Category: Lies we believe

The Idols We are Okay With-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Even while these people were worshipping the Lord, they were serving their idols. To this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their ancestors did- 2nd Kings 17:41 NIV

I have known a lot of Christians over the years, all sorts of people who love Jesus and have dedicated their lives to serving Him. Jesus is their God and they are His people (John 10:2-4, Matthew 16:24). 

 Not one of these God-fearing people had a little statue somewhere in their house they bowed down to (1st John 5:1). The notion of a born-again Jesus follower bowing down to a statue is unthinkable to modern Christians.  Even the most broad-minded of Christians know better than to get mixed up in that kind of pagan monkey business.

However. 

This does not mean contemporary Christians are in the clear when it comes to idolatry. People are people and at the root of the human condition is a propensity towards idolatry (Ecclesiastes 1:9, Psalm 106:36, Jeremiah 2:5). We are just a bit more discreet and sophisticated in our acts of idolatry. 

An idol is anything that takes the place where God rightfully belongs. Idols steal our devotion and fidelity away from God and direct it towards something or someone else. An idol can also be an activity, thing or substance we get something out of that we should only get from God. I’m talking about things like security, comfort or feelings of wellbeing. The whole issue of idolatry is complicated by the sad reality that an idol is often a good thing we are giving too much space to in our lives.  The problem with idols is that they blow us off course spiritually and lead us away from Jesus, sometimes without us even knowing it. 

We all need a good self-check now and again, especially when it comes to this issue. The four idols that sneak up on us are: 

Marriage- 

Marriage is a noble, good, God-ordained thing (Proverbs 18:22, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, Ecclesiastes 9:9, Mark 10:6-8, Hebrews 13:4). I would never argue against marriage in a million years. That being said, many Christians have some really messed up ideas about marriage. There are those who genuinely believe a person cannot be complete or whole unless they marry. If this were true Jesus would be insufficient because He never married. Moreover, many Christians put their marriage first to the detriment of their relationship with God. They will forgo obedience in some area or put their faith on the back burner in an effort to please (or appease) their spouse. Still others, willingly tolerate all kinds of sinful behavior (adultery, abuse, lying, drug and alcohol addiction) in their spouse simply to keep the peace.  All of these behaviors give marriage a place it was never intended to occupy.  The apostle Peter encourages those who find themselves unequally yoked in marriage to put their faith first and live exemplary lives in the hopes of leading their spouse to Jesus (1st Peter 3:1). It is critical we understand God gave us marriage to make us better not as a safe harbor for our worst tendencies to run wild. If marriage isn’t leading us towards greater holiness, it’s probably an idol. Some adjustments are needed. Pronto.

Kids-

Making our children into an idol is nothing new. Eli the priest allowed his sons to have first place in his life.  (1stSamuel 2:12-4:11). Many parents have followed Eli’s lead and made their kids their everything. Parents worry endlessly about their kids comfort and happiness to the detriment of their character. Parents are oftentimes so concerned about damaging the relationship with their kids they refuse to discipline or confront clear and obvious sin. This is not good. We should always do our best to be kind to everyone, including our kids. That said, our call as parents is not to have a “great relationship” with our kids (adults or youngsters). Our call is to lead them to Jesus and sow godly character traits into them.  We can’t do that if we are more concerned with their feelings towards us than we are the state of their souls. 

Addiction- 

An addiction is not just a bad habit, nor is addiction simply an outgrowth of trauma, an indicator of poor coping skills or genetic predisposition that’s run amok. Addiction does have emotional, physical and genetic factors. However, ultimately addiction is a deeply spiritual issue. The addicted person always receives something real and tangible from the addiction, usually a sense of peace or an ability to cope or some other feeling of wellbeing we should only get from God. The addict pays for their peace or ability to cope by becoming physically and/or emotionally dependent on the substance. Eventually, the addict grows to love their addiction more than they love God or anything else. Choosing to live a life free of addiction also means we have less idolatry in our lives. 

And finally:

Boundaries.

Boundaries can be a good thing. A boundary is simply a limit we put up. Everyone needs a few boundaries in their life. Even Jesus said “no” sometimes (Mark 1:35-38, Luke 10:38-42, 2nd Corinthians 12:7-10, Acts 16:6-10) A boundaryless life is a fast-track to resentment, bitterness and disillusionment with God and people.  Boundaries are good and healthy until they become more important to us than obeying Jesus and doing the hard things He asks us to do, things like serving, honoring our parents and working through relational issues. When boundaries become a reason to say “no” to things that are obviously God’s will, they are an idol. 

Here’s the thing:

With the notable exception of addiction all the above-mentioned things are good things. God does NOT want anyone to dump their kids, divorce their spouse or scrap the whole notion of boundaries just because they let their love for those things get out of hand. Instead, He wants us to get into His word, find truth and the pray for wisdom in putting all things in their proper place. 

