Tag / Church

by Chad

Am I Following My Beliefs or God’s Truth?

Recently T.D. Jakes has come under a bit more scrutiny than usual as his statements in an interview with the Huffington Post sparked both support and outrage.

Many supporters of his statements interpret them as welcoming to the LGBT population, and some even view them as accepting and embracing–a view which sparked the outrage of those opposed to his statements.

But is there a larger issue being overlooked and overshadowed by the LGBT context of the statements?

If we consider his statement, “LGBT’s of different types and sorts have to find a place of worship that reflects what your views are and what you believe like anyone else,” and for just a moment ignore the LGBT part, this statement is still very concerning. We have a society full of people wandering from church to church, denomination to denomination, looking for affirmation of their own beliefs, right or wrong. They’re like a bunch of immature children who would rather argue about the basic principles of God and ignore the ones they don’t like because it requires sacrifice or change on their part. They want God’s blessings and protection without submitting fully to His will. This epidemic isn’t limited to the LGBT population. Far from it! This perverted form of religion that places the individual’s understanding and will above God’s Truth and will permeates American society, and does so almost completely ignored.

Hebrews 5:12 through 6:6 shows that mature Christians (real ones) are “those who have had their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” People looking for a church that “reflects what [their] views are…” aren’t looking for God’s views. There is only one Truth. There is only one Way. There is only one Life, and that is in Jesus Christ.

Jakes’ statements seem to encourage people to follow their own understandings and seek support for their own beliefs, but God’s Word tells us to follow His Holy Spirit because the ways that seem right to a man lead to death. Man can twist scripture around to support their own beliefs, but the Holy Spirit can’t be twisted or misinterpreted. That’s what Hebrews is showing us.

True Christians are those who are seeking God’s will in every aspect of their lives. God’s will supersedes their own wants, desires and needs. Good is good. Evil is evil. There are no gray areas. There is only one Truth. To that end, Paul shows us the marks of the True Christian…

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.  Romans 12:9-21 ESV

Christianity is not a set of beliefs. Christianity is the action of following Jesus Christ.

This post isn’t written to bash T.D. Jakes, I don’t know him personally, and only God can truly know what is in his heart. This post hopefully sheds light on a problem that we have all been touched by at some point, and we must all be carefully intentional as we follow God’s Spirit and not our own.

by Chad

Life in the Wilderness

James packs so much wisdom and truth into just the first four verses of his letter that it’s easy to overlook the answer to joy, perfection, completeness and everything that God has for us.

Let’s take a few moments to really explicate these three verses of Scripture.

James 1:2 is a familiar scripture that is quoted by many, but truly understood by few. I wasn’t able to understand how someone is to find joy in the midst of trials and bad circumstances until I understood how God uses trials and circumstances that make us uncomfortable, often VERY uncomfortable, with life and where we are to motivate us.

When Israel left their life of bondage in Egypt, God led them across the Red Sea, stopped those who pursued them, led them across the wilderness to the Promised Land. The same God that did all of that told them that they would possess the Promised Land presently occupied by giants, armies, and fortified cities. But even though God had shown His faithfulness and power through miracles and providing for them time and time again, fear stopped the Israelites from following God into the Promised Land. Moses told the Israelites, “Do not be in dread or afraid of them. The Lord your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.” They knew of God and had even witnessed His power over their enemies numerous times, yet they still allowed their own fear and unbelief to supersede their faith in God. They were not ready mentally or spiritually to walk into the promises God had for them.

Is this starting to sound familiar??

God swore in His wrath that they would not enter his rest in the Promised Land, and it took 40 years of wandering around in the wilderness for the old to literally pass away and the new to come into adulthood. God provided for the Israelites while they were being transformed from doubters into believers, but he provided just enough to sustain them. They ate the same food everyday for breakfast, lunch, dinner and any snacks in between for 40 years. That’s 14,600 days or 43,800 meals. I’m pretty sure that they were so sick of manna, they ate it out of necessity. Munchies and late light snacks probably didn’t exist. Bleh.

They also ran out of water more than once, yet God still provided enough to keep them going around in circles for the duration of their transformation.

What does this have to do with building our faith? God provided for the Israelites in the wilderness, but just enough to sustain them. He didn’t provide so much that they would be comfortable and content with life in the wilderness. He kept them alive, but allowed the trials and their want to continually irritate them and serve as motivation to get out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land.

Did you bring me this far only to abandon me and allow me to be destroyed??

