Learning to Forgive

Jacob De Shazer

Learning to Forgive

 To live above with those we love

O yes that will be glory…

 To live below with those we know

O that’s a different story!

 It’s true it will be glory to live in heaven.  That’s what the Bible says.  In heaven there will be no fighting, fussing, gossiping, or hating!  Everyone will love everyone and live in loving community!  Scripture says that when we die “We will be changed” (1Corinthians 15:52)    changed by God so that we will fit into that loving community. 

Even though we will be changed when we die, the Lord asks us to allow Him to start changing us now.  Often we don’t want to be changed and hold on to our fighting and fussing and gossip and hate.  But God is calling us to do our part.  He’s calling us to “live below with those we know” and love them.  That’s the hard part!

Our pastor preached a sermon last Sunday about learning to forgive. I wanted to hear it since there is a person I am having trouble forgiving.  He began by saying that forgiveness is the process of letting go of an old reality and opening up the possibility of a new reality.  Here we go again – off with the old and on with the new.

In Ephesians 4:25-32 we are told to “put off” lying, stealing, saying corrupt words, bitterness, anger, clamor, and malice. And in Romans 13:14 we are told to “put on” the Lord Jesus Christ.  I think this verse is saying that we are to accept His moral standards, and depend on His strength to love and forgive others.

Our pastor continued by saying that he had a formula for forgiving and we could remember it by the word R-E-A-C-H. 

R- Stands for recall.  We are to recall the hurt.  Remember what happened that caused us to

      be angry – to need to forgive.

E- Means to empathize.  Try to put yourself in the other person’s shoes.  See things      

     from their viewpoint. Feel their pain and understand their fears.  Perhaps they

     had a difficult childhood. Could they be under the influence of drugs? We don’t

     have to agree with them to respect them as persons..

A- Stands for altruistic.  The act of forgiveness is a gift.  Give the altruistic gift of

     forgiving. Give this gift to God, to the other person and give this gift to yourself

      as well. Your heart will be lighter and your health better if you aren’t carrying

      around the heavy burdens of resentment.

C- Commit before God your vow to forgive.  Tell others that you    

      have made a decision to forgive.  Act kindly to the one you have forgiven.

H-  Hold on to your act of forgiveness.  You may want to forgive but then you begin

       slipping back into your old patterns of resentment. Forgiveness is hard work. It   

       may take time. Ask God to give you the strength to forgive. And keep relying on

        God. 

     

When I think of a Christian who learned to forgive others I think of a man named Jacob De Shazer.  Jacob was a young American airman in 1941 when the United States first got involved in World War 2. When he first heard the news that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor he was so angry that he volunteered to join a special secret unit, the “Doolittle Raiders” and be one of the first to bomb the cities of Japan. 

 

In early 1942 Jacob, along with the other pilots in the raid, flew low over Nagoya, Japan carrying out a surprise bombing attack which shocked and terrified the Japanese people. But later that night he was forced to parachute into enemy territory when his plane ran out of fuel. He was injured in his fall and along with the rest of his crew, he was captured the next day by the Japanese.

 

 For 40 long months Jacob De Shazer was held as a prisoner in a Japanese P.O.W. camp where he was forced to live in filth and stench and was tortured day and night. For 34 of those 40 months he was locked away in solitary confinement. Nearly every day he received a severe beating and he became so malnourished that he looked like a skeleton. Several men in his crew were executed by a firing squad while he was forced to watch. He barely hung onto life while many of the prisoners around him died slowly of starvation.

 

During his captivity Jacob persuaded one of his Japanese guards to loan him a copy of the Bible.  Although he was only allowed to keep the Bible for three weeks, its message changed his life and he became a devout Christian. Most of the men in prison with Jacob hated their Japanese captors because they were being treated so badly.  But Jacob felt that the Lord was telling him to love the Japanese people and to pray for them.

 

The war came to an end on August 20, 1945 and the victorious American soldiers parachuted into the prison camp to free the prisoners. Overjoyed, Jacob and the other prisoners were finally released. Upon his return to the United States, he was awarded the Purple Heart and several other medals for his part in the “Doolittle Raid.” 

 

But Jacob De Shazer believed that God wanted him to go back to Japan. He entered a Christian college and began studying to become a missionary.  In 1948 he returned to the same city he had bombed, but this time he went there to serve the city as a missionary.  He and his wife Florence spent the next thirty years of their lives building a Christian church and serving the people of Nagoya, Japan. They had five children while they were there.

 

While he was in Japan as a missionary, Jacob De Shazer met Captain MitsuoFuchida, the Japanese pilot who had led the main attack on Pearl Harbor and the two men became close friends. The Japanese captain could not understand how Jacob could forgive the Japanese since he had been treated so harshly in prison.  And Captain Fuchida had also heard that the Japanese soldiers who had spent time in American prison camps had been treated very well. 

