Chained

 Meditation, Christian meditation, has become a lost discipline in the western church. The reasons are many. We're so busy as to be totally distracted. "I don't even have time to think," is a common expression. Then too, it is a discipline, and that's a word and skill we don't like. Whatever the reason, and despite the fact that Scripture commands us to meditate on the power of His Word and words. To dwell upon them, to seek His heart concerning them, to see them come alive in us. To dwell those means we are still, and few of us even know how to be still, especially how to be still before Him.

2 Timothy 2:9 speaks of Paul's being imprisoned for preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ. He writes, "I am suffering and have been chained like a criminal. But the Word of God cannot be chained."  Prison, even under modern circumstances, is a harsh place. In Paul's time, it was a torturous one. The bed was usually a pile of dirty, bug infested straw. There would have been little, if any furniture. The toilet facilities were a hole in the floor. Add to this that Paul was chained between two soldiers. He had no privacy and was fully at the mercy of his jailers. An easy place to lose sight of God and His promises, and to lose sight of these meant to lose sight of their power. Yet Paul did not. He would not. Even in the worst possible conditions, His eyes were fixed on Jesus, the object of His hope.

Could it be that you, right now, may feel chained in harsh and comfortless situations and circumstances? Chained between what you feel you can't escape and the place where you long to be. What do you see? The stark darkness of the situation, or the glory and wonder of His promises and His presence? 

Paul knew that his oppressive circumstances did not lessen the power of what God had promised Him. His journey with Him had established His trust in Him. He knew the chains could hold Him, but they could not hold His Lord and Savior or the power of His word and presence. His body might be captive, but his heart, mind, and spirit were free. Chains could not hold Him, so they could not hold Paul. Neither, if we will believe Him, can they hold you and me.

History tells us that Paul was eventually released. Rome, and all her power, had no power against the will and power of God. The Father had more for Paul to do. The chains, the cell, and the soldiers could not stop that. Know today that neither can your chains, your cell, and your jailers. His words to you, His promises, His goodness, can never be chained or made powerless. Believe that. Hold to that. Fix your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith. He will move and He will work, and He will break every chain. He will lead you out of the cell. He cannot be imprisoned, but He can be unseen. Be still, dwell upon He and His Word. Allow Him to open your eyes to see Him. Your cell, no matter how dark, will flame with His light. The cell door will swing open. No cell or chain can imprison the one who is truly His.

Blessings,
Pastor O

Thriving

 A trio of siblings currently very popular in Christian contemporary music recently spoke of some deep waters they'd gone through together and individually. I don't mean to denigrate what they said, but it left me with a hollow feeling. They said that in the midst of their "storm," they determined that they would "survive." I get that. Sometimes it seems like that's all we can hope for in the midst of the catastrophes that can strike at us in life. However, I don't believe that to survive is part of God's desire for us in our trials. I believe His purpose is for us to thrive in Him even as we walk through them. Survival is not God's last word for us. In fact, He has many. Victory. Abundance. Joy. Peace. Presence. Power. He means for these to be the fruit of our experience in the dark places of our lives. Yes, there will be pain, and loss, and suffering, but these are not to define us. His words of life coming to pass in and through us are. 

A promise that has sustained me and given both hope and life is found in 2 Chronicles 20:12. Judah and her king, Jehoshaphat, were faced with a vastly superior army, one they had no realistic hope of defeating. Jehoshaphat cried out to the Father. "We are powerless against this mighty army which is about to attack us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You." Devastation can come upon us so suddenly, sweeping away all that we hold dear. We don't know what to do and we don't know where to turn....if our eyes remain upon what has happened. His call to us is to place our focus upon Him. What has happened is not His last word. He is in the midst of it. He hasn't left us alone. He will make a way. Listen to this. He will not fail you. The mighty army arrayed against Judah did not prevail. They were put to flight. Judah and her king did not just survive. They thrived. 

Whatever is arrayed against you today, would you dare to look not first for a way out, or even for an answer on what to do? Would you dare to simply put your eyes upon Him? To, as Scripture says, "Fix your eyes upon Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith." What has befallen is real, but He is more real. What has crushed you can never crush Him. Look to Him. Believe Him. Trust Him. Cling to Him. He doesn't call you to simply survive, but to come alive....in Him. 