Don’t miss this! God is operating in our lives just like He did with the Israelites. We may find ourselves wandering around in the wilderness, angry and discouraged, griping about our situations, lacks, needs, wants, and everything else that we are dissatisfied with, and telling God, “I see that you are providing for my needs, but come on!!! You, the God who owns everything, are giving me just enough to get by, and barely enough at that! What gives?!?! Did you bring me this far only to abandon me and allow me to be destroyed??” I put that in quotes because I’m sure I’ve said that more than once.

I thank God here and now for His grace, mercy and patience with me!

God doesn’t want us to stay in the wilderness. IT’S A WILDERNESS, PEOPLE!!! No one is meant to live in the wilderness, especially when God has ALREADY prepared the Promised Land for us! If God were to satisfy all of our desires in the wilderness, we’d overlook the fact that we’re STILL IN THE WILDERNESS, surrounded by sand dunes, snakes, and death all around us, while just over the hillside lies the land of rest and plenty. Why move out of the wilderness when it’s so comfortable to just stay in it?

James 1:2-3 says to, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” I now see that the trials I go through are motivation for me to exercise my faith by putting it into action and follow God out of this wilderness.

So trials produce motivation, motivation produces exercise, and the exercising of my faith produces steadfastness. Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines steadfastness as a fixedness in place or a firmness of mind or purpose. These trials exercise my faith in God so that it is solid in my mind and my purpose.

Now let’s apply that rock solid faith in God to verse 4. “And let steadfastness [your rock solid faith in God, His ability, and His Will for your life] have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (Chad’s Amplified Version)

Knowing this, we should all get excited when we face trials in the wilderness, because we realize that the trials are preparing us mentally and spiritually to walk into the Promises of God.

Finally, in Hebrews 3:7-19 we are again reminded of the story of the Israelites in the wilderness and warned not once, but twice, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness…” Instead of hardening our hearts, we must listen to the Holy Spirit and rejoice in the trials being careful that we do not develop an evil, unbelieving heart that will lead us away from the living God. Unbelief is the opposite of faith, and to those who do not have a firm, unmovable faith in God, he says, “They shall not enter my rest.”

Have faith in God, living your life through the trials knowing that he is leading you to the Promised Land. And if you’re going through a trial right now, thank God for this opportunity to walk with Him and grow your faith!

[Original image by Andrew Shiva used under the Creative Commons License. Some scripture quotations are from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

by Chad

Meat and Potatoes

I spent a few minutes studying the Bible this morning asking the Holy Spirit to clear the junk out of my mind and allow me to hear what He wanted me to hear, and I came across a few treasures. They’re treasures that lead to even greater wealths of knowledge in God.

So allow me to execute one of these treasures right here and now.

Hebrews 3:12-15 warns each of us to be careful and diligent to prevent any one of us from falling victim to an evil, unbelieving heart that will lead us to fall away from the Living God. We are instructed in verse 13 to exhort (strongly encourage or urge someone to do something) each other EVERY DAY. This is to keep us from hardening our hearts by the deceitfulness of sin. The Holy Spirit is saying, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

This is my exhortation for you and myself today.

Stop focusing on the basics of Christianity to the point of wasting time! Why do so many people, myself included, spend years just studying and playing around with the elementary teachings of Christ? Hebrews 5:12 – 6:12 address this very issue. (Read it) For many of us it is far past time to move on from basic Christianity and on to answering the call that God has placed on our lives! The message of salvation, repentance from dead works, faith in God, how to live, healing, prayer, etc… All of these have been clearly written about in God’s Word. The author of Hebrews (likely Paul) calls these things the “elementary doctrine of Christ.” Learn it quickly and move on to the meat and potatoes that God has for you.

If you’re wondering what God has in store for the mature, you’ll find it in verse 14. It is the very embodiment of living a Spirit filled life. Those who recognize that the Holy Spirit is living in them and follow him accordingly are the ones who “have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”

So what does all of this mean? God’s Word is showing us that spiritual maturity goes beyond basic knowledge of the Bible and into a life where the Holy Spirit, not just the Bible, becomes our guide. God’s Word is the starting point for our spiritual growth. It is full of the milk that we need to begin growing, but we can’t stop there. God’s Word leads us to the Holy Spirit and teaches us to live and follow the Spirit. Use the Bible and the Holy Spirit to train your powers of discernment constantly to distinguish good from evil. Like it or not, if you want to grow strong in your faith and abilities in God, you have to move on from the milk of just reading the Bible and on to the solid food of conversations with the Holy Spirit.

Meat and potatoes.