Truth is Priceless

Sometimes preachers speak “peace” to us and sometimes we speak it to ourselves.  We think we are doing well when we “claim a verse” as God’s promise to us but we must be absolutely certain that the living and active Spirit of the Living God has spoken that word to us.  God does still speak to His children.  Jesus said His sheep would recognize His voice.  Sadly, our world gets noisier every day and the chances of randomly hearing His voice gets slimmer.

We carry noise and distractions with us everywhere we go.  Our lives are cluttered with interruptions and it is a struggle to think deeply about anything. 

The sad truth is many people claim to be Christians but they have no desire at all to know Christ well, to talk to Him and know what He expects of them.  They do not pursue truth in the innermost.  They find something that feels right and good and they embrace it as truth whether it is or not. They forget that God has an enemy and this enemy is the master deceiver. 

A follower of Christ must want to hear His voice- must want the absolute truth.  We must crave it- pray for it- look in the Bible for it.  We must ask God to “lead me to a passage that speaks to where I am today”. However, it is a sobering thing to hear from Him because then we cannot claim to “not know” the truth.  It is like a child playing outside and making lots of noise so he “doesn’t hear” his mother calling him to come inside.  If he hears he is obligated to obey or risk punishment.  The positive side is that if we asked God for directions on making a decision and felt like we heard from Him then we can proceed with great peace and confidence.  And it will be a real peace.

We have to fight for the truth- sometimes it’s like looking for a hidden treasure in a garbage dump.  It is a lot of work, there are many distractions and a lot of junk to wade through.  But God does love to bless the children who persevere in this work and finding a jewel can be the most joy-filled, exciting thing!  It makes all of the work worth the effort!  Truth is priceless.

The Hard Path

There is a destructive evil in Christianity today and a tendency for preachers to comfort the masses with words of peace.  Given the bad news on the TV each day it is no wonder that we long to hear something pleasant.  The more upbeat the message- the more popular the preacher.  The helplessness we feel over devastating weather patterns or shaky global economy should cause us to look to God for comfort and answers but sadly even Christians turn to the government – not God. 

   

When I saw hurricane Sandy headed for the east coast I prayed that my friends and relatives out there would cry out to God for protection- deliverance- salvation!  I thought of the biblical account in Amos 4 where God is talking to Israel and says:

 “I gave you cleanness of teeth (starvation) in all your cities, and lack of bread…yet you did not return to me,” declares the LORD. “I also withheld the rain from you…I would send rain on one city, and send no rain on another city; one field would have rain, and the field on which it did not rain would wither… yet you did not return to me,”…I struck you with blight and mildew; … your fig trees and your olive trees the locust devoured; yet you did not return to me,”  “I sent among you a pestilence(plague or disease)… I killed your young men with the sword…and I made the stench of your camp go up into your nostrils; yet you did not return to me,” declares the LORD.

          God very clearly takes responsibility for starvation, drought, insect and plant diseases- loss of crops, human illness and even war and death.  He is sending calamities in the hopes that His people will return to Him and acknowledge their need for His provision and protection.  But He laments that despite all suffering and loss the people refuse to cry out for His help.

We have made God into a formula: "Just say this prayer, give, serve, try to do the right thing and you can go to heaven when you die".  How nice.  How handy and convenient.  I have been to a number of funerals where the deceased never showed any interest in God his entire life.  Why would he even WANT to “go to heaven and be with God”?  His very life proved that he didn’t.  But many don’t want to face the awful truth that someone we knew and loved might be facing an eternity of screaming agony…so we talk about what a good man he was.

I fear that churches today neglect the call to fight evil, pursue holiness, put on the full armor, engage in the battle against sin, be watchful and pray.  Fight against our natural tendency to be spiritually lazy.  If it’s true that I simply need to follow a few guidelines and “believe” the right things then why would Scripture warn so strongly against sin and call us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling!? (Phil 2:12).  It is NOT a simple formula – it’s a craving- a hunger- a passionate pursuit of God and a desire to be with Him more than we want life here on earth.  It’s a love that encompasses our heart and mind and body and soul.  It’s a desperate desire to know Him better and please Him more every day.  It’s a heart thing- not a ritual.  We have to WANT to be with God so much that it affects everything we do and everything we are.

"For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."

(Matt 7:14) Search for it!  This is the most important thing you can do in all of life!!

Getting to the Roots

If your shoes were causing your foot to blister you wouldn’t focus totally on the blister- buy ointments, band-aids etc.  You would get different shoes.  If you didn’t change the shoes in some way they would simply give you another blister. 

Emotional pain can be like a blister- it flares up and hurts like crazy!  Sometimes we hurry to put out the inflammation and soothe the hurt but real, lasting healing will only come if we can deal with the source of the pain- the root issue.   We need to find what is causing the emotional pain.

