Prayers For Daydreamers (And Other Mental Escapists)

Photo by Vera Kratochvil        

I confess, I'm a daydreamer.

Okay, to be more honest, I'm an extreme daydreamer.  Or perhaps "pathological" would be a more honest word.

Perhaps you don't daydream...but you DO fill up your mind with other people's imaginations in the form of novels, TV shows, and movies.  Or perhaps you feast your mind on endless video games.  Whatever your mental escape may be, it's probably fine in small doses.

The problem with me was, daydreaming became a drug.  It became Escape.  I never had to "be there" mentally, even if I was there physically.

Do you have a problem with mental escapism?  Perhaps, like me, one of the reasons you find it easy to slip into "escape mode" is that it's hard to see what's wrong with it.  If that describes you, and you really don't feel like you're missing out on anything by excessive escaping, you'll definitely want to prayerfully consider the requests I've written below.

Or, perhaps your form(s) of escapism have become an addiction...as I'm ashamed to admit they have with me. Especially my imagination; my skill at weaving compelling dramas in my head.  It's so much a part of me that I hardly feel like it's optional.  The stories are always there, always waiting, always beckoning, always entertaining, always seeming to fulfill a need.

In fact, our mental escapes are far more responsive than God is.  We've got to wait on the Lord, but entertaining screens are never far away.  We never have to wait for our imagination either.  And how do you walk away from a drug that literally resides inside your head?  There's no passing by the fantasy counter, the way people can choose to pass by the cigarette counter.

But after a while, as Christians, we have to come to terms with the fact that we love and trust our oh-so-available escapes more than we love and trust the God we can't control.

Then what do we do?

Scripture tells us that conquering bad habits by mere force of will doesn't make us righteous before God.  That's the Pharisaical approach, and it only trades the original sin for the greater sin of religious pride.

Romans 8 tells us that we must put sinful deeds to death "by the Spirit."

And how does the Spirit work?  He works by drawing us to read the Scriptures, illuminating it to our minds, helping us love and revere God as revealed in His Word (and to love His word for revealing Him to us), recalling the truth to our minds (especially if we memorized it), teaching us to love what God loves and hate what God hates, and changing our hearts to want to obey Him.  In this way, He turns our hearts onto the right paths.

So I decided to attack the problem of excessive daydreaming with some specifically targeted prayers, ones which help me aim for ways to pursue a joy in Christ that's better than mental escapism.  And I thought I'd share them with you, in case I'm not the only one with this problem.  So without further ado, here are:

Prayers for Daydreamers
(and other mental escapists)

1. Father, instead of daydreaming/mentally escaping today, may I love the Lord my God with all my mind.  If love is spelled "T-I-M-E," then my mind is loving its constant escapes more than I love You.  Help my mind to be set on You and seeking you more and more of the time.

2. Instead of daydreaming/mentally escaping, by Your grace may I obey the command to "Love my neighbor as myself."  Because the fact is, I can't recognize my neighbor's needs or prioritize them in my life if I'm wrapped up in my fantasy world. 

3. Help me to "Walk as as child of light, trying to discern what is pleasing to the Lord" (Eph 5:8-10).  I can't be constantly trying to discern what is pleasing to the Lord in my real circumstances if I'm daydreaming about being in different ones.

4.  Help to obey Your command that says, "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men."  Forgive me, Lord, that I used to think this meant "Try not to mind the work by distracting myself with my imagination."  After all, what's heartier than my imagination?  But no, it means putting my heart into the work itself in order to lovingly serve others and willingly obey You in the situation You've actually created for me.  It means "redeeming the time," in my real world.

5.  Spirit, please help me to "In everything give thanks."   Daydreaming prevents me from noticing things to be thankful for, or from even committing to noticing them.

6. Help me to remember that I can't "Behold the Lord and be changed into His image, from one degree of glory to another" (2 Co 3:18) if I'm constantly beholding the contents of my imagination instead.

7.  Help me, Spirit, to obey the command: "You shall meditate on God's Word day and night, that you may be careful to do it."  Ignoring Your Word is the same as disdaining Your commands, Your promises, and Your blessings.  It means not caring whether I obey You or not.

8. Help me to "Pray without ceasing."  I clearly can't do that while mentally escaping into fantasy or video games.

9. Help me to receive the blessings of Truth, such as sanctification (John 17:17) and freedom (John 8:32).  All commands, promises, and blessings related to Truth are blocked by an insistence on living with the mind marinating in what is not true. The blessings of Truth can only be applied to my actual reality, even in all its periodic ugliness.

10. Help me to cooperate with You as You prepare my heart to "Go to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach" (Heb. 13:13)  In our daydreams we feed our lust for glory, we dream of human accolades, we focus on mastery rather than dependence, and we further unfit our hearts for bearing His reproach.

Can you see how different this is from "white-knuckle fighting" with our sin?  By the Spirit we seek to love God more, to find our joy in God instead of in sin.  He alone makes that possible, because we can't change our hearts ourselves.  But we can and must choose to seek Him, to "fight the good fight" against our tendency to believe the promises of sin more than the promises of God.  We can and must pray and wrestle and repent in the fight for the greatest joy there is...the joy of believing and knowing Him.

For Those Who Can't Walk on Water Either

Sarah Trimmer (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

"Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

Was Jesus rebuking Peter for lacking the faith to keep walking on the water?

That's the way I've always heard it, but now I wonder.

You see, I've had a life full of sinkings.  So many sinkings that I rarely get out of the boat.  And I'm less likely to get out of it if I think that my next drubbing will be rebuked by Jesus because... terrible failure that I am... I can't do the impossible.

Is the Christian life a process of learning to walk on the water?

I wonder.

Years ago I wrote something that I knew I needed to read again this morning.  (I hope you'll read it too, and I'll link to it so you can.)  I said,  "What if 'arrival' has nothing to do with reaching a certain level of perfection, and everything to do with maintaining the kind of humble, childlike faith that expects nothing from itself and relies totally on God?"

