Somebody Inside You Is Trying to Get Out!

“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ … that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:14-19.

The presence of the Holy Spirit in the life is evidence of salvation as we read in Romans 8:9, but the power of the Spirit is enablement for Christian living, and it is this power that God desires for his people. “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.” Acts 1:8. Jesus performed His ministry on earth in the power of the Spirit (Luke 4:1, 14; Acts 10:38), and this is the only resource we have for Christian living today. As you read the Book of Acts, you see the importance of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church, for there are some fifty-nine references to the Spirit in the book, or one fourth of the total references found in the New Testament. Someone has said, “If God took the Holy Spirit out of this world, most of what we Christians are doing would go right on—and nobody would know the difference!” This sad state must be rectified.  We are here to precisely make a difference! 

The power of the Spirit is given to us “according to the riches of His glory,” Ephesians 3:16. God gave us the Holy Spirit to indwell and empower His people. It is not necessary for us to “work something up.” The power was sent down. How marvelous that God does not give the Spirit’s power to us “out of His riches” but “according to”—which is a far greater thing. If I am a billionaire and I give you ten dollars, I have given you out of my riches; but if I give you a million dollars, I have given to you according to my riches. The first is a portion; the second is a proportion! 

This power is available for “the inner man,” meaning the spiritual part of our being where God dwells and works. The inner being of the lost sinner is dead, but it becomes alive when Christ is invited in. “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” Ephesians 2:1. You would be amazed at the characteristics of the inner being.  The inner being:

• Can see.  “Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law.” Psalm 119:18.
• Can hear. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” Matthew 13:9.
• Can taste. “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good.” Psalm 34:8.
• Can feel. “Seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him.”  Acts 17:27.
• Must be exercised. “Exercise yourself toward godliness.” 1 Timothy 4:7.
• Must be cleansed. “Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” Psalm 51:7.
• Must be fed. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4.   

The outer being is perishing, but the inner being can be renewed spiritually in spite of outward physical decay. This same inner power makes him succeed. What does it mean to have the Holy Spirit empower the inner being? It means that our spiritual faculties are controlled by God, and we are exercising them and growing in the Word. (Hebrews 5:12–14).

It is only when we yield to the Spirit and let Him control the real you that we succeed in living to the glory of God. This means feeding the inner being the Word of God, praying and worshiping, keeping clean, and exercising the senses by loving obedience. You must strive to make the outer being an extension of the inner being!

The Works of God

“Then I saw all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done.” Ecclesiastes 8:17 

Great is the mystery of Godliness.  Millions of light years away, He works His miracles; He can perform His marvels in nanoseconds; although no eye can see, His hand works mysteries among sub-atomic particles.  God works in the darkness.  He knows tomorrow’s news and understands what happened yesterday.  The intricacies of his creation provide and endless parade of wonderment to biologists; the awesome configurations of rock and mountain confound geologists; astronomers, marine scientists, physicists and the whole body of learned brains see his power on display daily. Yet, God does not reveal his secrets to the wise.  “Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.” 1 Corinthians 1:20-21.

You cannot see everything that God is doing in your life.  You cannot possibly understand the purposes God had in all the things that have happened to you, through you, by you, in you and for you.  You cannot possibly see all the levels on which the Almighty God is operating—even now—as he orchestrates the events and circumstances of your existence.  You cannot find out God’s business.  Just trust him.  If you can’t trust him, you will be left to your own devices. 

In the magazine article, Evolution Goes to Pieces on a Bee’s Knee, the author explored the belief that certain organs developed as a response to a need. Nature supposedly produces the necessary organ to fit the creature for survival. However, when bees crawl into pollen-filled blossoms, pollen stops up their breathing apparatus, making it impossible to breathe. Now it so happens that every bee has a special brush located on its knees; a stiff brush that it uses to clean out its breathing apparatus when it comes out of the flower so it doesn’t suffocate.

He noted that if it were true that these insects develop special equipment in response to a need, the very first bee to exist did not have those brushes on its knees. When it went into the flower, it would have suffocated; consequently, all bees would have become extinct. No, God provided these tiny brushes to meet the need and save the very first bee that was made.  God anticipated the needs of His creatures. God meets our needs in advance. 

