A Father’s Meltdown…

I don’t know if this really happened, but it could.  And it’s worth considering because there is a lesson to be learned for every parent.  I recently received this from Sonya Allman.

A father passing by his son’s bedroom was astonished to see that the bed was nicely made and everything was picked up.  Then he saw an envelope, propped up prominently on the pillow that was addressed to “Dad.”  With the worst premonition imaginable, he opened the envelope with trembling hands and read the letter.

Dear Dad,

It is with great regret and sorrow that I am writing you.  I had to elope with my new girlfriend because I wanted to avoid a scene with Mom and you.  I have found real passion with Stacy and she is so nice.  But I knew you would not approve of her because of all her piercings, tattoos, tight motorcycle clothes… and the fact that she is much older than I am.

But it’s not only the passion… Dad… she’s pregnant.  Stacy said that we will be very happy.  She owns a trailer in the woods and has a stack of firewood for the whole winter.  We share a dream of having many more children.  Stacy has opened my eyes to the fact that marijuana doesn’t really hurt anyone.  We will be growing it for ourselves and trading it with the other people that live nearby for cocaine and ecstacy.  In the meantime we pray that a cure is found for AIDS so Stacy can get better.  She deserves it.

Don’t worry Dad.  I’m 15 and I know how to take care of myself.  Someday I’m sure that we will be back to visit so that you can get to know your grandchildren.

Love,

Your Son Cody…

P.S.  Dad, none of the above is true.  I’m over at Tommy’s house.  I just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than the report card that is in my center desk drawer.  I love you.  Call me when it’s safe to come home…

Church – Pastor Relationship (A Biblical Perspective)

A proper Biblical relationship between Pastor and Congregation is essential for a church to be healthy.  Each must be clear on who’s responsibilities are who’s… and then carry them out faithfully.  It is at this point that God’s decrees are paramount.

Click here for a previous post titled, “Does Your Pastor Love You?”

It is important… no, it’s required… that Scripture drive how the Church-Pastor relationship is lived out.  I believe that a pastor without God’s people is unbliblical.  God purposed the relationship between people and pastor to accomplish His will.  Toward this end I submit a few comments with the pertinent supporting texts.

Important: The Pastor And Church Are On The Same Team.

The Pastor’s call from God is to pray and minister the Word (Acts 6:4).  An important element in ministering the Word is the ability to teach (2 Tim 2:24).  The Pastor’s call is to tend to the spiritual needs of the congregation as one who will give an account to God (Heb 13:17).  The Pastor must lead God’s people by casting God’s vision for them and the church’s future (1 Pet 5:1-3).  The Pastor must also be an example to the congregation as a servant leader (1 Pet 5:1-3) and never conduct himself as a dictator!

   The pastor should spend significant amounts of time in prayer and studying God’s Word.  The reason is because this is the most important job he has for the spiritual health of God’s people.  He must know the congregation he pastors well.  He must encourage them in their time of need by providing solid Biblical counsel and being present to encourage them.  He must be an example in conduct and speech at all times.  He is responsible for communicating God’s truth and leading God’s people to follow God’s vision for their future.

The Church’s call from God is to carry out the work of the ministry (Eph 4:12).  This frees up the Pastor to carry out his call from God (Acts 6:2).  The church is to support the pastor so that he can carry out his call with joy (Heb 13:17).  If the church (Church members) hinder the minister from carrying out his call OR make his life miserable as he carries out his call, then (In some way according to the text) that is not beneficial for them (Heb 13:17).

   “The work of the ministry” (Eph 4:12) is what the church is called by God to carry out.  This may be simplistic, but the work of the ministry is simply all the things that go along with being salt and light and ministering to people in and outside the church.  The members of the church are equipped and trained by the ministers.  Thus they work in tandem, as a team, both doing their part to proclaim the Gospel, build each other up, and expand God’s Kingdom.

Problems begin when: 1) The pastor neglects his call to pray and minister the Word.  2) God’s people don’t carry out their call.  3) When the pastor does what God’s people are supposed to do.  4) When God’s people hinder the minister/pastor from carrying out his call.  And most importantly, 5) When either/both ignore God’s plain direction in Scripture for how the church is to function.

