Spiritual Strength

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.” (Ephesians 6:10)

How strong is God? How strong are you?  When it comes to spiritual strength and spiritual battles, who do you think has the most might — you or God?  Why then do you so often try to fight spiritual battles in your own strength and according to your own resources?  Don’t you know that the Lord desires to protect you and to watch over you?  He is your refuge and strength; your very present help in times of danger.

But you must trust him. You must be strong in him. This is a world at war – whether or not you believe it.  There is no spiritual DMZ (demilitarized zone). When once we come to faith in Christ, we are enlisted into the fight of faith. The world will seek to pull you away. Your enemy the devil will seek to destroy you. Your flesh will seek to sabotage you. Make no mistake, all who belong to God’s kingdom have the forces of the kingdom of Satan against them. Therefore, we must be armored. Protected. Strong in the Lord. We must have our minds protected with salvation — allowing God to change the way we perceive life. We must have our hearts protected with the goodness and rightness of Jesus.  We must allow truth to hold us up and surround us. We must walk in the way of peace and be proclaimers of the Good News of peace with God in Christ. We must have a protecting faith — an indomitable trust in God that blocks every scheme of darkness. We must know the Scriptures – the very weapon that makes us strong in the fight. Finally we must talk to and listen to the Lord.  Unless we are highly attuned to the movements and direction of our Captain himself, we will suffer tremendous setbacks and losses.

Today, particularly here in the comfort-laden West, what is needed most are Christians who clearly recognize what is at stake in this spiritual war around us. We must realize that we can no longer live as though we  are on a cruise ship but instead must realize we are on a battle ship.  And battle ship life often means the loss of comfort and individual rights.  It requires focus and selflessness.  It requires understanding the enemy’s schemes and tactics so as not to be picked off. It requires having others around us who can strengthen and support us as we go.

Walk the Line

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 5:1-2)

In 1956 Johnny Cash wrote a song called, “I Walk the Line.” The song became his first number one Billboard hit and remained on the charts for more than 43 weeks. He wrote the song to express his desire to remain true and faithful to his wife in the face of many temptations. It’s a love song really. A song of promise and devotion to someone outside of himself. And while Cash wrote about his intentioned faithfulness to his marriage, the song can also describe the heart of a Christian who loves Jesus and intends to walk out life with him.  The lyrics of the song are as follows:

          I keep a close watch on this heart of mine
I keep my eyes wide open all the time.
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds
Because you’re mine,
I walk the line

I find it very, very easy to be true
I find myself alone when each day is through
Yes, I’ll admit I’m a fool for you
Because you’re mine,
I walk the line

As sure as night is dark and day is light
I keep you on my mind both day and night
And happiness I’ve known proves that it’s right
Because you’re mine,
I walk the line

You’ve got a way to keep me on your side
You give me cause for love that I can’t hide
For you I know I’d even try to turn the tide
Because you’re mine,
I walk the line

Three times in Ephesians 5, Paul describes the “walk” of the Christian life. He tells us to: “walk in love,” (verses 1-2), “walk in light,” (verse 8), and “walk carefully” (verses 15-16). To “walk in love” is to be devoted to God and to be an imitator or mimic of our Heavenly Father. Because God is love, we too should be loving (toward him, others, and ourselves). Because Christ is a sweet-smelling offering who brings joy to the heart of God by giving himself for sinners, so too, our lives should be an offering to God for the sake of the lost world around us. To “walk in light” or to “walk as children of the light” means to shine like our Heavenly Father shines. To radiate purity in our lives. If darkness produces sin and lies, then light produces goodness, righteousness, and truth.  To “walk carefully” means to be on the watch so as not to stumble or fall away. It would be foolish to stumble along in life never knowing the will of the Lord. It would be foolish to be tripped up by the world that hates God. Instead, we walk carefully so as to discover and then align our lives with God’s will for us.

