Could you have been Judas?

I want to try to paint a picture for you that I hope will have a profound impact.  Let's go back in time and pretend for a moment that you were one of  Jesus' disciples.  You are meeting together with Jesus and the others for an exciting and important celebration of the Passover.  You sense that Jesus is deeply troubled as the meal continues.   Then He says, "I'm telling you the truth: One of you will betray Me, even someone who is eating with Me!"  Everyone becomes extremely distressed and looks around at each other.  Who could He mean? First you begin to look at the others and think of all their shortcomings. But would any of them betray our Lord?  It is then that you realize that the others are looking at you just the same. So you wonder what they are thinking? What are my short-comings? Is there any chance He could be referring to me?  You know that you have loved Him and followed Him for three years, but you also know that you have made many mistakes along the way.  Some still burden your heart when you think of them. So one by one, each disciple goes to the Christ and asks "Am I the one?" You are hesitant to even ask since you know what is in your heart but finally you do.

If you had been there, what weaknesses would have come to mind? What guilt would lay your heart open to the enemy? Would you need to ask, "Lord is it I"?   As a "good" Christian, it is easy to judge that really bad disciple Judas Iscariot.  The one spoken of in church with disdain, but let's face the truth. When the Lord God searches our hearts, it may look much like his (Judas' heart).

Sometimes the life of a Christian doesn't look much different than the life they lived before. But that should never be the case.  Read these verses:

“The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you in power, … and you will be changed into a different person.” — 1 Samuel 10:6
"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20
"And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." Galatians 5:24
These verses tell us that when we accept Christ Jesus as our Savior. . . we should be radically changed!  Our life belongs to Him.

^" Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,   for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Jesus is waiting for you to ask? "Is it I?" But perhaps it would be better to just allow Him to have all of your life so that you never have to question if you could be Judas the betrayer.  Surrender your life daily to Him. Let Him produce change and beauty from the inside out.

Now about the passover . . . Did you know that even if you are not a Jew, the passover is critically important to you?  The passover occurred as the final plague that God used so that Pharaoh would release God's people who were being used as Egyptian slaves. Pharaoh had refused to listen and release the slaves after multiply opportunities.  So God instructed the Israelites to slay a lamb and put the blood on their door-frame.  That night the death angel passed over and took the life of every firstborn in each family. The exception was those whose doorway was covered by the blood of the lamb.  The blood covering was their protection from death.

As Christians, Christ Jesus is our passover lamb. He has given His perfect self as our sanctification.
"Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed." 1 Corinthians 5:7
When we try to enter the gates of Heaven, there will be only one question.  "Were you covered by the blood of Christ?"  No credential will do. No excuse will do. No great act or acts will do. Being a good person won't help.  Nothing but the blood of Christ! Christ died that you might have eternal life and He is the only one worthy of paying such a price.

Have you accepted the free gift of grace offered by Jesus? Is He your Savior but also your Lord?  Do you call yourself His while your heart betrays Him? Our time is short and our number of days are unknown to us. Today might be your last chance to surrender.  Please ask God why He brought you to this blog and answer His call.

Seeking Him?. . .He will be found!

But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 4:29

. . . If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. 1 Chronicles 28:9

If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. 2 Chronicles 15:2

But if you will seek God earnestly and plead with the Almighty, if you are pure and upright, even now he will rouse himself on your behalf and restore you to your prosperous state. Job 8:5-6

As I begin to write today, I can honestly say I don't know what to say.  I feel like God is deeply pressing the above verses on my heart to share.  Today as I read in 2 Chronicles, I thought "didn't I read that same verse in 1 Chronicles" so I took a look. To my amazement, almost that same verse is written at least the four times mentioned above.  Wow! I would say that God certainly wanted to make sure we understand and believe it is important.

So if God wants to be found and tells us we can find Him, then why do so many seem to not be able to find Him? It is heartbreaking.  I have heard people say so many times that they are praying but they just don't feel close to God.  They are struggling and seemingly loosing the battle.  Yet it is so hard to help them find their way.  But it is not because God won't or doesn't want to be found.  Rather it is way we seek Him.

