Confession. Perseverance in prayer is not my long suit. The definition of perseverance is “to remain constant to a purpose, idea, or task in the face of obstacles or discouragement.” I don’t think I’m alone in this. I don’t mind obstacles if I can see them or identify them but I think the hard part is continuing to pray for something when you don’t clearly see the obstacle or are not seeing any evidence of change or progress.

After a while, the enemy starts messing with your head – suggesting that what you are praying for must not be God’s will since he is apparently not answering your prayer. If it’s not God’s will then you should simply accept that reality and stop praying. Sometimes he discourages you by telling you that your faith is insufficient or that something is wrong with you that God won’t hear your prayers so you might as well forget whatever it is you have been asking for. His goal is to get us to abandon the very need or desire that we have been praying into.

But think about it. If God were not going to answer that prayer, why would Satan bother with discouragement? Wouldn’t he rather us continue to expend our time and energy on something that will never come to pass than to refocus on prayers that God will answer? The fact that Satan would move in to discourage that prayer is evidence that his plans are threatened by your persistent requests and that, in the spiritual realm, he is seeing evidence that God is moving in response to your prayers.

I like Dutch Sheet’s take on the need for and reasons behind persistent prayer. In his book Intercessory Prayer he says, “The disciples had enough power flowing in their ministry to deal with most demons and diseases, but they came up against one that required more faith and power – and they didn’t have enough to overcome that one. Again, the obvious implication is that different measurable levels (of power in the spiritual realm) are needed to accomplish different things….When the prophet Elijah came to the widow’s son who had died, he spread himself out on the corpse face to face and prayed three times (see 1 Kings 17:21). Why did it take three times? Because the man of God wasn’t where he needed to be spiritually? Because he didn’t have enough faith? Because he didn’t do it right the first two times? We are not told the reason nor is it insinuated that any of those things are true. I believe that he was releasing a little more life out of his…spirit each time” (p.216). Sheets goes on to remind us that even after God told Elijah it was about to rain after a three and a half year drought, Elijah still had to pray seven times before a cloud showed up.

The implication is that that our prayers partner with God to release the power of the Holy Spirit into situations that, for reasons we will not always know, require more power than others. Some strongholds are stronger than others. Like a fortified city, some walls are higher, thicker, or denser than others and may require more bombardment than others to bring it down. Our prayers are the bombardment of heaven against enemy strongholds. In ancient times, some cities fell in days while others only fell after years of being under siege. Our prayers lay siege to areas under the enemies control or influence.

The key is to believe that every prayer makes a difference and that every prayer releases the power of heaven against a stronghold. Some come down immediately, others fall after a few months, and many will surrender only after years of prayer. We should be encouraged by Paul’s admonition in Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived, God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” We usually apply that law to sin, but it also applies to righteousness and to prayer. The promise is that when you sow in prayer, there will inevitably be a harvest of what you have been sowing. It is a law of the spiritual realm reflected in the agricultural realm. Paul goes on to say, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Gal.6:9).

In many things we pray for, persistence will be required. Not because what we are praying is not God’s will, or that we are not where we need to be spiritually, or because God does not regard our prayers – but because we are fighting against an enemy who has been digging-in to some situations for generations. It will take more power, more bombardment, more long-term warfare than other situations. But each prayer that is aligned with the heart and purposes of God releases more power into a life, a need, or a crisis and in due time there will be a reaping or a harvest of answered prayer. So…wherever the enemy has discouraged you in prayer, remember he has done so because he is threatened. Keep praying and shelling the enemy as you persist!

Okay. I have to weigh in on the Bruce Jenner debacle. The disturbing thing for me is not his choice to “make the change,” because there are many broken and wounded people in the world who make incredibly bad decisions. The disturbing thing is the conversations about it in the media and the complete absence of any discussion about God and his standards regarding Jenner’s decision.

When God’s standards are nowhere to be seen or heard in the public debate, we are on the brink of something catastrophic. The Old Testament is full of descriptions of wicked, foolish, and prideful men who say, “How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge” (Ps.73:11)? There were many seasons in the history of Israel that the political and cultural leaders marginalized God and considered him irrelevant to the nation. Historically, God will allow himself to be seen as irrelevant for a while but then his “relevance” will come flooding in as judgment in an effort to turn hearts and minds back to him. The old saying that “there are no atheists in foxholes” also applies to national catastrophes when everyone suddenly feels afraid, uncertain, and extremely vulnerable.