I really believe that that's true.  Please do read the article I linked to above, for more reasons WHY I believe it.

Whole sermons have been written about Peter's lack of faith causing him to sink.  Because of that mindset, people strive to grow stronger faith, and when they're faced with stormy seas or risky situations, they can only see two options.

• Proudly step out, believing their faith to be mighty enough
• Stay in the boat, believing that they haven't yet achieved a strong enough faith.

What if neither of those options are right?  What if the "proudly stepping out" is just that...religious pride rather than true faith in Christ? And what if the "staying in the boat" is a sign of spiritual failure?  What if both are wrong, and neither is right?

UGH!  Before long you can start running in circles like a terrified rabbit, and you give up on this "faith thing" because it just drives you nuts.  You can't do it.  You can't figure out which is right!  You can't figure out your own motives!  You can't see any way to step out in faith or to stay in faith, because you can see sin in yourself either way.  So you get paralyzed.  

To that I say (both to you and to myself):

STOP IT!

Right now, just STOP IT!

Jesus didn't say to any of the disciples, "Why did you stay in the boat?"  And I don't believe he said to Peter, "Why did you sink?"

For what doubt did Jesus rebuke Peter?

Will He rebuke you, too, if you step out of your safe place, and you start to sink?

No, that's not my Jesus.  More importantly, that's not the Biblical Jesus...the Jesus who is tender towards the weakest, the lowliest, the most helpless.  He does not break the bruised reed (Matt 12:20).

There are several accounts in the Bible of Jesus saving the disciples from stormy seas.  In the one we've been looking at, Jesus walked on the water to the boat, and Peter walked out to meet him.  In another case, Jesus was asleep in the boat, and they came and woke him up.  In both cases, they were terrified.

And in both cases, the rebuke was the same.  "Why did you doubt?  Where is your faith?"

Maybe we've been asking the wrong question.  Maybe the question isn't, "Why did Peter sink?"

What if the right question is, "Why did Peter fear that Jesus wouldn't save him when he sank?"

Remember, in both stormy situations, for the disciples both in and out of the boat, the question was the same. The gentle, loving rebuke was the same.  "Why did you doubt?"

Why do you and I doubt that He will save us when we are sinking?  Why are we making "in vs. out of the boat" the issue?  Why are we making "on top of the water vs. going under the water" the issue?

Are we to fear, in either location?

Was half-dunked Peter filled with less faith than the ones in the boat?  I don't think so.  All of them were afraid of going under, regardless of where they were when it happened.

Joyful, free faith doesn't have to examine its own perfection to see whether it should get out of the boat or stay there.  It doesn't say, "I'm disqualified from getting out of the boat, because I can spot sin remaining in myself and in my motives." It doesn't say, "Oh no, my sinking must mean that my faith wasn't strong enough!"

Joyful, free faith trusts Jesus no matter where we feel the water threatening to overwhelm us, even though we're not yet perfected, because HE is our Savior.

Why must we keep relearning that HE saves us?  Why do we keep thinking that we save ourselves by making our faith perfect enough, instead of believing that He saves people of little faith?

He is the Savior...not of the perfected, but of sinners (Luke 5:31-32)!  Why do we doubt?  He who saves those in the boat, will he not save those who walk out on the water and then start to sink?

Where are you in your walk?  Does Jesus want you to believe that you could be anywhere, anywhere where He cannot save you?

The life of faith is not a life of staying always on top of the waves.  It's a life of believing that you are free to walk with Him in humble-but-imperfect ways, without doubting that His love will pull you out of the water no matter where you are when you start to sink.

Because you WILL sink sometimes.  I guarantee it.  Life's billows WILL overwhelm you.

Cancer.  Loss of a loved one.  Betrayal.  Failure.  Injury.  Job loss.  Moving to an unfamiliar place.

You WILL sink sometimes.

The question from Jesus, I believe, is not, "Why did you sink?"

It is, "Why did you fear I would not be here to lift you up when you sank?"

So step out if you feel that's what God is calling you to do.  Don't question if you have enough faith to stay on the water.  Just believe that He will save you when you get wet.

And here's a final word of love to those who are currently under the waves, and have been there, perhaps, for a long time.  I am NOT preaching a despicable "prosperity gospel" (which I hate) here.  I am not saying that Jesus will always take the waves away.  His salvation is sometimes through the trials, not from the trials. Your pain does not mean He loves you less, or that you are a failure.  Trust Him, trust Him, that He will pull you out of the water when the time is right, when that part of your life's story has been written to perfection (even if that relief doesn't come in this lifetime).  Trust that He is your Savior, no matter where you are in relation to the boat, the water, or the other disciples. He will bring you to the right place because of your continued, trusting obedience.  Remember, as long as we're on this earth, it's a Christian walk, not a Christian arrival.

Trust Him, trust Him, trust Him, wherever you are, no matter how far you've gone under life's overwhelming forces.

That's a stronger faith than one which skips lightly across the waves.

Sometimes God Speaks While You're Still In Your PJ's

English: Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It is not on what we spend

the greatest amount of time

that molds us the most,

but whatever exerts

the most power over us.

Chambers, Oswald (2010-10-22). My Utmost for His Highest, Updated Edition (p. 159).

Discovery House Publishers. Kindle Edition.

This morning, before I had even gotten out of bed, I read the above words and felt my brain explode.  Here’s the comment that I wrote in a Kindle note attached to the above quote:

True, but if we are more strongly controlled by temporal things than by the Spirit and the Truth, then we will force a greater connection between power and time. In other words, if I am controlled by temporal things, I will insist on dedicating more and more of my time to those temporal things. I won't be able to stand it any other way.

But there's an inverse reality here as well! If I am controlled by temporal things, then I will refuse to give time to anything that I fear will control me. So, for example, as a person inadequately sanctified (and therefore temporally controlled by default), I am terrified to spend too much of my time on drudgery, because I dread becoming a drudge. Time spent = control given. Escapism is a loud acknowledgement that I am a slave of Time instead of a freed citizen of Eternity.

