Category: Faith

The Secret to Running the Race of Faith Successfully-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

So then, be careful how you walk, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil- Ephesians 5:15-16 NASB

Every so often, I come across a verse or passage in Scripture that hits me in an unexpected way.  These verses tend to be in the Old Testament; they ALWAYS make me weirdly self-reflective, as a result, I spend a lot of time meditating on them. It happened the other day when I came across this gem in Isaiah:

In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple- Isaiah 6:1 NASB

It was the first eleven words that got me:  in the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord. Isaiah appears to be implying that in order for him have an encounter with God where he really saw and understood God in all of His glory Uzziah had to be out of the picture. In other words, Uzziah’s presence in this world kept people from seeing God clearly. 

Yikes. 

If my understanding of this verse is accurate, (and I suspect it is) it says a great deal about Uzziah and how he finished his race of faith (1st Corinthians 9:24, Hebrews 12:1). Uzziah began both his reign and his spiritual race with good intentions (2nd Chronicles 26:1-15). Uzziah had a heart for God and a desire to make Him known. For most of his life Uzziah was God’s guy. Nonetheless, the more successes he experienced the more arrogant he became. He made a classic error: he started to believe he was as awesome as everyone told him he was. He started taking credit for things that he had nothing to do with; at the same time, he stopped giving God the glory that was rightfully His.  Uzziah began to feel he was above obeying God and following rules all the less important people were required to follow (2nd Chronicles 26:16-21). All the while, Uzziah was blissfully ignorant to the changes taking place in his heart. He saw himself as the same old Uzziah he had always been. In reality he was so bloated with pride he truly believed no one (including God) had the right to tell him what to do.

Not good Uzziah. Not good at all. As I pondered all this, I began to wonder if I am doing or not doing things that make it difficult, or even impossible for people to see Jesus in me. 

It’s a relevant question. 

 Anyone who wants to successfully run their race of faith should consider this question (2nd Corinthians 13:5).  Uzziah’s story proves it’s easy to run the race of faith successfully for a long time and then just kind of hit the skids from a spiritual perspective. Unknown spiritual derailment was not just an Old Testament problem. The Apostle Paul saw the same issue in the Galatian Christians (Galatians 5:7). The Galatian believers started their spiritual walk out with a lot of hullabaloo but were eventually tripped up by legalistic people and bad theology. The Galatians were completely blind to the impact those influences were having on them.  Apparently, feelings are not a great indicator of our overall spiritual health.  

Sigh.

Spiritual success isn’t about dumb luck. If we live intentionally, with our eyes on the prize of eternity we will succeed in all the ways that really matter in life (Philippians 3:14, Matthew 25:21). Prayer is key (Matthew 26:41, Proverbs 15:8, 1st Thessalonians 5:13). Specifically, it is critical we make a point of asking God to show us our blind spots. Asking God to show us our sins and shortcomings (and meaning it) is a tough thing to do, mostly because God ALWAYS answers that prayer (if we mean it). God is not like our friends. He does not feel a codependent urge to make us feel better about ourselves when we are wandering in places we don’t belong or adopting attitudes that will ruin us (Matthew 7:21-23). There are also signs we can be alert to: dusty Bibles, a less spiritual set of friends and skipped prayer times say a lot about what’s going on in our hearts. We can also ask a few people we trust to tell us the truth about ourselves. This kind of accountability is priceless. However, in order for it to work we must be willing to humble ourselves and hear hard things sometimes. 

None of those things come easily to fallen people. 

I have concluded that humanity is so messed up that spiritual success would be impossible if it weren’t for God. We play a part in our personal sanctification (Romans 12:1-21, Colossians 3:1-17, 2nd Peter 1:3-11, Philippians 2:12). However, if God were not good, kind and merciful even when we are foolish, wayward and distracted we would all fail (Ephesians 2:1-9, Titus 3:3-7, Psalm 36:5). God roots for our success and He works in us and on us all the time to make us spiritually fruitful (John 15:1-5). I am convinced God wants us to win the race of faith more than we want to win the race of faith (Joshua 1:8). Spiritual success comes, not when we try harder but when we choose to follow God as closely as possible. That’s where Uzziah went wrong.  He lost his way because he lost sight of God.  When we choose to walk in holiness and stay in close proximity to Jesus, God does the rest. 

Lessons we can Learn from one of the Really Bad Guys of the Bible-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

 Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice, mend your ways, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you- 2nd Corinthians 13:11 NASB

The books of 2nd Kings and 2nd Chronicles are mostly just a historical account of the Kings of Isreal and Judah prior to the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 605 B.C. Most of the stories in these books are really splendid illustrations of how to do life and faith all wrong. The vast majority of the kings were really bad guys. 

Among the worst of the worst was Ahaz. 

 If good parenting was all it took to make a person good and God-fearing, King Ahaz would have been awesome. Ahaz was blessed with a father (Jotham) who loved and revered God. Jotham did most things right and (presumably) taught little Ahaz all about the God of Israel and His instructions for holy living.  God was impressed enough with Jotham that He blessed his leadership in some miraculous ways (2nd Chronicles 27:1-9, 2nd Kings 15:32-38). 

