To Be Seen By Men

Some believers actively and openly practice their piety, even praying in public to demonstrate that they are so close to God (cf. Matt. 6:1). Personal prayer is meant to be private and in your prayer closet, wherever that is, not that we are to privatize it though.  Religiosity is one reason to be rejected from military service--you can't have overly religious or superstitious soldiers on the battlefront.

If a brother is caught in the error of his way, you who are spiritual restore such a one, so that he may come to the knowledge of the truth (Gal. 6:1; 2 Tim. 2:24). We cannot be independent spiritual Lone Rangers who only listen to their inner voice and not to the what the body of Christ is saying. It is a matter of humility to submit to the authority of your brother and take advice and counsel. If you don't listen to anyone what makes you think you'd listen to Jesus--He will not save those He cannot command (through His body the church). We are not to be mystics either, just listening to what we feel God is telling us and ignoring others.

Our conscience is held captive to our brother's and we cannot just do what is right in our own eyes like Israel did ("In those days Israel did not have a king and everyone did what was right in his own eyes," says Judges 21:25). We must not be accused of doing our own thing, what's right in our eyes, or doing things our way. "All we like sheep have gone astray, and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6a, ESV). Things are not always they look to us.

It is not unusual to have an intense hunger for the Word as a baby believer (in fact it's a fruit of salvation), but to make it look like all Christians do is sit around and read the Bible is a bad witness. If you do that, do it alone and not to be seen in public. The aim is not to fall into the condemnation of the devil and to have a witness that doesn't offend, not be an offensive Christian (Christ should be the offense--not you). We don't say public prayers either, just to be seen by men and demonstrate our piety or religiosity.

Corporate and private prayer are different and we need to put them in their place. Let's not be ashamed of Christ in public, but witnessing for Him has a greater impact than just being religious., like crossing yourself as Catholics do. Many people are completely turned off by religion and its religiosity and we don't want to create barriers, but build bridges and not make pseudo-issues.

Jesus mentioned how the Pharisees loved to be noticed praying on the street corners to be seen by men and said they have lost their reward (cf. Matt. 6:1). We need to keep our righteousness between us and God as much as is our control. I remember the first time I witnessed of my faith after being saved in the Army and found out that being a braggadocio is a no-no. God is not impressed with our filthy rags and we shouldn't be impressed by them either. Caveat: "For it is not he who commends himself that is approved, but he whom the Lord commends" (2 Cor. 10:18, NASB).

Ironically, the way up is down like John the Baptist said: "He must increase, and I must decrease." The person who humbles himself shall be exalted, not the person who presumes to be someone when he isn't. Humility comes before honor in God's economy.  We are not to have low self-esteem or to think less of ourselves, but to think of ourselves less! Like the actor who gets one role and thinks he is a star or the person who writes one poem and thinks he is a poet or the person who preaches one sermon and thinks he is a preacher, so we all tend to think we've arrived, even though Paul never assumed this: "I do not claim to have laid hold of it yet..." (Phil. 3:12).

When you've preached a hundred sermons dare call yourself a preacher, though others can and may--don't toot your own horn; or if you've witnessed hundreds of times call yourself a faithful witness--let others praise you and not yourself, or if you have done whatever God has called you to and been faithful in it--success doesn't come overnight. It is paramount that the Lord give His blessing to your endeavor and you be called to it, because you must have an anointing to do it in the Spirit--there are even preachers who do it in the energy of the flesh and are just great speakers or very scholarly, but not called by God or filled with the Holy Spirit. I do not think preaching is a production or a show but a calling that must be blessed by God. I know of storytellers, great public speakers, or even comedians who parade as charismatic preachers but are wolves in sheep's clothing and should get out of the ministry, despite their following--preaching is not just academics but spiritual.

Some people serve for the applause of man as people pleasers (cf. Eph. 6:6, KJV), and some seek the glory of God and give it back to Him. Praise is merely the test of a man's spirit to see what he is made of. I make it clear when my Bible class claps for me that it is of God and He is the one to praise, but they still insist because they really believe it's a good Bible study; but I have learned not to trust the opinions of man and I seek only to please God and not man--I certainly don't want praise to go to my head. Watch out for those who want the approbation of man, and not God's favor and smile on their endeavors. We don't do favors for one another as if they might owe us one in return, but we are servants of Christ doing it out of the pure motive of love for Him. Soli Deo Gloria!

Be Perfect As Your Father In Heaven Is Perfect

 Jesus exhorts us to be perfect in many ways and in different connotations, denotations, and meanings. Obviously, no one is perfect but God, so that can not be what He meant.  There are different interpretations of what "perfect" means, such as complete and mature or without fault or blemish or flaw.   The elder is to above blame for instance.  Pelagius was a heretic that debated St. Augustine and insisted that since God commands perfection, it must be possible, and taught what was known as sinless perfectionism.  This is now called "entire sanctification" or perfectionism. It is said by Catholics that saints and the Pope have attained this level of holiness.  We are to bear with each other's faults. Eph. 4:2

But God admonishes us not to think of ourselves as holier than thou (cf. Isaiah 65:5). What is commonly understand by the standards of achievement for the believer is that perfection is the standard, but direction or effort is the test.  Let me give you an example from the Old Testament.  After Israel had received the Law, they told God, "We will do all that is written..." They should have realized that no one can keep the Law but God and should have begged for mercy and grace. Christianity is not a rule book or to-do list or list of dos and don'ts. It is a relationship and Paul even claimed, "not to have laid hold of it yet." Phil. 3:12

Do I need to point out verses that say we cannot attain sinless perfection:  1 John 1:10 says if we claim to be without sin, we make Him a liar and the truth is not in us.  Eccl. 7:20 says "Surely there is not a man on earth who does what is right and doesn't sin." and Proverbs 20:9 says "Who can say, 'I have kept my heart pure, I am clean and without sin?'" Psalm 119:96 says there is a limit to all perfection. The point is that we are not saved by performance, but by faith alone and the Law was not given to be a way of salvation, but to measure us.  It was given to show no man can keep it!  "It is indeed the straightedge of the Law that show us how crooked we really are." Romans 3:20    

If we keep the whole Law and offend in one point, we are guilty of breaking it all.   What I'm saying is that no one keeps the Law without fault except Jesus and we all fall short and to try to put yourself under it makes you obliged to the whole of it.  We cannot attain to God's standards until we reach glory and no longer have the old sin nature or sin virus we inherited from Adam. We not only have broken one of the laws but the whole of the Law and cannot keep it! We all fall short of God's glory. Justification means that God reckons us as just, not that we are just. He calls us just in His eyes; we are both sinners and just at the same time (cf. Gal. 2:17).  God no longer counts our sins against us! (cf. 2 Cor. 5:19). Christianity is not about "Do!" but "Done!"  It is a done deal.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Do You Have Potential To Become A Rock?