 

None of this made any sense to Fuchida since he believed that it was “the responsibility” of an offended party to carry out revenge in order to restore honor.  Captain Fushida found himself being drawn to this strange message of Christianity!  This message of forgiveness! How could anyone treat an enemy with love and forgiveness? Why would anyone not stand up for their “honor” against an offending party? He must find out!

 

 But Joseph De Shazer loved his former Japanese “enemy” and this greatly influenced the captain. Finally Captain Fuchida became a Christian in 1950.  And when he became a Christian he discovered that Jesus Christ was his “honor” and his reputation and his strength.  Fuchida didn’t have to protect himself by acts of revenge any more since God was his protection.  His world was turned upside down. 

 

Our worlds can be turned upside down too when we learn to forgive.  When we give our reputations to God and love the enemies who smudged our honor. When we stop living into the old story where we stay angry because they aren’t treating us right, and we write a whole new story where we give our resentments to God and forgive. It’s our choice whether we stand up for our “honor” or whether we let go and let God.  It’s our choice whether we keep our enemies (and ourselves) bound up with our hate or whether we loosen and free up our enemy (and ourselves) with forgiveness.

 

Colossians 3:17 reads: “And whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”  The Bible is telling us that everything we do – our words and our actions- should be done in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  So when we hold a grudge against a friend, can we hold that grudge in the name of our Lord Jesus?  When we are resentful against that person who didn’t treat us well, can we be resentful in the name of our Lord Jesus?  And when we criticize our enemies, can we criticize them in the name of our Lord Jesus?  I don’t think we can.  Then we know what we have to do!   

 

Submit to God, Resist the Devil and He Will Run Away

Submit to God, Resist the Devil and He Will Run Away

 

 

 

The devil will never flee (run away) from you if you resist him by yourself. 

And you will never be strong enough to turn from evil on your own.  The Scripture that tells us to resist the devil first tells us to submit ourselves to God.  It reads: “Submit yourself to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you.”  (James 4:7)  With Gods’ power and authority are we able to resist the devil.

 

Jesus sent out the disciples with these words: “I have given you authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy,   (Luke 10:19)  Serpents and scorpions are symbols of spiritual enemies and demonic power, over which Jesus has given His followers (that’s us) authority to put down.   

 

 We have the spiritual power to resist evil because of our position in Christ.  Scripture reads:  “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27)  The Spirit of Christ is in us believers. And we are in Him.  The Bible says: “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them (evil spirits) because He (Jesus) who is in you is greater than he (the devil) that is in the world.”  (1 John 4:4)   That means we never have to be kicked around by the devil since Jesus has us covered.

 

 Jesus said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations.”  (Matthew 28:18-19)   The Bible tells us that Jesus has ALL authority and He sends His servants (that means you and me) out carrying His badge of authority.  And we are reminded: “Finally be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might.”  (Ephesians 6:10)

 

  Paul prayed that the new believers in his church in Ephesus would not be blind to the power and authority that they had in Jesus Christ.  He writes: “I pray that the eyes of your hearts may be opened so that you may know the hope of His calling, and the riches of the glory of His (Jesus) inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His (Jesus) power toward us who believe.”  (Ephesians 1:18)  

Like the early Christians in Ephesus, we too need to have our eyes opened to the “surpassing greatness of the power” and authority we have in Christ Jesus.

 

The Bible also says: “Be sober, be vigilant: because your enemy the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may eat up.”  (1 Peter 5:8)  Jesus has set us free from death and has given us freedom in Himself.  But the devil tries to drag us back into the prison house of sin. (Isa.42:7) And without Christ we are not strong enough to resist becoming enslaved.  There are so many ways that the devil can steal our freedom if we don’t “submit to God and resist the devil.”  We must stay close to God and keep our guard up. 

 

The devil will try to make us a prisoner of perhaps an addiction- heroin, marijuana, or too many pain pills.  Or maybe he will try to enslave us to a bad habit, huge debt, over eating, anxiety, gossip or hate. There are so many traps and deceptions that the enemy of our soul will try to use against us.  But Christ has given us the power to stand up to all of these snares. We who are in Christ never have to be afraid of being taken over by one of these sins. Let’s not forget that James 4:7 tells us that if we submit to God and resist the devil, he will flee from us.

 

 I had a friend who for years was afraid that she was losing her mind.  Even though she loved God and confessed her belief in Christ and was a member of a Christian church, terrible doubts and fears were constantly flooding her mind.  Had Christ really saved her?  When she died would she really go to hell?  Questions and confusion tormented her day and night and there was little joy or peace in her life.

 

 My friend had always tried to be broad minded so she visited other religious groups –cults that openly rejected Christ. And she read books by psychics and astrologers and made friends with folks who ridiculed Jesus as being the Savior.  To be accepted by this crowd, she stopped mentioning her faith in Christ.  And she continued doubting her Christian faith more and more. 