Ahaz was nothing like his dad.  

The biblical narrative tells us King Ahaz “walked in the ways of the kings of Israel” (2nd Chronicles 28:1-2). This was neither a compliment nor a ringing endorsement of his leadership albitites. Following the death of Solomon Isreal devolved into civil war and eventually split into two separate nations: Israel and Judah (1st Kings 12). Some of the kings of Judah did their best to obey God and promote godly living. Conversely, ALL the kings of Israel were universally awful; there wasn’t a decent man among them. 

 Ahaz went to great effort and expense to encourage idol worship in Israel, especially Molech worship (2ndChronicles 28:2-4). Molech was a popular pagan deity that demanded human sacrifice (Leviticus 18:21).  If one wanted to win the favor of Molech they had to burn one of their children (preferably a firstborn son) alive on a creepy metal altar.  Ahaz was more than happy to comply with these terms (2nd Chronicles 27:2-4). Ahaz also built altars to random idols on every street corner in Jerusalem and worshipped idols on all the high places and under every green tree in Judah (2nd Chronicles 27:4, 2nd Chronicles 28:24). 

 God eventually lost patience with Ahaz’s idolatry and sin. 

As a result, when Ahaz went to war against the Syrians (Aram), his army was defeated in the most humiliating manner imaginable. One-hundred-twenty thousand soldiers were killed in a single battle, including most of Ahaz’s inner circle (2nd Chronicles 28:5-9) and Syria wasn’t the only country that bested Ahaz.  Israel formed an alliance with Syria in the battle and two-hundred thousand citizens of Judah were taken as slaves. 

Most folks would have done some soul searching at this point. Even some heathens would have concluded God wanted them to head in a different direction, but not Ahaz.  Ahaz proved he was not only evil; he was also insanely stupid. 

His response proves my point: 

Now during the time of his distress, this same King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the Lord.  For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus who had defeated him, and said, “Because the gods of the kings of Aram helped them, I will sacrifice to them so that they may help me.” But they became the downfall of him and all Israel- 2nd Chronicles 28:22-23 NASB

You read that right. 

In his distress Ahaz decided that the best course of action would be to double down on something that was clearly failing.  As a result, old Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the Lord. Predictably, his choice led to nothing except more defeat and humiliation. Ahaz died in disgrace. The people of Judah thought so little of him that wasn’t even buried with the other kings of Judah. He just got some random plot somewhere in the city. 

I must admit I was feeling pretty dang smug as I read through this story. I congratulated myself more than once for being way smarter and more saintly than Ahaz.

 But then it hit me (kind of out of nowhere) that when I am under distress, I too, sometimes double down on some pretty stupid stuff. I don’t sacrifice my kids or grandkids to creepy pagan deities. However, I do worry like a crazy person sometimes (Matthew 6:24-34).  I have been known to eat my feelings instead of praying through whatever it is that’s causing me distress. I have also been known to lose my temper and say stupid things out of fear or frustration. 

 I have an Ahaz side to me. 

We all do. 

We all tend to turn to something sinful and foolish in times of trouble and distress. For some it’s astrology, pornography, sexual sin, drugs, shopping or some other thing or substance. Some vent their anger like crazy people or become ridiculously passive when life gets hard. 

It’s all sin and all sin leads to the same place it led Ahaz: more defeat. 

However, Ahaz’s sin didn’t have to end in humiliation and defeat. The beautiful reality Ahaz failed to grasp is that God is, at the core of who He is, compassionate, kind and forgiving (Psalm 109:21, Deuteronomy 4:31, Nehemiah 9:31, Matthew 14:14). Because God is so good, I believe with all my heart that if Ahaz had chosen to turn to God in repentance God would have forgiven him and restored him. 

Ahaz’s story could have ended in glory rather than defeat and disgrace. 

We all need to repent sometimes. It’s part of the whole being human thing. Most people think repentance is only about behavioral change. Repentance actually begins with a gut-level understanding that we have violated God’s standards of right and wrong. In order to truly repent we must choose to align our thinking with God’s revealed will in the word of God (Romans 12:2). When that happens, behavioral change comes more easily.   

Thankfully, the God of the universe does not treat us as our sins deserve. Instead, every day is fresh chance to for a do-over. Making the most of those do-overs ensures we become everything God wants us to be.   

What to do when Life Literally Makes no Sense-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Guard my soul and save me; Do not let me be ashamed, for I take refuge in You.
Let integrity and uprightness protect me, For I wait for You- Psalm 25:20b-21 NASB

Anyone who lives in this sin-sick world for long enough will experience a season where literally nothing makes any sense at all (John 16:33, Ephesians 6:10-11).

 This is a universal reality. No one gets a pass.   

Sooner or later, it all goes south, sometimes all at once. Your health fails, a cherished spouse dies too soon. Someone you presumed was a friend or an ally turns on you. Your spouse is unfaithful. The kids you did your best to raise right, go terribly wrong. The job or business you believed would always provide is gone and your finances fall apart. 

Sigh.

