The Lie

“For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever.”  (Romans 1:25)

What would you trade for your relationship with Jesus?  Nothing I hope.  However, we tend to make bad trades everyday in relation to our walk with Jesus Christ.  People on a daily basis choose ‘the lie’ over God’s truth by succumbing to temptation.  We determine that God wants us to be happy and then determine what will make us happy.  Often what we choose to make us happy does not line up with God’s will.  What is this called?  Idolatry. 

Idolatry is the sin of the mind against God.  You may not think at the time of any decision, “I think I will go against what God wants,”  but when you act against His will knowing what His will is you have committed idolatry. 

The word ‘rather’ in this verse literally means to by pass.  In other words, those who committed idolatry never even considered what God wanted.  Instead, their consideration was according to their own desire.  They believed ‘the lie.’ (I bet you are wondering why I keep quoting ‘the lie.’).  Let me explain.  The word for lie in the Greek is preceded by a definite article which is translated ‘the.’  So instead of this being just any old lie it is the lie. 

In the Garden of Eden, Satan told Eve, ‘You won’t die!  When you eat this fruit you will be like God.’  Satan informed Eve there was something missing in her life.  There was more to be had.  Satan would have made a good advertising exec, in fact I think he is.  The goal of advertisers is to convince you there is something that will make you happy, and it is what they are selling.  We believe every day that if I had this or that I will discover what I have been looking for.  It’s ‘the lie.’

What every person is looking for is discovered in what we keep passing by, a real and personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Are you believing the lie?  You and I cannot walk in light and darkness at the same time (1 John 1:6).  You and I cannot love the world and the Father at the same time (1 John 2:15-16).  You must make your choice, who will you believe?

Encouraging Words for Troubled Lives

In my blogpost, Suffering, I attempted to bring some light to how we cope with it.  The following are some words from a couple of great servants of God to encourage those who are going through trials.  The words of Alan Redpath are taken from a sermon.  Andrew Murray's words are taken from his journal during a time of trouble.  Both quotes have been encouraging to me during tough times.  I hope they are helpful to you.


"There is nothing--no circumstance, no trouble, no testing--that can ever touch me until, first of all, it has gone past God and past Christ right through to me.  If it has come that far, it has come with a great purpose, which I may not understand at the moment.  But as I refuse to become panicky, as I lift up my eyes to Him and accept it as coming from the throne of God for some great purpose of blessing to my own heart, no sorrow will ever disturb me, no circumstance will cause me to fret, for I shall rest in the joy of what my Lord is--that is the rest of victory!"  -Alan Redpath, former pastor of Moody Church


“First, He brought me here.  It is by His will I am in this straight place.  In that fact I will rest.  Next, He will keep me here in His love and give me grace to behave as His child.  Then He will make the trial a blessing, teaching me the lessons He intends me to learn and working in me the grace He means to bestow.  Last, in His good time He can bring me out again – how and when, He knows.

 Let me say I am here…

1.                  By God’s appointment

2.                  In His keeping

3.                  Under His training

4.                  For His time”   -  Andrew Murray

Antiperspirant and Tents: Why Jesus Came!

Perhaps my favorite of all verses that relate to Christmas is John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”  This simple verse states Christ’s transition into this world and His purpose for coming. 

His transition was painful.  “The Word (God the Son) became flesh.”  He left the place of life and came to where death was reigning.  Hebrews 12:2 says that Jesus, “for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross.” The ‘for’ in this verse is the Greek word ‘anti.’  This word means instead.  We identify with this word every day when we get dressed and apply antiperspirant because instead of perspiring we want to be dry.  Or if you suffer from athletes foot perhaps you regularly apply antifungal cream because ‘instead’ of fungus you want feet that are blemish free.  With this in mind, we can understand that Jesus, “instead of the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross.”

What joy did Jesus refuse in order to endure the cross?  It was the joy of glory where He continually enjoyed the worship of the angels.  The picture painted by the writer of Hebrews is that of a wealthy businessman losing his fortune and being forced to move to the projects.  Jesus left glory for gloom, diadems for despair.  And He did so because of love for you and me. 

