Strangers in a Strange Land - November 30 Readings: Ezekiel 26–27, 1 Peter 2, Psalm 135:8–14, Proverbs 29:12–13

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"This world is not my home, I'm just a-passing though."

Those of the words of an old country gospel song - not my favorite form of music but those words teach a truth we need to hear. Too many Christians are too tied to this world - its riches, its pleasures, its ambitions and achievements - and do not understand how the Bible describes the church of Jesus in this world. Look at 1 Peter 2:11.

Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and temporary residents to abstain from fleshly desires that war against you.

Peter described us as "strangers" and "temporary residents." We are not of this world. We were born as part of this world and its ways, but we were born again, adopted into the heavenly family. Our spiritual citizenship was changed and we are no longer first and foremost citizens of this world. Our citizenship is in heaven, Paul said (in Philippians 3). We now live in a world we are not a part of.

In this world, people live for self, for selfish ambition, for achievement and ambition and power; but we (are supposed to) live for the glory of God and the good of the kingdom. The world defines people by the money and possessions they have; we define ourselves by the rich treasure of grace which Christ bestowed on us by his death. The world seeks pleasure in whatever way possible; we live for the pleasure of the one who redeemed us and our pleasure is serving him. Granted, we don't always live out these ideals, but that is who we are - citizens of a different kingdom.

And we are only here for a short time. We are living here for a few years, awaiting the glory that will be revealed in us, the glory of heaven - which will last for all eternity. Because this world is a short time and eternity is, well, eternal, we ought to devote our lives to treasures in heaven more than on earth, to seeking first God's kingdom and its righteousness.

That is why we do battle against our fleshly desires. My heart, in its natural condition, desires this world and its things. But I do battle against the flesh, in the power of the Spirit. I abstain from those sinful desires that distract me from God's work.

Father, thank you for saving me out of this world of sin and its destructive desires. Fill my heart with Christ that I might do battle against the desires of my flesh, and help me remember I'm just a stranger here, and it's only for a short time. 

Should I Vent My Anger? November 29 Readings: Ezekiel 24–25, 1 Peter 1, Psalm 135:1–7, Proverbs 29:9–11

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"You can't keep your anger bottled up inside of you or eventually you will explode." I've heard that a million times (well, a lot of times anyway!). Counselors tell us that holding our anger in, keeping it to ourselves and not venting it on other people is unhealthy; damaging to the body and to the psyche.

And it is certainly a difficult thing to hold in anger when someone provokes you. Our sinful flesh wells up and simply demands that we answer back, that we defend ourselves, that we settle the score and tell the other person precisely what a terrible human being he or she is. It is an almost uncontrollable urge.

According to Proverbs 29:11, it is also the act of a fool.

A fool gives full vent to his anger,
but a wise man holds it in check. 

A fool is someone who makes wrong choices that bring destructive consequences on his life. A wise person makes the choices that bring the blessing of God. In this verse, the one who vents his anger, who follows the worldly advice to let it all out, is a fool. They choose to express the anger they feel and perhaps even feel a little better afterward. But the consequences eventually fall on them. Hurt feelings. Damaged relationships. And, strangely enough, a bitter spirit. Venting anger tends to make one more angry and produce a bitter spirit, instead of actually getting rid of anger as the pop psychologists promise.

The wise man holds his anger in check. He does not say the hurtful things he is thinking, but controls his tongue (remember James 3?) and keeps it to himself. This, according to Solomon, leads to blessing.

The wise man knows where to take his anger, his hurt and his pain. He doesn't pour it out on others, but he takes it to the One who can heal the pain. Job was devastated by tragedy, and after the foolish advice of his friends, he was furious. He took his pain to God and called out for answers. God revealed himself to Job, who learned to trust the Father even when he did not understand. Habakkuk couldn't understand how God in is justice could allow what was happening in sinful Israel and he told him so! God revealed his plan and Habakkuk's heart trusted him.  Jeremiah cried to God in sorrow over Israel's plight and God ministered grace to him.

Venting our anger to others brings no true healing to our hearts and wreaks havoc on those around us. But when we take that anger to God, when we are honest with him about it all, not only do we find the help we need in our suffering, but we become agents of God's blessing on the world around us.

Father, I do not always understand you and sometimes life not only baffles me, but it also frustrates me. I seek your wisdom and your healing. I reject the folly of the world that says I need to vent my anger on others regardless of the damage that does. 

