Passing By

 "I perceive that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us continually." 2 Kings 4:9...."In the Bible, 'man of God' indicates a man who kept company with God continually." Vance Havner

Havner tells the story of his first pastorate at a church that had once been led by several men who had gone on to become prominent preachers. Yet, none of these were spoken of by the congregation. The one who was had a name Havner had never heard and could find no great "success" stories about. His name was Josiah Hilliard. The people spoke of him with love and respect. Years removed from the church, his memory was still strong upon the fellowship.

Havner had formed a friendship with a farmer who was a long time member and who had known Josiah Hiliard.. One day he asked the farmer about him, "What was the secret of his strength and the grip he had on you?" The farmer thought for a moment, and then said, "He just loved us." As Havner made his way back to the church, the Scripture from 1st Corinthians came to his mind, "Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels, and have not love, it profits me nothing." The young Havner bowed his heart and spirit before his God and prayed that he might live his life out in the truth of that verse.

2nd Kings 4:9 speaks of the Shunammite woman who had noticed the prophet Elisha frequently passing by her and her husband's home. Her perception was that he was a holy man of God, and she wanted them to build a room for him to stay in when he did pass by. Havner connected that verse with the man Josiah Hilliard, who, to all who knew him, was "a holy man of God who passed by continually" through the lives of those he pastored and encountered. They knew him to be a holy man of God. One who spent much time in His presence. Whether we're pastors, preachers, evangelists, or simply believers, who are we to the ones we "pass by" in our day to day living? Does anyone perceive us as holy men and women of God? Do we spend such time in the company of God that others remark, if only to themselves, that there is a real presence of the Father, of His Spirit, about us? If they don't, can we dare to consider why they don't?

Josiah Hilliard was the least known but most memorable pastor of a church that had produced many "names" in ministry. He was the one remembered. He was the one who gave off the scent of heaven to all he came into contact with. He was the one to whom those he ministered knew had been keeping close company with God. For we pastors, do those entrusted to us say the same? And this is not confined to pastors. As men, women, husbands, wives, fathers and mothers, friends and fellow workers, does anyone speak this of us? Again, do we dare to consider why they don't? Do we dare to pray such a prayer as did Havner, that we would come to live in the truth of 1st Corinthians 13? Do we realize that we cannot apart from living closely with Him, in His company, as a way of life?

I think the foremost attribute of a person of God is that they bring no attention to themselves and live lives that point to Him. Their lives bring glory to God as they just live out His life before those that they "pass by" each day. They model His peace, joy, abundance, hope and love, all as they pass by. May it be so of we who confess Him as Lord. May we pass by always in the company of our Almighty God. Recognized as men and women of God.

Blessings,

Pastor O

Ronin

 "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:11...."In the early church there was no taking Christ as Saviour now, as Lord later - maybe never.....Today churches are filled with 'believers' who have never been made disciples. They have never denied self, taken up the cross, and followed Christ." Vance Havner......"Everyone wants a saviour. Few want a lord." Tony Evans

In Japanese feudal times, the Samurai were the warrior class, and it was their honor to be sworn to a Lord that they followed unconditionally. To be a Samurai without a lord was to have great dishonor brought upon yourself. Such men were called Ronin, and they sought to end their place of shame by becoming dedicated to another lord that they would live and die for. As I think on that, I begin to see the American church as one that is filled with Ronin, men and women who have no real lord and master but themselves. And they see no dishonor or shame in that.

We love to talk of Jesus as our Saviour. Our sermons and songs are filled with references to Him as being so. He is, but the word "Saviour" as pertaining to Jesus only appears a handful of times in the Bible. The word "Lord," as referencing Him, occurs many, many times more. Yet most of us have never noticed that, or chosen not to. As Evans said, we all want a Saviour. Few of us are looking for a Lord.

I go back to the Samurai reference. Their life was completely built around the wishes and desires of their Lord. Whatever he commanded them, they were to do without question or hesitation. Their obedience was instant. Such a way doesn't fit into our western mindset. Not in the secular sense, and since so many of us are still so heavily influenced by that mindset, even controlled by it, it doesn't fit into our spiritual mindset either. The evidence for this is seen in how easily we throw off spiritual authority when it doesn't agree with our view or desire. We see it on every level. We see it in the decisions people make about relationships, jobs, ministries, and really, most everything about their lives. Many a pastor will tell you that those who have sought counsel about significant issues in their life, after being shown how Scripture speaks to it, often ask in essence, "What's my other option?" We see such in the book, Jeremiah, when the remnant of the Jews asked the prophet Jeremiah to ask the Father to tell them what to do after some of their number had killed the governor the Babylonians had established over them. It was their desire to flee to Egypt in fear of reprisal, but they promised to do what God said. Jeremiah did inquire, and God told him that the people were to stay and that they would be well. When the people heard that, a response that wasn't in accordance with what they wanted, they told Jeremiah he hadn't heard from God at all. They fled to Egypt, where eventually they were destroyed by the very Babylonians they sought to escape. Our inbred tendency to resist His Lordship is nothing new. It's part of our fallen DNA.

