Frantic Search For Happiness

Augustine said that our hearts are restless until they find their rest in God (we can even get desperate).   Pascal said that there's a God-shaped vacuum that only God can fill.  The chief symptom of the times is emptiness and boredom with life--not feeling fulfilled or what they would call "happy."  We are not made for boredom or idleness, but to serve God in productive living--work manifests the image of God in us. Nature abhors a vacuum and it is unnatural for us to be bored, as only humans can be, because we are in the image of God, meant to glorify Him and have a relationship with Him.

God doesn't exist for our happiness, but we exist for His glory and only when we seek God with our whole heart can we find happiness.  If you are desperate to find it, it will remain elusive.  Happiness is akin to reaching for each passing straw, and as you grasp it, it disappears--it is a nebulous thing indeed. Americans have the "right to the pursuit of happiness," but God gives us no right to happiness.

Happiness depends upon "happenings," and, even if you are in jail, you are not happy about the circumstances--but can still rejoice in the Lord, and also when you are mourning the loss of a loved one are you not happy per se.  But the Word says "... [For] the joy of the LORD is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10, ESV).  We can have "inner joy" despite our circumstances and rejoice always in the Lord (cf. Phil. 4:4) as Paul did from prison in his treatise on joy in the book of Philippians.  Joy comes from within and needs no outward stimuli.

Temporal and spiritual bliss is only found in Jesus.  It is said that the secret to joy is to think of Jesus first, others second, and yourself last!   Dr. Albert Schweitzer (Nobel Prize winner) said that the happiest people are those who've learned to serve.  If you are busy serving you will not think of yourself.  A non-serving Christian is a contradiction in terms and you should be so busy serving others, you don't have time to worry about yourself.

We are bound to have emotional ups and downs, but we are not to ever change our attitude towards a life of contentment.  God doesn't sanction or countenance excessive whining or complaining.  God wants us to be satisfied with what we have and not to covet nor be greedy for ill-gotten gain.  The "love of money is the root of all kinds of evil."  If we love money, we will miss out on the real pleasures of life that money can't buy.

Instead of seeking happiness as your goal, and God's plan is not necessarily your happiness--so don't tell Him that all you want is to be happy--God wants you to do His will!  God's purpose is to bring glory to Himself through you and for your life to have an impact for His kingdom.  We need fulfillment and meaning in life, not necessarily happiness.  The purpose for a living is a basic need of man and when you have a reason why you have to endure something, such as a trial or tribulation, you can endure it because you know God is with you:  "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you ..."  (cf. Isa. 43:2, ESV).

Being happy or blessed as the Beatitudes calls it is a byproduct of living in God's will and obedience. Christ lists eight principles to live by if we want true "blessedness."  Remember:  happiness depends upon happenings!  Happiness that's more than skin deep and lasts is kingdom happiness that results from being in the image of Christ:  For example, being meek, humble, peacemakers, pure in heart, merciful, etc.  The more Christlike we become the more fulfilled we are and enjoy a more meaningful life.

Paul most likely suffered more than any other apostle (cf. 2 Cor. 11) and rejoiced in them.  In Philippians, he said he had learned the secret of contentment in all situations--in plenty and in need. We should likewise aim to be content (cf. Philippians 4:13) with whatever situation we find ourselves, and not think that God is holding out on us.  We should emulate Paul's attitude; we have the choice to choose our attitude no matter the circumstance.

If you begin a frantic search for happiness, it will be elusive or a will-o-the-wisp and you will never attain your goal. Happiness must be bestowed on you as a gift, not something you go out and purchase or find desperately.  Some people are so deluded into thinking that money buys happiness, and when they get it they just want more money and a lid never gets put on the greed.  If you love money, you will never have enough--that's why you ask a millionaire how much money he needs, and he will tell you, "Just a little more!"  Don't fall into the temptation to desire to get rich.