God Does NOT Answer Prayer! November 28 Readings: Ezekiel 22–23, James 5, Psalm 133–134, Proverbs 29:7–8

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Hold on a second! Put down your stones. I think when you have read this entire post, you might understand what I meant with that intentionally provocative title, you might absolve me of heresy, and you might no longer feel the need to stone me with stones!

Here's my thesis again: God does NOT answer prayer.  

Oh, prayer is a good thing, a great thing. But when we say something like this, we tend to put the emphasis on the wrong thing and miss the main point.  Let me explain. 

“God answers prayer.” It is true that when God's people seek him in prayer, he manifests his presence and demonstrates his power among them. But the point I am trying to make here is crucial.Too many people think that if they just say the right words or work up the right emotions, that God will hear and respond to their prayers, as if there is some magic quality in certain prayers that commends them to God. 

We think that the key to prayer is how we pray.  Did I say the right words?  Did I pray long enough? Hard enough? People wonder why their prayers do not get answered.  They pray for healing or help or provision and when no answer comes, they assume that there must be something wrong with their prayers.  Maybe they did not use the proper format or say the magic words.  If they can just find the right way to pray, God will hear.

The phrase “God answers prayer” can leave people with the idea that there is some magic formula, attitude, posture, technique or grouping of words that makes prayer effective.  But that misses the whole point.

Look at James 5:16. Speaking of Elijah, the prophet of God, James says: 

The urgent request of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect. 

Or, in another translation:

The prayers of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

Note that he did not say, “Prayer is powerful and effective.”  He said that it is the prayers of “a righteous man” that move the heart of God.  Elijah prayed in the simplest words.  It was the false prophets who chanted, cut themselves and engaged in all kinds of weirdness to gain their gods’ attention and get their prayers answered.  It was not what Elijah prayed that mattered most, but who he was before God.  When a person in right standing with God prays, God hears.

So, here is my point.  

God does not answer prayer, He answers PEOPLE!

I love Caller ID.  I am old enough to remember when you had to answer the phone before you knew who was calling you. But now, most of the time, I know exactly who it is on the other end of the line. And if it is my wife or one of children calling, I will answer. A blocked call or a toll-free number? That may have less of of a chance! I base my response upon who is calling. 

That’s the way our God is.  He does not respond to eloquence, or volume, or magic words, or any other human device.  He responds to people.  It was not Elijah’s prayers that moved God, it was Elijah.  Elijah was a righteous man and God listens to the righteous.

When we come to Christ, we are justified, clothed in his righteousness and granted favor with the Almighty.  We are adopted into his family and given full access to God in the name of Jesus Christ. When I pray, God sees Jesus’ name on the Caller ID and my prayers are answered.Now, in the name of Christ, I have the privilege of going boldly into the throne room of heaven to voice my praise, confess my sins, pour out my heart and make my requests.  I am welcome in the presence of God because of the grace of Jesus Christ. Of course, there are other scriptures that tell me that even as a righteous man, if I embrace sin in certain ways, my prayers may be hindered. But as a righteous man, I have the amazing privilege of coming to God in the name of Jesus Christ with confidence that God will hear me. 

God does not hear my prayer because I say the magic words, or because I moan and shout.  He is impressed by neither my eloquence nor my passion.  He hears my prayers because He loves Jesus and I am in him!  I have been accepted in the Beloved. Clothed in the righteousness of Christ, I come before God in the name of Jesus to present my requests to Him.  And God listens.  The God of Heaven, the Creator and Sustainer of all hears me when I call to Him.  That is amazing, isn’t it?

God answers ME.

Father, I thank you that you have, through Christ, justified me. You made me righteous and because of that work of grace, I now have access to you. My prayers are heard because of who I am in Christ. Praise your name. 

An Adulterous Bride - November 27 Readings: Ezekiel 20–21, James 4, Psalm 132:13–18, Proverbs 29:4–6

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On August 27, 1978, I stood in front of a preacher (who doubled as my father) and made promises to God and to the woman standing next to me. I promised to stick with her for better and worse, richer and poorer, in sickness and in health. But along with those positive promises I also made a negative commitment.

"Forsaking all others."

Marrying one woman meant that I had to give up all the others. Saying yes to Jenni meant saying no to every other woman in the world. A positive commitment to one woman implies a negative commitment to all others.

We sometimes forget that as the "Bride of Christ" a similar commitment is required of all of us. We are to declare our love and commitment to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. He is to be the primary passion of our lives. What we sometimes forget is that our positive commitment to Christ also requires a negative commitment to all others.

