October

Matthew 6:9-10 

“This, then, is how you should pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 

Jesus did not pray that you would be taken out of the world, and what He did not pray for, you do not need to desire. -Charles Spurgeon- 

A country not our own 

     There have been times in my life where I have thought that if Jesus would just come, it would be a lot easier. But I have to admit that during each time, it was a selfish desire. It was usually because I was in some situation I didn’t know how to deal with or wanted to end. It’s hard to imagine anything beyond this physical world. As I say that, I realize that as a believer I’m supposed to long for heaven, to desire it, but I will confess that in my everyday life, I’m not always thinking of heaven. I’m thinking of this week, of today, and what I need to do to accomplish my present tasks. I’m a planner and without realizing it sometimes, I am planning many days in advance for all kinds of things. Some of you know exactly what I mean if you are a planner as well. I think ahead about what I need to do for next week, or what I am going to make for that party, or what I need to wear for that event, and so on. The reality is that I am planning for everything but being face to face with Christ. I am either way into this world or not enough into living ‘heaven on earth’. Anybody with me? 

     Jesus said that we should be praying for heaven on earth. Anything we should be praying for usually means we should be living it, too. I confess I am not always living heaven on earth. To me, the term ‘heaven on earth’ is not just actions but a mind set, an eternal mind set, one that can see beyond this world and into the next. Here’s Paul take on it:

For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. (Philippians 3:19-21) 

We are already citizens of heaven if we confess with our mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that He is the son of God. Paul says that there are enemies of the cross and their minds are set on earthly things. If you are secured in Christ, you are not an enemy of the cross, but I have to wonder how much do you and I live as an enemy of the cross because our hearts are set on earthly things? I will confess that more than I’d like to admit, I have an earthly perspective instead of an eternal one. I am working on storing treasures on earth more than treasures in heaven. I know that it’s a daily decision I have to make to have and keep that eternal mind set. Without consistent time with God, with believers, and the church, it’s pretty hard to live the godly life that Christ desires for us. And if I can be so bold to say that I miss God’s blessings here on earth when I live as if I belong to this earth instead of heaven. 

     In the Hall of Faith in Hebrews, the author speaks of those believers who longed for heaven and lived heaven on earth. 

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. …Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:13-14, 16) 

They were longing for a country they had never been to or seen, but they knew that they belonged there and not in this world. The realities of this life are such a distraction from the country that is mentioned in Hebrews, and yet the realities of this life should be evidence that we have to rejoice that there is another world that we belong to. In fact, we should rejoice that ‘this’ isn’t just it. Our plans, our families, our toys, and activities are but a glimmer of the world that awaits us. Even if I can’t fully grasp or understand this concept, I can still take joy in it because it’s mine as a child of God. Whatever pain and heartache we receive in this world, stays in this world and where we are going, it cannot follow. 

     Many of you know that my birthplace is India. In high school I became a citizen of the United States. I’m Indian by birth and American by law, which creates a third category all its own which I label as Indian American. I am not fully Indian or fully American. I practice and live with both cultures combined. We are enemies of the cross by birth and citizens of heaven by His death. We are living with both cultures, a little bit of hell and a little bit of heaven. We’ve got renewed minds, but the same bodies. We have to decide how we live each day, enemies of the cross or citizens of heaven and only you and I can make that choice for ourselves. 

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord…..Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
Ephesians 5:8-10, 15-16

September

Proverbs 17:22 

A joyful heart is good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones. 

Psalms 116:17 

To you I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and call upon the name of the Lord. 

Are you a sensitive soul? 