Churches that grow and are healthy will adhere closely to Scripture’s blueprint for the function and ministry of all.  Those that don’t follow God’s plan, will be shallow… plateau… and eventually die (In my definition, “death” has nothing to do with numbers.  It is more of what I call the “Ichabod Principal” {1 Sam 4:21a}).  The minister that abandons God’s clear instruction may have people’s affirmation, but he is being disobedient to God and the call.

The choice is clear… we follow God’s plan and be blessed OR do it our way and live in chaos.  I wonder which is best?

My Joy In Ministry

When I talked with my dad about going into the ministry, he told me… “If you can do anything else and be in God’s will… do that.”  He also told me, “Make sure God is calling you because sometimes that’s the only thing that will keep you going in ministry.”

I must say that in the time I’ve been a pastor I have found great joy.  In fact, the overriding memories I have of each ministry position is extremely positive.  Sure there have been some storms and a few minor difficulties… but all in all the good outweighs the bad 90 – 10!

I know what Paul meant… Curtis.  Avis.  Keith.  Thelma.  Chuck.  Larue and Bonnie.  Anthony and Cristy.  Roy.  Wiley and Irene.  Nettie.  Ricky and Danny.  Along with these there are more people than you can imagine that have been an absolute joy to know as my family in Christ.

I have been given the honor of leading people to Christ…  performing marriages… baptizing… officiating at the Lord’s Supper… being asked for counsel during people’s life events… affirming parents as they dedicate their children to The Lord… I’ve watched God grow people in their faith… and above all, I’ve had the joy of proclaiming The Gospel of Jesus Christ week in and week out for years.

Jesus spoke true words when He said… “Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.”  That is where I am living today!

Nothing can compare to the joy of seeing God glorify His name through His people.  There is no greater thrill than to be present when God saves a sinner from damnation.  There is the greatest elation when you see the light go on in a person’s spirit as God reveals Himself to them.  I get a rush when I stand before God’s people and proclaim His Word and Truth to them.  It is exciting to be a part of what God is doing to bring Himself glory and redeem the world through His Son!

My personal perspective on the ministry is one of great joy, blessing, and happiness.  Even if I were offered much more money… fame… power… and influence, but I would have to leave the ministry, I would turn it down flat.  The reason is that nothing else in this world can compare to the joy and peace of knowing I am doing what my Lord Jesus Christ would have me do.

Were an individual to ask me about going into the ministry, I would probably say something like this…

    If God is calling you, be ready to get your socks blessed off.  Be ready to experience joy like you can’t imagine.  Prepare yourself for some of the most wonderful spiritual encounters with God for which you have no point of reference.  Put on God’s armour because Satan will come after you… but remember “Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.”  Know that you are going to see God do great things.  You are going to join a group of people that traces their heritage to before the foundation of the world.  You are going to experience things… and be a part of God’s activity in the world… like Abraham, Moses, Isaac, Jacob, David, Gideon, Ezekiel, Solomon, Jonah, Isaiah, John The Baptist, Peter, John, and Paul did.  Get ready for the ride of your life and enjoy every minute!  I know because I’m living it!

I can’t wait to see what God has in store next!

Who Is The Enemy?

Recently I’ve written two posts (Click here and here) that deal with the difficulties ministers face in churches.  There are two groups I want to reach out to for encouragement and ministry… Hurting Churches and Hurting Ministers.  Leading From Your Strengths has something interesting worth reading on this topic… click here.

I wish Christians would quit accusing other brothers and sisters in Christ of being their enemies!  I’m troubled each time I hear of churches and the problems they have.  I get tired of ministers blaming deacons, other staff, and church members for their problems.  I am tired of churches blaming staff for the problems they have.  I get sick every time I hear about churches with problems and that there seem to be so many problem churches.  I wish churches would quit thinking they have to compete with each other for the best numbers.  It troubles me when I find out one church (or minister) is secretly glad when another church (or minister) is struggling.  And I’m sick and tired of Satan tearing churches apart and destroying God’s ministers and their families.  Just between us… I want to do something about all those things, if God will so allow it.