Bruce Jenner is just another symptom of a culture trying hard to divest itself of notions about God because notions about God hold up standards and the possibility of accountability that many cultures have found restrictive. What we are seeing today is a kind of moral anarchy where every man has his own personal standard of right and wrong with no objective, absolute standard to guide him. Israel fell into that condition on occasion. “In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6). In other words, man was morally lawless except for what he determined in his own fallen nature was in his best interest. God and his Word were considered irrelevant.

That perspective is very dangerous in the lives of men but even more so of governments. As soon as any system of government decides that God is irrelevant, then that government also will determine that either there is no God or, if there is, he does not hold nations accountable nor bring them to judgment. Think about it. If leaders do not believe that God will judge them or the nation for sin and wickedness what is left to restrain them? Our government (along with “we the people”) pushed God out of our schools, then decided that the Ten Commandments had a bad influence in government buildings, then we decided that God could be tolerated as long as he was confined to churches but he had no business influencing the state. Then, some of our leaders, who reject the law of God have also rejected the restraints of the Constitution and have even redefined marriage, morality, the sanctity of a human life, and the nature of men and women. When government attempts to replace God with itself then government simply views itself as God. Required worship of the state and total submission to it is not far behind.

So what are we to do? There was a time and it was the intent of our founding fathers that the pulpits of the nation were the conscience of America. The expectation or at least the hope of those men who framed the Republic was that the church would stay strong in America, educate America’s people in the standards and commandments of God, and speak out against sin and wickedness as the conscience of a nation. The church has been strangely silent of late. Some speak out, but not nearly enough. We have cowered under the assault of political correctness and have been silent and even complicit as our nation has begun to call evil good and good evil.   Mr. Jenner is simply a symptom of our silence and our failure to evangelize and educate our own families and neighbors. It’s not too late for America but we seem to be in a barrel headed for the brink of Niagara Falls where few survive the plunge.

I encourage you to begin to pray in earnest for this nation and the Lord’s church in this nation. Pray that God would pour out a Spirit of boldness, holiness, humility, power, and evangelism on his church that she might once again become the conscience and the standard of a nation. Also pray that God will raise up men and women of faith and integrity and place them in positions of leadership and influence while removing those from positions of power and influence who have no regard for God…in government, education, and the media. We also must become the conscience of a nation again as individuals who unapologetically share our faith and values over coffee as well as in City Council and School board meetings.

God has solutions for Mr. Jenner’s confusion. I wonder if anyone ever told him about those solutions with genuine love and concern? Please pray daily for the church in America and the elections that are on the horizon.   I think I can hear the roar of the Falls.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. Ps.91:1

In my last blog we looked at the first part of this verse that is followed by so many promises of care and protection. David begins by saying that he who dwells, stays, continues, remains sitting, or abides in the secret place of the Most High will rest. Most High is translated from the Hebrew elyon. It conveys the sense that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is above all and over all. His majesty, his power, and his wisdom surpass all others. That description is then coupled with Shaddai which is translated Almighty which reminds us that God is not only higher, more majestic and wiser than any other but also wields immeasurable power.

David begins his psalm with a reminder of who this God is in whom he trusts. It will take a God of that magnitude to deliver on the promises contained in the rest of this Psalm 91. It is always good to begin our prayers and our praise with a rehearsal of the nature of our God in whose hands were are placing our future. He who intimately remains in the shelter or hiding place of the Most High will rest in his shadow. The word translated rest means to spend the night, to abide, or to relax. IN our vernacular, we could say that he who abides in the secret place of God lives stress free and finds that peace or that stress free life in the shadow of the Almighty.

For those who hid out in the burning wilderness of the Middle East, a huge rock that cast a shadow was a welcome place. It provided comfort and protection from the heat and enemies. This verse reminds us that our God casts a big shadow. In that shadow we are sheltered from the storm, the scorching heat of midday and from the prying eyes of the enemy. Because our God is our Rock and our Strong Tower we can rest, relax, and spend time in his shadow.

David never viewed God as the one who would keep us from all battles but rather the as the one who would give us victory in the midst of battle and times of rest and renewal in between our battles. Too often we have interpreted salvation as God’s promise that we will never struggle, never face crisis and never find ourselves in a battle. God has never promised that. What he has promised is victory and deliverance in the midst of those things.

