A Matter of the Heart

"Don't let anyone under pressure to give in to evil say, "God is trying to trip me up." God is impervious to evil, and puts evil in no one's way. The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust. Lust gets pregnant, and has a baby: sin! Sin grows up to adulthood, and becomes a real killer." James 1:13-15 (The Message)

Sin, from the dawn of time has originated from one source. No, it was not Satan though he did everything he could to assist in the matter, but the blame rests entirely on man. Eve had it in her heart that eating of the tree wouldn't be so bad all she needed was a little coaching and prodding to get her to take action. Adam, after seeing what Eve had done and that there was no visible side effects, caved in as well. The foundation for sin came from within, and they gave into their own evil desires.

I love how in this passage it does not mention the devil at all in regards to sin, yet it deals with sin as a matter of the heart. David could have gone to war instead of walking on his balcony, but HE chose to stay at the palace. Noah himself made the CHOICE to get drunk to the point he totally exposed himself to his children, and on and on. The true culprits of sin stare right at us when we focus in the mirror. Not the enemy (the devil).

Now lets be clear, he (the devil) has an idea of what has made you stumble in the past and could bring it out to cause you to stumble again. However, he knew about that weakness because you at some point made it clear to him what it was. So what should we do? I'm glad you asked. James 1:5 says, "If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You'll get his help, and won't be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought." God is always there to help when we call. Jesus lived a life bathed in prayer. Sealed with the knowledge of his humanity and didn't for one moment let himself stray, rather He lifted up His voice to heaven and constantly sought, "Our father in Heaven." We should purpose to do the same, and eliminate the grasp of our own evil nature deep within.

Love

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. John 15:12-14 (NIV)

I'm totally amazed at the simplicity of the gospel. Why anyone would complicate it beyond this syntax is beyond me. Jesus in simple plain language told His diciples, "show love to each others in the same way I have shown you love" (paraphrase mine). What example of love did Jesus show? He paid the ultimate price...His life.

I've seen and read about my share of men and women who show this love to the world daily. The valiant and courageous men and women who willingly fight and die to preserve our freedom. Why do they do this? Because they love... they love our right to be free. Simply put, they love their friends (you and me).

Jesus expects this same devotion of love from us. Perhaps His will for you and I in showing our love for others may not require our death and perhaps it does. Think about this... Are we willing to show our friends in this world that we can love them the same way Christ loved us?

Help me

"The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” Mark 9:22 (NLT)

       This man's reply to Jesus in this story is extremely honest (Bear in mind, that Jesus' followers were not able to help this man so his faith took an even bigger hit). His answer is a reflection of an internal struggle that He's making Jesus aware of. The battle between what he wants to believe and what he really believes.

         This battle is a battle we all struggle with. A battle that if we are not careful we can lose very quickly. This man had nothing to lose, and wanted his son to be healed so desperately he poured his heart out to Jesus.

           What did Jesus do? He responded. He healed this man's son and in turn restored his faith. I wonder how many of us had other people pray for our situation only to see it get worse, until we were shaken to the very foundation of our faith. Don't lose faith. Jesus is looking to help our unbelief and restore the faith in Him we always intended to have.

Life Pursuits

"I said to myself, "I know more and I'm wiser than anyone before me in Jerusalem. I've stockpiled wisdom and knowledge." What I've finally concluded is that so-called wisdom and knowledge are mindless and witless—nothing but spitting into the wind. Much learning earns you much trouble. The more you know, the more you hurt." Ecclesiastes 1:16-18 (The Message)

I began to understand a flaw in the reasoning of people who are scholars and learned individuals in this life. I would say that about 70% of people who have a mantle of advanced degrees, don't believe in anything. Why? Because their pursuit of knowledge births a cause to every effect. Faith plays a trivial role in life for them because it doesn't explain anything with logic.

Solomon's wisdom drove him to the pursuit of unprecedented knowledge. Part of this knowledge led him astray as he satiated himself with every pleasure life could offer. He'd later write, "I looked most carefully into everything, searched out all that is done on this earth. And let me tell you, there's not much to write home about. God hasn't made it easy for us. I've seen it all and it's nothing but smoke—smoke, and spitting into the wind." (Ecclesiastes 1:13-14)

How is it possible that a life of constant pleasure could turn out as a meaningless pursuit? Easy. God was not there. The world tries to tell us that the more we satisfy our selfish desires the better we'll feel but that's not at all true. The most contented people are the people who have adopted the unselfish lifestyle that is saturated with faith in what cannot be explained (what I call the anti-Solomon approach). It totally runs counter to human logic and knowledge, but that's what Jesus came into this world to do. Jesus said, "In them indeed is the process of fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah, which says: You shall indeed hear and hear but never grasp and understand; and you shall indeed look and look but never see and perceive." Matthew 13:14 (Amplified) Don't let the pursuit of pleasure and knowledge get in the way of finding Jesus.