When you step back and take a look, you will be struck by the transcendent plan of God at work. Isaac wanted a bride, but God wanted a Rebecca through whom he could put the attitude of the church on display. Jacob fought to win a wrestling match, but God is no WWF fan. He wanted to change a Jacob into an Israel. Joseph sought to successfully administer the Pharaoh’s kingdom, but God wanted to preserve the family of Jacob during a famine.  

Likewise, when you become too tied to the mundane events that monotonously stretch out before you, you lose awareness of the divine purposes working within you. Your personal assessment of the circumstances of life that drive your prayers and fuel your passions may be far too small. You may think you are merely singing in the choir, but God knows that you are strengthening the church and impacting others with your willingness to worship.

You may feel you are plodding along in slavish obedience to the Bible, but God is using you to influence and inspire others who may never say a word to you. The prayer warriors’ closet becomes God’s war room to win great spiritual battles. Sunday School teachers’ lessons get repeated by foreign missionaries. Simple acts of kindness set the stage for mighty revivals. Encouraging words are pivotal in salvaging someone’s powerful ministry. God’s acts are enfolded into the works of the unassuming disciple.

Respect Yourself

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.” Jeremiah 1:1 

Many believers respect life before birth; but too many don’t respect life after birth.  You are one of 7,000,000,000 people who live on planet Earth.  You are one of over 300 million people in the USA.  Despite these statistics, you are one-of-a-kind.  You are unique.  You bring something to society, to the culture, to your circle of friends and to your family that makes you unique.  The huge choices that lie in front of you today call for your best and highest efforts.  The difference you make in the world may mean the preservation of hundreds of lives.  Something you do, something you accomplish, something into which you invest yourself may be critical to some important person that you don’t even know today.  

Self-respect enables you to be humble without humiliation.  Self-respect leads you to self-confidence without arrogance. Self-respect means you can be sure without being presumptuous. Self-respect teaches you to love yourself without being in love with yourself. Self-respect helps you to be assertive without being demanding. Self-respect shows you how to be responsible without breaking beneath the load. Self-respect informs you how to love others without being co-dependent. Self-respect provides a way to be submissive without being robbed of self-identity. 

If you truly respect yourself, you will:  accept God’s love for you; embrace the fact that Jesus Christ died for you; realize that you have been created for a divine purpose; understand that you are a unique person, unlike anyone else in the world; accept the priceless value of your soul; agree that you matter in the grand scheme of the universe; deliberately take positive words and thoughts into your mind and exercise great care in choosing and cultivating your relationships.  If you respect yourself, you will impose great discipline on your mind and body; develop your talents as much as possible; acquire good moral virtues and habits; constantly work to improve yourself in every way; spend your money wisely and effectively without wasting it; apply the highest standards of integrity to your life; develop a healthy fear and respect for God; respect your fellow travelers in the journey of life; resist any adversity that threatens to hinder you from fulfilling your dreams; protect your name and reputation from ruin; not abuse your body through neglect or dangerous acts and not destroy your mind by any substance or philosophy. 

Joseph respected himself and made a difference.  He held his head high, even after being sold into slavery.  He rejected the sexual advances of his boss’s wife and was thrown into prison, but he didn’t give in.  He lay forgotten in his cell for years before his good deeds were remembered, but he didn’t let it get to him.  Eventually, he became one of the greatest men in Egypt. 

Paul respected himself and survived the crushing weight of guilt from persecuting and killing Christians.  He confronted other church leaders when they were wrong.  He made his views known in a respectable way and gained the confidence of the entire church.  Today, one cannot mention the writings of the New Testament without referencing the Apostle Paul. 

Jesus respected Himself and stood firm against the religious hierarchy of His day.  He knew who He was and what He came to do.  He submitted Himself to the mockery of a trial, the abuse of the mob and the injustice of the cross.  Even though He was the Almighty God manifest in flesh, He was also a human being with all the related weaknesses and limitations of the body.  He felt totally abandoned, but He prayed, “Not my will but thine be done.”  It was not self-loathing, but self-respect that authored that statement. 

Self-respect tempers, influences, guides and sanctifies the way you treat yourself.  You are God’s manager of your own person.  You are God’s creation!

What Are You Going to Do about Your Problem?

“’I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood.’ And they said, ‘What is that to us? see thou to that.’” Matthew 27:7.

After two millennia, Judas remains history’s villain.  He misjudged Jesus Christ and betrayed Him.  He made some money, but, he was not prepared for the emotional and psychological shock that hit him like a tsunami.  The front door of sin appeals; the back-door revolts.  People walk in with ease and confidence; once entered, suddenly, they forfeit control.  Sin chews people up throws them out the back door.  

