Category: Bible Study

Growing the Heart of a Spiritual Hero-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield- Psalm 5:12 NKJV

The book of Matthew is getting a lot of read time in my life right now. It is the gospel I chose to read in preparation for Resurrection Sunday (Lent). It is also the book my small group is studying together. 

That’s a lot of Matthew. 

 Reading through Matthew repeatedly and studying it with friends has allowed me to see some things I had never paid much attention to before, like the incredibly diverse list of men and women in the genealogy (Matthew 1:1-17). There are Jews and gentiles, some good guys (and gals), bad guys (and gals), some people no one has ever heard of and some people everyone has heard of.  Matthew’s genealogy proves Jesus came for everyone and everyone needs Jesus (Romans 3:23-24, John 3:16). 

This most recent trip through Matthew has also caused me to think deeply about some parts of the story I have never really thought much about, like Joseph. He’s kind of the unsung hero of the New Testament. Joseph was everything we should all hope to be. He did some truly hard things without complaining and sacrificed more than almost anyone for the cause of Christ. He was also willing to obey God even when it made little (no) sense to do so. Even so, there is not a single song written about Joseph, nor are there (to my knowledge) any books written about him. He was an ordinary guy, with little social standing or formal theological training but he’s the primary reason Jesus survived infancy. Joseph was just an ordinary guy who did a bunch of extraordinary things with little recognition or hoop-la. His story teaches us that any of us can do extraordinary things if we cultivate the right heart. His right heart included the following:   

Joseph showed love and care for someone who (appeared to have) wronged him badly-

In a world where virtually all unbelievers and even many Christians feel it’s justified to retaliate against someone who has done them wrong (Matthew 18:21-35, Romans 12:19), Joseph stands out for choosing the high road when he (mistakenly) thought Mary had cheated on him. No one in his world would have thought less of him for publicly disgracing Mary for sleeping with another man. In fact, many people would have cheered him on and thought more of him for calling out her “sin” in a public manner.  However, the God of the universe deemed Joseph “a righteous man” for wishing to protect a woman he had every reason to believe had wronged him.  It says a lot about God’s heart towards those those who choose discretion and kindness over truth practiced with a hard edge.  

Joseph knew God enough to know when He was speaking- 

One of the most extraordinary things about Joseph is he knew when God was speaking (Hebrews 12:25, John 10:27). He never got confused.  He never wondered if a dream was really from God or the result of too much food the night before. He just knew. That kind of understanding only comes from proximity. Joseph spent enough time with God to know when God was communicating a message. Anyone can do the same. 

Joseph obeyed-  

Obedience is probably Joseph’s number one claim to fame and the source of his greatness. When God told Joseph to take Mary as his wife, he did it. When God told Joseph to take Jesus and Mary to Egypt, he did it. When God told Joseph to go back to Isreal, he did it. He obeyed every time, no questions asked, no arguments and no foot dragging. God is clear: He loves obedience more than He loves sacrifice and great works done in His name (Acts 5:22, 1st Samuel 15:22, 1st John 5:1-3). Cultivating a heart of obedience is relatively simple but far from easy. The key is to obey all the time. If we obey when it’s easy (small things) when the hard stuff (big things) comes up, obedience will feel more like muscle memory than a big painful production.  (Romans 2:13). A life obedience is not easy this side of heaven, but it does bring all sorts of blessing in the next life (James 1:12, Matthew 16:27, Deuteronomy 28:1-2).

Joseph was willing to take on shame that was not his to protect another- 

Joseph was a righteous man not just by God’s standards but also by the standards of man in his time (Micah 6:8, Matthew 1:19). Mary was not. As a young woman pregnant before her marriage become official, she was an object of shame and likely even ridicule in her community.  By choosing to take Mary as his wife Joseph took on her shame as his own. He chose to stand with someone who did nothing but dimmish his reputation and standing in the community. It’s a reminder that God’s people are called to stand with the weak, poor, unpopular and unlovely even when there is no obvious benefit in doing so (Proverbs 14:31, Luke 14:13, James 2:1-6).  

Joseph shows us how to be a spiritual hero. 

His life teaches us God sees the things that no one else sees and rewards righteousness done in secret. In this life Joseph was the furthest thing from a big deal a person can get, although I have a feeling that he will be the biggest of deals in the next (Matthew 19:29-30). May we all be so forward thinking in our actions and attitudes. 

Solving the Worry Problem-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

If I say, “My foot slips”, Your mercy, O Lord, will hold me up.In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul- Psalm 94:18-20 NKJV

Worry. 

We all do it. 

Just about every human on earth worries about the past, the future, their careers, their finances, their kids, their marriages, their health and the health of the people they love. Christians worry about the same stuff everyone else worries about. The biggest difference between Christians and non-Christians when it comes to worry is Christians feel guilty when they worry and most non-Christians simply see it as a problem to be medicated into extinction. As a result, worry and anxiety has become big business. In 2007 America spent eighteen billion dollars to medicate anxiety disorders in the United States.  That number does not include what was spent on counseling or herbal supplements used to treat anxiety and worry. 

That’s a lot of worry and a big old pile of money. 

The two questions Christians ought to ask themselves are: 

Is worry a sin? 

And 

What do I do about worry? 

Many Christians believe it is a sin to worry. Team “worry is a sin” believes there are verses that prove Jesus explicitly forbid worry (Luke 12:22-25, 1st Peter 5:7). They also believe His apostles reiterated His teaching in their letters. Team “worry is a sin” also believes any concern expressed over anything is worry and consequently is a sin. Ironically these teachings generate a lot of worry for a lot of folks.

