Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. (Acts 9:15,16)

God is speaking to Ananias about Paul. He told Ananias to go lay his hands on Paul so that he would regain his sight (Paul had been blinded by a visitation by Jesus on the road to Damascus). Through his experience on the road to Damascus Paul became a follower of Jesus. One of the fascinating things about Paul becoming a follower of Jesus is that Paul knew the cost. He knew what was probably going to happen to him – that he would be beaten, jailed, and ultimately killed for preaching Jesus. He knew because he had persecuted many Christians already. Yet, knowing the cost he went forward with more zeal than anyone.

We know the cost too. We know some people are going to think we are weird, that we’re fanatics, or that we are nut jobs. Some will write us off as friends and call us mindless idiots. We may be ridiculed openly or it may just be people talking behind our back. We know the cost and it scares us. It scares us into silence. And the cost is nothing compared to what Paul faced. I may not be called an idiot by my friends if I remain silent but what will God call me if I remain silent?

God forgive me for my silence. Give me the opportunity to be bold for you. Amen & amen.

Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer for the name. (Acts 5:41)

And the name is Jesus. The apostles, probably Peter and John, had been imprisoned and beaten then threatened to stop preaching Jesus. When they were released what did they do? Did they throw themselves before God complaining and asking God why he had allowed this hardship to fall upon them? No! They rejoiced.

Rejoice in Your Suffering

Rejoicing isn’t a somber prayer with an insincere or forced thank you to God. Webster defines rejoice as “to feel joy or great delight.” Their suffering was not an occasion to question God; it was a time to praise God for they were sharing in the suffering of Jesus and advancing the kingdom.

Why?

How do we handle suffering today? When things don’t go right, when bad things happen – a death in the family or a lost job – do we praise God and rejoice in our suffering? Do we feel joy or great delight? It is in our suffering where we witness the power of God to overcome. Through suffering He develops character in us. We can rejoice that He has found us worthy to suffer. He loves you enough to bring you through the valley in order to spend time with you developing you into who he wants you to be.

Prayer

Jesus, thank you for suffering for us and for bringing me through my own valleys in this life. Amen and amen.

At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, “The Lord will not do good, nor will he do ill.” (Zephaniah 1:12)

I am often amazed at the relevancy of the Bible – even an old testament minor prophet like Zephaniah. As I read this book it almost seems like he was writing for today and not to Israel 2600 years ago. Here he is talking about complacent and comfortable people. People who aren’t necessarily worshiping idols – like many in Israel were doing at that time. They aren’t drunk, criminals or prostitutes. They are probably just your average Joe good guy neighbor.

Today this would be the equivalent to someone who says they are a Christian but doesn’t necessarily make it to church every Sunday. They believe in God but aren’t sure how active God is. To them, God is basically a nice old guy and as long as you are a “good” person he’ll let you into heaven. It doesn’t matter what religion you are; as long as you are faithful to it you’ll get there. In fact, hell probably doesn’t really exist because how could a loving God create a place called hell? In Zephaniah 1:12 God says he is going to punish these people!

Don’t get lulled into an Oprah theology. Hell is real and there is a big fat road of complacency leading straight there. True we are saved by faith but a changed heart is demonstrated by the works you do. There is a fire and passion ignited in a changed heart. It isn’t enough to warm a chair in a church service now and then. Being a “good” person is not going to impress God. In and of yourself, you cannot be good enough.

I believe our generation needs new prophets speaking the words of the old. I fear there are many sitting in church every Sunday who will one day stand before the God of the universe and he will not know them. Search your heart. Is there anything more important to you than serving God? If so then you must question your salvation. God is not satisfied with half measures. He desires that none should perish but all would have eternal life. Which means he desires all of you – he is calling you to give your heart and your life to him. Serve him above all other things. There is nothing greater and nothing more satisfying and no joy more complete than a life and heart committed to Jesus. And no richer man is there than the one who is wholy owned by God the Father.

posted at rhinoseven.com

An absent father or uncaring, unloving or self-centered father does not discipline his child. A father who wants the best for his child trains his child; he corrects his child. Sometimes that is in the form of direct discipline for disobedience, disrespect or maybe even inattention. Other times it is letting the child make a mistake so that they can learn from the consequences. Either way the correction is only accomplished by a father who is present, caring and involved in the child’s life.

