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“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” – Matthew 5:14-16

Today I am sad.

My sadness does not stem from the election results. My sadness also does not stem from how deeply divided this nation is, although that is deeply discouraging. I know if the election had come out differently, that fact wouldn’t have changed. It hurts my heart to see so much venom and hatred today on social media.

My spirit is crushed today by something altogether different. I am in despair knowing how many people will make up their mind today to never turn their lives over to Christ because of how Christ’s “representatives” are framing this day.

Today was not a victory for the church. Make no mistake, had the results been flipped, it also wouldn’t have been a victory for the church. Am I saying Christians shouldn’t vote? No, not at all! It’s our civic duty and responsibility to vote. We are to vote our conscience and with whoever lines up most closely with our ideals. The point I’m making is that this election was not “team Godly” vs “team heathen”.

This stance is not going to win me any popularity contest, but my conviction is not soothed by whether you or anyone else agrees with me. I honestly don’t care which candidate you voted for or how strongly you backed them. We are all to vote whichever way we are led, but please believe me that there was no “righteous” vote. While we know that no politician is perfect, I am truly unsettled at the number of people claiming that the winner was “God’s pick”. As far as I know, Jesus Christ was not on the ballot yesterday. If I am to believe what I’m seeing on the socials today though, you would have thought He was.

The church didn’t win last night. The church didn’t lose last night. The church doesn’t just stand outside of politics, we need to be standing above politics. Yes, vote. Listen to your spirit. Seek God’s will. But making the newest resident at 1600 Pennsylvania Street a pillar of virtue and integrity is not just a stretch; it is nearly blasphemous. Would the opposite results have been any different? In my opinion, no. Which is why I’m not writing this to say you voted wrong. I think the American people were going to lose either way. The nastiness and name-calling wouldn’t have been any different had the other candidate won.

However, it has been crushing my soul to see so many well-meaning people destroying their opportunities to share the gospel by touting a candidate (any candidate!) as the church’s pick. The church should be rallying around Christ and Him crucified, not a politician. Donald Trump is not a prophet. He isn’t a role model. Is he the lesser of two evils? That is completely up to the voter. We all have our non-negotiables. That’s between you and God. Just know that a large percentage of people see him as straight-up sinister. Their complaints against him aren’t all unjustified.

There are millions who are on social media this morning seeing posts proclaiming that the church won and are now determining in their hearts to never darken the door of a church because of it. In their minds, if this man is God’s idea of character and integrity, they want nothing to do with God.  And it drove me to tears on my way to work today.  Again, vote your conscience. I’m not saying you voted wrong but stop trying to champion him as the church’s vote. He is not our savior, and by making him out that way, you are effectively slashing your ability to reach a huge percentage of the population with the “actual” gospel.

If Trump is your guy and his policies line up with your ideals, great! I applaud you for taking part in the democratic process and voting. There is also nothing wrong with celebrating that your guy won. We have freedom of speech and if you want to extoll his virtues on Facebook, knock yourself out. But you and your personal convictions don’t speak for the church. Just know that if you are claiming that this is a victory for the church, we apparently don’t belong to the same one.

My heart is heavy to see so much hatred, so much poison, and so much disunity. I will pray for Donald Trump, that God is able to use him. If Kamala Harris had won, I would be praying for her, that God would be able to use her. THAT is our responsibility as the church. To pray for our leaders. However, this nation will never be unified, healed, or prosperous because of who is President. II Chronicles 7:14 reads, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” We need the church to be the church and stand as a beacon for God. Our job on Earth is to take as many people with us to heaven as possible. We are undermining that today and it leaves my spirit in anguish.

“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” – John 13:35

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. – Romans 12:2

I’m an avid online shopper (much to my wife’s chagrin). I enjoy poring over Internet shopping sites and looking for great deals. To my credit, I do a lot more window shopping than actual purchasing. I like to find great deals and then let other people know about them, especially if I know they are in need. Many of the sites that I frequently check deal with discounted merchandise, and often I’ll see the disclaimer that something is refurbished or renewed. I know that some people only buy new, and I get it. They wouldn’t look twice at anything that is previously owned, and I tend to be the same way at times. However, depending on the manufacturer and the site, I do not automatically disregard something that is renewed. Since I work in Information Technology, I notice a great deal of personal computers, laptops, tablets, and other electronics on these sites. When I see the “factory refurbished” or “renewed”, I know that the manufacturer has put a stamp of approval on the equipment.

Switching gears, the scripture above tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Why do we need renewed minds?

Because life experiences, other people, and our own destructive habits and hangups will cloud our mind and damage our faith! There is a reason we’re told to have faith like a child. Children haven’t suffered the numerous disappointments, tragic circumstances, and betrayals that we have experienced as adults. We lose our sensitivity. We lose our sense of wonder. But most of all, we dilute our faith to match our experiences instead of simply trusting in what God says. Sure, the Bible says, “by His stripes we are healed”, but I’ve prayed that before and nothing happened. Yeah, I know that scripture says, “all my needs are met according to His riches in glory”, but I’m always so poor I can’t pay attention. We have let our experiences dictate the legitimacy of God’s word.