I do not encourage Christians to worry (more on this later). That said, I am a member of team “worry is not a sin” for a couple of reasons. First, there are zero verses that explicitly state worry is a sin.  Furthermore, worry and anxiety do not appear on any of the “sin lists” in the Bible (Romans 1:18-32, 1st Corinthians 6:9-11, Galatians 5:19-21, 1st Timothy 1:8). Most significantly, Jesus’ teachings on worry seems to show deep concern for the wellbeing of the worrier (Matthew 6:25-26). Nowhere does Jesus indicate that worriers are sinning or in spiritual danger due to their anxiety (Hebrews 4:15). It’s also true the Bible makes a distinction between worry and appropriate concern. The apostles did not worry their heads off about anything. However, many of them expressed deep concern over issues in their letters, including false teachers (Acts 20, 2nd Peter 2:1, Jude), bad doctrine (1st Timothy 1:3, Hebrews 13:9, 1st John 4:1, 2nd Timothy 4:3) and sinful people impacting the church negatively (2nd Timothy 3:1-5, 1st Corinthians 5:1-12). There is nothing wrong with showing appropriate concern if your child is running in front of a car or you are being chased by a bear. Nonetheless, it is neurotic and unhealthy to lay around and worry about such things if they aren’t happening.  

That being said.

Just because something is not a sin doesn’t mean it’s beneficial (1st Corinthians 10:23).  To the contrary, Jesus’ teaching in Luke twelve makes it clear that worry is pointless and changes nothing.  So, what do we do about worry? In a broken and fallen world there is no end of things to worry about. However, there are some things we can do that will help us deal with worry appropriately. All of these (if done consistently) will have a bonus consequence of drawing us into closer relationship with Jesus.  

Be proactive about inviting God into the problem-solving process- 

I am convinced that this life is simply a training ground for whatever God has for believers in the next life (Matthew 25:1-29). This means our problems are more than just annoyances or things to get worked up over. They are opportunities to learn and grow into better people so that we are ready for the responsibilities of the next life. This means that problem solving is not running ahead of God (as some say). Instead, problem solving is an opportunity to grow as people learn from God and develop a skillset that will benefit us in this life and the next one. But in order for that to happen we have to invite God into every issue of life through prayer and be willing to let His spirit lead us to problem solve effectively. 

Make a daily practice of remembering the goodness of God-

Sometimes, we worry simply because we have forgotten all the ways and times God has rescued us, provided for us or protected us in the past. Making a practice of remembering how God has come through for us in the past is the best way to prevent the spiritual amnesia that leads to pointless, soul-sucking worry (Psalm 77:11, Deuteronomy 4:12, Psalm 103:2). 

Be intentional about putting the rest in God’s hands-

 I do not think worry is a sin. That said I do think a yearning to be in complete control of everything is (Proverbs 19:21, Psalm 37:4-6). Conquering worry begins with accepting the reality that control is elusive (impossible) in a fallen world. We must also acknowledge that much of our anxiety is related to our fear of loss of control (Isaiah 41:10, Psalm 118:6). It is simply a fact that there will always be things in life that are worrying and even intimidating. Our job as Christians is not to pretend everything is fine when it isn’t. Instead, God wants us to take our worries and fears to Him in prayer until those fears transform into child-like trust and love (Galatians 5:25). 

What is a Spiritual “Loin” and how do we Gird Them?

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free- John 8:32 NIV

I am not a Bible translator. 

However.

I do know enough about the Bible and Bible translation to know there are words and phrases frequently misunderstood by readers due to an awkward translation from the original language (Hebrew, Greek or Aramaic) into English.  Occasionally a translation issue arises because there is not a truly suitable English word to use in place of the Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek. Most of the time translation problems occur because the translator really is simply attempting to make a difficult concept easier to understand or less weird for the modern-day reader.

Ephesians 6:15 is (in my opinion) an example of this.  

In Ephesians 6:14 Christians are told to “put on the full armor of God”. The purpose of doing so is to prepare ourselves spiritually to stand our ground against the devil and the various schemes he plots against us. In verse fifteen most contemporary translations tell us the very first step in the “putting on” process is to have: 

 “the belt of truth buckled around your waist”.

Here’s the thing:

I do not like to Monday morning quarterback in a field I am not an expert in.  Mostly because it me makes look like a prideful, dumb jerk. Nonetheless. In my opinion using the word “waist” here lacks accuracy and has led to some confusion as to what the passage is actually saying.  

 In the original Greek, the NASB and a few older translations, it simply says:

“Gird up your loins with truth”. 

There are some really good reasons translators would choose waist over loins. Loins is a weird word. It just is. It makes people uncomfortable and it begs all sorts of questions, such as: 

Does the word loins mean what I think it means? 

How does truth protect my “southern regions”?? 

What does that have to do with any of this? 

For reals. 

The Greek word used in this passage is osphus and it means exactly what you think it means. It means loins, as in loins. As in our inner thighs or to put it more bluntly (and accurately) the part of our bodies that we use to make babies.  

So. 

Here’s some facts we know about our physical loins:

Our loins are the most personal, private place on our physical bodies.  No one (except a few weirdos) shows their loins to complete strangers. Having our loin area exposed is humiliating, so we keep them covered up. Normal people do not make a practice of discussing their loins with anyone. It’s just too weird and personal.  If our loin area gets punched or kicked, it hurts. Really bad. It does not matter if the person is male or female— a blow to the loin area devastates a person’s ability to function, sometimes for a good while. 

Here’s the thing. 

We all have spiritual, emotional and psychological places every bit as vulnerable and sensitive as our physical loins. We all have areas of shame and regret. We have all had experiences we don’t like to talk about—or even think about. When one of those places is exposed or hit in some way (triggered), it hurts like the dickens and we feel broken and shattered. 