What is the Key to Receiving God’s Blessing?

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Blessed are those who fear to do wrong, but the stubborn are headed for serious trouble- Proverbs 28:14 NLT

God’s blessing.

Good people and not-so-great people alike all want God to bless their lives, families and the country they live in. Ne’er-do-well’s who’ve never darkened the door of church and folks who wouldn’t know a Bible verse if it bit them on the backside have been known to ask God to bless them, their country, their family and their livelihood.  Heck. In my country we want God’s blessing so badly we demand it on our currency. 

So.  

Exactly, what does it take for God to bless a person and/or their country?

There are many people who genuinely believe getting the right person elected will get the job done. Others believe the key to God’s blessing lies in the Church loving people and working to bring about justice in this world.  

Both feel like really good answers. 

Getting the right person elected sounds awesome. Electing a man or woman who loves God and knows right from wrong sounds like a good plan.  Finding someone who is willing to do the right thing even when its hard sounds like a solution that could lead this messy muddle back to a place of blessing and good things.

 It worked in the Old Testament so why not today? 

Getting the Church to healthy place where the people are loving their neighbors and doing justice also sounds like it could be the win we need to get the blessing machine working again. After all, it’s all stuff God has made clear He is definitely into blessing (Psalm 11:7, Psalm 140:12, Matthew 22:36-40, 1st Corinthians 13:4-7, James 1:27). 

However. 

God tends to give nations the leaders they deserve (Judges 3:12). This country and the people in it haven’t exactly set themselves up for an amazing, wise, godly leader who is able to rally the people into voluntarily doing good and honoring God. Seriously. We live in a nation where half the people have proven they want the right to end a pregnancy anytime, for any reason more than they want economic security. This reality has been confirmed repeatedly based on who and what the people routinely vote for. God cannot bless a people with that little regard for righteousness and stay true to who He says He is in Scripture. Period. Furthermore, the Old Testament leadership pattern was not great. Israel had a habit of devolving morally and spiritually. Then, because He’s good God would bless Israel with a godly leader. The people would straighten-up and fly right (metaphorically speaking) right up until the minute the leader died.  Then the people would all go back to doing all the outrageous, wicked stuff they were doing before the godly leader came along. As a result, the inevitable was delayed but it always became a reality.  

Loving people and laboring to usher in biblical justice IS a really good thing. Nonetheless, many have forgotten there can be no authentic biblical justice without authentic biblical righteousness (Psalm 33:5, Isaiah 1:21, Isaiah 59:14, Micah 6:8).  They work in conjunction with each other. The biblical justice crowd is often unwilling to call people out on the sin that prevents biblical justice from becoming a reality. 

Sigh. 

If an individual or nation wants the blessing of God it is critical they position themselves for blessing.  Literally, no one in the history of forever has positioned themselves for a blessing simply by asking for it, voting for the “right person” or doing one small portion of God’s will. Nor is there anyone righteous enough to get blessed by doing whatever seems right to them in the moment. 

Intentionality is the key.  

Blessing always begins and ends with the actions and attitude of God’s people.  When God’s people live life according to God’s rules they position themselves and the culture they live in for blessing. It’s important to note that Christians cannot force anyone to live righteously (1st Corinthians 5:12-13). Attempting to do so always fails, in a big way. Nor, does God cease to love His people when they fail to according to His rules. God’s love for His own never ceases (John 10:27-29). That being said, when Christians choose to lead the way and honor God with their lives and bodies God blesses. Genuine revival and tangible blessings are always the result of obedience (Acts 2:38-47). 

We could use some of that right about now.

Seriously. 

For a generation, well-intended but tragically misguided church leaders have attempted to eliminate legalism by teaching God’s “grace” is a gift that allows for Christians to live any way they wish with zero negative consequences (Titus 2:11-12). As a result, many believers have all but forgotten there really is a “right” way to live the Christian life (Romans 8:4-5). The ugly consequences of our willful amnesia are unfolding in our culture. The church is literally the body of Christ, do when the church fails at biblical living the culture has no reliable guide for how to do life God’s way. 

This means the whole world is literally feeling the pain of our folly.

 The world will be blessed when Christians from every tribe and nation return to a form of living that leads to blessing, justice and human flourishing. God has graciously shown us the way in easily understood passages such as Colossians chapter three, Romans chapter twelve and 2nd Peter 1:5-11. 

It’s up to us go to those passages and do what we are told.

How Should Christians React to Blasphemy?

Lisa M. Price3 Comments

You must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives- Jude 22-23 NLT

The Christian response to the opening ceremonies for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games exposed a deep and growing rift in Christianity.  When you get down to heart of the matter, the rift centers around how Christians ought to interact with a post-Christian culture.

