Be Glad To Feel Bad

Bad things can happen to good people, but there are really no good people, of course.  The issue should be why good things happen to bad people.  We should be thankful to God for all His grace that we don't deserve, in everything--"He gives us richly all things to enjoy" according to 1 Tim. 6:17. Trials are inevitable and Christ was honest enough to warn us, and even count the cost of discipleship--it would be no bed of roses or rose garden.

But don't get a martyr's complex and associate suffering with inherent spirituality--some is merely reaping what we sow and divine discipline and pruning--not punishment.  We are not saved by martyrdom.  It is no indicator of spirituality.  We should never equate the two!  People who feel persecuted or have this martyr's complex think that the more they suffer, the more spiritual they are. We should rejoice in suffering that God has trusted us and believes in us enough to give it to us--suffering brings about and yields character and Christlikeness.  It's like a sculptor who makes a figure out of a block of granite by chipping away at everything that doesn't look like the subject--God wants to rid our character of everything that doesn't reflect the Son. \We are works in progress! 

It's also good to feel so bad, even depressed and melancholy so that we can relate to reality and put life in proper perspective. We can say that we've been there and done that and console others in their troubles.  Otherwise, you would always think everything was fine; the Christian life isn't Polyanna or always Cloud Nine or on a spiritual and perpetual high. .  If life were a trip or always on cloud nine, we wouldn't learn anything. The school of hard knocks is experiencing hardship by definition, not luxury.

No one ought to be on "Easy Street." Discipleship is the way, less traveled, not going with the crowd, and following the beat of a different drum.   Case in point:  If we never felt guilty, we would always feel we had met our expectations and standards, and never get convicted of sin--it's sort of a warning that is built into our nature as part of our conscience--and God can be speaking to us through this.  C. S. Lewis said that "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts at us in our pains, it is God's megaphone to rouse a deaf world." . Sometimes we need a wake-up call or to be alarmed so that we realize everything isn't hunky-dory in our relationship with God

All of our trials, tribulations, discipline, temptations, tests, sufferings, and crises are Father-filtered and have a divine purpose to make us better people.  Our experience is not happening to us but in us.  It's what we do with our experiences that counts.  No one is exempt from troubles, Christ didn't even exempt Himself and He surely didn't deserve any of it and suffered far more than we are called to do in carrying our cross or the thorn in our side.  It is just so that we can identify with Christ more and have more in common, as we can relate and realize what He did on our behalf as the perfect expression of divine love.

In conclusion, guilt is real, though the psychiatrist may deny it and rationalize it away, and the only way to be free from it is by forgiveness--and Christ is able to do this as the only Savior of the world from our sins.  As a priest, he saves us from the penalty and guilt, and as prophet gives us the knowledge and awareness of sin and saves us from ignorance of sin, and asking he saves us from the tyranny and dominion of sin.

Sigmund Freud popularized the concept of a "guilt complex" and thought it was a neurosis to be treated, and not real.  You can be forgiven for a sin, but only Christ can heal and wipe away the tears and guilt to set us free. One thing pop-psychology will tell you is that there is no ultimate meaning in suffering; this is controverted by Scripture.  Our suffering is tailor-made for us by our loving Father and is for our best.  We ought to rejoice even in our sufferings like Paul did in the jail with Silas in Acts 16.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Got Jesus?

Paul's desire:  "[T]hat I may know him and the power of his resurrection [Yes, He's still in the business of changing lives--the true resurrection business!]"  (Philippians 3:10, ESV).

Remember the advertising campaign that asked you if you "got milk?"  Jehovah's Witnesses ask us if we "got God."  God is different things to different people and open to interpretation and confusion, but Jesus is "the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him"  (cf. John 14:6).  Actually, this misses the point:  There is only one Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, and we should ask, "Got Jesus?"  It isn't a matter of just having faith, but of having Jesus.

