The Father of Lies

I recently heard a story that broke my heart. A woman who for years served faithfully in ministry alongside her husband is now depressed, divorced, and very seriously and openly questioning the gospel she once gave her life to further. We’ve all heard stories similar to this one and they usually leave us wondering what happened? I’ve been thinking this over all day because as the wife of a wanna be church planter, I want to take every precaution to prevent this from happening to myself. I know there are probably a lot of right answers to explain how someone ends up where this woman has found herself, but today the Lord has been reminding me of the importance of knowing our enemy and fighting him. Every time we sin it is because we have believed a lie from Satan.

We operate out of what we believe.

Every attempt we make at changing our actions is nothing more than behavior modification until we seek God and ask Him to reveal the lie we have believed that is causing us to sin in the first place. We must recognize the lie as a lie and replace it with the truth of God’s Word. Only then will any “practical” sin-fighting tactics help us gain lasting victory.

We will always do what we really believe will bring us more joy. So until we actually believe God’s Word in a particular area of life, we will fail to have consistent victory over sin.

We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, we wrestle against an enemy who is constantly whispering lies to us until one sticks. And unfortunately for us, after we believe the first lie, it’s easier to believe the next, and the next and so on until one day we wake up and find ourselves totally depressed and unsure of everything we once believed. So we must practice the discipline of taking every thought captive and making it obedient to Christ. This isn’t a suggestion for those ‘super’ Christians who meditate a lot and have the time to really think about what they are thinking about. It’s necessary for perseverance.

Thank you Lord for warning me of what could be if I choose not to intentionally ask you to reveal the lies I am believing and show me how to replace them with the truth you have freely given me in your Word. What a gracious Daddy we have, who delights in showing me mercy!

Babes and Infants

I love how God uses the unexpected to shake us and wake us up. Recently, we read the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal to Sam at Gathering (our family devotional time). At the end of the story the people see that the Lord is God and they fall on their faces to pray. So “naturally” (inject sarcasm) Sam wants to pray on his face. Since then, this is the only way he has allowed anyone to pray. I will start praying and he will stop me and say,

“Get on your face”

The first few times he did this I just thought it was so sweet. But after about a week, I realized that maybe the Lord was trying to tell me something. How often do I pray on my face? How often do I really come before God in awe of him and overwhelmed by him? So often I take for granted the privilege and joy of falling on my face in worship. Psalm 8 says that God uses the mouths of babes and infants to establish his strength. I have found this to be true! Children are so refreshing. Sam realizes, okay God just made a soaking wet altar burst into fire and burn until there was nothing left. He doesn’t need to research the Hebrew word for “consumed” to figure out we should probably start praying on our face! There is such beauty in simple belief and obedience. It’s a wonderful thing to be convicted by your two year old son! Lord, help me to come to you and read Your word like a child.

Serious and Separate

The vow of a Nazarite has always been a perplexing thing to me. In the past, I've read right by it and thought, "Hmm... I don't quite get the point of that", but never taken the time to understand the beauty of it. Basically a person would take a vow to deny themselves wine, vinegar, grape juice and anything from the grape vine. They would not shave, and would not go near a dead person. They would decide on a certain amount of time to be faithful to this vow, which could be anywhere from several days to a lifetime. I've heard the vow of a Nazarite compared to fasting, which I think can be true and beneficial, but I think this falls short of the picture the Lord is trying to give us. The vow of the Nazarite was only for the serious. It was also called the vow of separation. This vow was only taken by those who wanted to be separate and holy to the Lord. This vow was only for those willing to sacrifice the pleasures of this life for a greater reward in the next life. I think this is an excellent picture of what Christ wants from his disciples.