These are the places Satan likes to hit the hardest (1st Peter 5:8). 

Satan kicks at our metaphorical loins by reminding us of all the stupid sinful things we have done or have had done to us. He tells us the trauma we have experienced left us damaged beyond repair.  He tells us our past or present sin has disqualified us from ever being used by God in a significant way. Satan tells we are defined by what do and if we don’t do enough or do things the “right” way we are failures. He tells us we are worthless and completely lacking in value. 

All Lies. Every. Single. One. Of. Them. Straight from the literal pit of hell. 

The first verse in this formative passage on spiritual warfare tells us that the very first thing we must do to defend ourselves against the enemy is to protect our most sensitive emotional places WITH THE TRUTH OF GOD’S WORD (John 8:32). Satan attacks us with lies about ourselves, about God and about other people and what those people think about us (John 8:44)

If we do not know the truth about who we are in Christ, where our true value comes from and what God really thinks of us those lies will shake our confidence in the goodness and forgiveness of God, and make us want to quit Christianity altogether. It will leave us unable to function spiritually. When that happens, we’re done for emotionally and rendered useless for the good works we were created for (Ephesians 4:10) 

The secret to protecting our spiritual loins is to know who God is and who we are in Christ. We have to know deep down in our knower that God is good and kind (Psalm 84:11, Isaiah 63:7, Acts 14:16-17) We have to realize that when we put our faith in Jesus and His resurrection we were at that moment made clean by Him (Hebrews 9:14, Acts 13:38, 1st Corinthians 6:9-11, Ephesians 1:4). We have to believe that when Jesus forgives us it’s a done deal. God does not go back and relitigate our sin every time we mess up or make a mistake. We have to accept that God’s love for us is real,  unchanging and endless (James 4:7)

We have to believe God is who He says He is. 

The Spiritual Superpower Every Christian can Have-

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ- 1st Peter 1:13 NASB

The New Testament contains many thought-provoking little tidbits that are not really substantial enough to qualify as a complete verse. These are more like little phrases— many of them have a lot of gold to mine. 

Here’s one of them:

But we have the mind of Christ- 1st Corinthians 2:16

 This little phrase begs a whole bunch of critically important questions, including: 

Are all Christians just given “the mind of Christ” at the moment of salvation? 

Did the Corinthian Christians have the “mind of Christ” or was Paul just wishing they did or hoping they would figure it out? 

Does the English phrase “mind of Christ” mean something especially special in Greek? 

If we don’t automatically receive the mind of Christ at salvation, how do we get “the mind of Christ?

So. 

Context is useful in grasping the deeper meaning here. This little snippet is a tiny fragment of a greater conversation Paul was having concerning some super stupid things the Corinthian Christians were doing and thinking. Therefore, it is safe to assume Paul is not commending the Corinthians for having “the mind of Christ”. Nor is the mind of Christ is something all Christians are given as a part of the initial salvation package. Although, the mind of Christ is obviously something every Christian CAN have and should go after. I was a bit surprised to discover the phrase “mind of Christ” means pretty much the same thing in Greek as it does in English. Basically, it means “to think like God”. Consequently, if someone has the “mind of Christ”, they will see events, life and people the same way God does. 

This means the “how” of thinking like God is critical, so critical, it is probably the key to a lot of our spiritual growth and maturity. Without it we will likely flounder spiritually, just as the Corinthians were. Thankfully, there are four easy things every believer can (and should) do daily that will move them closer to the goal of having “the mind of Christ”

Go after discernment (Psalm 119:66, Philippians 1:9)-  

The word discernment and its derivatives are used thirty-two times throughout the Bible. The Greek word for discernment is anakrino. It means “to distinguish, to separate out by diligent examination, to scrutinize.” A discerning individual thinks issues and situations through prayerfully. Discerning people learn to apply biblical principles to all of life. This gives them the wisdom to understand deeper (sometimes hidden) issues in each situation. Furthermore, discerning people understand all of life is connected. Everything we do and think affects everything else, behaviors and attitudes have consequences (Hebrews 12:15).  We acquire discernment through intimacy with Jesus. Jesus is the embodiment of wisdom (Colossians 2:2-3).  Consistent Bible reading, prayer and the practice of consciously applying the Bible to life gives discernment ample space to flourish in our lives. 

Limit worldly voices in your life-

Everything we do is a direct result of what we think about (Matthew 6:22, Psalm 26:3, Psalm 110:3). What we choose to read, watch, listen to become powerful influences that consciously and/or subconsciously influence how we think and behave. Consequently, if we want to develop the mind of Christ it is wise to exercise caution and discernment about what influences we allow access to our lives. 

Get the word of God in you so it will come out of you- 

The more exposure we have to worldly entertainment and ideas the more worldly our thinking will become. Conversely, the more exposure we have to the word of God and biblical principles the more we think like God. We become what we marinate in. Getting into the word daily and surrounding ourselves with biblical principles ensures we will acquire the “mind of Christ” as we mature. 

Ruthlessly go after congruency- 

Congruency is one of the five (four?) math terms I actually understand. It means sameness. If a Christian’s life is congruent, they are the same all the time. There is no subterfuge, deception or hypocrisy in their lives.  Jesus hates hypocrisy. Jesus mentioned or taught on hypocrisy twenty-one times in the gospels. Not once did He have anything positive to say about hypocrites or hypocrisy (Luke 12:1, Matthew 6:2-16, Matthew 23, Matthew 15:6-8, Matthew 24:51). It is impossible for a person to think like Jesus while doing something Jesus despised. All humans tend towards hypocrisy. Thus, hypocrisy is something we must mercilessly root out of our lives. The only way to root out hypocrisy is with sincere and sometimes ruthless reflection. We must make a practice of scrutinizing not just our actions but also our attitudes and the motives behind our actions (1st Corinthians 11:27-29, 2nd Corinthians 13:5). 

