Living a 220 life

A true heart for God

“Then once again I fell prostrate before the Lord for forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water, because of all the sin you had committed, doing what was evil in the Lord’s sight and so provoking him to anger.” (Deuteronomy 9:18)

Beth and I rented a movie the other night and were appalled by the blatant use of vulgar language…within the first 60 seconds of the movie. I work around military men with foul mouths and hear poor language day in and day out and yet, this movie made me cringe and jump for the eject button. Though I was looking forward to a good movie I was not about to allow the immoral values presented in the film to permeate my mind and heart. The point I’d like to make is not that Christians must stand up to Hollywood or throw out all movies or any other form of Puritan righteousness (though this may need to be done); no, the point I’d like to make is that for some reason sin has become distasteful to me.

Please don’t hear self righteousness in this claim. I still struggle with sin as any other human being struggles. What I’ve found is that some things I used to enjoy, I no longer enjoy because I know they don’t honor the Lord. Deuteronomy 9 reveals how this characteristic becomes a part of a person’s moral fiber. When Moses was confronted with the sin of the people he fell on his face and didn’t eat or drink for 40 days. Can you not see that Moses was truly hurt to the core of his being by this sin? It’s difficult to fake such a reaction as this. So how was Moses’ moral fiber built to so vehemently reject anything that was not God honoring?

Moses reacted in such a way because he had just been in the presence of God. Moses had just received the 10 Commandments and had spoken directly with the Lord. The key to building a moral fiber that seeks to honor God is to spend time in His presence. You see, our God is so good, so perfect, that when we spend time in His presence we will naturally be permeated by His Glory. He is completely void of sin and when in His presence we experience life without sin (to a degree while on earth and perfectly when in heaven). It’s much like allowing someone to spend time in the most amazing mansion with all the perks luxury living has to offer and then trying to move them into a cardboard shack. Someone who’s grown up in the shack may have come to really enjoy it, however, the more time spent in the mansion makes the shack less palatable.

My friends, if you’d like a true heart for God then spend time in His presence. He has created the most amazing mansion for you to enjoy. All you need to do is walk away from the cardboard shack and walk towards your new residence. He loves you and will rework the fiber of your moral life to match His pleasures. Spend time with Him and you’ll hate sin with a true heart from God. AMEN!

What is fasting all about?

“Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?” Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.” (Mark 2:18-20)

Nowhere in the Bible are we commanded to fast, however, beginning at the time of the Judges we see people, including Jesus, fasting all throughout scripture. Though we’re not commanded to do it, Jesus’ example should immediately draw our attention to the fact that we should do it. So what is this fasting thing all about? What’s the point behind it? Does God really care if I starve myself for a time? Well, let’s look.

Fasting in Biblical practice is the abstinence from food and/or water for a time. (Modern practice by some has also incorporated the abstinence from other items such as T.V., video games, magazines, etc.) Food and water are important because they’re life sustaining items in a physical sense. Our earthly bodies can’t survive without these two items. Therefore, the abstinence from these items could potentially be fatal dependent upon the time of abstention. In a physical sense alone fasting then seems like a method for suicide. However, fasting isn’t physical alone…

Fasting has a spiritual side as well. We recognize that every good gift (food and water) comes from our Father above. Without the Fathers interaction in this world not one of us would be alive nor could we sustain life without His continued interaction with us. The two elements food and water implicitly draw our attention to the Fathers interaction in our lives. These elements identify that we come from another place yet we need a constant life support from that other place in order to continue to live here.

Fasting is therefore a physical recognition of our ultimate dependence upon the Father for all things. It’s a way for us to bring the spiritual into a physical reality in our lives. If you’ve ever attempted to fast for more than a day you know it’s not easy. Why? It’s not easy because by abstaining from food and water we are taking the first step toward our own physical death. When we fast we are denying our own flesh to recognize our dependence upon our Father in heaven. We fast to bring a physical dimension to our spiritual lives.

My friends, if you’ve never practiced the spiritual discipline of fasting let me encourage you. Spending time in prayer and fasting is a great way to move your relationship with Jesus to the next level. Start with one day and then move to two days and eventually work your way up to a time the Lord lays on your heart. Again, fasting isn’t commanded in scripture so your practice of this discipline should be completely out of a desire to grow closer to Jesus. Humble yourself before the Lord and spend time in prayer and fasting. AMEN!