So I guess you can see the value in having our mind renewed! Going back to computer equipment, when I see that “renewed” flag, I know several things.

1. All of the junk that was on the hard drive has been wiped and I’m getting a clean slate.
2. If there were sectors of the memory that were bad, they’ve been repaired.
3. If there were any viruses or malware that someone other than the owner had somehow slipped into the machine, they’ve been removed.
4. The maker of the machine has certified that the equipment will function in the perfection that it was created to function.

I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this!

When we renew our minds, we become transformed. God cleanses us and wipes away all sin and the guilt and shame that goes with it. We are able to let go of the past and subjugate those memories to the the blood of Jesus. A renewed mind no longer carries the weight of other peoples’ expectations and wipes away all word curses that they may have spoken over you. And best of all, you can now approach the very throne room of heaven wrapped in the robe of righteousness that Jesus purchased for you on Calvary’s cross. Our maker and manufacturer has put his stamp of approval on us, signifying that while we aren’t perfect, we are sinless and redeemed in His eyes. Sure, there may be some signs of wear and tear on our exteriors, but our scars are part of our testimony. And Revelation 12:11a reads, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony..”

Let’s make it our earnest prayer in this season to let our minds be renewed and be transformed into what God desires us to be!

“God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” – Numbers 23:19

Why don’t we see the things we pray for come to fruition?

Why do we never see the signs, miracles, and wonders that we know God is capable of, occurring?

Perhaps most importantly, why aren’t we more concerned about the previous two questions?

There are a number of things that can affect our prayers and their effectiveness. The Bible mentions several issues that negatively impact our petitions to God. Mark 11:25 reads, “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.”  So we see that unforgiveness and resentment can render our prayers ineffective.

Psalm 66:18 reads, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” Here we see that when we embrace or ignore sin in our life, prayers can go unanswered. To take that supposition a step further, Solomon writes in Provers 28:9, “One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.” So to purposely turn away from sound doctrine and teaching and ignore the words of God results in our prayers being disregarded.

Even marital conflicts can stifle your prayer life! We husbands need to listen and pay attention! In I Peter 3:7, Peter writes, “Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.” [A quick public service announcement: “the weaker vessel” in this verse is translated from the Greek as meaning weaker in body mass AND was used in that time period to describe the effect of that “weakness”. Meaning that a woman in that culture was less capable of making a living on her own without family support. So to all those men trying to claim some sort of superiority because of this scripture: shame on you!]

We see there are numerous things that can hinder our prayers, but the older I get and more life I live, I have become convinced that there is one reason above all of the others. We as believers know that God is capable of mighty works. We also know according to His word that He desires to show Himself mighty on our behalf. II Chronicles 16:9 reads, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” So why do we not see His might and power?

Damaged Faith.

I would love to give you the spectator’s version of how to fix it, but unfortunately, I am a participant. How does our faith get damaged? Life. There is a reason we’re instructed to have child-like faith. In every area of our Christian walk we are urged by scripture to mature, grow, and develop. However, when it comes to faith, we are instructed to receive like a child. Luke 18:17 reads, “Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” We know that we can only receive the kingdom of God, or our salvation, through faith. So why is a child’s faith so much better? While scripture doesn’t go into detail, I believe that faith is most alive and pure when demonstrated by children. The trust a child has, especially in his father, is simple and unadulterated. If a child hears his father say it, then it is fact. How precious is that type of faith? It is this type of trust in our Heavenly Father that moves God to action.

If we’ve been in this Christian journey for very long, we know this in our head. We can rattle off scriptures and promises and claim to believe every one of them. And make no mistake, we should! God is faithful. However, having the knowledge in our heads is entirely different from having that revelation in our spirits. I believe that many of us have lived enough life to have seen too many things go wrong. We’ve seen too many situations turn out differently from how we believed they should go. We’ve experienced too much heartbreak and seen too much suffering to put the full power of our faith behind our words. Faithless words are powerless words. We need all of that head knowledge to move to our hearts! We say things like “God has never failed me” and “God has never let us down”, but in our heart of hearts, do we fully believe this? How can we look at all of the tragedy, suffering, and unexplainable evil and see God’s perfection?

Let me be clear, I am not calling God into question. I’m simply telling you about some of my personal struggles. I am just being real with you. I wrestle with damaged faith because of healings that I prayed for and didn’t see happen. I wrestle with damaged faith because of situations that needed a miracle but never received it. Sometimes, much further down the road, I see why those things didn’t happen and it all makes so much sense. Other times, I am certain I won’t get an acceptable answer until I stand before God after my life is completed. However, at the time it’s happening, the apparent lack of answer or even acknowledgement from God left my faith damaged.