 Some were angry, and not just at the weird display of crudeness and blasphemy. This group has had enough of Christianity being the one religion it’s okay to use as a punching bag. They point out (correctly) that there are no activists mocking or vilifying anyone else’s deeply held beliefs. Public scorn is reserved only for Christians. These folks believe it’s high-time Christians start standing up for themselves and fight back.

On the other side of the divide, are those who think Christians should ignore any blasphemy directed (deliberately or inadvertently) at the Christian faith.  These folks feel pretty strongly that any criticism, of any kind, directed at unbelievers sends the message that God (and His people) do not love them or want them anywhere near the Church. 

This group points out (correctly) that Jesus often associated with sinners and nearly all of His disapproval was aimed at self-righteous religious people who judged sinners mercilessly (Matthew 9:9-13).  They also note (correctly) that Christians are commanded to love everyone, including blasphemers (1st Corinthians 13:1-13, Matthew 5:43-44, Luke 6:32-35, Luke 7:36-47). Therefore, any and all disapproval of a non-Christians behavior should be hidden from view in the name of “kindness” and “love”. This group sincerely believes showing disapproval of sin will cause sinners to reject Jesus.

Yikes. No one wants that. 

So, is Christian disapproval of bad/blasphemous behavior really the fast-track to total rejection of all things Christian?

Well. 

I have some personal experience I feel is relevant to this discussion. 

I grew up in a messy non-Christian home, by the time I hit my teen years I was a jumble of chaos and sin. I knew nothing about God or the Bible. I never even thought about God or the Bible, I was a post-Christian girl long before post-Christian was even a thing. 

I was also a bit of a wiseacre.

I worked at a fast-food restaurant, mainly on the front register.  I almost never wore a nametag, mostly, because I didn’t want customers to know my name if I made a mistake or offended them in some way. One day, one of the managers happened to notice I wasn’t wearing a nametag. I was told to put one on, pronto. 

So, I did.  

However, I did not put my name on the nametag. To my (now) eternal shame I put “GOD” on my nametag in all caps (and YES, I am now VERY aware of how blasphemous that was). Some of the customers and all my co-workers thought it was hilarious, so I left it on. My idiocy started a bit of trend. Almost all my co-workers began putting crazy, absurd names on their nametags, stuff like “Big Bird” and “Abraham Lincoln”. The managers were oblivious, all they saw is that we were wearing nametags. No one bothered to look at what they said. 

It was all great fun.

Until one day, a lady came through my line, saw my nametag and went deathly pale. She looked me in the eye and said in the kindest, gentlest, most alarmed voice you can imagine: “sweetie, you need to take that nametag off. There is a real God who is very powerful and He is very offended that you put His name on your nametag”. I don’t remember what I said to her, I do remember feeling shocked she would care about something I saw as just silly fun. 

I did not become a Christian that day.

 However, her gentle demeaner and concern for my soul had a huge impact on me. For the first time in my life I thought about God, and what He was all about, and what else I might have done to offend Him.  All of a sudden, out of nowhere I felt super ashamed about the nametag (although at the time I had no idea why). I took the nametag off after my shift and never put it back on (1st Timothy 1:13). 

All that to say.

I do not think it’s a good idea to let people blaspheme God without some kind of a reaction. Silence indicates an absence of disapproval. Most people (not all) who blaspheme God have no idea what they’re doing (Luke 23:34). Some really do hate God and are doing their level best to be offensive (Acts 7:51, Hebrews 10:29), most aren’t. The vast majority are just attempting to be witty, or trendy, or outrageous. Very few actually understand how dangerous their behavior is from a spiritual perspective (Leviticus 24:16).  They are fools (Psalm 14:1). It is our job to gently guide them to the truth about God (Jude 22-23). 

However. 

When we talk to people we can’t be rude or hateful. We must communicate with our words and tone that we care about the souls of the people we are talking to. 

Nor can we make it about us. 

Our disapproval cannot be about our feelings, our firmly held beliefs or our rights. It has to be entirely focused on our God (1st Samuel 2:2). We have to tell people there is a holy, kind, patient God who loves them beyond all reason (John 3:16-18, Psalm 68:4-6, John 5:24). We also have to tell people that His patience is not without limits. People need to know there will come a day when all people will be called into account for their words and deeds (Matthew 12:36, Romans 14:12, Romans 2:15-16).  However, all this must be done in a spirit of gentleness and humility (Philippians 4:5, 1st Peter 3:15).

Takeaways from the Book of Job-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Despite all this, Job did not sin, nor did he blame God- Job 1:22 NASB

NO ONE actually LOVES the book of Job. 

There are those who wax eloquent about the literary merits of the book. However, when pressed, even those folks admit there is little to love about the actual story. It’s just kind of sad. 

It goes like this: 

There’s this really awesome guy named Job. Job does all the right things. He loves God and his family. Job shuns evil and is honest. Job worries about the spiritual condition of his kids and does his level best to be an all-around stand-up guy in every area of his life (Job 1:1-5, Job 1:8). 

