Jesus clearly stated, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” – John 8:36, NIV.

How did the Son set us free? Hebrews 9:15 supplies the answer:

For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.  

This promise is really built upon a simple mathematical equation. Now, let me preface what I am about to say by confessing to you that math is certainly not my strong suit. Just ask Dr. Kimble, my Math professor at Southeastern University. I barely escaped his class with a very average C grade. But, I do not need to have a mathematical degree to really appreciate the mathematical anomaly of God’s salvation equation.  You see, according to Paul in his letter to the church in Galatia  (which was primarily written to combat legalism and those who were trying to add extra requirements to God’s plan of salvation), God’s basic formula for salvation is simple:  Christ’s blood + NOTHING = salvation for all who believe! Yep. That’s it… God’s mathematical anomaly.

Oh, but man has tried for centuries to impose religious rules and guidelines on unsuspecting seekers who genuinely desire to find peace and hope for their lives… ultimately turning such seekers off to the pure, unadulterated gospel of Christ. Let me be absolutely clear… Man did not invent salvation, didn’t purchase it, and can’t take any credit for it. Freedom from sin and redemption is God’s work. Period! To try to add human achievement to salvation only serves to corrupt and contaminate this pure gospel message!  So, why not just accept God’s mathematical anomaly for what it is–God’s grace-filled, compassionate, overwhelming love plan to rescue you! Now, I don’t need a doctorate in Math to appreciate this! How about you?

Let’s face it, most of what we do on a day-to-day basis is very non-spiritual in nature. Not that it’s “un-spiritual” as if oppossed to the things of God. Simply non-spiritual, or devoid of the Spirit’s activity and leading. I mean, we can get up and go through our daily routines like eating breakfast, taking a shower, brushing our teeth, going through our mail, thinking about the day ahead, so on and so forth, and never really consider the Spirit’s presence with us. Quite simply, we are usually overwhelmed with the mundane or the basic routine of life.

But something deep within my heart craves an encounter with the Holy Spirit that is “real”, authentic, genuine, and attractive to outsiders. Instead of becoming overwhelmed with the stuff of life, I want to be more overwhelmed with an awareness of the Spirit’s presence not only with me, but in me!

The Psalmist, David penned the following:

Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

Like David, I want to be so completely sensitive to the Spirit’s presence with me that I live every day with the knowledge that He is always right there with me, strengthening and encouraging me, equipping me for whatever He leads me to do, and especially… loving other people through me when I can’t find the will or the strength to do so myself.

“Holy Spirit come! Fill me. Empower me. Renew me. And yes, Overwhelm me with your Presence!”

So, what this whole case involving their decision to reprimand and discipline Davies really amounts to is an issue of integrity on the part of the school… and a lack of integrity on the part of Brandon Davies. Keep in mind that he had grown up in the Mormon culture and before being accepted to BYU had to go through two extensive interviews and sign a contract saying that he would live up to the honor-code and standard of morality.

And yet the news media has had a field-day with this announcement, with some even criticizing BYU for their staunch position, claiming that they are being too hard on the young athlete, etc. I, for one, say, “Way to go BYU!” They made a very unpopular decision to discipline one of their own players because he had broken his oath, or his word. Only if all Christian organizations had this same standard of integrity that they adhered to!

Jesus said, “‘You have also heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the Lord.’ 34 But I say, do not make any vows! 37 Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one.” Matthew 5:33-34, 37 (NLT).

What Jesus is calling us to is such a radical life of integrity that we never even have to make any promises, for our word should always be our bond. If we say we’re going to do something, we should be people of integrity and just do it… without having to make any promises! Think about it, if we have to promise someone that we will follow through with something, what does that say about the strength and reliability of our original words? What it means is that we may or may not really follow through with our word, thus we feel like we have to make a promise to ensure delivery.

Proverbs 20:7 says, “The godly walk with integrity; blessed are their children after them” (NIV).