In my opinion, both groups (Churches and ministers) need to let go of their pride… admit they have issues and problems… repent and ask for God to forgive them… and then come together for the purpose of restoration in a manner that glorifies God instead of giving the lost a reason to blaspheme Christ.  All Christians are all on the same side just as all Christian churches are working toward the same cause.  We are not each other’s enemy.

Now… to turn my thoughts somewhat… consider a few things. 

God uses other people, and situations, to help conform us to the image of Christ.  

God only allows Satan to do what will accomplish the opposite of what Satan intends.  Thus God uses Satan to accomplish His will!

People we think are our enemies are really emissaries of God’s grace.  He uses them to do His work in us to make us more like His son.  Rejoice in adversity

People we think are enemies are really some of the best friends we have!

If you will click here you will find something I have written to support these statements.  I wish I could take total credit, but I can’t.  I received it as an email, and after reading it I modified it significantly to fit my theology and beliefs.

It’s time for Christians to assault the gates of hell for God’s glory!  For me that means finding ways to help hurting churches.  For me that means finding ways to minister to hurting ministers.  God willing, in spite of all my warts (or maybe because of them), I want to be known from this day forward in keeping with Jesus’s words… God give me the strength.

The Lion Overcomes (Ministers And “Hardship”)

This is a follow up to my previous post about ministers and how Satan attacks as a roaring lion.

My view of ministry is based on being a pastor for almost 20 years.  The first three churches I served fired the pastor prior to me.  I’ve seen a lot in each church.  During my pastoral ministry, I’ve been in deacons, business, and committee meetings from hades (and good ones too).  I’ve had church people say things to me that were anything but Christian.  I’ve had them threaten me on a number of levels.  They have lied to and about me and my family.  At times they have been down right mean… if not evil. 

How can things be that way at church?  Well… there are wolves among the sheep and tares among the wheat… just as Jesus said there would be.  But it is impossible to tell who is in which camp.  That is alone God’s determination.  I don’t even venture a guess.

My experience as a pastor is no different from what many people go through at work in the corporate world.  I don’t see what I’ve been through as worthy of any comment more than… “That’s life.”  There have been people who’ve had to deal with much worse than me in their jobs.  And there are pastors who have had a much more difficult time than I have in ministry.  Shoot… I’ve never been stoned and left for dead!  I’ve never been run out of town.  I haven’t been arrested or beaten one single time.  Till that happens, I don’t qualify for anything of special note.

In fact, I must say that I have had tremendous joy in every church I’ve served!  I’ve seen God do many wonderful things for His glory.  I’ve met many (!) great, loving, merciful, precious, and mature brothers and sisters in Christ through the years.  There are people who will be my friends for life from every church I’ve served.  I wouldn’t change anything, even if I could.  I have not regretted a single decision about going to, and serving, any of the churches I’ve been in.  If I had it to do over again, I would take the same path.  God has been good to me and my family!  I love church… I love church people… I love doing what I do as a pastor!  There is no greater joy than serving God in His church!  Now…

There are two lions mentioned in Scripture… one describes the way Satan prowls around looking for someone to devour.  The other lion describes Jesus as found in Revelation 5:5, “Weep no more; behold, The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that He can open the scroll and its seven seals.”  Jesus, described in Rev 5:5, has overcome and destroyed Satan (the lion of 1 Peter 5)… to God’s glory!

It is written in Scripture, “Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.”  The strong lion of the Tribe of Judah conquers the other lion… who is Satan.  My friend Dr. Ryan Whitley made a good point in his comment to my other post that those who abandon the ministry were in all likelihood not called into the ministry.  Those who would do something in the secular world, were not called by God into the ministry either!  Those who have been called cannot do anything else in life… ever.

The reason I say that is because there is only one thing I can do and be in God’s will… and that is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  And God willing, that is what I will do until the day I die.  And the catch is this… I LOVE IT!!