During Jesus’ ministry here on earth He was often found in the places where suffering, sin and sorrow were at their highest.  “and dwelt among us.”  The word ‘dwelt’ can also be translated ‘tabernacle.’  Jesus pitched His tent among us, a troubled people.  Jesus came to touch the untouchable, reach the unreachable and love the unlovable.  He came to reveal God’s salvation and holiness to us apart from our effort. He came to reveal what had been known, ‘before the ages began,’ that by God’s grace and purpose we are saved to life and immortality through the gospel (2 Timothy 1:8-10).

Mountain Moving Prayer

Prayer is powerful!  Jesus taught the disciples the power of prayer.  One illustration he used is that of a mountain being cast into the sea (Mark 11:23).  All of us have mountains to overcome in our lives.  They stand before us, intimidating us.  Often we look for a way around them because we see no way to get over them easily.  But Jesus’ solution was to move them.  How do we move the mountains in our lives?  Through prayer!

Paul says we do not pray as we should (Romans 8:26). There are at least five reasons we do not pray as we should:

1.      We are preoccupied with other things and priorities that take the place of prayer, even that take the place of God.

2.      We are faithless – we do not believe God’s promises.  We all find ourselves like Peter who became distracted by what he saw rather than what he could not see, the power of God at work.  And to us God says, “Why did you doubt?”  Still God is faithful to pick us up

3.      We are discouraged – unanswered prayer.  Unanswered prayer does not lie in God’s hand but our own.  When God does not answer prayer, look to yourself first.

4.      We are sinful – If I regard sin in my heart, the Lord will not hear.

5.      We pray without heart

 Prayer that is routine or repetitious indicates an anemic spiritual life.  John Bunyun said, “When thou prayest, rather let thy heart be without words, than thy words without heart.”  To pray with your mouth what is not truly in your heart is hypocrisy. As God loves a broken and contrite heart, He loathes a divided heart.

Steps of Mountain Moving Prayer

1.      Mountain moving prayer begins with the recognition that you can’t move it.  If it is going to be moved it is going to be moved by God.  Jesus said that what you ask for you receive.  Answered prayer is a gift, so it is not of you but of God. 

2.      Mountain moving prayer occurs when you realize God wants to move it for you.  He waits to be wanted by you, which is often the reason the mountain is before you (Isaiah 30:18). 

3.      Mountain moving prayer is diligent. Refuse to leave God alone about it. In Latin, the ancients defined prayer as “Ascensus mentis ad Deum,” a climbing up of the heart unto God.  So, you do not have to climb the mountain to overcome it, you have to climb into the heart of God.

4.       Pray until the mountain is moved!

Got Peace?

Recently, Gina said to me, "I'll be out on the back porch if you are looking for me."  That phrase, 'back porch' is peace to me.  You see, some of our greatest joy and times of peace have taken place on our back porch in the cool of the morning just as the sun is coming up.  We share times of conversation and laughter on the back porch as the sky begins to glow.  But those times always come to an end as the day calls out its tasks and responsibilities and we both begin getting ready for the day. Is this the end of our peace for the day? Of course not!  Although the day may hold many stresses and complexities and trouble, none of these things dictate the disposition of our peace.  So how can peace be consistent?

The joy of the Lord is the hinge pin of consistent peace (Philippians 4:4-9).  All other disciplines follow after our joy in the Lord or to put it another way, our confidence in the Lord.  Without knowing he indwells and fills we will not be gracious. Without knowing he hears us we will not pray. Without knowing our hope in Christ we will not consider our hope in eternity.  Without the joy of the Lord, no other Christian discipline functions at its intended capacity.

But how can we have joy in the midst of a hostile chaotic world? 

“Christian joy is a mood independent of our immediate circumstances.  If it were dependent on our surroundings, then, indeed, it would be as uncertain as an unprotected candle burning on a gusty night.” – J. H. Jowett, Day by Day. 

This life changes but the Lord does not change. There are times and seasons in life that arrange themselves like a sunny spring day and others like the gloom of winter, cold and dreary.  One day I stand in the presence of new love at a wedding, the next over an open grave.  In a single hour I can hear the celebration of new parents over the birth of a child and the despair of a man who sees no reason to continue living.  In the same moment I can feel both like a champion and a chump.  The days we live change like the weather, but our joy can remain. What’s the secret?  “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  "Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you." (De. 31:6).  “Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.” (Josh. 1:5).  “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Ro. 8:31).

God is not a fair-weather Companion leaving us when the days grow dark and lonely.  He is with us always in the days of life, the day of death, the day of judgment.

