Help From Your Enemies

While searching the scriptures for material to present in our Small Group Ministry, I came across a passage that brought new understanding. I'll share it with you in a minute, but first a little background. Our church has been focusing on outreach. This year, our unofficial motto is "Operation Outreach." Every event, every function, every special endeavor is directed at reaching souls for Jesus. As you can imagine we have stirred up a hornet's nest of opposition. Not from man, nor amongst ourselves, but from principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness in high places. I went up into the foothills of Peavine Peak the other day for prayer and meditation. On the way, up above me, I noticed a pagan altar set up in a high place. Some have asked how I knew it was a pagan altar. My judgment is based on a couple of facts, 1) there were virtually identical altars set up on Mt. Shasta, in a known pagan enclave, when I did some climbing there and 2) there was an Earth Day celebration here in Reno, which brought out many pagans and earth worshipers. I will not stand for the enemies of God to gain any stronghold in our city so I ascended to the place where the altar was and I tore it down. Similar events are recorded in the Old Testament, and I feel that passive Christianity is an oxymoron, so down it came! After I tore it down I spent most of my prayer and meditation time there. However, when I looked around I saw two more altars set up in high places nearby. I had not intended to climb higher that morning, but the Lord did not want me leaving my job unfinished. So I ascended to their locations and tore them down as well. By the way, I tore down the Mt. Shasta altars, save one. (Why I left one standing, I don't know, but it won't happen again.) Needless to say, Reno is a city in desperate need of Christ. Many are the adversaries of Christ and His followers here in this city. There has been a major influx of Californians to the area, which is alright, except that some of them bring overt paganism and an antichrist spirit with them when they come here. We don't mind the fight. In fact, without some spiritual opposition we tend to grow fat and complacent to the true needs of this community. So we rallied ourselves into prayer and fasting and spiritual warfare. We will win. I read the back of the book! We cannot lose. No matter what the enemy sends our way, no matter who he uses, no matter his technique, we will win! God said it, that settles it! Back to my original comment, you remember, the one about renewed spiritual insight to a passage of scripture. The gospels of Matthew and Luke have many similar passages, but I am using Luke's today. This is what it says... "Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets. (Luke 6:22-23 ESV) Notice in the middle of verse 23 the statement, "behold, your reward is great in heaven;" Talk about something only God can do! When we are reviled here on earth for Jesus' sake God adds to our account in heaven. Free blessings, added by God to our long-term eternal investment account. When you think that the enemy of your soul just might win, think about this verse and realize that even if you lose everything here because of your faith in Christ, God converts it into His economic standard and sets it aside for you. So, even though you think your enemy is hurting you, he really is only helping you. Thank you Lord for looking out for our eternal interests! And remember, what they mean for evil, God means for good. You could almost, almost, change that old statement from, "With friends like them, who needs enemies," into "With enemies like them..." Well, we all need friends, so I'll leave it at that. But God, in His infinite wisdom and unsearchable riches, shows again His steadfast love for those that will live righteously. So, fear not, and fight on!

The Joy of Hearing

As I mentioned in my last post, I was taking this blog offline until I heard from the Lord. I needed to be reminded by Him of my purpose, His character and His will for my life. Many challenges have presented themselves to me lately. I would say that I rose to the occasion, but I believe the reality of it was that I fell to the occasion. And being on your knees is a good place to be if you want to be in God's presence. What has been most important was to re-examine the priorities in my life. What is most important, not to me, but to Him? What can I do better, what should I eliminate? If I am called of God to be a teacher, and I believe that to be the case, then what would He have me teach about Him? This blog has been dedicated to the tender side of the Lord, His mercies and His lovingkindness. It is not intended to be based on easy-believism, and you can trust me on that! But it is devoted to presenting the side of Christ that many people need. Trust me also when I say that there is a lot of evil in the world - evil that God will judge. There is no doubt about God's stance on those items. Therefore, I have started a second blog, www.coyotegrowling.blogspot.com that is directed at the evils of our day as well as the remedy - Jesus. I have placed a cross-referencing link at both blog sites so you can easily switch between the two. I mentioned earlier that I had sought the Lord's voice for my present situation. Let me establish that if you feel that the Spirit of the Lord is saying something to you, His word will back it up. Putting it another way God's Spirit does not contradict His Word. Count on it. The Bible declares that we are to try the spirits, but to accept that the Word of God will stand. Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1 ESV) You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, (John 5:39 ESV) The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. (Isaiah 40:8 ESV) In Acts, Chapter 17, the Berean believers where called noble because that not only did they receive the spoken word they also searched the scripture daily to see if what they heard could be backed up by scripture. When I diligently sought the Lord - in quiet, in solitude, in earnest - He spoke to me through His Word what His Spirit had spoken to me earlier. Thus, in the mouth of two witnesses it is established. In case you're wondering, this is what He spoke to me... Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD." (Jeremiah 9:23-24 ESV) God's nature is firmly established in those three elements - His love, justice and righteousness. All three of them are required as well for those that follow Him. You and I must have an understanding of His love for all humanity, sinners and saints, present and future. We must equally understand that His justice will separate the wheat from the chaff. It may not happen today, but it will happen! And finally, we must understand His righteousness. A righteousness that He extends to those of us willing to pursue hard after Him and His cause. Turn down the music, turn off the tube, get quiet, get alone and get a word from God.