Hamas Leader’s Son Converts…

  What happens when a Hammas leader’s son becomes a Christian?  There are a lot of things that do/could/might happen.  Click here to read the article.  I’ve included some quotes after which I’ll make a few comments.

  Mosab Hassan Yousef’s father, Hassan Yousef, is a highly respected sheikh born in the West Bank town of al-Ghaniya near Ramallah and is a founding member of Hamas, whose military wing has instigated dozens of suicide bombings and other attacks against Israel since it was formed in 1987.

  Mosab said that his father, who has spent more than a decade in Israeli jails for his involvement with Hamas, was in prison when he “got the worst news in his life” – that his son had become a Christian and left Ramallah. “But at the same time he sent me a message of love.”

  It was after a chance encounter nine years ago with a British missionary that Mr Yousef began exploring Christianity.  He found it “exciting”, he said, and began secretly studying the Bible, struck by the central tenet “love your enemies.”  He said: “It’s (Islam) not taking them anywhere. It’s making them look ugly.”  He hopes that Muslims will begin to question their religion and “fix it” by rejecting the parts that call for “killing others, cutting hands, cutting legs, torturing people and asking for destruction of entire civilisations.”  He said that after he converted to Christianity, he decided he had to escape and “live my life away from violence because I couldn’t coexist with that situation as a Christian.”

  “He is most certainly the face of things to come; an Ambassador to those oppressed by Islam. He is passionate about liberating his brothers and sisters from the darkness of a false religion, and living the truth that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Light.”  “I didn’t come to Christianity for money, I came to Christianity because this is the way we can live a better life,” he said.  “I love my people. They have the right to live like any other nation on Earth. But at the same time, I want to help them [get] on the right track.”

Read the entire article for insight from a convert from Islam to Christianity.  The conversion of this young man from Islam to Christianity is a testimony to God’s grace, power, and love.  The love Mosab has for his people and his desire to see them come to the truth is natural when a person becomes a believer in jesus.

As Christians we are to love those who hate us.  We are called to pray for those who do not know Christ.  We are to seek ways and opportunities to share the Christian faith with them in hopes that God will grant them salvation.  This includes all people whether they are Jews, Muslims, our own family members, or anyone else who does not know Jesus as Lord and savior!

May Jehovah God be glorified!

Interesting…

The Lion Does NOT Sleep

  The song goes… “In the jungle, the mighty jungle… the lion sleeps tonight…”  But in the Scripture it is written, “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour”  (1 Peter 5:8-9b)

  For years I have wanted to minister to two groups of people; Hurting Ministers (Not just pastors) and Struggling Churches.  As part of my process of researching this possibility for Onesiphorus Ministries I came upon these statistics from the Francis A. Schaeffer Institute of Church Ledership Development  and Christianity Today’s Leadership Journal (Click here and here).  These have to do with churches and pastors… and they were quite interesting.  They affirmed for me the need to reach out, encourage, and build up those two groups.

70% of pastors are so stressed they regularly consider leaving the ministry.  35-40% of pastors leave the ministry, usually after just five years.  100% of pastors have had a friend that has left the ministry due to burnout, conflict in the church, or moral failure.

89% of pastors have considered leaving the ministry.  57% said they would leave if a better opportunity were available, including secular work.  Most surveys state that only 60 to 80% of those who enter the ministry will be in it 10 years later and only a fraction will make it a lifetime career.

71% said they battle depression on a weekly basis.  50% of pastors marriages will end in divorce.  70% of pastors said they do not have a close personal friend.  90% of pastors are worn out on a daily or weekly basis.

Only 23% said they felt content or happy on a regular basis with who they are in Christ, in their home, and in the church they serve.

23% of pastors admit that they have either been fired… forced to resign… or left under pressure.  When asked who forced them to resign, the answer was… “A small faction of people in the church.”  When asked if the church was told why they were asked to resign, 63% said the church was not given a reason. When asked if the church had asked another or previous minister to resign, 62% said it had forced another or previous minister to resign.

When asked if they had it to do over again would they enter the ministry, 86% of pastors said they would!