Okay, so full disclosure:

The mind of Christ is awesome, essentially, it’s like having a spiritual superpower. It enables the average Joe or Jane Christian to think like God. This in turn empowers average people to do things and endure things they could never do in their own power and human wisdom (2nd Corinthians 12:9). However, it’s not always all sunshine and gummy bears. As our thinking becomes more like God’s there will be times when the world (and the people in it) will not always understand what we’re doing or why we’re doing it. We need to do it anyway, because when we do the world sees Jesus in us and we please the Lord. 

The Scriptures Christians Ignored to get to 2nd Timothy 3:1-5-

Lisa M. Price4 Comments

Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life, but he who rejects reproof leads others astray- Proverbs 10:17 ESV

A couple of months back, I did a deep dive into 2nd Timothy 3:1-5. I carefully studied the original definition of all the Greek words used. I did so because 2nd Timothy 3:1-5 is a prophetic passage of Scripture. Paying careful attention to prophecy (2nd Peter 1:19, Hebrews 2:1) prevents spiritual drift and keeps us focused on the things that matter most (Matthew 22:37-40). 

Truth-be-told. 

The whole experience was a bit startling and deeply disturbing. Startling because the words we read in our English Bibles fail to do justice to the colorful and extremely expressive language found in the original writings. It was disturbing because I gathered pretty quickly we have arrived at and are living in a 2nd Timothy 3:1-5 world.   

Not good.

 2nd Timothy 3:1-5 describes a world where the vast majority of people, including many who identify as Christians will be hopelessly self-focused and evil in a very understated kind of a way. An inordinate number of people will lack natural affection for their parents and other family members. They will purposefully slander others to gain an advantage and have zero desire to forgive anyone for even the tiniest of offenses. People will be monumentally ungrateful and unkind. They will also love money and celebrity and the pleasures that can be bought with both. A lot. 

Yikes.  

However, these same folks will have a pretense of goodness that will fool many into believing they are as Christian as they pretend to be. The term “having a form of godliness but denying its power” means people will behave properly (at least outwardly) and will be very focused on having “Christian values”. However, they will lack holy fear of the Lord (Proverbs 1:7, Proverbs 16:6, Psalm 128:1). This produces people who are selfish, conniving, deceitful and incredibly dangerous in every sense (2nd Timothy 3:5). 

I spent a great deal of time wondering how we got from a world filled with normal sinners to the kinds of deceitful, underhanded, super-sinners Paul depicts in such detail 2nd Timothy (Jeremiah 17:5). It occurred to me that prophecy is never accomplished in a vacuum. There is always a pattern of disobedience that opens the door for the prophecy to be fulfilled. In this particular case I believe the church has followed the world’s lead when it comes to character development, self-image and moral training. Even Christians have focused on fostering and building “self-esteem” in themselves and others rather than obedience to God, Christ-like humility and godly confidence. I concluded that in order to get to where we are now we have had to ignore the following biblical directives: 

Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought- Romans 12:3 

For a generation we have been told we should feel good about ourselves simply because we exist. Our mere presence in this world makes us worthy of praise and special treatment. The Bible teaches we should only feel good about ourselves when our motives are pure and our actions are good.  God knows the inner working of every human heart (Jeremiah 17:9). Therefore, He cautions us to think about ourselves with “sober judgment” and to apply a great deal of self-examination to our motives (Proverbs 3:5-6, 1st Peter 5:8). God wants us to seek to understand the reason why we are doing whatever it is we’re doing. Good “self-esteem” without healthy dose of self-knowledge paves the way for all kinds of wrong thinking about ourselves and others. It also makes it easy to justify almost anything that ultimately works in our favor. 

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit- Philippians 2:3 

Nothing in this world is more harmful or likely to end in an ugly moral failure than ambition motivated by a craving for money, attention or followers (Daniel 4:1-33). The anecdote to that kind of trouble is passion for giving God the glory only He is due (Daniel 4:36-37, 1st Peter 2:12, Psalm 63:3).

Never stop adding to what God began in you- 2nd Peter 1:5-11

For decades now, many Christian teachers have taught that salvation is the end-goal of the Christian life.  Once we are saved there is nothing left to do but wait for Jesus to come get us. The Bible teaches that salvation is a beginning. It’s the starting point of a whole new life that will completely reorder our entire existence (2ndCorinthians 5:17).  In order to get all the new life has to offer, we must be willing to walk with our Savior and Lord through the long, grueling process of sanctification (Revelation 3:20, Colossians 3:1-17, Romans 12:1-21,1stThessalonians 4:3-8). Sanctification is not “works theology” rather it is the essence of James 2:14-26. Sanctification is the practical process of working out our salvation with “fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12-13). When we choose to get to know God through Bible study and prayer, He empowers us to shed all the sinful attitudes and behaviors of our old life. In time, we are transformed into the image of Jesus (Romans 12:2) The lack of emphasis on sanctification has made space for “Christians” who have a form of godliness but no real understanding of what it means to be a Christian.  

And finally, the Bible teaches all people (even Christians) have narcissistic tendencies that can take over our personalities. In order to avoid being overcome by those tendencies we must make a regular practice of examining ourselves to see if we are really walking in the truth of the gospel (2nd Corinthians 13:5, 1st John 1:6, 3rd John 1:3).  Doing so ensures we are part of the solution to our world’s problems rather than the problem. 

