Thursday, May 28, 2020

Hostile To Holiness

God calls His people to live holy. That means He calls His children to live consecrated and set apart for Him. Followers of Jesus should live differently than those who do not follow Jesus. Sadly it seems the lines have blurred between those in the church and those who never darken the door of a church.

Living holy is not easy. It means saying no to things the majority of society say yes to and saying yes to things that many say no to. This have gone so far that many in the church are hostile to holiness. They want to live one foot in the world and one foot in the church. They don't mind attending worship services, but when the preacher goes to meddling in the preaching they are offended. They want to enjoy the pleasures of compromise but count on the eternal benefits of an insurance policy in Jesus.

Do you take the teachings of the word of God seriously? Like avoiding the appearance of evil. Like not sitting with scoffers. Like not committing sexual immorality, and this includes pornography. Like not talking with a vulgar tongue. The same one mind you used to sing praises to God in worship. Putting away doubtful behavior like not redeeming the time, not reading and applying the Bible for daily living, and many other things.

Holiness is foreign to many. It is costly. It means life adjustments some are unwilling to make. It means cutting sinful behaviors out of your life the flesh will fight tooth and nail to keep secure. The flesh is hostile to holiness. If you are ruled by your fleshly thoughts and passions, then you are hostile to holiness as well.

When my boys were little I had a line in the driveway I forbid them to pass. No matter what. No matter if a ball rolled down the driveway. They were to let the ball go into the road. If they crossed that line there were severe consequences. Why? Was it because I did not want them to have fun with their ball? No. I wanted to protect them. The boundary served to protect their lives.

It is the same with God. His laws are for our protection. He knows best. He know actions bring about reactions. Decisions have consequences. His laws are boundaries meant to keep us from harm. Many ignore this truth and pursue pleasure with no boundaries. The end result is devastation, bondage, misery and in worst case scenarios death.

Holy living is God's best living. It sure may look out of step and archaic to the rest of the world but God knows best. Do not be hostile to holiness. Welcome it. Embrace it. Befriend it. Live it.

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Woe

As I read Your word looking ahead what is to come,
Contemplating the second coming of Your Son,
I anticipate the glorious rapture of Your Bride,
I can't wait to be eternally joined to Your side,
Yet I can't miss the thrice ominous repetition woe,
When the world will be judged and brought low,
When You will deal with humanity in Your wrath,
When destruction will follow Your prescribed path,
Natural disasters like earthquakes, darkness, hail,
When oceans, rivers, grass and trees will all fail,
When about two billion will violently fall to death,
When falling stars will take many others last breath,
When demons will be unleashed from the pit of abyss,
Tormenting pagans with stings like a poisonous kiss,
They will eagerly desire for their lives to finally end,
The torment will last five  months before they mend,
There are still two more horrible woes left to come,
If they would have just turned to salvation in the Son,
Sinner - repent and turn to Jesus before it is too late,
You do not want to have to try to survive the Tribulate.

A Last Prayer

Del Fehnsenfeld, Jr. loved Jesus. He gave His life to pointing others to Him and calling the church back to a right relationship with Him. He preached hard messages to penetrate hard hearts. Consequently many did not care for him. He upset the status quo. He carried a different measuring stick than church attendance and big budgets. He measured success by the word of God.

At the age of 42 Del got diagnosed with a brain tumor. He only lived another seven months. He gave his all in preaching up to the point where he was physically unable to do so. Not long before he died he slipped in and out of sleep. He did not speak for some time because it was so difficult. About one day before he died, he awakened with one last prayer on his lips. This is what he prayed.

"Lord, please bring back Your glory to Your church. Send the fire. Turn the hearts of Your people. May they know that You alone are God."

I find that prayer interesting on two different levels. First, it is eerily similar to the prayer Elijah prayed on Mount Carmel. Some phrases nearly word for word.

1 Kings 18:36-37 (ESV)
36  And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word.
37  Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.”

The glory of God is missing from the church. To put that another way, the weighty presence, the honor and majesty of God are missing from the church. Like Elijah, Del asked God to send it again. To fill houses of worship with His presence soaking and saturating the hearts and minds of people.

He also prayed for God let people know He is God. This is certainly needed today. Elijah also pleaded for God to send fire and to turn the heart of the people.

I don't know if Del intentionally asked God for the same things Elijah did by quoting part of his prayer from the above passage, or if those things were so engrained in him, he had the same heart as  Elijah.

The second part I find interesting is I have prayed these same prayers for the church today. I did model my prayer after Elijah's. That prayer has moved me since 1995. It is the same heart I have for God's people and the world today.