Is it time to patch up the cracks in your character? Is it time to re-commit to becoming a man or woman of your word? Have you noticed a trend in your own life of failing to live up to your promises? Why not settle it today? You and your household will be better off for it!

I understand that the financial consequences of this catastrophic event are going to be devastating, totalling in the millions in losses. In fact, the stock market in Japan has already dropped over 600 points today. However, as I was watching the news coverage my thoughts were immediately drawn to the eternal consequences of this tragedy. According to Mission Network News, less than 1% of the population of Japan is Christian. If you do the math, that would mean that out of 10,000 people who perished, only 100 of them were prepared to enter eternity… and 9,900 are lost forever, eternally separated from the loving presence of God! Please re-read that last figure and allow it to sink in for a moment. Simply mind-boggling, isn’t it!

Now, take note of what the Scriptures say…

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” – Romans 6:23 (NLT)

“And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire” – Revelation 20:15 (NLT)

I would say this is serious business! The problem is that all too often we can get sidetracked with the temporal issues of life and lose focus on eternity! John Bevere, in his book Driven by Eternity, writes, “Many today are not building their lives on the eternal–God’s Word–but rather cultural thinking, tradition, assumptions, and emotional feelings about who God is” (p. 8).

May I challenge you, if you find yourself living more for the temporal things of life, things that will not last, and not really stopping to consider the eternal consequences of how you live, stop everything that you are doing right now and ask God to give you a greater revelation of eternity… and then act on that revelation! Why? simply because “Eternity is Forever” and it’s the only thing that really matters in the long run.

In the final chapter of the book, Chan shares an important thought that I was rather convicted by. He writes the following:

Most of us use ‘I’m waiting for God to reveal His calling on my life’ as a means of avoiding action. Did you hear God calling you to sit in front of the television yesterday? Or to go on your last vacation? Or excercise this morning? Probably not, but you still did it. The point isn’t that vacations or excercise are wrong, but that we are quick to rationalize our entertainment and priorities yet are slow to commit to serving God’ (p. 169).

This is so true! If you’re like me, there are plenty of opportunities for service that you have missed, or numerous occasions that you have simply failed to obey the Holy Spirit’s leading in your life. To further complicate the issue, we are living in an increasingly narcissistic culture in which the trend is to be only concerned with one’s own self-preservation and pleasure. Sadly, this pervasive spirit has even affected the local church to the point where most Christians are simply content to sit in a pew most Sunday mornings (“as long as something more important does not come up”); perhaps throw a few dollars in the offering plate; and enjoy the “performance” that takes place on stage (so long as it does not go past the noon hour). My question is this… Where is the Church that is feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned? Where is the Church that is loosening the chains that have people bound? Where is the Church that is demonstrating God’s compassionate love, and not just talking about it? Can I tell you, this is the Church that the world is looking for!  

In technical, or theological terms, there is what is called sins of commission and sins of omission. Sins of commission are those particualr acts that we do which we know are wrong and violate God’s laws. These are the one’s that are easy to identify. On the other hand, sins of omission are those non-acts, or not doing what you know you should do, and can be more difficult to spot in our own lives. James 4:17 says, “Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it” (NLT). Oh yeah, and God’s knows the heart. We can’t fool Him on this one.

So, there are at least three questions that I believe we should consider when dealing with the sin of inactivity…

1. What are you giving?  This involves your time, treasure, and talents. How about “tithing” 10% in each category?
2. Who are you serving?  God gives us opportunites all the time to place a higher value on someone else’s life and circumstances over our own. Are you watching for these serving moments? 
3. Where are you going?  Before He ascened, Jesus gave the following instructions to all of His followers, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. ²⁰ Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you” (Matthew 28:19-20, NLT). For you, “going” may mean to your local park or to your next door neighbor. For others it may imply selling your house and moving to another geographic location to reach people with the message of Jesus Christ. That part is entirely between you and God!