And how do we do this?  How do we “walk in love,” “walk in light,” and “walk carefully?”  We do it by being filled with the Spirit (verse 18).  Instead of being stimulated and controlled by things outside of ourselves (like drunkenness), we should be stimulated and controlled by the Holy Spirit. He intends to fill us and set us aglow for God. We must be filled with his Presence.  And make no mistake, this is not a suggestion. “Be filled with the Spirit!” is in command form and it is expressed as an ongoing, continually need (as opposed to a one-time event). We are commanded by God to have our lives full of his Presence. He gives us this command because he knows only he will truly satisfy us. And He knows that unless we allow him to continually fill us, so as to give us his power, his goodness, his life, his truth, and his purity, we will never be able to walk the line in this world.

Putting on God clothes

“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24)

Put off and put on.

Paul admonishes Christians to grow into spiritual maturity. To be sure, it is God’s intention that we grow up. He doesn’t want us to be like infants who are helpless and easily deceived. In the natural sense a 30 year old man drinking from a bottle of milk is tragic. So too, in the spiritual life.  God wants us to grow spiritually.

As such, we are told to “put off” our old selves.  The “old self” is that fallen part of us. The sinful self. The corrupted nature. The self-as-boss part of us that has no desire to yield to or follow God.  We are told in Romans 6 that the old self has been crucified and buried with Christ in his death. It is no longer in charge. It has been dethroned as boss and therefore we cannot give into its ways. It is still present in us, but it is no longer to have mastery over us. Paul tells us to “put it off.” The image is that of taking off a set of old, mangled, and filthy clothes that no longer fits us.  This “old-self” clothing is no longer suitable to who we are in Christ.  It chaffs and it pinches and it is moldy and rotting and smelly. Therefore, he tells us to put off things like: following the crowd of empty-headed people who have no concern for God and his ways, acting greedily in hyper-sensual living, speaking falsely, tearing others down with our words, and being bitter and unforgiving.

Instead, we are told to put on the “new self.”  Notice that we don’t have to create the new self. Rather, we received it when we placed our faith in Christ.  Just as the old self was crucified with Jesus in his death, so also the new self was raised up with him in his resurrection.  This new self is none other than God’s own life. This new self has God’s power and approval and energy for change.  This new self is to be in charge in our lives. Therefore,we are called to put it on.  We put on our God clothes.  We put on the clothing that is fitting for sons and daughters of God. And what are these God clothes?  They are things like: speaking truthfully and wholesomely, working honestly, living kindly toward others, forgiving quickly and completely, being humble and gentle and patient, loving others the way God loves them.

 

Do you realize what God offers?

“This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.”

Paul tells us in Ephesians 3 that we don’t have to be afraid of God anymore.

That doesn’t mean God has changed. He is still holy, awesome, extraordinary, magnificent, and exists in inapproachable light. He radiates pure power. In a word he is glorious.  Nothing dark can come near him. The disobedient and rebellious gain no admittance and have no hope of entry into his presence. The “good” can never be good enough to overcome the distance that separates Him.  Those who try to approach God based on their own credentials (whatever one might think those to be — family of origin, intelligence, morality, religiousness, etc), will be turned away.

Yet, Paul reiterates that we who have trusted Christ need not fear. We don’t have to cower or grovel. We don’t have to fret that he might not accept us. We don’t have to wonder if he hears us when we pray. When we approach God on the basis of Christ’s credentials — his righteousness, goodness, sinlessness —  we are met with acceptance.  We can come boldly before him. We can approach him with confidence because Christ’s favored status gains us access to God. It’s like being a VIP or having an “all-access” backstage pass.  You see, with God the old adage holds: It’s not what you know, but Who you know that matters.

You really are accepted in God’s Beloved Son. So come to him boldly and with freedom to receive what he desires to give you.  And what is that? Paul, in prayer, articulates it this way:

“I ask God to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.” (Eph 3:16-19 The Message)

The Two Most Important Words

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved…” Ephesians 2:4-5

“But God!”

No two words ever spoken or written convey greater significance than these.

But God… despite us. But God… because of us. But God… on behalf of us. But God… for the love of us.