Sinning is just the opening chapter in the story of sin.  In chapter two Judas was forced to deal with his deed.  He realized his mistake and repented, not to God, but to himself. “Judas, the one who betrayed him, realized that Jesus was doomed. Overcome with remorse, he gave back the thirty silver coins to the high priests, saying, ‘I’ve sinned. I’ve betrayed an innocent man.’ They said, ‘What do we care? That’s your problem!’ Judas threw the silver coins into the Temple and left. Then he went out and hung himself.” Matthew 27:3-5 (MSG) 

“That’s your problem?”  Really? Judas found no sympathy in the voice of the priests.  He was a throw-away underling, a pawn to help them attack Jesus.  The question that now swirled in the mind of Judas took on a different hue.  He wasn’t prepared for it.  He had no clue that his ambition, his opportunity for advancement, recognition and material gain would turn into a nightmare.  When the full load of guilt and shame descended upon him, the people who got him into this situation mocked him.  They had neither the desire nor the inclination to get him out of it. Likewise, Satan does not care about anyone as a person.  He only uses people as throw-away weapons to launch his attack against God.  

The moment Judas saw his sin as his problem, he ended his life.  He had a problem with no solution, a disease with no cure, a dilemma from which there was no escape.  Fear without hope turns into despair.  In truth, this was not Judas’s problem.  This was not the point of despair, but the point of faith.  Grace intervenes the moment you think there is no alternative to your guilt. Satan may get you to commit the sin.  That’s where you need to stop listening to him.  He knows about sin, but he’s not telling about salvation.  Salvation is not your problem. “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly … But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6-8.

Guilt is a problem you can’t solve.  If you continue to think of it as your problem and your responsibility, you are going to act in a way that will destroy your soul. 

• Guilt is the collision between transgression and a prepared conscience at the intersection of temptation. 
• Conscience is a knowledge of right and wrong ingrained within the mind.
• Sin is the violation of the laws of God.
• Condemnation is the judgement of God upon the offender.  (The offender is married to the offense.  The act and the perpetrator are one.)
• Retribution is the punishment God gives the offender.
• Guilt is the punishment the offender gives himself.  

But, modern thinking has de-legitimized guilt feelings.  In so doing, it has neutered the act of transgression and scorned the prepared conscience.  We now have a guiltless society in which people are no longer responsible for their actions.  Without guilt, there is no conviction of sin, no repentance, or no salvation. In our “Prozac” society, people are trying to handle the problem of guilt themselves.  Take your guilt by the hand and lead it to Calvary.  Your problem belongs to God, and the cross is His solution!

Cover Me

A rebellious son knew what was going to happen. The Old Testament law was an absolute, zero tolerance system. All the men of the city would line up with stones in their hands to throw at the victim who had been judged by his own parents. Some of these men may have tried to help this young man.  They may have hired him to do odd jobs for them, but they thought him worthless.  Maybe he stole from them in the past.  Word got around that a stoning was about to take place.  People probably crowded around the gate to see the spectacle.  

Jesus spoke of another young man who was guilty of the same offenses as the rebellious son in Deuteronomy.  We call him the Prodigal Son. “I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.’  I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” Luke 15:18-19. This would have been a good time for someone to stop this young man and remind him of the scripture in Deuteronomy 21. “Hey, boy!  Don’t go home.  They are lined up waiting to stone you to death.  You are making a huge mistake.  Turn around and go back into the world.  They hate you back home.  They don’t want you back. You are disobedient. Rebellious.  A drunkard.  If anyone deserved to be stoned to death, it’s you. The church despises you.  Your older brother never wants to see you again.  You’ve reproached them, hurt them, offended them and they will never accept you.” 

That’s what might have been said based on God’s commandments and judgments in the Old Testament.  But here is what really happened. “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”  Luke 15:20.  

But where are the stones?  Where is the lineup of the elders? It was a totally different reaction than anyone would have anticipated.  No blood for blood.  No eye for eye or tooth for tooth.  No spite for spite. Something was totally changed in the economy of God.  It’s confession. Contrition. Meekness. It’s forgiveness.  Healing.  Love.  Acceptance. I want you to get the picture here.  The father was probably not out in the country on a big estate.  Most farmers had their fields out from the city, but they lived behind the city walls.  The father saw his son afar off and did not wait until the young man arrived at the gates where the elders were.  He ran to him and fell on his neck.  