I like to garden and do yard work.  I live on an acreage that was once meadow and prairie.  The weeds are stubborn and tenacious.  A person can mow and mow, week after week and chop the tops off of the weeds but if you don’t deal with the roots they simply come back.  I have also discovered that many weed species are able to go to seed when they are very short. When that happens I have an old root AND new baby weeds to deal with.  The mowing is simply not enough.  It can make the surface look better for a while but it isn’t a true solution to weed control.

Killing off the roots with chemicals is costly.  Digging up the roots by hand is hard and dirty work.  It is time consuming and slow but either way- getting rid of the roots is going to cost me something.  However, it is a much more lasting and effective solution to the problem.   

The same is true with struggling to understand the emotional issues that drive my behavior.  Sometimes I am believing lies and really don’t want to admit that I have been wrong my whole life.   But oh, the sweet peace and joy I experience when the lie is replaced with truth and the darkness is replaced with light.  It is worth every bit of effort.

The Battle for Holiness

One area of sin that I have struggled with for years is the sin of idolatry.  I didn’t recognize it for a long time- I thought it was just a bad habit or character weakness.  God opened my eyes to see that my idols were many- there were a few dominant ones but many smaller, fairly adequate idols also.

As my understanding of the Bible increased I realized that God expected me to fight for holiness and a “One God allegiance”.  I realized my idols had to go but I loved them dearly, they had served me fairly well.  My idols were the things I ran to for comfort, pleasure, to unwind after a hard day and I surrounded myself with them for easy reach. 

There was TV… what a nice distraction from mental pain.  I can sit motionless and stare at it and “forget” all my troubles.

There was food- umm a soothing comfort to ease physical tension- smooth and creamy was my favorite idol.  Salty, crunchy was next.

Then there was shopping- this one made me feel strong- powerful.  Slap that credit card out and have anything I wanted.  THIS will fill the void!

I read in the Bible that Almighty God would one day ask me what I had done with the life that He gave me. I read that His intent was to create me in hope that I would look for Him- find Him and turn to Him for every need- live with a constant focus on Him- living to please him- adore Him- rejoice in all the blessings He showers me with, recognize His authority over me.  He’d be my dad and I would be His beloved child and we would enjoy one another forever!

He wanted to be ALL I needed.  He wanted to satisfy every longing.  He wanted me to check in with Him regularly and live with the intent to please Him.

A lawyer walked up to Christ one day and asked Him “what’s the greatest law?” and Christ answered “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment.” 

Well, I rationalized, these things are not really gods- I don’t bow down and pray to them!  But they WERE the first thing I ran to when I wanted to unwind and soothe myself.  I am entitled to some pleasure! I want something real and tangible.  I couldn’t figure out how God- so distant and unseen could soothe me like a DQ chocolate extreme blizzard.

My real battle for holiness began when I realized that I had a bigger problem than just having a bad habit or two.  I was deeply involved in a lifestyle that compromised my standing with God.  Breaking the #1 top commandment was a serious offense and there was grave danger in ignoring it.  I was going to have to do serious battle with my own body and mind.

Solitude: Revitalizing? Dangerous? Or Both?

A retreat alone in a cabin in the deep woods, isolated from the world…that's my idea of a safe place. Ever since I was a tiny child I have felt that people were a source of pain and solitude was safety. I would wander off into the deep timber and feel such peace and calm. I still enjoy retreats for solitude and I find deep soul refreshment there.

However, there is another side to solitude that I have come to recognize both in myself and in others. There is the enemy tactic that comes straight from the pit of hell. It is a solitude that is designed to isolate me from the safety of the crowd so that I can be destroyed. It keeps me from influencing them and it keeps them from influencing me.

If a wolf wants to destroy a sheep he will run the edges of the flock hoping to draw one off to the side- alone. It is easier to kill it then. The flock- which is defenseless by nature- has no ability to attack or defend itself- provides protection just by encircling round each other.

In Scripture God refers to us as His sheep and He is our Shepherd. Psalm 100 vs 3 says “ Know that the Lord, He is God! It is He who made us and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.” If we go off alone He draws us back to the fold. His plan is for us to enjoy community for our own good.

So we must periodically ask ourselves: am I spending a healthy amount of time alone? Am I feeling refreshed in God? Are people getting on my last nerve? Perhaps I need some alone time. But then what effect is alone time having on me? Is it calming, strengthening, revitalizing?

Or is it making me feel despair, sad, hopeless, despondent? There is no good thing down that path. Despair does not lead to any good place. Truthfully, there is incredible danger in too much solitude.

No flock is perfect. They are all full of stubborn, hard-headed sheep but then… if they can put up with me perhaps I can be patient with them.

Stuck Between A Rock and a Hard Place

Recently I found myself “between a rock and a hard place.” As I considered my options I thought about praying to God for help but I like to exhaust every possible option for figuring it out myself first. I’ve never liked to ask anyone to help me personally. I learned it early in life. The few times I admitted need to an adult they told me “they didn’t want to get involved”. In all fairness I probably never told anyone enough for them to truly see the desperate nature of my situation. But their response set me on a course of aloneness.