These experiences are just the predictable outcome of life in a fallen world, even for Christians. It could even be argued that Christians experience these seasons with greater frequency than non-Christians. No one really understands the why of this reality. However, the book of Job seems to indicate that Satan delights in creating misery in the lives of those who love God and are called according to His purposes (Job 1:1-22, Romans 8:28-29). The book of First Peter tells us that although God is not the author of our misery, He does use trials, tribulations and heartbreak to “refine” us and make us more like Jesus (1st Peter 1:3-9, James 1:2-4, 2nd Corinthians 4:7-11). Because we live in a fallen world, surrounded by fallen people, we will all at some point, face the challenge of not just surviving a tough season with our faith intact but also coming out of it more like Jesus in every way. 

David is our go-to guy for surviving and even thriving through a confusing season. He experienced all sorts of spiritually perplexing situations. It appears that he was the least favored of his brothers for no obvious reason. He was anointed King over Israel and immediately began experiencing the exact opposite of a royal treatment. For at least a solid decade David was mistreated, persecuted and hunted down like an animal, all due to a lesser man’s jealousy. Later in life, his beloved son (Absolom) turned on him and attempted to take his kingdom.

In one sense, David wasn’t special, all Christians experience difficult and perplexing seasons.  Whether or not we survive will depend on our choices. Following are three things we can do when nothing makes sense. None are guaranteed to make your problems go away, however they will ensure your spiritual survival. It all starts with;

Doing what God puts in front of you to do-

For whatever reason, seasons that make no sense often coincide with a season of seeking God for wisdom and direction. In these times we want God to give us some clear and obvious “do this” or “don’t do this” kind of instruction. Sadly, God almost never gives anyone a clear to-do list. Instead, God gives us tasks and the ability to get them done (Ecclesiastes 9:10). Prior to taking the throne, God gave David men to lead, a family to raise and theology to work out in song. All these tasks served the purpose of equipping David for the larger task of leading a nation. God hasn’t changed. In tough times He gives us coworkers to influence, spouses to love, kids to raise for His glory, families to lead, and churches to run. Faithfully doing the task in front of us pleases God and prepares us for whatever’s next.  

Pray prayers of gratitude- 

Seasons where nothing makes sense are spiritually baffling, and if our confusion is not dealt with correctly it can lead to resentment, fear, bitterness and even unbelief (Hebrews 12:15). There is an anecdote to spiritual confusion. It’s prayer, specifically, prayers of gratitude that express faith in God’s goodness. David often vented his frustration to God in his Psalms (Psalm 35:11-26, Psalm 36:1-4, Psalm 54:1-3). However, even in his darkest moments David ALSO took time to express his gratitude to and faith in God (Psalm 35:27-28, Psalm 36:5-12, Psalm 37, Psalm 54:4-7).   It is not easy to express faith and gratitude when we are deep in the weeds of personal suffering. However, choosing to do so will guarantee that our soul prospers even in the darkest of times

Wait on the Lord with a Hebrews eleven perspective- 

 Even under the best of circumstances there are elements of life that are hard. Under the worst of circumstances life can challenge our belief in a good God (Hebrews 11:32-40). God understands this reality (Hebrews 14:15). Therefore, nothing pleases God more than when we choose to see Him as good even when life is hard. Seeing God as good amid horrendous circumstances is the essence of faith (Hebrews 11:1-2) and the fast track to flourishing through tough times.

Our goal should not be to just endure sorrow and suffering. Our spiritual goal should be to see our souls prosper even under persecution, pain and difficulties. David understood that suffering, especially for those who love God cannot be wrapped up neatly in a bow and explained easily. There is a mystery to it.  It is possible to “walk through the valley of the shadow of death” and still know deep in our soul that God is the good shepherd loving and protecting us through it all (Psalm 23:1-6).  

What Should Christians Expect from an Isaiah 5:20 Kind of a World?

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

You who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the souls of His saints;
He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked- Psalm 97:10 NKJV

Isaiah 5:20 says this:

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter- NASB

So. 

Calling good evil and evil good is nothing new. It’s just something fallen, sinful people do. However, it could be argued that for the last 2000 years (give or take) this type of tomfoolery has been more the exception than the rule. At least in places where Christianity has been the dominant religion. Even those who weren’t Christians had some insight into right and wrong thanks to cultural Christianity and the intuitive understanding all humans have regarding right, wrong and the existence of God (Romans 1:18-20)

This is rapidly changing. 

Don’t get me wrong. There are still good people in this world. There are people who know God, love God and do their level best do what to obey God. There are also people who don’t know God whose consciences still function properly who are doing their best with what they do understand. Thankfully, there’s still enough cultural Christianity left in most Western countries for non-Christians to get worked up over the really big evils like murder and exploitation. That being said, a line has been crossed.  We are on the other side where a majority of average Joe’s and Jane’s believe evil is good and good is evil. 