 

Gradually my friend became more fearful and more depressed.  Anxiety and dread were becoming her constant companions and she felt herself slipping into the darkness. Her doctors prescribed medications for her depression and her psychiatrists scheduled endless therapy sessions.  But all to no avail.  The years passed by and she only seemed to be losing more control and sinking deeper into the darkness and the depression.  Often she could not function on her own, hold a job or go about her life.

 

But finally – several of her Christian friends intervened.  They put their arms around her and surrounded her with their prayers and their love.  They challenged her to submit herself to God.  She needed to put away all the other “gods” in order to submit to the one true God, they told her.  The cult religious groups, the psychic books, the astrology, and anything and everything that got in the way of Jesus Christ, Son of God, only Savior.   (Exodus 20:3-6)  

 

My friend was desperate to be free from her depressions and so with her praying friends circling around she rejected all of those things in her life that she had allowed to slip in between herself and her Lord.  She repented of all of her wanderings away from God and asked His forgiveness for all of her unfaithfulness.  She rejected all other “gods” and rededicated herself to the one true God.  Scripture says that our faith is built up when we read the Bible: “Faith comes by hearing, hearing the Word of God…” so she decided to make Bible study and prayer an important part of each day, hoping that her shaky faith would become stronger.   

 

And after submitting herself to God, my friend threw herself into helping others.  She worked at the local food bank and took care of several foster children.  She taught Sunday school and volunteered at the humane society.  God became her strength and she counseled others who were suffering with depression like she had. And this time she stayed close to God – never getting out there where she could be picked off by temptations. 

 

When she would feel the depression closing in again she would call her Christian friends together and they would come and stand with her and pray and read Scripture. And when fearful thoughts would try to return and control her mind she would “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Cor.10:5)  She would stand up to her fears quoting Scripture or singing praises to God to keep the darkness away.  

 

Today my friend has taken back her life.  She holds down a responsible job and is active in her church and her community.  She is friendly and outgoing with a smile for everyone.  Her face radiates with the love she has for God and the joy she finds in her Christian faith.  She has changed so dramatically that it is hard to remember that this is the same woman whose life was once so negative and so out of control.  And I wonder what her secret was.

 

But if you ask her she will tell you that her secret is very simple.  The secret is staying close to God.  Everyday she tells us that she “Submits herself to God, resists the devil and he flees from her.”  (James 4:7)

 

        

 

 

 

             

  

 

  

 

  

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

We Shall Never be Moved Psalm 15

Psalm 15

(We shall never be moved)

 

 

This short Psalm has only five verses.  The first verse begins with David asking God a question.  David’s question is:  What does a person need to do to enter into God’s tabernacle and to stand before God’s presence?  And who can live (abide) on God’s holy hill? (Verse 1)

 

 In other words, what does a person need to do to come close to God? The “tabernacle” and the “holy hill” that David is asking about refer to the resting place of the Ark of the Covenant.  During that time period the visible presence of God rested on the Ark of the Covenant.  So to enter the tabernacle and walk onto the “holy hill” would be the same as to stand in God’s presence.

 

And God answers David’s question in the last four verses of Psalm 15.  God tells David that in order to draw near to Him a person should love others and conduct their life in caring relationships.  The person who wants to come close to God should 1) be kind to his neighbor 2) not gossip or destroy another’s reputation – protect relationships: 3) never hurt a neighbor or take advantage of them financially 4) and never “reproach” a neighbor.   The word “reproach” was the Hebrew word “cherpah” and it means “to blame, discredit, disgrace, or shame.”  And God ends by telling David that the person who does these things shall never be moved.    

 

Let’s read Psalm 15.

 

1) (David’s question) “Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle?  And who may dwell in Your holy hill? 

 

2) (God’s answer) He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart.

 

3) He who does not backbite with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor.  Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend.

 

4) A person in whose eyes a vile person is despised.  But he honors those who fear the Lord. 

 

He who keeps his oath, even when it hurts:

 

5) He who does not put out his money at usury, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.

 

He who does these things shall never be moved.”

 

God’s message to David is clear.  The way we treat others means everything to God.  It matters to God whether we are loyal to our families and communities or not. The Bible says we can’t love God and hate our brother.  “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar…Whoever loves God must also love his brother.” (1 John 4:20-21)

 

But you may be questioning: “But what if my brother has done something that is very wrong?”  Scripture tells us that if our brother offends us (sins against us or another person) we are not to cover it up.  But we are to prayerfully go to the offending brother and confront him in love. If he refuses to hear us Scripture tells us to  bring several others along to confront and also listen to the offending brother’s side, so that the matter is established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.  And finally, if the brother still persists in his sin we are to bring the problem to the whole church. If the offending brother is sorry and repents we are to restore him to our fellowship and forgive him.  But if he continues in his sin we are to refuse him fellowship. (Matthew 18:15) (Scripture gives us guidance as to how to settle a disagreement and judge an offender and restore fellowship). Scripture also instructs Christians not to take a fellow Christian to a court of law.   