     As fallen creatures, we are very sensitive of our physical bodies. How we look, how we feel, and what we can and cannot do. When I am sick or injure myself, I am sensitive to that part of my body. Just last week I grated a small part of my hand. Yes you heard me right. I was grating cheese and it slipped and took my flesh with it. It’s still healing and still hurts. Everything I do with that hand is done with precaution. When something brushes up against the wound, I feel it. I’ve been nursing that wound very carefully. Even a paper cut causes some discomfort!
     I’m not sure if I’m this sensitive about my spiritual health. If I am lacking or unhealthy spiritually would I even know it? Would it cause me any discomfort? I certainly hope so, don’t you? It doesn’t take very long for our spiritual health to decline. Many things are competing to feed us and we have to choose wisely what we will eat to nurture our souls. Sometimes there are medications that numb our pain but don’t actually aid in the healing process. If we have a wound and merely apply a band aid over it, it only hides the wound. Our spiritual fixes can be the same. Instead of real healing we put a band aid over our spiritual issues. Being sick spiritually can be a number of things. It can mean being in a spiritual rut where you feel that your time with God or with people is stale. Maybe it means that you’ve fallen away from the discipline of prayer or reading the Bible. It could also mean that you just don’t ‘feel’ God’s presence right now. You feel far away from Him. It can also mean you are disobedient and in sin. No matter the spiritual wound or issue, covering it up or ignoring it is never the answer. Isolating yourself is never good and a good indication that you maybe something is wrong. Plastering a smile for something amiss in the heart only goes so far. This is not what God desires from us. He always wants our hearts and our hurts to be bare before Him. If you don’t tell the doctor what it is that ails you how can he properly help you?
     Psalms reveals an amazing assortment of emotions from fear, anger, jealousy, praise, and joy. I think this book is a gift to the human soul because we can truly relate to the emotions, the circumstances, and can find comfort for our own situations. What you will notice most in Psalms is the amount of praise lifted up. The book itself can be called the ‘The Book of Praises’. This is not by chance, but there is a very good reason why praise is offered so generously to God through this book. There is something mysterious brewing within us when we can come as we are to God and pour praise from hearts. Our hearts maybe hurting, empty, callous, or without concern and yet the praise lifted up despite our hearts are a sweet aroma to God. He takes this offering and speaks directly to our wound. I dare you to try this.
     Praise isn’t the cure all for our spiritual wounds or even sin, but it is a good first response to start the process. Its set our focus first on Christ alone. To praise Him shouldn’t be empty words and if you can’t find the words then praying Psalms is a magnificent way to express your heart. To offer up praise and thanksgiving for what God has done and for the people around you helps transform your perspective to seeing more than yourself and your problems. When we don’t feel God or we have some other spiritual wound, our tendency is to fill that gap we feel with something that will make us feel better. That ‘something’ can be a number of things, but the thing only it should be is God Himself. Whatever your issue maybe, He is the only answer. Drawing to Him is the response that is necessary. Praise nudges us to that place of nearness. Your words do not have to elegant, in fact God is concerned about your heart, not how broad your vocabulary maybe. The Lord proclaims in 1 Samuel 16:7 that “God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” God is very concerned about your spiritual health. Faithfully reading the Bible, faithfully praying, serving, and being in godly fellowship should be part of our daily life. There is a reason God speaks to us about all these things because it promote growth in our life, in our faith, and it is a protections from becoming stale or stagnant in our walk with God. Remember that many things are competing to fill our time, to fill any space we are not using wisely. The Enemy has no concern for you except to keep you from growing in God and from fellowship with the Lord.
     Paul challenges us in this act of praise in Philippians 4: 4-7. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Don’t miss the promise in this verse. Read that last verse. Bringing our hearts to God in prayer, in supplication and thanksgiving brings peace that surpasses our understanding. This peace actually guards our hearts and minds. Our hearts and our minds wander so easily, wouldn’t you agree? We have to continually come to God so that we are guarded. Today is the day you and I praise Him, thank Him, and find peace that surpasses our understanding. That peace is only found in Christ and absolutely nothing else. Our physical bodies are sensitive to any ailment no matter how small, as should be with our spiritual health. I want to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and His leading. He always lead you to praise Christ and we should never decline that opportunity. There is great reward in praising Christ and as Paul has told us, there is great peace as well.

August

Ephesians 3:17-19  

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.   