David goes on to declare, “I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. (Ps.91:2-7).

Notice that David trusts in the Lords deliverance in the midst of battle and in the face of trouble. We can never learn to trust until we have to trust. If God were to keep us from all conflict and calamity we would never have need of faith or trust. I only discover if I can trust someone when I absolutely need him or her to come through for me – when I am absolutely dependent on his or her faithfulness and ability to save me from the calamity I face. We live in enemy territory for now so must expect some trouble along the way but the key is faith in God and the condition is remaining in his presence.

In the face of life threatening circumstances David makes some exalted and, perhaps, seemingly outlandish claims of God’s care and deliverance. Ten thousand fall at your right hand but you are spared. Angels will surround you and defend you. You will trample on the lion and the cobra. Are these poetic exaggerations and can we expect that kind of deliverance from our God? We will consider that question in my next blog. Until then…be blessed.

Remember the old saying, “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop?” I’m not totally sure what that means but the idea is that staying busy kept you out of trouble – so stay busy. I have discovered in my own life that busy hands are also the devil’s workshop for believers.   It’s not that the “busy hands” are involved in sinful things, but rather they leave no margins for the deeper and more important things of God.

The “drug of choice” of our culture seems to be busyness and constant interaction. The more we do, the more significant we feel – productive, included, achieving, connected. Our children are most prone to the busyness and feel the pressure of it. The Midland School system had a rash of teenage suicides several years ago. Most of these young people were not abuse victims, they weren’t strung out on drugs, and they weren’t from “bad families.” Several were popular, high -achievers in their schools. Interviews later with kids at risk for suicide discovered that these elementary, junior high, and high school students felt so much pressure to perform, to be part of the “in crowd,” and to “do everything” that they were contemplating suicide rather than face a life of that kind of pressure and busyness.

Think about it. Even when adults get together its not long before they start comparing their weekly or monthly itineraries – the job, the early morning meetings, the evening meetings, the basketball, volleyball or baseball games they had to attend or travel to. Christians get the throw in all their ministry commitments on top of that. Its as if being way overbooked in your life is a badge of honor or an indicator of worth. God’s injunction to David to “Be still and know that I am God” is still quoted but is typically something we aspire to do rather than something we actually do. Even when the preacher quotes it, everyone winks in their heart knowing that he isn’t all that serious because right after the sermon he will be asking his people to commit to serving an additional night of the week in some ministry.

There is something in our fallen nature that wants to work. Maybe it gives us the illusion of self-sufficiency or gives us a reason not to do any introspection or evaluation of our lives. God didn’t have to command his people (for the most part) to work, but to take a day off from work every week. Obviously the Sabbath was created to honor the Lord but also to bless God’s people. Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. We need the rest. We need the margins in our lives.

How many times do we turn down a “divine appointment” to speak into someone’s life, to disciple someone, to share our faith with a friend at the office, to have a hurting friend come stay at our house for a few days, etc. because we know that to do so would demand time and relationship capital that we don’t have because we are already “all booked up?” I fear we often miss the most important things (myself included) because we have no holy margins in our lives for significant time with God or for those little detours he wants us to take to touch a life, to plant a seed, or to water what someone else has already done.

I’m afraid that someday we’ll meet Jesus and point out all the hard work we did for him and everything we built in his name. He’ll smile and tell us how much he appreciated our efforts. He might even tell us that what we built was impressive…however, it just wasn’t what he wanted us to build because we got so little direct input from him. We can be like a builder who builds an amazing house for a client without having any real conversations about what they are looking for or without consulting them in the process to see if he is on track with their vision and desires. That’s a pretty risky way to build a house. I’ve known builders who were just too busy to have those ongoing meetings with their clients and in the end there were always some problems. If we are too busy to meet, we can be like that as builders of God’s house on the earth.

I’ve always been impressed with the focus of Jesus on a few primary things in his life that always took precedent over everything else. He kept his small group to twelve. Bigger isn’t always better. He turned down invitations to hold month long healing conferences even when he was trending. He often stole away to spend quiet time with the Father when there was so much that “still needed to be done, and he had time to take detours on his way to some town because the Father showed him someone who needed a touch on the way. If Jesus had operated on highly scheduled agendas, I think he would have had far less impact on the world and would have walked in much less power than he did.