 

When Psalm 15:3b continues speaking about the person who draws near to God it describes him this way: “Nor does he take up a reproach against a friend.” Perhaps this means that we are to be faithful and considerate to our friends even when we don’t agree with them. Instead of slandering the friend or brother (the reproach) we can pray for him and encourage him in right living.  Build him up instead of tearing him down!  Scripture says that “A friend loves at all times and a brother is born to help out during trouble.” (Proverbs 17:17)  Is God calling us to be faithful friends and steadfast family members even when big problems arise?  It seems to me that God is calling us to value and protect the ties that bind us. God doesn’t want broken families and hurting people.

 

The person who draws near to God is described as one who:  “walks uprightly” (verse.2) and “keeps his oath, even when it hurts” (verse 4b.)  So what does this mean?  I will give my thoughts.

 

 Since our country has been in a recession, many employers have broken their written agreements with their long time employees. Business owners have excused themselves for breaking their contracts with their workers by saying that they must cut expenses in order to remain competitive.  We hear of loyal employees being let go from work just before their retirements,- let go after having worked their whole lives for a business: of course to save the employer from paying benefits!  

 

 The boss must make those “tough” decisions to stay “lean and mean” we are told. Money is everything!  A corporation conveniently goes into a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy to shed its’ obligations to its’ former employees and then call those obligations “entitlements”.  And thousands of desperate older persons find themselves too old or sick to work any longer, unwanted with no retirement, no dignity and no way to pay the bills -  after saving a lifetime for their retirements.  And some of the business leaders who steal their workers’ retirements, brag openly about their Christian values! 

 

God is not mocked!  Those who would draw near to God should “walk uprightly” and “keep their oath, even when it hurts”- even if the business has to pay it’s executives less in order to keep its promises to its workers.  Isn’t God saying here in Psalm 15 that people are more important than money?    “---You cannot serve both God and money.”  (Matthew 6:24)

 

As we read on in Psalm 15, the person who draws near to God is the person who: “does not put his money out at usury, or does he take a bribe against the innocent.”  (Psalm 15:5)  What does this mean?  Again, I will give my thoughts.

 

When the person who draws near to God “does not put his money out at usury,” I interpret this to mean that a person who loves God does not exploit other people, or take advantage of them for a financial gain.  Examples of this may be “Pay-Day Loans” or “Title Loans” where the interest rate is over 100%.  However Scripture calls it a sin to charge “any” interest on a loan.  And the Catholic Church considered the charging of interest to be a “sin” up through the middle ages.  

 

And then a person who “does not take a bribe against the innocent” could be a person who refuses to take money or favors from someone who wants to do something that may harm innocent people.  If a person stands firm and refuses to take money or favors in exchange for allowing possible harm to come to their fellow citizens who may be trusting them, that would be the person who is described in Psalm 15.

 

Years ago many children and some adults in a small town in California began getting sick with cancers.  Over the years more and more children sickened and died from these cancers with no one in the town asking why this was happening.  After many years passed it finally became known that some of the public officials of the town had been taking campaign money and favors from a large agri-business nearby. The mega agricultural corporations had paid the officials of the town to look the other way as they dumped arsenic and other poisons into the ground, polluting the wells and water table of the area, thus sickening so many of the town’s people.  Could this be an example of what “he does not take a bribe against the innocent” means? 

 

This little Psalm tells us that God expects something from us.  He expects us to do the right thing even if it hurts. (Psalm 15:4b)  Those who want to abide in His tabernacle – those who would draw near to God – are those who “do not take up a reproach against a friend.”(Psalm 15:3b)  God wants us to live out our lives caring and loving our neighbors and our families.  God’s expects us to “do these things” but He gives us His Holy Spirit to give us the power to do these things.  And if we “do these things, we shall never be moved.”  (Psalm 15:5)   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

       

 

  

 

 

 

 

Lying for Jesus

Lying for Jesus

 The chorus of a 1930’s song – revived by John Denver, and others - goes:

 

Be sure it's true when you say I love you
It’s a sin to tell a lie
Millions of hearts have been broken
Just because these words were spoken

Lying isn’t just for lovers: it has become commonplace in contemporary culture. We have gotten used to expecting that advertisers and salespeople will “stretch” the truth in order to make sales. We know that it is now commonplace for job applicants to pad their resumes. Likewise, we kind of expect political candidates to make sometimes “stetchy”claims about their backgrounds and job performance. Generally, as a culture we have become complacent about lying. The Christian writer, Dallas Willard, once posed the interesting question, “What would happen to us as a nation if, for one day, people stopped lying and only told the truth?” It is a stimulating exercise to ponder this question.

How do Christian people respond to our cultural acceptance of lying?  Are some lies acceptable to us?  What determines what a lie is anyway?  Is it acceptable to use lies to defame a person’s character or heritage in order to bring about a greater good?  The 9^th Commandment says that “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16).  Does this really matter to today’s Christian people?

