Category: Faith

What Resisting the Holy Spirit Looks Like in Everyday Life-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law- Galatians 5:18 NKJV

In Acts chapter six the newborn church was flourishing, people were being redeemed, lives were changed and Jews from all over were living together in unity. Jesus was being glorified and it was awesome (Acts 2:44-47, Acts 4:32-36). 

At the same time the church was suffering some intense growing pains. The Greek widows were being overlooked in the daily food distribution.  Because this situation smacked of partiality and even racism (Galatians 3:28) it had the potential to derail the unity of the early church and undo all the evangelistic good being done.  Six men were chosen to right these wrongs and oversee the needs of the growing community. Stephen was one of those six.  He quickly proved he had more than just a gift for solving problems. Stephen was a skillful preacher, fearless truth-teller and a prophetic voice. His giftedness landed him in hot water with Jewish leaders. When brought before the council and questioned about his message, he did not defend himself. Instead, he recounted the entirety of Jewish history beginning with Abraham and ending with the Jewish leaders master-minding the crucifixion of Jesus. Very little of what he had to say was flattering. He definitely focused in on the negative and ugly. Then at the very end (just before they stoned him) he delivers this zinger:

“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.”

Okay, so, I won’t lie. 

I found Stephen’s words deeply convicting. Because I (like most Christians) resist the Holy Spirit from time-to-time. Resisting the Holy Spirit never ends well for anyone.  At best it results in a loss of blessing. At worst it leads to a hardening of the heart, that leads to sin. After, dealing with my own junk I asked God to show me what “resisting the Holy Spirit” looks like in everyday life. The following is what God gave me: 

We ignore known facts about living the Christian life- 

This truth is fairly obvious: if we know to do something and refuse to do it, that’s sin (James 4:17). The thing that’s less obvious is the end result of this behavior. Here’s how it works: Joe Christian decides to willfully ignore a known truth about God or sin.  It does not take long guilt for guilt to set in.  In an effort to avoid more guilt Joe (or Jane) looks for a Christian teacher who will tell them their sin is okay or at least not that big a deal (2nd Timothy 4:3). Because we live in stupid times it is never hard to find a “Christian” teacher looking for a following who will tell people something they want to hear, regardless of whether or not it’s biblical.  Once Joe Christian is under the instruction of a false teacher, he begins to adopt more and more beliefs that are false.  One way or another choosing to ignore or willfully disregard one truth easily leads individuals down a rat hole of wrong thinking. It just makes more sense to obey the Holy Spirit in the first place. 

We refuse to honor those we are told to honor- 

There are still places on this planet where giving “honor to whom honor is due” (Romans 13:7, Romans 12:10) is still a thing. This is becoming less common all the time. Most people are incredibly judgmental towards those in authority and deeply individualistic. Many believe leaders (parents, teachers, pastors, politicians) should only be honored for perfection, not simply for the position they hold. God thinks otherwise (Romans 13:1, Ephesians 6:2, 1st Peter 2:17, Titus 3:1, Hebrews 13:17). When a person refuses to honor those to whom honor is due, they walk in disobedience to God and resist the Holy Spirit’s will for their lives. This does not mean an adult child has to obey their parents. Adults are responsible before God for their choices. As adults we don’t have to like every authority in our lives, nor do we have to obey an authority who is asking us to sin (Exodus 1:15-20). That said, all human authority should be respected, if we refuse, we are resisting the Holy Spirit. 

We ignore the still small voice calling us to hard things- 

It’s never easy to do the hard things God calls us to do, even Jesus struggled sometimes (Mark 14:32-37, John 11:35, Hebrews 2:10, Hebrews 5:8). Therefore, it makes sense that fallible, sinful humans would be tempted to take short cuts when it comes to obeying the hard stuff.  However, anytime we choose the easy route over the biblical route we are resisting the Holy Spirit (1st Samual 15:22). 

 And finally, we refuse the Holy Spirit when we:

Refuse to examine and reject the wisdom of the world- 

There’s a lot of worldly wisdom floating around Christian circles. Most of it sounds amazing. Worldly wisdom sounds great because it’s easy and it appeals to our flesh. Worldly wisdom says we can do anything we want with our bodies. It tells us we never have to forgive anyone we don’t want to or tolerate the presence of someone who doesn’t “meet our emotional needs” or “fill our tank”. Sadly, the end result of worldly wisdom is jealousy, selfishness, division and every evil thing (Jude 19, James 3:16). Following worldly wisdom always results in a loss of spiritual power and godly wisdom because we lose the spiritual truth we refuse to use (Hebrews 5:11-13). The only way to get free from worldly wisdom is to make a practice of comparing our attitudes and ideas to the Bible. Initially, this practice results in conviction (which is unpleasant) but, if we lean into the conviction ultimately it leads to life, joy, peace and deeper connection to the Holy Spirit (James 3:17-18). 

Four Spiritual Lies that Make Trouble for the Church-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Thou shalt not bear false witness- Exodus 20:16 KJV 

Spiritual Lies have always been a problem in our world. Most of the New Testament letters were written in response to some spiritual lie generating pandemonium in the 1st century church. Not much has changed in the last two thousand years. If anything, spiritual lies have become even more plentiful in the 21st century.  

There are all sorts of reasons for this.