There is only one answer to this; surrender, but surrender is something alien to our flesh. So we live like Ronin, masterless, except, we end up being mastered by most everything else. Our total well being lies in being completely yielded to Him, as does our true freedom. Israel ended up being slaves in the land God had given them because they continually rebelled against His Lordship. The same happens to us. How much longer will this go on for you? For us?

How weary are we of life as spiritual Ronin? For a Ronin, death was preferred over remaining in that condition. Until we're willing to die to our flesh's obsession with being in control, we will remain spiritual Ronin, living outside the fullness of His life. The true Samurai enjoyed the bounty of all his master owned. The Ronin usually lived off what he could steal or beg. A similar choice lies before you and me. Will we live on the abundance of His Bread and Water of Life, or go on as Ronin, living on sips, nibbles, and scraps of that Life?

Blessings,

Pastor O

Intimate

 "Jesus said to them, 'Come away with Me. Let us go alone to a quiet place and rest for a while." Mark 6:31...."God does not have favorites. But He has intimates." Paul Rees

I've always kind of puzzled over why Peter, John, and James had a closeness with Jesus that the other disciples didn't. His Word tells us that He's not a respecter of persons. As Paul Rees states, He doesn't have favorites. Yet there are those who enjoy a deeper, richer, more intimate relationship with Christ than do others. Why? We were created for relationship and intimacy with Him, yet many of us advance very far in fulfilling that purpose. Where is the lack? Is it in us, or did He create some to enjoy a deeper knowledge of Him than others? These are questions that I, and likely no one can answer, but I do have some thoughts on it.

We're born in a fallen, separated condition from God. Our human and spiritual ancestors Adam and Eve caused it when they sinned against Him in the Garden. The infinite rift created between the human race and our Creator could not be healed by any effort on our part, yet we humans were, are, left with a longing for the One who made us. In our lostness, we have tried to fill that longing with substitutes for Him, though none can replace Him. God, in His love, knowing our state, sent His Son, Jesus Christ to take upon Himself on the cross our sin, and in His death and resurrection, make a way, the only way, for us to return to our Father Creator. In Jesus Christ, our longing for Him can be fulfilled. Yet so many who come to Him for restoration and salvation continue on with that longing being only partially fulfilled, or not at all. So we continue to look for substitutes. And those substitutes continue to fail us.

It may be that some are born with sharper spiritual sensitivity than others. It would seem so with the disciples. But is it His desire that it would remain so in them or us? I know in my life, when I saw the relationship enjoyed by great men and women of God, of the intimacy they walked in, it put a hunger within me to know Him in such a way as well. You couldn't keep me away from listening to such people. Yet others around me had no such desire. They seemed to be satisfied with sips and nibbles of His water and bread of life.

Paul exhorted Timothy to "stir up the gift within you." I believe God has given each of us the ability to enjoy deep and satisfying intimacy and relationship with Him. Our failure is that we seem content to let that ability lie dormant within us as we pursue other loves and objects of devotion. The gift of the possibility of relationship intimacy with Him never gets stirred up by us as we neglect it in our pursuit of those things that can never satisfy what we were created for.

We may not all come to the same degree of intimacy, He has made us each unique, but we all have the capacity for deep intimacy with Him, to the fullest extent possible for us. It's a matter of focusing that gift upon the only One who can satisfy it as He draws us ever more deeply into Himself. I have been given that gift, and so have you. May the waters of our spirits be stirred as we enter into all of its fullness.

Blessings,

Pastor O

Owned

 "Return to your fortress O prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you." Zechariah 9:12....."With an infinite God of infinite wealth, hope never ends in disappointment." Chris Tiegreen

Recently I was involved in a discussion about things that "owned" us in our spiritual walk. These are things, people, attitudes, that sap our energy, draw us away from Him, and in effect, hold us in bondage, which is another word for slavery. When I came across the above verse from Zechariah, I began to wonder what it would mean to us if we were owned by His hope? What would it mean to you?

The apostle Paul wrote in Romans that the hope He gives us will not disappoint. God Himself spoke to His people through the prophet Zechariah that they were to be prisoners to such hope, that He would be their fortress. A fortress where His peace reigns, and where fear, anxiety, and every other assault from the pit of darkness cannot reach us. Yet hope is in short supply these days. People seem resigned to a life lived out on the edge of discouragement and despair, or right in the midst of it. That's understandable in the world, it's unthinkable in His people. We allow ourselves to be prisoners to so many things. Could we dare to enter into a life of being prisoners of His hope? To be held "captive" by His hope?