"The LORD lives and blessed be my Rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation,"(cf. Psalm 18:46). For starters, there is one Rock who is Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 10:4) but we can become rock-like like Peter.  Jesus saw potential in Simon and after his declaration of faith, renamed him Peter to be like a rock.  You've heard it said that no man is a rock or "no man is an island," (John Donne) but some people do have the steadiness of faith to encourage others and to be especially independent and able to be a light to others, to be a leader of men, a mover, and shaker.  Also, we must strive to be strong.   But that's the point;:  We all have unrealized potential and the ability to be a Daniel to stand alone or to be a David to be a man after God's own heart or to fight like he did or to be bold a prophet like Elijah. What we are in actuality or achievement and what we can become or have the potential for are not the same. 

God does give us opportunities but many of us squander them and waste the grace of God,  even frustrating it.  Peter was an ordinary fisherman who probably had no special ambition but Jesus saw something He could work with--a brazen even impetuous personality that God could use for His purposes.  What we are in actuality and what we can become potentially are two different things.  Some people just require extra grace and God is able to make grace abound even to the chief of sinners, Paul. Paul said that he would speak of nothing but what Christ accomplished through him (cf. Romans 15:18).  Remember we have nothing but what we have received by grace and what we do with it is our gift back to God. Even our righteousness is God's gift to us, not our gift to God.  

Peter was brave but he overestimated himself and underestimated the wiles of the devil to tempt or test his grit and faith. At one moment Jesus commended him, the next it seemed he was being rebuked!  But when it was showtime, Peter's love for the Lord endured and Jesus knew that if He reinstated him and forgave him for his denials, he would be all the stronger: "When you have been restored go and strengthen the others.  

We all must reach the faith of Peter ot be saved; i.e, knowing who Jesus is in reality and not believing in another Jesus. But we must not judge him, for when it counted, he showed faith and was faithful after realizing the truth.  We too can be guilty of putting our foot in our mouth and speaking first and thinking later Peter made all the mistakes we probably would've made: bragging or boasting, trying to impress, correcting the Lord, speaking blasphemy, being confronted for our testimony, and being ashamed or embarrassed, even denying our Lord; there but for the grace of God go us!  None of us are above these except for the grace of God.

In fact, grace is what sums up his life because it shows what God can do to a willing believer.  Peter actually came to the point to realize that Jesus was using him and didn't need him but that he should consider it an honor. Jesus went through the trouble to reinstate Peter three times because he had denied Him three times.  We are all too familiar with the flaws of Peter, but they are ours too.  It wasn't Jesus but Peter who had to be reassured of his love for the Lord and to verbalize it and confirm it with words. Jesus tested his faith after the resurrection by asking him to fish on the other side of the boat, contrary to his reasoning, but he obeyed simply because it was the Lord who told him to. This even hurt his pride as a professional fisherman, but he still obeyed. There is a direct correlation between love and obedience,  Peter had proven his love but needed reassurance. 

Before we judge Peter, we must realize he walked on water and was the first to realize the identity of Jesus as God's own  Son. It was for this declaration of faith that Jesus made him a leader in the church despite the fact that Paul rebuked him for playing politics with the Jews and the party of the Circumcision.  We should all see a bit of ourselves in his flaws.  

Peter's faith went through many phases: he had his shining moment of confessing Christ, his macho moment of boasting of his faith and drawing the sword, his puzzling moment of wondering about Christ's fate and outcome, his humbling moment of finding out he's not such a great fisherman, and his Spirit-filled moment of being reinstated and reassured of Christ's love. Indeed, Peter had the raw material of the makings of a spiritual leader and Jesus saw this potential and made him realize it in real-time with Him. 

Do you yourself realize you are capable of doing a lot more for the Lord than you can imagine? Few of us reach our full potential and are underachievers for God. We have all missed opportunities and failed tests of God but we must never lose our faith that we can become what we are meant to be to fulfill all God's will for our lives and be obedient to the heavenly calling and fulfill the ministry God assigned us. But some of us don't even know our spiritual gift, much less to be engaged in God's will for us. 

We must refrain from measuring ourselves with ourselves and comparing ourselves to others; to whom much is given, much is required.  Who wrote the "Let's Compare!" book?  We are to be rocks in our personal orbit and circle of influence, and not worry about the ministry of the next guy! 

The conclusion of the matter is that we have the potential to be rocks in our own right and to fulfill God's will and calling for us because God doesn't call us to success but to faithfulness--the success is up to Him to bless or not. He makes the fruit grow and have the increase. We must not have gift envy and wish we had Peter's potential, for we do but we may have different gifts but the same Spirit. We can only find out our gift by serving God in the best way we know how to, and look to see how God uses and blesses us.  We all can possess the faith of a William Carey: "Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God!"  Soli Deo Gloria! 

Do You Struggle With God?...

 We must be honest in our relationship with God and admit everything isn't a perpetual spiritual high or some Cloud Nine!  Our walk of faith is not Polyanna!  We all struggle with our faith if it is genuine because it must be tested for its genuine grit.  It's okay to tell God like it is and be honest about your issues, problems, and trials.  The patriarch Job threw a fit with God and found out that it was his way of venting with God and his personal lament was finally recognized and God heard him. the struggle with faith is faith!  Doubt in faith is not just a Christian issue but a  human one. If faith were not difficult and it was easy, it wouldn't have much value (therefore it must be tested), and the only reality where faith isn't easy, can it really exist.   God has placed us all in the same boat where only faith pleases Him and we all have the ability to exercise some degree of faith.   We must take a leap of faith, not into the unknown, but into the light!  