Jesus’ Two Rules for Surviving Crazy Times-

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

Those who have insight will shine like the glow of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever- Daniel 12:3 NASB 

We live in weird, scary and truly unprecedented times. 

Seriously. 

Believers and even some unbelievers are stupefied at the rate culture is changing and the direction the world appears to be headed in. Governments are becoming more authoritarian. Robots are taking over. People are more calloused and attitudes and behaviors that were once thought to be totally out of bounds are not only accepted, but defended and even celebrated with wild abandon.  

Sigh.

Some believe all this craziness this means are living in what the Bible calls “the end” (Daniel 8:17-18, Daniel 12:9, Daniel 12:13, Matthew 24:3, 1st Peter 4:7). 

I don’t know if we are or we aren’t. 

Seriously. I don’t. 

No one does. It will be tough to tell for absolute certain if we’re living in the end times until Jesus shows up or doesn’t (Matthew 25:31, Matthew 24:36-42). 

That being said.

 In Matthew twenty-four Jesus gives two commands or rules for those living in the end times. Both are excellent advice for anyone living in weird, scary and or unprecedented times. This is because the temptations will be the same whether one is living in the end times or in just really weird times. These “rules” precede everything else Jesus says about what will happen just prior to His return. This means if we don’t take these two rules seriously at all times we will be done for when the really crazy-town stuff starts to go down (Matthew 24:4-27, Daniel 12, Revelation 13-18)

Jesus’ two rules for surviving scary times are:

See to it that no one deceives you- Matthew 24:4 NASB

See to it that you are not afraid- Matthew 24:6 NASB

That’s it. 

Jesus’ instruction tells me God totally has the inside scoop as to what our go-to’s are as human beings. God knows we need routine reminders not to turn our brains off and let fear run the show.  There are at least three different ways people can be deceived about Jesus and at least one really good reason to not give into fear (Isaiah 41:10, Romans 8:15).   

It’s critical we remember anyone can be deceived about Jesus’ true identity (2nd Corinthians 11:4, Galatians 1:6). There are all sorts of folks who have a relationship with a really nice, really cool Jesus who is ultimately nothing more than a figment of their imagination. All humans tend to create gods in their own image, it’s kind of our thing (Romans 1:18-23). The closer we get to the end the more prone people will be to proclaim and worship a Jesus who bears no actual resemblance to the Jesus of the Bible. The real Jesus is offensive to those who don’t want to submit themselves and their desires to God, so instead, they construct a new (and in their minds) improved Jesus who is totally affirming of all sorts of attitudes and behaviors the Bible calls evil. It is incumbent on anyone who calls themselves a Christian to make sure the Jesus they worship looks and acts like the Jesus found in the gospels. The real Jesus would never be okay with or bless anything the Bible calls sinful (Galatians 5:19-21, 1st Corinthians 6:9-11, Colossians 3:5-11). 

People can also become deceived about what Jesus is all about, meaning there will be those who claim Jesus’ main purpose in coming will be political in nature. Some will actually claim they are the savior of the world. They will get people to follow them rather than God.  Others will circumvent religion altogether and attempt to construct secular governments (kingdoms) they promise will create a heaven here on earth. In exchange for access to these kingdoms, people will be forced to swear their allegiance to the leaders of these governments. Christians are told to pray for earthly leaders and to obey any laws that do not contradict God’s commands but Christians are never to worship or swear absolute allegiance to a human leader (1st Timothy 2:1-3, Matthew 22:21. 

 Another common deception revolves around the coming of Jesus, or the lack thereof. The Bible makes it clear that even some of His followers will claim Jesus’ return is a myth or a fairy tale that will never happen. Others will say they are really Jesus and should be worshiped. Still others will say the return of Jesus has already taken place and therefore its nothing to worry about (Matthew 24:4-5, 2nd Thessalonians 2:1-3, 2nd Peter 3:1-10).  The problem with denying the second coming is that it causes us to become like the servants Jesus warns about at the end of Matthew twenty-four. Writing off the return of Jesus as a myth causes us to doubt God altogether and become focused on money, pleasures and self. This inevitably leads to sin and the exploitation of others (Matthew 24:42-51).  

Yikes. 

The biggest issue with fear is it turns off the logic center of our brains. When we embrace fear, we forfeit our ability to think clearly. This causes us to doubt everything we know about God and the Bible. When we are afraid and walking in doubt rather than faith, we will do anything to make the fear go away (Hebrews 11:6). Anything includes sin, worshiping humans and swearing our allegiance to people and ideas that are in direct contradiction to everything the Bible calls good and life-giving. 

No wonder Jesus was so opposed to fear. 

The Truth about Trials and Hardship-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Our momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison – 2nd Corinthians 4:17 NASB

Okay, so.

Unless you’ve been hanging out in a cave with no access to the internet for the last decade or so, you have likely picked-up on the fact that our culture defines love entirely in terms of “being nice”.

Love is not love unless it is expressed in a completely non-judgmental manner. It is no longer loving to show even a smidgen of disapproval. It is categorically not okay to rebuke or criticize anyone, nor, is it okay to ask someone to do anything hard.  

This whole messy muddle has impacted how we understand God. Many Christians see God as the ultimate gentle parent. God is typically presented as sympathetic, mild and super worried about the feelings of humans. Most believe God would never do anything insensitive or harsh. He for sure would not ask anyone to do anything they were not were super ready to do.

Well.

 I definitely had some of those beliefs challenged this week. It happened as I was reading through Matthew fourteen. I came to the story where Jesus (and Peter) walk on water in the middle of a violent wind storm (Matthew 14:22-26). 