This cultural sea change both brings both problems and opportunities for God’s people.  First the problems (I will get to the opportunities. I promise): 

You can live an exemplary Christian life and not be respected for it- 

There was a time in the not-so-distant past when living a good Christian life earned a person a certain level of admiration and credibility.  The average non-believer may not have necessarily wanted to serve and honor God with their own lives, but they respected and admired those who did. That ship has officially sailed. We are now in a place where choosing to live out Christian principles brings scorn and mockery rather than veneration and respect. This is discouraging (to say the least). It also makes Christian community more critical than ever. We need each other for encouragement and inspiration to keep on keeping on no matter what the culture does or says (Hebrews 3:13, Hebrews 10:23-25)

Following one’s heart is an even worse idea than it once was- 

Humans have always had a predisposition towards following their own heart as opposed to God’s word. It’s just another part of the whole fallen nature thing (Genesis 6:5, Jeremiah 17:9, Romans 3:10-18, Romans 7:18, 1stCorinthians 2:14). However, there was a time in the not-so-distant past when pretty much everyone agreed that following one’s heart was not okay if it led to things like: broken relationships, disrespecting or dishonoring parents, self-harm, abortion or denying the reality of one’s God-given gender. Again, that ship has sailed, following one’s heart wherever it leads (even if its straight to hell) is thought to be a good thing.  The outcome of this folly has been (and will continue to be) tragic beyond words.  

Good doctrine will get scarcer- 

Calling good evil and evil good does not always stop at the doors of the church. As the world becomes darker the tendency is for those in the pulpit is to soften the words of God to make them more palatable to those who prefer darkness to light (2nd Timothy 4:2-4). Still others will literally twist the Bible to say what they want it to say.  This sad state of affairs means Christians must commit to walking in step with the Holy Spirit and learn the Bible for themselves so that they are able to discern good doctrine from bad and lead others to right doctrinal thinking (Galatians 1:7-9, Hebrews 13:9).

Weird will become even more normal- 

There was a time when even non-Christian members of society agreed (for the most part) that certain things were simply weird and unacceptable. Folks kept unkind sentiments to themselves. Everyone agreed males should not have access to female spaces, women should not celebrate aborting their children, kids should be protected from sexual content, and no one should cut others out of their lives without a really good reason. All that is in the rear view now and it makes life harder for everyone (whether they realize it or not) but especially those who are standing on the sidelines trying desperately to be a voice of reason in an unreasonable time.

Admittedly, that’s a lot of bad news (sorry) but there is also some really good news too. 

God is still God and God is still good. He hasn’t abandoned His plan for mankind (John 3:16) just because times are tough and some folks appear to be going feral, just as He promised they would (2nd Peter 3:2-4, 2nd Timothy 3:1-5). The really good news in all of this is that God also promised to pour out His spirit on His people in the last days (Acts 2:16-18).  He will enable anyone who seeks Him the ability to shine brightly even in the darkest of places (Philippians 2:13-15) and He will bless them for doing so (Galatians 6:9, Hebrews 13:16). The greater contrast between those who call themselves believers and those who don’t means anyone who is looking to get free of the darkness will know exactly who to talk to. 

This is a very good thing that may even change things. 

Six Prayers Every Prodigal Desperately Needs Someone to Pray for Them-

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

This is what the Lord says: “Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears; For your work will be rewarded,” declares the Lord, “And they will return from the land of the enemy.  There is hope for your future,” declares the Lord, “And your children will return to their own territory- Jeremiah 31:16-17 NASB

Prodigal. 

In the Greek it means “wasteful”, “extravagant” or “reckless”. 

A prodigal is anyone who knows about God who has chosen to live their life apart from God. Spiritually speaking this type of living is extravagantly “reckless” and “wasteful”. Christians most commonly use the word prodigal to describe a child who grew up in a Christian home and has chosen to walk away from what they were taught (Luke 15:11-32). 

There are a lot of prodigals in this world (2nd Timothy 3:1-5). 

Some have chosen to ignore God and live their lives as if He doesn’t exist, others openly rebel against Him (Psalm 14:1). Sadly, a good number of prodigals have walked away from their families as well.  The reasons for the spiritual defection are varied. Some had negative experiences with church as children or young adults that soured them on Christianity. Some prodigals simply love sin more than they love God. Some had questions or concerns about Christianity that never got answered. Still others have been ensnared by a toxic therapy culture which encourages people to ditch anyone or anything (including God or the families that raised them) that does not make them feel great about every choice they make. 

To the people who love them a prodigal is a walking heartbreak. 

The most valuable thing anyone can do for a prodigal (child, sibling, friend or parent) is to pray for them. No one has ever been talked out of a life of sin, self-interest, or debauchery. Nonetheless many people have been prayed out of such things and into the kingdom of God (Romans 8:26, 1st Corinthians 6:9-11).  Sometimes family members find themselves at loss as to HOW to pray for their prodigal. The spiritual condition of a prodigal is precarious. They have willfully denied truth.  This choice will lead nowhere good without an intervention from the Holy Spirit. Therefore, hard prayers are very much in order. Following are five prayers every prodigal needs someone to pray for them daily. 

Pray they will weary of worldliness and sin-

When we choose not to follow God we always choose worldliness or sin of some sort. The thing about sin and worldliness is that they will never satisfy the soul, bring peace or deliver what they promised. Truth-be-told, worldliness and sin do the exact opposite, sin always leaves the sinner in turmoil and wanting more. Pray your prodigal will experience in their soul the emptiness of sin and weary of the life they have chosen. 