We must learn to take our problems directly to the top and seek God's face in our deepest and lowest funks and when we are in the pits and have the doldrums. We have this privilege because Christ has promised He will hear any petition in His name.  We are not the only believers to ever suffer depression; if you read Psalm 42-43, 147,  and you will see how discouraged the psalmist got at times, yet he never gave up on God. God wants us to learn to turn to Him in our troubles; we will either become bitter or better by the process!  We cannot learn to trust God in the good times; in fact, these are the times we are likely to forget God. 

Did you know that honesty with God and not hiding our true feelings is a form of worship!  If we come to God on false pretenses or with some coverup, that is hypocrisy. Do you even think you have a case against God like Job did, well tell it to Him but don't turn to men for your answers; take it directly to the LORD in prayer. It is not a sin to be depressed but this is a matter of our disposition and can be because of circumstances that can befall anyone.  Don't be like Asa who sought not the LORD in his illness but the aid of the physicians! (2 Chron. 16:12).  We will find out that God is still with us in our time of trouble and that He is our Deliverer. We will then realize that the answer to our problems is not some philosophy or ethic but a Person.  Jesus is the Answerer! 

In the end, we will have a stronger tried, true, and proved faith that can face any problem because we've learned to go directly to God first and not as a last resort.  "If you do not stand firm in your faith you will not stand firm at all," (cf. Isaiah 7:9).  Soli Deo Gloria! 

"I Am What I Am By The Grace Of God." ...

Paul declares this in 1 Cor. 15:10 to show his grace orientation and blessings in God as he was redeemed from being Christ's archenemy of the church who nearly wreaked havoc on its spread. We have no right to look down on the wicked as if we are superior because we were once the enemies of God ourselves! (cf. Romans 5:10). We are to be held to a higher standard and realize that what God holds against sinners is realizing sin and not believing in His Son.

But God had mercy on him! George Whitefield said as he saw a condemned man go to the gallows: "There but for the grace of God go I." We must realize that if God withdrew His grace we would be no better than the run-of-the-mill sinner if not worse; we'd be left to our own evil devices or schemes! ("The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it?" --Jer. 17:9).

Our righteousness is God's gift to us, not our gift to God! (cf. Isaiah 45:24; Romans 15:18; Hosea 14:8; Isaiah 26:12). This means we all have a dark side that only God knows about; we have seen ourselves for who and what we are and the picture isn't pretty! Christian author Robert Louis Stevenson wrote Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, that we all have an old sin nature that remains after salvation and we must not obey it.

We have a new man as well as an old man and the one we feed and nourish the most dominates our demeanor and conduct. We must cease to do evil and learn to do good; it's not automatic or a given. Even the fruit of the Spirit is a given but must be cultivated before it's ripe enough to harvest. We will reap what we sow (Gal. 6:7).

The wicked live by the rule of the jungle, each man for himself, looking out for Number One while trying to win the rat race. But his reward is in this life (cf. Psalm 31:15) and we are not to get too comfortable in our temporary abode as we are citizens of heaven and only passing through on a green card and are in a dry run or staging area, or dress rehearsal for our permanent home with the Lord. We have salvation in three tenses: our past is forgiven, our present is given meaning, and our future is secured. We are saved from the penalty of sin, we are being saved from its power, and we shall be saved from its presence.

Our lives stand in contrast to the wicked who live for the here and now and virtually eat, drink, and are merry as if they were to die tomorrow. The wicked do what is right in their own eyes and live for themselves, not some higher purpose or power. Essentially, they waste their lives and have no ultimate purpose, meaning, dignity, or worth. They live according to what is right in their own eyes go their own way, or act according to feelings or worse yet, libido. (cf Judges 17:6; 21:25; Isaiah 55:6).

When you don't surrender to the Lordship of Christ, you surrender to Satan's chaos and evil. There's no middle ground of neutrality!s The central question of humankind is: What think ye of Christ? Even Christians can be deceived by the devil and held captive by him to do his will (cf. 2 Tim. 2:26) and should pray to be delivered from the evil one as the Lord's prayer says.

We should realize that the wicked are self-condemned by their conscience (cf. Romans 2:14-15) and will all be judged by our works either for reward as Christians or for salvation for the lost (cf. Romans 2:6; 2 Cor. 5:21; Matt. 16:27; Psalm 2:12). God's kindness and goodness are meant to lead them to repentance (cf. Romans 2:4). We are held to a higher standard and should realize that God can convert the wicked just like He converted us!

No one who repents is too far gone for grace! (cf. Isaiah 1:18). But the wicked are too proud to seek God and believe they are not accountable since they reckon Him as dead and see their own sin due to their pride. (cf Psalm 10:4); none seeks God! (cf Psalm 14:2).

Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (cf. John 1:14). God's aim was to show the incomparable riches of His grace (cf. Eph. 2:7). God's grace is sufficient for us too, as His power is made perfect in weakness and the more sin abounds, the more grace abounds (cf. 1 Cor. 12:9; Romans 5:20). We cannot limit or exhaust the grace of God--it's infinite. This means we cannot pay it back, we do not deserve it, we cannot earn it, and we are not worthy of it. We owe an eternal debt of gratitude to the Lord.

We are to continue in God's grace and not to frustrate it (cf. Gal. 2:21), fall from grace when we try to be righteous by the deeds of the Law (cf. Gal. 5:4), be presumptuous and do great sin (cf. Psalm 19:13), or to take advantage of it and test God's patience by falling into carnality or continued sin.

We must not take grace as a given, though, and assume that God is obliged to show it (then it would be justice) or God is also just and holy and will punish His wayward children for their sins to get them back on track. But He gives more grace (cf. James 4:6). We are thus the stewards of the grace of God (cf. 1 Pet. 4:10).

We must never think we were saved by favoritism or that we were any better or worthy than one who is lost, but God chose us according to His foreknowledge, good pleasure, and will. (cf. Eph. 1:5,11). Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (cf. John 1:14). God's aim was to show the incomparable riches of His grace (cf. Eph. 2:7). God's grace is sufficient for us too, as His power is made perfect in weakness and the more sin abounds, the more grace abounds (cf. 1 Cor. 12:9; Romans 5:20). We cannot limit or exhaust the grace of God--it's infinite. This means we cannot pay it back, we do not deserve it, we cannot earn it, and we are not worthy of it. We owe an eternal debt of gratitude to the Lord.

We may think we contributed something to our salvation, namely faith, but faith is the gift of God and we were not elected because God foresaw grace, God elected us unto faith it is also a gift, and our righteousness is not our gift to God, but His gift to us. (cf. Isaiah 45:24). God's grace is never-ending and permanent once we acquire it through faith as the instrumental means. It is necessary for we cannot gain the approbation of God but must lean on His provision of grace as sufficient.

