered walking through the beautiful countryside near our home.  I’d try to reach up and touch God — but this Creator God seemed to live far, far away up in the clouds. He remained, for me, aloof and distant.

Now, as I took the slim black, rather dusty old Bible in my hands, I remembered with affection, the parables of Jesus I used to read as a child. So I decided to read them again. There was nothing else to do and I was tired of watching the everlasting soap operas on TV — after all the actors on these programmes always spent their time gossiping, bickering and falling out with one another. They certainly didn’t have any of life’s answers.

As I began to read those parables again the love of an ‘aloof and distant’ God began to touch me. The darkness in my bedroom, where I sat, began to brighten until it felt as if the sun itself was shining on those old, worn out pages. I felt an awesome presence of love’s warmth break through my clouds of despair and embrace me.  It was like a shaft of sunlight on a summer’s day — warm and inviting with the assurance that the long, cold winter was over. Love embraced and enfolded me with Her arms – a love deeper than any I’d experienced in my life before. Tears rolled down my cheeks and, before I reached the Gospel of John, I had received a taste of the divine love of God. A love willing to sacrifice everything for me, even a horrific death on a cross, so that I might have a deep, intimate relationship with Him.

No one had ever died for Alison — no one, apart from my mother, had ever really cared. However, here was God, the majestic, awesome, sovereign Creator God of the Universe, reaching down and wrapping me, a mere ‘speck of dust’ in the Cosmos, in the warmth of His intense, passionate embrace.

One of my favourite hymns is the one that was written by Charles Wesley – ‘Love divine all loves excelling’. This hymn epitomizes, above all else, the supremacy of the Agape love of God. Finally, after struggling with such a deep revelation of God’s love for a pitiful, lonely, depressed and suicidal single mother, I fell on my knees before my Creator.

I didn’t know any eloquent prayers.  I didn’t even know how to pray.  I simply responded to His love. How? I told Him I loved Him. But that was enough! God, who is love, came rushing into the open door of my heart and I’ve never been alone since. Whatever happens in life I now know that God loves me.

I had sought for unconditional, sacrificial love all my life. I’d sought for it in my parents, in friendships, in the arms of a lover, even in my work. I mistakenly thought that, if I were a successful business woman, people would love and respect me for it.  I was trying to find my identity and my true worth in what I did. I now know that the only place to find such love, such true and ever lasting love, is in the arms of a loving Saviour. In the arms of the One who will never leave you nor forsake you — no matter what silly, stupid mistakes you might make. That’s unconditional love.

The love of God is the all-consuming fire that Moses experienced. It’s just as intense, if not more so, than if you touch a hot stove. That’s the intensity of the love of God.  If we truly reciprocate His love then we will never seek to hurt Him. Instead we will always try to please Him in all that we do every day of our lives. It’s upon this ‘Rod of Love’ that everything else, all of God’s laws and principals, will hang in place.  Remove this Rod and everything else will simply fall down – just as a pair of curtains will if you remove the curtain rail. So, let’s ensure our ‘Rod of Love’ is always in place — burning passionately and intensely for God – who is love.

By Dr Alison Brown

Extracted from ‘Images of God — reflected in a Victorious Christian Lifestyle’

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