The Cure for Spiritual Adultery

“You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” James 4:4

The world is a strange woman, an adulteress, seeking to seduce me, to draw my affections away from Christ, much like the adulteress in Proverbs 7. I have been joined to Christ and and the world is His rival…His enemy, and as such should be mine also. What we mean by the “world” is the system that seeks to conform us to it’s mold (Rom. 12:2). It is the system that is opposed to God. You feel it’s pressure through various things, especially the media. It is “arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God.” (2 Cor. 10:5). The world appeals to the evil principle within me and seeks to make me a slave to my former master: sin.

To have a spiritually adulterous heart is to go to bed with the world; to be lured in like the foolish young man in Proverbs. How do I stay true to Christ? Just as I would stay true to my wife. I must know the pitfalls of adultery and the wiles of the seductress. I must know my own weaknesses. But, most of all, I must have an exciting and growing relationship with Christ. In Proverbs 5:18 it says, “rejoice in the wife of your youth” and then goes on to describe what that means. This is the greatest deterrent to infidelity in marriage. In Philippians 4:4 it says, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.” This, I believe, is the greatest deterrent to spiritual infidelity. This is more than just singing a hymn all day. It is a rejoicing, similar to rejoicing in one’s wife. I must know His worthiness in the depths of my being and be totally satisfied with Him. I must experience Him and His joys daily, so much so, that the world appears as something completely repulsive compared to His beauty and splendor. He must be my greatest pleasure. I must be able to gush and sing as the Psalmist:

“…in your presence there is fullness of joy;at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11

We Always Need the Gospel

A wonderful excerpt from John Piper on our need for the Gospel.

Drinking From the Toilet

I do not want the free flowing waters of life, from an unhindered relationship with God, to be stopped up by turning instead to drink out of the toilet. That is what the sinful things of this world are like compared to the pleasures of a holy life with God.

The Best Way to Thank God

The best way to thank God and to please Him is to embrace and take full advantage of all that His sacrifice on the cross brought to me. Jesus Christ paid a tremendous price to bring all these blessings and privileges to me. To take a most precious and costly gift, and cast it aside..to throw it in a drawer or closet and forget about it, is a terrible insult to the giver. It reveals also what I truly treasure.

It glorifies God when I grasp all that the sacrifice of Jesus brought to me.

Doubt

Doubt is something we all have at times, but is doubt a good thing or a bad thing? According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, doubt is defined as “a feeling of uncertainty or lack of conviction.” Now, if I’m uncertain whether it will rain tomorrow even if the weather man says it will, this will do me no great harm since we all know that weather men are fallible human beings. I can simply carry my umbrella with me just in case he’s right this time or leave it at home and take my chances getting wet. But there are some areas were doubt becomes more critical. The greatest of these areas concern my life, my soul, and my eternal destiny.

Doubt Helps to Protect Us from Error

“I doubt what he’s saying is true, therefore I will disregard Him.” If I am not convinced by someone’s argument and what the other person is saying is indeed false, then I am, in a sense, protected from falsehood. But this means that I have something in me, causing me not to be convinced… causing the doubt. There is a standard that I am using, beneath the surface, to judge whether what I have been presented with is either true or false. Now depending on what my internal standard is will depend on where my doubts show themselves. If i am fully convinced of the standards that I carry and I am approached with a contradictory standard, then I have moved beyond doubt to being fully convinced that you are wrong and I am right. If my internal standard is the truth contained in the Bible then it has produced a healthy doubt concerning something that is possibly bad for me or would tarnish the glory of God in me.

Doubt Helped Lead Us to the Truth

When we look at the world around us and discover that many of the things that are presented to us as truth are indeed error, we begin to doubt that message and seek another. Some of us, prior to our conversion, went from one false message to the next until finally coming to the truth. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” Once we came to Christ, the lights came on, and for the first time in our existence we were able to perceive truth. “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). But, after we come to the Truth (Christ) what, or better “who”, we doubt becomes a very critical issue.

When Doubt is a Bad Thing

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” James 1:5-8 (Emphasis mine)

To doubt God is to not be convinced that what He says is true. Faith is the opposite. Faith or trust is being fully convinced that God is telling me the truth. In order for us to have a genuine relationship with someone it must be built upon …you got it: trust. Doubting God erodes the very foundation of our relationship with Him just as it would destroy any other relationship we are in. I must move beyond my doubt into a state of being fully convinced. God often tests my faith or trust in Him by bringing circumstances in my life that I alone cannot handle. This is where the rubber meets the road and doubt often creeps in. As God raises the bar, my faith is developed and it is also proved to be genuine. Consider this passage:

“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” 1 Peter 1:6-9

The faith through which God saved you is the faith that will carry you through to the end. And the object of that faith is still the same: Jesus Christ. “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him.” This is what God is about in our lives. This is a genuine faith that is more precious than gold: To not see, yet love. To not see, yet believe.