We are to continue in God's grace and not to frustrate it (cf. Gal. 2:21), fall from grace when we try to be righteous by the deeds of the Law (cf. Gal. 5:4), be presumptuous and do great sin (cf. Psalm 19:13), or to take advantage of it and test God's patience by falling into carnality or continued sin.

Only God can change our nature and He does so from the inside out to make us new creatures in Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 5:17). Grace does abound to the chief of sinners(cf. 1 Tim. 1:15) and grace reigns (cf. Romans 5:21) or is sovereign and efficacious for the work required and salvation is a “given.” We must abide in the grace of God because we are works in progress as we work out our salvation with fear and trembling. (cf. Phil 2:12).

We must not take grace as a given, though, and assume that God is obliged to show it (then it would be justice) or God is also just and holy and will punish His wayward children for their sins to get them back on track. But He gives more grace (cf. James 4:6). We are thus the stewards of the grace of God (cf. 1 Pet. 4:10).

We mustn't be under the Law but under grace (cf. Romans 6:14). We are subject to a higher law, the law of love, and obey not in the written code of the Law (cf. 2 Cor. 3:3), but in the Spirit. Anyone who tries to justify himself by the works of the Law is under a curse (cf. Gal. 3:10). This is why we testify of the good news of the grace of God for grace is the love of God stooping to us in unmerited favor or undeserved blessing.

Of His fullness, we have received and grace upon grace (cf. John 1:16). We must never think we were saved by favoritism or that we were any better or worthy than one who is lost, but God chose us according to His foreknowledge, good pleasure, and will. (cf. Eph. 1:5,11).

 i

The Obedient Believer Part I

Fixing Our Eyes On Jesus

"I pray that the eyes of our heart may be enlightened..." (Eph. 1:18, NIV).
"Open my eyes that I may see..." (Psalm 119:18, NIV).

The Greeks came to the disciples inquiring: But we would see Jesus! It's not a matter of having some religious or spiritual encounter that lets you behold Christ clearly and meaningfully, but a life of obedience, not ecstasy, vision, or experience! Remember what Jesus told Thomas: Blessed are those who haven't seen! The point is that Jesus opens the eyes of the blind. But Christians all have the ability to see Christ at work in the world, the church, their brethren, and even themselves if they persist in growing in the faith. It is vital to know that Satan will trip us up with a temptation to test us at our weak points and vulnerabilities. And we must realize that he is like" a devouring lion, seeking whom he may devour" (cf. 1 Pet. 5:8)!

As Christians with the Spirit within, we have an advantage over those who actually did see Jesus in the flesh and may have become biased, calloused, or blinded to the Spirit. We don't have to go to and fro seeking Jesus' teaching and presence but have the power at work within--which is a much greater blessing and comfort. We are exhorted to walk by faith and not by sight, and if we do we'll see Christ by faith! To be a person who thinks clearly with our thinking straightened out, we must see (Christ) clearly (i.e., by faith). As the Christian sees Jesus from page to page throughout the Bible like a scarlet thread of His theme in action, that the whole of Scripture is about Him.

Peter walked on water as long as he kept his focus on Jesus, but the second he was overcome with the situation at hand and got his eyes off Jesus he began to sink. Suddenly he realized he needed the intervention of his Savior and uttered the simple words of salvation: Lord, save me! We all need to realize that we are in over our heads in this life and need Jesus in order to cope with the mundane. The distracted mind is no fertile territory for the seed of the Word of God to germinate.

It has been said that the faith the grain of a mustard seed can move mountains; likewise, we can have faith to move mountains in Christ, figuratively speaking. William Carey said that we ought to "Expect Great Things From God; Attempt Great Things for God!' It's not how big our faith, in other words, but the size of our God, who can work the impossible on our behalf. The clearer our perception of Jesus, the closer we can walk with the Lord and be of benefit to the kingdom. Too often the cares of this world smother our spiritual life and we lose focus from keeping the main thing the main thing. We don't want to major in minors, or become legalists! Each of us has a part to do in the Great Commission and can learn from each other doing their part.

The more we learn of Jesus and see Him spiritually at work, the more proficient we are at accomplishing His work. The Great Commission will one day be The Great Completion (by the corporate body of Christ working in unity). Yes, they say that we can walk on water if we have faith, or that someone has the faith to walk on water. This applies to everyone and not just to a spiritual elite, for there is no room for a class system in Christ--we are all one in Christ.

I read a book once called The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey that was a description of the Bible's doctrine of Christ. The point: one can never adequately describe Jesus, but you can know Him personally! And we must learn to focus on Christ in the mundane and everyday and down to earth, not just in a book. Each of us is a gospel in shoe leather and has a story to tell or a gift to give. We don't want Jesus to be just in our head or what's called story faith or head knowledge but have first-hand experience one-on-one with our Lord that we have something to share and pass along to others of our encounter with the Lord.

We are to walk hand in hand with our Lord through all the ups and downs, through thick and thin, to realize the presence of our Lord and being able [to see Him more clearly,] "to know Him more clearly, to follow Him more nearly, and to love Him more dearly"  (cf. Richard of Chichester). You don't just need a book to know Jesus, you need Jesus! Jesus is as close as the mention of His name! However, the temptation is to get enamored with the intellectual aspect of the faith and not to apply what we know. And the Bible wasn't written to describe Jesus, but to make Him known.

Our faith is not a creed to believe or even song to sing, but a relationship and person to know in the here and now with vibrations throughout eternity.   Religions are creeds to believe but Christianity is a Person to know!  We don't need to get informed, but transformed, and to know our Lord, if we are to walk with Him. We get to know the Spirit at work in our hearts and grow in the faith as we increase in our experiential knowledge of Jesus as our Lord and Savior. "But we do see Jesus..." (cf. Heb. 2:9). God is with us through the indwelling Spirit. The disciples longed to see the Father, thinking it would suffice, but Jesus reassured them He is all they need.

We are not boasting of visions and dreams or visitations, but we see Christ at work in the world in the here and now through each other. Do you see just evil in the world, or do you see the good overcoming evil? Paul said that it was "Christ in you, the hope of glory..." (cf. Col. 1:27), meaning that we live an inhabited life, not just an imitating one. Our walk is a substituted, transforming, relinquished, and surrendered one--"I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me..." (cf. Gal. 2:20).