Perhaps a fourth question would be appropriate… “When are you going to do these things?”  Whatever your gifts and talents are, they’re meant to be used in service to others. Our abilities are not meant to be squandered on our own selfish desires.  1 Peter 4:10 says, “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another” (NLT). In other words, don’t rob someone else of what you might be able to supply in their time of need.

BE FOREWARNED: You and I WILL BE held accounatble for what we do… and do not do during our time here on earth. Just read Isaiah 58 to see the kind of fast that God approves of and Matthew 25:31-46 regarding the separation of the sheep from the goats. Then join with me in repenting of the sin of inactivity.

In Luke 19:13 we are encouraged to “occupy” or to “stay busy” until Christ returns. Will He find you faithful? I don’t know about you, but I’m convicted by the fact that I have not fully lived up to these heavenly expectations. Will I change? Will you change? I guess only time will tell…

In my last post we looked at the first part of Jesus’ message as He began to preach and teach, beginning with repentance. I now want to look at the rest of Matthew 4:17, as Jesus began to preach the message of turning to God, for the Kingdom of heaven was near (at hand, within reach, obtainable).

I believe if Jesus had only one message to preach it would be a message of repentance and Kingdom living.  In Matthew 4:17 we see Jesus’ message was primarily a declaration that God’s kingdom power, rule and reign was a present reality, not only something to be attained in the future. It is actually something to be embraced today!

Let’s take a look at Matthew 10:1, 5-8 to see what it says regarding Kingdom living:

Jesus called his twelve disciples together and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits and to heal every kind of disease and illness… ⁵ Jesus sent out the twelve apostles with these instructions: “Don’t go to the Gentiles or the Samaritans, ⁶ but only to the people of Israel—God’s lost sheep. ⁷ Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. ⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received! (NLT).

Looking at the context here, it is clear that Christ’s followers are commissioned to preach the Kingdom of heaven, and furthermore that this message of the Kingdom is intended to be accompanied by God asserting his power against the forces of sin, sickness & Satan.

• Sin – the message of repentance
• Sickness – v1 – “heal every disease and sickness” v7 – “heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy”
• Satan – v1 He “gave them authority to drive out evil spirits.” V8 – “drive out demons”

We further understand from Romans 14 what the Kingdom is, and what it is not…

“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,  because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men” – Romans 14:17-18 (NIV).

 What this tells me is that it is not a mundane kingdom as in what we eat or drink, or don’t eat and drink (Man-made rules). Rather, the clear-cut evidence that God truly is King of our lives and that His rule is dominant in our hearts is found (and even put on public display for all to see… or not see) in the way that we live our lives… demonstrating righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit! What’s more, we actually get to enjoy this kind of lifestyle here on earth as we submit ourselves to the Lordship of Jesus and the leading of the Holy Spirit! 

Here’s the real deal… Kingdom living deals with motives. You see, because I have repented of my sin and turned to God, I now want to live in a way that is pleasing to God! Nobody has to prime my pump to get motivated or excitied about Jesus! It’s just the simple fact that I am in love with Him and desire to live for Him every day of my life! And because I love Him, I no longer want to partake of those things that I used to so eagerly desire. I am now free to live for Christ and to bring Him glory!

Would you join me in making this a part of your daily prayer life when you get up in the morning? Simply pray Matthew 6:10,

“Lord, may ‘Your kingdom come, your will be done [in my life] as it is in heaven!” 

From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near” (NLT).

If Jesus had only one message to preach, I believe it would be a two-point message… beginning with REPENTANCE!

Repentance is a word seldom used today. To repent literally means “to change your mind.” Not superficially, but changing your basic attitudes and very lifestyle. It also means “to turn around” and go in a different direction, as in doing a complete U-Turn! In essance, you were walking one direction in life, and upon having a “life-changing” encounter with Jesus Christ… you begin to walk in a different direction. 