Anger: Satan's Playground

Anger has always been a part of my life.  I was an angry child.  I was an angry teen.  I was an angry adult.  I still wrestle with anger.  At times it gets the best of me.  But there are victories in life and  one of the victories I see as Christ’s nature continues to become my own is victory over anger.  He continues to overtake me and wash over me which causes my anger to be like a wave crashing into the shore only to dissipate into foam.

Paul wrote a very practical thought and activity of Christian living when he penned, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger.”  The verse tells us a few things about anger.

There is a time to be angry. Anger is not a primary emotion. It is driven by other things.  Knowing what drives anger is certainly advantageous to us.  Anger in general is deceptive.  But identifying the source of anger enables us to discover a solution.  Four things that drive anger are: Hurt, Injustice, Fear and Frustration.

 If we consider our times of anger carefully, we will discover that most of our anger is driven by these four situations.  Although knowing the source of anger helps considerably in resolving an issue, there is a question we need to ask ourselves when we feel anger: “How does this affect the character and honor of God?”  James 1:19-20 says, “Know this, my beloved brethren: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” Anger that is just about us individually will lead to destruction since it cannot achieve the righteousness of God. But anger that exists because it affects the honor and character of God leads to His glory.  Your anger is not right if it is just about you.

 There is a way to be angry. One Sabbath day Jesus was in the synagogue and discovered a man with a withered hand.  He asked the people if it was lawful to do good on the Sabbath and when no one responded he, “looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart.”  The way to be angry is to mingle grief with it.  We often get angry over sin, as well we should, but is that anger aimed at the person?   Often we want to crack their skull and pour in a little wisdom.  But the response of Jesus is helpful.  His anger was driven by grief because of their hardness of heart.  Grief is a love word.  When you lose something or someone that you love you grieve.  This love should drive us to pray for the person who has angered us rather than let their sin drive us to rage or bitterness.

The time of anger should be short.  John Piper writes, “Anger, for all its possible legitimacy, is a dangerous emotion and should not be nurtured into a grudge. Anger is the moral equivalent of biological adrenaline. It is good and healthy to experience periodic secretions of adrenaline in reaction to dangerous situations. But a steady flow would damage the heart. So with anger. It has damaged many hearts because it was not put away, but nurtured again and again into a life-destroying grudge.”

 So be angry when the honor and character of God are at stake.  Be angry but add grief to it in order to temper the anger from becoming rage or bitterness.  Be angry but not for long. Otherwise, your emotions will become the playground of the Devil.

Madelyn

The day is drawing near when our first grandchild, Madelyn Ruth Dees will be born.  She is already our grandchild; we just have not seen her or held her yet.  So I thought I would write to her the first of what I hope to be many thoughts about her.

Madelyn,

Although I have never seen you, you are beautiful in my eyes.

Although I have never heard your voice, I listen for it.

Although I have never touched you, I feel your nearness.

Although we have never met, I love you.

Papa

Flash Mobs are Cool!!

I saw a commercial recently of a dude breaking out in dance and then getting a text saying, “Flash Mob moved to 12:30.”  The term was new to me so I asked Jake, “What’s a flash mob?” I know I am showing that I am behind the times, but my oldest son, Rickey, played a flash mob video on YouTube for me last night.  Flash mobs are cool!!  (See the video below.)

What is a flash mob?  You can look at Wikipedia for a fuller description, but generally it is an organized event that appears spontaneous and is designed to promote a product, issue or just bring joy to the people who witness the event.   It is said that the first flash mob occurred in 2003, but I began thinking and realized it was much earlier, say around 30 A.D.

On the day of Pentecost the Spirit of God was poured out and a group of believers began to speak in the languages of those around them.  You can imagine their amazement!  They spoke of Jesus, who he was, what his death meant to those who believe and explained what they were seeing; a fulfillment of God’s promise.  People’s lives were changed that day and its effect has continued.

Imagine if all who are Christians really began to live in the Spirit of God and show the fruit of the Spirit of God.  Imagine if our pursuits were love instead of lust, joy instead of anxiety, peace instead of chaos, patience instead of quick-tempered, kindness instead of spite, goodness instead of immorality, faithfulness instead of fickle, gentleness instead of callousness, self-control instead of self-indulgence.  The glory to God would be seen and the results would be more impactful than a few hits on You Tube.

Christians, lets flash mob!