We ought to be so preoccupied with our Lord in all we do that he is the center of our life and our treasure is in Him that it shows to the point of being a testimony and a light in the dark if we are Jesus freaks or fanatics to some or even "out of our mind" (cf. 2 Cor. 5:13) it's for Christ's sake, that would be a compliment, as long as we don't live in ignorance of sound doctrine, having a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge (cf. Rom. 10:2, Prov. 19:2) Colossians 3:2, NIV, says: "For you died., and your life is now hidden with Christ in God."

We are the hands to do Christ's work, the heart to show Christ's love, and the voices through which Christ speaks to a lost world that doesn't realize He's for real and works in us. We shouldn't be saying that we see the devil at work in the world and ask "why?" but Jesus at work through the church and ask "why not?" As the hymn by William Cowper goes: "God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform."(Cf. Isa. 45:15, NLT).

The faith we have is the faith we show--we must learn to become contagious Christians because of our fixation on the Lord, though we are not fanatics who have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge, because the clearer our vision of Christ, the more useful in the mission to the world and ministry in the church, as it becomes obvious that we have been in the presence of Jesus!

Bear in mind that to see Jesus with our physical eyes may not do any good spiritually, we must behold him with our spiritual eyes and not only with our intellect but with our whole heart. We need a real-life personal encounter with God that will change us from the inside out so that we can walk with Christ through faith. To see Jesus is to know Him and to know Him is to love Him.

In sum, let's follow on to know the Lord (cf. Hos. 6:3).   Again, as Richard of Chichester said, "To know Him more clearly, to follow Him more nearly, to love Him more dearly."

CAVEAT: TO THE PERSON WHO DOES NOT SEE, HE SHOULD ASK HIMSELF: WHERE IS HIS HEART? Jesus Himself said that the person who is really blind is the person who thinks he sees and doesn't. Soli Deo Gloria!

What's The Big Deal With The Cost of Discipleship?

Most con men oversell or stress the pros or upside, avoiding the negatives, the cons, or downside of a new venture if they're interested in the numbers game. Jesus wasn't interested in quantity, but quality and His apostles proved Him right by turning the world topsy-turvy.   Jesus was different and didn't want those interested in a "working arrangement" in His kingdom--He wanted servants.  What would you venture to bet in order to gain the whole world?  Your soul?  Well, you are if you don't know Jesus.  I hope it's not your soul because many do see only in the mundane, here and now, and not in light of eternity. It may seem like we have to give up everything to become a Christian, but God is only testing the motives and priorities of our hearts.  But the ante is up and eternity is the bet: where we end up spending it.

Discipleship, according to Jesus is no light matter and He discouraged halfhearted disciples or followers, who didn't count the cost--one could literally lose it all, even one's life; however, Jim Elliot wrote that he is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. Our portion is in the Lord, not in this life.  The world has their reward in this life with all the devil has to offer and the comforts of this world. So what's the big deal then and why should we follow Christ?  We have our souls to lose and eternity to gain while we have eternal reward and blessing in heaven, not suffering and punishment in hell. In some parts of the world, conversion may cost one his family or his life, so we should be thankful for the freedom of religion in our nation.

But Paul did say that all those who desire to live godly in Christ will be persecuted--try going against the grain and the popular world's ideas, or the current culture.  Christianity is indeed counter-cultural and we must be willing to stand up for right and vehemently oppose evil, flying our Christian colors and declaring openly where we stand and not on the sidelines but daring to be for Christ even if the world opposes us.  There is no neutral territory with the believer; he's either for or against Christ, being in the world but not of it.

But prosperity theology is heresy because we don't want our "best life now," but to reap our reward in heaven when Christ crowns us, but no cross equals no crown. We shall be compensated for all the suffering we've had in Christ as we fulfill His sufferings for the sake of the Name.  But too many still think that wealth is a sign of God's sure blessing (sometimes God does give wealth, but it's not guaranteed).  If our riches increase, though, we ought not to put our faith in them!  It 's the poor that are blessed with rich faith because they have learned to rely on the Lord.    The best opportunity to find out that the only thing you need is God, is to have only God and lose everything else: then one realizes the necessity and the sufficiency of Christ. 

The reward we look forward to in the Celestial City is to know Jesus, seeing the beatific vision and the membership in God's family.  We will find out that some who are last will be first and status in this life doesn't amount to anything in the next.  It's faithfulness that we are called to, not success.  Religion is what makes us strive for human achievement, not God's blessing. God doesn't want our accomplishments but our obedience and most of all He wants us--our hearts.  Soli Deo Gloria! 

Blessed Assurance!

"... Do not be unbelieving, but believing" (cf. John 20:27).
"For the Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the sons of God" (cf. Rom. 8:16).
"For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day" (cf. 2 Tim. 1:12).
"... [B]e all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure" (2 Pet. 1:10, ESV).

The title is taken from Fanny Crosby's hymn.  We don't find out we're saved because we're curious, but because we are commanded to do so in 2 Pet. 1:10, but it's not an automatic fruit of salvation, even if one's faith is alive and growing--for dead faith or faith minus works doesn't save (cf. James 2:20), and we are commanded o examine ourselves as to whether Christ is in us on a regular basis to reassure ourselves. (cf. 2 Cor. 13:5).  It is not the preacher's duty or job description (nor any authority figure's for that matter) to give assurance of salvation--they can only reassure, but one must trust in the Word as a conviction and join it to the assurance of the Holy Spirit as dual assurance.

We must learn the lesson to take God at His Word, once the initial highs and feelings have left us (when normalcy sets in) and the feelings of our initial response to salvation when God is testing the validity and reality of our faith, which is more precious than gold and silver and must be confirmed by fire.  If we don't have any assurance, we will be paralyzed in our walk and stunted in growth, not able to walk forward with Christ in faith, but treading water and going backward even.  This assurance is meant to enhance our sanctification and to be a boon to our experience in Christ.

R. C. Sproul says that to gain authentic assurance we must "search our own hearts and examine the fruit of our faith."  And also that "the Word of God coupled with the testimony of the Holy Spirit" is God's normative methodology of assurance.  When we are fully assured we will never succumb to doubt, having on our helmet of salvation, because it will be a done deal and we can overcome the Anfectung (Luther's German for attack) of Satan.  Let's be leery of being like those who waver in the faith and are rebuked and chided by Jesus, "Oh you of little faith!"

