Staying Alert

There’s an interesting story in Judges, specifically Judges 7:6. It’s the story of Israel’s strategy to overtake the Midianites and how the Lord directed Gideon to send home any warriors who were afraid to go into battle – and 68% of his army left. God then directed Gideon to lead the remaining 10,000 men to water and to carefully watch how they drank it. Some of the men got down on their hands and knees and lapped the water like dogs, and some of the men got down on one knee and brought the water up to their mouths.

God told Gideon to send home the ones who lapped up the water in a “face down” position. I always wondered about that.

I heard a teaching several years ago that I think was quite revealing. It seems as though God wanted the battle to be won in a manner that would leave no doubt in anyone’s mind that He and He alone created the victory. Gideon’s army had dwindled from 32,000 to 300 men and the enemy they were facing was formidable with men who were “as numerous as locusts”. Of course Israel won the battle in spite of the numbers!

So how does that relate to us? Easy. The men who went home for whatever the reason had “better” things to do than participate in warfare. How many times do we know in our hearts that we should be on our knees in prayer and spiritual warfare but typically have something “better” to do? But it’s really just fear. But what about that whole water-drinking issue? That’s easy, too. The men who stayed erect on one knee quenched their thirst while remaining alert to the movement of the enemy.

So I told you all that, Beloved, to tell you to stay alert. Never get so complacent that you forget that there’s a real enemy out there who’s out to get you. The Lord needs you to stay alert! You don’t have to become paranoid because the Holy Spirit will direct you and let you know what’s ahead of you. He will prepare you for the fight. But you can’t win a battle if you don’t see the enemy coming and if you aren’t properly armed.

Gideon armed his men to win the fight; the Holy Spirit has armed YOU to overcome the ruler of this world and win the spiritual fight.

Authority: Yours, Mine, Ours

Authority is a critical part of every Christian’s walk.

All authority in heaven and earth was given to Jesus Christ and He knew how to use it. He is resident within us and we have been given the same authority here on earth as well. But do we know how to use it? Surprisingly, many Christians don’t even know they have authority, much less how to effectively walk in it.

But once they’ve come to the realization of their authority, many people want to start walking in “power” and “commanding” stuff to happen right away. But you know, Beloved, as the Centurion said, Jesus was a man who was “under” authority. Under authority is where we learn to walk IN authority.

When you’re at work, do you constantly complain about the boss or about the rules that you have to work under? Do you murmur about how much easier your job would be if you just didn’t have to follow those stupid guidelines and be allowed to do the task your way? Un huh. I thought so. If you haven’t learned to follow the simple rules that govern your job, how can you learn to lead people who will need to follow rules by your example? It’ll never happen.

To learn to walk in authority, take a look at some of the folks in the Bible who set the examples of how to walk under authority: Joseph, David, Daniel and Eleazar. And don’t forget Ruth, Samuel, Elisha and Solomon…yes, Solomon walked under authority before he walked in authority.

Be willing to obey God’s Word. Be willing to change your behavior to conform to His Word. Be willing to change your thinking to that of a person who loves his Lord and is willing to be under authority.

                   

Tourist or Ambassador?

Have you ever been to a foreign country? When you were there, did you play the tourist? Did you go everywhere and look at everything and thoroughly enjoy your time at your destination? Of course you did. You probably took advantage of everything there was for tourists to do.

Tourists go to a destination for a temporary visit. They go on their own terms, visit where they want to visit, talk to whomever they want to talk, dress they way they feel like, and conduct themselves in any manner that suits them. And they usually don’t bother to learn the language. Tourists do, however, have to obey the laws of the country they’re visiting or they’ll get into big trouble.

Ambassadors, on the other hand, are sent to a foreign country by their homeland. They go on a specific mission, with specific instructions to accomplish specific tasks. Their time is actually not their own because they represent the Government of their homeland. They speak only to those they have been sent to meet with, they dress in a manner that displays respect for the host country and that reflects the professionalism of their office, and they conduct themselves in a manner that will bring honor to their homeland. And they are always fluent in the language of their host country. Ambassadors do not, to a very large extent, come under the laws of their host country. They have what is called “diplomatic immunity.”

So here on earth…in God’s Kingdom…which are you? Are you a tourist or an ambassador? How do you act? How do you dress? Can you speak “Kingdom” language in a manner that others can readily understand? Think about it, beloved.

                   

                   

Willing But Weak

We’re going to take a backward look at Matthew 26:41. We’re all familiar with it or should I say, we’re all familiar with partof it? But as I said, we’re going to take a backward look so let’s look at the end of that scripture; the part that we’re familiar with:

“The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Most people use this in the context of failing to do things because, even though they want to do something, they just don’t because they’re “weak.” Baloney!

Now let’s take a backward look! Your flesh is weak but the spirit is willing. God knows we’re weak but it’s our spirit with His Spirit within it, that enables us to do things anyway. It doesn’t matter how afraid we are, it doesn’t matter how unsure of ourselves we are, and it certainly doesn’t matter how weak we are. It’s God, not us, who gets things done! If you could do anything in your own strength or your own confidence, you wouldn’t need God! So don’t be tempted to use the “I want to but I’m weak” excuse because that’s all it is…just an excuse.