The internet is undoubtedly a factor. Thanks to the worldwide web it is easier (and faster) to spread lies than it once was. Human nature doesn’t help.  We are a fallen people and fallen people love lies more than truth (Psalm 52:3, Daniel 8:12). It is also true the lines between truth and falsehood have become blurrier in recent years. Fewer people think in terms of black and white these days.  Grey is in. This has led society to embrace situational ethics and a conviction that we are all blessed with our own unique little truth. My truth doesn’t have align with your truth or even to recognized facts. It just has to be something I choose to believe is true.   I suspect demonic activity is at play here.  As we inch closer to the end of all things, Satan (the father of lies) has more power (for a season) and it would make sense that lies would become more prolific (Daniel 9:26, Daniel 11:35, Isaiah 46:9-11, Luke 21:9, Matthew 24:14). This means it’s essential Christians do their due diligence, learn the Bible and be on the alert for clever lies meant to deceive us into attitudes and behaviors displeasing to Jesus. The following list is far from exhaustive, but it does cover a couple of clear troublemakers, including:

Grace means God lowered His standards of behavior- 

For the last couple of decades or so, many churches have taught grace means God stopped judging people, especially Christians. As a result, many Christians feel little is really off-limits for them because well, God forgives sin, so sin must not be that big a deal. As a result, fewer and fewer Christians feel bad about sex outside of marriage, using salty or saucy language, gossiping, greed, selfishness or abortion. Many have embraced a very flexible morality when it comes to social/political issues.  This idea is dangerous because it’s cheap grace. It’s grace that has forgotten Jesus paid a heavy price so we could have the privilege of complete forgiveness (Romans 4:7). It also denies a lot of reality including a plethora of Scripture that teaches the way to heaven is narrow, hard and requires we embrace holiness and put Jesus commands into practice (Matthew 7:13-29, Matthew 25:1-46). This lie also flat-out disregards every warning given to Christians in the Testament that unrepentant sin will keep a person from “inheriting the kingdom of God” (1st Corinthians 6:9-10, Galatians 5:19-2, Hebrews 10:26-27, Revelation 21:8). This truth does not mean we should embrace legalism or a harsh view of God. Rather God’s grace and kindness should cause us to honor God’s mercy with a life of love lived out in obedience (Titus 2:11-13).  

Paul is not a legit apostle so we can ignore his writings- 

This is a relatively new lie. It may or may not gain any real traction in coming years but it’s worth noting.  There are some who are teaching that because Paul wasn’t one of the original twelve apostles he was not a legit authority in the early church. Consequently, his writings can and should be disregarded by modern readers (2nd Peter 3:15-17).  I suspect this view is attractive to some because Paul’s teachings tend to be hard. Nobody likes hard anymore. This view is a mess because it does not give God credit for being God. If God had wanted to keep Paul from writing most of the New Testament he could have. He didn’t so we best pay attention to what was written and handed down (2nd Timothy 3:16, 2nd Peter 1:19-21). 

No one has to forgive anyone unless the offender has repented- 

This lie is gaining a lot of traction. There are a couple of problems with it.  First, Jesus never attached the need for the offender to repent to His commands for us to forgive. Jesus did not say: forgive seventy times seven but only if the offender proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt they are dang sorry for what they did.  That’s absurd. I guarantee you that if someone has committed the same sin 490 times, they are NOT sorry for what they did and they will probably do it again. We are told to forgive anyway (Matthew 18:21-35). The second issue is bigger and thornier: who gets to decide if someone has truly repented? Me? You? Some committee of smart people somewhere? How will we know if someone is truly sorry? The truth is that we can’t know, only God can know, because He is the only one who can see the human heart (1st Samual 16:7). That’s why we are commanded to forgive and let God sort the details out in His own time and way (Matthew 6:15).

And finally, 

Circumstances excuse wrong behavior- 

In our squishy world where situational ethics reign supreme, we like to think this is true but it’s not. Adultery is wrong even if your spouse happens to be entirely unpleasant. Stealing is wrong even if a person is hungry and it doesn’t matter if someone is mentally ill or not. Killing innocent people, especially those who are unable to defend themselves is wrong. Thankfully, there is grace and mercy available to all who ask for it, but it doesn’t mean anyone gets to sin willy-nilly just because times are tough and life is hard. That’s just another lie we’ve bought into. 

What Does it Really Mean to “Abide”?

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, or the attaining of all perseverance and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light- Colossians 1:10-12 NASB

I have a weird confession that will undoubtedly trigger a little judgment:

For pretty much all of my Christian life the book of John has not been my favorite gospel. TOO MANY WORDS. I get that it is the fan favorite of nearly every Christian in the history of Christianity. However, I have always been more of a Matthew girl. It’s just better suited to my personality and preferences. I’ve read through John a couple of times. It just hasn’t been my jam. I always figured that’s why there’s four gospels, everyone gets to have a favorite. 

Well. 

I made a commitment this year to get to know Jesus better. Part of getting to know Him better has meant reading through ALL the gospels as many times as possible throughout the year. It occurred to me that if I really get to know every story about Jesus I will (hopefully) glean some fresh insights regarding Jesus in the process. So, I’ve been reading through the book of John (again) and truth-be-told, this time around I have kind of fallen in love.  I judged John harshly. He’s wordy (which bugs me) but I have noticed some things I have never really noticed before. He is more mystical and transcendent in describing Jesus. He is also much more straight forward in describing all the sin and ickiness lurking in the hearts of the Pharisees and Sadducees (John 10:25-39, John 11:45-51). Nor does he pull any punches concerning God’s expectations of His people (John 16). I really like all that.

Anyhoo. 