As we mature and grow in Christianity, we do come to understand certain truths. For instance, in Isaiah 55:8-9, the prophet writes, “’For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’” Our wisdom means nothing to an eternal and sovereign God. An unbeliever would take a look at that scripture and think “yes, how convenient. A perfect way to justify God not answering prayer.” The flip side of that particular coin, of course, is if everything happened the way we think it is supposed to, then where is there any need for faith? There are certain immutable facts that scripture makes clear, but how those things come to pass is often beyond our understanding. As parents we see the damage that our kids’ choices can bring about and we counteract those choices with rules, or boundaries. They don’t understand it, but we see the bigger picture. Our heavenly Father is no different. He sees so much more than I ever will. However, that doesn’t solve the root problem. My faith has been weakened.

I guess it’s at this point I should reveal the spoiler that I don’t have the easy $19.99 fix for this crisis. I am struggling. My family is in a season that I don’t understand. It is heavy beyond anything I have experienced. We either need to see a major shift in circumstances, or a major shift in our perspective. I want all of this head knowledge to move into my spirit. I want my expectancy to be visceral and alive when I’m praying. But I find myself repeating words that contain doubt and lack the power that true faith enables. This article is more “you’re not alone if your faith is lacking” than it is “here’s how to fix it.” I don’t know the answer, but I do know the one that can give us the answer. My prayers have shifted. I still bring my petitions to my Savior, but I now have an additional request. Teach me God how to work past doubt and bring my faith up to a level that allows you to operate fully in my life. Give me discernment and help me to exercise my faith in a way that will glorify you.  I am reminded of the man who brought his son to Jesus to have an unclean spirit cast out of him. In Mark 9:23 the author writes, “Jesus said to him, ‘If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.’ Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, ‘Lord I believe; help my unbelief!’” I am this man. God, I believe, but help my unbelief.

“But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.” – Galatians 6:4

I thoroughly enjoy social media. I love to post ridiculous stuff and make people laugh. Those that follow my social media timelines know that I rarely post anything serious. I enjoy keeping up with old friends that no longer live in my area. I love seeing the life celebrations of family and friends. However, there is a lot of toxicity on every platform online. Many people post completely inappropriate content. Others are constantly looking to debate and pick fights with whomever takes the bait. Online bullying is rapidly becoming a major issue. And some people are simply attention seekers that post vague statements and then wait for others to ask about it. (I’m looking at you Mr. “feeling frustrated”)

One of the worst things to come from social media though, is the constant barrage of comparison. Keeping up with the “Joneses” has reached absurd new levels. We are constantly seeing other people’s “greatest hits” online and comparing it with our everyday life and wondering how they have it so good. Spoiler alert – they don’t. Their highlight reel on Facebook is ten percent of what their life really looks like. But we keep posting the mountain tops and keeping all the challenges and hard times on the down low. And there is certainly some merit to that. You don’t need to air out your dirty laundry on Facebook. Not everyone should receive our transparency. I discovered long ago that not all my friends online are “Team Chris”. But so many folks live a life that is the polar opposite of their online presentation.

I wish I could tell you that the church is immune from this pernicious comparison mindset, but sadly, it is not. Looking at other Christians as measuring sticks for our maturity, growth, and giftings is not only illogical, but it is downright dangerous. The natural progression of this type of comparison goes from admiration to envy to a judging spirit. Many unbelievers and non-church-attending Christians avoid church because of that harsh judgmental attitude. And so much of that ugliness is birthed from comparison.

While this destructive attitude has increased in today’s social media and reality TV culture, it is not a new problem. The Apostle Paul talks about this spirit in II Corinthians 10:12 where he says, “For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.” While Paul is asserting that God had indeed granted him some authority over the churches of the time, he never wanted himself, or other believers to start comparing themselves with others in the church body. He calls it foolish. Buy why?

Paul writes in I Corinthians 7:7, “For I wish that all men were even as I myself. But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that.” We are all part of the church body, but we all have our own separate gift. He further explains that trying to emulate someone else’s calling or gifting is a futile business. Peter reiterates this as he urges the church (and us!) to use what God has given us. I Peter 4:10 says, “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good steward of the manifold grace of God.” I don’t have the gift of preaching. I admire those who do, but it isn’t what I was graced to do. I was graced to write, so here we are.

So what happens when we start foolishly comparing ourselves and our gifts with others? In I Corinthians 12, Paul illustrates how obtuse it can become when envy and judging become pervasive in the church body. The Message translation puts I Corinthians 12:14-18 like this, “I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less. A body isn’t just a single part blown up into something huge. It’s all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together. If Foot said, ‘I’m not elegant like Hand, embellished with rings: I guess I don’t belong to this body,’ would that make it so? If Ear said, ‘I’m not beautiful like Eye, transparent and expressive; I don’t deserve a place on the head,’ would you want to remove it from the body? If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell? As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it.” This analogy looks silly, but we can certainly see what he means. There are no insignificant parts of the body. Let’s be secure in our callings and ministries. Let’s be supporters and encouragers of others who are walking out their callings and ministries. We are called to serve others, so let’s do it with excellence, with confidence, and in humility. After all, we didn’t gift or call ourselves; God called us and gifted us through His grace. We will never be as fulfilled as we are when we are doing what we’re called to do!