We could not free our selves from our willful self-destruction, but God chose to save us.

We had run so far away from him, but God outran us and rescued us.

We spit in his face and had an affair with his arch enemy, but God loved us and pursued us anyway.

We deserved annihilation for our rebellion, but God chose mercy and forgiveness instead.

We had no hope of life, but God chose to give us life in Christ.

There’s no way around it. Those two words, “But God,” are pivotal words. Game-changers. Words that signal a new beginning. Epic words that bring hope into the most despicable and dark places. They point to the heart and character of the One who loves us. We may be at our worst, but God is always at his best. No matter how negligent, apathetic or evil we are, God does not treat us as we deserve.

The next time you fail or are under an assault of condemnation remember those words… But God.  But God rescued me in Christ. But God loves me anyway. But God has chosen me to be his own. But God has given me a new life. But God has made me clean through the Son he loves. But God will never leave me nor forsake me.

 

You are the focus of God’s pleasure

 ^“For God chose us in Christ before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” (Ephesians 1:4-5)

Do you know who you are to God when you put your trust in Christ and because of what Jesus did for you? It’s amazing, jaw-dropping, eye-popping, wonder-filled good news.  You are:

Chosen. You’re hand-picked. Not rejected, but selected. You’re wanted by God… Pursued. Included. Accepted. Made a part of what He is doing. Never to be tossed aside or forgotten.

And when did this happen?  Before you ever did anything right or wrong. It’s not based on your behavior or strength or loveliness. You can’t work hard to achieve God’s choosing of you. You’ve not earned your status before him.

And what is his assessment of you?  You’re blameless and radiating godliness in his eyes. No mar. No spot. No blemishes. Absolved of wrong. Acquitted of guilt. Exonerated of all wrong doing. And clean. So clean and pure and whole.

You are loved. He’s committed to you and your good every day, every moment, all the time. His eyes are on you… not waiting to catch you slipping up, but eager to cheer you on and help you along. He’s intentionally working good for you no matter the cost to himself.

You have been anticipated and adopted into the family. He’s not surprised by anything. He knew you long ago and he will know you long from now. You are no mere servant. You’ve been made Abba’s child. Daddy’s girl. Father’s son. You’re no longer a waif, a straggler or a stranger.  You’re part of his brood. You have a new identity. You’re safe. Secure. Protected.

You’re the focus of his pleasure and intentional choice. It wasn’t a whim. It’s no farce. He planned this. And He pulled it off. You don’t have to worry about him pulling the rug out from under your feet.  He did this intentionally. You’ve been renamed, “God’s pleasure,” the apple of My eye,” “My delight.” He finds deep satisfaction in the fact that you’re home now.

Shout it out!  Relish this news of who you are and allow your heart to become unfeignedly thankful. Be genuinely awe-inspired of God. Become lost in the wonder of it all and laugh. Weep for joy as you adore him. Worship the Lord!

You see it’s grace. Magnificent kindness. Extraordinary favor. Unlimited benevolence.

And all this love and goodness is available in Jesus Christ.  He paid the price of your acceptance.  The cost was his blood. He went as far as anyone could go to assure the completeness of your rescue. There is no one stronger or more capable than he. The accomplishment and the worthiness is all his. And he gives it freely to you.

Sowing and Reaping

“A man reaps what he sows,” (Galatians 6:7)

Sowing and reaping are farming terms Paul uses to describe the effects of the choices we make. If we sow to the Spirit we will reap a spiritual harvest. That is, if we invest ourselves with the Holy Spirit (spending time with Him, learning from Him, talking/listening to Him — through the still small voice and the scriptures), we will become Christ-like. If we sow to the flesh (the lower appetites – the sinful self-life), we will reap moral weakness. What you sow into, you reap (or get a return on). If you sow to the Spirit, God will be honored and other people will be positively affected. But if you sow to the flesh, the seed will rot and bring forth corruption in your life and in the lives of others and God will be dishonored.
We must understand that the self-life (flesh) cannot and will never produce or generate the fruit of the Spirit (the characteristics of Christ). Just the opposite occurs. Some people foolishly assume that it doesn’t matter what they do (sow into), so long as they are sincere. However, that is not what the bible reveals to us. Where we place our focus, what captures our imagination, where we spend our time, how we use our words, the way we use or abuse our bodies, the manner in which we treat others all have real effects.
Today, make the decision to sow to the Spirit. Ask the Lord to do his work in you and abide in (rely upon/remain in/stay close to/be connected to) Him. Good spiritual fruit will be the natural and spiritual result.