Taking Time to Listen

And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? (1 Kings 19:11-13 KJV) Winds and earthquakes and fires happen to us all, but to hear the voice of God is the only real way of understanding what He is trying to say. I am taking my blog offline so that I can hear the voice of God.

Altar Ego

Yes, you read it right. I did not misspell "altar." So many times in the church realm I notice that people use the word "alter" instead of "altar." For instance, they make reference to an "alter of prayer," when they mean "altar of prayer." I know of no alternate to prayer, but I do know that an experience at an altar of prayer alters a lot of circumstances. The psychological definition of "Alter Ego" is "another side of oneself; a second self." Houghton Mifflin's eReference dictionary uses this definition along with another one, "An intimate friend or a constant companion." There seems to be two sides to each of us. (If you have more than that, you probably need more help than my blog can give you!) These two sides can be seen as "What I want to do" and "What I actually do." Another way of stating it might be "Who I want to be" and "Who I wind up being." Here's Houghton Mifflin's definition of ego. The self, especially as distinct from the world and other selves. In psychoanalysis, the division of the psyche that is conscious, most immediately controls thought and behavior, and is most in touch with external reality. An exaggerated sense of self-importance; conceit. Appropriate pride in oneself; self-esteem. I find these terms to be more than adequate for a reasonable understanding of our ego. It's the part of us that is most in touch with external reality. It also can either be an appropriate or inappropriate sense of oneself. Herein lies the real situation. Most of us want to do lofty, noble deeds. We want to be the person who helps the elderly cross the street, even if we don't get the merit badge. We want to rescue the cat from the tree, the homeless from their affliction, the innocent from the mean. We see in ourselves the potential for these things. And at times we actually do them. But far too often we let other things get in the way. We don't do the things we want to do. The apostle Paul, the Great Evangelist as some call him, struggled with this very issue. In the seventh chapter of the Book of Romans, Paul illustrates in almost poetic terms the battles that rage within himself. He wants to do what is right, but doesn't. He doesn't want to do what's wrong, but does. It summons to oneself the distress and pain of "our second self," our "alter ego." My alter ego is someone I never want you to meet. Sometimes he creeps out of hiding, but with God's help I stuff him back in the hole where he belongs. Perhaps your alter ego and my alter ego know each other. Wow, the stories they could tell! What scares me most about this is the second definition of alter ego which is, "a constant companion." Can you see it now? I'm walking down the street being a nice guy, helping little old ladies cross the street and all of a sudden here comes a man on a moped. So my alter ego jumps up and pushes one of the little ladies into his path. Sounds sick doesn't it? (That's why I didn't use a Greyhound Bus in my example.) It really sounds like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The same person with two dramatic, diametrically opposed personalities. Not many of us live lives that are that extreme, but we do find ourselves in the constant struggle to be what we want to be. Allow me to introduce the altar. An altar is not a pretty place. In Old Testament times the altar was used for the gory, bloody ritual of animal sacrifice. Back then we would have to bring an animal for the priests to sacrifice for our sins. If you do a study on biblical sacrifice you will be amazed at how many animals were offered on different occasions. The altar, though not pretty, is essential. The altar is where you and I make sacrifice for ourselves. It where you and I make sacrifice OF ourselves. The Bible declares that we are to be "living sacrifices, holy and acceptable unto God." (Romans 12:1) I'm really thankful for that part about "living!" The altars in my life have pretty much been centered around one thing. My ego. Trying to get it right. Trying to be the nice guy all the time. Trying to do the right things all the time. Trying to help the unfortunate, the downtrodden, the castoffs of the world. But since I'm human, I don't always get it right, even though I want to. That's why I have an altar. So that my "altar ego" wins over my "alter ego." With God's help, and a well-used altar, we can all be what we want to be.