Decision Making

Decisions can be difficult, especially when emotions become primary in making them. I have often heard and even said the phrase, “Follow your heart.”  It sounds good, but what if your heart is leading you into a destructive lifestyle? Instead of following your heart in decision making you should lead your heart to understanding (Proverbs 2:2).

How can we know when emotion is dominating decision making?  Usually emotional decision making is identified when we use the word ‘feel.’  “I feel lonely,” can lead to making a bad relationship decision, or “I feel tired,” can be the first step in shirking responsibility.

So, how can we lead our heart in decision making instead of our heart leading us?  Here are a few suggestions from Proverbs 2:1-5

1.      Be intent on making a right decision as opposed to deciding what you want to do.

2.      Discover what God says about your particular decision.  The Bible is filled with counsel for a variety of decisions.  I believe you will find what you are looking for regardless of the decision you face.

3.      Listen to wise, godly counselors.  Apart from the Bible, these are the people that make the biggest difference in my own life.  They are mature believers with a multitude of experience.

4.      Pray a lot!

Learning to be Content

Being bound to Christ enables us to live out God’s passion,by His power for His pleasure.  His passion is to transform us into true worshipers in the image of Jesus His Son.  Honestly, I have a long way to go.  Let me share a story with you.

Lying in a hot, dark room in Haiti was uncomfortable but what we were doing made a difference to a few Haitians who had suffered much from a devastating earthquake.  We were sinking pumps into wells that had been dug by the people.  The days were hot but so were the nights.  We went to bed each night sweating and miserable.  But things grew unbearable when the man in charge of the house we were staying in would remove the battery from the generator that powered our fans to put in his truck.  We complained to one another about the situation and then finally, out of frustration, we demanded that the battery remain in the generator.  Eventually, we bought a new battery so this would not occur again.  Our grumbling about the generator demonstrated our self centeredness and lack of contentment.  We would return to the comforts of our homes in a few days.  These people would remain and continue to struggle against their environment and pain of loss.

To grumble is not loud and outspoken griping. It is the expression of dissatisfaction through continuous complaining.  It’s the chatter of cliques when they talk about others. This seems to be the way churches function often and it is really distasteful to mature believers and ironically, to those who are not believers.  Humility demands satisfaction, or contentment with yourself, your circumstances and others.  Later in Philippians Paul says that he has learned to be content in all circumstances.  Contentment or the absence of grumbling is a learning process.  Once again Paul brings Christ to the forefront and teaches us what he has learned; all things can be accomplished through Christ who gives strength.  With that in mind, here are a few hints toward contentment.

1.      Avoid complaining about anything.  Instead seek the Christ honoring words for the moment and if you do not find any remain silent.

2.      Avoid imagining yourself in a situation you are not in. 

3.      Avoid comparisons of your station in life with someone else.  They are probably thinking you are better off than they are.

4.      Never allow ourselves to wish that this or that had been otherwise.
Rules for Contentment #5: Never dwell on the morrow; remember that it is God’s and not ours.Rules for Contentment #4: Never allow ourselves to wish that this or that had been otherwise.
Rules for Contentment #5: Never dwell on the morrow; remember that it is God’s and not ours.Avoid dwelling on tomorrow.  Today has enough to dwell on.GodG    

5.      You can do all these things because Christ strengthens you to do them. (Adapted from Edward Pusey)

Ethiopia Hunger Relief Effort

Dear Westwood Baptist Church Family,

I want to commend you and thank you for your fantastic generosity and compassion demonstrated in our recent Hunger Relief Offering for the Ethiopian believers in Merebete.  Your contributions totaled $5571.61.  This contribution will feed over 200 families as well as give the churches food resources to assist other people in their communities who are suffering, which opens the door for the gospel to be delivered to hurting hearts.  Your amazing response indicates the depth of your compassion and commitment to these fellow believers. Your beautiful heart is showing in amazing ways and I am overwhelmed by your response and I know the churches will be also. 

John and RK left yesterday afternoon to take the money you gave and begin buying and distributing food.  They will return Friday, August 12.  We will take time during our morning worship services on the 14^th for John and RK to report on their trip.  The time they will spend on the ground is more than they will need to distribute food, so they will also be making preparations for the two upcoming trips in October.  Please pray for their safety and their usefulness in the expansion work of the kingdom of God. 