Pray their pride will be broken-

Anyone who looks around at the way this world was created and chooses to conclude there is no God is irrational and arrogant (Romans 1:18-20, Psalm 14:1).  Those who believe there is a God but also believe they do not need God or are above bowing their knee to God is bloated with pride (Proverbs 16:18). One or the other of these scenarios is a reality with all prodigals. Those who love a prodigal must pray that God will do what needs to be done to get their prodigal to a place where they set aside their pride and submit their life to the leadership of the God who made them (Luke 15:14-20).  

Pray they will be surrounded by people who know and love God-

Because of pride and/or shame few prodigals seek out their family members for advice or spiritual wisdom even when they want or need it. Therefore, it is critical every prodigal has at least one person in their life who loves Jesus. We must pray that God will surround our loved one with spirit-led Christians who will love them with the love of Jesus and speak truth to them. 

Pray deception will be lifted so they can see the truth- 

The goal of Satan is to blind people to the truth of God so that they will reject God (2nd Thessalonians 2:9-10, 1stPeter 5:8). Satan uses lies and deception to keep prodigals from seeing where their choices will eventually lead them. It is critical we pray that the any deception the enemy is using to divert or deceive our loved one will be lifted so that are capable of seeing spiritual and moral truth. 

Pray they will see the underbelly of whatever lifestyle they have chosen over God- 

Many prodigals leave what they have been taught about God to embrace a lifestyle that is contrary to biblical teaching. Those lifestyles are often centered around sexual immorality of one sort or another (promiscuity, adultery, homosexuality, transgenderism). All these lifestyles feel good (at least in the beginning) but they all have an ugly underbelly, a dark side that people need to see so they will want to break free of spiritual bondage that accompanies those choices.  Pray your loved one will have the eyes to see what’s wrong and icky with the life they have chosen.

And finally, 

Pray they will come to understand how deeply God loves them. I am convinced prodigals never really knew God or understood how much He loves them. If they did, they would never have walked away. Pray your prodigal will come to understand the depth of the love God has for them (Zephaniah 3:17, John 3:16, Romans 8:37-39, Ephesians 2:4-5) Knowledge and gut-level understanding of God’s love is total gamechanger in the life of a prodigal. 

Every. Single. Time. 

What do we do when we Become a Casualty of Lies and Slander?

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

One who walks with integrity, practices righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart.
He does not slander with his tongue, nor do evil to his neighbor, nor bring shame on his friend-Psalm 15:2-3 NASB

There are a handful of Bible stories and passages that qualify as my all-time personal favorites. These are the stories I go back to time and again. They make the list because there is something in them that resonates with me in a significant way. Elijah and the Prophets of Baal, Psalms twenty-three, Psalms eighteen, the  story about man who was healed by Jesus after his friends cut a hole in someone’s roof and David and Abigail. I love these stories because they all hit me in a personal way for one reason or another.  From time-to-time I will receive fresh insight from one of those stories as an extra bonus. 

Such is the case with the story of David and Abigail.

It’s just a really good story (1st Samual 25). 

It takes place near the end of David’s decade (give or take) of running from Crazy-King-Saul. David and his men were making ends meet by protecting people and property during sheep-shearing season. There were evil men who would steal the sheep and harass the shearers as they were trying to work. It was customary in those days for property owners to compensate men who had protected their property with gifts of food and/or money. David and his men spent a good part of a season protecting the property belonging to a man named Nabal.  Nabal knew exactly what David and his men were doing and what was customary in these situations.  However, when the season was over, he flat refused to pay David and his men for their service. 

 Instead of doing what all decent people did, Nabal said this about David:

  “Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants today who are each breaking away from his master.  Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men [whose origin I do not know?”- 1st Samuel 25:10-11 NASB

When David heard what Nabal said about him, he lost his mind. Like totally. Nabal was a jerk. His words were dripping with rude insinuations about David, his motives for running away from Saul and even whether or not David’s Mother was a virtuous woman.  Nevertheless, by any rational standard David’s reaction to Nabal’s disrespect was over the top. He assembled a group of men and headed out to Nabal’s property to kill him. Disaster was averted by Nabal’s beautiful and shrewd wife Abigail. She intercepted David and his men with a generous gift and some wise counsel. Her quick-thinking and wise words prevented a tragedy that would have gotten David sideways with the Almighty. When Abigail told Nabal what she did, he basically died of rage. David and Abigail eventually reconnected, got married and lived happily ever after. 

It’s just a great story.

Here’s the thing though, David didn’t lose his mind and begin plotting murder because Nabal refused to pay him.  David went ballistic because he knew Nabal was simply repeating things a lot of people were saying about David. David got to hear with his own ears the rude, false and totally unjust things that were being said about him, and those words hurt.

Adding insult to injury Nabal was the biggest of deals. He just was. He was a wealthy landowner in a world where money and land was everything. Nabal was a wicked jerk-face. However, he was also the kind of guy people listened to. His opinion carried a lot of weight in the community. 

David found himself a casualty of slander, gossip and injustice.  