How to live the Christian life

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1)

Why is it that it is so hard for people to wrap their heads around biblical grace?  It seems that, when it comes to grace, we  often fall into one of two errors.  On the one hand, some conclude that grace is permission to do what ever I want — whether sinful or not.  The reasoning seems to go something to the effect of: Now that I am no longer under the law, I am free (this is actually a true statement as far as it goes).  However, these folks then extend the definition of freedom to mean casting off all restraint.  This kind of view of grace leads to a form of licentiousness that gratifies the desires of the flesh (5:16).  But Paul tells us this is not God’s intention for grace.  He warns, “Do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh,” (5:13). Remember the flesh is synonymous with the sinful nature which still operates in the believer through the body and the senses.  Jesus did not endure the agony of  the cross to set you free from the penalty of sin in order to help you sin freely! That’s just preposterous.

The second mistake made with grace is to subtly (or overtly) flee from it.  This usually happens to the person who genuinely desires to follow God and wants to honor him with a holy lifestyle. For this person, the reality of the flesh within at war against the Spirit leads to a kind of religious straitjacket.  A way of seeking to assure, through outward moral and religious behavior, that we do not offend against God. And so this person does and does not do certain things in an effort to be holy and good.  This is just a form of religious flesh that turns away from freedom and finds new laws to govern them.

So what is the remedy? What does biblical grace look like? How do you keep from licentiousness on the one hand and law on the other?  The answer is to, “live by the Spirit,” (5:25) to “walk by the Spirit,” (5:16) and to be, “led by the Spirit'” (5:18).  In other words we have to learn to live our lives cooperating with the Holy Spirit who lives in us by virtue of our faith in Jesus Christ.  The Gospel is not simply that you believe in Christ and get to go to heaven when you die.  (As though it were something external to us). The Gospel is that you believe in Christ and he comes to live in you by the Holy Spirit (and you get to go to heaven when you die). The Gospel is that Christ takes up residence in your spirit to live the Christian life through you.  He teaches you how to love God and your neighbor [For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” (5:14)]. The good news is that, “Christ is being formed in you!” (4:19).  His Spirit teaches you how to say no to your flesh — both the licentious kind (see the list of flesh works, verses 19-21) and also the law-based and religious-kind (verse 2-6). As we read in the book of Titus, “ For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,” (Titus 2:11-12).

What is required to live life by the Spirit?  Simply put: Trust.  We learn to trust the Holy Spirit who is living in us.  We learn to listen to his voice. We allow him to use the Scriptures to train us up in godliness — convicting us when we sin and cleansing us anew through the blood of Christ as we confess and repent. We learn to allow him to grow the characteristics of Christ in our lives — and what are these characteristics?  They are the fruit of the Spirit (verse 22-24). We learn that freedom is not freedom from restraint nor is it an external system of moral and religious checks and balances, but instead is an increasing freedom to love and trust God in all of our life.

 

Abba’s Child

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.” (Galatians 4:4-7)

In 1992, I received the most startling, life-changing news I had ever heard. I treasure it to this day, some 21 years later.  The news came during a parish renewal weekend which was focused on the fullness of or baptism in the Holy Spirit. The retreat was led by a group of lay persons from Florida who shared from the scriptures and from their lives as to how God had filled them with the Holy Spirit and given them life and power to be Christ’s witnesses in the world.  When it came time for prayer, I raised my hand, signalling my desire for the Holy Spirit to fill me with his fullness — no more conditions or stipulations from my side — I simply wanted more of him so that my life might be available for whatever purpose he had for me.  God’s power came upon me and within me like a heavy electric blanket of  warmth.