“And the apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.'” – Luke 17:5

Faith.

That is whole mouthful right there. I could expound about faith for a year and never scratch the surface. The only thing I would really uncover is my ignorance of the depths of the subject.

To my unenlightened brain, the Bible seems so contradictory on the subject. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of the Lord (Romans 10:17). However, faith without works is dead (James 2). According to Romans 12 we are all dealt a measure of faith, but in Mark 4 Jesus accuses the disciples of having no faith. In other places he asks them why they have little faith (Matthew 8:26). In Hebrews 13 we’re admonished to imitate the faith of those who lead us spiritually. In Mark 6, Jesus was amazed at the lack of faith of the towns in and around his hometown and it limited His ability to do miracles there. Yet in other places in scripture, Jesus attributes some of the miracles He performed to the individual’s faith (Mark 7:29, Matthew 15:28, Luke 8:43-48)

So obviously, faith plays a major role in our Christian walk. But can faith grow? According to Paul, it can indeed. II Thessalonians 1:3 reads, “We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you abounds toward each other.” He also writes in II Corinthians 10:14-15, “For we are not overextending ourselves (as though our authority did not extend to you), for it was to you that we came with the gospel of Christ; not boasting of things beyond measure, that is, in other men’s labors, but having hope, that as your faith is increased, we shall be greatly enlarged by you in our sphere.” Increasing faith. Exceedingly growing faith. Our faith can certainly grow, but how?

Everything in the natural is modeled after the spiritual. Just as in the natural, for something to grow and increase, it must be fed. Or maybe a better comparison is a muscle. To make a muscle stronger, it must be used and exercised. Our faith is no different. Romans 12:3 reads, “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” So we each are given a measure of faith, but what we do with it is up to us.

Naturally, the first and most important way to grow our faith is reading, studying, and meditating on the Word of God. Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Hiding the word of God in our heart and hearing good biblical teaching will increase our faith. That is an automatic. As Christians, we know that the bible is infallible and is God-breathed. As we read earlier, miracles were attributed to the faith of people in scripture. God doesn’t change. Faith still moves Him to action!

God also provides opportunities to develop our faith. We’ve all heard the story of David and Goliath. How was David able to go out there and face someone four times his size? He answered that when talking to King Saul. I Samuel 17:33-36 reads, “And Saul said to David, ‘You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.’ But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.’” Would David have been able to have this kind of confident faith had God not sent some smaller tests his way to prepare him? Probably not! These opportunities were faith builders! God will always provide circumstances in which to practice and exercise our faith.

But why do we need enlarged faith?

Much of that comes down to how much we can really believe for while living in this sinful flesh. We see a great example of a recognition of our human limitations and the acknowledgment of being dependent on God in Luke 17. Jesus is speaking in verse 3-4 saying, “Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.” The disciples IMMEDIATELY answered in verse 5, “And the apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’” It is not in the fallen human condition to forgive the same person repeatedly. Jesus said seven times, but in studying numerology, the number seven is meant to reflect infinity. That’s a hard ask! Our nature doesn’t like forgiving one time, let alone repeatedly (especially if it’s for the same offense!) The apostles realized that they would need help beyond themselves to live this way.

What can seem even more baffling is Jesus discussing that we must receive the kingdom of God like a child. How is it that children can have the kind of faith that we mature believers need to strive for in our relationship with God? Children have no life experiences to dissuade them from pure faith. If they’re told something, they believe it until life tells them otherwise. Oh that we could operate in that kind of faith! God’s word says that we are healed by His stripes. Okay, I believe it and I receive it. Wouldn’t that be amazing? God is indeed saying that is the way it SHOULD work, but unfortunately, the more life we experience, the more we see things that seem to dispute the word of God. Of course nothing REALLY disputes the word of God, but the more we see in life, the more our faith takes a hit. We do have an enemy, and he certainly affects a lot of things on this planet. Our flesh is also constantly at war with us as well. God doesn’t make bad things happen (He is light, and in him is no darkness – I John 1:5), but He does give us free will. He forgives and shows grace and mercy, but He does not remove all consequences of our actions. On the surface, to our veiled understanding, this can look like failure on God’s part. God has never and will never fail. In I Corinthians 13:12 Paul writes, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.” We don’t see everything that God sees, and we certainly don’t understand what He understands. That is part of what makes faith what it is. Believing even though not everything is clearly revealed.

So if those following Jesus during His earthly ministry needed an enlarging of their faith, then do you think that we need it? Oh yes! Let’s seek God daily in our time of prayer and devotion and ask for enlarging of our faith!

“Two are better than one, because they have good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up.” – Ecclesiastes 4: 9 – 10

When I was younger, I played a lot of pool. It kind of consumed me for a decade or so. I lost a few girlfriends, spent a great deal of money, and almost ruined some family relationships all because of that game. Is the game evil? Not at all. It is a fantastic game of skill that sharpens your critical thinking, improves your hand eye coordination, and teaches several different branches of math and science (geometry and physics primarily). I have life-long friends because of the hours spent on a pool table.