Anyone who’s been there knows what it feels like. There’s a soul-sucking agony that comes with knowing people are talking trash about you.  The whole messy muddle gets even uglier when the things being said are lies, exaggerations or things that have been pulled out of context. On top of all that, we all know that if things are being said people will believe it. No questions asked, no digging a little deeper, they just believe what they hear.

Sigh. 

It’s maddening. And, as with David, these scenarios can cause us to lose our minds and say or do things that might feel good in the moment but are sure to bring nothing but embarrassment and hurt. 

In this story Abigail did more than just keep David out of trouble. She gave David some advice that’s good for anyone being slandered. She told David in no uncertain terms that God had more for him than petty revenge. She reminded him that he was better than all that.  She encouraged David to lay aside his anger, put his reputation in God’s hands and trust Him with the future (Psalm 18 was David’s future). She reminded him it is all too easy to say something or do something in a moment of anger that could derail Him from God’s best and give the gossips something real to talk about. 

Abigail was right. Then and now.

I would add that God has a way of bringing truth to light (Hebrews 4:13). It may not happen as quickly as we would like, but it always happens. God is good and fair and just. With God justice delayed does not mean justice will be denied (Matthew 12:20, Luke 18:7)

Some Encouragement from the most Unlikeliest of Bible Stories-

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Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up- Galatians 6:9 ESV

Like a lot of Christians, I have spoken with lately I have found myself in a long season of deep discouragement. “Discouragement” is actually a bit of an understatement. A lot of days what I’m experiencing feels an awful lot like defeat. 

Sigh. 

My overall aim in sharing this rather dreary truth bomb is not to depress anyone, or even to troll for sympathy (although I will gladly take prayer). My aim in sharing this is to share some encouragement I received from the Lord.  Hopefully, this will help someone (or a lot of someone’s) find some encouragement too. Per usual, the source of my hope was a sermon based a Bible story. This Bible story is not your typical Sunday school Bible story. Frankly, it’s a sad story that gets sadder and then even more sad and finally gets hopeful at the very end. 

All that to say: don’t give up till the end.

The story begins in Judges 19. Like many of the stories in Judges it’s super dark and depressing (Judges 21:25). Some worthless men from the tribe of Benjamin sexually assaulted a Levite woman. The woman died as a result their abuse. When the other Israelite tribes found out, they were rightfully appalled. The Hebrew people were called to be a holy nation (Deuteronomy 23:14), and this whole messy muddle was anything but holy. The other tribes confronted the leaders of the tribe of Benjamin.  The leaders turned a blind eye to the evil. The worthless scumbags got off scot-free. 

Not cool.

After getting the go-ahead from God, the other tribes went to war against the tribe of Benjamin to avenge the woman’s death and remove the moral rot from within their own ranks. 

Here’s the thing:

God was consulted before the decision was made. The cause they were fighting for was inarguably righteous. The tribe of Benjamin was badly outnumbered. The obvious good guys in this situation had every reason to believe they would be successful in their plan.  

Instead. They lost. BIG TIME.

So, they went back to the Lord, prayed their faces off and asked for some fresh direction. God told them to go and fight, so they went, and they lost. Again. Big time. 

At this point the Israelites do what the good guys do in these types of situations, they double downed on seeking God. They got spiritually serious. The people prayed, fasted and offered burnt offerings all night. They begged God for guidance. Even after all that praying, fasting and offering burnt offerings their confusion drips off the page:

“Shall we go out once more to battle against our brothers, the people of Benjamin, or shall we cease?”

God promises He will give their enemies “into their hand”. So, they shake off their puzzlement and go. This time the good guys prevailed. Big time. It was a decisive victory. I’m pretty sure this is where the saying “third times a charm” comes from. The victory came after a whole lot of ugly defeat, but it was a victory, nonetheless.  

So.

I will be the first to admit this story begs some obvious questions. The most obvious being “What the heck God?” Why would the GOOD GUYS lose an honorable fight TWICE? AFTER being given the go-ahead to fight in the first place? 

It literally makes no sense. 

For the record, I don’t have the answers to those questions (I wish). However, after a very long season of weird little defeats I do have some thoughts. First, in a world as fallen as this one, evil has a lot of power. It did then and it does now (Ephesians 6:12). God’s people are currently dwelling smack dab in Satan’s territory (Ephesians 2:1-3). This dreary fact means the good guys (then and now) don’t always win on first go-around or even the second. 

That being said. 

Big-picture wise we must remember it will not always be like this.  There is coming a day when God will deliver His people a decisive win, just like He did for those confused Israelites. We are promised there will come a day when God will wipe away evil once-and-for-all in the most decisive victory in the history of history.  When He’s done with that He will stoop down and wipe away every tear from our eyes. There will be no more death, no more grief, or tears, or loss or pain (Revelation 21:4). The future world will be nothing like this present one. In that day total victory will come out of a long season of what will look and feel like total defeat. 

I can almost hear the peanut gallery saying: okay, that’s great but what about now? Is everything just going to suck forever until “that day” which is perhaps WAY off in the future?

No. 