Thomas made this statement after the other disciples told him of Jesus’ resurrection: “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” (John 20:25). Jesus then appears later while Thomas is in the room and it goes down like this:

Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:26-29 (Emphasis mine)

It didn’t take much faith for Thomas to believe that the Jesus He knew, who was crucified, was standing there before Him alive and well. He was looking right at Him! Jesus said more blessed are those who don’t have that tangible evidence before them, yet believe.

I’m a Doubter. What Can I Do?

My natural tendency is to doubt. It just runs in my genes. I examine everything. This is not always a bad trait but it can get me into trouble at times. There are some things that I have found that have helped me with my doubt when it concerns God. The first is that I must be honest with myself and with God that I doubt. I again use doubt here as meaning, “a feeling of uncertainty or lack of conviction.” Basically, I take it to mean I am not convinced. You might say, “Brother, I believe the Bible is God’s holy inspired Word and I don’t doubt a bit of it!” Ok, fair enough. Then let’s see. Take a passage of Scripture like Romans 6. Romans 6:6-11 says:

We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Emphasis mine)

Knowing and acknowledging this truth, and on the other hand, being fully convinced of it are two different things. This verse says that I, through Christ, have died and been raised to new life. Being dead I am free from sin and, being alive, I am alive to God. The verse says that I must consider this to be true of me. Do you see where I’m going? Each time I sin I doubt (am not fully convinced of ) this passage (or any other for that matter). I have grappled with this passage for years. I know in my mind that it’s true because it’s in God’s Word, but my behavior at times has told me that I am not fully convinced. You see, how I respond in a given moment is what I am believing in that moment. When faced with a temptation to sin, if I give in I have either 1) Not known this great truth, 2) Completely forgotten it, or 3). I doubt it in the temptation. I am not fully convinced of it. This is when when I feel like Paul in Romans 7, ” Wretched man that I am!”

So, again, the first step is to be honest. The opposite scenario, and the one I have fell into many times, goes like this: I hear or read a message like the one above. I doubt and I feel guilty because I doubt. Then I try to bolster up my faith by some “Five Steps to Increase Your Faith” method and pretend that I don’t doubt when the whole time I doubt. It starts affecting my relationship with God because I doubt and feel guilt. What I am learning is this: the best thing to do in any area of my walk with God is to be real with Him. Just tell Him, “Lord, forgive me but I apparently am not convinced of what you say in this area.” God is not some unreasonable dictator who stands ready to smack us on the head when we show our weakness and sin. He knows it anyway. He is our Savior and is about saving us from these things. He wants us to come to the table and deal with Him in honesty and without pretension.

The second thing is to simply ask for His help…for His grace,” I believe, help my unbelief!” (Mark9:24) I need to cry out to God to strengthen the area where my faith is lacking and thank Him for pointing it out to me. “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6) The proud do not believe they need any help from God so they don’t ask. They don’t see their true condition. The humble know their poverty and utter wretchedness apart from God and ask Him for His grace. God then gives it abundantly to meet their need. We must ask.

The next thing we must do, once we’ve gotten honest, is to focus on Christ, specifically on His sacrifice for me prior to and on the cross. Through the various situations we face, as we look to Christ, we become more fully convinced of all that God is, what He has promised, and what He is like. We grow to trust Him more. Jesus should be my motivation for living and the means by which I live. He is everything! The following verse is one of my favorites, if not “the” favorite. In my opinion, all the promises and truths of God are wrapped up in this one verse. They seem to hinge upon it.

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” Romans 8:31-32

If God would give the greatest gift of all, and He could give no greater, why would He hold back anything else we need for life and godliness? Christ was the best God could give. Christ is the ultimate proof, the end of the argument to any doubt or question concerning God and His character. If I doubt that God cares for me…look at Christ. If I don’t know if He will give me what I need today to bring Him glory…look at Christ. If I don’t think God is involved in my little world…look at Christ. If I think I am being treated unjustly…look at Christ. Doubt, like everything else in my life, is settled in Christ. As we cultivate our relationship with God through Christ, we will find that our doubts will eventually fade away. Will we still face doubt? Yes, but we face doubt before the feet of a glorious Savior who is willing to help us and move us to a place of fully convinced rest in Him. The writer of Hebrews described Jesus as “the founder and perfecter of our faith.” He began our faith and He will make it perfect.