Was I an elite pool player? No. Was I good at the game? Yes I was. I was a student of the game. I didn’t just play 8 ball or 9 ball all the time. I did accuracy drills. I worked on my posture and form. However, more importantly, I played against players better than me. I knew that I couldn’t advance my skill in any sport by only competing against equals or less advanced players. Yes, it’s always fun to win. And you will win frequently if you’re playing against lesser opponents, but you won’t get any better.

Of course everything in the natural is just a type and shadow of the spiritual world. The concept of needing spiritually mature people around us so we can grow is rooted in scripture. The author of Hebrews writes in Chapter Thirteen and verse seven, “Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.”  In other words, those who are leaders in the faith who God has placed in our lives should be a model for us. We should strive to imitate them in their faith. In Proverbs 9:9 Solomon writes, “Give instruction to wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.” This is a tough teaching in today’s world. Everyone wants to be the smartest one in the room. Unfortunately, it is just as true in many church circles. We want to be the most spiritual person in our group. We want to be the one revered or respected for our revelation and insight. However, not only is this flying contrary to biblical teaching, but it is also a case study in pride. Proverbs 20:18 reads, “Plans are established by counsel; By wise counsel wage war.” Now the author may have said war, but it is symbolic of every area of our lives. We are always in a war; a war against the enemy of our soul, a war against our flesh, and a war against an ungodly society. We always need to be seeking wise and Godly counsel!

Of course, we not only need mentors and wise counselors in our life, but we also need to be mentoring people who are not as mature as we are. God calls us to take our place in the body of Christ (the Church) and help that body grow and operate efficiently. God hates wasted motions. We should always be seeking ways to efficiently complete His will in the church. We need to constantly seek to encourage, edify, and lift up those around us. Proverbs 27:17 reads, “As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” Sometimes there will be sparks, but we are sharpening not just those around us, but ourselves as well. We do these things, not from pride, or from a place of superiority, but out of love. In I Thessalonians 2:8 Paul writes, “So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.” Paul is telling the church at Thessalonica that they are imparting everything they can to them out of true love. The more revelation and wisdom that we gain, the more we should be seeking to impart that wisdom to others; not to show off our spiritual maturity, but to help others understand and accept the grace that God has offered them.

Sometimes, the hardest part of this process is to see people that we have mentored soaring to levels that we have never attained. Once again, pride can be a formidable foe. We all want to see our kids go further than we ever did. Let’s apply that same attitude to those who we teach and encourage spiritually. Let’s find a mentor, and let’s be a mentor. Both are equally important! Peter’s call to leaders in the faith in I Peter 5:1-4 is a great reminder to us all. In the Message version, it reads, “I have a special concern for you church leaders. I know what it’s like to be a leader, in on Christ’s sufferings as well as the coming glory. Here’s my concern: that you care for God’s flock with all the diligence of a shepherd. Not because you have to, but because you want to please God. Not calculating what you can get out of it, but acting spontaneously. Not bossily telling others what to do, but tenderly showing them the way.”

“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!” – Psalm 150:6

I am going to be transparent right now. I am in the midst of a Psalm 22 time in my life. If you haven’t read Psalm 22 recently, go read it. David is watching his kingdom totter. He is feeling the pressure of being a leader that cannot right the ship. He is feeling the weight of his own sinful decisions and is lamenting the feeling that God has abandoned him. While I am not ruling a nation, I am also dealing with feelings of inadequacy and incompetence. I am in a season of frustration. I feel like my prayers aren’t going any higher than the ceiling. I feel the temptations and enticements of habits that I laid down years ago. I desperately want to feel closer to God, but I also feel like my motivation to do the things necessary to accomplish that has departed.

To make matters worse, this is all happening during our church’s “21 Days of Purpose”! We do this time of prayer and fasting every January, and it is usually a launchpad for the rest of the year. I feel like attacks always come during the 21 days, but not like this. This doesn’t feel like an attack, but rather an apathy that my own flesh is creating. The enemy of our soul isn’t our only adversary. Our flesh battles us daily as well.

So why am I choosing right now to publish a blog? I certainly am not feeling overly spiritual. If anything, I feel like not reading the Word, not praying, and not even going to church at all. I am writing now because my “feelings” are not significant. Do they exist? Sure. But feelings are so fickle. They will change from one moment to the next. Being led around by how I feel will produce nothing but superficial and surface experiences in my life. God has given me a good mind and a strong sense of morality. There are certain things that must happen whether I feel like making those things happen or not. I never wake up in the morning excited to go to work. I don’t hate my job at all, but there are many things I could be doing that I would enjoy WAY more. That said, I still go to work every day. Providing for my family and showing my children what a good work ethic looks like is important to me. I keep up on the laundry in our house. I rarely feel like doing laundry, but it needs to be done and I have the time, so I do it. I most certainly don’t feel like paying bills. Ever. However, to keep the lights and heat on, I pay the bills.

