The Disguise of Commendable Behavior

Wednesday morning, April 30, 2008
The story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 should make everyone quake in his/her boots, especially in light of the fact that it is such a perfect example of how Satan enters the “congregation of those who believe” under the disguise of commendable behavior. This is how the Holy Spirit chose to preserve the story: “But a certain man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet” (Acts 5:1-2).
You are familiar with the context of this story so I won’t repeat it (if not, read yesterday’s perspective). On the surface, there is nothing wrong with a man and his wife selling a piece of property and giving a portion of it to the church and keeping the rest for themselves—nothing at all; however, there is a bit more to this story. This couple was pretending to be doing the same thing that those in the last part of chapter 4 were doing—selling houses and land and bringing ALL of the proceeds to the church (actually, laying them at the apostles’ feet) for the apostles to distribute, as the need arose. As you remember the consequence for their lying to the Holy Spirit was rather severe—immediate and sudden death.
Now before you jump to some religious, Pharisaical conclusion, allow me to remind you that there is nothing in this passage that even hints that they lost their salvation; instead, they simply died. Admittedly, however, that was a rather severe consequence by anyone’s standards, especially in view of the fact that we have no record of it happening again (not one that I can remember, anyway). Interestingly, as a result of their death, great fear came upon all who heard about it (see vs. 5)! I wonder why—
This is another of those truths that, spoken to most local churches, would not go over very well. Go ahead and give it a try. This Sunday morning get you pastor’s permission (if you are the pastor, do it yourself) and warn the congregants (from Acts 5) that the consequence for hiding oneself under the disguise of commendable behavior is immediate and sudden death. You might also want to remind them that the Holy Spirit will, indeed, find them out. I might add this: It would prove dramatic, should several of the folk fall over dead in the pews! Yes, great fear would come upon the church!
I feel certain that those of you who love being religious, who love living under the disguise of commendable behavior, love this story and equally love telling others how they should live-up to the standard of behavior you have achieved—the correct standard, of course. If this is true for you, then allow me to remind you that the enemy is using YOU to enter the “congregation of those who believe” under the disguise of commendable behavior.
For those of us who have long-since learned that there is nothing commendable about our behavior, even when it is at its best, the freedom from having to pretend is, well it is incredibly freeing! The freedom from having to do anything simply because someone else is doing it and others are commending it, is even more freeing! The freedom to live in undistracted devotion to Him is the grandest freedom of all!

Blessings and love,

An Owner or a Steward?

Tuesday morning, April 29, 2008
As I hope you remember, in yesterday’s perspective I mentioned that it was my strong opinion that Jesus “hurt the feelings” of the temple leaders when He told them that they had turned His House into a robbers den, and I went on to say that I seriously doubted that He was concerned about having done so. The truth is His agenda had a much higher purpose than catering to their feelings.
Interestingly, this morning I was reading from the fourth chapter of Acts and in the process, I came upon this passage: “And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own; but all things were common property to them” (Acts 4:32). Wow! I wonder how this would go over in your local church, i.e. among the congregation of those who believe where you worship. Actually, I think we can find out, if you really want to know.
This Sunday morning stand up in church and read this passage and suggest to the congregation that, since this was the practice of the early church, it should be the practice of your church, as well. Then suggest that everyone gather the following Wednesday afternoon, when verse 34 and 35 will be carried out: “For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales, and lay them at the apostles’ feet; and they would be distributed to each, as any had need” (vs. 34-35). Don’t expect a very large gathering.
The truth is I marvel at the fact that this ever happened, even within the early church, and, consequently, I have no expectations of it happening today, but that is not my point. My point is this: there are many things about the early church that would prove to be very offensive to the church we know today, and this example is certainly one of them.
I do think it worth noting that the fruit of this “releasing of ownership” was quite incredible: “And with great power the apostles were giving witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. For there was not a needy person among them. . .” (vs. 33-34a).
Somehow, we have forgotten (if we ever knew) that we are mere stewards of what God has entrusted to us, NOT the owners of it. An owner is privileged to do as he/she pleases with whatever is owned; however, a steward has a much higher privilege—to take care of what has been entrusted to him and to use it according to the owner’s instructions. To say the least, recognizing that most of us have been made stewards of much, I seriously doubt that there should be even one truly needy person among us. In all probability, if even half of the stained glass, fancy candelabras, tall steeples, expensive musical instruments, ad infinitum, that the church itself owns, were sold and the proceeds laid at the feet of those Christians who care about the needy, most needy believers would no longer be needy. At the very least, the government could get out of the welfare business and the church would take care of her own.
Are you an owner or a steward. Your response to what I have written might provide you with a hint.