Note that no one has to have perfect assurance nor perfect faith in this life to get saved, or it wouldn't be called faith but knowledge.  If someone says he has no doubts, he's never been tested in his faith or doesn't know himself well, for faith is not the same as knowledge of which we will inherit in glory.  NB:  you will never have "smoking gun" evidence that you can be as assured as you see the sunshine in the sky, for we are commanded to walk by faith and not by sight in 2 Cor. 5:7.  You don't need all the answers to believe or make a decision for Christ!

We are to "taste and see that the LORD is good," so that we can existentially and empirically know God by the experience of the spiritual world by faith. One of God's chief complaints and pet peeve is that man doesn't have the "knowledge of God" (cf. Hos. 4:1).  Later cf. Hosea 6:3 which says to let us know, let us go on to know the LORD.  We can sincerely pray for God to increase our faith, and God does commend strong faith, but it isn't the amount of faith that saves, but the object (faith doesn't save, Christ does, or it is fideism, faith in faith).   There are degrees of certitude and the faith/doubt continuum varies throughout one's spiritual journey.

Many preachers dichotomize salvation's security from its assurance in the here and now--these must never be divorced for they are two sides of the same coin and one cannot exist logically without the other (if you can lose it, how can you ever have full assurance and know you won't slip into sin?).  We say in theology that we can indeed distinguish these doctrines, but cannot separate them--they are two sides of the same coin (the flip side).

Roman Catholics will tell you that assurance is a pure sin of presumption unless you've had a special revelation or experience with God to assure you, but it's not conjecture nor presumption, it's doable and a duty.  It's true, as some may point out, that some leave the faith, but these were never genuine believers in the first place according to John in 1 John 2:19.  Orthodox doctrine says that we persevere in the faith as God preserves us, for if it weren't for grace, none of us would survive spiritually.

The biggest problem in the church regarding this issue is not patient with struggling believers who have doubts, but bearing with those who presume and have false assurance, for assurance must be biblical and based on sound doctrine or dogma.   And so people can be ignorant of Scripture or aren't taking God at His Word--or they may simply be going by feeling. We are accountable for the faith bestowed on us to be faithful to it and grow fruit accordingly (cf. Rom. 12:3), and our faith must not be feigned or hypocritical, but sound and sincere--i.e., albeit not perfect (cf. 1 Tim. 1:5).

In sum, the best assurance is to claim the promises of God as one's spiritual birth certificate, like one of mine in John 6:37 that says, "He who comes to Me I will in no way cast out." FIND YOUR OWN SPIRITUAL BIRTH CERTIFICATE OR PASSAGE THAT SPEAKS TO YOUR OWN HEART AND SITUATION.     Soli Deo Gloria!

Materialism Is Rampant

Not ignoring the "Christmas spirit."  Materialism is not new; as in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days when the Son of Man comes. Jonah said, "Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs." Anything that comes between you and God is an idol. Idolatry is breaking the first of the Ten Commandments. Obadiah puts an interesting spin on materialism when he says Israel shall "possess their possessions." We must not let them dictate our lives but must remain in control of them. (We use things and love people, not love things and use people.)

Our whole society is based on consumerism, greed, and the pride of life, which is from the world and not of God (1 John 2:16). "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Cf. Matt. 6:21) "Do not store for yourselves treasures on earth...." The Bible says in Matt. 6:24 that you cannot serve God and Mammon.

The vast majority of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is consumer spending. Billy Graham has rightly quoted, "Riches are not in the abundance of possessions but in the fewness of wants." When I dedicated my life to Christ I had to get rid of my motorcycle because it had been too important to me and I wanted Christ to be first in my life. Some people can control their possessions without loving them--I couldn't. Maybe today in my more mature years as a believer things would be different. "Our life does not consist in the abundance of our possessions," said the Lord. And so I was convicted by Luke 14:33 which says, "So, therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple."

You see, all of our possessions really belong to God. It is not how much of our money we give to God but how much of His money we utilize for ourselves, because it is written, "For the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof" in Psalm 24:1.  In his book, The Pursuit of God, A. W. Tozer writes of "the blessedness of possessing nothing." 

You can be a poor materialist or a rich man without being rich in Christ or a rich man that is not a materialist. Woe to him who is rich in this world's goods and not rich in Christ. For it is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. But with God all things are possible. "The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil" according to 1 Tim. 6: 10.

CAVEAT: JUST REMEMBER THAT WE USE THINGS AND RELATE TO PEOPLE! Soli Deo Gloria!

The Doctrine Of Cognizance

Some evangelical pastors are overly zealous about how people become aware of their salvation and think there must be a dramatic "attestation" experience. "What's your attestation experience"  This is called "initial evidence validation" and some Pentecostal churches say that only speaking in tongues is the evidence of being baptized in the Spirit. But Scripture says, "We were all baptized by one Spirit into the body..." (1 Cor. 12:13). Tongues (glossolalia) are not the only evidence of the filling or baptism: One may prophesy, one may feel great peace and freedom or relief, one may get a thirst for the Word and even a great desire or burden to witness boldly.

I was one of the only persons in the Bible study that couldn't nail down my conversion date--I guess I forgot how important it would be and by the time I was asked I had forgotten. For instance, if you cannot pinpoint your salvation to the day and even time you probably weren't saved. This is balderdash! You don't have to remember the precise moment that the Holy Spirit took up residence. Beth Moore says most of us don't remember the moment the Holy Spirit took up residence.

Charles Spurgeon has written that not all of us become aware of instantaneously, but some over a period of time. Billy Graham says, "We may not know the time the sun rose but we surely know it is up." 2 Peter 1:19 says that there is a time when "the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts." We may repent one day and commit our lives to Christ another (I can remember when I repented and when I committed myself).

We may walk forward to no avail and dedicate our lives or renew them many a time before that real "assurance" sticks. Isa. 32:17 correlates assurance with righteousness ("The work of righteousness shall be peace and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever"). In other words, being righteous leads to producing fruit which gives assurance. "Bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God" (Col. 1:10). Nota bene that assurance is not a subjective thing but from the objective Word of God that we rely upon.