It isn't faith that saves us, nor faith in faith, nor misdirected zeal--"without knowledge" (cf. Prov. 19:2; Romans 10:2 says, "They have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge").  It's not how many good deeds we accomplish, God wants our obedience, not our achievements.  They may say: "Have faith, or keep the faith!"  But I say:  "Get Jesus, make Jesus yours!"

It is the object of faith that saves, not the faith; faith is the instrumental means of salvation and the gift of God, not salvation itself.  This begs the ultimate question at the Judgment Seat of Christ: What did you accomplish or do with your faith; did you learn to love and trust Christ in a personal relationship and become obedient to the faith (cf. Rom. 1:5; 16:26; Acts 6:4).  Obedience is the only true test and factor in faith to measure it by and there is no such thing as a disobedient believer, though they do disobey this is not a different category of Christian.

The proof and secret of a victorious life in Christ are knowing Jesus and having this vibrant, dynamic relationship with the Holy Spirit as our enabler, who gives us everything we need to have victory over evil, sin, and ourselves; for we are our own worst enemy!

Jesus clearly proclaimed in his priestly prayer of John 17 in verse 3 that eternal life is "to know Him." Our life is a continuous search for the face or presence of God and to grow in the knowledge of Him (cf. 2 Pet. 3:18).  To know Him is to love Him and love the Lord is part of saving faith; we desire to obey the gospel and live it out or put it into practice.  Paul said we must do something with our faith: Express it ("The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love" in Gal. 5:6, NIV).

We can say we have great faith but no deeds to match--we must turn our creeds into deeds.  We can have great faith in the wrong person or thing and miss the boat, and a little faith in the right object (Christ) and get saved-- it isn't the amount but the object of faith that saves!

Christ saved us and is the only Savior--we don't get any glory or credit because of our "cooperating." If Christ hadn't chosen us and enabled us through the Spirit, none of us would have any inclination to come to Him in faith, because we are totally alienated and estranged from Him in our depravity--we couldn't be further from God, no matter what sin we commit. We don't naturally come to God the Father through Jesus the Son but must be wooed and led by the Spirit.  We can bemoan another's sin or compare ourselves to them on a sliding scale or grade on a curve and believe we are saints in comparison, but we are all sinners in God's estimation--we just all sin differently.  George Whitefield was asked what he made of a convict going to the gallows:  "There but for the grace of God, go I."

I conclude with Habakkuk saying, "[Y]et I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation" (3:18, ESV).  You really find out that all you need is Jesus, if you ever come to that point of only having Jesus.   If we have Jesus, we have everything and will be granted everything we need, but without Jesus, we are needy, though we know it not and don't have what we need most and don't know it--that is the worst kind of neediness.  Being the incarnation of the Great I Am, this means He is our everything, there is no predicate to His name because He is all-sufficient for everything and can be everything to everyone.  It's like a name that's a blank check.  Soli Deo Gloria!

True Conversion

We are not born free and innocent (with a tabula rasa or blank slate) as Jean-Jacques Rousseau and others allege, we are born in slavery to sin and in bondage; Augustine said that we are "free but not freed."  That is interpreted as meaning that we retain the ability to make choices, but they are limited and defined by God (only if I throw a ball, do you have the choice to catch it!).  We have lost our "liberty" in other words.  Adam had the ability to sin, and the ability not to sin, while after the fall only had the inability not to sin--or he could only sin!   Only Christ has the inability to sin and proved it at the temptation from Satan. On the other hand, we are constantly in a state of rebellion!  When we are saved, it is irresistible and efficacious, because no one is able to resist God's will (cf. Romans 9:19) and grace is sovereign and reigns (cf. Romans 5:21).

God doesn't control us like a puppet on a string--we are not automatons--and God never forces with an outside influence us to do something we don't want to do; however, He made our nature and we act accordingly (God is the one who made us so choleric or melancholy, for example). This is seen by analogy when you observe a dove eating seed and a raven feasting on carrion--note that they both eat according to their desires and what they want; i.e.,  they are both acting according to their nature, which God created.  We were not consulted in the makeup of our nature--God is the Potter and we are the clay in His hands.

