Month: October 2018

“And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

 – Matthew 16:19

They had it pretty good.

They really did.

When God created man and woman, He didn’t stick with any of His former blueprints. He created Adam and then Eve as unique beings that had dominion over every area of this earth. They were given lordship over all other living creatures on the planet. They had the run of the Garden, which was the known world at the time. There was no sickness, stress, anxiety, lack, nor sorrow of any kind. All of this was great, but the most amazing thing about Adam and Eve was their ability to communicate with and be in the presence of God. They were created to have personal and tangible fellowship with God! How astonishing would that be?

As we all know, this paradise didn’t last forever. Satan, staying true to his form, craved the power and dominion given over to man. He had already been ejected from heaven for trying to usurp God’s position and this ambition to rule on earth was the next best thing. In succumbing to the enemy’s temptations, man handed over the authority that God had entrusted in him. According to II Corinthians 4:4, Satan was now the ruler of the world. It reads “Satan, who is god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe…(NLT) The keys were handed to the enemy, and it remained like that for thousands of years.

Of course the good news is through the ultimate sacrifice of God’s only Son, our situation changed considerably.  Jesus, speaking to John in Revelation declares that He took the keys to hell and the grave back from the enemy. Revelation 1:18 reads, “I am He who lives, and was dear, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.” According to the scripture at the top of this article, the keys of heavenly and earthly authority have been given to us as Christ’s disciples. With these keys we have the ability and authority to lock doors to deny access to Satan. We can also unlock doors that the enemy is trying to keep us from opening. This is wonderful news, so why aren’t we living victorious lives? I believe we are loaning out our key far too often, and many times to the devil himself.

There are probably a host of reasons we let him have access that he should no longer have, but I’m convinced the main reason is spiritual fatigue. The greater threat we are to Satan, the more frequent and vicious the attacks will be on us. The enemy has no problem leaving us alone if we aren’t doing anything to threaten his agenda. The Christian life is the most fulfilling and joy filled life there is, but like anything else of value, it is not always easy. When we are doing things to advance the kingdom of God and rob Hell of its assets (unsaved people), we should be expecting to receive some kickback from the enemy. One of the few promises that Satan makes that he will honor is: “Quit exercising your faith and I’ll ease up on you.” Of course he is a liar, so even though we may feel the pressure ease up, there is so much damage being done in other areas of our life that we will end up in a worse predicament than before. However, it is tough to see the big picture. We feel the heat NOW. We need some relief or peace NOW. So we let up on the gas. We let old habits creep back into our lives. We are not as bold as we were about our faith. We’re not as faithful in church attendance, serving, or studying God’s word. In essence, we are loaning out the keys we’ve been given.

In Ephesians 4:27 Paul writes, “nor give place to the devil.” Whenever we back up from our service for God, the devil is quick to step into that now vacant space. Vacant space is pretty easy to re-take, but occupied space requires a battle to obtain. When we give place to Satan, he will not give that ground back easily. What might feel like breathing room at first will quickly turn into enemy territory. So what is the answer? Don’t let up. Don’t take your foot off the gas. We are more than conquerors through God. I know there is resistance. I know you’re tired. I know you feel weighed down. However, Jesus said His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Don’t let Satan deceive you into quitting for the sake of an illusion of rest. The enemy’s “rest” will cost you twice as much work in the end. Ephesians 6:13 reads, “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

This life is the shortest thing we will ever do. James describes it as a vapor, here and then gone. Let’s not grow weary in well doing. Let’s finish our race strong and receive our reward. Let’s not give place to the devil. Let’s not let him take back ground that we fought for already. Stop slipping the key under the mat!

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name

-John 1:12

 

What happens when you lose your identity?

I’m not talking about someone getting their hands on your credit cards or social security number. I am talking about losing the things with which you identify yourself. Can you still function after that happens? Eventually it will happen to almost everyone, especially a believer of Christ. Are you prepared to re-identify yourself? Can you still find your joy when what used to bring you joy no longer does the job?