This past week I got to John 15 and the passage on the vine and as a result I have done a lot of thinking about the whole notion of abiding in Christ. What does it mean? How do we do it? Are there things we can do to do it better? I am convinced abiding is not something that just happens. The text seems to indicate it is possible to be a regular church attender and Bible reader and still not abide in Christ. Abiding is a choice we make (John 15:4-11, Romans 11:21-22) and if we choose not to make that choice there are some severe spiritual and practical consequences (John 16:1). In order to abide we must:

Practice spiritual self-awareness-

Spiritual self-awareness means we wake up every day and make an assessment of our behaviors, attitudes and overall spiritual state (2nd Corinthians 13:5). Then we ask the Holy Spirit to show us what needs to change and how to make those changes (John 16:7-8). Spiritual self-awareness is more than just outward goodness. Spiritual self-awareness means we look deep within ourselves and admit we need growth and transformation even if we look okay on the outside.  Spiritual self-awareness means we do level best to know our own hearts so that we can conform more to the image of Christ in our thinking as well as our outward behavior (Romans 8:29, Colossians 3:10). Spiritually self-aware people see the little signs that indicate all is not well in the spiritual health department. Little signs spiritual health is slipping can include (but are not limited to) salty language, telling lies, harshness, judgment, insensitivity, too much worldly entertainment, a lack of willingness to forgive others and an increase of sinful behavior (Galatians 5:18-21, Colossians 3:5-10). If these signs become noticeable the first step is to repent. Repentance begins with admitting to God as well as ourselves that we have done wrong. When we repent, we ask God to give us clean hearts and right thinking. If our hearts our right and our thinking is biblical any desire to sin and wander will be greatly diminished. 

Allow the tough stuff of life to change us for the better- 

The entire end-goal of the Christian life is transformation (Romans 12:2, 2nd Corinthians 3:18). In order to transform we must willingly let go of attitudes and behaviors that keep us from becoming Christ-like. Jesus tends to use the tough stuff of life to reveal what needs to go and what needs to grow (Hebrews 12:10). Every pain we experience, every relational difficulty we encounter, every time we give into anger or some other baser behavior is an opportunity to ask Jesus what we can learn from the situation. Jesus will prune what needs to be pruned whether we ask or not,  but we get more out of the process if we choose to lean into it. 

And finally: 

When we abide we are intentional about seeking deeper relationship with Jesus daily- 

Jesus loves each of us so much that He doesn’t want to be a part of our lives. He wants to be all of our lives. Jesus is always near us. He is always seeking us out in order to cultivate deeper closeness and intimacy with us. Whether or not we have a close relationship with Jesus is up to us. When we learn to hear His voice willingly let go of the junk that holds us back we slowly but surely become holy in all we do (Isaiah 35:8, 2nd Corinthians 7:1, Hebrews 12:14, 1st Peter 1:14-16) Holiness is the key not only to truly abiding in Christ but also to finding true delight in living the Christian life. 

Four Things we Need to Give God Permission to Change our Minds About-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Lord, who may reside in Your tent? Who may settle on Your holy hill? One who walks with integrity, practices righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart- Psalm 15:1-2 NASB

This morning I had a long, passionate conversation with the God of the Universe concerning a subject that’s been vexing me in all sorts of different ways (Ephesians 6:18). This discussion was mostly just me railing against everything I don’t like about my current situation.  

For the record, I know that the emotional and spiritual place I found myself this morning is not a good place. I do not advise anyone to “go there” (more on this later). It is not a place I go very often anymore. When I was a younger woman, I could get to this place rather quickly and frequently.  Thankfully, it is no longer a short trip to that place. 

The place I am talking about is this weird mental space where I get so negative about a situation or a person all I can do is make a case against the person or situation in my own mind. Once I let myself “go there” I have a hard time seeing any good at all in the person or situation. This is not something that happens overnight. It takes time and there is almost always a great deal of context surrounding the situation.

As I wrestled through my less than Christ-like feelings I prayed something without really thinking it through. I said: “God, I give you permission to change my mind on this subject”. Then I immediately thought to myself; “self, this is the God of the Universe. He does not need your permission to do anything.” 

The case was closed in my mind.

Then (and this is the weird part) out of nowhere the Holy Spirit informed me (not in a gentle way) that God really does need my permission to change my mind because I have free will (Galatians 5:17, Galatians 6:8). This means I can do whatever I want (1st Corinthians 10:23). I can be wrong if I want to be wrong. I can wallow around in unrestrained negativity if I want to. I can think the worst of people. I can act like a jerk. In the process, I can mess up a lot of stuff for myself and others. I can hurt people. I can blowup relationships I care deeply about.  In the process of all that I can make it whole lot more difficult for the Holy Spirit to work in the lives of others. 

I don’t want to do that (Mark 14:38, Romans 8:5). No one who loves Jesus does. So, it occurred to me that there are at least four things we all need to give God permission to change our mind about. They are:

The people around us-

People are tough. They think weird things. More often than not, weird thinking leads to even weirder behavior.  It is not uncommon for people to hurt us or the people we love with their weird behavior (Psalm 41:9). It is all too easy to believe another person’s weird and/or hurtful behavior is somehow personally directed at us or those we care about. Truth-be-told sometimes it is, but most of the time it isn’t. Our calling is to be open to the reality that the people hurting us aren’t all bad. Most of the time they are just weird and struggling with their own junk (1stCorinthians 13:4, Colossians 3:12-14). 

Circumstances-  

It’s easy to go negative in a fallen world, mostly because circumstances in our world can be brutally hard. Friends betray us, people we love get sick or die and sometimes life is just heartlessly unfair (Genesis 37-40, Matthew 27:45-65). It is all too easy to forget that God sometimes does His very best work in the darkest of circumstances. Quite often the darkness we experience in a given situation is just the prelude to something better than we could have ever imagined (Genesis 45, Matthew 28:1-7).  This means we should stay open to changing our thinking about the situation we find ourselves in. Changing our thinking may or may not change circumstances but it will empower us to trust God in the midst of our confusion and pain. 