God is so complicated  
 
     Do you ever think about how God can be so simple in His love for us and at the same time His love isn’t so simple to understand? In fact, I find that although I feel His love at times, or read about it, or see it in others, when I try to understand it, I can’t. I realize that there is much more packed in those 4 letters than I can see, feel, or hear. His ways are not like our ways and He is so complex and so complicated in every possible way. God isn’t difficult, but He is difficult for us to understand in our small minds. When things are wonderful and prayers are answered the way I hoped, His love is easy for me to see and even feel. Everything is just rosy and I could count the ways of how His love is perfect, kind, and generous, but it’s harder to have the same reaction when prayers are deferred and I have no idea what He’s doing. It’s harder for me to express His love or even see it when all I feel is pain or confusion.  
     Job is a perfect example. God loved Job, really and truly loved him. This is how God describes Job: “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.”(Job 1:8) You have to understand this love before you can understand Job’s pain. In the midst of what happened to him, we have to always remember that it was because of how much God loved Job that tragedy struck him in the most horrific way. We saw God’s sweet mercy and love clearly when it came to Hannah’s story. His love was easy to see, easy to read, and honestly easy to feel. Yet with Job I have to really try hard to see God’s true love. To be honest, it’s hard for me to wrap my mind around it. Why does God’s love have to be so hard and complicated in some situations like Job’s? Why did God allow such tragedy to strike when He loved Job so much? I can’t completely answer a tough question like that, but I do want us to try and see that in the heart of calamity, lies His abundant love.    
     Job has everything. He’s got wealth, land, many sons and daughters, a wife, and a home. He’s respected among the city and even among his servants. God has blessed him abundantly and in the midst of all this, he loves the Lord. He really is a blameless and upright man who fears God. God described Job correctly. What Job doesn’t know is that God and Satan are about to have a conversation that is going to rock his world. Let’s listen in and see what takes place.

“The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.” Then Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.” Then the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him.” So Satan departed from the presence of the Lord.” (Job 1:8-12)

A few more conversations like this and Job has lost his sons and daughters, his servants, his animals, and his health. All that he has left alive is his wife. Can you imagine? Do you see God’s love in this anywhere? At this point of his story, I will be honest and say that not only do I not see His love, but I really feel angry. But forget about me, how does Job respond? “Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” (Job 2:10) Job knows that God’s love is in the midst of this somewhere. He may not see it, but he refuses to curse God. He does choose to accept this as something from God. The rest of the chapters in Job are about his thoughts, emotions, and his struggles to make sense of this disaster. I encourage you to read it and see how God responds. His story is a good reminder of how small we are and how big God is and that God’s love runs much deeper than we can comprehend. Though Job struggled to understand what was happening, he did not forsake God. What God said about him in the beginning remained true till the end. That’s how I want my stories to end. That at the end I remain true to my God. Even if I can’t see or feel His love in my pain, I trust and believe it covers me completely. If He has the power to raise me from the dead, then surely He can raise me from every kind of pain, sorrow, and conflict.  
     Think through your own tragedies or difficult circumstances. Did you see God’s love evident? It might have been after the crisis calmed down and you could clearly see that God was working and taking care of you. Perhaps you saw it from the beginning or not till weeks later. The bottom line is that whether or not we can see it with our own eyes or feel it, we have to trust that His love is under, in, and on top of the disaster we are facing. Do you truly believe what Romans 8:28 says? “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” He works the catastrophe out for good in some miraculous way. Why? Because His love was involved from the beginning. His love allows the conflict and most definitely ends the conflict. Yes, God’s love can be complicated to comprehend, but it’s not complicated to be loved by Him. I believe I have quoted these words before, but I believe they are powerful to leave with you once again. This is a demon speaking about those who trust God (Enemy) even though it doesn’t make sense. That’s how I want to be described and how I want to live. 

“Our cause is never more in danger than  

when a human, no longer desiring,  

but still intending, to do our Enemy’s will,  

looks round upon the universe from
 which every trace of Him seems to have vanished,  

and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.”

~ C.S. Lewis-Screwtape Letters ~

July

Hebrews 4:16 
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Daniel 2: 17-18 
Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven.