Relatively Speaking

We've all seen it before. It happens with an alarming frequency. Bad things happening to good people and good things happening to bad people. We wish it weren't so, but it is. We've all heard stories of how the bad guy gets away or gets off easy. Just the other day I saw a news item that says capital punishment by lethal injection may be painful!? Ya think? I'm not going to go into the whole capital punishment issue, unless you want me to, but come on, do you think these convicted murderers were at all concerned with causing pain to their victims? The flip side of this is that far too often the good guy gets wronged. Some person, innocently minding their own business and, wham, out of nowhere tragedy or some form of evil strikes. We really feel for these people, because occasionally, we are the recipients of the unwanted events. This is just part of life as I've witnessed it. Misfortune and injustice happens to all at some time or other. Back-stabbed by friends, maligned by family, wrong place at the wrong time. These are just a few of the things that happen to those that don't deserve it. You can get into the middle of a fight and while trying to break it up you get injured. Good Samaritan intentions with Dark Cloud results. Ever been there? Of course you have. When we walk down Bad Luck Parkway and get run over by a bus full of bad stuff we immediately begin to feel sorry for ourselves. Then as we re-tell the story we get to feeling more and more pity for ourselves. We want others to join our little party, because misery truly loves company. The worst thing that we can do though is magnify our actual injury by comparing ourselves with the truly unfortunate. Let me give you an example. Multiple trials come your way in a very short timeframe and you are bewildered. All of a sudden you begin to compare your situation to Job, one of the two most maligned men in the Bible. Or you've been betrayed by a close associate and next you compare yourself to Jesus (the most maligned man) being betrayed by Judas. Here's the trouble with these comparisons. Job lost everything but his wife in one day. Then he was smitten with boils from the top of his head to the tips of his toes. (Boils are very painful. I've had them before. Oops, see there I go! Me and Job, two good guys with bad fortunes.) But honestly how many times have you lost everything in one day? I can't think of too many people. But since it happened to Job, I guess it could happen to others. We may have had it bad but not as bad as some. Consider Joseph from the Book of Genesis. Wronged by his brothers because of his conceit, and sold into slavery. Then through incredible circumstances he rises to prominence in Egypt only to fall victim to the unwanted attention of the bosses wife. After acting righteously and trying to get away from her, she cries rape and he is sentenced to prison. This has never happened to me or anybody I know. Man, could you ever plead victimization if it happened to you! But Joseph didn't. He took it in stride. I don't think he wrote songs about it or danced with joy over his situation, but I do believe that he took a mature look at it and rode it out. And the ending was pretty good. (Go read it youself.) Back to the betrayal of Jesus. This is where it should come into focus for all of us. Jesus was betrayed by a close associate. Jesus had invested time, love and effort into this man and was about to commission him to become a founding member of the greatest movement to ever hit the planet. By Judas sold him out for a measly amount of money. You and I may have been sold out by someone close to us, but please let's not compare ourselves to Jesus. The difference - Jesus was innocent. He was as innocent as possible. And He was righteous. What happens to you and I may be unjust, but do you really want justice? Well, I want justice when I'm being wronged, but not when I'm doing wrong! So for me to find equilibrium in this, (you know, the balanced scale thing) I need to just accept that because the world is filled with unrighteous men and women bad things will happen to good people. Even if we're not as good as we'd like to think! So let's keep it relative. I've never suffered as much as Job, and I've never been as righteous as Jesus. But by His grace and justification I can keep trying to be like Him. And when wrong comes... Oh well, it's just one of those things that happen. Don't blame God. He didn't do it. He gave us free will and we make choices. Some good, some bad. He sees and He knows. And He will take care of you and your situation. Trust Him. In the words of the Psalmist David, who had more than his fair share of enemies and trials, I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. (Psalms 37:25 ESV) Now go and be good. Relatively speaking.