This day many ignore God. They reject Him. They push the boundaries further and further from Him. I plead with God to turn the hearts of people back to Him. This is a spiritual battle and can only be fought with spiritual weapons. The turning hearts back to God would be revival. At this point in history, we have no other hope.

Elijah saw it for his day. Del saw for his day before he went home to Jesus back in 1989. It's the same prayer I cry today in 2020. May God answer that one last prayer in mighty fashion to further His glory.

Friday, May 22, 2020

Battling

For several days I have been awakened to go to battle in prayer. When I write go to battle I mean just what I write. It is going to war in the spiritual realm for people I care about. The situations are different. I battle for prodigals to return to God. I battle for people facing health issues. I battle for those who are at their wits end.

This kind of praying is taxing. I have been a student of prayer for thirty years now. This kind of praying is the most demanding. It is intercessory prayer. Identifying by putting yourself in these situations to pray fervently. The war against the wicked forces of darkness is a struggle. Remember we d not wrestle against flesh and blood. We war against wicked forces of evil. Demonic hoards sowing evil everywhere with little to no resistance.

We are told to stand firm against the schemes of the enemy. When you battle against an unseen enemy who can attack on multiple fronts stealthily, you must keep watch. It is fierce enough doing battle for one person. Add multiple people. Add a church and community. In addition, take on the battle for a whole nation engulfed in spiritual darkness. This kind of praying is work. It is intense. It is a fight to push back the darkness. Inch by inch, foot by foot, yard by yard.

Our opponent is a formidable foe. A liar. A deceiver. One disguised as an angel of light. One seeking to steal, kill, and destroy. One roaring like a lion seeking whom he can devour. He destroys lives. He tempts, lures and entices. Once people give in he traps. Many live in nightmarish bondage because they fell for his traps. One bad decision led to other bad decisions. Such people live in bondage. They have destroyed their lives and hurt those around them.

At what point will the church say enough? When will the church stand against the schemes of the devil?  Not with more programs. With prayer. When will the church courageously enter into battle? With fervent intercessions. Armed with spiritual armor, prayer and the sword of His word we must battle. If not, the devil will continue to destroy people, families and communities.

Consider for a moment just some of the things the church needs to go to battle over.

Abortion. Child sex traffic trade. Affairs. Divorce. Pornography. Alcoholism. Drug addiction. The occult. Hypocrisy. Corruption. Crooked politicians. Out of control judges. Evangelism. Revival. The backsliding of many. Sexual immorality. Censorship. Globalism. Pandemics. Rape. Murder. Government cover ups. Fake news.

While the church quit battling and keeping watch, the devil kept marshalling demon troops and advancing. We have lost valuable ground that may never be recovered. It certainly will not be recovered without a fight. Without battling.

For years God wakes when He wants me to pray. I never know when it will be. I get up and pray and usually go back to bed for a couple of hours. After several days of battling in prayer, when I go back to sleep I am out like a light. I usually hear Brenda's alarm go off. I hear her get up and get ready for work. I usually see when she leaves. Not the past few days. I don't hear anything. I am out. I attribute that fact to battling for people in prayer is work. Hard work. There is so much more battling that needs to be done. May the army of God march forward on their knees in battle pushing back the darkness.

Thursday, May 21, 2020

Scared And Alone

During this time of social distancing the thought occurs to me that some people have lived with social distancing for a long time. They go through life both scared and alone. They have no one to talk to about their fears. They endure day after day isolated from others.

Like wild stallions still running free,  fears stampede the mind. One fear can turn into two then three and so on. Fear usually grows out of the soil of anxiety. We worry. We dwell on those worries long enough and they become fears. Soon those fears can overwhelm. The fears eclipse hope and any measure of faith. Moods, thoughts, and attitudes grow dark. In these shadows Satan lurks. Twisting, deceiving, obscuring truth and hope.

Fears also grow when we lose control. When our carefully crafted live meant to avoid pain still leads to pain. When we cannot control the outcome. When circumstances beyond our resources to fix hold fast. When you know you cannot change things. You feel helpless and afraid. That is when evil forces start planting toxic thoughts in the mind. Poisonous thoughts planted like a farmer planting his crop. Only the fruit from these toxic thoughts will only bring a destructive harvest if not taken captive in obedience to Christ.

To live in fear is hard enough. To have to do it alone is far worse. Worst case scenarios play out in the mind and there is no one to talk you off the ledge. Nobody seems to care. Everybody is busy with their own lives, wrapped up in their own struggles. It is easy to slip through the cracks. To be neglected. Forsaken by those you once thought you could depend on for counsel and help.

The phone never rings. The texts do not come. The mailbox is cluttered with junk mail and bills. There are no cards. No letters. No emails.