What we see- 

One of the hardest things about being human is that we CANNOT see the big picture. Our finiteness makes it impossible (1st Chronicles 16:7). We can only see what we see. Unfortunately, sometimes what we see does not accurately reflect the bigger picture of a given situation. I am convinced this is the primary reason Jesus cautioned against making harsh judgements (Matthew 7:1-2). It is on us to spend time in prayer before we judge what we see. We must also be willing to do a little investigative work before we believe the worst about something we witness. 

The hearts of other people- 

No one can see another person’s heart. This means we have no idea why other people do what they do. They might be doing what they’re doing because they’re evil and they want to hurt people (it happens). However, it’s far more likely that person is just a clueless bumbler completely unaware of how their actions are affecting the people in their orbit. 

Unfortunately, negativity sometimes feels good. This is because allowing ourselves to “go there” feeds the fleshly part of us we are called to crucify (Galatians 5:24). The answer is not to pretend everything is okay when it’s not. The answer is to seek God and ask Him to change our minds and help us to see the bigger picture and give us the power to praise Him through the pain. 

How do we Know if our Faith is the Real Deal or a Fraud?

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

 Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude- Colossians 2:6-7 NASB 

Faith is the biggest of deals to God. 

Faith in Jesus and His resurrection saves sinful humans from the wages of their sin (John 3:16, John 11:25-26, Romans 6:23, Romans 10:10). Faith enables sinful humans to call a holy God their friend (James 2:23). Faith even impacts the power of prayer (Matthew 21:22, James 1:6, James 5:14-15). The faith of the people Jesus encountered even impacted Jesus’ ability/willingness to perform miracles during His time here on earth (Matthew 13:58, Mark 10:52).

The Bible defines faith as: 

Confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see- Hebrews 11:1

Faith is more than a pie-in-the-sky spiritual ideal we someday hope to attain. Faith is not simply a nice thing to have or something that earns believers spiritual bonus points. God sees faith as a nonnegotiable. 

The Bible also says this about faith: 

Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him- Hebrews 11:6 

A cursory reading of nearly any Bible discussing faith points the reader to the idea that the kind of faith that pleases God is more than an intellectual acquiescence to the notion that He exists (James 2:19, Hebrews 10:22-23).  The faith God wants His people to have is much more solid than just simply believing in something in a passive, reflexive or instinctive kind of a way. 

This truth begs a couple of really critical questions:

 What does real faith “look like”? 

How do we know if the faith we possess is the real deal? 

How do we know our faith is the saving faith the Bible talks about (Ephesians 2:8) or something altogether different and less powerful?

How do we get the right “kind” of faith? 

These questions matter to believers in Jesus because no one can please God without faith (1st Peter 1:8-9). Real faith has several distinct elements all woven together that make faith a saving faith. Following are four of them:

Faith does-

Hebrews eleven is sometimes called the “Heroes of the Faith chapter” or the “Hall of Faith”. The writer lists individuals throughout biblical history who had faith that pleased God. All sorts of people made the list: men, women, young people, old people, prophets, warriors, priests, and even a few gentiles. All those folks had one thing in common: their faith got them busy (1st Peter 4:10, Galatians 1:23, Colossians 2:5). They all acted on their faith and did something God-honoring with their lives. Some worshipped, some blessed, some resisted earthly authority, others built, some brought God a better sacrifice and some simply longed deeply for life in the heavenly city. The best of the lot, the individuals God said the world is not worthy of died for what they believed in. They believed in faith their death was not wasted. Each person named or unnamed in Hebrews eleven did something meaningful simply BECAUSE they believed. Real faith is a verb. A person demonstrates their faith in God by living their lives for Him rather than themselves (Hebrews 6:12, James 2:20). 

Faith obeys- 

God does not measure a person’s faith based on their feelings, how demonstrative their worship is or how eloquent their words are or are not. None of that matters to God. God measures faith by a person’s obedience to God and His commands (Psalm 18:25, Psalm 25:10, Galatians 5:6).  Abrham is called “father of the faithful” (Romans 4:11) because he obeyed God. Abrham obeyed when he understood God and he obeyed when he didn’t understand God and because of his belief God credited Abrham’s faith (obedience) as righteousness. God hasn’t changed (Hebrews 13:8). If we really believe Jesus is who He says He is (God) and that He sacrificed Himself for our sins. Then God expects us to do what He tells us to do in Scripture.  Obedience is the fruit of faith, without obedience faith is questionable at best. 

Faith transforms- 

God does not redeem people simply to make them into a heaven bound version their hellish pre-Jesus self (Ephesians 2:10). People are redeemed to be transformed into the image of Jesus (Romans 12:2, 2nd Corinthians 3:18 Colossians 3:1-17, Ephesians 4:22, 1st Corinthians 5:17). If a person identifies as a believer in Jesus here will be some real change including a desire to let go of sinful behaviors (1st Corinthians 6:9-11, Galatians 5:19-21) as well as a desire to please God with every part of their lives (2nd Peter 1:3-11, Galatians 5:22-23). If those desires don’t exist neither does the faith. 

Faith trusts- 

Faith that pleases God looks past circumstances and situations. This kind of faith brazenly ignores the obvious and looks at God. Faith chooses to believe God will do what He says He will do even when life is scary and difficult (Genesis 17:1). Because this kind of faith is God’s favorite, He will go to great lengths to grow this kind of faith in His people. Unfortunately, for His people this can mean some scary moments as we learn to trust Him with things that don’t always make sense to us.

Faith doesn’t just happen.

We acquire faith by believing in Jesus work on the cross, hearing the word of God and then doing what it tells us to do (Romans 10:17). Our faith becomes real and saving when we choose to let it change us into something infinitely better.  

The Biblical Definition of Humility-

Lisa M. Price2 Comments

Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you- 1st Peter 5:6 ESV

Humility, is not, nor has it ever been a particularly popular subject. Nobody really likes it. If humility were a person, it would be the really decent, down-to-earth guy or gal everyone respects but no one wants to talk to at a party because they are just a little too good and that makes everyone else feel bad.