James spells this out in chapter 4, verses 4-5.

Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the world’s friend becomes God’s enemy. Or do you think it’s without reason the Scripture says that the Spirit who lives in us yearns jealously?

Verse 4 starts with a harsh accusation, "Adulteresses!" The Bride of Christ is cheating on the Savior, refusing to be faithful to its marriage vows. Then, verse 4 identifies the other man, the one with whom the church was committing adultery. They were engaged in a "friendship with the world" and friendship with the world is by definition hostility toward God. When you cheat on the Savior with this world - its pleasures and passions - it makes us enemies of God. In verse 5 we see that it even arouses jealousy.

There is an old saw, "we are in this world but not of this world." It is true, but it is also the greatest challenge ever. We are not called to live as hermits, to separate completely from this world. We live our lives here and are even allowed to enjoy that life. But we are never to love this world or the things in the world. Our hearts must belong to God, as a husbands' must belong solely to his wife.

We must seek that balance every day as we live in this wicked world. We live, love, eat, drink, work and play in this world, but our heart must belong to Christ. He must be the one we love, the one we seek to please, and the one whose interests we serve. We must be loyal to Christ above all.

Forsaking all others, I must keep me only unto him, so long as I shall live!

Father, help me to be faithful, to keep my heart set on Christ above all things. 

Taming the Tongue - November 26 Readings: Ezekiel 18–19, James 3, Psalm 132:6–12, Proverbs 29:1–3

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When I look back on my 5 decades of Christianity, I would surmised that the highest percentage of my sins have been sins of the tongue. I avoided most of the "big" sins that sidetrack so many in their earlier years, and I would have to confess to more that a few sins of the mind - lust, anger, pride and such. But when I've gotten into trouble it's usually been my big fat mouth that started it all. I guess that ought not be a huge surprise. My life, my work, my ministry - it's all about words, whether written or spoken. I preach. I counsel. I discuss. I strategize.

And all too often I sin. Angry words. Gossip. Backbiting. Inappropriate jokes. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, Jesus said, and my mouth has too often reflected the sin in my heart.

That is not unusual, though. According to James 3, the hardest part of the body to control is the tongue. Verse 2 spells it out.

For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a mature man who is also able to control his whole body.

One of the best signs of Christian maturity is when our mouths come under the control of the indwelling Spirit and we no longer say every foolish thing our hearts devise. There are many wonderful truths found in the next few verses. Permit me just to spell some of them out. 

• Like a bit in a horse's mouth or a ship's rudder, the tongue, though small, has a huge effect on our lives, for good or ill.   3-4
• The tongue is like fire, which can set an entire forest ablaze. Our tongues, out of control, are the most destructive force on earth. When a family falls apart or a church divides, out-of-control tongues are always at the root.  5
• The tongue is "set on fire by hell." Satan means "the accuser." The word "devil" is the Greek word slanderer. When we let anger and bitterness flow from our lips we are doing Satan's work. The fuel of the uncontrolled tongue is hell itself! 6
• The tongue is the most uncontrollable force on earth. We can tame wild animals but we cannot tame the tongue. 7-8
• Too often, the tongue is like a poisonous snake bite - it injects destructive venom into the souls and minds of others, wreaking devastation in lives. 8
• We cannot praise God and curse men with the same tongue. If my lips are used to backbite, to gossip, to slander, to inject verbal venom, all my words of praise and affirmations of my devotion to Christ are empty and hollow. 9-12

If I had a recording of every word you had spoken in the last week, what would it tell me about you? Would I know that you truly love God because the praises of the Creator are on your lips and those same lips are used to encourage others in his name? Or would I see inconsistency and duplicity? Do you try to speak both the love of God and hurtful words toward others, even though Scripture says it is not possible. Would I hear vileness, abuse, viciousness? What would your words say about you? 

Jesus told us that the tongue is a gauge of the heart. What is in your heart shows in what comes out of your mouth. What does your tongue say about you? 

Father, forgive me for my failure, too often, to control my tongue by the power of your Spirit. Give me a tongue filled with praise, with grace, with gentleness and kindness, a tongue that glorifies you with every word. 