Jesus, Paul, and the other great men of the New Testament seemed to live by God’s agenda for their lives rather than the world’s agenda, cultural norms, or even by all the demands of the church. In review, their lives seem sort of ragged and even ill planned, at times, but look at the impact.

The world will not relent. Satan will not relent. Everywhere you turn someone will ask for your time and it will all be good things. We need to establish some holy margins, a Sabbath principle, in our lives so that we have time for God and time for those little detours that bear so much fruit. We’ll need to pray and will have to decide to stop living at a crazy, spirit killing pace. We’ll have to prune some things, but pruning always produces more fruit in the end. We’ll have to be a “bad guy” to our kids to trim their schedules but our lives cannot be driven by cultural norms but should be driven by kingdom norms. By definition, Christians must be counter-cultural. If we are like the culture then we loose our power to change the culture. God will have to show you which parts to trim but my guess is that we all need to trim some things to create margins for us to hear and obey God. Anyway…think about it…if you can find the time. Blessings.

I attended a fundraiser last night for China Aid in Midland, Texas. China Aid is a faith-based organization that works to overcome human rights abuses in China – especially in the area of religious freedom where thousands of Christians and pastors are still being persecuted and imprisoned for their faith. Bob Fu, a remarkable man and advocate for Chinese believers, is the director of China Aid. He was imprisoned for his faith in China and he and his wife Heidi eventually fled to the U.S. to keep from being “re-educated” again in Chinese labor camps. I have made two visits to China to minister to house church pastors and Christian human rights attorneys and have personally seen the faith and passion of these believers. I met numerous believers who had already been arrested and tortured by security police. Others know that possibility exists for them.   Each one expects to be arrested some day and, perhaps, tortured and imprisoned for their faith and yet they continue to serve Jesus and declare his name. For the Chinese believer there is a real cost of discipleship.

We have seen the cost of discipleship in the Middle East over the past few months as Isis has beheaded, burned, drowned and shot the faithful in Christ and we are beginning to feel the early pangs of persecution even in America. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Lutheran pastor who stood against the Nazi’s in WWII and was executed for doing so, said that salvation may be free but it is also costly. There is always a cost to true faith even if the believer is not undergoing persecution. I remember Bill Johnson talking about people who wanted him to pray and give them an impartation for a gift of healing. Some would come and say, “I want twice the anointing you have!” and his reply would be, “So do I. But you haven’t paid the price I have.” He wasn’t saying that we earn our salvation or even spiritual gifts – otherwise they wouldn’t be gifts. What he was saying is that God feeds the hungry not the satisfied and he had expressed his hunger in countless hours of prayers and crying out to God for the anointing he has received.

The danger for most of us Americans is that our faith has been easy and, for most of us, life has been easy compared to the rest of the world. We tend to want everything to be quick and painless. I know that’s my preference, but coming to God has always required a sacrifice and though Christ is our sacrifice there still remains a spirit of sacrifice in our faith. In the life of King David there came a time when he was in need of offering a sacrifice for the nation.

“Araunah said to David, “Take it! Let my lord the king do whatever pleases him. Look, I will give the oxen for the burnt offerings, the threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the grain offering. I will give all this.” But King David replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the Lord what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing” (1Chron.21:23-24). Study, prayer, fasting, serving, giving and being inconvenienced for the gospel reflect a heart of sacrifice that is willing to respond to the cross with a willingness to pay a price for whatever has been freely given – our gift to God in response to his greatest gift.

As we scan the world and see the price the faithful are paying, we need to steel ourselves and be willing to pay a price for heavenly treasures as well. I’m not sure what it will cost us but I know that true discipleship and a powerful anointing of the Spirit will require effort and perseverance on our part. May we be willing to join all those who have gone before us who were willing to give it all for the sake of the cross. Pray a little longer, study a little more, take some risks for Jesus, give generously, miss a meal, above all be inconvenienced for the needs of others and…be blessed in Him.

There are three essential questions in life that determine almost everything.