God digs him.

Then one day, out of the blue, Satan rolls up uninvited to what appears to be some sort of an angelic roll call (Job 1:6).  Satan informs God he’s been roaming the earth looking for decent people he can accuse of evil (Revelation 12:10). God proudly points to Job as an outstanding example of humanity. Satan immediately accuses Job of only loving God because God has blessed Job with all sorts of good things (wealth, property, good health, a great family). God tells Satan Job’s love for Him is genuine. 

God and Satan make a deal.

God tells Satan he can take everything from Job except his life (Job 1:12). Satan gets the job done in short order. Job loses his wealth, his health, his home, and even his kids all in the course of a few hours. The only thing Satan doesn’t take is Job’s wife, which is kind of a bummer because she’s not exactly supportive. The most encouraging thing she does in the whole book is to tell Job to “curse God and die” (Job 2:9). Then Job’s friends, (the worst friends ever) show up to “comfort” Job.  They accuse Job of all sorts of secret sins and give him oodles of misguided advice. Then, just when you begin to think they are never going to stop harassing poor Job, God shows up and sets everyone straight.  (Job 38-41, Job 42:7-9). 

The story does have a happy-ish ending

God restores Job’s fortune; his family shows up to comfort him and in time, Job is blessed with seven sons and three (really pretty) daughters. Job lives a long life and he continues to be an upstanding guy who pleases God (Job 42:10-17).  

It’s good stuff. 

Nonetheless, (in my opinion) the happy ending is obfuscated by the utter gloominess of the account.  All that being said, Job’s story is in the Bible because there is much we can learn from it (2nd Timothy 3:16). The book has value whether we are going through something terrible or helping someone who is. Following are six take-aways from the book of Job:

There’s more to our trials than just pain- 

Job teaches that all trials serve some sort of a purpose. Normally, the purpose goes beyond proving the devil wrong about something. God uses trials to teach us and mold us into the image of Jesus. We get the most out of a trial when we choose to keep our hearts soft towards God and continue to seek Him in the middle of our pain and confusion (Job 1:22, 1st Peter 1:3-7, James 1:2-4). We need to understand, like Job did, that the point of this life is to prepare us to spend eternity with God and sometimes trials bring about that end (Job 19:25-26). 

Not all truth applies to every person or situation-  

Job’s friends were jerks (Job 42:7-9). Nonetheless, they were not wrong about every single thing they said, they were actually right about a lot of things. However, none of what they were right about applied directly to Job (Proverbs 18:13, Proverbs 18:17) They were convinced God must be punishing Job for SOMETHING. Nonetheless, Job was one-hundred-percent blameless. The book of Job teaches the importance of truly understanding all the particulars of a situation before we make judgments about the people involved (Proverbs 18:21).  

Sometimes it’s better to listen rather than speak-

Job’s friends made a mistake most people make at some point: they were quick to share their “wisdom” without hearing what was being said or understanding the particulars of the situation. When someone is hurting sometimes all they need is to feel understood (James 1:19, Proverbs 13:3, Proverbs 20:12). Once a person feels heard and cared for they will be more willing to hear and apply any advice that should be given.

God doesn’t always give answers but He’s still good-  

Job had a lot of (really good) questions for God and God never answered a single one of them.  Zilch. Zero. Nada. This does not mean God didn’t love Job or care about what he was going through. The book clearly teaches that God loved Job and blessed him for his faith and obedience in spite of some pretty gnarly circumstances. He does the same for us. 

Praying for the jerks who hurt us pleases God-

It just does. Job 42:10 proves it. The second Job got done praying for his awful friends God blessed Job with twice what he had before. God hasn’t changed. He still loves it when we pray for awful people who don’t deserve our prayers.  

And finally:

We should assume that our faith-filled response to pain is all God really wants from us when the very foundations of our lives are shaken (Psalm 16:8, Psalm 112:6, Hebrews 12:28). Job teaches that God richly rewards those who praise Him in the midst of the storms of life (Job1:21). God loves faith (Hebrews 11:6, Matthew 9:20-22, Luke 17:6) and there is no greater expression of faith than choosing to praise, honor and glorify God when there appears to be zero reason to do so.

Attitudes that Indicate Serious Spiritual Problems-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother and sister– 1st John 3:10 NASB

According to Merriam-Webster one definition of culture is:

The set of values, or social practices associated with a particular field, activity, or societal characteristic.

Christianity has a culture. 

The particulars of the cultural practices of Christianity vary somewhat from church to church. In some churches people dress more conservatively than in others. In many denominations raising hands in worship is considered a sign of piety. In others it’s thought to be peculiar. In some churches only certain Bible translations will do, in others all translations (even the kind of sketchy ones) have merit. 