It’s just not fun. 

Nevertheless, after a recent trip through 1st Peter where humility is a reoccurring theme.  I felt compelled to dig a little deeper into what God has to say about humility. 

The words “humble” and “humility” are used a total of eighty-three times in the Old and New Testament. Humility or the state of being humble is always linked to blessing when embraced (Proverbs 22:4, Proverbs 15:33, Zephaniah 2:3, 2nd Chronicles 7:14, 2nd Chronicles 12:6-12, 2nd Chronicles 32:26, James 4:10).  It’s also linked to curses when snubbed (2nd Samuel 22:8, 2nd Chronicles 28:19, 2nd Chronicles 33;22-24). There is no way around it: God blesses and promotes the humble. No one with any sense at all wants to miss out on blessing and promotion.

So, what does it really mean to act with humility? 

The Greek word for humility is tapeinophrosýnē it means: “to have a deep sense of one’s own (moral) littleness”. 

 I confess I was seriously underwhelmed by that definition. 

I expected more. A lot more. I expected a more colorful description, more specifics, possibly even a bad example or two. I figured the definition would include things like having zero pride, being a giver of grace and mercy, possessing concern for the welfare of others, a subdued view of oneself and deep respect for God and His moral directives. Then it hit me pretty much outa nowhere that when we have a deep sense of our own moral littleness our pride evaporates, other people become a priority, we are suddenly far less judgy and our view of ourselves shrinks like a cheap cotton shirt washed in hot water. A gut level awareness of our own moral littleness also causes our respect for God and His commands grows exponentially.

Humility is potent (and beneficial) because when we become aware of our own moral littleness, we know exactly how weak and fallible we really are. We become deeply aware of what we don’t know and will likely never know. At that point, we understand deep down in our heart-of-hearts that we have no right to judge others because we deserve to be judged in the harshest way imaginable. As a result, we become gracious, merciful and kind even to people who don’t deserve mercy, grace or kindness. 

It’s deeply paradoxical that developing an acute awareness of our own moral littleness (evil) has the power to make us more like the most morally perfect creature in all the universe: God Himself. 

Okay, so how do we get a better handle on humility? 

There are only two ways to acquire humility. We can be humbled involuntarily by God, or we can choose to humble ourselves (Exodus 10:3, 2nd Kings 22:14-20, Matthew 23:12, James 4:10, 1st Peter 5:5-6).  I highly recommend option two. Option one works, but it’s a tough road because God is a pro at humbling the proud (Proverbs 11:12, Proverbs 29:23). Option two requires more effort, but it is far less painful in the long run. 

We gain a better understanding of our own moral littleness by:

Knowing the limitations of our own goodness- 

No human being is morally perfect (Psalm 106:6, Romans 3:23). Even the best human decisions and choices are often influenced by shady motives and a desire to manipulate God and other people into doing what we want. An awareness of our moral limitations does not make us morally perfect, but it does make us more humble about our own virtuousness. This in turn keeps pride to a minimum. An absence of pride creates a fertile ground for humility to take root. 

Having a proper view of God- 

God is morally perfect (Deuteronomy 32:4, Psalm 18:30, Psalm 145:17, John 3:16-17, 2nd Peter 3:9). When we allow ourselves to lose sight of this reality, we stop looking to Him for help and guidance. This causes us to develop an inflated view of our own ability to judge people and situations. An inflated view of our ability to judge right from wrong often leads to accusing God of sin and wrongdoing (Job 1:22). Not cool. 

Practicing ruthless self-examination-

The key to avoiding pride and developing real humility is to know ourselves. When we know ourselves, we develop a willingness to second guess our assessments of people and situations. When we understand exactly how flawed we are we become less likely to insist we are right about everything. This understanding is the cornerstone of humility and a critical steppingstone to true wisdom (Proverbs 2:1-22. 

And finally, we gain humility when we make a practice of: 

Asking for help-

God created us to be dependent on God and interdependent on others. Anytime we deny this reality and insist on doing life free of advice and help we inevitably become fools who think we are wise (Proverbs 1:25-33). Making a habit of asking for help, advice and wisdom sets us up for greatness in God’s eyes. Humility also creates space for wisdom to grow and God to bless our lives (1st Peter 5:5-6, James 4:6). We could all use a little more of that in our lives.

Making Spiritual Sense of Those who Once Professed Christ but no Longer Live for Him-

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

The one sown with seed on the rocky places, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution occurs because of the [word, immediately he falls away- Matthew 13:20-21 NASB

From time-to-time, I have a conversation with the Lord that goes something like this:

Me: Good morning God!  What do you want me to write about this week?

God: I want you to write about ____________________.

Me: Uh… I’m sorry God, I hate to tell you this but no one wants to read that. It will make people mad. 

God: I know. Write it anyway. 

Me: Sigh. Okay. 

Such was the case this last week. I asked God for a topic. He gave me one. I argued with Him. He won. It’s His thing. 

So.

I work in an arena of ministry with many people who have relatives (usually adult kids, but not always) who are walking a very sinful path. Sometimes these adult kids are so steeped in sin they are walking several different sinful paths all at the same time (trust me it can be done). All these adult children know their behavior is wrong because they were raised to know right from wrong. The folks I work with are looking for some kind of spiritual hope for their loved one. More often than not, they find that hope in a commitment the adult child made to the Lord a long time ago, often in childhood or their early teens. Sometimes the child who is now walking in sin appeared to walk with God for a season. However, that ship has officially sailed. They are now living lives that completely oppose God and everything He’s all about.  Nonetheless, these parents cling to the belief that their child’s childhood commitment was the real deal and “proof” their child is a believer. 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news (truly I do). 