Often when we experience difficulty in our life we shake our fist at God and say, “Why God?” We wonder if God even cares. We might even look around and see others who care nothing for God and never have the problems we do.

It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? (Hebrews 12:7)

Is it possible that those who have it easy don’t have a loving father correcting them? I look at my difficulties different now. Not as a child who is angry with a parent for discipline but as a thankful orphan. I was lost – I really was. I’ve been through some difficult times and even now life isn’t easy. But I now see that I have a loving father in Heaven who has been correcting me, guiding me, molding me and ridding me of my defects of character.

My difficulties are often a result of my own disobedience and hard-headedness. Because of that God is correcting me. And I am humbled. He loves me enough to guide and correct me. What an incredible blessing to be found worthy of correction in order to be made righteous and prepared for the life to come.

My prayer is that you will also know the depths of the Father’s love and correction.

Posted on rhinoseven.com

I had forgotten the division in the Christian community over Harry Potter. That is until I went to see the movie last week. While 95% of the Christians I know don’t have a problem with the books or the movies, there are a few who are vehemently opposed to them. And vocally opposed I might add.

The main argument is that magic is demonic. They also say that wizards are demonic. While the occult often uses the same terms to describe themselves and their activities I do not believe they are the same. For one reason it is merely an imaginative story that never claims reality. Also, even though I haven’t read the books, I have seen most of the movies and I’ve never seen worship of any kind – whether to a person or object. There is definitely the forces of good and evil; which, by the way, evil is pretty plainly shown as evil.

So what is all the fuss really about? Well this isn’t the first time I’ve seen a Harry Potter movie and then been accosted by well meaning but boorish acquaintances who are quick to rebuke me for my association with something so evil. In September of 2007 I wrote a post about it on my previous blog. It was called “The Harry Potter Question” and I believe it is still relevant in light of the renewed criticism ignited by the recent release. Here is what I wrote 2 years ago:

The Harry Potter Question

I often find myself in situations where I have a choice to make where there isn’t an obvious right or wrong. I call these choices the “Harry Potter Question.” This is what I mean: As a Christian, is it right for us to read Harry Potter? I’ve heard vehement arguments by devout Christians against these books. But then I read I Corinthians 8 and Paul says there is nothing wrong with eating meat sacrificed to idols. He says we can do whatever we want but that not everything may be beneficial.

So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

But not everyone knows this. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.

Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. (1 Corinthians 8:4-9)

The point is that as Christians we aren’t governed by a set of rules and regulations. Remember, we are free! Instead, we are governed by a love for each other and a love for God. And we know there is only one true God and one true power in the universe. If we are strong in that, then reading about (or watching) the magical and mystical adventures of a school boy is purely entertainment. It does nothing to sway our faith. In fact, because of our security in the Lord we don’t even consider Harry Potter as an attack on God.

However, there are weaker Christians who cannot read Harry Potter. To them there is something real about Harry Potter that contradicts their faith. Or to them the magical and mystical can only be evil (if such things exist, who created them?) The devil uses this as a foothold to breakdown the brittle foundations of their faith. Out of love for our neighbor, we need to me mindful of this. It doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the book ourself; it just means it might be prudent to take care about who we read it around or who we discuss it with. And if we do meet a weaker brother, and they are often easily identified by their dogma, we ought to love them to a sound relationship with Christ rather than argue and belittle their lack of faith and understanding.

Every morning I get up early to spend time praying, reading my Bible and journaling. I always choose a verse I read to journal on. Sometimes a verse will jump out while I’m reading and I’ll know that is the one and other times I just have to pick something. The most amazing thing about this process is what comes out. When I start I usually have no idea what is going to come out but God speaks to me so personally through the journaling. Often I get done and say, “Wow! God I had no idea this was in me or that you were speaking this to me.” This morning was one of those times. Incidentally, most of what I write here comes from my journal.