But if, as a Gospel-sanctified person, I submit to the power of God alone, then power and time are severed from each other. Time spent doing drudgery does NOT give drudgery power over me, to define me. And I will not feel the need to slavishly devote all possible time to temporal pleasures, because they no longer have the power to define our create me.

So then, sanctified freedom from the power of time actually frees me to do God's Will (loving and serving) within the confines of time.

And what is death, but stepping outside of time and into eternity? So then, Christ's call to "die daily" includes a call to sever the connection between time and power in my life, freeing me to obey Him by living (loving and serving) within the confines of Time as a free citizen of Eternity.

Now, I could spend a loooong time clarifying and expanding on that, but I just want to leave it be, at least for the time being.  If you feel like gnawing some marrow out of that dry bone, go for it!  If not, well, just remember that I wrote it in my pink-with-black-scotty dog pajamas, and feel free to walk away.

Praying for "...But Not..."

It's been a long time since I've posted anything.  But it certainly hasn't been for lack of "interesting" events in my life!  In the past couple of months I've spent a great deal of time on bedrest, relying on the incredible generosity of my church and help from my family.  I've undergone tons of medical tests, taken lots of medications, received several new diagnoses, struggled with hopes delayed, engaged in wrestlings with God, and seen answers to prayers that I had never even been wise enough to pray.  (Must have been other believers and Jesus who made those requests on my behalf, I'm sure.)

Finally, just over a week ago (on Nov 29, 2011), I had the major surgery I needed.  Thanks be to God, I am already feeling better than I have felt for months, and am on the road to what will probably be better overall health than I've had in more than a decade!  I'm still relying on the generosity of others for help, but I'm now cleared to lift up to 8-10 lbs, so I can do many more things.

In some ways it's been tough, but I wouldn't trade this time for anything.  God has been SO present, and SO sweet!  I have learned so much about rest, about trust, about submission, about gratitude...but mostly about the precious sovereign love of God for me in Christ.  Thank Him along with me, will you?

 A little while ago I read "A Praying Life" by Paul Miller, and it changed the way I pray for myself, my family, my neighborhood, my church, missionaries, and the world.  The book helped me see how to get to the root and pray about the heart of the issues in my life and sphere.  And boy, do I always need to deal with heart issues!

You see, I've always had a powerful avoidance ethic.  "If you can't control it, avoid it" was my unspoken motto for life, unseen and unquestioned as it guided me into disaster after disaster.  My prayer life largely focused on the desire to see pain relieved or prevented, even as I busily pursued the kind of selfishness that ate me up and made me useless.

But several months ago, when I was making up my new prayer card for myself, the Spirit brought one of my Scripture memory passages to mind.  (That's a powerful argument for memorizing Scripture!)  I made that passage part of my daily prayer for myself, and because it aligns with God's wise will, He is honoring it.

May I invite you along as I pray this passage?

"Lord, please free me from the urge to try to control everything, the belief that the avoidance of pain is the greatest good.  At the heart of them, my prayers used to always be, 'Don't let me be afflicted.  Don't let me be perplexed.  Don't let me be persecuted.  Don't let me be struck down.'  But that's not my prayer any more.  Now I ask that You would free me to be what Paul described: 'afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.' 

I say, 'Free me' to be these things, because that would be truly liberating.  I have been a slave to fear, held captive by avoidance, paralyzed by risk.  Please free me to love others in the way that You do...a way which is only possible if I'm willing to be hurt.  I can't triumph on my own, but through You I am 'more than a conqueror' (Rom. 8:37).  And what would this victory look like?  It would look like loving the Lord my God with all my heart and soul and mind and strength, and loving my neighbor as myself.  It would look like the end of self-centered self-protection, and the beginning of sacrificial love.  It would look like the end of regret over opportunities lost, and the birth of praise and joy over circumstances submitted to Your glory and the good of those I touch.

And then, Oh Lord, I pray that you would help me to understand, by experience, what Paul said next. Teach me what it means to be 'always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.'  How can it be that this, 'carrying of Jesus' death,' and this, 'manifesting of His life' is something that 'we who live' are 'always doing?'  I don't know, but I pray that you would make it true in my life so that I would be able to glorify You and serve my neighbor in that way."

I felt an immense burden lifted off of me the first time I prayed that, and since then the Lord has been faithfully helping me to pry my hands off the controls, to trust Him, to risk loving and being hurt.  I've got a long way to go, of course, but I love the path I'm on now!

How would your prayer life...your whole life...be changed if you regularly prayed for the "...but not..." of 2 Cor. 4:8-11?

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Photo by abcdz2000 from Stock Xchng

To the Legalist Who Yearns for Freedom

Image by kempsternyc via Flickr

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Please go back and read the previous post to get the background for this one.  Also please note that this entry refers only to so-called "grey areas" in Christian behavior.  At no time do I advocate disobedience to clear commands or principles.)

Do you feel guilty about desiring to do what you see other Christians doing…things which you can't do because you've been taught that God would disapprove?  Have you found that the Scriptures really don't forbid certain activities, but your conscience still won't let you engage in them anyway?  Are you wondering how you can get the freedom to indulge as others do?

Are you hoping that someone will tell you how?

I can think of two directions to take this problem, depending on where you are spiritually.  So I'm going to start by giving you a little diagnostic quiz. 

Please tell me honestly if the following describes your current experience of Christianity:

I'm not sure I'm saved, but I'm trying to act like I am,

I don't love God, but I'm supposed to behave as if I do,

I do love sin, but I'm supposed to behave as if I don't.

Now look at the description of "license" (sinful self-indulgence) below, and tell me if it fits the way you wish you could describe your life:

I don't love God, and I wish I could act like I don't

I do love sin, and I wish I could act like I do.