Blessings,
Pastor O

Nowhere Else

 I heard Joni Eareckson Tada relate an experience she had with Christ in the early days after the accident that made her a quadriplegic. She'd been going through all the stages of questions, anger, despair, and hopelessness, yet in the midst of it all, continued to seek Him. She came across one of the Psalms where she was called to "trust the Lord at all times." She said that in the midst of all the emotions and questions, she knew one thing, the same thing Peter knew when most of Christ's followers turned away from Him and He asked His disciples, "Will you leave also?" Peter replied, "Lord, where will we go? You alone have the words of life." Tada said she told Him, "Jesus, You're the One who has the words of life. Show me how to live." She then said, "For the past 56 years He's been showing me how to live and how to trust Him." 

Someone said that if God is only one hour of your weekend, He's a hobby, not your Lord." To be a disciple of Christ requires more, far more than a few hours of a weekend. It requires your heart. All of your heart. It requires surrender. Complete surrender. Hobbyists can never be disciples. They don't have the heart for it.

I am no Joni Eareckson Tada. My experience with Him is as nothing compared to hers, but I do share a similar story in my journey of faith. I've shared some of my past story and my deep involvement in the drug culture of the 60's and 70's. Jesus Christ invaded my life in a glorious way and brought me out of my darkness and captivity. For the next 10 years we journeyed together. Then, it all collapsed upon me with the loss of my marriage, family, and ministry. I was in a place much like Tada was. Everything was gone, I didn't know what was going to happen to me. I had questions, pain, anger, and fear. What would I do? Would I return to what had been before Him? I didn't know a great many things, but I did know this. I could never go back. I could only go to Him. I knew I could never trust myself, so I would take the only option I could. I would trust Him. That was 36 years ago, and like Tada, He's been showing me how to live ever since. I have failed Him, but He has never failed me. He never will, and He will never fail you. Dare to trust Him.

I don't know where you are today, but I ask, if you can't trust Him, who will you trust? If you can't put yourself completely into His hands, into whose hands will you put yourself. Where will you go? He has the words of life. Trust Him. He won't fail you. He'll show you how to live....and how to live in victory.

Blessings,
Pastor O

Trophies

 I'll never forget the feeling I had as a 10 year old upon being selected for my Little League all-star team. It wasn't expected. I wasn't a very good player then, almost all from a lack of self-confidence. Both of my older brothers were good players, I heard that a lot. They had trophies. I didn't have any. I knew they were good. I saw myself as anything but. Their trophies meant they "mattered." My lack meant, to me, that I didn't. Now I would. Though it ended up being just a small, cheap trinket, I kept it in my room for years. That's what we tend to do with trophies. We've been recognized, told that we matter, that we have value. The world is big on trophies and we're pressed heavily to pursue them, and not just in the secular realm, but in the realm of the Kingdom of God as well. And God is not the reason why. 

Marva Dawn, in her book, A Sense Of The Call, speaks to those who believe He has called them to labor in His Kingdom. She writes about this matter of "trophies." She quoted author and pastor Eugene Peterson and his writing on I Samuel 15, where King Saul has defeated the Amalekites. Saul had been directed to destroy every trace of this evil nation. Instead, he brought their king and the best of their livestock back to the Israelite camp. Peterson calls this, "a bold exhibition of trophies." Saul was God's anointed and chosen king, but he didn't feel this was enough. He needed more. He needed trophies. He needed the recognition of men. Dawn writes, "How easily we cuddle our accomplishments as a security blanket to remind us that we matter, instead of trusting God's assurance that we are His beloved." 

I'm no longer 10 years old, but I have far too often still coveted "trophies," even in my ministry. Not to impress the world directly, but to impress the world within the church....and within me. How thin is the line between our yearning for and our lusting for? The trophies we seek can take so many shapes. Bigger homes, fancier cars, more "things." Picturebook marriages, children that excel, win awards, get scholarships. The "next rung up" in the company....or in the ministry. And the biggest trophy of all is the applause of all those who are watching. We can become addicted to that, to the trophies. Really, there is only one "trophy" we are to seek; the cross of Christ. Most often, the only One who sees that is the Lord Himself.