Why did he fall on his neck?  It was to cover him.  To be a protection for him.  To send a message to those who were ready to throw stones, “If you are going to get to my son, you’re going to have to go through me.” The father covered the son. The innocent protected the guilty. The sinless one stood between the sinner and his punishment. 1 John 2:2  “And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: ² And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.“ The word propitiation means “covering.”  Our Savior covers us with himself.  There is no recall of judgment; the difference is Jesus received our stoning in himself.  “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities … and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.“ Isaiah 53:5

You Can't Stay Here

“Now the LORD had said to Abram: ‘Get out of your country, From your family and from your father’s house.” Genesis 12:1 

An executive once lamented that when he was a boy out fishing on a lake, he would look up at an airliner flying over and wish he could be in it. Now, as an airline passenger, he looks down at a fishing boat and wishes he could be in it!  Perspectives change, needs change, situations change, we change. The day we quit change or quit moving and learning—- is the day we die. Change is the only sure thing in life.  Things change, we change, only God never changes.  “When you’re through changing, you’re through.”  Whenever you say you’ve arrived, there is nothing left to reach for. 

Every person, every family, every group, every nation in the Bible learned the need of a dynamic relationship with God. God will not be ignored, neglected, abandoned or presumed upon. Whenever we settle down comfortably in our routines, we begin to lose ground. Adam and Even had to move on from their failure in the Garden. Abraham had to leave Ur of the Chaldees, then Haran. Jacob was constantly on the move. Israel was the church in the wilderness, constantly moving. “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Hebrews 11:8-10.  Keep moving. If you sink your roots into the present culture, you will become a part of the culture.  The typical believer passes through four stages in his walk with God. 1) Reach; 2) Rest; 3) Rut; 4) Routine.  

First, you reach out.  It takes a huge effort to get where you are. You muddle through chaos and failure in life. Then you have a powerful encounter with God.  That encounter results in a total upheaval of your life.  Next, you find rest.  You come to peace with God and with yourself. You then bury yourself in a new faith, a new life. You make the hard choices of discipleship. You begin enjoying the benefits of salvation. But, before you know it, you’re in a rut.  Change is always hard if you are in a rut.  You have scaled down your living to that which you can handle comfortably, and you welcome no change—-or challenge—-that would lift you up. Finally, you settle into a routine.  We have love-hate relationship with routines. We love new scenery, new experiences, etc., but we hate to change our habits. Routines are hardwired into our brains and we loathe changing them.  The trouble most people have in their Christian walk is not from the devil, but they cannot or will not change their habits. Once you arrive at a routine, you begin to take your relationship with God for granted.  Jesus said, “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.” Matthew 15:8. 

You need a revival!  Regardless of how much you have accomplished for God, you cannot allow self-satisfaction, smugness or a sense of arrival to overcome you. You have given, but there is more to give. You have served, but there is more to do. You have climbed, but there is yet higher ground. It is time to get moving. Pull up stakes, roll up the tent and move. Say goodbye to comfortable routines, convenient ruts. Leave behind your passionless prayers, empty praises, and mechanical worship. Leave behind your predictable patterns of discipleship, your uneventful devotions.

Revival happens when you plunge into a brand-new relationship with God. Revival happens when you renew your interest in spiritual things. Revival happens when you take a running leap into Amazing Grace all over again. You stay put at your own peril. It is time to move!

Living Through the Crisis

“When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.”  Isaiah 59:19. 

Are you having a crisis?  Could it destroy you?  Right now, you may not sure what tomorrow will bring. 

On November 19, 2008, a Florida teenager committed suicide while connected to the Internet. Watchers egged him on. Hours later, after breaking into his apartment, medical authorities pronounced 19-year-old Abraham Biggs dead, perhaps a casualty of technological advances.  

Maybe you can’t relate to the specifics of Abraham’s case, but you might understand his feelings.  Here is a snapshot of a person in full-blown crisis, in this case, a young person whose world had evidently become unbearable.  It doesn’t really matter what the reason, though, the feelings come out the same—anger, rejection, sorrow, fear, hatred, panic, numbness.  