2 Corinthians 12: 9-10 
And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

The Fellowship of the Believers

     Last month we had a glimpse into the life of Hannah and we saw what her prayer life consisted of and how God transformed her heart through it. After receiving the one thing she prayed for, she willingly gave it back to the Lord. That’s the kind of power I want to experience over and over in my life. The kind where my heart completely aligns with God’s will and purpose and it bleeds through my daily life. The power emerges from bowing low and praying high. In the past few weeks, this power has become very real in my life and the life of my family. We have gone through some difficulties that seemed, quite frankly, hopeless, but we continued to pray and cry out to God. I have to admit, I wondered if He was listening because when I wanted Him to come through, He didn’t. Yet in a matter of days, literally hours, I saw God’s power working and changing hearts. It was almost unreal. Yet it was very real and my prayers, my family’s prayers became reality. God doesn’t always answer this quickly, but the enormity of the power that is stirring behind our prayers is overwhelming and many times forgotten.
     Being able to approach the Throne of Grace, the place of prayer, is a gift. We are communicating with God, speaking with Him, crying to Him, and sometimes screaming out, but it is simply humbling ourselves in front of a righteous, powerful, but extremely loving God. In the passage above, Daniel and his friends and the rest of their people, have been taken captive by Babylon. They are in service to the king and Daniel has been asked to interpret a dream the king has had that the wise men of Babylon cannot understand. What is Daniel’s response? He asks his closest friends to pray for him. His friends pray and plead on his behalf. God answers their prayer that very night. I truly believe that the most powerful and intimate action a person can take towards a friend is prayer. Praying for a friend and praying with a friend is very intimate and sweet. We have to share what’s going on in our life and our heart when prayer is usually involved. That person gets to know you intimately so they know how to pray for you. I believe this is a side effect of praying for people, but a great side effect. Daniel and his friends were intimate friends because of their prayer life together and their circumstances. Prayer is a common bond I share with those that are closest to me. We pray for each other and we pray with each other. In our American culture, showing weakness is not looked highly upon, and yet admitting our weakness is where we find God’s strength. If we can’t be real with people, then who do we be real with? In a sense we have to be weak and vulnerable with one another to share our hearts. I need others praying on my behalf. The Holy Spirit works amazingly in me through other’s prayers just as much through my own prayers. The Holy Spirit works in you when others pray for you. We are affected by each other’s prayer. James 5:16 reminds us that we should “therefore confess our sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” Pretty powerful stuff, eh?
     Prayer isn’t just about our weaknesses or struggles, but if prayer is communication, then we also get to praise God for the joys in our life. We also saw last week of Hannah’s joyous words of praise over Samuel being born. He was her answered prayer and her response was correct. If my pain draws me to cry to God, then my joy shall draw me to praise Him. He should be my response in and to every situation. Prayer is fellowship with God and with friends. I hope as you are cultivating and strengthening your prayer life with Christ that you are also nurturing your prayer time with friends. He desires that we commune with other believers, that we share our hearts, our weaknesses, and joys. This is how we grow. Hebrews 3:13 says “But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called ‘Today,’ so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” Prayer is part of that encouragement. If the Holy Spirit is in you and in them, then how can you and they not be blessed, encouraged, rebuked, or sharpened? In fact, we should expect this each time we come together. And yet how much more does the Spirit testify to each other’s hearts when we pray together?

“God’s conquering days are when the saints have given themselves to mightiest prayer…..
The secret of success in
Christ’s kingdom is the ability to pray.”
~ E.M. Bounds ~

June

1 Samuel 1: 1-7, 9-10, 13-16

Now there was a certain man from Ramathaim-zophim from the hill country of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. He had two wives: the name of one was Hannah and the name of the other Peninnah; and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. Now this man would go up from his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests to the Lord there. When the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and her daughters; but to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, but the Lord had closed her womb. Her rival, however, would provoke her bitterly to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. It happened year after year, as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she would provoke her; so she wept and would not eat.
Then Hannah rose after eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. She, greatly distressed, prayed to the Lord. and wept bitterly. She made a vow and said, “O Lord. of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a son, then I will give him to the Lord. all the days of his life, and a razor shall never come on his head.”
As for Hannah, she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk. Then Eli said to her, “How long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you.” But Hannah replied, “No, my lord, I am a woman oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the Lord. Do not consider your maidservant as a worthless woman, for I have spoken until now out of my great concern and provocation.