Truth-be-told there were a couple of things in this story I had never really noticed before, despite having read it umpteen times.  This first thing that caught my attention is that Jesus made (NKJV, NIV, ESV) or insisted (NLT) the disciples get into the boat. I read it in a bunch of different versions and it’s clear: Jesus didn’t suggest, encourage or recommend their late day jaunt across the lake. Jesus literally compelled (NASB) them to get in and row. 

I also noticed that, after making get onto the boat, Jesus left. He jetted. Seriously. He flew the coop. The text says after getting the disciples settled in the boat He went up to the mountain to pray by Himself. 

As evening rolled around some brutal winds started to toss their little boat around. Jesus showed up sometime between 3:00 and 6:00 in the morning, He apparently just sauntered out onto the lake, scaring the bejeebers out of the disciples and then He (rather ironically) tells them not to be afraid. 

Then Peter, always the showoff, says to Jesus:

“Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water”

So, Jesus commanded Peter to go onto the water. Apparently, everything was cool for a little while, until Peter took his eyes off of Jesus, looked at the wind and got scared. His fear caused him to sink like a stone. The minute Peter asked for help Jesus stepped in and pulled him out of the water. 

However.

Jesus did not do what one would expect a gentle parent to do. Jesus did not give Peter a cookie and a hug and tell him he did awesome in spite of his lack of success. Instead Jesus says:

“You have so little faith,” “Why did you doubt me?” (NLT)

It feels a little harsh Jesus. 

This story got me thinking about all manner of things. 

Mostly, I spent a lot of time wondering why Jesus would force his disciples/friends onto a boat headed for a storm and then criticize them for their fear and lack of faith. After all, I would not classify Jesus as a big meanie, so, there had to be at least one reason for what appears to be a serious lack of compassion.  

I also wondered if there’s some personal application we might glean from this story. 

It occurred to me that because Jesus is God, He knows and knew EVERYTHING.  Therefore, it is logical there is more to the story than meets the eye.  It’s interesting to note that four chapters earlier Jesus explained to His disciples in no uncertain terms that tough times were coming and that they would need to be ready (Matthew 10:17-23). 

Maybe, just maybe, Jesus wasn’t being mean or insensitive or cruel. Perhaps, Jesus was simply preparing the people He loved most for some much harder things He knew were coming. Things like leadership positions in a messy new movement, opposition, jail time, harassment, persecution and even martyrdom (Acts 8:1-3, Acts 10-11). Maybe, as Jesus watched Peter flailing around on the water He was thinking to Himself: “dude, you think this storm is scary? Just wait till you’re standing in front of Nero”.  Maybe, forcing the disciples into a storm really was the best way for them to learn to trust Jesus in the even tougher stuff that was coming? 

Let’s say this is true.

Then the implications for us are fairly obvious. God is not the quintessential gentle parent, that said, He is the best parent ever. He sees what’s coming and he does everything in His power to prepare us for what lies ahead and like a truly great parent God is far more interested in what we become than in our immediate comfort and ease. 

It’s our job to cooperate with God. 

We do that by choosing to view our trials and difficulties as a gift from a loving Father rather than punishment or something to endure (James 1:2-4, 1st Peter 1:5-7, 2nd Corinthians 4:17, 1st Thessalonians 3:3). When we do, we willfully position ourselves to be transformed into someone truly glorious (2nd Corinthians 3:18, Romans 8:28-30). 

The Potentially Fatal Gap in our Understanding of Christianity-

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So, glorify God in your body-1st Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV

The Bible is our go-to for understanding God, our faith and how to live out our faith in a way that glorifies God in this world. 

However.

Understanding the Bible is often complicated by the reality that the New Testament writers frequently referenced cultural practices completely foreign to the average Joe and Jane Christian.  Our ignorance of those everyday cultural practices can leave some gaps in our understanding of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. 

There is possibly no better example of this than the term bondservant.

The Greek word for bondservant (doulos) is used twenty-eight times in the New Testament (NASB translation). In all but one of those references (Philippians 2:7) the word bondservant is either used to describe followers of Jesus, or it is the word a follower of Jesus used to identify and describe themselves (Luke 1:38-48, Romans 1:1, Jude 1:1, James 1:1, 2nd Peter 1:1). All the Testament writers, without exception, taught that all Christians, are by their very nature, bondservants of the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:17, 1st Peter 2:16, 1st Corinthians 6:19-20, Revelation 1:1, Revelation 11:18). 

Okay, so, here’s the thing:

Our understanding of this one little concept is critical to grasping what it really means to be a Christian—no matter the era or culture. A lack of knowledge in this one little area will leave some big gaps in our understanding of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Some of those gaps could prove fatal. Seriously. It’s that big a deal. 

A bondservant and a servant were not the same thing. The Greek word for servant is diakonos. A dikonos was simply someone who served.  A diakonos could be slave but it was more common for them to be a free person. In the New Testament diakonos described a man or woman who worked in the church, usually in an official capacity such as a deacon or a deaconess (Acts 6:1-6, Romans 16:1, Philippians 1:1, 1st Timothy 3:10). 

On the other hand:

A bondservant was a slave by choice. The sold themselves for a price and in exchange for that price the bondservant forfeited all of their rights. 

All of them.

A bondservant could not purchase property, get married or even do something as basic as leave for the evening, without the explicit consent of their master. A bondservant placed every aspect of their lives in the hands of the person they sold themselves to. The master had all the power in the relationship and they were legally bound by their choice for the rest of their lives. 

 So:

Why on earth would anyone choose to become a bondservant? 

Ultimately, bondservants chose to become bondservants because they believed, after weighing all their options, living life as a bondservant would better for them in every way than running their own life and living as a freeperson. The bond-servant trusted their master to do right by them, usually because the master displayed stellar character and had an outstanding reputation.  