Differences notwithstanding, 

The way Christians dress, relate to one another, conduct themselves in worship services and the even the words Christians use to describe shared spiritual experiences are all fairly universal. What we do and don’t do is deeply rooted in church culture. As a result, one does not have to be around the Church for very long to know what’s okay and not okay. 

This is not necessarily a bad thing. 

God has ordained standards and norms of behavior for His holy people (John 13:34, Romans 12:10-16, Romans 15:7, 1st Corinthians 1:10, 2nd Corinthians 13:11, Ephesians 5:21, Ephesians 5:3, 1st Corinthians 5:11, Hebrews 13:1-8). There is nothing wrong with a community of believers having standards and norms, as long as those standards and norms are biblical, God honoring and life-giving to the people involved. A wholesome, healthy Christian culture creates an environment where God is glorified and people feel welcomed and esteemed. When it’s done right culture is a beautiful thing. 

Unfortunately, the culture of Christianity is also easily mimicked. Spiritual fakery can happen without so much as a smidgen of heart change (2nd Corinthians 5:17) and without any self-awareness whatsoever. Sadly, a person can spend their whole lives copycatting the culture of Christianity without realizing that they don’t actually know Jesus (Matthew 7:21-23, Matthew 25:31-46). Yikes. 

So, how do we know if our Christianity is the real deal or just a cultural copycat? 

Truth-be-told, it’s not always easy to tell who’s who and what’s what in Church world.  Many times, the mimickers have even fooled themselves. However, there are some clues we can look for in ourselves and others. Any of the following five things indicate there are some problems that need spiritual attention (more on that later). 

To the average mimicker…  

Sin is not problematic- 

A genuine Christian detests sin—especially when they see it in themselves. Anyone who is not horrified by their own sin is probably not the real deal (Romans 12:9, 1st John 1:4-6, 1st John 3:6). 

Double-mindedness is routine-

A double minded person lives with one foot in the world and one foot in the church (1st John 2:15-17). They behave like Christians when they are around mature Christians they want to impress or fool, but when they are with immature Christians or non-Christians, the performance ends, then they behave pretty much like any other heathen. Ultimately, double-minded people are inherently unstable spiritually and oftentimes emotionally as well (James 1:6-8). Unfortunately, double-minded people do immeasurable damage to the kingdom of God, immature Christians and the reputation of every serious believer in Jesus (Matthew 13:36-33). 

Repentance is for heathens-

Repentance is not a one and done.  Regrettably, some genuine Christians and all mimickers have bought into the lie that repentance is a one-time admission that one is a sinner with no further repentance required. Nothing could be further from the truth. The entire Christian life is meant to be a life of ongoing repentance. Repentance begins with a change of mind about what’s okay and not okay. Right thinking about sin leads to a renewed mind that leads to behavioral and attitudinal change (Isaiah 30:15, Acts 3:19, Matthew 3:8, Romans 12:1-2, 2nd Corinthians 7:9, 1st John 1:8-10). This does not mean Christians have to go back, remember and repent of every single sin they ever committed. It does mean a real Christian lives a life of self-examination and is quick to repent of any sin they see in their lives (2nd Corinthians 13:5). 

Zero inclination towards the spiritual- 

 Christians love God, the Bible, learning about God and the Bible and spending time with people who love learning about God and the Bible. Christians also want the advice, counsel and guidance of other believers, so much so, that they will go out of their way to avoid worldly advice or counsel (2nd Corinthians 6:14). A mimicker tends to avoid personal Bible study, does not enjoy spending time with mature, godly believers outside of church and has zero discernment when it comes to taking worldly advice. Anytime, a “Christian” lacks an appetite for the things of God it indicates a big problem.  

Here’s the thing:

Christians are not called to be busybody fruit inspectors. It’s not our business to decide who’s saved and who’s not. That’s God’s arena. 

That being said. 

Christians are advised to be careful about the company they keep. Paul cautioned the believers in Corinth to avoid those who claim to be Christians but do not live like it (1st Corinthians 5:1-13, 1st Corinthians 15:33). Jesus frequently warned His followers to avoid the Pharisees (the original mimickers) because their influence was spiritually deadly (Matthew 23:1-3, Matthew 16:5-6, Matthew 23:15). That said. It is absolutely critical we routinely assess our own lives and ask God to reveal signs of spiritual problems. Literally, anyone can take on the cultural behaviors of Christianity without experiencing real heart change. Our lives reveal heart change when we hate sin enough to turn away from it. When we live lives free of hypocrisy and love God, His word and His people. If those characteristics are present in our lives we know we will be spiritually productive on earth and warmly welcomed into God’s kingdom (Matthew 25:23, Luke 19:17)

The Truth about Trials and Hardship-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

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

Okay, so.

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

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

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

Well.

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

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

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

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

Then Peter, always the showoff, says to Jesus:

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

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

However.

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

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

It feels a little harsh Jesus. 

This story got me thinking about all manner of things. 