Blessings and love,

The Opinion of Others

Monday morning, April 28, 2008
It is my very strong opinion that Jesus hurt the feelings of the temple leaders when He said this to them: “It is written, ‘And My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a robbers’ den” (Luke 19:46). Why that would be much like some outsider entering one of the local churches in this area and telling them a truth they did NOT want to hear. For example, “It is written, ‘I am the Lord your God and you shall have no other Gods before Me,’ but you are worshipping all sorts of pagan gods—attendance, money, performance, music, talent, success, preaching, preachers, doctrines, even dogmas, to name a few.” I am of the opinion that this would not go over very well in most churches for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that church-goers typically do not appreciate being called idolaters.
To be honest, I do not think Jesus was concerned about the feelings of the temple leaders; in fact, it is my opinion that He refused to take responsibility for another’s feelings, especially those of the temple leaders. Not even Jesus was able to control or determine how another might feel!
I said that so I could say this: It is very difficult NOT to be concerned about the feelings of others when your well-being is so strongly attached to their opinions of you. When this is the case (and it is, more often than not!), most everything we do is done to “keep the boat from rocking” and, thus, to avoid the firestorms that result when others are angered by something we say or do. Obviously, Jesus wasn’t in Sunday School when this lesson was taught (read Matthew 23, if you should doubt this!).
Let me say that this way: Jesus was NOT a hireling—period! He never “hired-on” to work for anyone; He never put Himself in a place where His value was determined by anyone’s opinion of Him; instead, He lived and died to serve His Father. I think there is a lesson in this for all of us: Jesus was able to do this because He KNEW His Father’s opinion of Him and His opinion was the only one that mattered—”This is My beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased!”
If we could not only realize that this is His opinion of us, as well; but also come to the place where His opinion of us is the only one that really matters, we would spend much less time making our decisions around what others might think of us and, thus, spend much more time living our lives in the freedom of His opinion of us.

Have a wonderful Monday!

Who Touched My Garments?

Wednesday evening, April 23, 2008
The Scriptures do not tell us her name but they do tell us that after enduring much at the hands of many physicians and spending all of her money, she was worse at the end than at the beginning. She had a chronic menstrual bleed that not only left her physically weakened and financially destitute, but also spiritually unclean. Furthermore, you might as well face the fact that she was probably abused by most of these physicians. This is the text: “And a woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse ” (Mark 5:25-26).
The mental picture I have of this woman depicts a very frail, severely emaciated, fearful, shy, angry, hopeless, desperate, and barely-able-to-walk middle-aged woman. She was probably very frustrated with the Scribes and Pharisees, especially in light of their refusal to have anything to do with her because of her unclean status. What was she to do? Where was she to go? Did anyone care? Then, as if out of nowhere (at least to her), Jesus passes by! Oh, she had heard about Him but because of her “issue of blood” she knew that He, like the Scribes and Pharisees, would have nothing to do with her. This was what she thought: If I can just touch His garment, that will be enough; I won’t have to actually touch Him and He won’t have to touch me! Maybe, just maybe, I can slip up close enough to Him to touch the hem of His robe and not even be noticed; that is all it will take!
She had one major problem and it was this: She could not “slip up” on Jesus because He never misses anything! She thought He was focused on getting to Jairus’ house, where his daughter was dying; however, she was mistaken—greatly mistaken! Yes, He was on the way to Jairus’ house, but at that moment He was focused on her and on what He was about to do for her! I honestly think that had she known what Jesus was thinking, had she known the love He had in His heart for her, she would have been absolutely astonished—flabbergasted!
At any rate, as inconspicuously as she possibly could, even stealthily, she managed to crawl close enough to Him to reach out and gently touch the hem of His robe, quickly retracting her hand, hoping not to noticed. I love these words: “And immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction” (vs. 29)!
Notice what happened: She felt in her body that she was healed; at the same time He perceived in Himself that power (dynamite!) and gone forth from Him, following His perception with these words: “Who touched my garments?” (As if He did not know!). I can see her now, as she meekly raised her hand, identifying herself, and, then, falling down before Him, she told Him the whole truth. I love His response: “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction” (vs. 34). Yes, she was financially destitute, afraid, emaciated, desperate, and et al, BUT she was healed of her infirmity—something money could not buy and physicians could not appropriate!
Do you ever wonder why it takes some of us so long to come to Jesus, just to come to Him and, if nothing else, touch the hem of His garment? When we do, the strangest thing happens, perfect healing comes!
Humble submission to Jesus, nothing more; nothing less.