If that sums up your religion, you have far deeper things to be concerned about than whether or not you can enjoy a glass of wine.  The soul described above is in mortal danger, no matter how many cigarettes it does not smoke.  What you have is mere human religion, and what you need is a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit.

But what if that does not describe you?  What if you truly are a believer; one whose love for God and hatred for sin are imperfect but growing?  What do you do if legalism holds you in its grip?

How do you find freedom?

First, I suggest you make sure you're looking for true freedom.  And true freedom is just as free not to do as it is to do.  There are many who are free to drink alcohol, but there are also many who have lost the freedom not to.  They are enslaved.  If it is truly freedom that you seek, you will not limit your search to "the freedom to do such-and-such desired behavior."  You will search for the freedom to do it and be thankful, or to abstain from it and be thankful.

He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. (Rom 14:6 NIV)

Being gratefully happy either way…either doing or not doing…doesn't that sound wonderful?

How do you achieve such freedom?  By seeking an ever-increasing love for God and an ever-growing satisfaction in His delights, so that whether you do or don't do certain fleshly activities, your heart will still be content in Him.

Is this the sort of freedom your soul longs for?  If so, I highly recommend the book that started it all for me.  It's "Desiring God," by Pastor John Piper.  You can read it online for free here, or purchase it at any Christian bookstore or online book retailer.  You may also want to read anything truly God-centered that you can get your hands on. 

Again, resist the urge to seek freedom to do a specific thing.  As long as you feel your happiness depends on your "freedom to do that," then your heart still lacks the freedom to abstain from it.  You are in chains to that desire, and your abstinence (if you manage to abstain) is joyless.

As long as your conscience forbids you to do something, do not indulge in it (Rom 14:23).  But if your heart aches for what you cannot do, bring that ache to the Lord as one who believes (or at least wants to believe) that He is the source of all the deepest joys.  Ask Him to increase your love for Him.  Seek freedom in Christ by seeking to delight first and foremost in Him.  Then trustingly obey Him so He can lead you in the right paths.  As your delight in Him grows, you may find yourself liberated to do things that you could not have safely done before.  Or, you may find yourself liberated to abstain without any serious pain.

When Christ becomes your life, your joy, your all, you will not be enslaved by anything you have, or by anything you lack.  You will not be enslaved by anything you do, or anything you cannot do.  You will be affected (sometimes profoundly) by your circumstances, but you will not be owned by them.

I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Php 4:11-13)

If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed! (John 8:36)

The Confused Conscience

Image via Wikipedia

In response to my last post, a dear reader named Karin posed the following question:

Some folks have a wrongly calibrated conscience, i.e. it is sin to see a movie, to dance,to play sports or even shop on a Sunday, etc. etc. It would be wise not to do anything that goes against their conscience, but they see other godly believers doing it. That's where their struggle begins and their feelings of guilt about having their particular weakness are not based on truth. Not sure if I explained this well enough. What are your thoughts on that?

Karin, that's quite a good question.

Legalism is a deadly thing, and it often keeps its grip on people even long after they've begun to understand grace and freedom in Christ. On the other hand, some people throw off legalism and exchange it for sinful self-indulgence...just trading in one wrong for another.

Maybe before we can discuss this problem, it would be helpful to define what we mean by "legalism." I don't know what anyone else's definition is, but this is the one I've come up with that best expresses my understanding of it:

Legalism is an attempt to make the lost act like the saved;

to make those who don't love God behave as if they did,

and to make those who do love sin behave as if they didn't.

When people cast off legalism and turn to sinful self-indulgence, what we see is more honest, though not more admirable living:

those who are lost act like the lost

those who don't love God act like they don't

and those who love sin act like they do.

By contrast, when we are truly saved, grace changes who we are (gradually at times, and suddenly at other times), to give us hearts that delight in doing good. We are freed by God...not to do evil and get away with it, but to do good and love it. That is the truest form of freedom.

When it comes to matters of conscience which are not "black and white:"

I have met miserable and/or prideful legalists who don't do certain things, but I have also met joyful, free lovers of God who don't do those same things. The legalists are under compulsion not to do them, and the grace-led ones are free not to do them. (And still other joyful lovers of God are free to do them!)

Those who tend to have legalistic consciences may feel a great deal of guilt because of the attraction they feel towards the "forbidden" item or activity. And yet they desire to find the freedom that Christ promises.

(Allow me to stress again that I am not referring to clearly-defined sin, which all Christians should scrupulously avoid. I'm referring to matters which Scripture leaves up to individuals, but about which some Christians have tried to force their own convictions onto others.)

What should the guilt-ridden person do in this instance?

Scripture forbids us to do anything that we believe may be wrong (Rom 14:23). The heart which looks at something it believes is wrong, and chooses to do it anyway, is by definition a heart that is willing to sin. It doesn't matter if the activity was truly allowable. What matters is the attitude that said, "I think it's wrong, but I don't care if it's wrong or not. I'll do it anyway."

So how is the person trapped by legalism to be set free? Should he focus on the behavior in question, examining it from every angle to decide if it can be justified? Should he go see a Christian counselor to get cured of his hang-ups?

Perhaps. There may be some benefit there for some people. But look again at the definition of "legalism" above, and the definition of "honest self-indulgence" just below it.

Think it through. How would you counsel the person trapped in legalism who wants to be free, but is afraid of freedom?

I'd love to hear your feedback, and next time I'll give you what I believe I would say to such a person.

(P.S. While I would dearly love to have lots of comments on this entry, I do not want anyone to hijack it and turn it into a forum for arguing over whether certain "grey areas" are really black or really white. I will moderate all comments in the spirit of Romans 14.)

Who’s in Charge Here?

Image via Wikipedia

I’m still actively working through this process with the Lord, in which I asked Him to help me hate my sin, and He has been answering in His own unique ways.

One fact struck me recently, and I’m sure it came from His Spirit.

I want to have God for my own, more than I want to be owned by Him. I want to hold the reins and steer towards God, instead of giving the reins to Him.