Building a miraculous faith

“If you should say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I; how can I dispossess them?’ you shall not be afraid of them; you shall well remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt: the great trials which your eyes saw and the signs and the wonders and the mighty hand and the outstretched arm by which the LORD your God brought you out. So shall the LORD your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid.” (Deuteronomy 7:17-19)

The first time I rode a rollercoaster I was told to keep my hands up all the way down the big drop. I was a huge scaredy cat and couldn’t even keep my hands up as we were being pulled up the hill let alone as we were plummeting to our deaths. Eventually I was able to put my hands up and now I’ll keep my hands up throughout the entire ride. So what’s different? What changed that made me able to keep my hands up? The answer: I had experiences on the rides and learned that I would be OK even with my hands up.

Beth and I recently came through some pretty rough trials. These were the kind of trials that make your heart just sink into your stomach when you hear about them. The Lord was taking me on a spiritual rollercoaster and I was terrified of putting my hands up. Each time the heat was turned up through these trials I would become disheartened all over again and need to spend time with the Lord in order to be reassured. Just as soon as I trusted the Lord for my safety through the trial, something new would arise and I would worry and stress all over again. In essence, I would come screeching down a huge rollercoaster hill only to go right back up a bigger one on the other side. Just as I gained the confidence to put my hands up at the bottom of the hill I was on my way back up and desperately grabbing for the handle to hold onto.

The Lord tells us in Deuteronomy 7 how to build a faith that doesn’t waiver even when confronting the impossible. He tells us to remember. Remember the things He has done for us in the past. Remember that He didn’t allow us to crash the last time we came down the huge rollercoaster hill. Faith is remembering what God has done for us in the past and believing that it was God who did it. Based on this faith you can step forward in hope; hope (this hope has an assurance rather than the typical hope in the English language that implies a sense of uncertainty) that He will continue to care for you as He has in the past.

My friends, building faith therefore implies spending time with God. You must spend time with Him as you walk through life if you’re to recognize His interaction in your day to day. Without spending time in the presence of the Lord your likely to attribute circumstances to mere chance rather than the true orchestrator of events. Start spending time with Him and get ready for the ride. Remember, keep your hands up! AMEN!

Why do Christians need to be good?

“Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the judgments which the LORD your God has commanded me to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you are going over to possess it, so that you and your son and your grandson might fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged.” (Deuteronomy 6:1-2)

I have heard it said about Christianity that the religion is a bunch of rules followed by a bunch of hypocrites. I’ve witnessed within Christianity a bunch of rules imposed on people who would rather not follow them. All too often the rules, rather than Jesus, have become the focal point and foundation of our faith. It seems to be all about the rules and being a “good” person. So why do we have rules and why are we expected to follow them?

The entire 6th chapter of Deuteronomy answers this very question. For the Hebrews, the rules were the foundation of their faith. Yet, God clearly laid out for them that the rules were created in order to produce a fearful reverence for the Lord through obedience to the rules. You see, verse 5 is the point behind all the rules: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

God has given us rules that will multiply us greatly (v3) when we obey them. So are the rules all about us gaining stuff or being happy? Does God want a world of automatons who follow His rules perfectly? No! The rules have been given in order to produce a fear of the Lord which leads to an all consuming love of the Lord. God wants us as His children to stand in reverent awe of Him and out of this reverence to naturally do all that He says because we are so awe struck by Him.

My friends, we must put away the deep thoughts that the world is all about us. We must surrender the idea that we have “rights” and “freedoms” that would allow us to make our own rules separate from those given by God. Every time we sin we arrogantly protest the rules God has given us and firmly declare we can make a better set of rules. Let us obey the Lord and let us fall passionately in love with Him! AMEN!

Your gifts

“And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;” (Ephesians 4:11-12)

Friends, we’ve all been given special gifts from the Lord. I remember when I was younger I desired to be a singer. I thought it would be great to play the guitar, sing Christian songs, and be one of those really cool youth leaders who makes CD’s. I had it all planned out…except I really can’t sing and I have no beat. Based on the lack of resources (singing talent) I gave up the plan to be a singer. As I look back now, that plan of mine was little interested in glorifying Jesus or building up the body. My plan was more interested in me being a rock star.

Ephesians 4:11-12 explains why the Lord gives us giftings. He enables us to do things for Him and His glory. I’ve found two common mistakes Christians make with their giftings: 1. They use it for their own glory or 2. They don’t use it at all. Let me challenge you to get involved. The Lord made you to serve Him so there is a perfect place of service waiting for you right now. Take this challenge and begin glorifying your Father in heaven with your talents and abilities.