Let’s look at some present-day examples of lying. Just recently a candidate for high office claimed that he had run a marathon race, finishing in the “high two’s.” A reporter from Runner’s World thought his time was unusually impressive and checked the long forgotten records. It turned out that his actual time to completion was over an hour more than he claimed. While some have made a big deal about this, most folks dismiss it as simple braggadocio.  Many people have gotten so used to exaggerations they don’t think of them as lies.

On the other hand some people have claimed that another candidate for high office was not born in the United States and that this particular person is a Muslim and not a Christian.  These claims have been consistently refuted by factual data and by the candidates own testimony regarding his faith: nevertheless they persist and are widely accepted by so-called Christian people. Although we may dismiss bragging regarding ones athletic prowess as a benign exaggeration, it does appear that this defamation of character is truly a case of “giving false testimony.”

Why do people continue “bearing false witness?” In certain cases it may be because they don’t know any better, since they never bother to investigate such claims.  Many of these folks are too lazy or fearful to check, since repudiating these false ideas may take them out of their comfort zone.  Believers in Christ have an obligation to investigate and reject lies. To not do so is slothful.  Sloth implies laziness and apathy. In Christian tradition, sloth is listed as one of the seven deadly sins.

Other people know such claims are lies, but continue to repeat them because in doing so, they can bring about a good outcome.  This might be for their political party or for Jesus.  The philosophical term for this is “consequentialism.” Basically it means that “the end justifies the means.” In essence it is OK to lie and bear false witness (or whatever else) if you are seeking a “good” end. This was the rationale that Hitler’s Nazis used in murdering the European Jews.  To the Nazi’s, eliminating the Jews was their contribution toward bringing about a better world. Many horrible crimes are committed for “altruistic” reasons.

Apparently this strategy of defaming others for the greater good may make sense to a lot of Christian folks, but is this what God wants in terms of the way we treat other people?  Is it OK to ignore the 9^th Commandment in the interest of achieving political and economic victories? It is exquisitely ironic that many of the same “Christian” people who ignore the 9^th Commandment comprise the same sub-set that wants to post the 10 Commandments on courthouse walls. Why is the 9^th Commandment important?

First of all God gave us the 10 Commandments to teach us how we should behave toward Him (Commandments 1 to 4) and how we should behave toward each other (Commandments 5 to 10). These are important and specific orders from the almighty Yahweh. As the former Nightline commentator Ted Koppel once said, these are the Ten Commandments, not the “ten suggestions.”  Secondly, Jesus said “if you love Me you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15). To be sure, the 10 Commandments were only part of the commands that Jesus is referring to; but they are a very important part.

Scripture is full of the idea of “truth telling.”  For instance, in Proverbs 6:16-19, we are told:  There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him:  haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,  a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil,  a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.”  Likewise, we are warned in Proverbs 19:9 that “A false witness shall not be unpunished, and whoever pours out lies will perish.”

Finally, God makes a scary statement regarding specific sinners in the Book of Revelation; “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death” (21:8).  From the above, it sounds like the Almighty does not approve of bearing false witness.  Goodness, gracious if only Christians could be Christ-like!

If the Son Sets You Free, You Will be Free Indeed

If the Son Sets You Free, You Will be Free Indeed

John 8:36

 

The Bible tells us that when we know or believe the truth that we will be made free.  “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32) And the Bible also says that “truth” is Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ is the “Truth”.    Jesus said: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”  (John 14:6)   Scripture says that God has made provisions for Christians - you and me to be alive and free in Christ.  But if this is true, then why are so many Christians living in bondage to fear, depression, and sinful habits they think they can’t break? 

 

Many Christians aren’t living the “good life” that God prepared for them in Christ.  They aren’t living in the freedom that is theirs. They may not have been taught that that freedom in Christ is really for them, or how to appropriate it. 

 

A woman can have a million dollars in the bank, but if she doesn’t believe she has it or she doesn’t invest it or spend it, it won’t do her any good.  And the same with us.  Our heavenly Father has given us many promises in the Bible and when we find a promise in the Bible we need to claim it.  When we find a truth in the Bible we need to believe it. And when we find a commandment we need to obey it. Don’t sit around and be neutral! Repent and believe and claim the truth that will set you free.

 

Our enemy Satan does not want us to be free.  He wants us to be in bondage to sin and fear.  He will try to lie to us about our freedom in Christ.  And whisper negative thoughts and doubts into our minds.  Satan is a deceiver who works undercover and his strategy is to lie.  But the truth of God’s Word exposes his lies.  That is why it is so important to study God’s Word.  Satan’s power is in the lie, and when his lie is exposed by the truth, his plans are foiled.  So we need to believe the truth in the Bible and resist Satan’s lies.  Scripture says:  “Submit yourself to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you.”  (James 4:7)

 

Is this passage saying that Satan can not drag us into his darkness if we submit to God and resist his tempting?  And what does “submit to God” mean?  Satan’s first lie to Adam and Eve in the garden was telling them that they could be like God.  They didn’t need to obey or submit to God, they needed to run their own lives themselves.  And Satan continues to deceive all of us with that same old lie.  To submit ourselves to God means to deny self rule and invite God to take the throne of our lives- to occupy what is rightfully His.  We were not designed to function independently of God. Denying ourselves (repenting of our sins) and coming under Gods’ rule is essential to spiritual freedom.