Feeding on His grace and your fellowship,

Rick Dees

God's Passion, Power and Pleasure in Our Humble Attitude

Our attitude toward one another is significant in the eyes of God.  Jesus repeatedly told the disciples to love and serve each other.  Then He demonstrated the command through the greatest of love and service by offering Himself as the sacrificial Lamb of God.

It seems evident that Paul had this thought in mind when he wrote Philippians 2.  Through the truth of God becoming flesh, His sacrificial death and victorious resurrection, Paul teaches the attitudes Christians should live toward each other and the means of doing so.   Let’s first look at the example Paul gives for his command, “Have this mind among yourselves” (Philippians 2:5).

The example is Christ.  Paul says this about Jesus, “who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped” (v.6).  The front of this verse states that Jesus existed as God, ‘form’ meaning of the same essence.  The last part of this verse affirms the first.  He was so truly God that it was not a consideration in His mind to be concerned with losing any portion of being God by becoming flesh. So at no time did Jesus cease to be fully God, even when He became flesh, the God-man.  An illustration may be helpful in understanding the humility reflected in Jesus becoming flesh.

Suppose Usain Bolt, the fastest human, were to agree to race with me in a three legged race.  In doing so, he would be in company with one of the slowest humans on earth.  In agreeing to tie himself to me, Bolt would be accepting my limitations.  The same is true for Jesus, who by becoming flesh accepted the limitations of flesh for the sake of our redemption.  In doing so, Jesus considered others significance over His own.  Paul’s encouragement to us is to be humble as Christ was humble.  How can we apply this principle to our life?

First, God is at work in you.  This is by the Spirit of God. His aim at working in you is to propel out of you spiritual fruit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control), for His pleasure.  Setting our minds on the pleasure of God rather than our own breaks out into the greatest pleasure we can experience.  It equals the opposite of the above illustration.  When we bind ourselves to Christ, He enables us to live out His passion, by His power, for His pleasure.

In my next post I will share three qualities that move humility closer to becoming habitual.

Defining Pride

Pride is a killer of relationships, especially the relationship between us as believers and Christ.  I need a daily dose of humility and found it today in a quote from Augustine:

“Pride is the craving for undeserved glory.  And this is undeserved glory:  when the soul abandons the One it should cling to for sufficiency and becomes self reliant.” – Augustine, City of God, 14.13.

What are the significant quotes, both of Scripture and others that remind you to rely on God?  Leave yours in the comment box.  Like I said, I need a daily dose so your reminders will be helpful to me and hopefully to others.

What if the Man in the Arena is Wrong?

One of my favorite quotes of all time comes from the late former President Theodore Roosevelt. It is from perhaps his most famous speech, Citizenship in a Republic.


“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face in marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly…”

Everyone imagines themselves as the man in the arena. But, if I am honest I often find that I am the critic. It is a great quote, but what if the critic is right? What if all the labor the ‘man in the arena’ is doing is vain? Does the critic have the right to express that opinion?

Certainly we have a right, or should I say an obligation to express truth. The trouble we find ourselves getting into is how that truth is expressed. Does it profit and build up or does it provoke and tear down? So the question that really needs to be asked is: “How should I express truth?” For the sake of clarification, let me give a couple of definitions, out of many, for criticism:

Critic – 1) one who expresses a reasoned opinion on any matter especially involving a judgment of its value, truth, righteousness, beauty, or technique

Criticize - to consider the merits and demerits of and judge accordingly

Notice the balance in criticism. It measures the merits and demerits of and then judges accordingly. As a Christian, our standard of measure is the Bible, rather than our opinion. This is the first lesson in expressing truth. Express truth from its source. Now, what is the aim of criticism? Paul gives at least three goals of criticism (Ephesians 4:29).

First, criticism should be expressed in a way that demonstrates the good fruit of a believer. No rotten words should come from us. Instead what we say should come from a heart that is purified by Christ. Second, the criticism should build up rather than tear down. Third, it should give grace or joy to those who hear it. This last one may be delayed. Joy may not come for a while. Just as discipline does not seem to be good when we are going through it, we are grateful for it in the end.

Do you find yourself critical?  Seek wisdom from God and apply it to your responses.  James gives is the character of the wisdom of God along with the result of the one who applies it.

"But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace" (3:17-18). 

If we apply these characteristics to our criticisms, I am certain both we and those we seek to build up will find much more joy in our living.