These passages say things like "seek Him with all your heart and soul" or "seek God earnestly." This kind of seeking is not an instant thing. It requires allowing His Word and His Holy Spirit to plow the fields of your heart.  It takes loving Him enough to spend time with Him.  When you spend time in His Word each day, it literally feels like your heart is being plowed. The yucky hard rocks are removed and replaced by fertile tender soil.  His word settles into the soil and grows and produces fruit.  The best part is that you will begin to come to Him excited to see what else His word will reveal.  And HE WILL BE FOUND!

I know those first steps can be hard. But please be encouraged that the changes that will take place will be more than you could dream.  God, who created everything, wants to have a relationship with YOU! Imagine that! He wants you to come to Him with all your heart so that He may be found by you. The question really is. . .Do you want to find Him?

Need a place to start? Of course, it would be reading His word.  There are all kinds of reading plans out there but I highly recommend getting a "One Year Bible." For each day of the year, you will read something from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms & Proverbs.  After just a couple days, you will settle into the amazing story and truths being read. It only takes about 15 minutes a day and is so worth it.  You can also read online at One Year Bible.

I hope this encourages you and helps you surrender your heart for some good plowing. May you find the Lord your God when you seek Him today!

Praise be to you, Lord. . .

 David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,

“Praise be to you, Lord,
    the God of our father Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting.
 Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power
    and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
    for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, Lord, is the kingdom;
    you are exalted as head over all.
 Wealth and honor come from you;
    you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
    to exalt and give strength to all.
Now, our God, we give you thanks,
    and praise your glorious name.

1 Chronicles 29:10-13 (NIV)

 

Today, I just wanted to share a praise to the Lord. His Word speaks to our hearts so much more than mere human words.  I want to give Him the rightful place of honor and praise in my heart and on this blog.

Finding the Light in the Darkness

They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Ephesians 4:18

 

We live in a time that the darkness is becoming more and more apparent. People aren't hiding the evil (Genesis 8:21) within their hearts any longer.  It seems that many feel it very socially acceptable to put it on display.  Even so many of the TV shows and movies put on display the overwhelming evil that comes from Satan.

"Day after day we exercise our natural impulses, spurning our Creator's authority over us. God beckons storm clouds, and they come. He tells the wind to blow and the rain to fall, and they immediately obey. Everything in creation responds in obedience to the Creator. . . until we get to you and me.  We have the audacity to look God in the face and say no. . . when you reflect not only on the power of God but also on the fullness of His perfection, you come to see just how heinous, destructive, and arrogant our rebellion really is." David Platt

Yet even within such a dark time, it seems that many are hoping/ pleading for something more. Often times we do not even know what we are yearning for. In Ephesians 4:18 and 2 Corinthians 4:4, the Bible tells us that our understanding has been darkened and ours hearts hardened. We no longer "see" the truth. In fact, aside from Jesus there is no way we can see the truth. That is why God had to make a plan for us.  So He sent His Son who is Truth to show us His light in the darkness.  Jesus is the light beckoning us from the darkness.

Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? Have you submitted your life completely to Him? Do you obey the Word of God? When the Holy Spirit speaks do you obey? Be like the ocean, wind and all the rest of creation. . .obey God!

God loves us with an everlasting love. When you see the light rather than the darkness. . .you will know that love. When you obey Him, then His love will over-whelm you.

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6

 

 

 

Stressed Yikes!

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24

I have lived my life in a perpetual state of varying levels of stress.  I am fully aware that it wreaks havoc with every aspect of life and health.  Unfortunately, it has still been something that I simply could not manage.  The fear of giving up control and the lack of patience just would not permit me to move forward.

Until. . .I learned something that revolutionized my life.  I hope I will be able to explain it in a way that is understandable. Really, what I learned is so simple but yet so foreign to us (as modern day Christians).  It is something that we want but yet at the same time it goes against everything else we want for ourselves. Have I lost you yet?

How many times have you thought. . . I am a Christian but yet things are still a mess. I want more out of my relationship with Christ but don't know how to get it. Does God answer prayers? I don't understand the Bible and it is too hard to read. I don't have time for Bible Study.

We have so many questions that our heart just burns for answers, but have we asked the most important question? The one that will ultimately answer all other questions. . .

Have I ever really come to Jesus on HIS TERMS?