Blurred Vision

I have to grow old, but I don't have to be happy about it. I'm turning "L" this year (think Roman numerals) and I'm having a difficult time with the reality of it. It reached a milestone last Sunday when I suffered a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA). If you've never had one, they're scary. I you have had one then you know I'm telling the truth. (I had one twenty years ago as well.) This is how mine unfolded. I was playing racquetball with my son and our pastor. I'm older than both, so I play harder to keep up with them. I played four games and was feeling tired yet good because I won the last game. We went back to the apartment for dessert and fellowship when I noticed something not right. I noticed that my vision was weird. I was looking at a price on a box of tea and the left side part of the number wasn't totally visible to me. Others saw it but I didn't. Then I began to look at photos on the wall and noticed the same thing. The left portion of my field of vision was gone in each eye. When I closed my right eye, I saw nothing in the left side of my left eye. When I closed my left eye, I saw nothing in the left side of my right eye. Realizing that I was having a serious problem I asked those present to pray for me. A short while later it seemed that my vision had returned for the most part. A little while later we left for home. I drove (probably not a good idea!) but I felt weird all the way home. Then as we pulled into the garage my left forearm and hand went completely numb. OK! This got my attention! I strongly suggested to my wife that she get me to the hospital as quickly as possible. She wanted to call an ambulance, but I didn't want to wait for it. Besides she drove an ambulance during her EMT career, and I totally trusted her driving skills. When we got to the Emergency Room I got presidential treatment. The staff was tremendous. In short order I received an IV with thinning agents, Oxygen, EKG, CT scan, Echocardiogram, Carotid Artery ultrasound, etc. Later I was admitted to the hospital and would undergo MRI and MRA and associated bloodwork. The next 40 hours were very boring, because I felt great and wanted to go home. The doctors and staff wanted me to go home also, but be well enough to go home. I'm OK now and back at work. Thanks to all who prayed for me! Here's an observation to consider. We have a vision for our life, our family, our church, etc. We have made plans, refined them and modified them as needed. We stay in the groove and we try to keep things steady. All of a sudden something comes along to steal our vision! What's amazing to me is our vision is real, our goals also real. Like the pictures on the wall, they're tangible, touchable, able to be handled. But something has blurred our sight. We wonder what is wrong. We get anxious and wonder if this is the end. If this end, well, there's nothing we can do about it. But rarely is it the end. So get help, ask someone if they see what you have seen. Do they see what you know is there. Have them support you with prayer. Let them provide assistance through a difficult time. When it's done, you will have closer relationships and a greater appreciation for your vision. Get the picture?

It Should Be Obvious, But Is It?

I was preparing a sermon a couple of weeks ago and was thinking about how to deliver what I had felt inspired to speak on. One thing kept coming back to me - the simplicity of the gospel. I have seriously studied Christianity (and other religions) for almost 25 years. I have read many, many books on many, many topics. I have read different peoples ideas on who, or what, God is. I have studied Trinitarian doctrine and Oneness doctrine. I have looked into Nestorianism, Sabellianism, Monarchianism, Modalistic doctrine and seemingly a plethora of others as well. (And that doesn't even include polytheistic, atheistic, animistic or other studies.) While I appreciate the amount of hours "theologians" spend in study, I think that too often we overlook the simplicity of the gospel. Don't get me wrong, I get jazzed reading and studying theological references. They are my favorite. I even have a few unpublished ideas of my own. I have recently been introduced to the works of an author whose writings are in my humble opinion far-fetched. Really, really, really far-fetched. No apparent scriptural basis, mostly supposition, conjecture and distortion of plainly written verses. Whether God gives insight to a select few that supersedes what He gives to other Spirit-filled men and women is a debate we can take up later. For my money, "there is nothing new under the sun" and God certainly hasn't changed Himself. Back to my train of thought. Theological treatises have there place. It's right up there with other reference material. I can't get enough of the good ones and I've had too much of the bad ones. But there is a difference in what the world needs. Meat or milk. Both provide nourishment to the body (sorry vegans) but whereas most can handle milk, not all can digest meat. Some are just too young. The apostle Paul stated as much. And this youthfulness is a spiritual measure and not just a natural thing. So here's my thought for today. Regardless of whether God has wings, wheels, or white teeth, He loves us. You and me. And He only thinks of our good. Isn't that simple and obvious? Perhaps not, because far too many of us don't see God as the loving, caring father of humanity. We see Him as a mean old judge, just waiting to flick us off His planet. Or perhaps you see Him as a trickster, only wanting to see how much pain and suffering He can inflict on you. If so, we are sadly missing the point. God's love shows for us not only in the beautiful world He created for us, but in so many other ways. God gave me a wonderful wife for a companion. In the truest sense of the word "help meet" she saves me from myself. He has given us wonderful children and grandchildren. He has blessed us with good employment, a great church and tremendous friendships. In all of these blessings we have trials and hardships. But these are to benefit us as well. Even beyond that the ultimate show of His love was while we were yet sinners Jesus Christ died for us. He didn't have to, unless of course he wanted us to be saved. He did. And then we went beyond that. He adopted us by His Spirit. Sounds pretty nice to me. Pretty simple, too. Maybe you haven't seen it or realized it because of the fog of theology. I sometimes wonder what us "experts" are going to really learn about Him when we stand before Him. I'm expecting it will be both amazing and loving. He's like that, you know. I hope it's a little more obvious to you now. Go on and enjoy His love.