Woman of Grace

Hannah- “graciousness” or “favor”

     Hannah was married to a man that loved her very much. He also was married to another woman named Peninnah. To have two wives was common, but not blessed by God. Peninnah bore her husband children while Hannah was barren. In a culture where women were defined by their roles as mother and caretaker, this was devastating to Hannah. She not only had no children, but the other wife was very fertile and very mean. 1 Samuel tells us that Peninnah was a rival and reminded Hannah of her barrenness often. Peninnah had the option of being compassionate but she chose to rub Hannah’s pain in her face. I have to wonder how many years she had to tolerate this kind of belittling and yet she did tolerate it. The Bible does not mention that she became angry or bitter or revengeful, but she did weep and fast. She wept to the Lord. This happened year after year. Elkanah tried to comfort his wife. He gave her double portions of the sacrifice while the other wife received the normal amount. He loved her despite her bareness. This is worth noting. Remember that children were a blessing and an asset. To have two wives provide children was a very good thing. He may have married Peninnah because Hannah was barren, but the scriptures are clear that he loved her unconditionally. He loved her, respected her, and trusted her. When God did grant the son she appealed for, Elkanah trusted her to do what she desired with him for the Lord.
      If only Peninnah would have put herself in Hannah’s shoes for a little bit she may have been able to muster up some sympathy. Although I have to wonder that the reason she became her rival is she knew that Hannah was loved despite her barrenness. Jealousy is not pretty. What was it like to live together under the same roof? It could not have been pleasant. I love Hannah’s reaction. She didn’t get revenge, but she wept to God. He was her only comfort. He only could change the impossible. What I find amazing is Hannah’s request to the Lord. Read her prayer again above. She tells the Lord that if he grants her a child, a child that he has longed for many years, she will return him back to the Lord for His service. This could not have been an easy request or one that she made from the start. I believe that year after year as she was crying and praying out to God that something extraordinary was happening in her heart and soul. I believe the Holy Spirit was transforming her heart to God’s desires and will. Prayer was drawing her intimately to God. Do you think when she first started praying for children that she would ever have thought that she would give them up to God happily? This is the power of the Holy Spirit working in us when we submit to God. How many things have I desired that I would be so willing to give back? Yet I have experienced the power of prayer and the way it has changed my heart and even what I desire. I’m afraid to say it’s like magic, but there is something magical and mystical about the working of God. Words just cannot always explain it.
God did eventually grant Hannah her prayer and she named that miracle Samuel. I hope that despite our busy schedule, we are praying. I hope we are praying constantly. It’s so easy to just talk speak to God anywhere. We can pray in the car, silently at work, openly with friends, and many times in between. We are drawn intimately to Him each time. It’s a gift God has designed for only us. We are the only part of creation that enjoys this communion with Him. If you have time, please read Hannah’s prayer of joy after Samuel was born. Here is a part of it:


“My heart exults in the Lord;
My horn is exalted in the Lord,
My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies,
Because I rejoice in Your salvation.
“There is no one holy like the Lord,
Indeed, there is no one besides You,
Nor is there any rock like our God.
“Boast no more so very proudly,
Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth;
For the Lord is a God of knowledge,
And with Him actions are weighed.

1 Samuel 2:1-3

May

That Old Suit

     People. You can’t live with them and you can’t live without them. Have you noticed that most of your heartaches and hurts in life result solely from other people? Not from your pet, or your possessions, but from those you love and from those you can’t stand. The deepest hurts and tragedies come from what people say or do. And yet God wants us to live with these people. These people that are selfish and who have their own ideas and think they are better than others. He wants us to live and love these people! What’s even worse, if you haven’t already figured it out, is that you are one of those people!
     Some of the deepest joys and love come from other people. They encourage you, help you, pray for you, and carry your burden. The same people do the hurting and the loving. How is this possible? Amazing. I think it’s amazing that He allows us to experience both extremes from one person. And that He allows us to do both to other people. God only loves and He loves perfectly and He is love. If there is anything inside me that does not love and does not act out love, than it’s not from God. It’s part of my fallen nature. That part that has fallen from obeying Him and loving Him. That part that is not redeemed. As a believer, God says that I have been made a new creature, a new person. Yet for now, I’m a new creature living in my old human suit and that suit wants to have its own way. Do you ever say or do something and in the middle of it happening, you wonder why you are doing it? Or right after it happens, you can’t believe that you did it? I love how Paul explains this tug between the new person inside me and the old suit outside me.