I was sitting in our prayer meeting last week, and I was just letting the service wash over me without paying too much attention. Suddenly I had a very sobering thought: “Who do you think you are?” I knew that thought didn’t come from me because I wasn’t thinking spiritual thoughts at the time. I was probably daydreaming about an upcoming trip. That thought really jolted me out of my stupor, however. I didn’t hear any heavenly voice, but I felt strongly in my spirit that God was asking this question to me directly. I started taking a mental inventory, looking for any ways that I may have become arrogant or unthankful. I was feeling anything BUT arrogant. But the more that I thought about it, the more it became clear that my apathy and “feelings” were hindering the only thing I was really created to do: glorify God. I was not giving glory to my Creator.

How is God’s worthiness of praise and glory in any way affected by my frustration? It isn’t. He is holy. He is perfect. He is unsearchable. He is good. He is worthy. Me withholding my praise to God because I don’t feel like it is not only immature and bratty, but it is dangerous. God will be glorified. That much is assured. Luke 19:40 reads “But He answered and said to them, ‘I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out’.” The universe itself would cry out to God if we didn’t. I don’t ever want anyone or anything to be a replacement for me. He is worthy of all praise! No matter how we feel, we must do what we were created to do!

Our feelings are temporal, flighty, and frankly unreliable. When our feelings start to seem more important that our basic Christian responsibilities, we need to ask ourselves the question: Who do we think we are?

“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count my self to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3: 12-14

You cannot grow and mature if you’re constantly fighting to take back the same ground you lost last week.

I am writing to myself more than anyone else right now. If you keep up with my website, you can obviously see that nothing has been posted here in months. Many many months. The very idea of composing a blog for the site has been a frustrating and guilt-laden concept. It’s not that I’ve been having writer’s block or lack of inspiration; it’s been more serious than that. I’ve been spiritually lazy, and I have felt like I am not worthy to encourage anyone because my own life isn’t measuring up to what I think it should.

I’ve been continuing to go to church. I’ve been reading my Bible every day. I’ve been serving when I can. However, my spiritual life has been affected more than I care to admit over the past 15 months or so. My friend from the UK calls this time period “the great unpleasantness” and he isn’t wrong. I wish I could blame my spiritual apathy on the pandemic and its fallout, but COVID-19 has little to do with it.

My local church had been building some serious momentum before the lock-down, and when COVID extinguished that spark, I felt a little discouraged, but that did not result in my season of indifference. No, that was all laziness. I let myself get passive. I no longer sought after God the way I used to seek Him. I let old habits that I had conquered in my past become part of my present again. My prayer life was extremely limited. I’m sure I still looked the part on the outside, but inside I was slowly fading away from the fire and zeal that had kept me headed in the right direction. Hobbies became more of a priority. Family relationships started to be strained. Non-pandemic financial situations started cropping up more often. I just wasn’t where I needed to be in my walk with God.

When I came to that realization, I also realized why so many people struggle with growing in Christ or maturing in their spiritual life. It is the same reason that I have been struggling to grow. I am now fighting to regain my previous level of spiritual discipline instead of building upon what was there already. The author of Hebrews writes this in chapter 2 and verses one and two: “Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.” When he says “perfection” he does not mean flawless, but rather completeness.

We cannot expect to be effective in our spiritual life if we must keep scratching and clawing just to hold our current position. Even in our secular lives, we cannot expect to be promoted if we can barely tread water in our current position. In war, a defensive strategy is a strategy of last resort. Wars are won by people taking new ground. If we are to be effective for Jesus, we must take new ground. So how can we take new ground when we can barely maintain our current position?

If it were true that we are narrowly holding on to our location, then we would indeed be in peril. However, it is not true. God has been showing me that it is only a trick of the enemy to persuade us that we’re barely making it. The enemy is so good at wearing us out, both mentally and physically, that we believe we are on the precipice of failure. Good news folks, we aren’t. Deception by the enemy and poor choices on our end creates quite the desperate looking illusion, but that’s all it is; an illusion.

We get this idea that we can’t be aggressive about the Gospel when we can’t seem to get our own issues under control. I’ll just let you know that God isn’t the one feeding that line to us. The enemy will do anything he can to keep us from sharing Jesus and showing love. And this strategy is one of his go-to plans that works often. If he can keep us riddled with guilt and self-consciousness, we will never go after God’s plan to take us to the next level. God says we’re righteous right now. It’s hard to reconcile that because we know how disobedient and foolish we are sometimes, but it’s true. In II Corinthians 5:21 Paul writes, “For He made Him who know no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Now we certainly have our part to play as well. We need to make wise choices. Hobbies, sports, and recreation are there for our relaxation and amusement, but they are not meant to take priority. (The same needs to be said about our kids’ hobbies, sports, and recreation, but I don’t feel like stepping on toes right now. Maybe a later post will open that can of worms) We need to prioritize God and God’s house. Exodus 20:3 reads, “You shall have no other gods before Me.” What are other gods? Anything that gets prioritized above God. Since March of 2020 I had prioritized a lot of things incorrectly. God isn’t looking for perfection, just people who are willing to put Him first!