God is looking for smiling faces (some people's face just say they are happy, and others need to tell their face that they're happy!) and people who are happy campers.  People content with God's will for their life (which is not accepting the status quo with complacency) are a good advertisement for the Lord, while malcontents and grumpy believers are darkness and do not show the light of the gospel that we should be promoting as lights in a dark world.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Our Beatific Vision

The pagan Emperor Trajan once asked a Christian why his God was invisible and you couldn't see him (it sounded atheistic to him--just worshiping a spirit), and he was informed and given the scoop: "Look at the sun!"  Trajan said he couldn't because it's too bright.  "Then don't you now realize that, if you cannot behold God's creation, how much less the splendor and glory of God?" Jesus said that God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth (cf. John 4:24).

The Greek believers asked the disciples if they could see Jesus.  "We would see Jesus!"  We don't need to see Him in order to know Him, because Jesus said blessed is he who believes and hasn't seen (cf. John 20:29). We can see with the eyes of our hearts which are opened by the Holy Spirit's illuminating ministry. We are seeing the glory of God when our eyes are opened to see how He is manifest in believers, and we see Jesus in them and they see Him in us--this is only a taste of the glory which shall be revealed us.  As Hebrews 2:9 (ESV) says: "But we see him [i.e., Jesus, with our spiritual eyes] ...."

We shall all be satisfied in heaven by beholding the face of God (in Jesus), but only because we will not be in the flesh, but without any sin to corrupt our spiritual bodies and souls. God has revealed Himself throughout the Bible in many theophanies (revelation of God, such as in the burning bush) and Christophanies (revelation of Jesus, such as the Angel of the LORD).   From the burning bush to appearances as the Angel of the LORD, to Gideon and as the Son of Man, to Daniel's friends in the furnace and to Daniel in a vision.  John saw Jesus in His glory at the transfiguration and then finally at Patmos in a vision of heaven.

Jesus is how God manifests Himself as the embodiment, personification, or icon of God. When Philip (cf. John 14:8-9) asked Jesus during the Last Supper in the Upper Room to show them the Father, Christ said, that he who has seen Him has seen the Father--they are one!  All that God wants to reveal of Himself is presented in the Son--all that God has to say to us and all that we can know.  God is Spirit, according to Jesus, and became a man for our sake so we would have something to relate to and what to think of when we meditate on God.  Jesus is analogous to the sun because He gives light to all He shines on, and makes life possible too.

Jesus has the Shekinah (glory of God), not reflected the glory of God, as Moses had after being in His presence.  Jesus does not reflect light--He is light: John 8:12 says, "... I am the light of the world...."  Jesus willingly veiled His glory because they couldn't behold it in full. Jesus has all the glory of the Father, there is no diminishing of it, but He voluntarily laid it aside (known as the kenosis in Philippians 2) while incarnated on earth before His ascension. Actually, Jesus shines brighter than the sun, which is only an analogy or symbol of Him.

In glory, we shall behold Him: "... [B]ut we know that when he appears we shall be like him because we shall see him as he [Jesus]" (1 John 3:2, ESV).  Moses wanted to see God's face but God said that no man shall see His face and live [in the flesh], as Jesus told Moses in Exodus 33:23.  Jesus said in His Beatitudes that the pure in heart are blessed, for they shall see God [in the NT God usually refers to God the Father].

Don't forget the Aaronic benediction in Numbers 6:24-26 as a promise to claim:  "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace."  What man has always yearned for is a God they can see; one that has skin on and we can relate to.  Jesus is just that incarnation:  God with skin on! There is a true story of a boy drawing a picture and the teacher asking him what he's drawing.  He replied, "I'm drawing God."  The teacher told him that no one knows what God looks like.  Then the boy answered:  "They will now!"

Jesus said that "God is glorified in Him" (cf. John 10:34) and this is when He is glorified.  At His priestly prayer in John 17 Jesus besought the return of His glory after He had glorified the Father by doing all His will and being obedient in His subordination and humility.  He did it by accomplishing all God's work for Him on earth that was given Him to do (cf. John 17:4).  By analogy we give up our glory to share His glory and to glorify God:  "The chief end of man is to glorify God, and enjoy Him forever"  (The Westminster Shorter Catechism, ca. 1646).