”We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it” (Romans 7:14-20).

     Did you get all that? I have to read it a few times. Basically he’s saying that what I should do I don’t, but rather I do what I shouldn’t. He’s not removing responsibility from doing the wrong things. He’s saying that there is a war going on inside him. As a believer, he’s got the spirit of God living inside his sinful body. When that happens, you’ve got a small war. Your soul is redeemed. Your mind is transformed. But your body stays the same. That’s why when we die, we will receive new bodies, spiritual bodies. There will not be any tug of war then.
      I believe that God created us for Him but also to experience His love through other people. We are meant to commune and fellowship with others. To hug, laugh, cry, and speak with each other. You don’t have to be a Christian to experience this. It’s how God created every single one of us. His nature is to commune and fellowship and since each of us is created in His image, we naturally desire the same thing. Our fallen nature can distort this and make it into something He did not intend for it to be. We may feel lonely at times and even be lonely at times, but He did not create us to be alone. I truly believe that the fear of being alone will make people do just about anything to avoid it, including putting God aside and people above. I’ve seen it done. As a single person I can relate, even understand, but not necessarily justify. It’s hard to be alone and on your own wondering if this is how it’s going to remain. And yet you do not have to be single to know what I’m talking about. Whatever your status may be, as a believer you’ve got the spirit of God in you struggling with the old suit. We must be able to recognize both of these to be able to know how to live in the Spirit and not act out the flesh. This becomes very real to me not so much when I’m doing or saying something I shouldn’t, but when I experience fears, doubts, and anxiety. When I experience these things, I see that there is something stirring in me to either indulge in these emotions or to see it for what it is in view of God’s Word. My old suit says that I have right to be afraid or doubt because God hasn’t come through. It tells me to look out for myself because no one else is. I’ve got to take matters into my own hands. I have to make it happen myself. The Spirit gently tugs at my heart with Truth. God loves me and He has not forgotten me. He tells me softly that I have people who love me, forgive me, and pray for me. The Spirit always guides me to scripture. The old suit always guides me away.
    When I am not loving those around me, it’s evident that the old suit has emerged. We all have the old suit problem. Until we get a new one, we must learn how to live with it. We must learn how to control it and live as new creatures and not as old suits. Again, let’s read what Paul says:

“For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-19).

     I profess Christ and that He died for my sins and your sins and now as His child, I am to live for Him alone, and not for you or for myself. But part of living for Him is loving you and calling others to be reconciled to Him. What really struck me was that Paul wasn’t going to evaluate people any longer according to the flesh, according to external and worldly standards. Think about that. If I can really not see people in this way, both believers and non-believers, then I would see their sin differently too. When they hurt me or discourage me, maybe I would respond differently to them according to Paul’s view. We are new creatures in Christ, but we are not perfect. We are being perfected, sanctified, and renewed every day through the Spirit. So this means that sometimes I may act from my old suit and when that happens, I have to take responsibility, but also hope that whoever I hurt may have compassion on me. If they are a believer, then they would recognize my old suit, but love me as the new creation. I, too, must respond in that very way to you when you hurt me. I, too, must recognize your old suit, but also mine and respond accordingly. I don’t know about you, but the old suit is crimping my style and I’m ready to throw it out. But I’ve got to wait for death to come or for Jesus to return. Until that happens, I have to learn to live as a new creature and to act and love as new creature, one that has been redeemed.

April

1 Corinthians 2:2
For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
 
Philippians 1:21
For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.
 