Our will has been compared in analogy to a prisoner in jail who has the privilege to play poker with the guys, or to smoke in the lounge, but not to go out to exercise, except when given permission, and certainly, he cannot leave the grounds at will, nor does he have free rein, and you could also compare our will to a man on a train playing cards and not knowing where he is going or where the train is headed and must be awoken by the conductor to make him cognizant of this.  However, you can be converted, even in jail, as the Lord's freeman and be free in spirit--remember, analogies can break down if over-analyzed.  We don't need free wills to be saved!   We need wills made free!  

Today's parlance defines conversion as merely a change to a more "responsible lifestyle" to cope with your life; however, in authentic conversion (which involves regeneration, faith, and repentance), our whole being is converted--even our wills are depraved and unable to please God.   Conversion is more than an acceptable way of having a nervous breakdown, and of "getting religion." It is a change from the inside out so that the person becomes a new person with new desires of the will, as well as a new heart for the things of God and a new comprehension with the intellect of His will and what pleases Him. Only man has the heart to love God, a mind to know Him, and a will to obey Him and all must be converted:  Our whole nature is involved, not just our emotions--so don't think you are saved just because you "love Jesus." He may simply be a Jesus of your own creation, imagination, or fabrication.

We must obey (an act of a will made free) Jesus to prove our love, as He said, "If you love Me, you will obey My commandments." If we are disobedient, it proves we do not believe:  "Only he who believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes"  (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, martyred by the Nazis). The two are linked and correlated and so our wills must be changed to be willing to do God's will--after salvation, we learn to obey!  We are able to make the choice as to whether we are willing to do God's will as a sign of positive inclination, but no one is inclined to come to Him apart from the wooing of the Spirit, according to John 6:44, ESV ("No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him..."). John 6:65, ESV says, "... [N]o one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.")

Naturally, we do not love God and are not inclined to come to Him in love, we are incapable of comprehending the gospel message apart from being enlightened, and the eyes our heart is opened, and we do not want to obey God, because of a rebellious will that we are born with, as we are born in sin and are not sinners because we sin, but sin because we are sinners!  We are only acting according to our nature, and our nature needs conversion--no one is good and does God's will!  Our wills are in defiance or you could say we are volitionally defiant and out of God's will and plan as lost sinners until we get converted, and are found by Christ the Great Shepherd.  We can do no good as lost sinners to please God and all our works are as filthy rags according to Isaiah 64:6.  We were lost but now are found (by God--i.e., we didn't find Him at our salvation!).

Conversion involves the whole person which means the whole heart (which represents the whole being of man in Scripture--emotions, will, and intellect).  God makes the unwilling, willing and all God's people shall be willing (Psalm 110:3 in the ESV says,"...Your people shall offer themselves freely in the day of your power").  Paul says it plain as day in Philippians 2:13 that God is always at work within us to make us willing to do His will and in Col. 1:29 that God powerfully works within him.

If it were not for Christ, none of us would be saved nor have the desire (had He not softened our heart and turned it from a heart of stone to a heart of flesh according to Ezekiel 36:26. We were not more meritorious than others, more intelligent, talented, nor willing!  We were destined unto salvation according to the good pleasure of His will.   No one can take credit for his salvation as Jonah said, in Jonah 2:9 that "Salvation is of the LORD." This means we didn't even cooperate and do anything--if we had to do anything, we would mess it up.  God does all the work and gets all the glory as He gives us the gift of faith.

Jesus told His disciples, "Apart from Me you can do nothing" in John 15:5 and this means we are helpless to do God's will and our wills are in bondage, as Martin Luther declared in his book that shook the Reformation era, The Bondage of the Will.  He said that calling our will free was too grandiose a word for it and is misleading--God is ultimately in charge and in control of our destiny, not us, as He is the One who chose us--we didn't choose Him (cf. John 15:16).  Believing you came to Christ of your own free will is like taking credit for your salvation and giving yourself some of the glory that alone belongs to God--if you came to Him alone, you probably left Him alone, too.  Jesus through the power of the Spirit compels us to come into His Father's house (compelle intrare).