I'm not speaking against giving our all to the work of the Kingdom or wanting to see fruit from it, but the burning desire to add more "Agag's and his livestock" to our collection will cut us off from experiencing what it is to know the joy of being His beloved. When we have this, all the cheap tinsel that men can offer won't matter because we're secure in the knowledge that we are His and we're His beloved. The trophies we offer Him are invisible to this world, but precious to Him. Love, faithfulness, obedience, humility, surrender. May we yield all our cheap trinkets for the surpassing joy of knowing and living for Him.

Blessings,
Pastor O

Convenient Fires

 "And Peter followed Him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest; and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire." Mark 14:54...."The enemy always has a convenient fire for saints who are about to slip." Vance Havner

You likely know the story of Peter's betrayal of Christ in the courtyard of the high priest. He had followed Jesus here to His trial. He was drawn to the fire burning in the yard and warmed himself there. His companions were servants of that high priest. They wished for what their master wished for; the removal, one way or another, of Jesus.

While he stood at the fire, he was recognized as one of Jesus' followers, but he denied it three times, the third time with a curse. Scripture says that after doing so, he saw Jesus being led by guards, and Christ looked directly into his eyes (and his heart). Jesus knew, and Peter knew that He knew. I don't believe Christ's look was one of anger, or even disappointment. I believe it was one of deep sadness. Sadness for the man He loved so deeply.

If you know Scripture, you know Peter was the disciple who proclaimed he would follow Jesus even to His and his own death. Now, here he was denying Him. How? It began with fear. None of the disciples, even Peter, ever clearly understood what Christ had been telling them, that He must suffer and die. His arrest threw them into fear and confusion. It began there. It deepened when Peter "followed Him from afar off." He'd told Jesus he'd be right with Him, but he now kept his distance. Nothing good will ever come from trying to play it safe with Christ. Following Him at a distance isn't really following Him at all. 

Peter's actions had weakened him emotionally, physically, mentally, and especially, spiritually. He lacked the strength, the faith, to resist the fire of the enemy. As Havner says, the enemy specializes in kindling fires to seduce wavering followers of the King. Has He kindled any for us? What fires of the enemy have we found ourselves at in our own profession of faith in Him? What convenient fires might we be found at right now?

Peter's faith was compromised by his circumstances and his fears. Compromise will always cripple our faith. Where is there compromise in our lives right now? To what fire of the enemy has it brought you to?

Will it bring you, me, to the same place it brought Peter, to a denial of Christ Himself?

Scripture says, "Let him who thinks he stands beware, lest he should fall." Peter didn't think it could happen, but it did. We don't either, but it can. We can be sure our enemy has prepared a fire for us to go to in the slippiest places of our faith walk. The question for each of us is, will we end up there?

Blessings,
Pastor O

Listen

 "Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God." Isaiah 41:10...."Listen to what you know, not to what you fear." Todd Mullen

The message of God in the Old Testament through His prophets, through His Son Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit in the New, was for those who followed Him to not live in fear. There are countless Scriptures that exhort us to "fear not." Jesus was constantly telling His disciples to not be afraid. Yet they often were. We often are. Fear grips us, paralyzes us, and renders us powerless. Why? How?

The answers to those questions are not really that hard to know. We know His words, but we don't really know Him. We believe His words in our head, but their power so often doesn't find its way into our hearts and lives. We can recite His promises but their reality never fully finds its way into our life experience. Knowing what He's said is not the same as knowing Him. You can own every sort of Bible promises book ever printed, but they're just words on a page if you lack any real and intimate knowledge of Him. 

Todd Mullen's above quote is true, but we are more prone to listen to our fears than to listen to Him because what we fear is more real to us than He is. We can't trust someone we don't know. The things we fear press in on us, crushing us, because our experience of Him is so shallow. Satan knows this and intimidates us because of it. He knows exactly where to aim his fiery darts, right at the heart of our fears. Unless we are rooted and grounded in Him, His promises are weak in comparison with all the scenarios of disaster that the enemy is only too happy to paint for us. What the preacher proclaimed in the sanctuary on Sunday just isn't working out in the hardness of the world we must live in.

Jesus confronted His disciples in their struggles to trust with the question, "How long have I been with you and you still don't know Me?" In the midst of your fears today, does He speak this to you? Fear, anxiety, stress, these things cannot survive in His presence. Paul said that the consuming passion of His life was to know Christ and the power of His resurrection. His desire to be known by us is deeper than any desire we could ever have to know Him. Let Him kindle that desire in you. Let Him fan it into a burning passion for Him. Know not only the truth of His words, know Him who is Truth itself. Be free of the fear because you have listened to the One who is Truth.