Greatly Mistaken!

Monday afternoon, April 21, 2008
On this particular day, some of the Sadducees (those who insisted that there could be no resurrection) came to Jesus to question Him, obviously not trying to find truth but to prove Him a blasphemer and a phony. After setting the stage with this quote from Moses, “If a man’s brother dies, and leaves behind a wife, and leaves no child, his brother should take the wife, and raise up offspring to his brother,” they created this question: “There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and died, leaving no offspring. And the second one took her, and died, leaving behind no offspring; and the third likewise; and so all seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman died also. In the resurrection, when they rise again, which one’s wife will she be? For all seven had her as wife.”
This was His response: “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not understand the Scriptures, or the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. But regarding the fact that the dead rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken.”
I have no reason to doubt the sincerity of these Sadducees, none whatsoever; they were truly convinced that they were correct regarding the impossibility of anyone being resurrected from the dead. In my opinion, they were just as sincere in wanting to prove Him wrong!
Just for the record: I will take what Jesus said as truth—these Sadducees were greatly mistaken regarding the reality of one’s resurrection from the dead, and it goes without saying that they were just as mistaken regarding their ability to prove Him wrong.
Have there been any times in your life when you were positively convinced that you were “right” and everyone else was “wrong,” only to learn (usually the hard way) that you were greatly mistaken? Do you remember how you tried so hard not only to prove them wrong, but also to prove that you were right, only to have to eat a large slice of “humble pie” when the truth became evident?
Gosh, I can remember many of these experiences from my own life. For example, I well-remember being absolutely convinced, positively-no-doubt-about-it convinced, that a believer could lose his/her salvation AND, I might add, I also well-remember trying to convince everyone, who believed otherwise, that they were greatly mistaken. I also remember that HUGE slice of humble pie! I also remember being just as convinced that Jesus’ atonement was for everyone and, as a result, trying to convince everyone, who believed otherwise, that they were greatly mistaken. Another HUGE piece of humble pie!
Anyway, I have lived long enough to be good-and-tired of being greatly mistaken, DECEIVED is a better word, and having to eat humble pie. The longer I walk with Him, the more I realize that there is very little that I need to “cast in cement;” in fact, only one thing—JESUS IS LORD, MY LORD! Anything else, I leave open for discussion—

Do You Not Yet Understand?

Friday afternoon, April 18, 2008
As you know, it is Friday and Sunday is coming—FAST! I sometimes wonder how I ever preached three sermons per week, especially in light of the fact that weeks pass by so quickly. Even more, I wonder how any of the “pew sitters” ever assimilated so much material; I guess they were just gracious and patiently endured my insensitivity to their derrières.
Things have changed now and for the most part I am down to one sermon per week, which I think is a good thing! Actually, I literally LOVE to preach; it is what I was born to do. My loving to do it, however, does not mean that everyone else loves to hear me do it, at least not as much as I love to do it. The reason I think that “one sermon per week” is a good thing is this: it enhances the possibility that the “hearers of the Word” will become “doers of the Word” and not, simply, professional students of the Word.
Now don’t misunderstand me: for more years than I can remember, I have loved to study the Scriptures (another good thing!); however, if my doing so was merely to gain more knowledge, then I have missed the point altogether. If my study of the Scriptures does not result in my becoming a doer of the same, then what is the purpose?
One more thing: by becoming a “doer of the Word” I do not mean that we should embrace the Protestant work ethic and take on the responsibility of working our fool selves to death in an effort to please God and to help Him redeem the world. Please, please, don’t make that assumption! If you do, you will have really missed the point not only of study, but also of Christianity!
Anyway, as far as I know now, my text for Sunday’s sermon is from Mark’s gospel (Mark 8:11-21), with emphasis on verse 21: “And He was saying to them, “Do you not yet understand?” As you might imagine, my response is, “Heck, no! I do not yet understand but I am trying (which is why I do all this studying; well, one of the reasons!).
The text does give me some hope, however, because His disciples had seen more than they ever deserved to see (the feeding of the four thousand and the feeding of the five thousand, both with many leftovers!) but they, obviously, did not understand.
I know that most of you will not be in attendance at GCF this Sunday but I do challenge each of you to meditate on this text, not just for the sake of studying, but in order to understand just enough to become a “doer” of this part of His Word.
Also, please take the time to pray for me as I continue to prepare to preach this message. Remember: Jesus does not need this message; this message needs Jesus! If He doesn’t say something, then nothing of value will be said.