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

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

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

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

Let’s say this is true.

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

It’s our job to cooperate with God. 

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

The New Idol Worship-

Lisa M. Price2 Comments


Little children, guard yourselves from idols– 1st John 5:21 NASB

I will not lie. 

I find many of the opinions expressed in public forums deeply troubling.  As a general rule, people from every walk of life have become meaner, more illogical, more merciless and more pigheaded in their opinions concerning pretty much every topic under the sun (Proverbs 29:22). 

No matter the topic. 

People have always gotten worked up the over “hot-button issues” like sex, politics and religion. However, now folks get just as worked up over trifling issues as well. An article entitled, “The Ten Ugliest Colors to Paint a Bathroom” is sure to create a hullabaloo when seemingly ordinary people become completely unfettered from reason and good manners because the writer judged their color choice “ugly” or “outdated”. If a young wife wants advice on getting her husband to help with household chores, many will simply advise her dump the bum and move on. If a person believes something to be true it becomes “their reality” or “their truth” regardless of contradictory evidence. No one is permitted to drag logic, science, God or the law into any discussion regarding an individual’s “reality”. If a person believes themselves to be a cat the world is obliged to provide them with a litter box and a drinking bowl. 

No questions asked. 

Even more alarming, there is zero mercy for parents (Exodus 20:12, Ephesians 6:10). If the parents of an adult child politely choose not to affirm and/or celebrate their adult child’s choices the parents are swiftly declared toxic and given the old heave ho. Overnight society has devolved into a carnival of dysfunction and a cavalcade of vindictiveness. It certainly feels as if the Apostle Paul was on to something when he wrote these words: 

In the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly- 2nd Timothy 3:1-5

A few short years ago it would have been a stretch to say this verse applies to a more than a few grumpy weirdos. Now it feels like the apostle Paul has been scrolling our social media feeds. The current state of affairs begs a couple of questions, including:

How did we get to a place where people are so opinionated and insistent their opinions are the only correct views? 

Why is rudeness and even cruelty suddenly okay with so many people? 

Why are so many adult children no longer speaking to their parents?

Why do. people believe everyone has their own little reality?

Trigger warning: 

I suspect that what follows will be offensive to some. So here goes: we are where we are because of idolatry. The idolatry our culture has embraced with wild abandon is not the run-of-the-mill kind of idolatry one reads about in the Old Testament. Modern humans actually invented a new idol (Romans 1:30a).

It’s our feelings.

Our tendency to make feelings into a god we worship is reflected in every aspect of modern life. Everything we do is centered around how ideas, situations and people make us feel. 

If a pastor “offends”, members of the church start looking for a new church where the pastor understands them. Few churches share the gospel anymore because effective evangelism always involves telling people the hard truth that they are filthy-rotten sinners who need to be saved from their filthy-rottenness (Numbers 34:14, Romans 3:23, 1stJohn 1:10).

God forbid anyone hear that little bit of bad news.

 If someone is the least bit annoying on social media or in real life we are encouraged to “unfriend” them online and in-person (Ephesians 4:32). If a spouse disappoints in any way, the world tells us to dump them and find someone who gives us good feels and understands our needs.  If a historical fact makes a minority uncomfortable, society will cheerfully remove all evidence of said history from the public square. Parents and teachers have quit telling kids “words can never hurt them”. Instead schools have aided and abetted the madness by helping kids to hide from ideas and people that make them feel uncomfortable or bad about themselves. Parents have worked their tails off to make childhood as idyllic as possible. Then everyone wonders why the little nippers don’t feel like growing up and taking adult responsibility for anything (Proverbs 13:21, 1st Corinthians 13:11). 

Sigh.  

Fidelity to the god of our feelings comes at a high price. It has ended polite civil discourse. It has broken up families, made it impossible to effectively call out sin and left an entire generation of young people emotionally and even intellectually crippled. 

Yikes.

The only way to deal with an idol is to cast it down and reverse course before it’s too late. 

How did an Age of Spiritual Excess led to an Age of Spiritual Doubt?

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.”These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit- Jude 18-19 NASB

My bestie calls the late 1980’s to the early 2000’s the “this present weirdness” phase of contemporary Christianity. 

It’s more than just a snarky jab at a set of books that were hugely popular for decades. The late 1980’s to the early 2000’s was an age of spiritual excess on all sorts of different fronts. There were a lot of charismatic extremes in (some) churches. The lack of discernment surrounding the Holy Spirit allowed almost anything to be considered a manifestation of the Holy Spirit, no matter how weird or extra-biblical those things happened to be. There was also an emphasis on spiritual warfare that frequently veered off the rails. Besides the popular fictional books postulating about spiritual warfare there were also all sorts of “Bible studies” on spiritual warfare including one where participants were instructed to eat certain foods based on what kind of demons they happened to be battling at the time. Then there was also the well-intended but not always well-thought purity movement. It left the better part of a generation of Christian kids confused about sexuality and walking in shame for having normal sexual desires. 