However, this line of thinking is not wise or biblical. It is personally comforting to believe a loved one is saved when they are living far from God. However, it is not in our best interest or theirs to hang all our hopes on a prayer a child (or an adult, for that matter) prayed at some point in the distant past, when there is zero fruit to indicate they have made the journey from spiritual death to spiritual life (Matthew 3:9-11, Matthew 7:16-20, Luke 6:43-44, John 15:4, Galatians 5:19-24). 

 Here’s why:

False hope keeps us from praying rational and compassionate prayers-

The most loving thing one human can do for another is pray for their salvation (Acts 2:21, Acts 4:12, 1stCorinthians 6:9-10, Titus 2:11-12).  Therefore, if a loved one does not live like a Christian the loving and logical thing is to assume they aren’t one and pray accordingly. If we get it wrong, the Lord will sort it out. 

There is very little space in the New Testament for Christians who don’t at least try and act like Christians-

There’s just not (Romans 6:1-23, Romans 7:4-6, Ephesians 2:1-10, 2nd Corinthians 5:17, 2nd Peter 1:3-11). It is normal for new Christians and even seasoned saints to stumble and even fall sometimes. No one this side of heaven is free of their sin nature. We should not assume that just because a Christian screws up (even in a really big way) they are unsaved. That being said, the Bible makes it clear: authentic believers in Jesus do not wallow around in sin for years and years with no apparent remorse or desire to change. Nor do they mock Jesus, Christianity or other Christians. True Christians do not write or speak about how freeing it is to depart the faith and live a life of unfettered sin. Jesus is clear: no fruit (or ONLY bad fruit) no salvation. That doesn’t mean anyone is doomed. As long as a person is breathing there is hope for redemption (John 3:16, Romans 5:7-9).  That said, we must be realistic about their spiritual state in order to help them. 

Children don’t always understand the commitment they made-

It is spiritually risky to assume a child or teenager understands or understood all the ins-and-outs of making a heartfelt commitment to Jesus when many saved adults struggle with the concepts of salvation and sanctification. We must understand that from a developmental standpoint the teen years are a period of life when people “try on” identities and decide who they want to be and how they want to live. If a teen or child “tries on” the identity of “Christian” or goes through the motions of living like a Christian for a season but never REALLY repents of their sin and follows through on a commitment to obey Jesus as the Lord of their life, the whole thing was (sadly) just another phase of childhood and nothing more. Consequently, it’s critical parents ensure children and teens who profess Christ are given a LOT of follow-up care and discipleship. It’s the best way to stack the odds in favor of a genuine commitment to Jesus (John 10:9). 

I am not arguing people “lose” their salvation. However, Jesus made it clear there will be people who make commitments to God who don’t really mean it or understand what that commitment entails. Those people inevitably “fall away” (Matthew 7:13-23, Matthew 25:31-46, Mark 16:16). If those folks die without truly knowing Christ as Lord, they will not make it heaven. We prove our love for these people by praying fervently they will understand their spiritual reality and seek God while He can be found (Isaiah 55:6, Hebrews 4:6-7, 2nd Peter 3:9, Matthew 24:13).  

What’s God Doing When Everything Goes Wrong in our Lives?

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

Do not sin; meditate in your heart upon your bed and be still. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and trust in the Lord-  Psalm 4:4-5 NASB

In Exodus twelve God gives instructions for the Passover. His instructions are insanely specific. This feast (like all the feasts) was not intended to be a DIY kind of a deal. The main dish was a lamb. The lamb was to be one year old, in perfect condition with zero blemishes or defects. It was to be roasted, no boiled or raw meat allowed. The sides were also precisely dictated. Bitter herbs and unleavened bread were the only options. The meal was to be eaten in community. No one was allowed to eat alone. If there were not enough people in a household to eat a lamb, then they were to invite their neighbors to eat with them. The meal was to be eaten fully clothed. No lazing around shoeless or beltless. EVERYONE had to be ready to hit the road at a moment’s notice.  Then comes the crazy part:

Whatever is left of it until morning, you shall completely burn with fire- Exodus 12:10b

When I got to that verse I did a double take. The people of Israel were leaving the country. God knew they were leaving the country. God just spent elven chapters orchestrating their departure. Furthermore, it wasn’t a small group. There were six-hundred-thousand men plus women and children (Exodus 12:37). They would all be leaving Egypt for a destination known only to the Lord, and NO ONE was allowed to pack a lunch. 

What? 

The command feels insanely counter intuitive. Surely,  God would want His people to have a nice lamb sandwich to eat on the road? It just makes sense. But then it occurred to me that God actually does this sort of thing all the time. He tells His people to do something hard and then He makes it harder (Genesis 22, Joshua 1, Jonah 1-3, Matthew 10:5-10). 

It’s all about trust. 

God wants His people to trust Him. Because God has a critically important end goal in mind (more on that later) He almost never makes it easy to do so. This means that at some point in our faith journey we will come up against a situation where it will make zero sense to trust God or do it His way, but we need to do it anyway.  Our crazy situation might be a job loss, marriage troubles, kid troubles, betrayal, or some other horrible loss or trial. Only God knows what it will be, but it will happen. It’s the nature of living in a fallen world. Following are four things to watch out for when the going gets tough and God is asking us to trust Him. The first is:  

Making an Ishmael-

Unless one is a hardcore Calvinist it is hard to argue against the notion that Ishmael (Genesis 16) was anything but the sad byproduct of two people who did not trust God to do what He said He would do. Abraham and Sarah’s hasty decision nearly broke Hagar, damaged poor Ismael and caused geopolitical complications the world still feels today. Anyone can make an Ismael (metaphorically speaking). An Ismael is always the byproduct of running ahead of God in a fit of mistrust and “taking care” of situations in our own understanding and wisdom (Proverbs 3:6-7). This sort of thing happens frequently in the realm of marriage. Someone prays for a godly spouse and when the prayer isn’t answered quickly, they find someone, anyone who is willing marry them. In these situations, the marriage often becomes an Ismael: a source of pain and complication in the person’s life. The good news is God will use the messiest, most messed-up Ismael we can make to grow us and shape us into the image of Jesus (Romans 8:28). It’s just never the preferred route. 