Yet, we’ve watered the gospel down to simply inviting people to “make a decision” to follow Christ; or praying a prayer to receive Jesus as Savior; asking God to forgive us of our sins; or promoting an “easy-believe-ism, merely “adding Jesus” to an already full life! Don’t get me wrong, we need to do all of these, but I somehow get from the preaching ministry of Jesus that none of these fulfill the requirements for salvation. Now, don’t exit from this post just yet. Please allow me to explain.

I believe the Scriptural blueprint includes the following three steps:

1. REPENTANCE: “But unless you repent, you too will all perish” (Luke 13:3).  ”I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32). “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” (Acts 3:19). 
2. OBEDIENCE: Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). John writes, “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands” (1 John 2:3).  And later on he adds, “This is love for God: to obey his commands” (1 John 5:3).
3. COMPLETE SURRENDER: Jesus didn’t command that we have a regular time of devotions with Him each day. Rather, He tells us to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” He called this the “first and greatest commandment” (Matt. 22:37-38). The natural results are intimate prayer and study of His Word, faithful church attendance, tithing, etc… but our motivation changes from guilt to love!

Once we learn the discipline of walking in repentance and obedience… the natural outflow will be a life of complete surrender to Jesus Christ! Now, who wouldn’t want that?

Join me next time for part 2 as we look at the next phase of Jesus’ message… a call to Kingdom living.

The dictionary defines the word reflect this way: “to think, ponder, or meditate.” I have found this discipline to be foundational to my journey both spiritually and relationally as I take the time to slow down from the frantic pace of life to simply meditate on and consider God’s plans and vision for my personal life.

And what better time to REFLECT than these days immediately following Christmas and preceding the New Year? It’s natural for us to begin looking ahead to a brand new year, with a brand new slate, hopefully filled with brand new blessings! 

I would like to share three directions that we need to look to as we REFLECT on the new year.  

First of all, we should look upward.  The Psalmist put it this way, “I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? ² My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth” – Psalm 121:1-2 (NIV). 

The fact of the matter is that there are moments in our spiritual journey of following Jesus that, when things don’t quite work out the way that we had hoped, or we get discouraged with the results, we find ourselves drifting away from the Presence of God. Some tall-tale signs are when we stop going to church, when we no longer anxiously open the Scriptures to see what He has to say to us today, and we stop hanging out with other Christians.  What can we do when we catch ourselves sliding down this slippery slope?  Just like the psalmist prayed, we can lift up our eyes and look to the One from Whom our help comes from, the Maker of heaven and earth.  May I encourage you to look up and find your strength in God Almighty, the maker of heaven and earth?

Secondly, we need to look inward.  Luke 2:17-19 shares this interesting tidbit regarding Mary as everyone was celebrating the birth of her Son, Jesus: “When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” (NIV).

To “Ponder” literally means that she was having an internal conversation with herself. She was no doubt considering the implications that the birth of the Christ-child would have on her past, present and future. May I challenge you to take a deep look inward to reflect on how Christ’s coming into your own heart and life has impacted your past; your present; and your future.

Lastly, we must look outward.  In John 4:35 Jesus commanded His followers to “wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest” (NLT).

Part of our reflection process must include looking outward at the harvest that Jesus has commissioned us to reach! God’s greatest purpose that He has called each one of His followers to is winning souls. As you reflect on God’s purpose for your life, why not make this a part of your New Year’s resolution?

My prayer is that you will live your life to the fullest in the coming year as you pursue God’s plans and vision with a renewed passion!

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel

There’s an old saying that suggests that “Familiarity breeds contempt”, which simply means the more we get to know someone or some-thing, we tend to lose the respect and appreciation we once held for them (or it).

Is it possible that we have heard the Christmas story so many times, that without even realizing it, we have lost the deep appreciation and awestruck wonder of just how miraculous this story really is? Just think for a moment once again, “The virgin will be with child…”  “Impossible!” some would say.  With man, indeed this is impossible. But with God all things are possible! Yet, how many times have we blown right past that one little sentence, failing to take in to consideration the full magnitude and implications that it holds?  And yet, that is the Miracle of Christmas… the Incarnation; God becoming a human being! 