Many people think they got saved when they said a sinner's prayer. Actually going through the motions or memorizing the dance of the pious don't save--faith does. The devil can raise his hand, walk an aisle, say a prayer, etc. But can the devil produce the fruit of love for the Lord and good deeds the fruit of repentance (Acts 26:20)? That is like the Roman position that grace comes through the action. It is called ex opere operato.

For instance, they believe that the actual baptizing of infants washes away original sin and he would go to hell if not baptized. True faith is tested by its fruit and we are all fruit inspectors--ourselves first! It is the Word of God coupled with the testimony of the Holy Spirit that gives assurance. "The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God" (Rom. 8:16).  Soli Deo Gloria!

Works In Progress

"[U]ntil we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:13, NIV).
"Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matt. 5:48, NIV).
"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me" (Phil. 3:12, NIV).

Not that we ever attain maturity this side of glory, but we are always "works in progress" or the masterpiece of God that He isn't finished with yet.  But "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Phil. 1:6, NIV).  We are never perfect, but that is the standard we aim for and our goal looking at Christ as the Exemplar, but the test is the direction we are headed in our walk with Christ--forward or backward!

There is often some sin that easily overcomes or besets us so that we stumble and don't reach the goal of the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus (cf. Phil. 3:14).  Hebrews 12:1 talks of setting aside our easily distracting sin so that we can press on to maturity and don't get tripped up on the way to the Celestial City.  Note that it's usually the case that there's some unconfessed sin or somewhere that needs overcoming that hinders maturity--the devil gets the best of us and held us captive to a certain degree.

The writer of Hebrews mentions one sure sign of the immature or infant believer and that is that he is incapable of solid food or the meat of the Word, but feeds on the milk (cf. Heb. 5:13) or the basics such as the necessity of salvation, faith, repentance, baptism, and judgment. The immature believer balks at learning the deep things of God, having lost his taste for sound doctrine.  We all must learn the basic lesson that we cannot get away with sin and God disciplines those He loves.  Sad to say there are some ABC churches that never progress into the deeper truths of the Word thinking wrongly that doctrine is too arcane for the average believer.

The infant believer is totally dependent on others for his spiritual nourishment and hasn't learned to feed himself or even to see the need for it as he may go to church simply to get a lift or encouragement, and not to worship God and contribute of his spiritual gift to the body.  He is basically tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine (cf. Eph. 4:14) because of this naivete and not having a firm foundation of Bible doctrine to discern good and evil and false teaching from sound, biblical teaching.

Once he learns how God speaks to him and communication is achieved he has progressed in his walk and able to go on to maturity, but this vital step trips up too many believers who become spiritually dependent on one preacher as their favorite and lose discernment as if only drinking from one fountain.  The mature believer discerns good and evil and can smell false doctrine when it approaches the church.  The pastor should inoculate the body from heresy by preparing them for what is out there and warning that Satan seeks whom he may devour (cf. 1 Pet. 5:8).

There may be several types of attendees in the church:  seekers, unbelievers, doubters, fence-sitters, contra Christians, adolescent believers, even pagans, atheists, or agnostics, besides the flock he is assigned.  Just as Jesus told Peter to feed His sheep and to feed His lambs, the preacher must be sensitive to all members of the body--knowing where people are is a key to resonating or connecting with them.  The prophetic message is known as comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable.  There are some who are at ease in Zion and have become complacent and feel they have no need of preaching because they are "mature."  No one ever outgrows preaching and the preacher is even preaching to himself as well as the body!

Everyone in the body should feel they have been fed adequately to feel a part of the body and to identify with the preacher with something they can take to the bank.  Just like Elijah went 40 days on one meal, sometimes a spiritual meal can have multitudinous applications and can have the ability to nourish the believer for an extended time--sometimes it's not how much one digests in the meal but how good the nourishment was and the preacher may really hit home on something that can get the ball rolling spiritually.   That's why everyone in the church may feel the preacher was speaking to them personally as an individual and it related to him--a personal message from the Lord!

We must realize that we are not perfect just because we're saved and our lives speak volumes.  The church is not a hotel for saints but a hospital for sinners--the requirement for membership is to admit one's a sinner and has fallen short of God's glory.  No perfect people need to apply it's said!  The phrase "please be patient; God isn't finished with me yet!" is the reality for everyone, not just infant or newborn believers.  This ought to be every believer's slogan.  We never reach perfection but that doesn't mean we don't aim for it.

People may even think we are cantankerous for being Christians, but just think how much more cantankerous we'd be without Christ in us and the Holy Spirit restraining us.  When we see great sinners in our eyes we ought to utter what George Whitefield said when seeing a man going to the gallows:  "There but for the grace of God, go I." We all can utter what William Jay of Bath said:  "I am a great sinner, but I have a great Savior!"  Only when we realize our sinfulness are we candidates for grace and this is the job of the preacher--to show the body its sins because we all tend to justify ourselves and put ourselves in the best possible light.

We all need to go to church regularly not only because it's commanded and the right thing to do, but we all need regular spiritual checkups or take spiritual inventory once a week or we may get off on a tangent and go our own way even into heresy or backsliding.  We cannot stand still and go nowhere in the spiritual life with Christ, but we are either walking forward or backsliding--no treading water with Christ permitted! One doesn't just reject the church or turn one's back on Christ or the faith, but one slips away one small step at a time in a gradual timing that one may not notice until he may not even believe himself how far out of it he is and needs repentance.

For instance, one doesn't turn one's back on the church but misses or skips a service or two then it becomes a habit to find other things to occupy Sunday morning with than to attend church and then one believes he doesn't need church--one may even be deceived into thinking that the electronic church is a good substitute for being active in the church and fellowship just because one is getting favorable teaching from someone who doesn't offend them.  Note that if the preacher never steps on any one's toes or is afraid to bring conviction on the body for its shortcomings and sins, there must be something amiss--he should realize you cannot please everyone!

There are certain plumb lines or measuring sticks to gauge maturity.  The mature believer knows who he is in Christ as to his spiritual gift or how God uses him to fulfill the Great Commission in both ministries to the body and mission to the lost.  You only find out your gifts by experimenting with service and the growing believer has a servants heart!   This entails being discipled or mentored in the basics and has had experience in sharing his testimony and in actively witnessing for Christ, not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  From my experience the newborn believer has a newfound love and hunger for the Word and reads it voraciously and regularly--no one has to tell him this either because it's all-natural for a baby to feed.