Blessings,
Pastor O

Precious Grace

 I know Facebook can be a real quagmire, but at the same time, there can be some very worthwhile posts as well. I saw one of them just today. A street preacher was interviewing young people at a very popular and somewhat notorious nightspot. Among them were a pair of young ladies. He probed them as to their spiritual state and who it was they believed and trusted in. Both affirmed that it was Jesus. More, both knew the message of the gospel, the cross, and the salvation Christ invited us to. Both also affirmed that they considered themselves His followers and were committed to Him. He then asked them why they were out and taking part in what was going on in the club they were about to enter. Their answer was along the lines of, "We're young, we want to have fun and enjoy ourselves." He didn't hit them with judgement, just truth, emphasizing the need for believers to come apart, to live holiness lifestyles, to be in the world, but not of it. Both young ladies became very quiet. They had no response. The video ended.

I recognize that there's a long history of legalism and self-righteous judgement in a segment of the church. It's wrong, and I won't adhere to it, but there is also a long history of the abuse of His grace, often referred to as "hyper grace." I don't adhere to that either. Both are deeply damaging.

Chris Tiegreen writes, "SIn is disastrous and grace is precious. Neither should ever be taken casually." Shouldn't be, but so often are. We can be so casual about both. Churches are filled with those who are. The result will always be disastrous.

A.W. Tozer, speaking of the infinitely great cost to the Father in the giving of His Son, Jesus Christ, said that how we live in response to that cost must be a "very great scandal in heaven." Our hearts have been dulled both to the seriousness and terrible consequences of sin as well as to the immeasurably great gift of His saving grace. Tiegreen also writes, "Grace was given to free us from sin, not to free us up for more of it." A truly grace filled lifestyle knows this and lives accordingly. Not a legal, rule keeping lifestyle, but a holy one.

Jesus was the friend of sinners. He went to where they were, but he didn't "go clubbing" with them. He didn't partake of their lifestyle. He invited them into His. The two young ladies weren't where they were to extend that invitation. They were responding to the invitation of that place to enter into what was happening there. To what degree are we doing the same?

In my particular segment of the church, we have an old, but powerful hymn titled "Called Unto Holiness." All who call themselves His are called unto that holiness. His holiness. Not rigid rule keeping with the focus on the external, but a desperate love of Him, his holiness, and the hatred of sin and its awful effects upon the human race He so loves and gave Himself up for. Indeed, sin is disastrous, and grace is precious. May we cease to take either casually ever again. He shed His precious blood that He might offer His precious grace.

Blessings,
Pastor O

The Beginning

 British preacher and writer T. Austin-Sparks said, "For Christ, the cross was an end. For us, it's the beginning." John Bevere says, "We've preached resurrection promises without preaching the impact and decision of the cross. There is no discipleship without the cross." All this is true, yet you can attend a very great number of fellowships in the west and never hear anything of substance concerning the cross of Christ and the believers call to it. How can that be?

The cross and the subsequent resurrection of Christ was the focal point of Christ's coming. Everything about the Christian faith is centered on these events. Yet, what Bevere says is frighteningly true. We proclaim to eager listeners all the blessings of the resurrection life while at the same time omitting the cross that is the only route to experiencing them. We know the cross was necessary for Christ to complete His ministry. Necessary for Him.....not for us.

This is the greatest reason why so much of the witness and ministry of the church lacks real Holy Spirit power. Preachers are calling people to a faith that includes no cross. Simply believe on Jesus and all will be well. He paid the price, we reap the benefits. We call them to an abundant life in Christ, but we leave out the cross that leads us into it. The apostle Paul said, "I preach Christ, and Him crucified," and "I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me." In the modern Gospel of the west, there is no cross, no death to self and self-interest. Just an invitation to add Him to your life and enjoy all the improvements He'll bring. We come as we are, and we remain as we are. Yet, Jesus doesn't bid us to come so He can make some improvements in our lives. He calls us, as someone said, "to come and die." He is not about making our lives better. He is all about totally transforming us. There is only one place where that can happen; at the cross.