Gratify-to please, satisfy, indulge
Instant-immediate, imperative, urgent

     If you read my letter last month, you know that I am trying to make choices that are healthy for my body and it’s pretty hard! More importantly than my physical health, I want to pour even more energy into my spiritual health. Not just gaining more and more knowledge of God and the Bible, but actually putting into practice that knowledge and obeying God. And since this goes against my natural flesh, it’s really hard! I think you would agree. Any form of discipline and obedience only comes from saying no to what looks and feels good now so that you can say yes to what is good later. As with anything, whether it’s God, money, or food, what we want is ‘immediate gratification’. We want instant pleasure, progress, or results. Nobody likes that phrase because in some way we are all guilty of it. Again, it’s part of our flesh. Waiting for anything, no matter how small or big, is always hard. We don’t like to admit it but there are parts of us that remain childish and many times you can see this play out when we have to wait. Waiting means that you don’t get immediate gratification. If I pull up to Wal-Mart and get the first parking spot closest to the entrance, I am immediately happy. Why? Because there is no waiting. If I find a checkout line that does not have a line, and the cashier is actually waiting for me to get there, I am immediately happy. Why? Because who wants to wait?
     I think technology is a blessing and curse for our culture and with every passing generation. Yes we can accomplish much and with greater speed, but I think at the same time we feed our flesh the idea that we can get everything instantly. It’s the ‘microwave’ thinking. Instead of calling someone, we text or email because it’s faster and convenient. I am guilty of this. I’m not saying it’s wrong or a sin, but certain things are becoming a norm instead of the exception. This idea of instant is okay in some situations, but many times we don’t know how to keep it separate from people and God. There is no instant with people and definitely not with God, but we become so accustomed to this idea, that when we have to do any kind of waiting, we don’t wait well. You see this with children. Children naturally do not wait well. We are born with the ‘microwave’ instinct, but we are not supposed to live with it. But if we don’t first learn how to wait well, how do we raise a younger generation to do that? Waiting doesn’t mean not getting what you want; it means trusting God’s timing with what we desire or seek. Without waiting, my faith would not grow, my process of thinking would not mature, there would be no time to seek godly counsel, and the most importantly, there would be no fervent prayer. Cultivating prayer takes time.
     So how does eating healthy and waiting on God connect? We have to change our thinking, our mind set. Saying no or being told no does not mean we are being denied what we deserve. We haven’t done anything in our own merit to deserve or claim rights to anything in the first place. There isn’t one talent, possession, idea, or person that you get to claim as yours without first acknowledging that it’s completely a blessing from God. So let’s make sure we get this truth right before we start huffing and puffing about what we deserve and have a right to. Some of us may be more generous, more kind, more resourceful with our possessions, better spouses, better workers, but we don’t earn our rights through what we do. Those were lost in the Garden. We are better workers, spouses, etc. because of God. What we do have is a Holy God that absolutely sees our selfishness, our self-centeredness, our thoughts, our sins and still loves us so much that He decides we are worth saving. We are worth dying for and giving new life to. We have a God that knows we don’t deserve anything or shouldn’t be given any rights, but He decided on the Cross we were a people that He couldn’t help but save. So when God says no, I need to wait. I need to learn to say no with God. And following Jesus’ example, I also learn to say no to that which is not best. Holiness and instant gratification cannot co-exist. That old saying ‘Good things come to those who wait’ basically implies that you need to cultivate patience. Who I wait on is the question. Waiting on people to come through for me will leave me sorely disappointed and discouraged. The Lord however, will always come through with exactly what I need- not always what I want. While I’m waiting on God, He cultivates trust, hope, faith, and wisdom. God knows what He’s doing and there is a reason He is not a God of instant gratification. Not even Jesus escaped this truth. There was nothing instant about His life, His torture on the cross, or His death. He waited on God’s timing and plan for all good things to come together. We are reaping those good things.
     I want to say yes to God and no to anything that opposes His will including my wants and desires. He wants to bless me and use me and grow me but that only happens when I submit to Him. Part of loving God isn’t just spending time with Him but it’s spending His time wisely. Discipline is cultivated and learned. It starts by recognizing what is good for me in the long run, not just what feels good right now (or tastes good!) God wants only what is good for me according to His will. Sometimes that means He gives what I ask and sometimes it means I wait. I only want what is good for my body, but sometimes that means I have to say no to certain foods and yes to other ones. Is it really suffering when I have to wait or when I’m told no? Do I not see the good and the sovereignty behind the waiting? If it’s instant gratification that I seek, then I reject holiness. But if I choose Christ, then I choose a rich and holy life.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men,

instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly,
righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope

and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,

who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and

to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.

Titus 2: 11-14