What does all this mean?  There are two groups that need ministry, encouragement, support, and help… pastors/ministers and churches.  Something is wrong when these kind of statistics are reported year after year by research groups.

Satan’s goal is to divide and conquer.  He wants to sow seeds of discord within the body of Christ.  He loves it when there is division and disharmony in the church.  And too many times we give him a stick to beat us with! 

Sooner or later it has to stop.  Ministers need to stop acting in an unchristian manner and churches must do the same thing.  Sooner or later both must determine to come together… as family that loves one another… to work through whatever issues there are for restoration… so that God is glorified!

Otherwise Romans 2:24 will need to be hung over the door of every Sunday School Room… Choir Room… Pastor’s Study… and Church Exit.  On the contrary Jesus said something important in John 13:35… “By this all men will know you are my Disciples… if you have love for one another.”

The sooner is now.  Later must never come.  It begins with one person… Me.  It begins with one person… You.   As it is written in Philippians 1:27… “Whatever happens, conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the Gospel.”  Onesiphorus is a good model for us all to follow…

Perspective On Pity

I was reading my friend Dr. Ryan Whitley’s blog and he had the video I have posted below.  My first thoughts after watching it were: 1) I don’t need to ever  whine again.  2) Joy is based on perspective… it is the result of our attitude.  3) Joy is found in Christ.  This is worth the time to watch and reflect…

Stay On Track

Life does not play out the way we expect or plan for.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.

We will have to deal with events, situations, and people that are beyond our ability to handle.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.

There will be times when we have the best of intentions and act with the purest of motives possible and things can still blow up in our face.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.

God will not allow into your life more than you can handle.

Don’t quit… don’t give up… keep going… keep following God’s call!

Before long, we will be home with God… never to struggle again!  So stay on track, no matter what!

Ultimate Man Woman Debate (Pain)

Kidney stones are Adam’s fault!  I’ll explain that later… first…

I’ve been told the worst pain a person can experience is having a baby.  I can’t speak to that myself, but I’ve had two ladies tell me they prefer having a baby to a kidney stone.  My granny, who had 8 babies, said she have two babies before she’d have another kidney stone!  That pretty much settles it for me… kidney stones are more painful than having a baby.

After the pain of childbirth, you have a cute, cuddly, and precious little life to show for it.  After the pain of delivering a kidney stone all you have are bad memories and something ugly left over.  If you are brave, click here for what kidney stones look like.

On May 25, 1986… the day after my daughter Amy was born… I had my first kidney stone.  In the intervening years I’ve averaged 1 stone every two years.  To say they are painful is an understatement!  My most recent event was this past Saturday when an 8mm stone caused an obstruction and surgery was required to remove it.  Presently I have stones in both kidneys that are 4mm & 5mm in size.  I am scheduled to have lithotripsy (sp?) in the very near future to blast them with sound waves.

Reflection (2 Tim 2:7).  The pain associated with childbirth is Eve’s fault!  Kidney stones are Adam’s fault!  All pain, illness, disappointment, and heartache are the result of the fall.  When hardship, difficulty, or painful things come into our life they are NOT (!) God punishing us particularly for saying or doing something sinful.  They are the result of living in a fallen world that is universally infected by sin.

Whether it is a bridge collapsing… contracting cancer… having a kidney stone… or any other tragedy that may come into our life, they are all the result of living in a fallen world.  They are not the result of God in heaven gleefully punishing us for our mistakes.

So next time you have a hard time… pain comes into your life unexpectedly… you are struggling… don’t blame Satan.  Don’t blame God.  Realize that is life and look forward to the time when God will make all things new.  When every tear will be wiped away.  When there will be no more sorrow or pain.  When kidney stones will be nothing more than a faint memory.  Look forward to when we will be with Jesus in glory!

Modern Slavery In America

  You ARE a slave.  I AM a slave.  We ALL are slaves to either one thing/person OR another!  Consider…

     Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. 19  I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. 20 When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21  But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? The end of those things is death. 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God… (Romans 6:16-22, ESV)

Whoever or whatever we are slaves to is our god!  If anything or anyone is our god rather than the True God, that thing or person has become an idol!  And you probably know that God has a lot to say about idolatry.

