Tax Reform. Healthcare Reform. Social Reform. We hear a lot of call for reformation, these days. None of these are as important as a reformation that took place centuries ago.
Today marks the 506th anniversary of one of the most important protests in history. On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther – a German priest and professor – composed a list of 95 complaints against the Church. He nailed his list to the Wittenburg church door the day before the church celebrated All Saints Day, inviting a discussion on these issues. His timing guaranteed a wide reading.
Had that happened in a Baptist church, the deacons would’ve fired the pastor for ruining the door. Just kidding folks. Sort of.
The fool has said in his heart,
“There is no God.” – Psalm 14:1
Those of us who are unashamed followers of Jesus may be quick to exempt ourselves from that verse. Don’t be so quick to exonerate yourself. At some level, we are all unbelievers.
Notice that David observed that a fool says in his heart that God does not exist. The fool is not merely the one who dare proclaims with his tongue an arrogant disbelief in the existence of God. It is equally foolish – no, even more foolish – to allow our hearts to misbelieve the promises of God about who He is and what He has done for us in Christ.
In the Biblical sense, the heart is “command central” of our lives. The heart represents our thoughts, affections, desires, emotions, and will. Our heart DETERMINES our behavior.
To “say in our heart” there is no God goes beyond the “macro-belief” in the existence of God. Rather, it involves the “micro-belief” of our trust Him, His word, and His work for the daily situations of our lives. We say there is no God when we live even one moment in misbelief of God and His plan of redemption and restoration.
While we may never be so brash as to verbalize a disbelief in God’s existence, we all too often loudly proclaim our disbelief when we apply human answers to the problems of everyday life.
What A Fool Looks Like
Several actions constitute such a non-verbal proclamation:
We may blatantly disobey something God has clearly told us to do or not do.
We may selfishly desire something God doesn’t want us to have.
We may plan and plot without considering God’s wishes and His plans.
We may harbor ill feelings toward others and refuse to offer the same grace to them we have received from God.
We may seek our own fulfillment and self-gratification rather than finding our pleasure in Him.
Be sure today that your heart is not playing an April Fool’s Joke on you. Examine your heart – your actions, affections, attitudes and see if your heart is disbelieving God.
“I don’t have to go to church to be a Christian.” Perhaps you’ve heard that line, or even uttered it yourself. Or maybe you’ve heard it with different phrasing. Something like, “Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian.” That statement is incorrect! In fact, I’ve never heard an active church member make that statement. It usually comes from someone trying to justify their neglect of church.
If you are still reading, allow me to make a distinction and explain what I mean.
Have you ever known you should believe something, but for some reason couldn’t seem to? You KNEW that you should believe it. In fact, you WANTED to believe it. But you could never FEEL that you believed it.
I’ve been there. In
fact I go there more times than I care to admit. As an occupational hazard, I use a lot of “faith
talk.” I encourage others to trust God
only to see my own faith fall short from time to time.
All too often I completely identify with the man in Mark 9 who had a demon possessed son. You can read this incredible account in Mark 9:14-29.
Jesus’ disciples tried to cast out the demon, but turned a
bad situation worse. Then calmly Jesus
told the man, “all things are possible for one who believes.” The man replied, “I believe; help my
unbelief!”
The Contradiction of Believing
The man’s response may sound like a contradiction. But essentially it is more an honest admission that he wants to believe even more. There is another contradiction at work in his life, one we all experience from time to time. That is the battle between what we KNOW and what we FEEL. Therein lies the test of our faith.
I’m not much for camping out. I prefer my lumpy mattress to the hard ground. I feel much more at east in my climate controlled bedroom than a nylon tent. My idea of “roughing it” is a hotel with no wireless internet connection.
That being said, tents played an important role in Old Testament times. One of my favorite cases in found in Exodus 33:7-11. As Moses led the Hebrews through the Wilderness, they set up camp for a short time at various locations. When they would set up camp, Moses would set up a tent far off from the camp that they called the “tent of meeting.”
Anyone who wanted to pray could get alone and meet with God. The Bible tells them that when Moses went into the tent, the cloud representing God’s presence would engulf the tent. When the people saw the presence of God come upon Moses and the tent, they would “rise up and worship, each at his tent door.”
Pitching Your Own Tent
I think it’s past time for you and me to have something like a tent of meeting in our lives. We need a place to get alone with God and let Him speak to us.
The old saying goes, “There’s no need crying over spilled milk.”
People use the saying to comfort someone grieving over a circumstance now done and over. The idea is once the milk is out of the container, there is no need to worry about. Clean it up. Move on. Pour a fresh glass.
But I want to take the saying in a different direction. Why did the milk spill in the first place?
Several factors could result in spilled milk. Maybe the pourer was negligent and didn’t pay attention to what they were doing. Perhaps they continued pouring milk even after the container was full. Or many they were looking in another direction and missed the container all together.
Another possibility is that the container was a fault. Could the vessel have been weak and broke under the weight of the milk? Or maybe there was a small leak that allowed milk to slowly ooze out onto the table.
Spilling Spiritual Milk
So what in the world does spilled milk have to do with anything in my life?
Recently, I shared an article from a Christian site that raised questions about the public’s trust of my profession – pastor. I originally shared the article on an online forum for pastors of small churches like my own. Most reacted, as did I, with sadness and a desire to do all we can to make the situation better. Other responses fell to the more negative side. Criticism is not easy to receive.
The responses of the forum members were varied and set me to
thinking. How do I react when presented with news that I may not want to hear?
All of us hear or read critiques that challenge us
personally, our behavior, and/or our thinking concerning certain issues. How we respond to those critiques reveal our
heart and could determine whether or not we grow.