What if....

"Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God." Philippians 4:6 (AMP)

     It's easy to not worry about things when things are going right for us. Our bank accounts are full, our influence is thriving, and everything around us seems sublime. I know many of us have felt such a sensation at one point or another in our lives.

      Then suddenly, adversity comes and things aren't so peachy. Typically, our first instinct is to run to God and ask, "What's up? Why the change?" Then as time progresses and the problems seemingly get worse we get anxious wondering if it was something we did, and how we could fix it on our own. Thus, begins the way we should not think and the reaction we should not make.

       What if I told you that nothing you did brought this change in circumstance in your life. What if I told you that it was just life happening to you just like it does for everyone else. What if I told you the only recipe for success in good times and in bad times is just to give it all to Him... and forget about it. Would you believe me? Would you even try it? The simplicity of all this lies in the fact that all He wants from us is us... Can we handle that? Or better question can we give Him that?

Ask

 "Ask for a sign from your God. Ask anything. Be extravagant. Ask for the moon!" Isaiah 7:11 (MSG)

      The prophet Isaiah is talking to the king and is urging him to ask God for anything, and the King refuses to do so because he felt too low to ask God for his own deliverance. I've seen many Christians who feel the same way (I've done this a time or two myself also), they reason to themselves, "who am I to demand anything from God He's too big to be concerned about my problems?"

      The funny thing is God's desire for us is to pursue Him. In our pursuit, He's asking us to ask Him for anything (Psalm 2:8). To try Him and see if His arm is not too short to deliver us (Isaiah 59:1). So then why don't we just try and ask Him for what we need, just once? I can say from personal experience asking pays off. If you don't believe me read about the life of Jesus and see how many times He asked and it went unfulfilled. So if your enemy is all around you or the circumstance you face seems dire, ask God for anything, He wants you to challenge Him!

A Simple Truth

"Entering into this fullness is not something you figure out or achieve. It's not a matter of being circumcised or keeping a long list of laws. No, you're already in—insiders—not through some secretive initiation rite but rather through what Christ has already gone through for you, destroying the power of sin. If it's an initiation ritual you're after, you've already been through it by submitting to baptism. Going under the water was a burial of your old life; coming up out of it was a resurrection, God raising you from the dead as he did Christ. When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive—right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ's cross. He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets." Colossians 2:11-15 (The Message)

In Paul's letter to the Colossians he was writing a church who started out in the right path but started veering towards a Christianity that was "performance based." Looking to set the record straight he wrote a powerful message in this letter urging them to resist the voices of others in doing things to earn the fullness of Christ.

For me, Christianity has been a journey of constant discovery. When I first was able to realize the love and sacrifice of Christ I couldn't resist the allure of salvation, but once I got saved things changed. It became more about how to dress, where to go, what to do, and Christianity became more about what I could do to earn and keep my salvation instead of reveling in the love of Christ that afforded to me a gift that could not be earned. I can't say that my Christianity began to diminish, but the effects of trying to earn it on my own began to wear on me spiritually. I started to think that if anyone could earn their salvation then why was it necessary for Christ to die?

When I started to understand grace, and how it operated in my life I began to be free. The turn-around wasn't quick as there would be times I would lapse into trying to earn God's "approval" of me, but the more I realized that in my own human condition I was flawed and terribly unworthy, the more I embraced what it says in Romans 8:1, "So now there is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." This trumped all the teachings of my past that strongly urged me to live a legalistic lifestyle. One I don't believe God intended for His children, (as attested by Paul in his writings, and Christ himself). This reality brought about a freedom and appreciation for this gift God so lovingly lavished upon me.

Where do you find yourself today? Do you find that you HAVE to read the bible, HAVE to pray, HAVE to go to church all to gain God's approval? Understand this liberating fact... God loves you no matter what. Once you've accepted Christ as your Savior the blood coursing through your veins has His DNA. He paid it all upon the cross so that we can be free to not only live free, but tell others of this amazing gift of salvation. Not be slaves again to the law. It is a liberating process... I know, I went through it myself.