It's such a joy to know and to fellowship with an infant believer--it's the adolescent ones who know enough to be dangerous and must be edified or set right before they go astray.   It's a pity when the believer loses his initial love for the Lord and has fallen for the world and what it offers--there is no place for both a love of Christ and love of the world in the heart at the same time.   In God's economy, the way to be filled is to be emptied, and this implies we must say "No" to self before we can say "Yes" to Christ.  Sometimes we just have too much of the world in us to have any appetite for the things of God.

God has nothing against newborn believers, just that some believers tend to stay immature and don't want to grow up.  Christ wants zealous believers who are all sold out for Him and serve Him with gusto and wholeheartedness.  It is a joy to be with a believer who has been in the presence of God and has experienced the Lord's goodness.  Once you've experienced it, you want to pass it on!  That's where the mature believer gets the can't-help-its or the desire to spread the Word (cf. Acts 4:20)!  What God desires is those who worship in spirit and in truth (cf. John 4:24)--not lip service or hypocrisy! This is natural for newborns and mature believers but those who are stunted in their growth have trouble passing muster.  It's par for the course that this attitude of complacency can affect a church body and its worship become perfunctory or routine--performed as if a duty, not a pleasure!

And so our walk with Christ is by faith, not by sight according to Hab. 2:4 (the verse that awakened and roused Luther from his dogmatic slumber).  We must learn not to rely on feelings though we will have them and this is a major step since fact and feeling are often confused. The divine order: fact, faith, and then feeling.   We must get our thinking straightened out according to the mind of Christ and have the mind of Christ.  The more aligned with sound doctrine we are the more divine our thoughts and we are to have this as a Christian worldview affecting all academic disciplines and all of life and reality.

Noah was a just man who walked with God just like Enoch and Moses are said to do--quite a resume for anyone--and we have no excuse not to do likewise because we have the indwelling Spirit.  The mature believer knows how to keep short accounts with Jesus of his confessions and to stay in close fellowship with Him.  He readily engages in the angelic conflict with Satan and his minions and knows the Word adequately as his offensive weapon of choice enough to fight off an attack with his shield of faith.  This is why Hebrews tells us that the mature believer who is ready for the solid food knows to discern good and evil (cf. Heb. 5:14).

Finally, it would all be in vain if the believer had no love in his heart to share even if he had every gift of the Spirit.  God shares His love with us and sheds it abroad in our hearts so that it overflows to others and they can see the love of Christ in action through us.  Some believers never progress to this stage of maturity in learning to love and be loved--Dr. Karl Menninger, MD said that sin is the refusal of the love of others [and by application of God].  We all can become stunted if we don't find love in life and live for ourselves--selfishness is the prime sin or thinking it's all about us!  Even an infant is starved for affection at times and must be hugged, knowing love by instinct.  We all need to learn to reach out to others in need and realize we are here as servants on a mission to glorify God.  Never lose focus of the fact that "Christianity IS Christ and all else is peripheral [or circumference]" according to John Stott (emphasis mine).


CAVEAT AND WORDS TO THE WISE:  THERE ARE SOME WHO HAVE A ZEAL FOR GOD BUT NOT ACCORDING TO KNOWLEDGE (CF. ROM. 10:2; PROV. 19:2).  ALSO, SOME ARE CONVERTED TO THE PROGRAM, NOT TO CHRIST AND EQUATE GOOD WORKS WITH SPIRITUALITY--THEY MUST BE DISTINGUISHED BUT NOT SEPARATED, I.E., GOOD WORKS MUST SPRING FROM HEALTHY FAITH AND SAVING FAITH MUST PRODUCE GOOD WORKS OR FRUIT!  DON'T FORGET OUR MARCHING ORDERS TO KNOW GOD (IS TO LOVE GOD) AND MAKE HIM KNOWN THROUGH LOVE IN ACTION, TRANSLATING OUR CREEDS INTO DEEDS OR PUTTING OUR BELIEFS INTO ACTION--THAT'S WHERE IT'S AT AND ETERNAL LIFE IN CHRIST! 

Let me add:  Eph. 4:15, ESV, says, "Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ."       Soli Deo Gloria!

Building A Firm Foundation For Life

We are not meant to be spiritual Lone Rangers or hermits but to edify one another with the ministry of our spiritual gifts.  No one is a rock or an island!  The only foundation for living is the one established in Christ as our Rock (cf. Psalm 18:31).  In fact, "the only system of thought that Christ will fit into is the one where He is the starting point,' according to Athanasius.  We all tend to have false hopes for our security and meaning in life, including money, fame, power, political involvement, or social activism, but God's Word says not to trust in princes or in our own strength.  "Not by strength, nor by might, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts..." (cf. Zech. 4:6).  Martin Luther's hymn goes:  "Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing."  All that we do is by God's strength and through the Lord--we can do nothing apart from Christ! (cf. John 15:5). 

There is a relative hymn that goes:  "My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus' blood and righteousness."  We all are inclined to erect false empires and kingdoms of our own achievements, but God doesn't want those, He wants our obedience.  He wants us to trust His accomplishment in Christ. It is a common error today to put one's faith in the government and to hope that some politician will save us from all our ills in society.  The government is not the problem, and certainly not the solution either. God is the one who can work all things together for our good and well-being. The safest place to be is in the will of God, not in having a nest egg.

Once we build our secure foundation of faith we are in a position to be blessed by God--but we must seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness!  Some people are too busy with their own kingdoms and pursuing wealth that they neglect the task of the kingdom of God as the first priority.  There's nothing wrong with wealth per se, but only when it is our priority and interferes with our spiritual growth and the kingdom of God.  If we have a false foundation or one built on false hope, it is liable to falling down and collapsing on us.  Jesus made it clear that the only firm foundation is obedience to Him as our cornerstone!  We need to worry about nothing, trust God for everything, pray about anything and thank about everything to have peace with God, as suggested by Phil. 4:6-7.

When we live in light of eternity our problems and trials seem to be seen in perspective and we are more able to trust in the Lord. Focus on eternity, not the here and now!  Jesus said that where our heart is, there will be our treasure also (cf. Matt. 6:20) and we are citizens of heaven  (cf. Phil. 3:20) and our conversation should be heavenly.   Soli Deo Gloria!