Blessings and love,

REvived or REformed?

Tuesday morning, April 15, 2008
It is official: I have accepted the invitation to preach a “revival” at Friendship Baptist Church near Lake Sinclair beginning Sunday morning, June 1, 2008. The pastor (Rev. Gary Horton) and I have met a couple of times for lunch and I must tell you that both of us are convinced that this is truly a Divine Appointment. To say that I am excited about this opportunity would be an understatement, a very under understatement.
As you might guess, my accepting this invitation has motivated me to do some thinking about this notion of “revival”. As I said in an earlier perspective, “revival” is not the term I would choose to describe meetings of this kind, and, I might add, the reasons are several. In the first place, most revivals are seen as evangelistic crusades; however, for obvious reasons, the spiritually dead do not need to be REvived. In the second place, God certainly does not need to be revived (if He does, then we are in heaps of trouble!). In the third place, if the purpose of revival is to revive those believers who are already involved in the church, to re-energize them to do what they are already doing but with more enthusiasm and faithfulness, then (in my opinion) the purpose is contrary to the purpose of God for His people. The truth is most church members are already running at “burnout levels” and, consequently, those who haven’t already done so, are ready to throw in the proverbial “towel” and leave the organized church. In other words, the church is killing it own people with its “we must win the world for Jesus and if we don’t hurry up and get it done the enemy will win” mentality.
In my not-so-humble opinion, the church does not need to be REvived, it needs to be REformed and when this happens, God’s elect, even those who do not yet know they are, will run to it like a thirsty deer on a hot summer Georgia day runs for the water brook. The truth is some very simple truths would turn the tide. For example, if we would just begin to let believers know that the responsibility for winning the lost rests on Jesus’ shoulders, not ours, the tide would turn and drastically so. If we would begin to let believers know that they CANNOT live the Christian life, that the ONLY person who can pull that off is Jesus, there would be a major turn in the tide. If we would begin to let believers know that we are here, not to work ourselves to death in an effort to bring in the Kingdom, but to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever, there would, indeed, be a major turn in the tide!
Yes, the church needs to be REformed by returning to its roots, to those truths that give life and peace and rest; to those truths that honor God, not man; to those truths that refuse to make God a victim of man’s self-centeredness; and to those truths that give highest priority to the Word and to the Sacraments.
Well, now you know what I am thinking today, but who knows what thoughts tomorrow might bring.
Please, please begin to pray for me, for Rev. Horton, and for those who attend this Divine Appointment. To be sure, I stand in eager anticipation of what He is about to do among His people.

The Christian Life: A Life of Perfect!