 

Jesus said: “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it: but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it…” (Matthew 16:24-25)  To deny ourselves is to do our best to turn our backs on the sins we hang onto.  It’s letting go and letting God.  Dying to self –to our ego- is the major battle of our lives.  The world has a self-centered perspective and Christ is asking us to reject that materialistic worldview and give our lives to Him.  If we “save” our lives by living for things and for self we will eventually lose out.  But if we lose our lives for Christ we will live the good life now and afterwards we will live eternally with Him.    

 

 

While we are on this earth, if we are Christians we will be involved in a spiritual war.  The kingdom of God is a major theme in the Bible but it has to be understood in contrast to the kingdom of darkness.  There is no need for the Christian to defeat the devil.  Jesus Christ has already accomplished that by His death and He has you and I covered.  But you may be asking why then do we have to be in a struggle since our position in Christ is secure and He has already defeated Satan.  Even though Christ has won the victory and our salvation is secure, we still need to do our part and be His witnesses in this world.  If we don’t try to live the Christian life we don’t lose our salvation but our fellowship with Him is damaged.  

 

The Bible teaches that believers in Christ have two natures. The Bible says that the nature we are born with is a “sin” nature.  Just as a kitten is born to meow, and a horse is born to run, we humans are born to sin. But the moment a person believes in Christ, he gains a new nature (in addition to the old one) by spiritual birth. (John 3:6-7 and 2 Pet. 1:4)  The new nature cannot sin and loves God. But the old sin nature is still there when a person gains the new nature in Christ.

 

And that is where the problems come in! These two natures inside the Christian are focused in opposite directions so it’s a perfect setup for a battle.  (Gal.5:17) (Rom.7) Scripture says that we will have our old sin nature until we die.  Only after we die will we not sin.    

 

So when we become a Christian we have a choice.  Which of our two natures are we going to take care of – the old or the new one?  Christ calls us to “make no provision” for the old nature (Romans 13:14) and deny and resist and flee temptations. (Titus2:12 James 4:7 and Timothy 2:22)  Christ tells us to “crucify” the old nature.(Gal.5:24)   

 

And what do we do to take care of the spiritual nature we received when we believed in Jesus?   The Bible tells us to submit our bodies to God as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1) and be led by the Spirit (Gal.5:18) and yield ourselves to God. (Romans 6:13 and 19)

 

 You see even though Christ has washed us and we are clean – as long as we live on this earth we will still get our feet dirty as we walk about.  So we will still have to keep on putting down that old sin nature till we die. And live into the new nature that has made us children of God.

 

But when we choose to submit to God and try to turn from sin, the Bible tells us that we gain freedom from sin.  (Romans 6:14-15, Romans 8:2)  And we gain freedom to choose. (Romans 6:16 and 2 Peter 2:19) We receive the power to change. (Romans 6:16 and Phil.2:13)

 

And the promises in Scripture that are for us continue on if we believe in Christ.  We are free from condemnation. (Rom.8:1-2)  Free to find grace and mercy in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)  We are seated with Christ in the heavenly realm. (Ephesians 2:6)  God is always with us and will take care of us. (Isaiah 41:10) We may approach God with freedom and confidence. (Eph.3:12)  We cannot be separated from the love of God. (Rom.8:31-34)  We have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. ((2Tim.1:7) We are the salt and light of the earth. (Matthew 5:13)  We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. (Philippians 4:13)  We are free to be God’s coworker. (2 Cor.6:1)   Free! Free! Free!!! The Bible promises for us go on and on.  There are so many and they are all so amazing!  And all we have to do is believe them – claim them- live in them! We’re living the good life!  Since Christ, the Son of God has made us free, we are free indeed!  (John 8:36)

 

 

Some of the ideas in this blog were taken from Neil Anderson’s book, The Bondage Breaker.     

 

        

     

 

 

 

 

 

Following Christ into Places We are Unwilling to Go

Following Christ into the Places We are Unwilling to Go

Thoughts about the Bible story in John 21:1-19

 

 

 

 

Jesus appears to the disciples for the third time following His resurrection on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.  It is an encounter filled with symbolism that ultimately defines Jesus’ call to us. 

 

When Jesus appears, the disciples are busy fishing, an indication that they may not fully understand or are not fully committed to sharing what they have experienced through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.  They have returned to the only trade they know, commercial fishing, but they are not having a successful day.  Until Jesus arrives, they have been unable to catch anything.  But when Jesus appears, He instructs them to cast their nets to the right side of the boat and their nets are filled.  It’s similarity to their initial call from Christ in the Gospels cannot be ignored, and it is in this moment that they realize that the risen Christ is in their midst.