This morning I began reading Hosea. There wasn’t a particular verse that really jumped out so I choose to journal on Hosea 1:2 -

When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredome by foresaking the Lord.”

Why would God ask a man to do such a thing? God knows the heartbreak this will cause Hosea. It is the same heartbreak he feels over his people whoreing themselves after other idols. So why would he cause a righteous man like Hosea to go through the same pain?

God understands us better than we understand ourselves. We have a hard time understanding what we can’t see. We have a hard time understanding what we haven’t felt. So God sometimes asks us to go through something difficult in order that we understand his heart. His heart is for us – that we might be intimately connected to him so he can poor out his blessing on us. I don’t mean monetary or physical blessing. We can see that being connected to God sometimes means suffering for him. But connection to God brings about a spiritual blessing in the form of joy no matter our circumstances. Yet we remain unfaithful.

Today we chase our own ambitions. We seek to satisfy all our desires. We are so easily fooled.

The iPhone 3Gs came out this week. I have wanted an iPhone for a long time and I know a lot of people who have just upgraded to the 3Gs. Yesterday I spent some time looking at them online. I have the money right now so I could afford to spend the $400 and get this wonderful piece of technology. I’ve been really thinking about it – trying to come up with ways to justify it. Then I read about Hosea and Gomer. I read how God’s heart is broken by his people coming to him and then whoring themselves out to other idols. And as I wrote in my journal God spoke loud and clear to me saying, “Don’t whore yourself out to the latest expensive gadget when I’m calling you to something more.”

And I wondered what God would have done with the money if all the Christians I know, who bought the iPhone 3Gs, would have given it to him instead of giving it to Apple? And what would God do with the extra $30+ a month they are going to pay for the iPhone plan for the next however many years? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you are a bad Christian if you have an iPhone. God does bless us with material possessions. I’m simply asking the question I have to ask myself, if I spend this money am I being the best steward of God’s money? Is there a child I could save with my $400? Are there people dieing without hearing the gospel because the money needed to send the missionary has just been spent on an iPhone?

These are important questions so my prayer today is this: God help me to always be a wise steward of your money. Amen.

And Elisha sent a messenger to him saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean” (2 Kings 5:10)

Naaman was a Syrian with leprosy. He heard that this Israelite prophet could heal him. So he traveled to Israel to find Elisha. When he found him, Elisha wouldn’t even come out of his house to meet him. Instead he sent out his servant to give Naaman instructions. The servant told Naaman he had to wash in the Jordan river seven times in order to be clean. And this is my favorite part – instead of being thankful for a cure to his leprosy, Naaman gets ticked off at Elisha.

But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy.  Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage. (2 King 5:11-12)

He’s mad because Elisha not only didn’t come out to meet him but also told him he had to work for his healing. Naaman is so mad that he decides to just go home until a servant convinces him to go wash in the Jordan – which cured his leprosy.

How many times have I been frustrated with God for not intervening in a situation? We do this a lot, cry out to God to do something while he is crying out to us to do something.

In rural Ethiopia, parents are forced to kill some of their children due to tribal superstitions. There is a ministry dedicated to rescuing and providing a home for these children otherwise destined to die. On their website, drawnfromwater.org, there is a video telling the story of Bale, a young girl they rescued. What would have happened if the team who saved Bale from being tossed in the river would have instead just cried out to God asking, “Why don’t you save her Lord?” It would have been ridiculous to think God should intervene differently when he had already sent them.

When we see children being senselessly murdered in the Sudan or hear about the 25,000 children who have died today of preventable causes, it is easy to look at God and say, “Why don’t you stop this?” And what is God’s answer? Why don’t YOU stop it?

Why should God intervene when the Christian church in America today has already been blessed with the resources required to end poverty?