And so when you say you have "free will" be sure to make it clear what you are positing, because you don't have the power, will, nor the inclination to please God or do His will of receiving Christ apart from the grace of God.  We do retain the natural freedom to make choices like what we want to eat, but spiritual and moral freedom is curtailed and limited because of our total depravity, which includes total depravity of the will, as part of the makeup of our human nature.  In summation, Paul said, "So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy" (Romans 9:16, ESV).  Soli Deo Gloria!

Called To Faithfulness

Mother Teresa of Calcutta (now canonized) said that God calls us to faithfulness, not success.  She didn't believe she was a success, I gather!  We are to be faithful and leave the results to God!  There are many ways to measure it (i.e., it has many dimensions and descriptions), but God promises us good success in doing the Lord's work if we are faithful.  They say that greed drives Wall Street, and we can be ambitious for all the wrong reasons like just trying to get ahead or keep up with the Joneses like it says in Jer. 45:5--blind ambition for power, fame, or fortune.  When we are zealous for the Lord, we will surely be blessed in all we do.

There is no such thing as a clerical calling versus a secular calling (there is neither Greek nor barbarian, slave nor free, nor any caste system in the brotherhood of saints--we are all one in Christ of the same body).  Though to be in the ministry is a calling, all Christians are called to a vocation (cf. John 3:27, (NLT).   When work is done as "unto the Lord" (cf. Col. 3:23; 1 Cor. 10:31), even if it is mundane or menial, we are still vessels of honor being used by God.  As Paul said, "I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me..." (Rom. 15:18, ESV).  Similarly, Isaiah 26:12 (NASB) says this:  "... Since You have also performed for us all our works."

When we realize this we get the right attitude and have spunk, and are not lackadaisical in the Lord's work, for Jeremiah pronounced a curse on all who do the Lord's work with slackness (cf. Jer. 48:10). Jesus stooped to wash the disciples' feet and this precedent of a servile act foot-washing is to be our attitude, too--nothing should be beneath us, i.e., below our dignity.  There is no stigma to working, even though the Greeks and Romans thought manual work was a curse and relegated it to some 60 million slaves living in the known world of antiquity.  But we choose our attitude:  Amaziah "did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, yet not with a whole heart" (cf. 2 Chr. 25:2, ESV).

Martin Luther brought dignity to work by preaching that all work can be done to the glory of God and this became the Protestant work ethic.  Brother Lawrence, a seventeenth-century monk who wrote The Practice of the Presence of God, showed how we can live all day long in fulfillment of pleasing God in all we do and abiding in Him.  It is important to find your calling in life, or what you have been gifted to do; for example, Eric Liddel, who was an Olympic star portrayed in the movie Chariots of Fire, said that God made him for a purpose and made him fast, and when he runs he "feels the pleasure of God."

We all have turf or domain that God has given uniquely to us and we will be held accountable for our talents, abilities, opportunities, resources, and gifts--we are just stewards of everything, including the time God has given us.   A person is never so rich that he can live a life of non-productivity and of undisciplined or unbridled leisure and luxury.  Amos denounced the life of ease and complacency in Zion and God, only rewards discipline and virtue, not living it up with reckless abandon and without respect.   God is not all work and no play and there will be leisure or downtime in heaven where "they shall sit each man under his vine and under his fig tree" and be prosperous in the kingdom of heaven according to Micah 4:4 (ESV; cf. Zech. 3:10).

Haggai was a prophet who, as a motivation expert, got results in rebuilding the temple.  The people needed to get their priorities right for God's blessing.  Hag. 2:4 (NASB) says, "... [And] work; for I am with you."  Yes, we are held to a higher standard and God wants our obedience, not our achievements.  St. Theresa said she wanted to build a convent and when asked what her resources were, she said only 12 pence. They told her that even St. Theresa couldn't build a convent with only 12 pence.  She replied that St. Theresa and God could!   Little is much when God is in it--what matters is God's blessing and favor on our endeavors.