 We may have a season of pain, difficulty and loss. It might even be a long season. Things will not always be bad or hard or painful. Joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5). We must remember that the Israelites won their victory after a long night of seeking God on level they had never sought Him before. God’s people prayed and wept and prayed some more. When they got done with the weeping and praying, they prayed harder. This accomplished two things: The immediate victory was won. Decisively.  Justice prevailed. Good came out of sorrow and evil (Romans 8:28). But more importantly, when the dust settled the Israelites knew God better than they did before. They were filled with a spiritual understanding that made the victory even sweeter. 

Sometimes God lets His people experience a defeat to draw them closer. 

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 Blessing Many Christians are Missing out on-

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep ourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life- Jude 20-21 NKJV

Weird but true fact.

There are actually classifications of different kinds of sin. 

Seriously. 

That’s how absurdly rebellious the human race is (Jeremiah 17:9, Romans 3:23). There is a very real need for us sort and organize our sin and disobedience (Romans 10:3). 

Insert face-palm here. 

All sin essentially falls into two generally recognized categories. First:

There are sins of omission (James 4:17). 

A sin of omission is electing NOT to do something we know we ought to do. We sin by omission when we ignore needs or when we willfully decline to do good deeds when we can. Sins of omission don’t feel like a big deal to most Christians. In reality they are a much bigger deal than they appear to be on the surface. Anytime we willfully refuse to do what’s right, our heart gets a little bit harder towards God and people. When a human heart becomes hard the possessor of that heart becomes less able to understand God, His word and His will (Mark 6:52, Mark 8:17, Hebrews 3:13, Hebrews 4:7). This sad state of affairs leaves us a hop, skip and a jump away from much bigger and much badder sins (Proverbs 4:23) Yikes. Equally, as critical, our rewards in heaven will be connected to the good we did (or didn’t do) on earth. Refusing to do good means eternity/heaven will be much less than it could have been (1st Corinthians 3:10-15, Matthew 6:1-4, Matthew 10:44, Matthew 16:27, Ephesians 6:8, 2nd John 1:8). A loss of future reward may not feel like a big spiritual deal now. However, scripture warns it’s something we will be aware of in the hereafter. 

There are also sins of commission (Exodus 20:3-17, 1st John 3:17-18, 1st Corinthians 6:9-10)

A sin of commission is a sin we commit on purpose fully aware our actions are wrong. Basically, anything the Bible expressly forbids is a sin of commission. Therefore, it is a sin of commission to steal, covet, commit adultery and lie. Sins of commission are a very big deal. In our Christian culture we tend to downplay all sin, even sins of commission. Anytime a Christian tells a lie, slanders another person, has sex with a someone who is not their spouse or resentfully covets another person’s stuff other Christians tend to say things like “there’s grace for that” and there is. However, there are also plenty of warnings about taking grace for granted and testing God (Deuteronomy 6:16, Luke 4:12, 2nd Corinthians 13:5, Hebrews 10:29). We would be wise to pay attention. 

Seriously.  

Okay so. You’re probably asking yourself:

When are we going to talk about blessings? Is there a point to all this dreadful sin talk?  It’s bumming me out. 

Yes. Yes, there is. Thank you for asking.

There is one sin in particular I wanted to talk about because I am convinced it’s a huge deal. I am convinced our failure in this one area is at the root of our lack of blessing. Our failure in this one area shows up all over the place. It shows up in our failure to pass on our faith to our children. It shows up in our high rates of moral failure. It shows up in our failure to transform our culture. It shows up in the hardness of the hearts unbelievers we interact with. The worst thing about this sin is that it doesn’t really feel like a sin. It doesn’t feel like anything. A respectable Christian can commit this sin every-single-day of their lives and never feel an ounce of conviction and miss out on all sorts of blessings in the process.

This sin is… drumroll please…

 The sin of neglecting to pray or refusing to pray. 

Before you roll your eyes, blow me off and go read something else, hear me out. This one matters. A lot. This is because prayerlessness is one of those rare sins that is both a sin of omission and commission all at the same time. We all have opportunities to pray where we just choose not to. Prayer is also something Christians are commanded to do (Matthew 6:6-13, James 5:16, Ephesians 6:18, 1st Thessalonians 5:17, Philippians 4:6, 1st Timothy 2:1). 

There aren’t very many sins that are a both a sin of omission and commission all at the same time. This makes not praying a huge deal.

I know all the objections (mostly because I have made all these arguments at some point). They are:

I’m busy.

I don’t know how.

Prayer is boring.  

My prayers don’t get answered so why bother?  

At different points in our lives all of the above objections are true. However, none change the fact that we are commanded to pray. The command still stands. I do not wish to heap condemnation on anyone. Rather, I want to encourage everyone everywhere to pray. There was a time when I was guilty of prayerlessness.  I would pray over my food or when life got scary but I lacked a consistent prayer life and it showed. I was spiritually powerless. Then my life went to hell and I learned to pray. Don’t be like me. Don’t be a slow learner. Be better. Be smarter. Get in on the blessings early.