Ouch!

My thoughts on this subject reminded me of a devotional that I wrote years ago, on a different website. I want to reproduce it for you here.

I think the Lord must have been giving me today's topic, because I just about woke up with it. All morning I've been singing, "Jesus, You are My King." And I've been thinking about what it means to have Jesus as King.

There's a stubborn side of me, and I suspect that you may have a stubborn side too, if you're human like me. It's the side that says, "I don't want a king. I don't like the idea of being subject to anyone. I do my own thing, I'm my own person, I'm an adult, and no one can tell me what to do."

I think it is especially hard for us as Americans to swallow the idea of a king over us. When we think of it, we think of everything that can go wrong when a human being is given too much power. We live in a democracy, and if we don't like our leaders, we boot them out! Who needs a king with absolute authority? We kicked free from that sort of tyranny hundreds of years ago. We're proud of our independence as Americans, and rightly so. But that kind of thinking is so ingrained in my heart that it is hard for me to believe that Someone really has the right to tell me how to live every part of my life. It's oppressive to think about...if I'm thinking about it in my flesh.

How deceptive Satan is! He too is a ruler...not as powerful as our Lord, of course, but a ruler nonetheless. He rules the lives of all those who have not made Christ their king. (I don't mean to imply a limit to God's sovereignty, which of course extends to the lives of those who don't know Him. But God has, for a time, given Satan a realm of authority.) Those who do not obey God have not become independent as they think. They have simply become enslaved to other masters. This is even true of those of us who belong to Christ, but who have chosen for a time to wander. Even though we are God's children, like the prodigal son we choose to live just like the slaves of this world. And we find that what we thought would be a wonderful freedom turns out to be nothing of the kind. Satan lures us with delicious temptations, but "their end is death."

Some deceive themselves that they truly are independent, slaves neither to God nor Satan. Perhaps they deny the existence of both. But they do not understand that their own flesh is also a merciless slave driver which is never satisfied. The flesh hungers after power and pleasure, and never gets enough of either. In its relentless pursuit of its desires, it runs roughshod over everyone around us, and eventually ruins our lives as well. It reminds me of the rebellious youth, who declares his independence from his parents by enslaving himself to drugs, or alcohol, or nicotine. Soon he will do anything to satisfy the very cravings which will destroy him.

But we have to come to the point where we truly see and believe that Satan and our flesh are cruel taskmasters. Until we truly see that, we will continue to serve them willingly. And at the same time we will look at Christ and say, "We want no-one to rule over us!" How blind and foolish!

But what kind of tyrant is our Lord? What kind of slave driver is He? The King who came to serve, who died for us, who intercedes for us, who waits patiently for us to come to our senses, who lovingly disciplines us for our own good, who frees us from the law of sin and death...need I say more?

Yes, His authority is absolute. He is sovereign. And I'm so glad! Imagine a universe in which Satan, or even our own flesh, were sovereign. Such a monstrosity would self-destruct, and it would be a good thing for it to do so.

I must have a king, for I am only human. Who then is my king? Satan? My flesh? Lord help me to truly understand how awful such enslavement is. Then I will have such joy in my heart when I sing, "Jesus, You are my King!"

Blessings in our King,

Betsy

That devotional touches something in my heart. I want to remember that I always have a master. It’s not a question of Christ versus my Autonomous Self ruling. It’s a question of Christ versus Satan/my sin-enslaved flesh ruling.

I don’t want to think in terms of "deciding to have a master." That still has negative connotations in my rebellious, non-trusting mind sometimes. Instead, I want to think of myself (realistically) as someone who has always had a master, but has had a change of ownership. I want to get to know this new Master better, because the news about Him is unspeakably good, and serving Him is true freedom!

Like Pilate, I find no fault in Him. But oh, let me not be like Pilate by refusing Him as my King anyway, even in some small degree!

Oh Lord, help me to truly surrender to You!

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The Burden-Bearer

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Hannah Whitall Smith (1832-1911)writes in

The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life:

 

 

 

Most Christians are like a man who was toiling along the road, bending under a heavy burden, when a wagon overtook him, and the driver kindly offered to help him on his journey. He joyfully accepted the offer, but when seated, continued to bend beneath his burden, which he still kept on his shoulders.

"Why do you not lay down your burden?" asked the kind-hearted driver.

"Oh!" replied the man, "I feel that it is almost too much to ask you to carry me, and I could not think of letting you carry my burden too."

And so Christians, who have given themselves into the care and keeping of the Lord Jesus, still continue to bend beneath the weight of their burden, and often go weary and heavy-laden throughout the whole length of their journey.

Since God carries me, He carries my burdens, too.  I may still feel the weight on my shoulders, but underneath are the everlasting arms (Deut. 33:27).

The question is, what do I do with the weight on my shoulders if I still feel it?

It’s been a while since I read The Christian’s Secret, so perhaps I need to read it again.  But it’s certainly too late to do that tonight, and I would like to throw this open and get some insights from all of you.  Not that I’m feeling particularly burdened by anything tonight (I’m not), but I often DO carry around burdens that I need to entrust more fully to His care.

What do you do in such cases?  Let’s get some good discussion going here!

(You can read The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life online for FREE here!)

Why A Sabbath?

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Why did God command the keeping of the Sabbath?

Now, before you protest that this question doesn’t matter because we’re no longer under the law, let me assure you that I have no intention of preaching legalism here. But remember also that the commandment to “Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy” is part of God’s Moral Law, part of the Ten Commandments, and not part of the specifically Jewish Ceremonial Law. If “Thou shalt not murder” and “Thou shalt not commit adultery” apply to everyone, then isn’t there at least a sense in which “Remember the Sabbath” applies to everyone as well?

No legalism, please. But let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water. God came up with the Sabbath for a reason.

What was it?

Of course the Sabbath teaches that man should rest regularly from his labors. That’s a given. And the writer of Hebrews speaks eloquently of the symbolism of the Sabbath, and how it relates to the rest that remains for the people of God. That’s a wonderful truth.