Sigh. 

There was also a huge emphasis on the second coming of Jesus. Booklets like Edgar Whisenant’s 88 reasons the rapture will happen in 1988 and 90 reasons Jesus will return in 1990 were insanely popular. The fictional series Left Behind by Tim LaHaye captivated millions.  Anxiety concerning Y2K added to theories regarding Jesus’ return as did songs like I Wish we had all Been Ready and I Will See You in the Rapture.  

Christians were ready.

But nothing happened. 

There was zero action on the return of Jesus front. Life went on. It turned out to be much ado about nothing. 

Then that thing happened that always happens anytime anything goes too far: the pendulum swung back. Really HARD. Most Christians put their heads down in shame stopped talking about the return of Jesus altogether.   Today there are many followers of Jesus who disbelieve it will even happen. Some Christians openly mock those Christians who do believe Jesus is literally returning to earth. The amillennialism view of eschatology has become wildly popular. It teaches we are currently living in the millennial reign of Christ and there will be no tribulation or bodily return of Jesus. 

However:

Scoffing and mocking at the notion Jesus will return is a prophesied indication of the soon-return of Jesus. The apostle Peter says this about the subject: 

Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires- 2nd Peter 3:3

It’s hard to argue effectively against the idea that the Bible teaches there will be a bodily return of Jesus (John 21:22, Matthew 24:3, Matthew 24:37-44, Luke 21:25-27, John 14:3, 1st Thessalonians 3:13, 1st Thessalonians 5:23, 2nd Thessalonians 2:1, James 5:7). There’s just too much scripture that says there will be a return of Jesus. Admittedly, there are some very real problems with having hyper fixation on the bodily return of Jesus. However, there are also some very real problems with discounting the bodily return of Jesus (2nd John 2:7). Some of those problems include: 

Spiritual knowledge is a use it or lose it proposition-

Jesus makes it clear that the more we believe and apply God’s word the more of God’s word we will understand and be able to apply to our lives (Mark 4:24). It just makes sense the inverse is also true. This means that choosing to disbelieve one aspect of God’s word (like the return of Jesus) surely limits our ability to understand and effectively apply all spiritual truth (Hebrews 5:11-14).

We become contented with spiritual mediocrity-

There’s a reason God didn’t just gave us the exact date of Jesus’ future return. If He had most of us would remain morally and spiritually sketchy until ten minutes before Jesus showed up. Then we would get real busy really fast. Knowing (and believing) Jesus could return at any time gives us the motivation to stay busy doing God’s will and living for him until He does show up (Matthew 25:1-13, Matthew 25:31-46)

We begin to see this world as our home–

Christians were never intended to get overly cozy with the things of this world. When we do, we lose our power and even our motivation to fix the brokenness (Mark 8:36, 1st John 2:15-17, Matthew 5:13-16). Therefore, the most dangerous aspect of choosing to disbelieve there will be no bodily return of Jesus is it causes us to become really comfortable with this world and what we have in this world. This renders us spiritually useless in every sense. 

We are all products of the great age of reason.  We have been trained since infancy to only believe in things we can prove, things that are easy to understand, things we can logic out. Jesus’ return is none of those things. It’s a matter of faith.  Because it’s been a while since Jesus left the first time it’s easy to be a scoffer or a mocker concerning the return of Jesus (2nd Peter 3:8-9). The whole notion feels far out and crazy so we talk ourselves out it. We decide (on our own) Jesus was being metaphorical when He said He will return. We tell ourselves only wild-eyed irrational nutjobs believe in such things.

We become scoffers. 

We forget, scoffer’s get proven wrong by God all the time. 

Rather, we should commit to being the people Jesus talks about in Matthew 24:45-47, those who wait expectantly, in faith for His return. Those who faithfully do His will right up till the minute He gets here. 

There are good things in store for those people.  

Fake Jesus?

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

Even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!As we have said before, even now I say again: if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! Galatians 1:8-9 NASB 

I wasn’t raised in church but I was raised in America, so, growing-up I saw a lot of paintings of Jesus. In all of them Jesus was pretty white-bread and Anglo. He always had long blonde hair, high cheekbones, clear blue eyes and ivory skin. Because I wasn’t a Christian, I didn’t think much about whether or not those renderings were an accurate representation of Jesus. 

As a young adult Christian, I saw my first painting of a black Jesus. To be honest, I found the whole notion of a black Jesus a little disconcerting because it just wasn’t how I “saw” Jesus in my white-girl head. Later, in a class I took on missions, I learned that in every culture where the gospel has taken root, Christians have painted Jesus to look exactly like them. This is why there are black Jesus’, white Jesus’, brown Jesus’ and Asian Jesus’ even though Jesus was a Middle Eastern Jewish man. 

This is not a bad thing. 