     “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.”  “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry…”  “You shall have no other gods before me.”

How do we identify the idols in our life… who or what we are enslaved to?  Answer these questions: 1) What do we think about when we have nothing else to think about?  2) What or who are we MOST protective of?  3) What or who do we spend the most of our money on?  4) What or who do we invest the most of our energy toward?

When we answer those questions honestly, we will be well on our way to identifying who our functional God is.  And consider this… an idol doesn’t have to be anything evil.  An idol can be something that is good.  And idol is identified when we spend an inordinate amount of energy on a good thing!

Think on these things for a while and we will look further into this topic tomorrow (God willing).

Zing… OUCH! That Hurt!

  I was talking with my new friend Mateo Melendez who is a Youth Minister, and he told me about questions he discussed with some students to whom he ministers.  Ask them of yourself and see if you are as convicted as I was… (I may not get these exactly right, but I think I’m close).  You might even want to take these questions and ask them in Sunday School… if you are brave.

  Would you be willing for one week to ask God to give you only what you needed to sustain life, and bless others with the blessings He would have given to you?  What do you think would happen?

What would happen if you made that reqeuest of God for forty days instead of one week?

What would happen if you agreed with nine other believers to make that request of God for one week, then for forty days?

What would happen if a whole congregation agreed to make that request of God for one week, then for forty days?

What would happen if that became your prayer for the rest of your life?

What would happen if Christians made that their prayer for the rest of their life?

So I pose those questions to you… what would happen?

Conflict Management (Part 2)

The first part of this post is found by clicking here.  Notice the title of this post is “Conflict Management.”  The reason is because outside of God’s grace I’m not sure conflict can be resolved.  Conflict is something we will always have to deal with.  My desire is for us to deal with it in a Christ honoring manner.

  Yesterday it was suggested that Cravings Cause Conflict as found in James 4:1-2.  The reason we argue, fight, and go to war with others is because we want something (A craving)… can’t obtain it… so we go on the offensive which results in conflict.  However, it is possible for quarrels to cease, wars to end, and enemies to reconcile as this picture suggests AND is promised by God.

  When it comes to addressing the source of conflict, our cravings, God gives us several important concepts: Humility, Contentment, Reliance, Trust.

  Humility.  James wrote, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”  Peter wrote, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you…”  God is God and we aren’t.  Repeat… God is God, we aren’t!  HE is the one who determines what is good, best, right, and proper for us… because He is God.  The sooner we understand, believe, accept, and rest in that, the better off we will be!  As long as we think we are on the throne of our life (In control of our life) we will be in conflict… WITH GOD!

    Aside.  May I suggest that all the conflicts in and around us we are engaged in can be traced back to the fact that we are in a conflict with God?  And until THAT conflict is settled, all the others will never be settled?  Read this again before continuing on…

Contentment.  Paul wrote, “I have learned to be content…”  This directly addresses our cravings.  By definition, we crave things we don’t have yet desire to have.  This is called covetousness, which is idolatry.  In Matthew 6:25-33 Jesus said God knows what we need and provides it for us.  To crave or covet is to think/believe we know more than God.  Therefore, what we crave exposes the condition of our heart.  Jesus said that the only craving that is Godly is when we crave God (Righteousness).  Therefore the way to eliminate (?) the cravings we have is to be content.

Reliance.  Paul also wrote, ”I can do all things through Christ…”  Most of us rely upon ourselves first, then God to fill in the gaps.  That’s backwards!  God must be our first thought rather than our last resort.  When it comes to being content, GOD is the only source that holds water.  The path to relying upon God is to know Him intimately.

Trust.  In Proverbs it is written, “Trust in The Lord with all your heart…”  Reliance and trust go hand in hand.  We are incapable of knowing anything on God’s level and it is impossible for us to comprehend fully what we need.  That knowledge is reserved for God alone.  Therefore we must walk by faith in God, not by what we see… believe… or understand reality to be.