1. Does God exist?
2. Is God powerful?
3. Does God love me?

Most of the time we are unaware of core beliefs deep inside of us that determine our reactions to just about everything and our decisions in the aftermath of those reactions. These core beliefs are typically formed overtime and often are the results of conclusions we have drawn about life, God, and ourselves as a result of some powerful experience or the modeling of those around us. As adults, these beliefs have been with us so long and are such a familiar part of our internal landscape that we don’t even notice them. Yet, they still have a powerful influence on us.

In light of that, you may want to consider what you really believe regarding these three essential questions – not what you should believe but what you really believe. The implications are massive.

For instance, if God does not exist, all bets are off. You (and everyone else) are on your own in a dangerous and degrading world. If that is your core belief then there is no true north by which to set directions in your life – no absolute right or wrong, no absolute truth, no accountability beyond raw power. Nations that do not believe in God or, at least in a God who holds nations accountable with his judgment, act with no restraint except the restraint of resources and limited power. They assume that all rights and privileges are dispensed by the state rather than God and feel free to give those or take them away at their discretion. North Korea is a model for a world without God.

In your personal world without God you are on your own so control and power will be the highest thing on your agenda as well and looking out for number one will be your only option. In that world, man has little value because he us just part of the evolutionary food chain. In that world, selfishness and self-interest reign supreme.

On the other hand, if God does exist, what you believe about him is just as essential. If you see God as powerless (the doting grandfather view) or detached from this world and your life, then you are still on your own. The powerless God may love you but cannot help you. The detached God neither cares nor helps. You have direction and truth but no help to live out the demands of a distant God and no protection from those who would destroy you for your faith or simply because you are in the way.

If your view of God is that he is powerful and intrudes in this world but does not love you then your situation may be even more frightening. In such a case, God is involved and powerful but is not directed by love when he touches your world. Typically, this view of God paints him as the angry judge of all those who fail him. Then we live with fear, guilt and a sense of impending doom over our lives. With this view as a core belief we will tend to run from God rather to him.

The biblical view is that God does exist, he his powerful beyond imagination, he is involved in our personal lives as well as in the destiny of nations, and he will hold individuals and nations accountable. But…he is motivated by love when it comes to those who love him. If you have faith in Jesus you live in the best of all worlds this side of heaven because God is for you. But many believers are unaware that their view of God is skewed and because of that so is their ability to trust him, to give up control of everything and everyone in their lives, and their capacity for peace and security in a turbulent world.

As Christians, all of us would probably answer, “Yes” to all three of the essential questions above. But we might be expressing our “aspirational beliefs” rather than our actual beliefs. Aspirational beliefs are those we aspire to have because we know we should believe certain things. But actual beliefs can be different (and often are) and are revealed not by what we say but what we do.

To say that God exists, that he loves me deeply, and that He is unimaginably powerful implies that he is really there and because He loves me so, He consistently exercises his immeasurable power on my behalf for protection, provision, and direction.

Jesus believed that about the Father. I know he did because he slept through storms while others cried out. With small prayers he confidently took a few scraps of bread and fish and fed thousands. He walked on stormy seas and faced hostile leaders with the confidence that God would send a legion of angels to defend Him if needed.

But what about us? How often do we worry day after day about having enough? How many of us are “high on control” in our life and relationships so that we won’t be hurt? How many of us are plagued by anxiety and fears of abandonment? How many of us believe in our heads that we are children of the King but believe in our hearts that we are orphans living on our own, scrounging to meet our own needs, and always on the brink of disaster?

Knowing who we are in Christ, knowing who our Father is, and having that truth in our hearts is critical to everything. Paul prayed that God would give the church at Ephesus the Spirit of wisdom and revelation that they might know God better. Many of us have aspirational faith in the character and promises of God but our actual faith lags behind. We need that essential truth revealed to our hearts more than we need it deposited in our heads. That is the work of the Spirit.

Ask Him every day to write “Yes!” on your heart to each of those three questions so that you can live with the peace and confidence of Jesus. May the Lord give you His Spirit of wisdom and revelation today so that you may know Him better (Eph.1:17).

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.             Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. (Eph.6:13-18)

Paul continues to use an analogy between the armor worn by Roman soldiers who were everywhere in Paul’s world and the spiritual armor we need to wear to overcome the enemy in our world. He began with a belt of truth, moved to a breastplate of righteousness and now addresses the shoes of the soldier declaring that our “feet should be fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” The ordinary foot soldier wore “clavata” which were sandals with nails protruding from the sole that gave them strategic traction in loose dirt when climbing or holding their ground. That is probably what Paul had in mind.