We need to put all our work into a proper perspective and see it as "unto the Lord."  Three men cutting stones were asked what they were doing:  One was building a wall; one was earning a living, and one was building a cathedral.  Which one had a divine viewpoint and was properly motivated to do his best?  Nehemiah said that he couldn't come down because he was "doing a great work."  And he was glad that the people "had a mind to work."  (Cf. Neh. 6:3; 4:6, ESV). Nevertheless, he who is faithful in little shall be faithful in much, according to our Lord.

Being busy is not necessarily a virtue, because some are too busy for God.  When you're in the will of God, you're never to busy and there are no interruptions, only opportunities.  We want to redeem the time and make use of what God has granted us to His glory, and we must never develop the bad habits that lead to slothfulness or laziness, one of the "seven deadly sins" of Rome.  Malingering or avoiding duty is also laziness.  Solomon says, "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might (Eccl. 9:10).  And so we should always "seize the day [carpe diem]," make the most of our days, and should be" redeeming the time," because Sir Walter Scott was right:  "Time and tide wait for no man."  Time is fleeting and we will give account--we either waste our time, spend it, or invest it in kingdom work.
Soli Deo Gloria!

No Christian Superstars!

We seem to think that those believers in the limelight, or who have made names for themselves as celebrities, are the greatest in the kingdom. Jesus made it clear that it is a matter of our humility (cf. Matt. 18:3) that determines greatness.  God isn't interested in our achievements, but in our obedience. He wants you, not your accomplishments!  Christianity is about God's work, not ours.  Just because God has entrusted one with many talents, doesn't guarantee them a higher status in the kingdom either--they just have more to be accountable and responsible for.  What Jesus said was that he who is faithful in little shall be faithful in much.  Mother Teresa of Calcutta (now canonized) said that God doesn't call us to success, but to faithfulness [which cannot be divorced from faith].

What seems to be a high profile believer is just one who has a lot of responsibility to God and will be rewarded accordingly. Not many mighty nor noble are called into God's service (cf. 1 Cor. 1:26), and God does reserve the right to use anyone for His purposes, as the Potter has power over the clay. (cf. Isaiah 64:8).  We shouldn't be discouraged because we are unknowns, but rejoice that God has put us into the ministry--we are all ministers of reconciliation according to 2 Cor. 5:18-19.

There is no room for a Christian "elite" or superstar status making a class of believer worthy of special treatment:  When the king of England went to communion, commoners were ahead of him in line and they insisted that the king go first;  he said that in this line we are all equal! Yes, we are all one in Christ and all servants of the Lord who literally owns us as a master owns a slave.

We are all vessels of honor and unbelievers are the vessels of dishonor.  God has called us to bring glory to Himself:  Isaiah 43:7 says that God created us for His glory.  The Westminster divines said: The chief purpose of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever!  Beware that when God uses us to think that it is to our credit; it is humbling to know that God is using us to bring glory to Himself.  All our righteousness is as filthy rags (cf. Isaiah 64:6), and God rewards us for what He accomplishes through us.  Isaiah 26:12 says it most plainly:  "... You have done for us all our works."  In other words, all that we have done, God has accomplished through us (cf. Hosea 14:8, NKJV says, "... Your fruit is found in Me.").   Paul also declares in Romans 15:18 (NIV):  "I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me...."

All Christians are royalty and members of the household of God and children of God, whereas we shall all reign with Him as sons of God and joint-heirs of Christ.  Nobody is a persona non grata in God's kingdom.  We are all referred to as "saints," despite the fact that we still sin (cf. Gal. 2:17:  "... We too were found to be sinners...").  We are all members one of another and cannot say we have no need of other parts of the same body--hence, we are one (cf. Gal. 3:28) in Christ!  Soli Deo Gloria!