As believers in Jesus Christ (and this is who I have been primarily addressing) we have all we need to overcome doubt no matter what stage in the journey we are in or what circumstance arise. Be honest with God, ask for His help, and look to Christ.

“If This, Then That”

“If this, then that.” This seems to be how our faith works…how it builds upon itself. One truth is stacked upon another until we gain greater heights of intimacy with God, until the Son of God becomes more clear to us…more real.

Slay the Enemies of Your Soul

After the stone sunk into his forehead, Goliath fell to the ground. David then took Goliath’s sword and finished him off by removing his head (1 Sam. 17:48-51). After Saul came back from war, in disobedience he spared king Agag and the best of the livestock. The Scripture says that Samuel took his sword and “hacked” Agag to bits (1 Sam. 15:32-33). Joshua, after the five Amorite kings were brought out of the cave, told his men to place their feet on the neck of each king. He then told them that God would do this to all their enemies. They then killed the kings and hung each of them on a tree (Joshua 10:22-27). Do these seem radical and over-the-top? A little on the fanatical side? A bit too bloody and messy for our day and age? Well, yes, if we were talking about the neighbor down the street that we couldn’t get along with or an annoying telemarketer. In these cases from the Old Testament, however, what we see is a holy hatred toward that which God hates and a zeal and fervor for what God commands. When it came to an enemy of God, God’s enemies were their enemies. God’s enemies (and as a result, Israel’s enemies) were people who were a threat to Israel’s physical and spiritual vitality. They brought oppression, idolatry, and many other things that threatened God’s purposes for Israel. When in battle with God’s enemies, in zeal and fervor, these faithful men of Israel made sure the job was done whole heartedly and completely.

Our battle today as Christians isn’t a physical battle against men but a spiritual one. We have enemies that advance on God’s territory and seek to capture us. These enemies, if not fought zealously, will eventually destroy us and as a result bring reproach to our God. Some of our enemies are external and some are internal (Eph. 6:12, Rom 8:13). External enemies would be the spiritual forces that are portrayed in Ephesians 6:12. These would include Satan and his forces and the general spirit of the age in which we now live. It also includes the world system that bears it’s weight upon us in order to conform us to it’s mold. Internal enemies would be the things that make up the law of sin (Rom.7:21) that still dwells within us. A list of some of these is in Galatians 5:19-21. These enemies that we fight are to be fought with the same zeal, the same fervor, the same hatred as David approaching Goliath or Samuel approaching king Agag. We are to show no mercy and no pity. The stakes are too high.

“Let no man think to kill sin with few, easy, or gentle strokes. He who hath once smitten a serpent, if he follow not on his blow until it be slain, may repent that ever he began the quarrel. And so he who undertakes to deal with sin, and pursues it not constantly to the death” said John Owen the early puritan preacher and theologian. He also said, ” be killing sin or it will be killing you.” As we approach the enemies of our soul, let us pray that we hate them as God hates them. Second, let’s seek to kill them (mortify the deeds of the flesh) with a holy zeal and fervor that God intends. To do otherwise means that it will soon overtake me or it has already.

The start of our battle must be a holy hatred of the thing… God’s hatred towards it. The next is I must go about my task with a holy violence. I don’t want to see the thing just “whimper” but I need to kill it. Each time an enemy of my soul appears taunting me and my God, I must approach it in the name of the Lord my God, draw my sword, and start hacking!

The Answer

We look to names, celebrity, and to the one who sounds confident for the answers. Christ is the answer! You can see for yourself. Just listening to them won’t give you the answers. You must live it… you must live Him: “take my yoke upon you and learn from me.”

John Piper on the Prosperity Gospel

A great excerpt from one of John Piper’s sermons regarding the prosperity gospel. The prosperity gospel is not the true gospel of Jesus Christ, but a dangerous error that we need to be aware of.

From My Journals

The posts under the category of “Devotional, From My Journals” are taken from my written journals over the past several years. My hope in posting these is not that you would think much or little of me, but that “I” would not be thought of at all. My desire is that “I” would be lost in the pursuit of “Him.” It also makes sense to post them here since my blog is supposed to be “The thoughts and meditations of an ordinary Christian.” I also do it in hopes that the wanderings and paths of a fellow traveler may aid you in your journey.