The word “readiness” means to always be ready for action – ready to move, ready to fight, ready to defend, and ready to fulfill the mission. In relation to the “gospel of peace,” we must always be ready to defend the gospel, stand on the gospel, and declare the gospel. In many ways, the gospel simply is the good news that through the sacrifice of Jesus, man can make peace with God and be reconciled by the grace of a God who longs to restore his relationship with each of us. It is both an offensive and defensive weapon.

It is defensive when the enemy comes to accuse and condemn. When he schemes to create doubt in our heart about our relationship with God, the message of the gospel should continually reassure us of our relationship with Him. Many believers forget the message of the gospel of grace because they have not shared it enough with others to write in permanently on their own hearts. When Satan comes to whisper that our spiritual performance has not been sufficient for salvation we must stand on the message of the gospel that our salvation has never been about our performance but about his sacrifice.

As an offensive weapon, it is the weapon that constantly and powerfully takes ground from the enemy. When pushing back the boundaries of darkness, the first victory must be in the hearts of men who hear and are captured by the good news of Jesus. When enough hearts have been surrendered to Jesus then families surrender. When enough families surrender then culture surrenders. When enough of the culture has surrendered then entire nations enter the kingdom of light.

The church’s primary mission is to preach the gospel and make disciples of all nations (Mt.28:18-20). Notice that the command of the Great Commission is to make disciples of entire nations not just a few individuals within a nation. If we are not taking ground we are loosing ground. The church quit taking ground in America 50 years ago and now we have lost huge chunks of cultural real estate. Only the passionate and faithful preaching of the gospel of peace will retake that ground and return righteousness to America and America to God. The church in America took off its sandals but needs to cinch them up again with a readiness to declare the Lordship of Jesus with a demonstration of power. The church has been on the defensive in America and Western Europe in recent decades but has the power in Christ to put Satan on the run if we have the will. The gospel of peace is the power of God for salvation (Rom.1:16) and the truth of that gospel enable us not only to stand but also to advance.

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. (Rom.8:9-14)

As we continue dissecting Romans 8, it is clear that the Holy Spirit is essential for living up to the calling that we have received in Jesus. Paul makes a bold statement when he says, “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ” (Rom.8:9). I believe that Paul’s statement here speaks to the potential of the Spirit controlling believers because he has just said in Romans 7 that the flesh wars against the Spirit and he says in other places in Romans that we must choose to serve the Spirit rather than the flesh – it is not automatic because our free will is always in play. But our goal should be complete surrender to the leading of the Spirit.

Interestingly, Paul lifts up the Spirit within us as the mark of belonging to Jesus even more than moral living, Bible knowledge, church attendance or correct doctrines. All of those things are important but the one thing that sets a believer apart from all other people in the world is the Spirit of Christ living in us. Since the Spirit living in us is the great divide among the saved and the unsaved there should also be evidence of the Spirit within us. Paul warns us not to quench the Spirit (I Thess.5:19) or grieve the Spirit (Eph.4:30), but rather instructs us to be filled with the Spirit (Eph.5:18). The fruit of the Spirit (character) and the power of the Spirit (spiritual gifts) are the primary evidences of his presence and should increase as we mature in Christ and mark us as being different from all other people on the planet.

In this section of Romans 8, it is clear that the idea of Christ living in us and the Spirit living in us are the same. Christ lives in us through his Spirit so as we are led by the Spirit we are led by Christ. As we honor the Spirit we honor Christ. As we hear the Spirit we hear Christ.   The Spirit within us is also the Spirit of the Living God whose ultimate purpose for us is the resurrection of the body and eternal life with the Him as our Father. The Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead will do the same for us and fit us with bodies suited for eternity and for the presence of God. In our glorified bodies there will be no fallen or sinful nature. We will have no rebellious impulse that pushes back against the Father’s will. We will carry no shame, no fear, and no sense of condemnation. We will be fully alive in an atmosphere of peace, joy, and love.