And speaking of “tempted,” the first part of the above scripture says, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.” In keeping with our backward theme, here, doesn’t it make perfect sense to read the scripture this way: “You’re going to be tempted in a whole buncha stuff unless you watch for God in everything you do and keep praying!” I believe one of the things we’re tempted in every day is the tendency not to go forth on the path that God has set before us because we perceive ourselves as weak. Overcome that weakness through prayer.

Get before the Father every day and watch for Him and pray with Him; then and only then will the willingness of your spirit be strengthened.

                   

WHO's Mad at Me?

A lot of times, I hear people say, “Well, I don’t care, I’m just really mad at God right now.”

OMG, people! Don’t play with fire! Some ministers will tell you that “God’s big enough to handle your anger.” But let me ask you this, are you big enough to handle God’s anger? I doubt it.

Let’s get some facts straight:

• God does not change. (Mal 3:6)
  
• God is an all-consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:29)
  
• God gets angry at the sound of our words. (Deut 1:34)
  

So where does your anger toward God come from? It comes from your soul demanding something that God doesn’t give; or blaming God for something the enemy did to you; or being really ticked off because God didn’t fix something you insisted on doing to yourself. But boil it all down and your anger comes from not being grateful for what God has done in your life and complaining about it.

Whew! Harsh!

Our soul is a very demanding entity…it wants its rights! It demands its rights! But it has no rights. Everything you are and everything you do were purchased through the shed blood of Jesus Christ on Calvary’s cross. How dare you think you have the “right” to be mad at God? And if you are mad at God, get over it! You simply have no right to think you can stand before your Creator Who forgave your sins and gave you eternal life and say, “I’m mad at you.” How dare you?

Don’t fall for that ooey-gooey philosophy that says God will forgive everyone for everything. Yes, He is a loving and merciful Father, but the scriptures are clear that we must confess our sins before Him and THEN He is faithful and just to forgive them. You now know from the above scripture that the sound of your complaining words can anger God…so be careful what comes out of your mouth. Be grateful for what He has done for you; your anger demonstrates an unappreciative attitude. Please, beloved, re-evaluate how you have perhaps come to be angry with God, repent and ask His forgiveness…and just for giggles, read Hebrews 10:26-31.

Be There

Go forth and make disciples of all nations. A very lofty goal to be sure.

But what, exactly is a disciple? Sometimes we think it’s just someone who follows the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. But if we look carefully at the scriptures, and at the intent of our Lord through His myriad demonstrations, we see that a disciple is actually a lot like our “modern day” Chaplain.

Throughout the years, the United States Government has honored the historic separation of Church and State, but not the separation of God and State. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives have full-time Chaplains who minister the love of God and who act as spiritual advisors and counselors to those individuals who serve our great country. Chaplains, whose roles are constitutionally upheld by precedent and tradition, have always been an integral part of our country’s society and are still a major source of spiritual strength at the community level.

I recently had the privilege of completing chaplaincy training with the International Fellowship of Chaplains and cannot begin to tell you what a realization dawned on me as they described the roles and responsibilities of Chaplains. I never felt more like a disciple as I did during that training.

The thing that I’ll carry away from my training is this: be there. The “ministry of presence” is all that’s needed some times. Just be there. A former pastor of mine once said, “When it’s raining and your roof is leaking, which would you rather have? A person who says he’ll pray for you or a person with some shingles and nails who says he’ll help you?”

The world needs your prayers. The world needs your help. Be there.

Seriously?

Most of us are familiar with the phrase from Matthew 26:40 in which Jesus pleads with His disciples and says, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour?”

But today we’re going to take a closer look at the next statement that comes out of His mouth: “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

The Church today (especially in America) is very weak. Even though our spirits are born-again and we have everything we need to live victoriously, our flesh is still very much under subjection to our soul (not spirit) which drives us to temptation and to do all manner of ungodly stuff…like drink enough soda to provide more than all the calories we need all day; or have a Twinkie (or three) instead of an apple; or watch TV instead of reading the Word; or scream at the kids when we take them to school instead of speaking a blessing over them; or anything else that distracts us from watching with Him.

The flesh is weak…or could it be that it’s just untamed?

I fast once a week (LOL)! In “theory” I fast once a week; I used to fast once a week. But today all I did was just put my breakfast off for a couple of hours. Pathetic. Who’s in control…my spirit, my soul or my body? Well, today it was my body. It was hungry. Again, pathetic.

So if we can’t even tame our tummies or TVs, how can we participate with the Lord in this very serious hour of need? And beloved, this hour of need is almost as critical as was His hour of need before His crucifixion. Let’s pray for strength. Let’s pray for endurance. Let’s pray that we can keep up with the very serious requirements of this age because He’s coming…and He’s coming soon.