The word crisis comes to us from Latin.  Hippocrates, the famous physician, gave it a specific medical meaning:  the turning point in a disease.  At a certain point, a sick person either loses all hope or they start getting better.  A crisis is…when everything you have and are is threatened; when you think God hates you; when you don’t know who you are anymore; when you face losing your most meaningful relationships in life; when you think you have nothing to live for; when you can’t survive; when everything you thought you believed seems like a total waste. 

The Bible is a book filled with people in crisis situations from captivity to torture and persecution.  Today, ecological crises abound from oil spills to the plastic garbage tsunami.  Hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires and floods ravage the countryside.  High crime rates, political conflict and economic crashes assault the population regularly.  None of us can do much about local or global crises. But you can do something about the personal crisis you are having today. The question that you should be asking yourself is “How did I get here?” But it’s easier to say, “It doesn’t matter how I got here.  Just get me out!” Until you know what happened, however, you are going to recycle back into the same crisis…or worse! 

If you choose, you can deny the genesis of your problems. You can deflect fault and blame others—spouse, children, boss, teacher—anybody else but yourself.  But, if you are in bondage to addictions or sinful patterns of behavior, don’t deceive yourself.  Blame deepens the crisis.  I often preach about the catalog of sins and transgressions—from lying to lust, from anger to adultery, from gambling to gluttony—not because I’m mad, but because people need to identify their spiritual slaveholders!  Whatever sins you commit, you are in bondage to those sins!  

If you are in crisis right now, stop looking for help from the wrong people and places.  God has already illuminated your path to freedom.  You can and must decide today that will give you true hope for survival.  Accept the fact that God loves you and your life is worth living. Admit that God has been right all along. Quit fighting against God and make peace. Confess, repent and forsake your sin. 

Yes, you will always live next door to failure, but you can slam the door to defeat.  You can turn around by making four commitments today—to yourself and God: 1) I will not live in bondage; 2) I will no longer rebel against God; 3) I will deal with my guilt by the blood of Jesus; 4) I will transfer my shame to the cross. 

Dancing with the Scars

“The joy of our heart is ceased; our dance is turned into mourning.” Lamentations 5:15

The wildly popular television program called “Dancing with the Stars,” reigns atop pop culture. Other than rhyming scars with stars, there is little here in common with the program.  Except, that is, the idea of dancing—an act of celebration, of rejoicing, an expression of a festive attitude.  Dancing with scars appears strangely out of place.  Scars do not suggest joyful dancing.  Rather, ugly scars speak of shame, hurt, bitterness, and perhaps revenge.  Scars represent physical, emotional, psychological or spiritual pain. 

Jeremiah’s response to pain was one thing, but Paul’s perspective on scars seems strange.  His response baffled his enemies and angered the devil, but it inspired the church.  “I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities.”  He was saying, “Go ahead. Look at my wounds, my losses and my defeats. You may think they will make me depressed. You may expect me to quit or crack up. But you would be mistaken. I view them with a sense of glory and honor. “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world … for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.” Galatians 6:14-18. Paul had physical evidence of his devotion to Christ. He was beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, assaulted, suffered hunger, thirst, cold and nakedness. 

Twenty-first century Christians live in an age when Christianity is under external and internal attack.  The cross has become trivial, or even embarrassing, to many.  We want ease, comfort and pleasant surroundings.  We want the sanctuary temperature just right, the length of service short, the music contemporary, the sermon both funny and serious—with refreshments.  We expect comfort, not pain; joy, not sorrow; roses without thorns; blessings without trials; privileges without responsibilities; and provision without sacrifice. 

No one can promise any of these things.  But even if the temperature is too hot or too cold, the music too far out or too traditional, the service too long or too short, the sermon too shallow or too deep, you can still have grace through it all.  If the time comes when you do have to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, look around.  You will see the Good Shepherd walking right beside you!   “And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.’” 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.  

Fanny Crosby, author of 8,000 hymns, was blind.  She was asked how she would know Jesus if she saw him.  She answered with this hymn: “I shall know him. I shall know him. And redeemed by his side I shall stand. I shall know him. I shall know him. By the prints of the nails in his hands.” Will you dance with your scars?  Will the joy within you rise higher than the pain outside of you?  “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you … but rejoice …  that you partake of Christ’s sufferings.” 1 Peter 4:12-13.  Someone said, “Life is not about learning to survive the storm, but rather learning how to dance in the rain.”