These are some tough questions that don’t have simple or clear-cut answers. On one hand, you may mourn or grieve the loss of passion for something that used to make you pretty happy. On the other hand, if the characteristics with which you identify yourself are negative or destructive, you will likely be better off without them. However, even the loss of those distasteful aspects of your life leaves a hole. I can testify to that!

I was a smoker for many years and to this day, I feel the hole that habit left behind when I quit. Nine days out of ten I don’t miss that habit at all. My clothes stank. I had to take frequent breaks to indulge. My wife wasn’t crazy about the smell. It was expensive. It was harming my body. The downsides of smoking can take all day to list. However, when the weather turns nice and there is a crisp breeze, I really miss having a cigar. I was a cigar smoker. That was my identity, and when I quit I had a difficult time filling that hole that was left.

I have made several of these life changes during my 45 years on the planet. I was once a pool player. I was pretty good too! Don’t get me wrong, there were always people better. I tried to surround myself with these better players because if you only associate with those who are at your current level, you will never mature. That will probably be an article for the future because that will preach! But just know; I was pretty decent. I felt God leading me to remove myself from that culture, not because there is anything wrong with pool, but because the majority of the time spent participating in this hobby put me in places which I no longer felt comfortable. There is certainly nothing nefarious or evil about the game, but I had to make some choices that eliminated the side effects of my pool playing. Paul writes in I Corinthians 6:12, “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” A hobby is certainly not worth risking my ability to be a witness for God. There are times that I certainly still miss spending my Friday evenings testing my skill against other players; however, I no longer identify with that life.

Life-changes create situations that force us to re-evaluate who we are. I had thought of myself as Chris; a pool player, a cigar smoker, and just one of the guys.  As far as an identity goes, that really wasn’t much to brag about, but I was still pretty attached it. It was who I believed myself to be. I connected myself to activities I participated in, or things that I enjoyed doing. Even after renewing my walk with God in my mid-30s, my identity was still comprised of what I did. Whether it was my hobbies or my vocation, my individuality was tied (for better or for worse) to external circumstances.

A few years ago, I finally started to realize that my identity needed to come from who I am in Christ and not what I did. God started revealing some things to me that relieved a lot of the pressure in my life. My performance, whether at my job, at home, enjoying hobbies, or even serving at church, does not shape who I am.  After accepting Jesus, we are no longer defined by any of that. We are sons and daughters of God and joint heirs with Christ. Romans 8:16-17 reads, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” When we finally realize that we are King’s kids, we can stop participating in the world’s rat race, and live within our privileges as God’s children.

Naturally, we all have a job to do. Be it our vocational job, or our service for God, we are expected to be diligent. The bible says that we are to do everything as unto God. That includes working your job as well as being a representative of Christ in service to His house. However, none of these things should define us. We see this lived out so beautifully with Paul. We often use the moniker “the apostle Paul” to describe him, but never once in scripture will you see him call himself that. He always says “Paul, an apostle of Christ.” I fully believe he was taking a page right out of Jesus’s playbook when it comes to titles. Jesus is talking about the Pharisees in Matthew with chapter 23:6-10 reading, “They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’ But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.”  Jesus rejected titles given to people in service to Him. We are all brethren and all sons and daughters of God. We may hold the office of pastor, teacher, apostle, or prophet, but that does not require a title.

I know that there are some that reject this way of thinking and fully believe that titles are necessary for the sake of honor. I have observed scripture that directs us to reject titles, but I have yet to see a verse that directs us to bestow titles on anyone. We are to respect and show honor to everyone. Let’s not mix up traditions of man with the word of God. Is there any danger in using titles? Perhaps not, but in my short time on this planet I have seen far too many people that cross the line from honor to pride. When receiving a promotion (either in their job or in the church, sadly) the first question they want to ask is “What is my title?” The word “leader” is mentioned in the Bible only 6 times while “servant” is mentioned 887 times. I’ll let you draw whatever conclusions you want from that.

When we are able to tie our identity to our eternal position, son or daughter of God, we can achieve so much more in this life. Let’s attach our identity to the eternal and not the worldly. Let’s leave behind those old things and strive to make an impact upon the kingdom living under the only title that matters: Child of the King!