Let’s not let the enemy’s lies keep us on the defensive any longer! Think back on the time that you felt the best about your walk with God. Guess what? You’re still there. God doesn’t send you back three spaces or make you start things all over.

Let’s continue where we left off and start taking new ground from the enemy!

Let’s mature!

Let’s grow!

“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” – Deuteronomy 6:6-7

My wife and I pay our 18 year old’s phone bill.

Now before you go judging us, you should also know that she pays her own car payment and car insurance. As a young adult with a fairly recent full time job, we are letting her find her financial footing gradually. She just took over her car insurance a month or two ago, and her phone bill will probably be forthcoming.

But not yet.

We certainly want her to learn responsibility and good stewardship, but we also don’t subscribe to the “kick the bird out of the nest and it will learn to fly as it’s plummeting to its death” model. There is a line to walk when it comes to teaching independence. Everyone parents different obviously, but we are doing what we feel is right in regard to balancing fiscal responsibility and being a young adult with friends and a social life. I think we all know people who have been completely unbalanced on either side of that road.

This coming of age process is symbolic of what happens to each of us spiritually as well. As we mature, we cannot hang on to our parents’ faith forever. Eventually we have to establish our own relationship with God.  I heard a sermon preached once that contained the phrase “God doesn’t have grandchildren.” I thought this was pretty profound. God desires to know us personally. He can’t have a relationship with us vicariously through our parents. At a certain point we’re either a child of God, or we don’t really know him.

Not only is this a tough lesson to live through as a child, but it is an excruciating process for parents as well. As believers we all want our kids to have a relationship with God and know Him for themselves. However, though we can heavily influence them in their formative years, we cannot make this decision for them. It can be agonizing to watch our children live lives that seemingly have no place for God or church. It can make us feel like failures.

In part one of this article that was posted over a year and a half ago, I addressed much of what I’m discussing in this part also. There is a lot that has happened in the last year and a half. As I re-read the article from eighteen months ago, I even sensed a certain smugness in it that has now been turned into humility as I am dealing with these things on a much more personal level. It really cannot be stressed enough: You aren’t a failure because your kids aren’t perfect!

I certainly feel my share of this discouragement at times, but I am able to draw solace in this: my own adolescence was not pretty. I have a prayer warrior mother that raised my sister and me in church and with respect for God and God’s things. However, like many young people, I wanted to “experience life.” I left the church for the better part of 16 years and did my own thing. I am quite certain that my mother felt her share of disappointment at my life choices during this time, but she never quit praying or declaring scripture over me. We’re all familiar with the scripture in Proverbs 22:6 which reads, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” I didn’t hear most of these prayers, but I experienced the effects of them! The divine protection on my life during those years is mind boggling.

The hardest part of believing and trusting in that scripture from Proverbs is what the verse DOESN’T say. It doesn’t say that your children won’t wander for a bit. It doesn’t say that they will make great choices in life. It doesn’t promise us that our kids won’t break our hearts sometimes. However, it does say that when they are old they will cling to the training they received when they were young. Sometimes, that distance between now and then can seem incredibly vast. But like all scripture, if trusted and declared in faith, it will come to pass. God is faithful as long as we will use our faith and live our lives expectant!

I now look at my mother in a whole new light and sometimes I even envy her a bit. She can honestly declare III John  6 which says, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” It was a long road for her to be able to see the manifestation of this scripture, but that will be a jewel in her crown in heaven. I know how far I strayed, but I always felt that hook in my mind that would not let me get away from God’s calling.

As I said earlier, I feel my share of discouragement when I see some of the decisions my children are making in life and the direction their life seems to be heading. However, I can boldly declare the Word of God over my kids and trust in faith that the calling that God has upon their life will become reality.

You aren’t a failure.

You aren’t a bad parent.

God doesn’t ask for perfection, only faith and trust.

Your children are coming home. We can’t control our children’s poor choices or dictate their direction, but we can do our best to set them up for success by living our faith out loud.

And maybe paying their phone bill.

“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith” – Galatians 6:10

If you’ve read any of my other articles or my book, you know that I am pretty big on serving. God has blessed us with multiple talents and skills and He expects a return on His investment. Naturally there is nothing wrong with using our talents to make a living or enjoy our hobbies, but the primary reason that God installed these abilities into us is to use them in His service. Not only does serving fulfill a need and satisfy our purpose, but serving also integrates us with the body of Christ. All members of a body must function, and to function we must serve.