Obviously, there is so much more here that we could consider from this one incredible Truth, but let me challenge you with this little thought… 

If God can take a young virgin girl, who had never been intimate with a man, and conceive a child, and not just any ordinary child, but the Christ-Child… then why can’t we believe that He can do the miraculous in our lives?

Acts 10:34 tells us that God does not show favoritism, meaning if He performed miracles, signs and wonders in the lives of Mary, Joseph, and various other Old and New Testament men and women… He can perform miracles, signs, and wonders for you and I!

This Christmas season, whatever you may be facing, and regardless of the challenges and obstacles that are before you… take heart in knowing and affirming daily that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8); He has not changed. What He did 2,000 years ago He can do for you today! So, why don’t you go ahead, right now, simply believe God and receive your Christmas Miracle? After all, He specializes in the miraculous!

Having not grown up in a Pentecostal/Charismatic environment, I can empathize with those who have a certain level of anxiety whenever the subject of speaking in tongues comes up. Let’s face it, even within the Pentecostal/Charismatic church-world there are those who have a certain level of hesitancy in engaging this aspect of the “Spirit-filled life.” The question we must honestly ask ourselves then is ”Why?”  

Why do so many good Christians choose not to embrace this awesome experience? I mean, having experienced, and continuing to experience this wonderful in-filling, I kick myself for not embracing the Spirit’s fullness sooner in my own life.  I can honestly say, apart from salvation, the baptism in the Holy Spirit has been the greatest spiritual experience of my life!   

So again I ask, “Why do so many tip-toe around the riverbanks of the Spirit-filled life” without ever diving in completely?  Could it be that we, in the Pentecostal ranks, have not been the best stewards of this precious truth that we probably could/should have been? Is it possible that the TV evangelist scandals along with the “name it and claim it” prosperity message of the 80s (usually associated with Pentecostals/Charismatics) left a lot of would-be seekers thinking to themselves, “Is this it? Is this all there is to it?” Or to compound the problem, could it be that some of the Charismaniacs of the 90s and early 21st century, with their wild antics, bizarre behavior, lavish lifestyles, and yes even winking at the sin of some of our more public figures has caused a general lack of interest?  Make no mistake, the Pentecostal Movement has had its share of critics and skeptics, and rightfully so in many instances. 

However, for me, this isn’t the real issue. Most people will recognize an abuse of power when they see one, and will hopefully chalk it up to “one bad apple doesn’t spoil the whole bunch!”  I believe the real issue falls on me, and everyone else who associates themselves with the Spirit-filled life. You see, a spiritually dry and thirsty culture is waiting for the real deal. They are eagerly anticipating the authentic, Spirit-filled community of God to awaken from their slumber and effectively demonstrate the heart of God!   

I guess what it all boils down to is that I believe there is MORE to the Spirit-filled life than we have witnessed as of yet. I believe that there is more than I have demonstrated in my own life! I somehow get the feeling that we’ve only scratched the surface in this journey. Don’t get me wrong, I thank God for the past 110 years of the modern-day Pentecostal Movement which has literally changed untold millions of lives…  but I want more!  I want an authentic, up-to-date, life transforming experience with Holy Spirit that enables me to embrace the mission of Jesus, Who came to “seek and to save that which was lost.” After all, isn’t that what the baptism in the Spirit is all about? To give us more power to share our faith! (see Acts 1:8) 

How about you? Are you satisfied with where you’re at on your spiritual journey?  Or do you also desire MORE?  If so, then join me in going back to the beginning, which Peter correctly identified as “repentance” (see Acts 2:38 again).

May we collectively repent, come clean with God, be authentically Spirit-filled… and properly steward this precious truth!