Our inability to be content is first and foremost defined by a conflict in our relationship with God.  When we are not content… when we rely upon ourselves… when we don’t trust God, it is then that we have quarrels… fight with one another… and go to war.  Thus “working out our salvation” means to be content… to rely completely upon God… and trust Him for everything in life.  God give us the strength…

The Source Of Conflict (Part 1)

During my 48 years, I’ve been in (And started) my share of arguments.  More times than I would like to admit, I have been the one who contributed to disagreements once they begin.  Along with that, I have been the pastor of four churches in 20 years.  I have also talked with pastors and members of countless other churches.  Of many things that are true of the human existence… including church… is the presence of conflict.

In church, the first person blamed for conflict is Satan.  The second person blamed is “them” (“Them” is defined as “Not us or our group.”).  The last person we consider blaming is ourselves.  The problem with these thoughts is that they are not Biblical.  Consider James 4:1-2 (ESV)…

“What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?  You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel.”

James is writing to Christians in a church that was quarreling and fighting.  In addressing the situation, he doesn’t allow blame shifting.  He doesn’t allow rationalization.  He doesn’t salve their conscious by affirming how hard they’ve had it… how difficult their home life was… or that life has treated them unfairly.  Instead he exposes the source of their quarrels and fights.  And if we will listen, what he wrote to them is also true of us…

Cravings Cause Conflict.  According to God, the reason we argue, fight, and go to war with others is because we want something (A craving)… can’t obtain it… so we go on the offensive that results in conflict.  These cravings are like fire that begins small and grows until it consumes us, then it jump from us to others (“Among you…”). 

The cravings and desires that cause quarrels, fights, and wars are WITHIN US.  Let God’s Word settle into your heart.  The problem is not “them.”  The problems isn’t “out there.”  The problem is in us!  WE are the one that begins… intensifies… and continues all the quarrels, fights, and wars.

What is it we crave that makes us quarrel, fight, and go to war with one another?  You will have to answer that for yourself, but here are mine by way of confession (These are embarrassing): Recognition, affirmation, control, peace, ease, and my way.  When these are threatened, the escalation begins from quarrels, and if not checked, to war.  You do the very same thing…

So what is the answer?  Tomorrow, God willing, I will make a few suggestion regarding the problem we all have…

Rumors, Gossip, Lies, And “Godliness”

“There is something we need to be praying about…”  is how Christians rationalize gossipping.  Remember… If someone will talk to you about someone else, they will talk to someone else about you!  Gossipping under the guise of a prayer request is not godly.

Let’s go Bible for a moment.  Do we take seriously Proverbs 6:16, 19?  There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to Him… 19 a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

Consider how strong the Scriptural truth is in this passage.  “Hates” and “An Abomination” are not warm fuzzy words.  They convey extreme emotion.  Extreme passion.  Extreme volitatiy.

Consider what the Scripture records that God hates… and what is not recorded there!  According to the Scripture (Not my interpretation), God hates the false witness HIMSELF!  THE PERSON who causes dissension is an abomination to God!  (Pause.  Reflect.  Meditate.)  It is not written that God hates the lies the false witness tells… but the false witness himself.  It is not written that God hates the results of the one who sows discord… but the person who causes discord.  (Pause.  Reflect.  Meditate.)

Objection!  “I thought ‘God is love.’  What’s with the concept of Him hating someone?!”

God’s anger, wrath, and hate are expressions of His love!  Because God loves so strongly, He is passionately opposed to whatever threatens what and who He loves.  Because God IS TRUTH, He hates anything and/or anyone who opposes Him (Because He IS truth).  Because God is a God of peace, He hates anything and/or anyone who disrupts His peace.

Blind Spot!  The problem is that we NEVER EVER think or believe WE are the ones described in Proverbs 6!  Unless God reveals it to us, we will ALWAYS believe the other person or someone else is the guilty party.  Sin has so infected our hearts and we are so easily deceived by it, we just don’t believe we are the one in the wrong!

Remedy.   Pray as David did… “Search me, O God, and know my heart!  Try me and know my thoughts!  And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”

Oh… by the way… I wrote this post to be a reminder for me about my blind spots.