Everyone will bow to the glory of God, either at Judgment Day, or to become a believer and surrender the control over himself, and even others, to the lordship of Christ.  We must give up the ownership of our lives and realize we owe all to Him because He purchased us at the cross with His blood.  But Jesus wants more than our bodies dedicated to Him as reasonable service (cf. Rom. 12:1), He wants us (to surrender everything we have and are to His lordship)! This entails and involves giving up your personal throne and kingdom and surrender it to God's sovereignty and guidance or plan for your life--we don't ask God to bless our plans, but Him to reveal His plan.

We leave our throne to bow to His and ultimately get a crown to reign with Him, just like Jesus left His throne in Heaven to humble Himself in obedience all the way to the cross.  This surrender and acknowledgment of His lordship is not only done at salvation but renewed daily, as we learn to walk in the Spirit and in fellowship with God and our brethren (cf. 1 John 1:7). We actually have more authority in Christ after surrendering our authority and this is a paradox indeed (i.e., if we are lords, we are to become servants for Christ's sake and humble and meek enough that no service is beneath our dignity).  We have nothing in comparison to lose and everything in eternity to gain, including the right to rule in glory with Christ, as we go from glory to glory to an ultimate glorified state in the New Jerusalem.

He doesn't want sacrifice or offering, or even going through the motions of the rituals of worship--Jesus internalized religion to make it a matter of the heart (He said evil comes out from the heart of man), because the Pharisees had externalized it to outward obedience to the letter of the Law, and neglect of the spirit of the Law.  He wants all there is of us--all of our minds, hearts, souls, spirits, strength, and wills. John was stunned at the sight of the Lord, so just imagine how we would react!

Jesus is the Great Inspector General of the church and we all need to pass muster and be ready for daily inspection of our daily walk--take regular spiritual check-ups so as not to jeopardize your testimony to the world.  Paul said to "test yourselves whether you are in the faith."   We are to examine ourselves (cf. 2 Cor. 13:5)--not others--regularly and especially before the Lord's Supper. We are fruit inspectors--not detectives.  We must examine ourselves first because judgment begins at the house of God, and when we have cast the beam out of our own eye we can help someone else with the speck in theirs.

In other words, don't throw bricks if you live in a glasshouse, because we all have feet of clay or have vulnerabilities not readily apparent--we may see the sins of others as obvious; however, we just sin differently and have no right to look down on our brother or criticize him, and we are all vulnerable to Satan's attack, which Martin Luther called the Anfectung, and we should never succumb to this nor even his accusations.  If we take care of our witness and testimony, God will take care of our reputation and open doors for us--we must just be ready!  Soli Deo Gloria!

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!

Keep The Faith!

"If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all." Isaiah 7:9

This phrase has little spiritual value unless one is talking about the Christian faith which was "once and for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3, ESV).  We are to remain in the faith that God has given us or we apostatize from it!  Ephesians 4:5 says there is "one Lord, one faith, one baptism" and we should realize this: "How shall we escape if we neglect such great salvation?..." (Heb. 2:3, ESV). Man's estimation of man is that he is basically good and perfectible as an evolving animal heading toward inevitable utopia. But God's estimation of man is that he is totally depraved and as bad off as he can be--note he is utterly depraved or as bad as he can be, and there's a difference.  Our condition couldn't be any worse; God's salvation couldn't be any better!

Paul's aim was to teach "until we all attain to the unity of the faith..." (Eph. 4:13, ESV).  The motto of the British monarch is to be FD or "Defender of the Faith"--however, Prince Charles wants it to be changed to "defender of faith."  This is a far cry from the truth because faith doesn't save, only Christ saves; it is the object that saves.  When someone says, "Have faith!"  it is meaningless unless it is grounded in the truth--faith for its own sake is vain.  Faith doesn't save, Christ does!  

Jude exhorts us to "contend for the faith" in Jude 3 and this means sticking up for what you believe in and not compromising with the devil. However, there are some things we are to be tolerant of and there are areas of gray and disputable matters:  Augustine's dictum says, "In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity."  Essential doctrines are non-negotiable and must be accepted universally to be saved.  We should always withhold judgment and only judge heresy to keep the doctrine of the church pure.