But what reason did God give when he commanded us to “keep it holy”?

For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
Exo 20:11

Keep it holy, rest on that day…because that’s what God did.

Now, if you’re like me, your mind will balk. “But God didn’t get tired, so He didn’t need to rest. Clearly He rested to set us an example, right? But why did He have to do that? People will naturally rest, after all. Why should it be commanded? And why would God go through the show of resting Himself, when He didn’t need to?”

Take a look, if you will, at Exodus 20:2-17, and see if anything special about the Sabbath commandment jumps out at you. Do you see it?

It’s the only commandment for which God explains His reasoning. And He doesn’t just do it here. It’s reiterated throughout the Old Testament. Clearly, the reason is very important.

Rest, because God rested.

The Ten Commandments begin with God introducing Himself (Exo. 20:2). Then comes the commandment that tells us He is supreme. There are to be no other gods before Him (Exo. 20:3). Then He tells us that we are also to have no “lesser gods,” nor are we to make any idols to represent Him (Exo. 20:4-5). Then He tells us that even His Name is to be treated as holy (Exo. 20:7). And then, before all the commandments about how we’re to treat our parents and our neighbor, He inserts this commandment with its explanation.

Work six days, and rest the seventh, because that’s what I, your God, did.

The law is not arbitrary. As Del Tackett so clearly points out in The Truth Project, God didn’t flip a coin to decide whether stealing, murder, or adultery should be considered right or wrong. Things are right or wrong based on their conformity with God’s own nature, with His character. Lying, stealing, etc are wrong because they are opposed to the very character of God. That’s why Jesus could say, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). If you love Me, you’ll want to be like Me. You’ll take your cues from Me. You’ll want to do what I do.

I believe that this is at the heart of the Sabbath commandment.

Rest, because I rested. Have that kind of heart…the kind that looks for life in Me, that yearns to imitate Me. Have a heart that longs to beat with a rhythm that matches My own. Do that because you love Me (Eph. 5:1).

Every human understands that murder, stealing, lying, and adultery are wrong…at least if they are the victims of those wrongs. It would be easy to take this moral law, which God has written on every human heart, and redefine it as primarily a man-centered thing. The most important thing is to do right by your neighbor.

And Jesus affirmed the importance of doing right by your neighbor as the fulfillment of the law (Matt. 22:37-40). But loving your neighbor, as important as it is, was only the second most important thing He listed in this passage. He said that the law and the prophets hung on two commandments. What was the first?

Jesus said to him, 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:37-38

Do you see the connection?

• Love God with everything you are.
• Rest because He rested.
• In other words, love Him and do like He does.

The meaning fairly screams from the pages if we have eyes to see it. If you love Me, you’ll want to be like Me! That’s what the law of the Sabbath tells us. This is what makes God’s moral law different from any other legal codes made by man. It does good for its neighbor’s sake, and it does good, first and foremost, because of love for God, and to bring glory to God.

So why don’t Christians observe the Sabbath any more?

Well, the fact is that some do…and I’m not referring to legalists. There are those who find joy in expressing love to God in the formal observation of a Sabbath day. They’re not putting themselves back under the law. They just enjoy the beauty of devoting one whole day per week to the worship and service of God. Far be it from any of us to protest against that, even though we would rightly protest against a legalistic Sabbath observance.

Students of the Bible will expect me to refer to Romans 14 next. And they would be right. Paul deals with such things as Sabbath observances for Christians in this chapter, and one of the most misused verses in that chapter is this one.

One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.
Rom 14:5

Many Christians look at that verse and say, “See, we don’t have to observe the Sabbath any more,” and they leave it at that. But to stop there is to ignore the very reason why we no longer have to have a special day set aside. It’s found in the very next verse.

He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it.
Rom 14:6

Paul makes a hugely important point here. We are not released from the Sabbath because God no longer wants our devotion. We are released from having a Sabbath Day because our whole life is to be a Sabbath! We are free to “not observe the day,” only if we are doing so “to the Lord.” When verse 5 says “another esteems every day alike,” Paul wasn’t saying, “It’s ok to think of every day as secular and godless.” Heaven forbid! He’s saying that we should consider every day “Holy to the Lord,” whether it’s a working day or a resting day. Every day should be marked by the restfulness of trusting souls which have ceased from legalism, from worldly fretting, from the materialistic rat race, and from all forms of self-focus. Every day should find God-centered Christians resting in Him and seeking to conform their lives to Him; Christians who long to be like Him and do what He does because they love Him.

For thus says the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel: "In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength."
Isa 30:15

Demon Faith vs. Saving Faith

In my last entry I offered the following challenge:

Think deeply about the following challenge question:Image via Wikipedia

How does my faith differ from the faith of demons?
(James 2:19)

Seriously, make a list. Write it down. What do the demons believe? Keep in mind that the demons have known God all of their lives, they have always seen Him with their eyes, they have witnessed every work He's ever done. Everything you know, they know, and much more. They have knowledge and belief, but not saving faith.

What do you have that they don't have? What is your faith that theirs isn't? Write it down. Seriously. Do it.

I covered this topic a little bit in November, 2008 (See "Reasonable Sacrifice?"). But I thought for the sake of continuity, it wouldn't hurt to revisit the ideas and perhaps add to them a bit, especially for those who may not have read that earlier entry. So here goes.

How does my faith differ from demonic faith?

• Demonic faith knows that God is holy, and hates His holiness. It would love to see Him corrupted if possible. A human with such faith refuses to believe that God hates sin...at least not his sin. Or, he knows that God's holy standard condemns him, and he shakes his fist in response. He either refuses to obey, or he obeys with gritted teeth.
• Saving faith knows that God is holy, and treasures that holiness. It rejoices in the fact that He cannot be corrupted. A human with this faith obeys because he loves God's goodness and rightness. When he disobeys (and he sometimes will, because he's not yet perfect) he grieves and repents, grateful for the forgiveness he receives. And just as anyone naturally gravitates toward what he loves, this person will naturally become more obedient.
  