Nonetheless 

 The life of a bondservant was far from easy. A bondservant was a still a slave. By definition their choices were not their own. Bond-servants didn’t debate the rightness or wrongness of the orders given by their master. They were bought at a price, therefore they did what they were told. 

So, what does this mean for Christians?

Well.

First and foremost, it means we have the best Master ever (Psalm 84:11, John 3:16, 1st John 4:10-12, Ephesians 2:4-8).  We have a Master who literally died for the sake of every single one of His servants (Romans 5:5-8, 1stCorinthians 15:33). We have a Master who loves all of His servants as individuals. It means we have a Master who not only wants what’s best for those who serve Him. He also knows exactly what’s best for His people. 

It also means your life is not your own. 

You forfeited your rights in exchange for your salvation. As a bond-servant of the Lord Jesus Christ you do what God’s word instructs you do (Luke 11:28). When you realize you’ve sinned. You stop.  Because your Master calls you to be holy just as He is holy (Romans 1:7, Ephesians 5:3, 1st Peter 1:15-16). If He wants you to love someone. You love them. Because you are called by your Master to love as He loves 1st Corinthians 13, John 13:34-35, Ephesians 4:2).  If your Master wants you to forgive a jerk who hurt you. You forgive. Because you are commanded by your Master to forgive as He forgave you (Matthew 18:21-35). If He wants you to lay down your pride at the altar and ask someone for forgiveness. You do it.  Because you are called to a life of humble service to Him (Romans 12:3, James 4:10, Luke 14:11)

Being a bond-servant of Jesus Christ means you are obligated to do what your Master wants to do and if your desires are in conflict with His commands, He wins. Every. Single. Time.  

That being said:

Being a bond-servant also means, that if we are faithful to our Master, if we carry out His orders. If we allow ourselves to be molded into the image of Jesus, our reward will be beyond anything we can even imagine (Hebrews 10:35, Matthew 25:21, 2nd Corinthians 3:18). 

Where do you Fall in Matthew Chapter Eight?

Lisa M. Price5 Comments

So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple- Luke 14:33 NKJV

There are two kinds of Christians. 

There are Christians who mark up their Bibles and Christians who don’t. I am unashamedly the first kind of Christian. I can tell at a glance how impactful a chapter of the Bible has been to me by the sheer number of highlights, underlines and notes written in the margins.

I am currently working my way through the book of Matthew. The Bible I’m using is new enough that it’s more-or-less a blank slate at this point.  As I finished up chapter eight, I noticed an astonishing scarceness of notes, underlining and highlighting compared to the previous seven chapters. 

It was a little drab and dull in comparison.  

 I decided to go back and take a second look. Matthew eight tells the seemingly random stories of people or groups of people who all had encounters with Jesus. The first encounter is with a leper who is healed by Jesus. That encounter is followed by a story about a Roman centurion whose servant is healed by Jesus long distance (verses 9-13). Next up is the healing of Peter’s Mother-in-law (verses 14-15). 

 There is a departure from the healings theme towards the end of the chapter. Verses eighteen through twenty-two detail interactions Jesus has with a nameless teacher of the law and an anonymous disciple. The teacher promises he will follow Jesus wherever He goes. Instead he makes a bunch of lame excuses and goes his own way.  The unknown disciple also reneges on his initial pledge to follow Jesus (Matthew 13:18-22).

Immediately following those encounters the disciples find themselves in a nasty storm. The fierceness of the storm shakes their faith in a big way.  Jesus finds the disciples and their lack of faith in Him super annoying (verses 23-27). 

The chapter ends with Jesus healing two demon possessed gentiles. The demons come out of the men and after a brief conversation with Jesus, the demons agree to go into a herd of pigs. The demon possessed pigs immediately jump off of a cliff and die. The loss of the pigs ends up costing the locals a LOT of money. They frantically beg Jesus to leave their region because He wasn’t good for their bottom line. 

The end. 

Even after the second reading it still felt like a bunch of random stories. I wasn’t really feeling it.

 Then it hit me pretty much out of nowhere that all the stories had a common theme:

Response. 

The chapter records how different people respond to Jesus. The leper went to Jesus in faith and responded in obedience. The centurion responded to Jesus with such faith and humility, Jesus praised him for it in a way that almost certainly enraged the Jews present (verses 10-12). Peter’s Mother-in-law responded to Jesus’ healing touch with a life of service. The teacher of the law and the nameless disciple are both interesting. Both apparently understood who Jesus was but once they realized following Jesus might mean discomfort and/or a loss of status they responded by going their own way (verses18-22). The disciples are just sad at this point in the narrative. Even after watching Jesus heal scores of people (including some of their own relatives) they still struggled to respond with trust in Jesus when it came to the tough stuff of life (verse 23-27). 

Sigh. 

Then there’s the townspeople. These folks are the genuine sad-sacks of the chapter. They saw Jesus’ power and were so afraid of what following Jesus might ultimately cost them, they responded by begging Jesus to leave them alone. 

It occurred to me we all fall somewhere on the chapter eight spectrum. We might even find ourselves in different places in chapter eight at different points in our life. 

Perhaps you’re one of those individuals who started your journey with Jesus full of child-like faith. You responded to Jesus with a heart of obedience and you’re still keeping on. My prayer is that you have a heart like Peter’s Mother-in-law and you’ve invested your days in serving Jesus with everything you have (Matthew 25:21). 

I hope this is you.

But maybe:

After a long season of hard knocks, you may be questioning whether or not Jesus is worth the trouble.  Perhaps, the storms of life feel unrelenting. Your faith in Jesus and His ability to care for you is being challenged at every turn.  Maybe life feels uncertain and you’re just kind of terrified. 