I not too long ago began asking myself this question.  The answer surprised me. I was sure I could answer yes at first. I considered myself somewhat of a prayer warrior. I have facilitated many Bible Studies. I have tried to be diligent about reading His word. Etc, etc, etc.  But had I done anything that was really and truly on Jesus' terms?  Jesus, Himself, had some difficult things to say regarding this. Honestly, I think it is verses that we rather skip or try to explain away.  But, they cannot be explained away in complete truth!  Please read the verses from Luke 14:26-35

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

These are the words of our Savior and while they may sound harsh. . .they are truly not.  He is trying to help us understand that we must love God more than anybody or anything.  We must die to our old life and "follow Him" just like the disciples.  Once we do this all other aspects of our life fall into place.  Because our love is great for God and His Spirit fills us then we love others. Not only that and this is hard. But if we call ourselves Christians and we are not true disciples. . . then leave a bad testimony.  Our saltiness is gone and our testimony (salt) is worthless. Father, please forgive us for letting our testimony of you mean so little.

How long have we tried to balance being a good Christian and living in the world? It is impossible and furthermore, it is extremely stressful.  If we want to be a disciple of Christ, we must lay down our life. He wants ALL of us.  This is the part I love! I have discovered that when I go to Him on His terms. . . there is no stress!!!! Hallelujah, Praise the Lord!  He is in control! I simply follow Him.  I can't wait to see where He leads. Will you commit this for your own life? Will you go to Jesus on His terms?

Conversation Among Friends

"Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted". Psalm 25:16

Are you simply lonely? Loneliness is a strange thing. As you can be alone and not feel lonely at all. But you can be surrounded by people and be desperately lonely as David was in the above verse.  I have given this much thought as loneliness has plagued me on more than one occasion.  Also,  in serving others it is often loneliness that brings them to a point to ask for help.  But what causes us to be lonely?

From a practical standpoint, it is a lack of deep communication.  Often we go through the day only having surface level discussions. These discussions can include anything that is not an intimate detail of our lives.  We might talk about the children, our work, projects around the house, etc.  But perhaps out of fear, we do not discuss the details that matter most to us. Things like. . . What are we worried about? What are we hoping and dreaming about? And especially, we do not discuss our relationship with Christ and what we are learning. Nothing opens the door to our heart like discussing our walk with Christ or praying with someone.

Perhaps past hurt keeps us from trusting again with sharing our heart. But I ask. . .is the hurt of loneliness any less hurtful.  Besides, I don't think God meant for us to be lonely in the sense that we often find ourselves.  In the New Testament, the word lonely only occurs twice and both times refers to desolate places, where Jesus moved off into the wilderness to be alone .

"Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere." Mark 1:45

"But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." Luke 5:16

Notice that these times weren't about an individuals emotions but rather the work of Jesus (and being alone with God).

There can be so many reasons that lead to our feelings of loneliness but there is only one cure. . .the comforting fellowship of Christ. We must, like David, turn to Him and pour out our heart so that He may fill it with His great love.  I encourage you to read through the 25th Psalm and cry out to the Father. Tell Him everything!

But rest assured, He (the Lord)  is the friend who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24), who lays down His life for His friends (John 15:13-15), and who has promised never to leave us or forsake us but to be with us until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20).  We can take great comfort in His promises. We can trust Him. We can tell Him anything. No special words need. . .just talk to Him as you would a best friend. Prayer changes things including loneliness.

 

 

Preparing the Way for the Lord

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.’” Mark 1:3

Our family has been thinking lots lately about what our role as Christians should be.  As a result, God is changing our hearts about some things and we are making some changes.  Today as I studied my Bible, the verses pertaining to John the Baptist preparing the way for Christ really hit me. I thought. . . that is it. That is our job.  To prepare the way for the Lord Jesus Christ (to return).

That also sums up what is changing in our hearts and minds.  We have a job to do and there is no time to waste. We have been preoccupied for far too long.  As a Christian, have you not read the verse in Matthew 25:21 (“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’) and thought I want that to be me. I want there to be something about the life I have lead that God would say, "Well done!"

So as I have examined my daily life, I have been a bit disappointed in my search for what pleases the Lord.  Yes, I do my best to be obedient to the Word of God. Yes, I disciple my children. Yes, I serve at church. But is that enough? For me, the answer is a resounding no.  I am disappointed with how I have allotted my time. So then what?