• Demonic faith knows that God is completely in charge, and it hates that fact. It does everything in its power to usurp His authority, ignore it, or rebel against it. A human with such faith will insist that humanity and human desires should be the center of the universe. His religion, if he has any, will be completely man-centered. He will reject the authority of Scripture, demand pleasure, freedom and rights at all times, and will only respect a god who agrees with man's preeminence. He may be totally self-centered, or may be a philanthropist serving humans other than himself, or anything in between. But God will not have preeminence. Humans (self or others) always come in first.
  
• Saving faith knows that God is completely in charge, and wouldn't have it any other way. It trusts His power and has no confidence in the flesh. While it still isn't perfect, it grows increasingly obedient because of its trust in God's perfect knowledge, love and will. A human with such faith develops increasing peace, joy, and confidence because the burden of responsibility rests squarely where it ought to rest...on God. He takes Christ's yoke (he's not indolent), but he is free to serve unselfishly because he serves God first, and takes God's love to others.

• Demonic faith must obey because it has no choice, but it gnashes its teeth and hates obedience. A human with such faith may be very religious; a strict legalist, in fact. But he wishes there were no such thing as this demanding God, and he casts a longing eye at every debauched sinner. "There, but for the severity of God, go I," he thinks, envying those who have it better because they are not enslaved by Christianity. He isn't even sure he'll like Heaven. (Without enjoying anyone else's sin vicariously like he gets to do on Earth, won't Heaven be boring?) But he figures he'll have to put up with God and His ways in order to avoid Hell.
  
• Saving faith obeys willingly, trustingly, and even joyfully (not perfectly, but increasingly as time goes by). A human with such faith looks at the lost and shudders...not with pride, but with the certain knowledge that they are missing out on the best in this life, not just for eternity. He shudders, too, because he knows who he was when he was lost, and that he could so easily fall back into that life, but for the grace of God. He sees the chains of bondage to sin, and yearns to see the lost liberated as he has been. And his obedience does feel like liberty, because he's free to be the new creation that God made him to be.
  

• Demonic faith may acknowledge that God's way is the only way, but it wishes for a different one. A human with such faith will trust in Jesus as a way, but not as the way. His thoughts of salvation center around the mercy he feels that humanity deserves, and not about the glory due to the Holy One.
  
• Saving faith not only agrees that Jesus is the only way, but also sees how beautiful and right that is. It becomes jealous for God's glory with a holy jealousy. A human with such faith will read the Bible as a God-centered book, and will increasingly live a God-centered life, intent upon glorifying God so that others will see His unique worth. They will have a growing desire to see others worship God as God deserves, knowing full well that this will also be the only way that humans will ever find true joy.

• Demonic faith depends on itself. It cannot depend on God for anything...not for joy, for pleasure, for salvation, for life, for death, or anything else. A human with such faith wants no savior, or at least will accept only a partial one. He adds his own works to Christ's, or else depends on his own works entirely. While he may decide to do something he calls "trusting Christ" for what happens after death, he cannot trust for what happens in this life. He trusts his own schemes for pleasure, his own plans for profit, his own ideas of what is best for himself on this earth.
  
• Saving faith refuses to trust self for anything. It thanks, praises, and glorifies God because it has found Him to be the true source of all that it needs. A human with such faith recognizes his own incredible unworthiness, wouldn't dream of the possibility of saving himself, and will grow ever more certain that Christ is the fountain of everything he needs, of every delight he seeks.
  

To sum it up, demonic faith knows everything about God, and hates everything it knows. Saving faith knows less about God, but loves everything it knows and wants to know more.

Do you see here that I'm not talking about perfection? The one with demonic faith and the one with saving faith will still sin. But there will be an ever-growing difference between the two, because they revolve around different centers. They may wobble a bit in their individual orbits, sometimes moving a bit further out or in, but their focal point never changes. An immature Christian may only see God more distantly than a mature one, but what he sees will draw him like gravity. Love will pull him closer, and will cleanse him and sanctify him as he goes. He doesn't become sinless, but he sins less and less.

He will increasingly hate the sin
that offends the God
he increasingly loves.

A non-Christian, his heart deadened by sin, will see nothing of the true God at all, because what he does see of God repels him, and he covers his eyes. He's committed to his center of gravity, and nothing but a miracle from God will change that. The closer his love pulls him towards his godless center (self), the more he will hate the God who offends the sins he loves.

What's your center of gravity?

Yes, you may wobble. Yes, you see through a glass, dimly. Yes, you stumble sometimes. But if you could have everything you want at this very moment, would your heart leap after the things of the flesh, or would it leap for God? If you could be freed from God, freed from Christ, and still avoid Hell, would that sound like a bargain to you? Do you think Heaven would be a great place to spend eternity even if Christ were not there...if it were only a place of endless fleshly pleasure? Or have you tasted and seen that the Lord is good...all the good you want, all the good you need? Are you just longing to be freed from this body of sin so you can enjoy Him forever? Would Heaven be boring without Him?

Do you, however imperfectly, revolve around the Son?

Where the Spirit of the Lord is...

Now the Lord is the Spirit;
and where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is liberty.
(2Co 3:17)

The following quote is from George H. Morrison (1866-1928).
I hope it blesses you as it blesses me.

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Image by RogelSM via Flickr

"It is not freedom to do just as we please
in defiance of all the laws that girdle us.
[T]he paradox of Christianity is this,
that [freedom] comes through obedience to Christ.

Think of the schoolgirl practicing her music.
Is not that the weariest of bondage?
Is this the happy face we saw so lately,
flushed with the eager merriment of play?

But set down the musical genius at the instrument,
and get him to interpret some great master,
and the thoughts which he utters are the master's thoughts,
and yet he is magnificently free.