Fear- 

Fear is more than just a feeling we experience when life gets hard or scary. Fear is an indicator. Our fears tell us what (or who) we trust to give us security, peace and a sense of belonging and purpose (job, reputation, financial security, relationships, possessions). This means that whatever we most fear losing is probably the very thing God most wants us to learn to trust Him with (Psalm 20:7, Jeremiah 17:5-9, Isaiah 49:10, Joshua 1:9).  

A bitter root-

Anytime we are called to trust God there is always a danger of a bitter root developing in our hearts (Hebrews 12:15). This is because there always comes a God time where it looks like God is either doing nothing to help us; or conversely it looks like He’s doing the exact opposite of what needs to be done to keep disaster at bay. When this happens, all we can do is believe God is good (Psalm 34:8, Psalm 100:5, Isaiah 41:10, Jeremiah 29:11, Philippians 4:19, James 1:17). Then we wait for the storm to pass and the blessings to be revealed. 

And finally, we must make sure:

We don’t miss the end goal- 

The end goal of trusting God is not trusting God, nor is it obedience simply for the sake of obedience. The end goal of our learning to trust God is for us to become people God can use for His glory and the good of others (James 1:2-3, 1st Peter 1:3-9). Learning to trust Him is how He gets us to that place.  It was true in Exodus. God wanted the Hebrews to trust Him because trusting God with hard things would mold them into a nation that would reveal His glory (and the Messiah) to the whole world.  Unfortunately, it took them forty years to become those people. Don’t be like the Israelites (James 1:6-7).

Five Steps to Letting go of Bitterness-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

 For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity- Acts 8:23 NKJV 

Everyone (no matter how spiritual) is tempted to hold onto feelings of bitterness at some point in their lives. This is because bitterness rarely occurs in a vacuum. Too often life is wildly disappointing. Moreover, people can be disappointing. People sometimes hurt us in ugly and shocking ways that make resentment, anger and unforgiveness make sense in our minds. Disappointment and bitterness go hand-in-hand. Further complicating the whole messy muddle, entertaining feelings of bitterness feels kind of awesome, at least for a while. The writer of Hebrews 12:14 warns bitter feelings allowed to run wild will eventually grow into a “root of bitterness”. It says:

See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many become defiled- NASB

The writer of Hebrews is obviously warning their readers that bitterness is (for want of another term) super bad. The writer also wants readers to understand bitterness is grotesquely consequential. No one in their right mind wants to miss out on the grace (mercy, kindness, generosity) of God. Nor do normal, spiritually healthy people want to defile (corrupt, ruin, pervert) others with the corruption of their own heart.  

The kind of bitterness the writer of Hebrews is warning their readers about is more than just temporary anger or fleeting resentment. A bitter root is anger and resentment that takes up habitation in a person’s heart and becomes a focus of their thinking. A bitter root is offense that has mutated into deep-seated unforgiveness (Ephesians 4:26). Bitterness is initially directed at the person or people who caused the pain. However, if bitterness is allowed to settle it becomes directed towards those who had nothing to do with the hurt. When we allow bitterness to become a stronghold, we can even become bitter towards God.  

Yikes.

Bitterness is choosing anger and resentment over forgiveness and mercy (Matthew 18:21-23, Matthew 6:12-15).  This choice stalls our spiritual growth and steals our personal peace. Bitterness can even steal the joy of our salvation. All that to say, a bitter root is bad. Really, really bad.  So, what do we do about bitterness? How do we deal with it effectively? There are five steps to effectively dealing with bitterness:

Recognize it-

Satan is able to tempt people to become bitter because many people (including many Christians) lack a healthy level of self-awareness (1st Peter 5:8). It is critical we know our own feelings and understand the state of our own heart. Self-awareness allows us to see when feelings of bitterness are creeping in and defiling us. We obtain self-awareness by making a practice of naming our feelings and tracing those feelings back to the incident that is making us feel bad/angry/hurt/bitter. Once we know what is at the root of our bitterness we can do something about it. 

Pray for the person who made you bitter- 

Praying for those who hurt us is critical and not because fervent prayer is guaranteed to change the person who hurt us into a better person. It might and it might not. People must cooperate with God to experience transformation (Romans 12:2, 1st Corinthians 5:12).  The world is full of people who reject and/or disobey God, these folks are incapable of genuine heart-change. That being said, anytime we choose to pray God changes us. Prayer changes us into people who forgive the people who have done us wrong.  This allows us to move on in a way that is healthy for us and honoring to God.  

Trust God with what He’s allowed. 

I almost said we need to forgive God for the things He allows into our lives but that’s REALLY TERRIBLE THEOLOGY. People don’t forgive God because God does not sin (Deuteronomy 32:4, Psalm 145:17, James 1:13, Titus 1:2). God is perfect in all His ways (whether we understand them or not), therefore, God has not done anything that demands our forgiveness (Psalm 19:7, Matthew 5:48). Nonetheless, we need to get to a place where we are okay with whatever God has allowed into our lives. That means we need to trust that God would never allow anything into our lives that won’t somehow be used for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28-39). This is no easy task. It takes faith and willingness to trust God with things we may never completely understand this side of heaven (Hebrews 11:1-39).