I struggle with this, I really do. I live in America and I see all the nice things people have. I live in the land of opportunity and I’ve been blessed with many talents and abilities. The truth is, I probably have the potential to be a wealthy man and raise my family in luxury. I would love to have a big house and a fancy boat. But when children and adults are dieing because they don’t have enough food or their water is tainted I wonder if it is right. Is it right for me to sit and enjoy when God is calling me to go and do? If I had that big fancy boat would I just be driving it straight to hell?

And the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, and they made no war against Jehoshaphat. (2 Chronicles 17:10)

Jehoshaphat was king of Judah and was one of only a handful of good kings. In fact, it says that Jehoshaphat walked in the ways of David and the Lord was with him. He sent out teachers of the law who went through all the cities of Judah teaching about God and the law. And what happened? Revival! Not only among the people of Judah but also in the neighboring kingdoms. When it says, “the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah,” I don’t think it means they were afraid. Instead, God was faithful to the teaching of his word and those who witnessed it understood that the God of Judah was alive and true.

What would happen if Christians today gave up entering political debate? What if we stayed out of the vitriolic arguments about abortion, homosexuality and the environment and instead devoted ourselves to teaching? I believe the ills we see in the world are a symptom of a spiritual condition and not the problem. The problem isn’t abortion. The problem is that people are so spiritually bankrupt that they think it is a right and not a wrong. So what if we stopped saying don’t have abortions and started saying do love God? Do love your neighbor. Do help the needy and victims of injustice. Then maybe the fear of the Lord will fall on our neighbors too.

Our do’s are so much more powerful than our don’ts.

You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there. (1 Kings 17:4)

“You what God? Ravens are going to feed me?”

Can you imagine Elijah’s reaction when God told him to go camp by a brook where he could drink the water and he would send ravens in the morning and evening to bring him bread and meat? That way Elijah would be taken care of during the drought God was sending Israel. It might not have been hard for Elijah to believe God would command ravens to feed him. For Elijah, it was just another day in the life of following God. But God doesn’t do that sort of thing anymore. Or does he?

I haven’t heard of God using ravens recently but I have heard many miraculous stories of provision. I’ve even had miracles happen in my life. Like the night I prayed and told God that if he wanted me in ministry he was going to have to fix the mess of my credit card debt. I kind of said it jokingly. Honestly, I didn’t have the faith of Elijah and I certainly didn’t have the faith that God would fix my credit mess. But I did have the faith at that period in my life to start tithing. Even though I was facing financial ruin I started giving God ten percent. I did believe that God would be faithful to provide.

The very next day after praying that prayer I got a letter in the mail from a credit card company I owed $20,000 saying that I did not have to pay the debt. Not only did I not have to pay, the report of my deliquency was removed from my credit report. That was my raven.

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (Romans 13:14)

Just before this verse Paul says to walk properly as in daytime. I think he means not to do things we would be ashamed of everyone seeing. He also says to stay away from orgies, drunkeness, sexual immorality and sensuality, quarreling and jealousy. He was writing to the Romans 2000 years ago but things are still the same. These are still the things our society is involved with today. But those are just examples. He takes it one step further telling us to “make to provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”

Does that mean we are not to enjoy anything? No, but it does mean we need to be conscious of our motivation. For example, food is for sustenance. The purpose of food is not for pleasure or for comfort. That doesn’t mean when we eat that it can’t be pleasurable. However, it does mean that our motivation for eating shouldn’t be for pleasure. When eat for pleasure we become gluttons. We put on weight and our health suffers. Food taken outside of the intended purpose no longer brings life but death. We end up becoming a slave to our desires and distracted from our purposes.

I speak from experience. I struggle with this. Food has never been a struggle for me but lately it has become one. I love ice cream. I love cake and pie. I love any kind of cookie. There is not a dessert that I can turn down. And what is the purpose of dessert? Pleasure. I read this verse twenty pounds too late.

What pleasures do you find distracting? Is your flesh distracting you from God’s purpose and mission for your life?