The next day I went for a private prayer session with a team from the church. I received powerful cleansing and inner healing — having previously been a follower of the Grateful Dead and an active drug user — I was keenly aware of my personal sin. When I met Jesus 3 years before at a point of personal crisis, I fled to his salvation.  But I could never shake the dirtiness or unworthiness that I felt.  However, it was on this day, at the end of our time of prayer that God delivered me from deep-seated fear and shame.  It was also when he spoke to my heart for the first time (or perhaps it was the first time I actually heard him).  And what was it that he shared with me?  What good news did he tell me? He said, “You are a child of the light, a son of the Father.”

My heart burst with joy!  No longer an outcast! No longer a hanger-on.  No longer a mere servant! No longer a slave!  No, I was an adopted child of the Lord Most High by virtue of the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  And the Holy Spirit was witnessing to my heart the truth of God to me.  As Galatians 4 says, “Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”  Such was the experience I had.  I could earnestly and truly cry out “My Father!  My Abba!  My Heavenly Daddy!”  and actually mean it and know that it was true about me and about Him.

This revelation of my adoption as his child changed everything for me.  It changed the way I viewed myself, especially when I sinned.  Now I could come to him and ask his forgiveness knowing that I already belonged to him — there was no more fear that I would cross some line or go too far and be put out of his presence.  It changed the way I viewed God — no longer stern and far off, but intimate and ever-ready to engage with me. Now I knew I could come to him and I would always be heard — he would never be “too busy” for me.  Now I knew that he delighted to pour out his love and blessings upon me not because I had earned them, but simply because he loves me.  Now I no longer had to try to measure up or prove myself to him, I already had his approval.  Now I could pray honestly and with great joy, “Abba, I belong to You!”

Leapfrogging Moses

“Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.” (Galatians 3:16-18)

Long ago, God made a promise to Abraham and Abraham received that promise by faith (taking God at his word and believing what He said). The biblical term for a promise from God is covenant (this kind of promise is an unbreakable agreement based upon the character of God).  God promised or covenanted LIFE.  Life in its fullness; life in union with God; life that could never be stolen or lost; everlasting life in fellowship with God.  When God made this promise he made it not only with Abraham, but also with Abraham’s OFFSPRING (the original word is actually SEED and it is singular).  Notice it doesn’t say offsprings/seeds (plural).  Who is Abraham’s offspring/seed?  Paul tells us it is Jesus.  Had it said, “offsprings/seeds” then God’s covenant would have included all of Abraham’s lineage (the patriarchs, Moses, the prophets, etc.) and finally Christ. But God didn’t say that, He said the promise was made to Abraham and his offspring/seed who is Jesus.

What’s Paul’s point? When you jump from Abraham to Christ, you are jumping a couple of thousand years. In so doing, you leapfrog right over Moses.  He is passed over entirely. The one through whom the law was given is not mentioned at all when it comes to the promise.  Paul is telling us that God’s promise of LIFE came to Abraham and found its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.  Moses has nothing to do with it … he is skipped entirely.

What does this mean? It means there’s no place for the law when it comes to receiving the inheritance from God. It’s either grace or law — they are mutually exclusive.  To have God’s life, you cannot achieve it by virtue of your behavior.  You receive God’s life or you don’t.  You accept it freely as a gift or you reject it… And there are two ways to reject it.  One is to disbelieve it entirely — thinking it is unreal or made up or impossible (that it doesn’t exist). The other is to try to earn it through being “good” and avoiding being “bad.”  That’s right, attempting to earn God’s promise of life is actually a form of unbelief.  Putting yourself under the law as a way to be right before God will never work (because no one can keep the law in its totality).. So why not simply receive the life of God.  Receive the promise of LIFE. And where you’ve been trying to earn his favor through your actions, repent — turn away — and return to his grace and mercy.  Remember, all who call upon the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved.