For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time. (1 Tim.2:5-6)

Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us (Rom.8:34).

I was always taught that Jesus, as our high priest and mediator, is the one who takes our prayers before the Lord and intercedes for us by asking the Father on our behalf to answer our petitions. I think that is fairly standard theology in many churches. However, In John 16, Jesus gives us an incite into what he has accomplished for us through his death. “In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God” (Jn.16:26-27).

Jesus is telling us that there was a time when our sin separated us from the Father. That separation was represented in the temple by the great veil that hung between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. Not even the priests could enter into the Holy of Holies where the presence of God lingered. Only the High Priest could enter into his presence and only once a year on the Day of Atonement. The High Priest would enter and offer sacrifices and prayers on behalf of the people. It was a fearful moment for all because entering into the presence of Elohim was highly risky. If the High Priest were unacceptable the Jew believed he would die in the presence of God and if the High Priest were unacceptable then so were the sacrifices and prayers he offered for the people.

Yet Jesus, as our High Priest entered into the Holy of Holies in the Heavenly Realms and presented himself as our sacrifice once for all. When Jesus died on the cross, the veil of the temple was torn in two and a way to God was opened.

So Jesus tells us that we can lift up prayers to the Father directly in the name of Jesus without Jesus having to mediate and intercede for every prayer we offer. Because God loves us through his Son, we are able to come directly to the Father as beloved children of God. There is no fear in doing so and every assurance that he hears our prayers.

If that is true, then what does it mean for Jesus to be our mediator and to intercede on our behalf? I like watch Dutch Sheets has to say about this concept. He says that that concept of mediation and intercession is really the idea of one person arranging a meeting with another. It is the idea of drawing two people together rather than forming a boundary between the two. Jesus, through his death arranged a meeting between us and the Father in which all was forgiven and all was reconciled. He interceded and formed a union between us and the Father – forgiveness, adoption, entrance into His kingdom, and so forth.

The idea that Jesus still has to take every prayer and persuade the Father to answer them implies that there is still a division between me and the Father and that there is still something unacceptable about me so that Jesus has to always stand up for me. Yet the truth is that the Father loves me and you because of Christ and is always anxious for us to come into his presence as a Father welcoming his beloved sons and daughters. Thank you Lord for the open door.

I was watching (for the fourth time) the 1995 historical docudrama, Apollo 13, a few evenings ago. It’s a great movie about our aborted attempt at a third moon landing in 1970. Tom Hanks played the mission commander Jim Lovell. The movie was made with as much attention to accurate detail as possible. We forget what amazing things NASA did while the computer age was still young. I have heard that you have more computerized technology in your iphone than they had on the entire Apollo 13 rocket. When things go bad, everyone starts grabbing for their slide rule or pad and pencil rather than a computer.

The mission begins with a sense of the ordinary. Space had become so familiar to the American public that hardly anyone watched the launce. With a sense of “everything is under control” and “everything will be fine,” three astronauts were blown into space and hurtled toward the moon with a business as usual feeling. Somewhere along the flight path, however, Jack Swigart, the backup commander for the mission, hit a switch to stir the fuel tanks and an explosion rocked the ship. Suddenly, business as usual turned into an amazing drama. As the crew turned the ship to return to earth they had no idea what was still functional and what was damaged beyond repair.

As the movie moves ahead, one thing after another becomes questionable and life threatening. Although they had enough oxygen the CO2 scrubber which took the carbon dioxide from the cabin atmosphere ceased to function. It had to be rebuilt from plastic bags and duct tape on board. Most of the battery power that would run their basic computers for reentry and deployment of the parachutes for the reentry capsule was lost. They had to turn off all heat and lights in the ship to preserve precious amps to operate the computers at the last moment.

In addition, there were serious questions about the reentry angle and the heat shield that would keep them from incinerating when they entered the earth’s atmosphere. No one knew the full extent of the damage from the explosion. As these three astronauts approach reentry the Houston control room begins to take on a sense of despair about their chances. All the families are huddled together at the Lovell home watching the news minute-by-minute and wondering if they would ever see their husband or father again.

When reentry occurred there was an expected three minutes of silence when no communication was possible. If they survived the flight; if they didn’t bounce off the earth’s atmosphere; if the heat shield was intact and the parachutes deployed they might survive. No one would know for three long minutes. After three minutes there was still no communication. Three minutes passed, three minutes thirty seconds passed, and the four-minute mark rolled by in silence. Families began to weep softly. The control room at Houston was silent with fear. And then unexpectedly, a voice crackled over the radio – “Houston, this is Odyssey.” In that moment hopelessness and despair exploded into triumph and joy.

As I watched, engineers and mathematicians in the control room jumped like children and cheered like fans at the Super bowl with tears drizzling down their cheeks.   Families and friends erupted into hugs and joyful laughter.

At that moment, I thought how much like the Apollo 13 journey was Christ’s journey to the grave and back. As we watch Jesus and his followers at the end of the Passion Week, it seems that everything is going their way. The crowds have cheered Jesus into Jerusalem. He is gaining followers daily. The disciples are anticipating that he will soon establish the kingdom in power before their very eyes. But then thing things go bad. Betrayal. Arrest. A kangaroo court. The death sentence. Crucifixion. A dead Messiah placed in a tomb. The followers of the King of Israel are shattered and disbelieving what has happened. Fear and hopelessness settle over the apostles and other disciples. No one knows what to expect or what is coming. Those who speak, speak only in whispers.

Then suddenly, Jesus reenters and appears in their midst. He is alive and well. Life can go on. The mission can continue. As I watched the control room and the home where the families of the astronauts were gathered explode into triumph and joy, I thought how much that moment must have paralleled what that small group of believers felt in there hearts when Jesus appeared to them again. I wondered if even the angels had been holding their breath for three days wondering what would become of their king. It seems that in our worship and in moments of communion we should find that same triumph and joy in our hearts. Jesus faced every impossibility, weathered the storm, faced the fires of hell, and when we had all given up hope immerged the hero – our hero. Blessings.

Wisdom is a huge commodity in the Kingdom of Heaven. Biblically, wisdom is the “capacity to understand and to act in concert with that understanding.” It also involves insight. Our culture doesn’t value wisdom very much. It values power, money, fame, influence, talents, and education. A person may have all of those things and yet lack wisdom. Check out the sports headlines – men who have most of the above accessories in their life are about to lose it all for lack of wisdom and judgment.

Even experience does not always bring wisdom. How many of us have dealt with people who have faced the same situations or temptations over and over and have always made the same bad decision in response to the situation. No wisdom. In addition, there are two kinds of wisdom – worldly wisdom that knows how to manipulate people and the system (street smarts) and heavenly wisdom which understands how things operate in the spiritual realm.

Here’s what James had to say about that. “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil.      For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere” (Ja.3:13-17).

Notice the wisdom that comes from heaven flows from the Spirit and resonates with our spirit. Worldly wisdom flows from demonic realms and resonates with our natural man or our flesh. They are truly opposed to one another and from the world’s perspective heavenly wisdom seems utterly foolish.

I remember having a conversation on a college campus years ago with a young Iranian Muslim. He was likeable, charismatic and full of leadership. I thought how amazing he would be for the kingdom of God. We were talking about Jesus and his teachings and when we read the passages about turning the other cheek, loving your enemies and forgiving those who had wronged you I really expected this young man to be impressed with the moral high ground of the Lord’s teaching. Instead he laughed out loud and ridiculed the teaching as naïve and foolish. He said, when someone strikes you one the cheek, you must hit him so hard that he would never dare touch you again. The wisdom of the world and heavenly wisdom are not shades apart but poles apart.

The reason is that heavenly wisdom leaves us in the hands of God. We feel weak, vulnerable, and foolish at times. In our fear of being hurt again or taken advantage of we default to the flesh and judge that our situation is unique and worthy of an exception so that we don’t have to follow the teachings of Christ in our particular case. We then sow to the flesh and blame God when our conditions or relationships don’t improve.

We must make up our minds to live from the spiritual realm and understand our situations and our responses to those situations from the will of God always – not just when it suits us to do so. Heavenly wisdom drives us to God and keeps us dependent on him. Worldly wisdom strives for control and self-sufficiency. Most marriages fail because the spouses continue to operate out of worldly wisdom rather than submitting to heavenly wisdom.

The real danger I see is believers trying to operate out of both as if some situations require worldly wisdom while others require heavenly or a hybrid of the two. There is no hybrid. One is from above. The other is from the devil. Do you remember that worldly wisdom that counseled Adam and Eve to take and eat? How did that work out for us? Be blessed today and be wise. And ask God for more and more of his wisdom. He is eager to share.

I have frequently made the point that power and authority flow from the top down in any organization or government and it flows best when we are aligned with our commander’s purposes and strategies. That is also true in the kingdom of God. The more aligned we are with the heart of God – his values, his purposes, his vision, and his ways – the more his Spirit will speak to us and manifest his power through us. One of the ways in which we stay aligned with the Father is by recognizing the leading of the Spirit. Paul tells us, “because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Rom.8:14).

That statement prompts the question, “What does it mean to be led by the Spirit?” Being led by the Spirit is actually the process of discerning God’s will in any given situation and responding to that will. The Spirit is not so much leading us as he is conveying the Father’s lead to us. On several occasions, Jesus said that he only spoke what he heard the Father speaking and he only did what he saw the Father doing. Since Jesus operated as a man I don’t think that he heard God directly (except on rare occasions) and I don’t think he literally saw the Father doing something. Rather, by the Spirit he heard from the Father and by the Spirit he sensed God’s activity, direction, and purposes in given situation and participated in what he sensed God was doing.

For instance, in his healing ministry there were times when hundreds of people converged on Jesus asking for healing and the gospels tell us that he healed all who came. That situation seems fairly easy to read but there were other times when Jesus walked through a crowd of sick and disabled people and picked out only one for healing. That required sensitivity to the Spirit who directed his eyes and heart to one person out of many. After healing the one, he would usually move on even though all the rest needed healing as badly.

One thing I have noticed about Jesus throughout the gospel accounts is that he never seemed in a hurry even though he only had three years to teach, demonstrate the kingdom, and to save the world. I believe he was never in a hurry because he was being led by the Spirit and engaging only in the things presented to him each day that were part of God’s strategy for him. Many of us who serve the Lord often feel overwhelmed by the amount of ministry opportunities that land on our plate everyday because we think we are responsible to take every opportunity to speak or minister. My guess is that we are not very Spirit-led and are engaging in many things that are not on God’s agenda for us. The things we undertake are all good and even consistent with the values of the kingdom – evangelism, good works, helping marriages survive, feeding the poor, etc. but they may not be on God’s strategic agenda for us. I’m betting that our days and lives would slow down while being more effective if we sensed more clearly the leading of the Spirit in our day-to-day lives and only did the things that were on God’s To-Do list for our day.

If that is true, then the next question should be, “How do I develop that kind of sensitivity?” I don’t have it all figured out but let me suggest a few things. First of all, we should pray for that kind of spiritual discernment on a daily basis. We should ask God to teach us to hear him even in the crowds and in the business of our day. Many of us have learned to hear him in our quiet times and in the midst of worship but what about during all the other times that comprise most of our waking moments?

Secondly, we might practice being led by the Spirit by stopping five or ten times a day in the car, at the mall, in the grocery store, or on the job and asking God what he wants us to know or see or sense about that moment. Then listen for the small, still voice of the Spirit. Any gift or ability is only developed through practice.

Thirdly, when we sense that he wants us to do something we should do it – even, and especially, if it takes us way out of our comfort zone. Have you have ever had a friend or family member who would frequently call you late in the evening to ask advice but then always went his or her own way and never followed through on your counsel? When that pattern emerges, it’s usually not long before you lose your willingness to give any more advice or to pick up the phone late in the evening. I think God may feel the same way when he speaks to us and we never follow through on his urgings. Obedience is critical even when we “mishear” God. Our consistent willingness to follow his lead will bring more leading.

Fourthly, fill up on God’s word daily. Sometimes we become lazy about Bible study and simply depend on the leading of the Spirit when we want to know God’s will. The Word is the constant plumb line for knowing whether the leading you are sensing is from God or from another source. When we honor God by studying his Word he will honor us by speaking to us.

So…..practice being Spirit-led this week and have fun!

In the ninth chapter of Mark, Jesus had just descended from the Mount of Transfiguration where he had taken Peter, James and John while the other disciples stayed behind. While on the mountain, Jesus had met with Moses and Elijah and during that meeting his clothing became as white as snow and as bright as lightening. The three apostles witnessed this miraculous meeting and then returned with him to the crowds below. When they returned they met a man whose young son had been tormented by a demonic spirit for years. The father explained that before Jesus had arrived he had asked the disciples and apostles who had stayed behind to cast out the demon but they could not.

After a brief dialogue with the father, Jesus gave a brief command to the spirit and the spirit left the boy. Mark then reports, “And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting ( Mark 9:28-29, KJV).

At first reading, we might assume that the father or the boy should have fasted and prayed before asking for deliverance or that the apostles, after encountering the spirit, should have prayed and fasted and then gone after the demon again. However, Jesus did not instruct the father to pray and fast for a season nor did he pray and fast for 24 hours himself before confronting the unclean spirit again. He simply cast out the demon. What we have left is that Jesus was instructing them that there are levels of demonic power and authority that sometimes require more than the ordinary level of spiritual authority that most believers carry. The text also implies that to walk in that level of authority, a believer should dedicate regular times to prayer and fasting as part of his lifestyle.

As we scan the gospels, we often see Jesus separating himself from the crowds and his disciples for nights of prayer and, we can assume, fasting as he prayed. We don’t see the disciples doing that until after Pentecost when the church often met for prayer and fasting. Since Jesus had incorporated extended times with the Father into his lifestyle, he simply walked with more authority than the band who followed him. When he encountered a spirit with greater authority than usual, the authority he walked in was sufficient for the moment and the unclean spirit was banished with a simple command.

There are two significant principles in this account. The first is that we must prepare in advance for spiritual battles. Too many believers wait until the battle is upon them before they start praying, fasting, making their declarations, and trying to summon sufficient faith. Any athlete knows that you must prepare for the game ahead of time with study, strength training, and drills. You can’t begin to get ready after the game starts or you will find yourself hopelessly behind in a hurry. Any soldier knows you don’t wait until you are being fired upon to clean and load your weapon. You always prepare for the battle ahead of time. The same is true in spiritual warfare. Get ready now for what is coming later by getting the word in your heart, praying and fasting as part of your lifestyle, and learning how to use divine weapons before you need them.

Secondly, it appears that spiritual authority increases as we pray and fast. If we want a greater anointing there is a price to be paid and that price should be paid on a somewhat regular basis. The increase comes because we are spending more focused time with the Father and because our relationship with the Father, the Son and the Spirit is deepening.

As I look around us in this season of cultural decay and rejection of biblical values, I believe we must prepare for spiritual warfare as we contend for our families, our marriages, our communities, and our nation. We must encourage one another to prepare before the battle, to increase our authority as followers of Jesus, and to learn how to use divine weapons in skirmishes with the enemy before the all out assaults begin. Otherwise we will be overwhelmed.

But the good news is still the same – He that is in us is greater than he that is in the world. Jesus is certainly sufficient be we are commanded to join him in the battle as we put on the armor of God and wield the weapons of heaven. If you are not prepared or are not in the process of preparing, let me encourage you to get started because the battles are increasing all around us. The hope of our nation is in a church that arises prepared for war against spiritual principalities and powers. We need every soldier in the battle and we need him or her today.

Faith can be hard when life does not meet our expectations. Faith can be hard when promises we read in scripture that seem black and white and iron clad do not unfold as we anticipated. Faith can be hard when we expect God to intervene in supernatural ways to right every wrong yet we see wrong prevailing. This is not a new dilemma. The psalmists struggled with the same issues.

But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold.      For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills…This is what the wicked are like—always carefree, they increase in wealth. Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning. (Ps.73:2-5, 12-14).

Here was a man who tried to live for the Lord every day and to so what was right. And yet, his days seemed like a constant struggle. Nothing was working out. God seemed to be ignoring his prayers. Perhaps he had health problems or financial struggles. Maybe his business was failing or his boss was a tyrant. Maybe he had a rebellious child or his marriage was slipping away. Those things in themselves were hard enough but the kicker was what he observed in the lives of those who gave no thought to God at all. They were prospering – good looks, great health, a fine house, the best of food and wine, an upper tier education for their kids, amazing vacations and a Roman spa membership. Along with that they enjoyed fame and fortune built on deceit and unscrupulous business practices. Where was justice?

There is a slice of biblical theology in which God promises good things to the faithful – health, safety, prosperity, obedient children, and long life along with vengeance on the wicked. But there is also another slice that promises persecution, hardship, warfare with an invisible enemy, a need to put on armor every day and a prayer to keep the evil one from us. If we ever believe that our faith will smooth every road, give us favor in every situation, and that every prayer will be answered immediately just as we had envisioned it, we will probably live with disappointment. The greatest danger is that we will take up offense against God and decide that he is untrustworthy.

Scripture calls on us to preach, teach, and understand the whole counsel of God not just one facet that we find particularly appealing. All of God’s word is true and all of his promises are certain but they often come later than we anticipated. Think about Joseph who was given prophetic dreams that he would be a ruler some day with his brothers bowing before him. All that came to pass but only after being sold into slavery, falsely accused, imprisoned, and forgotten. Eventually there was prosperity and power but a season of hardship filled the parenthesis between the dream and the reality. Neither the suffering nor the prosperity contradicted God’s word. The key for Joseph was not to judge God as a liar because his dreams were not fulfilled immediately or even soon but to continue to trust God that his promises would come to pass – some in this life and some in the life to come. We greatly differentiate between this life and the life to come, but I suspect God sees them both as one continuum. Promises made now but fulfilled then are just as faithful.

The psalmist struggled with the idea that God’s justice should punish the wicked while all he saw was the wicked being blessed. He lamented, “When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me” (Ps.73:16). Sometimes our assumption in such matters is that God is blessing the wicked while we forget that the prince of this world can bestow wealth and fame as well. As he continued to seek God, however, he was given a revelation. “Till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny” (Ps.73:17). In a moment, God revealed the eternal destiny of the wicked and the certainty of God’s justice. We are also told that the kindness or goodness of God calls men to repentance. So judgment and mercy are both reserved for the wicked to be dispensed in different seasons.

All this is to say that when we live by faith, we trust in the promises of God and often we cry out for those promises believing God for an answer. When we don’t see his answer quickly or as we had imagined it or when we see those who are indifferent to God already enjoying blessings that we are still praying for, we may take offense at God when he is still being true to his word. Remember, Paul had to learn to be content in moments of abundance and in moments of scarcity as well. Faith and expectations must be rooted first in the goodness and faithfulness of God so that I know God will grant a harvest for whatever I am sowing into with faith and prayer. Then I wait on him to see how and when the harvest comes. May he always give us eyes to see what he is doing and understanding to know what he has already done and to always count him faithful.

Have you considered the implications of being made in the image of God? An image is a representation of someone or something. It is a re-presentation of the original. As representatives of an individual or an organization, our function is to present or to make known that person or organization to others. We may do so over and over again and each time we re-present the one we serve. We are told that Jesus, as the Son of Man, was the exact representation of his heavenly Father (Heb.1:3). Jesus told Philip, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn. 14: 9). Jesus re-presented the Father to those whom he encountered on the earth. I’m not suggesting that Jesus was the exact representation of God in some physical way while on the earth, but that he carried within him the essence of his Father – his values, his purposes, his perspectives, his ways, his words, and his heart.

In the same way, we are made in the image of the Father and carry within us qualities of his divine nature. Some of those qualities have matured in certain believers. Other qualities are developing and still other qualities exist in seed form waiting to be nurtured so that they can mature and bear fruit. All of mankind was made in the image of God. In many the image has been distorted and fragmented and yet some of that image is still recognizable.

For those who have the Spirit of God within them, that image is in the process of being fully restored. As we become more like Jesus, we become more like the Father and as we mature in Christ, we are able to re-present the Father on earth in greater and more accurate ways. “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Cor.3:17-18, ESV). Jesus declared, “If you have seen me you have seen the Father” (Jn.14:9.) He went on to say in the same chapter that those who would have faith in him would do what he had been doing and they would do even greater things.” As the image of God is being restored, we become more like Jesus. As we become more like him, we fit less and less in this world and fit the spiritual realm more and more. In doing so, we take on the capacity to operate in the supernatural by the power of the Spirit and our words, prayers, and actions take on more significant properties.

Many believers never consider the idea of operating or living out of the supernatural or spiritual realm yet we truly are spiritual people because the Spirit of God lives within us. We are now citizens of heaven and are now seated in heavenly realms with Jesus. Living in the supernatural rather than the natural is simply a perspective or a point of reference. Jesus lived with the perspective that he was a representative of heaven living on the earth who could call on the power and the resources of heaven at any time to fulfill the purposes of the Father. A few loaves and fishes were multiplied to feed 5000. Water became wine. Withered hands were reformed. Blind eyes blinked at sunlight. Jesus was not surprised by any of those things. He expected the power and provision of heaven to be available to those who were children in his Father’s house and representatives of the King. He has called on us to live and pray with the same expectations.

I suggest that one of our daily prayers should be for the Holy Spirit to give us a revelation of who we are in Christ and where our home truly is. We should ask the Spirit to give us a revelation of our spiritual nature and what it means to live on earth while planting our hearts and minds in heaven. If we are truly made in the image of God and that image is being restored then we should expect our dominion over the works of God’s hand to increase as well since that was God’s original intent for Adam and his race. The truth is that faith is not only a revelation of who God is or who Jesus is but also who we are in Christ.

“Father, show us who we truly are today in Christ and how to live as true citizens of heaven who re-present you to all those we encounter. Father show us how to rule as you would rule over the works of your hands today and to know what it means to have the power and provision of heaven available to us as it was to Jesus that your will may be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things (Phil.4:5-8).

This familiar quote from Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi has a great deal to say to us today related to faith and peace. We have had a week of challenging news from friends who have been struggling with life threatening illnesses, emotional burdens, and relationship issues. Everything seemed to oppose our prayers and our hearts this week and move in the wrong direction. Maybe you have had a similar week or month so I thought we might reflect on these verses this morning.

The first part of the good news is that the Lord is at hand. Paul was not speaking about Christ’s imminent return but about the fact the God stays close to his children – within arms reach. In fact, he may stay even closer in times of struggle and pain. “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Ps.34:18). “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Ps.147:3). God is close. He is not unaware. He hears our prayers and our cries even though he sometimes seems silent. He is there.

I know in my own life, during times of struggle, God may have seemed silent because I was not listening. I was doing all the talking as I offered up my prayers and quoted scripture to God and made my case for how things should turn out. I suspect I wasn’t listening because I was afraid of what I might hear. I may have been afraid that God would tell me something I didn’t want to hear. I don’t want to hear some things because I am not seeing life with God’s perspective. I’m reminded of God’s words to Isaiah. “The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil “(Isa.57:1). God’s expressions of love do not always match my desires because my desires are often all about me. Sometimes I need to hear from the Lord to readjust my focus so in the midst of my struggle or my pain I need to pause and listen rather than just crying out. Nevertheless, we must know that the Lord is at hand and there is grace for every struggle.

Next, Paul (who struggled and suffered more than just about anyone) reminds us to pray and ask God for all kinds of things but to baptize those prayers in thanksgiving. Especially, in the midst of our struggles, we can get so focused on the issue at hand that we forget the blessings and the faithfulness of God that still stand in every other part of our lives. When we are focused on our pain we begin to wonder if God really loves us although the expressions of his love are everywhere. Thanksgiving reminds us of God’s love for us and we must remember that God’s love is constant. He does not give it one day and withdraw it the next because we haven’t been perfect or because he is having a bad day. The Lord, who is love, at hand.

The certainty of God’s love and closeness is what opens our hearts to a peace that passes understanding. It is a peace that transcends our circumstances and reminds us that no matter what we are going through, a God who loves us is in the mix and his grace will be sufficient if we choose to trust him.

Finally, Paul instructs us to choose what we think about. Many of us believe that we have no control over out thoughts and some nights when I am trying to get to sleep I feel the same way. But, we are told to choose our focus and to take every thought captive (2 Cor. 10:5) so it is possible. Have you had any conversations lately with people who say they don’t watch the news anymore because it is just one negative and threatening thing after another? They have sensed that what they are watching is affecting their emotional and spiritual well-being. They are choosing not to give those issues center stage in their thought life anymore.

We need to make many choices like that and not be passive about our focus so that random thoughts are free to bounce around in our heads. Many of those thoughts will likely be from the enemy. We typically cannot choose to think about nothing (although men can certainly do that from time to time) but we can only shut down negative thoughts by choosing to focus on something positive…something good, lovely, honest, inspiring, etc. Read scripture, read or listen to faith-filled books, talk to positive people, praise God with thanksgiving for his faithfulness even when you don’t understand what is going on. If you have a prayer language then pray. I find it almost impossible to focus on the negative or be fearful when I pray in tongues.

Paul simply reminds us in this passage that we have a choice about what we believe and to a great extent how we feel since emotions are released by our thoughts. Choose your focus. Choose the topic. Listen to God from time to time. I cannot always have faith in the outcomes I desire but I can always have faith in the love and the goodness of God. A life of thanksgiving reminds me of that. Be blessed today and choose your focus. The Lord is at hand.

One of the keys to a growing relationship with the Lord and the power of the Spirit flowing through us is the practice of confession and repentance. Confession is the act of agreeing with God about sin and repentance is a commitment and often a recommitment to align our hearts and actions with the will of God.

David’s confessional psalm (Psalm 51) after his sin with Bathsheba has always impressed me with his lack of self-justification. Because of the gravity of the sin and his fear of the possible repercussions for him, Bathsheba and the nation, David kept quiet for nearly a year after his sins of adultery and murder. When God finally confronted him through Nathan the prophet, David made no excuses but fully owned his sin and the consequences.

Most men or women who faced such dire consequences would have made an attempt to spread the blame around, excuse his or her behavior or at least minimize it in some way. It would have been easy for David to point out Bathsheba’s culpability in bathing outdoors where she might be seen or her eager willingness to come to his apartment. After all, David was just a man and couldn’t help himself after she threw herself at him the way she did. He might have blamed Uriah for not being a husband who met his wife’s emotional needs so his failure as a husband actually set up both of them for an inevitable affair. Not only that, but it was a one-night stand based on impulse – not a long-term, premeditated affair. David could have confessed his years of struggle with sexual addiction and checked into a clinic for 30 days. He could have easily tried to justify himself and excuse his actions as being only human.

However, David simply owned his sin and entrusted himself to the mercy and unfailing love of God. He made no excuses. He simply declared his sin and took full responsibility for his actions. He responded with godly sorrow and asked for cleansing and mercy rather than attempting to convince God that he simply couldn’t help himself or that he was the real victim in some twisted view of reality. God’s response was immediate forgiveness and a promise to walk with David through the consequences of his actions.

I see many believers today who do not walk in an intimate relationship with God or who are not filled with the Spirit because they continue to justify or excuse sin in their lives. Godly sorrow for sins is hard to come by in a culture that wants to hold no one responsible for their actions and excuses sin based on past wrongs done to the person, genetic predispositions, or brain chemistry. We live in culture of double and triple standards that makes everything a “shade of gray” where right and wrong have no meaning and, thus, the idea of confessing a wrong and repenting of it loses all meaning.

The recent tragedy in California where white policemen shot and killed a young black man demonstrates our confusion. As soon as word got out that a white policemen had shot an unarmed black youth, many leaders in the black community immediately decided that the cop was a racist who had gladly shot down a black man in cold blood. Racism is about unwarranted stereotypes that project negative qualities on an entire race or class without considering the individual.

In California, the racism was first apparent not in the policeman but in the community that quickly assumed that every white cop would gladly gun down a black man if given the chance without looking at the facts or the individual. But no one called that rush to judgment racism. No one pointed out the double standard and so many judged (possibly unjustly), many rioted, many stirred the waters of racial hatred and no one called it sin. The white policeman may, in fact, turn out to be a racist but his sin cannot justify or excuse the racism and sin of others or nothing changes. Sin is sin and needs to be owned and confessed in order for God’s grace to touch a life, a situation, a neighborhood, or a nation.

Two people will never be reconciled and two races will never make peace until they both acknowledge their sins and their need for the blood of Jesus. We can no longer excuse or rationalize sin and refuse to hold anyone responsible for their actions because God still holds them responsible. The answer to sin is not excusing or denying but confessing and repenting. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives” (1 Jn.1:9-10).

The Spirit of God brings healing and transformation when we own our sins and lay them at the foot of the cross. We cannot give away what we do not own. We cannot give our brokenness or sinfulness to Jesus until we own it. If you’ve ever thought that you wanted to be like David, it starts with no excuses. Be blessed and know that God is so willing to forgive when we acknowledge how much we need it.

I was browsing through Kris Vallotton’s Book, How Heaven Invades Earth, when a quote, set apart in the middle of the page, caught my eye. It read, “To a powerless church signs have become something you nail to a stick.” His point was that churches who do not display or even believe in the present supernatural works of God will try to change the world by picketing abortion clinics or by covering their car with bumper stickers proclaiming their disapproval of one group of sinners or another. He goes on to say, “I think it just makes us feel like radical Christian’s when we take a stand for righteousness.” He then explains his concern that we may be actually hurting our cause by destroying any value we have with the group we are opposing.

I believe in Christians being politically active and being salt and light in the world. I believe in passing laws that retrain sin. But I also know that you cannot legislate morality and you cannot win people to a cause by only telling them what you are against and by proclaiming what horrible sinners they are. Perhaps, many Christians and some churches have reverted to the weapons of the world because they have no faith in divine weapons to tear down strongholds.

Vallotton raises the question of how Jesus would have dealt with an abortion clinic or a same sex marriage lobbyist or Islamic terrorists. I was reminded that Paul instructed Timothy about such matters. “And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will” (2 Tim.2:24-26).

A key thought in that passage is that men who oppose the gospel and what is good have often been trapped by the devil and are living under the power of deception. Arguing with them or slandering them will not change their minds but will only reinforce their beliefs that Christians are intolerant hypocrites unworthy of consideration.

Paul, the former persecutor of the church, wrote, “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom.12:17-21).

Perhaps, the greatest power the church possesses is love and the power of the Spirit that keeps us from being overcome by bitterness, resentment, and hatred toward those who have been overcome by evil. It is the love and compassion of God that releases the power of miracles and the kindness of God that calls men to repentance. When we align our hearts and tactics with the world, we begin to misalign ourselves with the Father and his power cannot flow through us into a world that desperately needs his touch.

When I see Christians on social media calling on us to annihilate ISIS without mercy, I understand the feeling. My flesh jumps to agree but the Spirit reminds me that Jesus died for those men and their families too. Do we just stand by then and do nothing as genocide unfolds? No…we act and even go to war if necessary because we are also commanded to protect the weak and the oppressed.

But as we do so we must guard our hearts so that we do not become like the ones we oppose. We also pray for God to destroy the spirit that is behind ISIS because we do not war against flesh and blood. We pray that Jesus will reveal himself to these men and we pray for open doors for the gospel in the Middle East and in America.   Ultimately, the kingdom advances one heart at a time and one life at a time. That is why Jesus said that his kingdom is within. In a sense, these cultural battles and even world wars will only be won when men surrender to the Prince of Peace in their own hearts. If a man who is willing to blow himself up for an impersonal God could be won for Jesus, how much more would he be willing to live for the God who died for him?

Christians must promote righteousness in the land, vote on election days, support causes that defend Christian liberty in the courts, and even go to war. But somehow, by the power of the Spirit, we must not hate or despise those entrapped by the devil and we must find ways to overcome evil with good. We must declare what we stand for (the gospel) rather than what we stand against. We must oppose evil while loving our enemy. Is that possible? Yes, but only by the power of God. We are certainly in a time of testing for such things so pray that God will show us the way so that this evil will be overcome in our generation – “not by power or might but by my Spirit sayeth the Lord.”