Here are a few thoughts centered around the various reactions
to the post and what I think they may mean.
You’ve seen the sign hanging on hotel room doors. The sign means that the occupants want themselves and/or their things left alone. Maybe the occupant needs to sleep in. Perhaps he or she has valuable items that they do not wish for others to see.
Whatever the case, the message is clear. Be quiet and stay on your side of the door!
Our Personal Do Not Disturb Sign
How often have you wanted to display a Do Not Disturb sign prominently on your chest? We prefer an undisturbed life. We want our plans to succeed, our families to grow, our businesses to profit, and our health to stay strong. If we were to get our way, nothing bad would ever come our way. No one or nothing would ever cause us heartache or disappointment.
But that is an unrealistic expectation isn’t it? All of us experience some disturbances now and then. My good friend Bobby Simpson (Higher Ground Softball) reminded me that those disturbances are not necessarily bad things. In fact, we find our faith grows better in the fertile ground of challenges and trials. (See James 1:2-4, and 1 Peter 1:6-7). Sometimes, as Bobby says, we need disturbing.
“I hope so.” I’ve heard that many times; often from my own lips. Of course, when we use the word “hope” we are expressing a desire, but an uncertainty as to the realization of our desire.
“I hope it doesn’t rain.” – Maybe it will, but I’ll take an umbrella just in case.
“I hope I get some good news.” I really would like that, but I am bracing for the worst.
“I hope the preacher doesn’t preach too long today.” Oh, who are we kidding?!?! LOL!
Unfortunately our world is filled with a lot of hopeless people. They feel overwhelmed by circumstances and trapped by insufficient resources. They want to think better days are ahead, but no evidence lies before them. The best a hopeless person can do is just survive.
Maybe you are one of those hopeless people. Your circumstances seem insurmountable and your abilities to cope with those circumstances seem seriously lacking. The good news is that the Biblical concept of hope differs 1800 from our contemporary definition. Our hope is uncertain and subjective, but Biblical hope is objectively assured. When the Bible speaks of a hope, it speaks of something that is guaranteed.
Allow me to poke a pinhole in the dark wall of hopelessness and shine a laser beam through it in the form a Bible verse.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. – Romans 15:13.
Don’t miss that last phrase: “abound in hope.” Not have a little, not just enough to get by, but ABOUND. More than you need. Overrunning. Excessive. God offers the hopeless not just a ray of hope but a blinding floodlight. That pinhole in the dark wall becomes a shaft of warm, life-giving light.
First, notice the source of hope: God. He is the God of hope. Our hope does not lie in our abilities, resources, or even in the betterment of our situation. HE is the creator, author, and bestower of hope. When you feel hopeless, turn to Him and rest squarely in the knowledge that He is good and that He is in control. By the power of His holy Spirit, He will give the abundance of assurance.
Second, see the results of the hope God gives – He fills with joy and peace. Joy is not dependent on circumstances, but rather a settled inner assurance that no matter how things look at the moment, when God decides to change it, He will…for the better. Peace is not the absence of hostility or anxiety, but the quiet heart that rides out the storm knowing who is the Master of the Wind.
Finally, notice how that hope is appropriated – in believing; that is our part. I have often defined faith as “an active trust in all that God has said concerning His person, His promises, and His precepts.” To live in hope, we choose to believe what we KNOW about God over how we FEEL in our circumstances.
Tony Evans says it this way:
“Faith is acting like it is so, even when it’s not so, in order that it might be so, simply because God said so.”
In those hopeless moments, return to the light that God’s hope gives. Choose to trust Him and He will bring you through your storm.
After a 25-year sojourn, about a year ago I moved back to the town where I grew up. I’ve had a great time renewing old friendships and making new friends. Every day, I have conversations with people in my church in which we discover mutual friends and/or memories.
Occasionally, I encounter a face that I recognize, but I can neither remember the name nor the context of how we are acquainted. Usually, the person remembers me and knows exactly who I am, but I am left to stall for time and fake familiarity while trying to recall this person’s name and place in my life.
In the Bible, the book of Acts recounts a story of anonymous identity. While at Ephesus, Paul performs some incredible miracles through Jesus’ name, included casting demons out of afflicted individuals. A group of seven brothers, all sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva, tried their had at invoking the name of Jesus and casting out demons. These guys were not followers of Jesus, they merely attempted to copy-cat Paul’s method while hoping to achieve the same results.
When they attempted to cast out a demon in the name of Jesus, in whom they did not believe, the demon responded to them verbally by saying, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” The demon did not feel threatened by the sons, and he jumped on them and beat them so badly they ran out of the house beaten and naked. (Acts 19:11-16)
I’m not sure if that was more frightening, embarrassing, or humorous. They thought they had authority over the demon, but that demon had no clue who they were.
That begs the question… does the devil know who you are? Have you caused him enough grief that he has a file on you? Does the devil keep up with your coming and going out of fear you will threaten his work?
Let me suggest a few people the devil knows and tracks.
The believer who is consistent and fervent in prayer.
The believer who dares to share the Gospel even in the face of fear and threat.
The believer who regularly and systematically reads, studies, and obeys God’s Word.
The believer willing to daringly show the unconditional love of God to those who need it most.
If you do not from time to time experience opposition from the devil then more than likely one of two things is true in your life – either he already has you in his grasp, or you are not doing anything to threaten what he is doing around you.
See what you can do to get yourself on the devil’s watch list.
In the comment section below, feel free to share other ways you believe we can get in the devil’s watch list.
“Do not disturb.”
After a 25-year sojourn, about a year ago I moved back to the town where I grew up. I’ve had a great time renewing old friendships and making new friends. Every day, I have conversations with people in my church in which we discover mutual friends and/or memories.