Saved by Works? November 25 Readings: Ezekiel 16–17, James 2, Psalm 132:1–5, Proverbs 28:27–28

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Many have seen a conflict between Paul's consistent teaching on salvation by faith alone and the assertion of James in James 2:17 that faith without works is dead. James says in verse 21 that Abraham was justified by works when Paul maintained that Abraham was justified by faith, apart from works. So, did James stand in opposition to the teachings of Paul? Is this a contradiction between two passages of Scripture?

No, it is not. It is a matter of perspective. It is my belief that almost every biblical truth has to be held in balance and in tension with another biblical truth - the trinity combines God's Oneness with his existence in three distinct persons, Jesus is both man and God, God's sovereignty and human responsibility. The whole Bible is full of "truths in tension."

Remember the old story of the blind men who all touched an elephant? One grabbed the tail, another the trunk, another a leg, another a tusk, and another simply placed his hand on the elephant's side. They were all touching the same elephant, but they gave very different descriptions of the creature.

Paul was holding on to the truth of salvation by the grace of God, through faith alone. No one is able, by the works of the Law to earn a place in heaven. But Paul did not denigrate good works, he just maintained their proper place. After saying that we are saved "by grace through faith" in Ephesians 2:8-9, he says that we were "created in Christ Jesus to do good works." We are saved by grace to do good works.

That is exactly what James is saying here. He is not maintaining that anyone can perfectly keep the law and earn a place in glory. He is emphasizing that true faith produces good works. His thought is clear in verse 18.

Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith from my works.

Faith, real faith, faith that is a gift from God and saves us, also produces in us a radical life change that is reflected in the way we live. Someone who professes faith in Christ but is not changed by Christ has every reason to doubt the genuineness of his or her conversion. Faith that does not produce new works is dead.

Salvation by faith does not excuse us from living for Christ, from doing good works; no, it empowers us to live lives that glorify God, that are pure and holy, that serve others in Christ's name.

Father, may my life reflect the kind of works that are appropriate for one who has been saved by Christ. 

The Joy of Suffering - November 24 Readings: Ezekiel 14–15, James 1, Psalm 131, Proverbs 28:25–26

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I'm sorry, James, but that is just plain crazy!

I believe in the absolute truth of every verse of the Bible, but some make that commitment pretty difficult. Oh, my problem isn't with believing that God created the heavens and the earth, that he parted the sea so that Israel could walk through on dry ground, that Jesus healed the sick, walked on water and fed the 5000 or that God raised Jesus from the dead. I believe those things.

But verses like James 1:2 throw me for a loop.

Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials.

Really? When I am experiencing pain or sorrow or frustration, I am supposed to consider this a "great joy?" It makes no sense, does it? 

On a human level, James' teaching is absurd, but on a spiritual level it is perfectly reasonable. God's purpose in our lives goes beyond our desire for fun and comfort. He is working to make us more like Jesus Christ and sometimes hardships can be his best tool in accomplishing that purpose. 

In early 1980 I was recuperating from a serious skiing injury - I was on crutches for 2 months. I'd begun to gain weight so in late February I decided that I was going to run the Dallas White Rock Marathon the first weekend of December. I had nine months to get ready. So, I ran. And I ran. And I ran some more.

And it hurt. I spent a lot of time with sore muscles, sore feet, sore knees, sore hips. Training for that marathon was painful. But when I crossed the finish line (in 3:55) all the suffering was worth it - it had accomplished its purpose.

Suffering is never fun - that's the definition. But its outcome is such a blessing that if we are seeing things from God's perspective, we can count our sufferings as joy. Verses 3-4 expand on the idea.

...knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.

When we are taken to the limit and beyond, when our faith is tested by suffering, God builds endurance in us - we get in spiritual shape! That helps us become mature and complete, becoming everything God wants us to be. 

You can have a life of ease and comfort, if that is what you want. But you cannot demand that kind of life and also grow strong in Christ and become all he wants you to be. God's plan for your life involves spiritual exercise - from suffering and hardship - that is perfectly designed by him to produce spiritual maturity and to make you more like Christ. 

I hate suffering. I've not gotten to the point where I've mastered the attitude James advocates here. But I do know this - it is the sufferings I've encountered that have caused me to grow in Christ. It is the people who have mistreated me who have helped me learn how to love like Christ. Suffering does produce endurance and spiritual maturity. 

Suffering is a tool in the hand of God and we need to remember that such is the case. 

Father, I say this by faith if not by feeling - thank you for the sufferings that have come my way that tend to make me more like you, that build spiritual endurance and character in me. I thank you that you care enough about me to give me what I need instead of what I want.