What would such a life look like? To me, it means that darkness, no matter how deep it is around us, can never prevent His light from bursting through. Prisoners of hope live in such expectation. It would mean that the most dire circumstances cannot prevent His stepping into them and bringing about His deliverance. It would mean that the greatest challenges we face, in life, in relationships, in ministry, in our journey, are not, individually or together, able to keep us from His purposes for us. It would mean that His hope, as Paul promises, will not disappoint us...not ever.

The key in our hope is not that we base it upon what we wish Him to do for us, but that our hope is in Him. Such hope has surrendered all to Him, expectations, desires, outcomes, and trusts that He will do not just what is right, but what is best. It may not seem so at the time, but all who have lived in this state can look back and know that it was and is so. I can personally attest to the truth of this.

Few of us are willing to come to a place where our only hope is Him. I certainly wasn't, yet that is where I found myself. I, like Jacob, could exclaim, "Everything is against me!" Yet I held, weakly for sure, to the promise that He was for me, and so in the midst of devastation, I believed that He would rebuild my life. He did. Not according to the way I thought or expected, but I can testify now, looking back, that what He did was right and it was best.

To be a prisoner of hope, His hope, is to live in a freedom this world knows nothing about. It is living a life held in the grip of hope. His hope. Hope that will not disappoint. He invites us to enter into that hope. To be owned by it. Do we come?

Blessings,

Pastor O

Losing Jesus

 "But why did you need to search?" He asked. "Didn't you know that I must be in My Father's house?" Luke 2:49........."The parents of Jesus lost Him at church, and they were not the last ones to lose Him there." Vance Havner

Jesus and His parents had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of the Passover, a most holy time to the Jews. They were there to worship, and must have spent a great deal of time in the vicinity of the Temple. Yet, when the time came for them to return to Nazareth, they were unaware that Jesus was not with them when they left. In fact, the Bible says that several days passed before they noticed. Our first thought must be that they were very bad parents to have taken so long to miss Him, but were they? They likely traveled with a large number of people and since the idea of family was so extended in those times, they likely assumed he was traveling with others in the group and was with them. There lies the problem for you and me; they assumed He was with them. They assumed wrongly. How often do we do the same?

So many of us assume that Jesus' rebuke of His parents concerning that they should have known where to find Him, in the house of God, meant that they should have known He'd be "in church." One translation says that He told them that He'd be "about My Father's business." We assume that He would be engaged in doing meaningful ministry for His Father. While there is some truth in those assumptions, I think we miss the mark with them. I think the Father's house means something far greater than the church we're a part of. I think it refers much more to being in the house that is His heart. This is where everyone should expect to find us. In His heart. And we most certainly should be about the business of the Father, but that business is first and foremost the business of intimacy with Him. Of being transformed into His likeness. In our zeal to do His work, we miss the work He seeks to do in us. We're in overdrive with our activity for Him, so that little of His activity is going on in us. This is how we, as Havner says, lose Jesus in church. Where are you and I losing Him right now?

Burnout is a serious problem for many in the church today. Pastors, missionaries, teachers, leaders. We throw ourselves into the business of the church, but neglect doing business with Him. We do so much in His name, but we miss living in the power of His name. We can end up with a well oiled organizational machine that will grind to a halt because there is such a lack of the oil of the Holy Spirit. We end up talking about a Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that we rarely, if ever, experience ourselves. Erwin McManus said that Jesus is being lost in the church that bears His name. Where is He being lost in your fellowship and mine?

We can be diligent in planning our Sunday worship, and yet miss Him, lose Him in the preparation. As we meticulously plan the songs, the message, and all that we hope to have in the worship, we somehow lose Him in the planning. I'm often reminded of the story told by a preacher about a church he was invited to preach at. They gave him a list of everything scheduled for the service, with the minutes allowed for each part....including His message. Everything was covered. Everything but freedom for the Holy Spirit to infuse the worship in any way He chose. It may be unconscious, but we expect Him to respect our planning, and in doing so, lose Him....in the church...in the worship of the One we're there for.

Can we dare, as members of His Body, allow Him to examine where, as individuals and as His Body, we are "losing" Him? Like His parents, how far have we "traveled" along without Him? Right now, there may be no more important question to be asked. When His Spirit asks it of us, how and what do we answer?

Blessings,

Pastor O

Settled

 "Come now, and let us reason together," says the Lord, "Though your sins are scarlet, they will be white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool." Isaiah 1:18....."Nothing is ever settled until it's settled right, and nothing is ever settled right until it is settled with God." Vance Havner

One of the most difficult aspects of being a pastor is seeing the number of people who never seem to break through to victory on so many of their life issues. They attend classes, support groups, listen to sermons, and sing worship choruses. They get counseling, they talk to supportive friends, and yet, so much of their life remains mired in defeat. I have come to see that the main reason in the majority of such cases is that they have never settled the issue with God. They have come to many "voices" about it, but they have never really come to God.