In view of that hope, Paul counsels us to put to death the misdeeds of the flesh by the power of the Spirit. He would say to us, “Ignore the impulses of the flesh. Be clear that you have no obligation to honor its demands. It leads to death rather than life – not just in the world to come but in this world as well.” We all reap what we sow. If we give into the impulses and demands of the sinful nature, disaster and destruction will follow at some point. But if we surrender our hearts, our thoughts, and our actions to the Spirit there will be a harvest of life-giving outcomes.” Paul would also tell us that the true sons and daughters of God are marked by evidence of the Spirit in their lives. They are marked by goodness and life. Both the fruit of the Spirit and his power mark them. The more Spirit-led we are, the more power he is willing to entrust to us.

We are all interested in the return on our investments. We wonder what the payoff will be for our time and effort. Many of us watch interest rates and the stock market daily to see what’s happening to our investments because we are investing for the future. Paul’s counsel is to be even more concerned about our spiritual investments because there will be an inescapable payoff some day for good or for pain. The sure investment is always to lay up treasure in heaven and our sensitivity and surrender to the Spirit will be directly proportional to our deposits there. To be all that God wants us to be we must pursue the Spirit of God and all that he offers because what he offers has already been purchased by the blood of the Son.

When I first came to Christ I was part of a denomination that prided itself on Biblical knowledge and a commitment to be “biblical” in everything they did which is a value every believer should hold. However, because of their approach to biblical interpretation, they held great reservations about Christmas. There were no Christmas trees or decorations to be seen in any faithful church that belonged to that fellowship. No sermons on the birth of Christ were ever presented in the month of December just to make a point. The idea was that nothing religious should be connected to the holiday season.

These devout believers blacklisted Christmas as an ancient pagan holiday “baptized” by the Catholics centuries ago or because there is no biblical command or authorization for the holiday. To celebrate Christmas was to embrace something pagan or to “go beyond that which was written.” They argued that nowhere in scripture were we commanded to celebrate Christmas (or Easter for that matter) and doing so would violate scripture. The odd thing was that many of these faithful families would participate in the secular side of Christmas but would not celebrate the birth of Christ in relation to the season.   Any impulse or yearning to do so shrouded the season with a vague feeling of guilt or participation in some kind of ancient pagan ritual. Since my early days as a believer I have continued to discover other fellowships that also maintain those “anti-Christmas” positions although those groups may be dwindling.

For many years now I have embraced celebrating Christmas. For any of you who suffer from doubts about Christmas as day to celebrate Jesus or know those who do, I want to share my theology about that with you, hoping to brighten your holidays.

First of all, I will readily agree that scripture does not command us to keep Christmas. We have no definite date for the birth of Jesus and no record that the first century church did so in any way. If celebrating a season or a day that is not “authorized by command in scripture” is adding to that which is written and adding to that which is written is always sin, then keeping Christmas might just be sin. However, God is not religious and the heart behind many things is what makes it acceptable to the Father or unacceptable.

The gospels make it clear that on the last Passover Jesus and his followers met together to share the Passover meal, two elements of which were appropriated by Jesus as a memorial we call the Lord’s Supper or communion. In that meal, Jesus took a cup of wine (probably several times) and declared that in years to come it would represent his blood – the blood of the new covenant. I may have missed it, but nowhere in Old Testament do I find a command to drink wine at Passover. I see roasted lamb, bitter herbs, and unleavened bread (Ex.12:8) but no wine. The cups of wine were added through the years by religious leaders as symbolic reminders of spiritual promises and events but I do not see wine “authorized” or commanded in scripture. Yet Jesus freely participated and even appropriated that “tradition of men” into sacred communion. To participate in something that is not specifically commanded in scripture cannot always be wrong or be sin or Jesus sinned. If something honors God or points us toward Jesus in the spirit of scripture, we may be on solid ground even if it is not specifically commanded.

The apostle Paul also speaks to the issue of “holy days” not strictly authorized in scripture. As a former Pharisee, he certainly was sensitive to “going beyond that which is written.” Yet he says, “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” (Rom.14:4-5). Paul makes it clear that if I want to celebrate Christmas unto the Lord I have the Lord’s permission and if I want to disregard it all together I also have his permission. The biblical principle is not to I judge those who hold a different view or insist that others hold the same view as I do. Our freedom in Christ allows either approach as long as I am doing what I do unto the Lord.