Sparks says that for us, the cross is the beginning. That puts me in mind of the old hymns lyric. "At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light, and the burden of my sin rolled away." That was the beginning of an endless life of wonder and abundance. It begins and remains at the cross. Has it begun, really begun, for you?

Blessings,
Pastor O

Do You?

 In my prayer journal, I have a quote from writer Chris Tiegreen. He says, "We're to believe what the Word of God and the Spirit tell us, regardless of the witness of the clouds." 

Casual faith and a casual relationship with Christ will not get you very far into a life with Him. Scripture says that whom He loves, He disciplines. We see discipline as a negative, His response to something we've done wrong. He sees it as love, using the realities of life to deepen and strengthen our relationship with Him. He allows hard things but means to use them to grow and shape us in Christlikeness. He tests our faith and our trust in Him.

In Matthew 9:28, two blind men came to Jesus, asking for sight. Their blindness was real, and in that day final, yet they came to Him for healing. He asked them a simple question; "Do you believe I can do this?"
They answered that they did, and He gave them sight. Being blind at any time would be an oppressive state, but so much more so in Christ's day. Yet, they dared to believe He could heal them, despite "the witness of the clouds." There are things, oppressive things, that He will allow in our lives. Do we dare to believe Him, even in the midst of the darkest and most threatening clouds?

My world came crashing down in August of 1989. My wife left me. I had to leave my ministry. A total unknown lie before me. Yet, I believed that somehow, He would restore my life and my ministry. I didn't find a great deal of support for that. Not very much in the church and not very much even among family. My belief was tested, and though it weakened more than once, I never let it go, and He did bring into my life those who did believe with me and encouraged me. The road was hard but He walked with me and lived within me every step of the journey. He did restore my life and my ministry, and my witness today is of His faithfulness and His glory. The thickness of the clouds that surrounded me could never stop His Light from piercing them and breaking through to me.

I am not saying that everything you want will take place if you just believe. I am saying that what He has spoken to your heart will come to pass if you refuse to give up and keep pressing on in Him. Clouds, thick and dark clouds, will be a reality in our lives. He will be a greater reality. Trust Him. Hold to Him. Believe Him. He is faithful. He is Light and Life greater than any cloud and any storm.

Blessings,
Pastor O

How Near?

 In Scripture we're given the promise, "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you." The question that comes to my mind is, "Just how near to Him do we want to be?" 

I once borrowed a book from a friend, and in the margin, where this promise had appeared he wrote in response, "Draw near to Him, He draws near to us. Good news/Bad news." He's on target, for it surely is both good and bad news. Good, because when we come near we have the opportunity to see, hear, and know Him in ways we never believed possible. It's bad news though to our inward desire to center upon ourselves, to be our own gods. That fleshly self-life cannot stand in His Presence. His character and Person are far too intense. That's bad news for our flesh.

We sing songs and make declarations that we want to have more of Him, to have all of Him that we can. Are we really prepared for what that means? If we're to venture into the deep of God we had better be prepared, if indeed we even can be, for an intense encounter. There is nothing shallow about Him, though there certainly can be much that is shallow about us. As Scripture says, it's a fearsome thing to fall into the hands of the Living God. He is, as His Word says, a consuming fire. A fire that will consume every part of us that lifts up our self-life at the expense of His life.

I'm saying all this not to deter us from coming to Him. That's exactly what He desires. He craves intimacy with us. He yearns for our company, but we need to understand this is not some casual thing. He is a holy God, His Son, Jesus Christ, is a holy King. When Peter got his first glimpse of who Jesus was, he cried out, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man." His holiness reveals how unholy we are, but this is not something to flee from because His desire is to cleanse, heal, and deliver us from all that pollutes our heart and spirit.

As a young believer, I remember listening to my pastor preach on Jesus' exhortation to the disciples to "launch out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch." He spoke on venturing out into the deep of God. I still remember how my heart burned at that. I wanted to launch out. I wanted to partake of the deep things of God. It has been both wonderful and terrible. He has grown me, stretched me, and purified me in His fire. He is still doing so. It's been very hard on my flesh, but a blessing beyond description for my spirit. He continues to invite me to draw near, and you as well. It is a fearful thing and a wonderful thing. Will you dare to find out just how much? All you need do is draw near....if you dare.

Blessings,
Pastor O