Just start praying. Prayer isn’t a “go big or go home” undertaking. God just wants to hear from you. Start small. Make a practice of praying the Lord’s Prayer when you wake up in the morning (Matthew 6:9-13). Turn off the streaming services and podcasts and pray instead. Pray for your family while you drive to work. Pray for revival as you fold the laundry or wash the dishes or mow the lawn.  Pray for your church/pastor while you walk to get the mail. Pray for your spouse while you get ready in the morning. Just pray.

Trust me. 

The more you pray the more you will want to pray because prayer is addictive.

In a good way.

The Key’s to Spiritual “Greatness”-

Lisa M. Price2 Comments

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us- Hebrews 12:1 ESV 

 I wrestle with a lot of questions. 

Most are one-hundred-percent irrelevant in the grand scheme of life and eternity.  Nonetheless, a few of them do have some validity. One of those is:  

What makes a person “great” from God’s perspective? 

What made men and women like Abraham, Deborah, Moses, David, Paul and Peter great people? 

Why is Abraham called a “friend of God” over and over again in Scripture (2nd Chronicles 20:7, Isaiah 41:8, James 2:23)? What was it about Moses that moved God to speak to him face-to-face “like a friend” (Exodus 33:11)? Why would Deborah be chosen as a Mother over Israel (Judges 4:4-5, Judges 5:7-8)? What made David a man after God’s own heart (1st Samuel 13:14)? What was it about Paul and Peter that qualified them to lead the most critical movement of all time (Romans 11:13, Acts 2:1-47)?

 These are the questions. 

I have spent countless hours pondering what exactly makes someone the kind of person God points at and says: “that’s my guy” or “that’s my girl”. I don’t have all the answers to this or any question (obviously) but I do have some ideas. Here are four of them:

They always got back on the horse (metaphorically speaking) immediately following a spiritual failure-

Not everyone on the above list has a spiritual failure recorded in Scripture. However, the ones who do, failed spectacularly.  Seriously. Abraham lied. A lot. Moses was a murderer with a foul temper. David was an adulterer, a liar AND a murderer. Paul was a blasphemer and a murderer. Peter denied the Lord after being on Jesus’ inside circle for three years. Nonetheless, not one of these folks let their massive failure define them or their relationship with God. Each one took their mess to God, asked for forgiveness, repented and got back to worshipping, working and praying ASAP. These folks didn’t hide from God. They didn’t fib about their failure or attempt to cover it up. They didn’t wallow. They didn’t allow sorrow over their failure to turn them into alcoholics or drug addicts. They didn’t quit church or synagogue because they screwed up. The spiritual greats all trusted God’s promises to forgive sins (Psalm 65:2-3, Psalm 86:5, Psalm 103:12, John 3:16-17, 1st John 1:9, Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 1:13-14) as fact and moved on. In the process each one learned from their failure and went on to live lives that brought God glory.  

They believed God- 

The spiritual greats all believed God, even when it made no sense. Most of the time it didn’t. They all believed anyway (Genesis 15:4-6, Romans 14:9, Hebrews 11:13-15). Their belief was more than simple head knowledge. Their trust in God and His plans always led to radical obedience and a steel-in-the-spine commitment to glorifying God, no matter the circumstances. God says the world is not worthy of such people (Hebrews 11:37-38).  

They were all willing to be second or third or fifth or whatever- 

There’s an intriguing little verse no one pays much attention to tucked into 3rd John. It says: I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority- 3rd John 1:10. Okay, so, this is a thought-provoking little verse for numerous reasons. First, what kind of prideful numbskull would refuse to acknowledge the spiritual authority of John the Apostle? Seriously. Who thinks like that? Diotrephes apparently. Second, it’s the apostle John calling someone out. John wasn’t known for that sort of thing. Paul called people out all the time (Acts 15:37-39, Galatians 2:11-14, Philemon, 2nd Timothy 4:10, 2nd Timothy 4:14). Peter could be counted on to throw some shade around from time-to-time (Acts 2:23, Acts 3:13-15, 2nd Peter 3:15-16). John doesn’t do that, he’s the nice one. Church history records him as the “apostle of love”. Nonetheless, Diotrephes desire to be “first” was so appalling to John and antithetical to the gospel that Mr.  Nice-guy felt compelled to call Diotrephes out publicly. John had some good reasons for doing so. Someone who loves to be first (in this context) wants to be the most important person in the room. These Christians want to be THE go-to person for spiritual teaching, moral advice and wisdom. People who love to be first have a stunning lack of humility that causes them to do anything including lying and slandering good people just to keep their position or standing in the church.  To the contrary, all the folks God calls great saw themselves as deeply loved by God but not as any more-or-less important than any other person. They were all willing to share the stage and give God ALL the glory. 

They took hardship on the chin (metaphorically speaking)- 

It’s simply a fact: hardship and difficulty affects people in one of two ways, it either makes them bitter or better (Hebrews 12:15). For God’s best and brightest it always makes them more like Jesus. God’s greats refuse to wallow in self-pity. Instead they choose to view suffering as an opportunity to grow and glorify God.  

God is merciful, kind and good. Seriously. God never places spiritual greatness out of the reach of anyone. All it takes is faith, a willingness to do life God’s way and a little humility.

God does the rest.