Christians Rock, Too!

Jesus may be different things to different people, often depending on your culture and background. If you are partial to Rock, you may believe Jesus rocks or rather can rock; however, if you love the Classics, you may be inclined to believe Jesus loves orchestras, and so forth!  Listing to Johnny Cash, I believe Jesus may speak Country! Many of the classical composers were devout Christians and I can say personally, that God has given me a great degree of appreciation for the Classics, now that I have His Spirit.

I sense the Holy Spirit especially when I hear the organ music of J. S. Bach, written as a prelude to worship services.  Haven't you ever heard Handel's Messiah and recognize the glory of heavenly choruses singing the "Hallelujah" in harmony? He claims to have seen a vision of God while composing it.  In my opinion, heavenly music is beautiful and doesn't have to carry a beat.  Is Jesus in a choir? Truly, Jesus is different strokes for different folks.  There is no one-size-fits-all type of worship or musical genre that pleases believers or God.

It is dangerous to put God in a box and claim that Jesus exclusively endorses a certain genre of music--some may rightly claim that Jesus has a soul, or that Jesus raps, too.  God is out to reach as many people as possible and can use any medium He chooses, but that doesn't mean we have to like any medium against our nature or culture. If you liked Rock & Roll, you are bound to feel an affinity to "Christian Rock."  What we need to do is find the genre we can relate to and not think that we have cornered the market on Christian music with it--as they say:  "To each his own." I do not see the heavenly choruses of angels rock and roll myself, but that's my opinion.  It seems that heavenly music is of a different dimension!

It is a dangerous doctrine to interpret an enthusiastic gathering as meaning that God endorses it in any special way, or that "Jesus is there!"  Christ wants us to learn to walk with Him wherever we go and to find Him in all our situations, not just at a concert.  According to Scripture, whenever two or three are gathered in His name, Christ is present.  He warned against saying, "Christ is here," or "Christ is there," to mean a blessing or sanction on the music genre or a special presence.  We believe Christ is present in a special way at the Lord's Supper--not at concerts (you shouldn't feel that you have to go someplace to be filled with the Spirit, as it is written of David, who "strengthened himself in the LORD his God), because concerts often feed on emotions and not truth.

I take issue at some of their lyrics; however, music often rules and you can get people to believe almost anything by putting it to a tune. Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world, according to Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Today's phenomenon is that the musicians seem to be dictating the doctrines of the church.  Truth still matters!

If you are not musical, meaning, by definition, you cannot carry a tune, sing in key, or even sense rhythm, then how can you agree that Jesus fits into your box or you know what music He favors or blesses?   Are we at the mercy of the musicians to decide for us or can we find our own way that God speaks to our souls? Before the dawn of Rock & Roll, was Jesus musical, or was He silent?  Has God changed?  I decry the way the Christian music scene today has become so dominated with professionalism and musicians out to hold concerts, charging for admission--you shouldn't have to pay to worship God! Have we witnessed the professionalization of worship?

And so, one must say that "his Jesus" (Jesus as he knows, relates, and sees) rocks, but others may take issue and posit that "their Jesus" has the preference for soul, raps, or personifies the ageless appeal of the classics. When you say, "Jesus rocks," you should make it clear what you are saying, because those are loaded terms, easily misconstrued.   There is no such thing as "Christian music" because God transcends our limits and cannot be defined musically (i.e., put in a box), who invented it:  it is not the music that is non-Christian, but the lyrics in many cases.

Case in point:  I get goosebumps every time I hear the "Star-spangled Banner," or "God Bless America." Does this mean that Christ is a patriotic American?  There is so much unnecessary confusion in the church due to not saying what we mean, and leaving it open to private interpretation. Just because drums and guitars are used, doesn't define it as Rock; but merely contemporary--we should never limit ourselves, nor God! I am reminded that Little Richard became an ordained minister!    Soli Deo Gloria!