However, there are millions of Christians that are doing little in the way of service for God’s Kingdom; either on their own or at their local house of worship. Why? There are a lot of reasons that people refuse to get involved. Many people have no intention of ever doing anything for the Kingdom. Those who come to church simply for status or strictly out of habit usually have no interest in contributing. There are also those who believe the work of the ministry belongs solely to those in leadership and have been taught this (erroneously) their entire life. Ephesians 4:11-12 reads, “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” Looking to other people to do all of the serving in the church is a concept that should be put to rest in that passage. However, the further I travel with the Lord, the more I see a few different demographics of those who don’t serve. It is those who are hurt (usually by church leadership or other church people), and those who feel unworthy to do anything in God’s Kingdom.

The former group of people is usually either misguided about the purpose of “church” or thinks that hypocrisy in the church body somehow exempts them from being involved in service. The church exists be a hospital for hurting people, but it is still made up of humans and humans are imperfect. Even if in our judgmental seat of righteousness we find fault with 80% of church members, we cannot be throwing stones unless we are living a perfect life. During my 20s and 30s I used “church hypocrisy” as a reason to avoid organized religion. My mother always told me that I couldn’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. As I got older, I realized what she meant. There is no perfect church. We’re not going to agree 100% with everything the pastor says. We will always find people in the church that are going to be ignorant, prideful, selfish, or even downright hateful. Luckily, we’re not there for them. We’re there to be a part of the body of Christ and body parts do not function apart from each other. We’re there to experience corporate worship with other believers. There are things that God will accomplish in a corporate service that He won’t do in any other setting. Psalm 22:3 reads, “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.” During corporate worship, God’s presence is manifested in our togetherness and unity in an exponential way!

Now this is not to say that God doesn’t care where we go to church or where we serve. He does! God has a house of worship that is specifically picked out for us. It is our job to find it and do our job there. Is it possible to be in the wrong place? Absolutely. I have been there myself. I have overstayed my welcome in churches before just because I was comfortable and didn’t want to move. I knew God was calling me elsewhere, but I didn’t want to spend the time trying to find where. I can tell you from experience that when you ignore the prompting of God, He won’t force you to move, but He will make things incredibly uncomfortable for you until you do what He has asked you to do.

However, I also see a great deal of defiance toward God and what He wants to do in people’s lives. This “I will decide for myself” attitude is flat out rebellion for a Christian. That may sound harsh, but as followers of Christ, we are to seek His will and direction. If we’re calling the shots; He isn’t. That’s a problem. Everyone likes to be in control, but that is what crucifying the flesh really means; to not be in control. I promise you, God’s plan for you will yield far better results than yours.

The latter group of people is the group that feels unworthy, untested, or too unspiritual to serve in God’s house. This is a group that I have been a part of many times. It is easy to listen to others talk about the grace and forgiveness of God, but we live in our own skin. We know the unrighteous thoughts we have. We know the hurt that we have caused others. We know the kind of man or woman we really are. It is easy to absolve other people from their past (or even current actions), but much harder to absolve ourselves. We tend to imagine that God sees us the same way that we see ourselves, and this makes sense in a way. He also knows exactly who we are. He knows exactly what ugly thoughts go through our mind. He knows every evil word or action we have ever committed. Surely we need years of learning and spiritual maturity before we’re ready to serve. How could He possible use us like we are?

Unfortunately, the enemy of our soul loves nothing more than to encourage this way of thinking. Satan lives to accuse and we often make his job easier by accusing ourselves. Even if we don’t live in condemnation and guilt, there is no shortage of people that will jump at the chance to remind us of our pasts. We know the Bible says there is now no condemnation (Romans 8:1), but we live in it anyway. I deal with this battle as often as anyone. I have also had plenty of people (sometimes well-meaning church people) remind me of who I used to be. However, I’d like to remind you of the story of Saul of Tarsus.

Saul was a persecutor of the early Christian church. He had followers of Christ harassed, arrested, and was even present and supportive of a Christian execution. We might be tempted to think he was pretty anti-God; however this couldn’t be further from the truth. He wasn’t a pagan. He wasn’t an atheist. In fact, he was one of God’s chosen people. He was an Israelite with extensive training in the scriptures. He was doing what he thought was the will of God. True evil can be accomplished by those with the best intentions.

Then God finally got Saul’s attention on the road to Damascus. After Saul’s conversion (and subsequent name change) he was blinded and sent to Damascus. A God fearing Christian named Ananias was sent to pray for Saul to restore his sight. Ananias did not want to go anywhere near Saul because of his reputation. He argued with God, but eventually was obedient (Acts 9). For the first few years of Saul’s ministry he was constantly harassed and doubted because of his past. Was it God that was refusing to use him? Absolutely not! God waited a whole 3 days before launching Saul into ministry. It was people (church people specifically) that tried to stifle his new office. God went on to use Saul to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles (us!) and also to write two-thirds of the New Testament. God will not only accept us when we feel unworthy; He will use us to advance His kingdom in mighty ways! It is time to stop blaming other people for our refusal to do kingdom work. Our duty to serve in Christ’s body and make more disciples is very clear in scripture. I Peter 4:10 reads, “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” This was written by Peter to the church.  Let’s all decide to put away all of the excuses and eliminate all of the barriers to us making a difference for God!