The church is filled with those who have open, seeping wounds. Emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Their lives are wracked with unforgiveness, bitterness, fear, anxiety, shame, and guilt. All of it goes on because they have not heeded His invitation to "come, and reason with Me." We resist the invitation because we know that should we come, all of our excuses and reasons for our continuing in these various conditions cannot stand in the light of His presence. Almighty God will get to the root of everything in such a situation, and sometimes, oftentimes, that is the last thing we want.

It would seem that it would be the first, but we can become very comfortable in our misery. We have never known wholeness so we fear what it might be like for us. We don't like where we're at, but at least we feel we have some measure of control here. All of our control is lost when we come to Him. Having control can be the most driving force in our life. So, rather than come, we hold back. resist, and go on in our captivity. A captivity that He would break and end if we will have it. So as Havner says, our issues are not settled, and will never be settled until we get them settled with Him. When will our issues be settled with Him?

Where is His invitation to you going unheeded? Where does He ask you to come and reason with Him? Why are you stepping back, instead of forward? What does He call you to settle with Him but you choose to remain unsettled in it? The invitation keeps coming, but each resistance dulls the sound of His voice in it until we can no longer hear it. Can you hear it now?

Nothing is ever settled until it is settled with Him. In this verse from Isaiah, the Father speaks to the nation of Israel who have drifted far from His presence and are suffering the consequences. The longing of His heart is for them to come to Him, to be healed by Him, restored by Him. That is always the primary longing of His heart for us. Where is that longing reaching out to you right now? We all have issues and too many of them are never settled. They can be, if we'll but heed His calling to come, to reason, to settle it all right now. Come!

Blessings,

Pastor O

Divided Hearts

 "God is spirit, and His worshippers must worship Him in spirit and in truth." John 4:24....."Jesus would have us not ask which requirements we are to fulfill, but what more of ourselves we can offer Him." Chris Tiegreen

I think, even after conversion, we are natural "bargainers" with God. We enter into negotiation with Him as to how we will relate with and obey Him. A lot of it can be unconscious for sure, but we do it nonetheless. I think a lot of our walk with Him has two underlying questions; How much do we actually have to give Him, and, how much can I disobey Him and get away with it? This comes from a divided heart. A heart that is not fully His and retains a good deal of self-interest.

I think we very often approach God like we do the government. At tax time, we look for every loophole we can in order to pay as little tax as possible. We never want to give too much. For many God is simply a higher form of government. We know He gives to us, but our clouded hearts see Him as a taker first, and a stingy giver last. We think He seeks our money and goods. What He wants is us. All of us. What we miss is that when we give Him all of ourselves, we get all of Him for all of our life needs. Spiritually, emotionally, materially, and physically. We see giving a tithe of our income as an obligation to be paid. We give our 10% and send Him on His way. He calls it an aspect of true worship. He's an extravagant God who gives to us in abundance. He doesn't need our money or goods, but He has chosen to need us. He wants the offering of ourselves, freely given. So few of us ever see or understand this, and it grieves His heart deeply. We often give Him 10% of our income while withholding 90% of ourselves.

I don't think we ever really ask the second question "out loud," but I think the divided heart always has it just beneath the surface. Basically, we want to know just how close to the unbelieving culture of the world can we get and still be right with Him? The self-deception present in that question is clear to everyone but ourselves. We see it as asking what duties must we perform to keep His approval while at the same time indulging our flesh and carrying out our unclean desires. On any given Sunday you'll find many singing hymns and praises in the camp of the Lord who have spent most of the week living in the camp of the world in their thought lives, their relationships, their attitudes, and their personal conduct. Again, this is the way of the divided heart. To what degree, on these two questions, is it also the way of ours?

We can never really worship Him with such a heart. Indeed, such hearts may be the main reason we work so hard at trying to generate enthusiasm in our worship. We may succeed in getting some kind of emotional response, but it isn't worship. It isn't an offering of full hearted devotion to Him. An offering that has no restrictions or limits. It just offers all to Him. And there is only one pathway to such worship, to such devotion. Yielding our divided hearts to Him. Confessing and repenting of all our self-centered religious activity, being emptied of it all, and in return, filled up with all the fullness of His Spirit and Life.

"All to Jesus I surrender. All to Him I freely give." The words to an old and loved hymn. It is also what it is to worship Him in spirit and in truth. It's the heart of worship. Is it your heart and mine? Or, do we go on seeking to negotiate our offerings to Him, and measure our degree of obedience? Will we come to Him with all our heart, or a divided one?

Blessings,

Pastor O