Or maybe, you’re like those gentile townspeople. You know Jesus is real, but you’re afraid of what following Jesus is going to cost you. You’re just not sure a life of faith is worth giving up that habit, relationship or sin. Maybe you’re so determined to do your own thing you’re willing to risk hell simply to have your own way. 

Wherever you are on the Matthew eight spectrum:

 I know Jesus is worth it (Psalm 34:8, Psalm 84:11). I know He’s faithful, even in the midst of the toughest most brutal stuff of life (Psalm 27:13).  I have also learned that even in the worst moments He is busy working out all things for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28-29). 

Trust Him today (2nd Corinthians 13:14, 1st John 3:16). He’s got you.  

All the Why’s Behind Philippians 4:8-9

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking- 2nd Peter 3:1 NIV

It’s way above my paygrade.

Nevertheless, sometimes I wonder about the “why” of some of God’s commands. Most of the “why’s” are easy. Thou shalt not murder is self-explanatory (Exodus 20). 

But what about our thoughts? 

God takes a clear interest not just in what His people do, but also in what they think about.  The New Testament is jam-packed with instruction regarding our thought life. 1st Corinthians 13 tells us Christian love thinks the best (1st Corinthians 13:4-7). Jesus instructed His followers to be cautious about what thoughts they choose to entertain and regularly called out wrong thinking. (Matthew 5:28, Matthew 6:34, Luke 5:20-22, Luke 9:46-48). Romans 12:2 reveals the key to pleasing God and walking in His will, ultimately lies in what we think about. The apostle Paul straight-up commands followers of Jesus to think about things that are “pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy”. That command is followed by a promise of blessing for obedience (Philippians 4:8-9). Anytime God promises blessing for obedience we ought to pay special attention to that command. It’s critical we figure out why that issue matters so much to God. 

This one can be confusing because the inside of one’s head is a controlled and confined space no one has access to except the one doing the thinking.  No one is obviously harmed by a mean thought, so why do our thoughts matter so much to God? The answer essentially boils down to four issues. God cares about what we think because: 

Our thoughts are like the check engine light on a car-

Our thoughts can serve as a spiritual warning system. Optimistic, benevolent and compassionate thoughts reveal a healthy spirit and hearts that are probably mostly focused on God, God’s Kingdom and the well-being of others. Conversely, paranoid, lustful, suspicious and distrustful thoughts are often an indicator of a much bigger and more worrisome spiritual problem. At best these types of thoughts reveal a lack of connection to the Holy Spirit, at worst they reveal systemic sins that require deep repentance.

Our thoughts ultimately shape us- 

To ancient Jewish people the “heart” was much more than an organ that pumped blood. The heart embodied all that a person was. The heart was a person’s thoughts and the feelings that were produced by what they thought about. The heart was their inner-person (Proverbs 3:5, Proverbs 4:23), it was the part of the person that determined all of their actions. Jesus said that it is out of our heart that we speak and do evil. In other words, our thoughts have a shaping influence not just on our actions but on who and what we become (Matthew 12:34, Luke 6:45) 

Satan can do a lot with just a little bit of wrong thinking- 

The psalmist begins Psalm 73 by acknowledging that God shows special favor towards those who are “pure in heart” or in the modern vernacular that means: “good on the inside as well as the outside”. His acknowledgment is swiftly followed by an awkward confession: the psalmist divulges he came dangerously close to losing his spiritual direction because he spent too much time thinking on the (seeming) success of the arrogant and wicked.  His observations regarding the apparent affluence of wicked people morphed into wrong thinking about God which nearly caused his “spirit to become embittered” towards God (Psalm 73:21-22). The whole messy spiritual mess started with some thoughts that should have been reined in and prayed over before they had a chance to run wild and give birth to bitterness and hate (Hebrews 12:15, Ephesians 4:30-32). 

Assuming the worst about others creates a spiral that ends in serious sin-

Choosing to think the worst about others without rock-solid proof of wrongdoing is not discernment. It is a choice that gives the devil a foothold. A choice that often leads to fear, paranoia and even evil behavior (Ephesians 4:26-28, 1st Peter 5:8). This is because anytime anyone allows fear and/or paranoia run wild they run the very real risk of losing touch with reality. Such was the fate of King Saul. He basically projected all of the evil of his own heart onto David. This caused him to think the worst of David, his wrong thinking initiated a spiritual death spiral that led to a bunch of murder attempts and ultimately Saul’s insanity. Anytime we find ourselves assuming ill-intent of others without rock-solid proof we run the risk of becoming a Saul. No wants to be a Saul. Saul was a hot mess.

The apostle Paul understood it is impossible to have a pure heart while thinking mean, lustful, anxious, paranoid or suspicious thoughts (Psalm 24:3-5, Matthew 5:8, Matthew 6:25-34). Therefore, a critical spiritual discipline is learning how to take our thoughts captive to Christ (2nd Corinthians 10:5). We take thoughts captive through a process of analyzing what comes into our minds and asking ourselves some questions about those thoughts:

Is this thought noble, pure admirable, kind or praiseworthy?

At the end of the day will this thought produce something wholesome and life-giving?

Am I assuming good intent?

Am I the worst motives in this situation? 

If this thought is permitted to run wild will it produce some sort of death in my life? Such as the death of a relationship, my character, my purity, or my reputation? 

If the answer to question 1-3 are “no” or the answers to 3 or 4 are “yes” the thought needs to be taken directly to Jesus. ASAP. We need to ask Him to cleanse us from our unrighteousness (Psalm 51) and ask Him to help see people and situations through His eyes. Learning to pray through what we think about produces a pure heart and ensures God’s favor in our lives (Proverbs 22:11).