So there I was last week- between the rock and the hard place- feeling stubborn in my soul. Stuck. No good options. I found myself facing the wall of defeat. Why can’t I pray for personal help? I can make a plan for myself and then ask God to bless my plan. I can even ask Him to help me while I am making the plan. But there is this humble, helpless place in prayer that I just refuse to go.

If I am going to have peace with God, peace in the innermost then I have to dig out any rooted lies that come between us. So, I started searching for the belief that this behavior is rooted in. I went back to the memories of being tied to the chair, blindfolded, gagged. It is the most helpless, powerless, vulnerable feeling. You can hear the enemies moving around, whispering. The tension, dread and terror are extremely high. Utterly alone and powerless.

I felt my blood begin to boil just thinking about it. I felt the rage welling up in me. NO ONE WILL EVER DO THAT TO ME AGAIN! I would rather DIE fighting than sit there in fear and trembling. I’d rather be dead!

That was the message in my head. Better to be dead than helpless- so the default action is go to the internet, search for another plan.

Anger is protective and makes me feel strong. But it's shallow, fake and not a true power. I was still stuck! I needed a power outside of myself and altho' the internet offers an ton of options there's no real power there and I knew it.

That’s when I realized what God is calling me to. He is calling me to willingly sit in the bloody chair, acknowledge my helplessness and ask Him to deliver me. The very thought made me tremble. Utter depths of humility. I felt a wave of emotions, fear, lack of faith and trust in God, pride, and my supposed independence of Him.

Thus says the Lord: Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. What is the house that you would build for Me…? …But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and who trembles at My word.” Isa 66

Then the light went on in my head! There is immense power available to me if I will trust Him and sit in the chair of humility. The most staggering power in all the world came down to the Cross of Christ. The CROSS! The utter depths of humility. God willingly laying down on a filthy wooden cross and letting the enemy nail Him down. And then like a lightning bolt- power came down- power enough to set all men free from every sin, cleanse them of every defilement, make them able to stand and not be crushed by the righteous fury of a Holy God. Enormous power. That’s my Dad, my Creator, my God. And if I will quit rebelling against Him and instead I would just sit in the chair of helpless need, He will come close to me. He notices humility. It pleases Him immensely because it is true, factual, valid, authentic reality! It is not make believe power like my anger is. It’s the real deal and He loves it when we realize our true position in life.

I felt an amazing clarity. Bright lights going on in the dark places of my mind. Suddenly Romans 7 made sense! Paul is struggling with flesh and sin and lamenting the frustrations of doing the very things he hates and he writes “who will deliver me from this body of death?” …this physical, fleshly, weak body that repeatedly sins against a Holy God? And he answers himself- Christ! Christ sets me free because He went to the Cross for my freedom. The Cross was the ultimate act of humility. There is immense power in humility and it requires a greater strength of faith than I have ever known before. It's like Indiana Jones stepping into the void!

The Reason We Exist

Why do we exist? What is the point or purpose for my life? Is it just about what I decide to do with it? What I want? What I like? Is that why I exist- to find my own fun and reason to live? Or was I created by some huge, powerful being that I will answer to?

This morning my mind wandered off and I found myself imagining ants. I have played with this analogy before but it tends to fall short of what I hope to achieve. But, what if I loved ants? What if I found them delightful and charming? I loved watching their industrious – busy- hard working focused little lives.

So I got myself a big comfortable camp chair- we’ll call it my throne- and I perched myself where I could watch them building communities- fighting wars with other communities- working together to haul home large, heavy, dead bugs home as tho’ it were some huge elk to feed their growing young.

Stretch this even further and imagine that I actually created the ants and I have the power of life and death over them. But I am a loving creator and I provide gentle rains, sunshine, abundant sand and every material they need to thrive and prosper. I protect them from dangerous bull-dozers and I watch over this yard. I sprinkle delicious bread crumbs and berries on the ground for them. I give them everything they need to multiply and prosper and take over the entire backyard.

And let’s imagine that the whole reason I created them was solely for my pleasure, there is no other reason for their existence at all. My hope, as I sit there on my throne watching their busy little lives, is that they will THINK and WONDER about why they exist. I hope they will look for meaning in life beyond moving the grains of sand. I hope they will look up- find me and love me for giving them life and abundance. I want them to love me.

In fact, I want them to love me with all of their hearts and minds, their strength and souls. It is what I want more than anything! I want them to live for my pleasure- adore me- worship me. And if they do…if they search for me and love me utterly- I will gently reach down my finger and lift them up to a paradise that is beyond their wildest imaginations and I will keep them as my own delight and we will have such a celebration.

And for all the rest of them who ignored me- hot burning fire- that will destroy every trace of every work they have ever done. What if…?

A religious leader asked “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “…You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ "

(Mk 12:30 )