Prepare the Way for the Lord! But what does that mean?  In a word. . .missions.  No, I am not suggesting that everyone be a missionary in the traditional sense.  But we have to be passionate and intentional about it. Otherwise day after day after day slips by with nothing much given to this preparation for His return. How can we do that? Do we not care? Do we not believe? Do we not know our Bible enough to understand? Do we not pray? Do we not fully submit our lives to Him?

I cannot presume to know the answer for you. I pray that God will show you what to do. I pray His will show you how to spend your time and resources in a way that pleases Him and glorifies Him.  I pray that the changes will be so significant in both my family and yours that we won't even recognize that old way. Let's get busy "preparing the way for the Lord".

A New Day. . .

Today is a new day! A new day for me to lay down my life to Christ. Will I cry out for Him? Will I be willing no matter the cost? Will I love Him even half as much as He loves me? I hope so. Lord please take my life this day to use however you please.

Honestly, I feel so overwhelmed by the Savior that I don't really know what to write today but have something to share. After reading "Radical', I moved forward to "Radical Together". Both of these books are a great motivator to be in the Word of God and seek Him like never before. Here is something to get you thinking.

If someone were looking from the outside, would they see a person that is desperately seeking the Spirit of God? "I want to give God no rest until we experience the power and the presence of God that we see in the church of Acts. One man preaches and more than three thousand people are cut to the heart and saved. The Lord is adding daily to their number those being saved. The lame are walking, and the blind are seeing. Thousands are coming to Christ at great cost, yet they can't be kept from proclaiming the gospel. God is picking up people and putting them in remote deserts to talk to people who are wondering about Jesus, the number of disciples is growing rapidly, and the gospel is spreading with power. I want to be part of a move of God like that. Do you?" Radical Together Pg 119

As God is growing my heart for missions, I realized some things. Miracles are still happening. People are still risking their very life and the lives of their families. There are still many people groups who have never heard the name of Jesus. Estimated at 6000 out of 11,000 people groups who still need to hear His truth. And yet. . .we go on with life as normal. How can we do that? I hear so many Christians say they feel like they are supposed to be doing something more but don't know what. This is the something more. I urge you to fast and pray. Seek God's face like never before and see where He leads you.

Here I am Lord. . .use me

 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:17-20

I never thought I would say this but I have come to believe that a lack of missions is a lack of faith.  Yep, I said it.  Above I have quoted the verses often referred to as the Great Commission but notice I went back a couple verses. Verse 17 says, "but some doubted." That caught my attention as it seems to shed light on my own life. I have had hundreds of excuses for not getting involved.  Some sounded like, "My mission field is here" , "I already serve in many capacities at church", "There are so many lost all around us so why go anywhere." But let me ask you. . . Qver the last month or year, how much time have you spent obeying this commandment.  Has life and priorities gotten in the way? It does and Satan is counting on that.  But let's not allow him this victory.  God saved us not because of our work but to work.  In these verses and many others, He assigned our task.  Our relationship with Him is a master/servant relationship.  While He loves us wildly, He also has a job for us to do.

WHY? Why give us this task? After all, He is God and could do it entirely alone.  I believe the answer relies in LOVE and WORSHIP.

First to address love.  "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God." 1 John 4:7  Love is so important that much of God's Word speaks of love.  There are all sorts of love but one particular that I am completely amazed by.  It is love for a complete stranger who you have never even set eyes upon. Someone so different from yourself but nonetheless loved completely.  I have had two opportunities during my life to experience this kind of love.  The first was for our daughter which we adopted from China. We loved her so much before we ever met her.  The second, amazed me even more. Recently, I sat reading my Bible. I don't remember the passages and they were completely unrelated. But during that time, God poured love into my heart overwhelming love for the Haitian people. I sobbed because the love was so strong and I knew it was from the Lord.  I have never been to Haiti and knew very little about them. None the less the love was real and has continued.

Then worship. . .As I said in a previous post, I am concerned about our worship.  Are we truly worshiping God (High Priest, Lord of Lords, Redeemer, Living Water, King of Kings, Lion of Judah, etc)? Or are we worshiping what we hope to obtain from Him (blessing, prosperity, easy life, success, etc)?  I think the prosperity of the USA often gets in the way of our worship. Compared to other countries, we have had life easy. I want to propose that when we are obedient to the Great Commission, our worship changes. It becomes less about us and more about Him.