The child is in bondage, the genius is at liberty.
The child is unnatural; the genius is himself.
The child is slaving under an outward law.
The genius has the spirit of the master.

And 'if any man have not the spirit of Christ,'
then, says the Scripture, 'he is none of His.'"

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Whose Pen Is It, Betsy?

Somebody is very angry with me.

This particular person believes that it is wrong for me to use my writing gift as I do. They believe I have my focus wrong. Because I have chosen to write the sorts of things that I write, and have not written a "Keep Christ in Christmas" letter to my city officials, this individual has made it clear that they want nothing more to do with me, except to send me the occasional angry email expressing their belief that people like me are to blame for everything that's wrong with our country. So far, my attempts at reconciliation have been ignored or rebuffed.

I confess, the situation threw me for a while. Fear of man crept into my soul...the desire to be liked, or at least to be vindicated. Prideful anger simmered and stewed and sometimes boiled over. And I couldn't seem to feel the Spirit's guidance anymore. Inspiration for writing dried up.

In other words, it's been a very helpful experience.

I've had a wonderful opportunity to see sin in my heart, and to deal with it before God. Repeatedly. And as of this morning I've been given fresh clarity about God's desire for the gifts He has given me.

You see, I've been very conflicted. I didn't want to seem to be an uncaring, irresponsible American. I felt I ought to write something to my city officials, to "fight for our rights" as I was urged to do, but I had no idea what to write. The city had included Christian themes in its holiday display, but rumor had it that there were some officials who didn't want them there.

I couldn't in good conscience write a letter based on second or third hand information. "I've heard that there are some people who don't want Christian symbols used during the holidays! Well, let me tell you..."

No.

And as for the whole issue of Christmas...well...I haven't studied the issue in depth, but I'm somewhat aware of its pagan roots. My family celebrates Christmas, but I certainly can't be dogmatic about how right that is.

Also, inevitably, my conflicted mind would always crash into this one simple fact:

If I write any letter at all, regardless of what it says, it will have been written because of and for the person who is angry with me...and to satisfy my desire to be liked.

At that point, I just mentally "threw up my hands" and thought about something else. I didn't know where to go. Pride didn't want me to yield my pen to anyone else, especially to someone who was angry with me. And when I saw the sin in my pride, it left me confounded. I just didn't know what to do.

Well, that's not entirely true. There was one thing I knew to do. I kept confessing the sin that constantly welled to the surface, confessing my confusion, confessing how desperately I needed Him, even though I couldn't seem to feel Him, and it seemed that He was "hiding His face."

I will wait on the LORD,
Who hides His face from the house of Jacob;
and I will hope in Him.
Isa 8:17

God is so good!

This morning I had barely awakened when I felt His answer. It came with a feeling of peace and cleansing that I recognize as His handiwork.

It's a joy. I've missed Him.

Right when I woke up He spoke to me of Moses.

When I gave Moses an audience with Pharaoh, did he proceed to tell Pharaoh to celebrate any holidays, or did he say what I told him to say...to let My people go so that THEY could worship me? Did I want Pharaoh to celebrate any holidays with his godless heart?

When I gave Paul an audience before King Agrippa, did he demand the right to do anything? Or did he, led by My Spirit, give his salvation testimony and express his hope that those who had arrested him would be saved?

Oh, how sweetly and purely those words fell on my heart! But He wasn't finished with His gentle reproof yet.

You want the joy of writing with My guidance, don't you?

Oh yes, Lord, I've missed You terribly!

Then why are you even thinking of writing independently of Me? Did you even ask Me if you should write anything to the city officials?

(Gulp.) No. I never did ask. I sometimes asked for generic "wisdom," but never actually asked if I should write to them at all. My desire to save face by doing what the angry person wanted...or to feed my pride by refusing what the angry person wanted...those opposing desires were what I consulted. And they kept leading me around in circles.

You were right to ask for wisdom. And you were right not to want to yield your pen to any human. But aren't YOU a human? Why did you want to keep your pen in your own human hands, instead of yielding it to Me?

Yes, Lord, you are so right! Thank You!

You wanted to write by My Spirit, but not for Me!

How foolish of me, Lord!

Have I asked you to write to the city?

No, You haven't.

So will you write to them?

No, not unless You tell me to.

I may, you know, at a different time.

That's Your right. If You do, I will write with joy. I know how it feels when Your Spirit fills and overflows through my fingers. There's no mistaking You, and writing for You is pure joy.

Whose pen is it, Betsy?

Yours. I'm so glad it's Yours!

Oh, what fresh air breathes into my soul when God takes all confusion away!

Please, brothers and sisters in Christ, let's remember that the Lord has a path for each of His children to walk in. And none of us can pour our energies into every possible cause, or burn with every possible passion. Contrary to what some may think, it would have been sinful of me to take up someone else's favorite cause, their favorite passion, when it was not God's direction for me.

Peter...said to Jesus,
"But Lord, what about this man?"
Jesus said to him, "...what is that to you?
You follow Me."
(John 21:21-22)

And in the same way, we cannot judge anyone else's calling. God has called them to work in one way, and He has called us to work in others.

If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." (1Co 12:17-21)

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (2 Co. 3:17). Each one is free as long as they walk in obedience to the Spirit. It is not for anyone to put another in bondage, trying to force others into the path that the Spirit has laid out for themselves.

May I suggest that we cannot even attend to the Spirit's still, small voice in our own hearts, if we're stridently arguing with other believers about the paths we want them to walk in...as if we, not the Spirit, should command them? (Yes, we are to deal with sin in other believers, but sin is not the issue in this case.)

Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. (Rom 14:4)

May we all enjoy a new joy, and peace, and liberty, and love for the Lord and for our brethren this Christmas season, and all year round!

As always, I welcome comments. I must ask, though, that we not use this blog as a place to debate the rightness or wrongness of Christmas. I will moderate comments in the spirit of Romans 14.

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Photo from Stock.xchng by DontBblu.