 

Peter rushes to the shore to greet Jesus who is seated around a fire cooking fish and warming loaves of bread.  This setting serves as a reminder of when Jesus fed the five thousand.

 

This is an uncomfortable place for Peter and it becomes more uncomfortable when Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him three times.  Traditionally, it is believed that He asks Peter three times to absolve Peter’s denial.  However, in his blog, John Petty points out that, in the first two instances, Jesus uses the word agapes-unconditional love.  The last time, Jesus uses the word phileis-brotherly love.  Each time, Peter responds that he does love Jesus, but with a phileis love, not an agape one.  “In other words, Peter’s “love” is not at the same level as the “love” in Jesus’ question.

 

Peter does not fully understand what is happening in this exchange- just as he did not fully understand the purpose of Jesus’ life and ministry.  Nevertheless, in spite of Peter’s disappointing performance in this dialog, Jesus calls him to care for His sheep, and to follow Him even if it results in his death.

 

The fact of the matter is Peter may never have fully understood the significance of Jesus Christ.  He may never have loved Christ in the way Christ desired.  He may never have been fully committed to the work of a disciple.  If anything, Peter often appears to be an unwilling participant.  And yet, in spite of all of this, Jesus still asks Peter to follow Him and tend to the needs of other believers.  Jesus entrusts Peter, as unwilling as he might be, with the care of the Christian community – the Church.

 

And Jesus does the same with us.  Jesus does not expect us to have a comprehensive understanding of theological significance of the Gospel.  Jesus does not expect us to be fully committed to the work of discipleship.  Jesus does not even expect us to love Him as much as He loves us.  The truth of the matter is, Jesus expects a certain amount of ignorance, disbelief, and reluctance from us.  And yet, time and time again, Jesus calls us to care for our brothers and sisters in Christ-to follow Him even into the places we are reluctant or unwilling to go.  The question is, will we?

 

 

This devotional is written by the Reverend Bryan Bellamy who is the Associate Pastor of  Arborlawn United Methodist Church in Fort Worth, Texas.

Those Strange Prophecy Books

Those Strange Prophecy Books

A friend of ours was recently complaining about the problem he has understanding the Old Testament.  But more than anything our friend doesn’t like reading the books written by those strange confusing Old Testament prophets.  He has gotten discouraged and just doesn’t read those old prophecy books anymore.   Aren’t they outdated? And anyway they don’t make sense, he says.

There are seventeen books of prophecy in the Bible, not counting Daniel and our friend is correct.  They are all confusing and strange. The books of prophecy are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentation, Ezekiel, (Daniel – not counted as a prophecy book in the Jewish Bible), Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi and Revelation.  Even though we most likely can never fully understand them, they are part of Gods’ Holy Word.  Surely if we prayerfully read them our eyes will be opened to seeing our world from a different perspective, a different level of reality.   

Our friend thinks that maybe those old prophets are outdated.  But the same problems those ancient prophets railed against thousands of years ago are still with us today. Injustice, war, suffering, the rich getting richer and the poor disenfranchised, natural disasters, depravity, and it seemed that through it all God remained silent!   The prophet Habakkuk wrote: “How long, O Lord, must I call for help but you do not listen?  Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save?  Why do you make me look at injustice?  And why do you tolerate wrong?”   (Habakkuk 1:2)

To the prophets (and to us) sometimes it seems as if God is far removed from it all!  During the time that God spoke through the prophets, powerful godless nations surrounded Israel and were threatening to destroy the nation and take the Israelites captive.  And where was God?

 But some things never change. We have the same fears and problems that the prophets wrote about.  And we are asking the same questions today that those prophets asked back then. Why does a powerful and loving God put up with such a screwed up world?  Why are evil nations allowed to prosper?  Where are all of the miracles?  The signs and wonders?  Why do bad things happen to good people? Why? 

When evil seemed to be taking over and pushing out all the good, the prophets would beg God to come down and wipe out the bad folks.  Why didn’t God just arrive in power and perform miracles like He had back in the days of Moses?  God had jumped in and taken care of things back then?  And you would think that the Israelites would have followed Him when they could see Him there with them in power and might.  It would be easy to obey God when He was performing miracle after miracle for them. But Scripture says that amazingly Israel had responded to God’s power and miracles with stubborn rebellion. So now God was doing a new thing.  He was not performing as many miracles as before but He was calling His people to follow Him through the word of the prophets.  God was choosing to use the power of His word to change His people.  And we today grow and change when we read His Word.        