Paul was glad in his swan song (2 Tim. 4:7, ESV) that he said: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."   There is the danger of error even among believers:  "O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you.  Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called 'knowledge,' for by professing it some have swerved from the faith"  (1 Tim. 6:20-21, ESV). He urges him:  "Fight the good fight of the faith...." (1 Tim. 6:12, ESV).

We are to examine ourselves regularly whether our faith is sound:  "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith.  Test yourselves, [as at the Lord's Supper (1 Cor. 11:28)].   Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you fail to meet the test!"  (2 Cor. 13:5, ESV). We must be firm in the faith as our foundation:  "Rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as [we] were taught, abounding in thanksgiving"  (Col. 2:7, ESV).  There is always danger for a believer to go astray, as Paul warned in Col 1:23 (ESV):  "If indeed you continue in the faith...."  The Galatians were growing quite well until the leaven of legalism got into them and Paul wondered what happened.

The admonition that Peter gives in 2 Peter 2:1 (ESV) says, "But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction."  But there must be heresy to purify:  "For there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized" (1 Cor. 11:19, ESV). Remember that Jesus warned that before His coming there would be a great falling away of the faith and He asked if there would be faith on the earth (cf. Luke 18:8)

What faith are we stressing?  Mainly, our great salvation Reformed formula is "by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone," and also (the Five Onlys) to God alone be the glory, and by the authority of Scripture alone! The battle cry of the Reformation was, "Justification by faith alone!   Any perversion of this pure gospel that Scripture teaches is heresy and must be denounced!  Paul was "astonished that [they] are so quickly deserting him who called [them] in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel--not that there is one, but there are some who trouble [them] and want to distort the gospel of Christ." 

But even if [he] or an angel from heaven should preach to [them] a gospel contrary to the one [he] preached to [them], let him be accursed" (Gal. 1:6-8, ESV).  We dare not introduce the merits of man, nor works into the equation.  We must put our faith in Christ alone, not in the church, the clergy, the saints, angels, Mary, nor the Pope--they cannot save!   Soli Deo Gloria!

Focused Thinking

We need to get our thinking straightened out by the plumb line of Scripture!  I'm not just referring to our mental outlook, our worldview, our interpretation of reality and how God is relevant, but also that we need to think less of self and more of Christ and His kingdom's interests. There are two viewpoints to everything: The human viewpoint or way of thinking and outlook; and the divine interpretation or viewpoint relative to God's revealed Word.  We are jointly exhorted:  "Therefore, to gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 1:13, NKJV).

Why is this vital?  "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he..." (Proverbs 23:7, KJV). "You are not what you think you are, but what you think you are," they say.  Our minds need to be transformed into the right frame of mind relative to God's mind and we have been given the mind of Christ according to 1 Cor. 2:16.  There is only one way to do this:  "... [But] be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God..." (Rom. 12:2, ESV).

We cannot know God's will like men's, we must see the light!  We must know Him through faith.  It behooves us to pay attention until "... the day dawns and the morning star rises in [our]  hearts."  (2 Pet. 1:19, ESV).  Paul commands us:  "Brothers, do not be not children in your thinking.  Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature"  (1 Cor. 14:20, ESV).  Why be so concerned about thinking straight? 

There's a correlation between our thinking and obedience:  Paul says, "We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5, ESV). We need to think godly and soberly, as well as live godly and soberly! As Peter says (1 Pet. 1:13, NIV):  "Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming."

Focused thinking is Christ-centered thinking since we have the mind of Christ, let us think like Christ would think and interpret our world accordingly.  A Christian's focused thought is in Christ:  "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus..." (Philippians 2:5, ESV).  We have Christ's mind at our disposal and should think accordingly with a purpose!  Let's keep our eyes off ourselves and keeping them on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith (cf. Heb. 12:2).  Distorted thinking comes when we view reality the way the world does and forget that we are Christians.  Sound mental health comes from sound thinking!

Finally, whatever is in line with Scripture is kosher thinking--meditation is the art of focused thinking, not emptying of the mind.  It behooves us to heed Paul's exhortation in Phil. 4:8 (ESV):  "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."  Soli Deo Gloria!