Thursday morning, April 10, 2008
Several years ago, some golfers got together and wrote a book they chose to label with this title: “Golf is not a Game of Perfect”. You can rest assured that those of us who play the game (even Tiger Woods) are well-acquainted with the truthfulness of their thesis. I played just yesterday and my doing so reminded me of what I already knew—golf is NOT a game of perfect!
If you choose to watch the Masters this week, the tournament where the best-of-the-best will be playing, you will see for yourself that golf is NOT a game of perfect. Even those who are the cream of the crop cannot hone their game anywhere near perfect. The tragedy lies not only in the fact that imperfect shots will be made, but also in the fact that the entire “world” watches them being made—no hiding, no cheating, no covering-up, no denying.
To top it all off, several scoreboards are placed around the course so everyone, even the TV audience, can see just how imperfectly the golfers play the game. To be sure, there will be some incredible scores; some will score much better than others, and, yes, one will finally outscore the rest of the field and win the tourney. Finally, after four days of intense competition, the winner will receive that coveted Green Jacket and walk away “smiling ever after”!
One of the things that has intrigued me about golf is the fact that there are no referees or umpires who police the game. Every golfer is expected to report his own transgressions and penalize himself accordingly, and, I might add, the rules are plenteous and exacting (If you aren’t familiar with the rules of golf, get a copy and read them; they make the Law of Moses look like “leaves of gold in setting of silver”!). Yes, there is a rules committee on hand, whose primary purpose is to do just that—make you aware of the “rule” that applies to any and every situation.
Anyway (my space is running out), I think it is time for some Christians to get together and write a book and entitle it: “Christianity IS A Life of Perfect!” Unlike golf, where the one with the lowest score (the one who makes the fewest mistakes) wins, God’s standard is perfection; consequently, the ONLY ones who “win” in the Christian life are those with perfect scores! “You are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).
It goes without saying that every one of us is in desperate need of the Savior, the only One who has met God’s standard of perfection. Thankfully, He imputed His “score” to us and God accepted it, as if it were ours! Wow!

Stinger Tees!

Tuesday morning, April 8, 2008
Well, as best I can tell, I survived Hilton Head Island with few scrapes and bruises; thankfully, I am now “back in the saddle again”. As some of you know, I enjoy attempting to play golf (I chose those words carefully!), which is probably the primary reason I enjoy Hilton Head. Interestingly, while there one of the strangest things happened: I ran out of “tees”! Usually, my golf bag is well-equipped with “tees” but for some reason, my stock was depleted—zilch, zero, none!
Obviously, this did not precipitate a national crisis, as “tees” are plenteous on this golfer’s island paradise. One can purchase them in any color imaginable, in many various lengths, with all kinds of logos, in small packages, in medium packages, and in gallon jugs. At any rate, I stopped by one the golf shops on the island to purchase a bag of “tees” and the ones that caught my eye were called “Ultra Streamlined Stinger Golf Tees”! You can only imagine how these made all the rest look outdated and ugly, certainly unworthy of my money. Yes, I purchased a package and made my way to the golf course to begin play.
While I waited in line to begin play, I decided to read what was written on the back of the package of “tees” and I thought so much of it that I decided to share it with you: “ROBOTIC testing by Golf Laboratories Inc. definitely proved that a golf ball hit off a Singer “COMPETITION” golf tee traveled an average of 14 yards farther that a ball hit of a regular tee. For complete test data or to order Stinger Tees: www.stingertees.com or (1-800-600-3447). What more could a golfer want? Of course, this added 14 yards is helpful ONLY if you hit the ball in the fairway. To hit it 14 yards farther into the rough, is not exactly a good thing but that was not mentioned.
DEFINITELY PROVED! That has a good ring about it, very convincing. Why, when I stood over that first ball, that had been teed-up using one of these miraculous tees, I had the confidence of Tiger Woods (well maybe not quite that much). I wish you could have seen that thing fly! I mean 14 yards to the tenth of an inch farther than my previous drive! DEFINITELY PROVED!
Have you noticed that people will tell you anything to get you converted over to whatever they “sell”? Bible teachers are especially good at this, having DEFINITELY PROVEN that whatever they might be teaching is absolute truth. The Baptists have DEFINITELY PROVEN that what they believe is the only absolute truth; the Presbyterians have DEFINITELY PROVEN that what they believe is the only absolute truth; the Methodists have DEFINITELY PROVEN that what they believe is the only absolute truth; the Universalists have DEFINITELY PROVEN that whatever you believe is absolute truth.
Although I have no idea what name God has given to His testing laboratories, He has DEFINITELY PROVEN to me that everything I thought I had DEFINITELY PROVEN missed the mark, as in really missed the mark.
To be sure, the “Robotic testing by Goddard Laboratories, Inc.,” DEFINITELY PROVED that I need to get out of the DEFINITELY PROVING business and accept the fact that it ain’t how I drive but how I arrive that really matters.