Jesus calls those who follow him to be radically devoted to him and his kingdom, and radically different from the world around us. Jesus tells those willing to follow him to deny themselves, sell all their possessions, hate their loved ones and love their enemies, and to carefully count the cost before we say we are willing to do this. Jesus also tells his disciples not to be surprised when they are homeless, hated, and persecuted even to death. This seems like a vow that only the serious and separated should be willing to take. Part of the vow of the Nazarite was to not go near a dead person. This meant that even if his closest relative, the person he loved the most on this earth, died while he was under this vow, he couldn't even go to the funeral. Jesus gives a similar command to a disciple in Matthew 8. The disciple wants to go home to bury his father before coming to follow Jesus, but Jesus' answer to this request is to let the dead bury the dead. Man, pretty intense huh? The work of the kingdom is not for those who want to start "next week". The work of the kingdom is for the serious.

The old covenant vow of the Nazarite is the example for the new covenant disciple. The vow that was optional for those desiring greater devotion to God under the old covenant is now a requirement for those desiring to follow Christ under the new covenant. We may not be vowing to the exact same things as the Nazarite, but the desire to be holy and separate must be radical and all encompassing. With the new covenant Jesus requires serious, full devotion from all his followers, not just the few who want to go deeper.

We must have the same confidence as those who took the vow of a Nazarite, that there is greater reward in greater sacrifice.

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Protection, Pardon and Peace

God's Word is rich in blessings and promises for his people. I am overwhelmed this morning in all the ways the Lord promises to show up strong on my behalf! At the end of Numbers 6 the Lord speaks through Aaron saying,

"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance on you, and give you peace"

Just in these few verses God assures his people that it is He who keeps them safe. Men do not prevail by might, but by the Lord who never sleeps or slumbers! He goes on to say that he will not only protect me, but will also make his face shine upon me. Both in Psalm 31 and repeatedly in Psalm 80 the Lord's face shining upon his people is connected with salvation and restoration. When God shines his face upon us it enlightens us to see truth and also allows us to find comfort in God's gracious pardon of our sin. Next, the people are blessed with the Lord's countenance. This alludes to a father smiling as he takes pleasure in watching his child. It is the cry of my heart that the Lord would take delight in me! I can easily recall the joy I have felt after knowing I have made my earthly parents proud. But the thought of my heavenly father looking down on me and smiling brings a joy and peace that I cannot describe. God delights in blessing his people with peace. Praise the Lord for his protection, pardon and peace!

Test Yourselves

I rarely meditate on how shocking it is that Scripture tells us to test and examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith. And that after looking intently at our life, if we do not see Jesus, then we are not in the faith. Salvation isn't a one time thing. We are being saved, we are living a life of repentance. And if at any time we are not, we have reason to be concerned about our salvation. This is startling to me! I get the idea in my head that "I gave my life to the Lord" so that means I'm a Christian. But, the impression I get from this verse is that I should be giving my life to the Lord, moment by moment. I should be consistently examining the ways I'm spending my time, my thoughts, my money, ect. to see if I'm really following through with this. 2 Corinthians 13:5 is a verse I find myself quoting a lot when talking to people, but one that I rarely practice. So recently as I was studying what following Jesus looks like, I developed a set of questions to periodically ask myself. (Keeping in mind that my heart is deceitful and I am prone to think more highly of myself than I should)

1. Am I allowing the cares of this world to choke out my desire for God? Matt 13:22

2. Are my dreams Christ's dreams? Matt 12: 47-50; John 12:26; 2 Corinthians 5:14

3. Am I living with a wartime mentality? 2 Timothy 2:4

4. If I continue living the way I am right now, what will my life look like in a year? 5 years? 10 years? 1 Timothy 6:18-19; Luke 6:47-48

5. Will I have any crowns or treasure in heaven? 1 Thessalonians 2:19

6. Would I be satisfied with the work I have done for the gospel if Jesus came back tonight? Luke 12:33-37

7. Am I living with a heavenly mindset? Colossians 3:1-3

8. If someone were to look at my life, would they conclude that I treasured Christ above all else? What am I spending my time and money on? Luke 14:26-27

9. The most important question of all... am I placing myself in a position to hear from the Lord? Am I consistently in the Word, renewing my mind? Can I think His thoughts and do His work if I'm not filling my mind with it? Ephesians 5:17; Romans 12:2