Many people today are interested in reading Biblical prophecy for just one reason -to predict what will happen in the future.  But one of the best reasons for studying the prophecy books is to get to know God.  Phillip Yancey in his book, The Bible Jesus Reads on p. 175-176 writes: “Imagine a biographer stumbling across seventeen long letters from Abraham Lincoln addressed to his wife, his generals, and his secretary of state, revealing his innermost thoughts during the crisis times of the Civil War.  Some of the letters would cover the same ground, of course, but using different words and tone depending on when he wrote them and to whom.  Historians would dissect every fragment for insight into the inner workings of President Abraham Lincoln.  Why did he make this decision and not that one, act here and not there?” 

Like a historian could teach us a lot about the personality of Mr. Lincoln by studying his many letters, the ancient prophets offer such a window into the mind of God, since God has opened up and shared His feelings with them. They record God’s reactions to His beloved humans when we love Him as well as when we reject Him. These seventeen prophecy books reveal so much of God’s personality. 

In the prophets, God talks back.  And when we read the prophecy books in the Bible we encounter a passionate God with deep feelings. He feels frustration and anger, heartbreak, delight and love. He moans and weeps with disappointment and grief and is shocked with the behavior of human beings.  But the main message we take away from the prophets is that God loves human beings.  He passionately desires us.  We matter to God.  He is personally and intimately involved with His people.

 That is why He can get so angry with us.  Philip Yancey writes on p.177: “Abraham Heschel, one of the best Jewish interpreters of the prophets says, ‘It is staggering and hardly compatible with any rational approach to the understanding of God, that the Creator of heaven and earth should care about how an obscure individual man behaves toward poor widows and orphans.’  Yet God does, and the prophets bear out that concern.”

God had blessed Israel and given them the desires of their hearts.  But most of the Israelites had turned from God to worshiping and sacrificing to idols.  The Jewish nation had stopped taking care of the poor and sick within their gates.  God was angry and brokenhearted at the same time since He loved these people so much.  He asked the prophet Hosea to act out a drama.  Maybe when the Israelites could see Hosea playing out the role of the jilted lover, then maybe they would finally understand just how bad God felt about the way they had treated Him!

God asks Hosea to marry a prostitute named Gomer.  Hosea obeys God and marries Gomer and they have three children.  But then Gomer leaves Hosea for another man.  And after that she works as a prostitute along with having sex with anyone she can seduce. God speaks to Hosea again and tells him this:  “Go show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress.  Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods….”    Here in the book of Hosea we find that God cares so much about His people that when they throw Him away and give themselves to another, He is brokenhearted and goes after them anyway hoping to bring them back.  We discover that we worship a God who loves us crazily and unconditionally.

Yancey p. 178 writes:  “God uses these examples and many others, all told with striking candor, to express His sense of betrayal over the broken covenant with Israel and all humanity.  How does God really feel?  Listen to His own words in Isaiah 42:”  “For a long time I have kept silent, I have been quiet and held myself back.  But now, like a woman in childbirth, I cry out, I gasp and pant.”

Perhaps one of the reasons that the prophecy books are confusing to us is because they offer a glimpse into how God views history.  The prophets are allowed to see things that the rest of us cannot see.  The words in their books are written from God’s perspective and God lives outside the constraints of time. 

Phillip Yancey in his book, The Bible Jesus Read, p. 182 writes that often the prophets insights are roughly divided into three categories:  1) Now: prophecies that relate primarily to the prophet’s own day.  (Assyria will invade Moab, Egypt will help Israel, etc)   2) Later:  predictions of future events well removed from the prophet’s own time but later fulfilled in history (Jesus coming as Messiah) and 3) Much Later: prophecies that will come at the end of the age – (future mass conversion of the Jews, worldwide tribulation, Jesus coming again)   Many of the prophecies apply to not just one time frame but several.  Remember God lives outside of time. 

Yancey writes on p185: “The prophets project forward in time to a period when God will break His silence.  In that day, they tell us, God will move in forcefully to recreate heaven and earth.  He will swallow up death and dry all tears.  There will be no more poverty, or hunger, or violence.  A banquet feast will be spread and we will know God face to face, and all earth will serve Him.  …The prophets told of a recreated heaven and earth in order to demonstrate that history would be determined by the future- God’s future- and not by the present reality of suffering, chaos, and political upheaval.”

Yancey asks:  “Do I trust in a loving, powerful God even in our chaotic century?  Can I cling to God’s vision of peace and justice even when the Church is often identified with war and oppression?  Do we believe that God reigns, even though this world shows little evidence of it?  Like a bell tolling from another world, the prophets proclaim that no matter how things now appear, there is no future in evil, only in good.” Can we be encouraged to struggle on in this present troubled time by looking forward to the bright eternal and sinless future that God promises?  Does the shining hope of the future strengthen our faith now in the present?

When you and I live, time-bound in a world like ours, it takes faith to believe God’s view of history as presented by the prophets.  Can we do it?   The prophets call us beyond the fears and grim reality of present history to the view of all eternity, to a time when God’s reign will fill the earth with truth and light.  The end is settled.  All that remains is whether we will live believing it.

Many of these ideas were taken from Phillip Yancey’s book  The Bible Jesus Read.