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Thirdly, Christmas in the spiritual sense reflects the nature of God. God loves to remember and celebrate! All through scripture, God’s nature is reflected in festivals for the faithful in which they were to remember what God had done for his people and to celebrate – not just for a day but for weeks! Joy is a constant quality of the kingdom and a fruit of the Spirit. Even under the Law of Moses, joy and celebration were to mark the people of God. “Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is sacred to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh.8: 9-10).

To me, Christmas passes the litmus test for remembrance, joy, celebration and an event that points us to the goodness of God in Jesus. We are also commanded to give honor to whom honor is due and Jesus certainly deserves to be honored. So…let’s celebrate as the angels and shepherds celebrated the entry of God into the world and have a very merry Christmas!

In studying the baptism of the Spirit, we should remember that God often provides normative processes and principles for how he works in people but he is not bound to formulas. As we move through the book of Acts we recognize that there were normative manifestations when the Spirit fell on or filled believers. The gift of tongues seems to have been imparted on several occasions (Acts 2, 10). Sometimes prophecy broke out. Boldness to declare the name of Jesus was almost always a recorded result as well as a host of miracles that demonstrated the kingdom of God and the reality of the King. Each of these manifestations reflected Christ’s statement to his disciples in Acts 1 that they would be baptized with the Spirit and receive power to be his witnesses.

Many charismatic churches today believe that speaking tongues is the single evidence or experience for having been baptized in the Spirit. Many believe that “the baptism” must manifest in tongues, in “falling out” in the Spirit, laughing uncontrollably, weeping uncontrollably, or feeling power surging through your body like an electric current. In my experience, all of these can be manifestations of the power of the Spirit falling on a person but we should not limit or define how the Spirit manifests himself after imparting power for ministry to a believer.

Most of the churches that want to see extreme manifestations of the Spirit as proof of being filled with the Spirit would say that no one could operate in healing, deliverance, prophecy, words of knowledge, tongues, miracles, etc. without being baptized in the Spirit. I would agree that baptism or empowering must come first but not always with extreme manifestations of the Spirit. Certainly, spiritual gifts are bestowed and empowered by the Holy Spirit. But I know many believers who operate powerfully in these gifts but have never “fallen out” in the Spirit or felt electricity surging through their bodies and not all speak in tongues.

In 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 Paul gives extended teachings on spiritual gifts that include the “power” gifts of tongues, prophecy, healings, knowledge, miracles, interpretations, etc. in the same list as wisdom, mercy, administration, giving, serving, etc. along with teaching, worship, and evangelism and no one would require extreme manifestations of the Spirit before believing that individuals were operating in these gifts. In addition, Paul never suggests that these gifts are given or received in fundamentally different ways.

To be honest, most of us desire an extreme manifestation of the Spirit because it helps us to have faith that the Spirit has truly done something powerful within us for healing or for empowering. However, we must still be willing to live by faith and not by sight even when it comes to receiving from the Spirit. The evidence of the Spirit’s work in us, including baptism, may manifest over time as we recognize an increase in boldness, effectiveness, the ability to hear God, insights into scripture, a hunger for spiritual things, etc. It may also manifest in response to prayers we have offered up year after year for a spiritual gift that we have desired. That gift may begin to manifest in small ways and slowly and then develop as we use the gift rather than exploding on us as tongues did for the believers at Pentecost.

Remember, I do believe that many individuals have those extreme experiences when they receive the baptism of the Spirit but I also believe that the baptism can occur in more subtle forms. In the kingdom, fruit is the best evidence of what we have received and the fruit of new spiritual gifts, an increase in the effectiveness of gifts we already possess, an increase in boldness, or an upgrade in intimacy with the Father is evidence that we have received the baptism or a new filling. Like most things in the kingdom, we receive those things by asking with faith and then being open to how God responds. The gift of tonguesis certainly one evidence of “the baptism” but is not the only evidence. Wherever and however we operate in the power of the Spirit is ultimately evidence that we have received a baptism and, perhaps, subsequent baptisms for fillings.

Again, I believe the baptism of the Spirit is typically used to describe the first time we are infused with power or spiritual gifts but there will be fillings or more immersions in the Spirit to come. I believe we should always hunger for more, pursue more, and ask for more in our lifelong walk with Jesus and in special moments when we need a turbo-charge from the Spirit we may receive an unexpected filling. Be blessed and be baptized. If you want the baptism of the Spirit ask Jesus for it and then receive what he gives you by faith. If you are not satisfied, keep asking.