I heard a tragic story of a lady who lived in fear and felt alone yesterday. The circumstances are not important. One night she got in her car. She drove onto some train tracks and parked. She sat there scared and alone until a train eventually came ending her life. What a tragedy.

For the longest time I did not understand how a person could get to that place where they felt the only option was to end their life. I understand now. When a person hurts so long, feels tormented psychologically and lose all hope that it will ever get better ending it all seems preferrable to the pain of life. . Even if that person is a Christian, and they have prayed for help, but the desired help did not come, At least not in the form they wanted or in the time frame they wanted, death looks like the only way to find relief. As someone wisely stated, suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.

In contrast to all that, I point to one scripture.

Isaiah 41:10 (ESV)
10  fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

The first seven words of that verse ought to bring comfort and hope for those scared and alone. Don't fear because God is with you. Just like a parent comforts a child on a stormy night God is with in whatever you are facing. You are no alone. Not only is He with you, but He also never sleeps. I like to say God works the night shift.

If He is with you and awake, you do not need to be dismayed. To give into hopelessness. He is your God. He is your sovereign and supreme ruler. Day by day, even minute by minute He strengthens you to keep going, to keep plodding ahead. He is also your helper. I do not know why He delays for you. I don't have answers to all your why questions. I just know He promised to be your helper. To come to your aid. He will also hold you up. When you can't manage the energy to get up and stand God supports you.

To all the scared and lonely. You need not fear for you are not alone. Your God is bigger than whatever you face. Don't give up on Him yet. Hang onto that truth in these troubling times.

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Prayers Worthy Of You

I came before the Lord in prayer recently. and started to make my requests and paused. I reflected on the greatness of God. I pondered His vastness. I meditated on His massiveness. Suddenly I realized everything I was just about to pray seemed trivial. Beneath Him. Prayers so inconsequential they need not be prayed.

Please do not misunderstand me. I am not referring to the fact that matters impacting us are not important to God. He cares for us. He is involved with us. He is concerned with the things that concern us. I am only saying on the aforementioned day, all that I intended to bring before Him seemed unworthy.

I prayed a prayer I never voiced before. "Lord, help me to pray prayers worthy of You."

He is a great God. The list of His attributes could go into infinity. I feel His significance and my insignificance. I sense His greatness and my ordinariness. I am aware of His all powerful nature in contrast to my weak nature. I am not even worthy to come into His presence much less to address Him.

God does not want my eloquence. It is not eloquent to Him. He wants my sincerity. My fervency. My trust. He wants to answer grand prayers that maximize His glory when I testify. He wants me to remember who I am talking to. He does not want my whining but my confident asking. I come only because He allows it. He beckons me. He invites all of us. May we come standing on the following scripture.

Hebrews 4:16 (ESV)
16  Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Coming confidently means coming boldly. It means coming bluntly, outspokenly, plainly and assuredly. In doing that, I want all of us to offer prayers worthy of who He is and reflective of what He can do. Truly nothing is too difficult for Him. [Jer 32:17] Let us pray like we believe that truth.

Meditations For Life Videos

Some of you may be interested in a new ministry we just started. Periodically we are recording short videos I call Meditations For Life. It is one more way I can minister God's word on a broader scale than just behind the pulpit at Spring Creek. I pray for the world to be my pulpit.

The videos are posted on the Facebook page of Spring Creek Baptist Church located  Weatherford, TX. I do not personally have a Facebook page but am willing to do these motivational videos in the same hopes that I write. That they might help someone. I wish God would use both the writing and the videos to reach all around the world for His glory.

I seek no fame or glory. I am nothing apart from Jesus. "He must increase and I must decrease."  John 3:30. If you find either helpful please help us by sharing the links.

I Am Writing

It has been some time since I posted anything to this site. For a couple of weeks I did not have anything to write. Writer's block they call it. I stared at the blank screen on several occasions and each time backed out.

I have been writing though. I am working on a new book. I just finished chapter five today. It is an ambitious project on prayer. I wrote a previous book about prayer titled Behold The Faithfulness Of God. The title of this book is Prayer: Ministry From The Secret Room. It dives much deeper and is both theological and practical.

Here is the premise. Some of the greatest ministry that takes place originates in the prayer closet. When we pray we are inviting God to involve Himself in the affairs of men. Battles and victories won in the secret place get displayed in the public sector. God gets the glory.

I appreciate your patience. I plan to write here again soon. For now, He has me occupied in prayer for revival and the writing of this new book.

You can pray with me for the finances to publish it. At this point I do not know any exact amounts. It will be several thousand dollars. He has made a way to publish other books in the past and I trust He will make a way to put this book into print as well. I hope to complete it by the end of the summer.

Thanks for your patience and prayers.