Release the person to God- 

The essence of forgiveness is to surrender our right to seek revenge (Romans 12:19). The only way to effectively surrender that right is to give the person who hurt us over to God and trust Him to deal with the situation appropriately. This is never easy and it’s it’s rarely a one and done. Typically, we have to give people over to God repeatedly before our hearts change and we no longer feel bitter. 

And finally: 

We must choose to forgive-

Forgiveness is moving on and letting go of the hurt. It’s choosing to not look back on the offense all the time. To do this, we must grasp the reality that God has more for us than bitterness, unforgiveness and resentment. However, we can only receive the fullness of what God has for us if we choose to forgive (Matthew 6:14-15). A wise and perceptive person once said choosing bitterness is like drinking poison and hoping the other person dies. That strategy has never worked for anyone in the whole history of forever. Choosing to be bitter has no impact on the other person. Nonetheless, bitterness destroys us emotionally and spiritually. In the process, we lose our joy, stop growing and become spiritually ineffective. No one wants that. 

How to Best Love a Prodigal-

Lisa M. Price2 Comments

My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins- James 5:19-20 ESV

Love is an issue that doesn’t look particularly complex or messy on the surface, but it is.  Actions that look and feel loving sometimes aren’t and actions that appear harsh are sometimes the most loving course of action.  God’s love for humanity demonstrates this conundrum perfectly. God loves us more than anyone can even imagine (John 3:16, Romans 8:38-39). Nevertheless, God doesn’t always (ever) give anyone everything they want or think they need. God also frequently allows individuals to experience trouble, discomfort and hardship because struggles draw folks closer to Him and refine their character (Isaiah 48:10, James 1:1-3, Hebrews 12:5-7)

Like I said, it’s complex and messy.

The muddle promptly becomes messier when we are called to love a prodigal child. A prodigal can be defined as anyone who once knew God (or knew of God) and has since walked away from any pretense of a relationship with God. The Bible tells the story of a prodigal son who wandered far from God and estranged from his earthly father. 

Our world is full of prodigals. Many prodigals have also cut ties with their earthly parents.  This leaves parents wondering how to best love children who have wandered from home and left their parents brokenhearted by their choices. The biblical story of the prodigal son (Luke 11:15-32) is a story with more than one level and meaning. On one level it is a story about how God relates to people. It was intended to prepare the Jews (who represent the older brother) for God’s welcoming of the gentiles (who represent the younger brother) into His Kingdom through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus (Ephesians 2:1-22, Colossians 1:25-28, Galatians 3:28). On another level the story gives much needed guidance and wisdom as to how best love a wandering son or daughter.

We love a prodigal when we:

Understand the spiritual reality behind the child’s choice-

Most prodigals sever relationships with family for the same reason the prodigal son did. They want to live a life of sin. They know they cannot comfortably live a sinful life in front of the people who love them, so they do what the prodigal did. They make their choice to sever ties about the parent rather than their desire to live a sinful life.  (Luke 15:11-13). It’s critical parents of prodigals recognize that a child living in sin will avoid anyone whose presence sparks any kind of spiritual conviction. The choice to leave is not always all about the parent.  At least some of the choice is very much about the state of the child’s heart. 

Choose restraint-

One truly notable aspect of the prodigal account is the restraint of the father.  The man clearly loved his son. Nonetheless, he did not beg him to stay, nor did he send long letters or servants to plead with his son to return. He certainly did not endeavor to make his son’s life easier by sending him little gifts or monetary support.  Instead, the father let him go and prayed like crazy. He worked on himself and trusted God to do whatever hard thing needed to be done in the life of his child. His goal was not simply to reconnect with his son. He wanted his son back in right relationship with God because he understood that a right relationship with God is a healing force in all our earthly relationships. It is not wrong to attempt to connect with a wayward child. Adult children need to know they are loved unconditionally. That said, it is critical we trust the Lord and avoid using emotional appeals, money or gifts to lure them back into relationship. We must accept the reality that God may need to do some hard things in their life that simply cannot be done if mom and dad are “helping” too much or working too hard to win them back.  

Don’t affirm or celebrate anything God wouldn’t affirm or celebrate- 

Many of today’s prodigals demand their parents celebrate and affirm sinful lifestyle choices as a condition of continuing the relationship. This is wrong on many levels. It is critical parents do not allow their children to become idols (1st John 5:21). We cannot put their preferences before God and His commands (Exodus 20:3). Contrary to popular belief, it is possible to love someone without affirming their sinful choices. God does it all the time. 

Pray for them-

Refusing to forgive someone is a serious sin (Matthew 6:15, Matthew 18:21-35, Mark 11:25-26). Sadly, unforgiveness is at the heart of most estrangements. Furthermore, just like the prodigal in Luke 15 most prodigals are also tangled up in all sorts of other sins (1st Corinthians 6:9-11, Galatians 5:19, 2nd Timothy 3:1-5). Godly parents can best love a prodigal by praying fervently and often that the child “comes to their senses” and repent of their sins (Luke 15:17-19).

And finally, 

Keep growing- 

Waiting is never easy. Waiting for a prodigal is a whole new level of hard and the temptation to give into bitterness is real (Hebrews 12:15, Ephesians 4:31).  I am convinced God wants us to do what the father in the story did. The father trusted God do what needed to be done in his son. He never gave up hope and he never stopped praying for his child. I also believe (although the text doesn’t say it explicitly) that the father chose to grow as a believer and as a person while he waited. I suspect that hurting dad made a regular practice of examining his heart. Then he worked on the things he needed to work on and repented of the things he needed to repent of. It was his commitment to trusting, praying and spiritual growth that prepared him to welcome his son home with open arms, a soft heart and big party.