GETTING STARTED & MAKING A DIFFERENCE. . . Personally, we are starting with small steps.  We know an amazing couple (who by no coincidence) are raising support to be full-time Haitian missionaries.  So we are giving financially.  But we have also been convicted that you must go. So we are beginning to plan a mission trip to Haiti as well.  This is not in our comfort zone but clearly God's hand is upon it.

Now I have to tell you a bit about the Runks.



They are just an ordinary family who have slowly been transformed into an ordinary family who are crazy in love with Christ and the Haitian people.  To see a grown man cry as he tells you about the plight of this people group is overwhelming.  But they have given it all over to Christ that He might use them as He sees fit.  As a result, they have an opportunity to help carry to Gospel to one of the poorest and most lost countries in the world.  The opportunity they have is immense. The size only God could provide.  There is tremendous amounts of work to be done and already many resources are in place.  But to see these people begin a 4am worship service which has 45 minutes of just prayer and then last for hours makes it all worth it!



Here is a video to tell you about the ministry they are a part of:



 

There  is only one reason that we remain on this earth and not in His presence right now. There is work to be done.  There are currently approximately 4.5 BILLION people who do not know Christ. Yes, 4.5 Billion!   Have you gotten to a point where you wonder if you are doing enough?  Have you found satisfaction in your job, home, family, etc? What is success? Is it a feeling or a certain level of success in __________ ? I believe that the only real success, the only real difference to be made is in sharing the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ (His death and Resurrection) with the world.

I pray that you will consider this as well. There are so many ways to support missions and get involved. . .what will you do? Please pray for God's direction.  If you would like more information about the work in Haiti, then visit the Runks Website. They are looking for people to share the burden by coming to work or supporting the work financially. Most of all, they covet your prayers.  They are completely dependent on God to provide their every need and safety.  Please commit them to prayer daily.

 

Why is it Radical?

I think that is a question that we should all ask ourselves.  I was recently going through the book "Radical" by David Platt for the second time. This time it struck me more so than the first.  This time I realized that I no longer care what is considered the norm.  I want to please God. I want to be obedient to Him in ways that challenge everything I know.  I want EVERYTHING to be about Him. I am talking total and complete reckless abandon of life as I know it so that I might be a slave to Christ.

I have felt for a while that the USA is loosing (or has lost) the favor of God. If you don't understand what that means, I urge to dig through the stories of Kings and Kingdoms in the Old Testament.  Those who had favor won wars, had their needs met and many of their wants met. Those who did not lost mercilessly.

At the end of this book David Platt  issues an experimental challenge.  There are simply five things that you must do.

1) Pray for the World -  He gives you more specific guidelines but nothing changes a heart like prayer.

2) Read the Bible through in one year.  Ask yourself, is it possible to go to church multiple times per week and not know the Bible? Most of us need not look beyond ourselves to know the answer is yes.

3) Give sacrificially. This needs to be more than is comfortable and in such a way that it aids the spread of the Gospel.

4)  Spend time outside your home plate ministering. Just a small commitment but step away from where you live.

5) Commit yourself not just to a church but to a multiplying community of believers. The key to this is that people are being saved and growing.  This is not about filling the seats.

Reading through this book, it goes into so much detail and you can then understand why each part of the experiment is critical.  But I ask, why is this RADICAL?  Why is it not the norm?

For me and maybe for others, I believe I have an answer.  It is because we do not focus on God.  It should ALL be about Him.  I think (hope) that most who call themselves Christian worship God, pray, and attend church.  But I realized that often my prayer or worship is based on what I hope to gain. I want to feel His presence more than anything.  I want to be overwhelmed with His love. I want Him to control my life and make it pleasant.  But look. . . that is still all about me. So I asked myself, "Is it true worship, if I am thinking about how I will feel when God acknowledges me at His thrown.' Wow, this is hard.  Die to self. To fully worship, love and serve. . .I must fully die to self.

I urge you if this rings true for you to get this book asap.  Let us as believers give God all that we can of ourselves. How much of yourself will you give to the one who gave you everything? Let's get radical!