It means humans grasp intuitively the spiritual reality Jesus was sacrificed, not just for one group of really special people but for all people (Romans 6:10, Hebrews 5:5-9, Hebrews 10:10). Our tendency to make Jesus “look like us” means all Christians (regardless of nationality or skin color) identify with Jesus in a personal way.  We understand on a gut-level Jesus was the great high priest who made the ultimate sacrifice for every tribe, language, people and nation on earth (Revelation 5:9). 

The flipside of this phenomenon is it exposes the human propensity we all have to make Jesus into whoever or whatever we want Him to be. Humans have always been inclined to make God in their own image. This is most clearly seen with the Greco/Roman pantheon of gods. The Greco/Roman “gods” reflected human passions, strengths and weaknesses. They were gods made in the image of man. 

Now we do it with Jesus. 

It is not at all unusual for people (even Christian people) to say “my Jesus” or “the God I worship”. Nine times out of ten “my Jesus” or “the God I worship” is followed by a statement of what “their” God would or would not do. It is exceptionally rare for these proclamations to line up one-hundred-percent with what the Bible actually says about the subject. 

It does happen, just not very often. 

This is not a new thing. In 2nd Corinthians Paul confronted his readers with their tendency to turn to a “new Jesus” anytime a preacher with a new teaching came along. These “other Jesus’” did not line up with the Jesus Paul had preached to them (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4). The Corinthian Christians loved God and apparently had a sincere longing to serve God. However, they were in danger of being deceived by these “other Jesus’” just as Eve was deceived by Satan’s clever arguments in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1-4). 

The tendency to make Jesus into what we want Him to be is getting demonstrably worse. It’s not at all unusual for professing Christians to say “Jesus was right beside me” as they were busy doing something the authentic biblical Jesus would never be a part of. Something like getting an abortion, taking drugs or marrying someone of the same gender. Nor is it unusual for a professing Christian to insist Jesus or God “showed them” something was okay that directly contradicts biblical teaching. Oftentimes these are serious sins like leaving a marriage without biblical grounds, having an affair or lying about something (Matthew 19:1-9, Exodus 20:16).

Professing Christians who make these kinds of statements are not doctrinally confused. Nor are they going through a quirky spiritual stage. It’s much more serious than that. These folks are worshiping a fake Jesus.  A really nice Jesus, but a Jesus who is nothing more than a figment of their fevered imaginations. When someone describes “their God” or “their Jesus” in a way that does not reflect the Jesus of the Bible, they have the wrong Jesus and they are headed down the wrong spiritual path (Matthew 7:13-14). 

 It’s also one of the clues that we are nearing the end. 

In 2nd Timothy 3:1-5 gives a detailed description of what many professing Christians will “look like” just prior to the return of Jesus. In verse five Paul says these folks will “have a form of godliness but deny its power”. The Greek indicates, these people will look like Christians and even act like Christians—at least to some degree. Nonetheless, when it comes down to the place where the rubber meets the road (metaphorically speaking) they will have no real understanding of what kind of God they are dealing with. 

Because they have the wrong Jesus. 

The “right” Jesus is actually really easy to identify. God ensured it’s not a big mystery. The real Jesus is for the same things He was for and against the same things He was against when the New Testament was written. The real Jesus doesn’t change with the culture. 

The real Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).  

This whole issue of who Jesus is (and isn’t) is a serious problem that demands discernment on the part of Christians (Psalm 119:125, Proverbs 18:15, Philippians 1:9-11). It is not our job to judge others. Nonetheless, it is our job to make wise judgments about doctrinal issues and what we believe about Jesus. We will be held accountable for believing in and promoting any kind of a fake Jesus (1st Timothy 4:16, Titus 2:1, Hebrews 13:9) 

Yikes. 

The Bible Story Everyone Loves to Hate-

Lisa M. Price2 Comments

“Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?”  “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!”- Job 38:4 and Job 40:2 NASB

Okay, so. 

There this incident in Scripture people (both Christian and non-Christian) love to question. Frequently, the questioning leads to accusing God of some pretty horrific things, including being a moral monster and a baby killer. Some even claim they just up and quit Christianity because they were so deeply offended by the details of the story.

Yikes. 

God does not need me to defend Him (as if). However. I would like to make a couple of points concerning this passage of Scripture. Then I will give some personal opinions I have developed concerning how modern-day Christians view their relationship with God. 

First the story.  

The incident in question is found in Genesis 22:1-19. It’s the one where God tests Abraham by asking him to sacrifice His son Isaac as an offering. This was a super big deal for a couple of key reasons. First, Abraham loved Isaac a lot, like a lot, a lot. Second, Isaac was a miracle child (his Mom was 90 when he was conceived). Isaac’s existence came about as a result of a promise God made to Abraham and his wife Sarah. And finally, if Isaac had died before having children all the promises God made to Abraham concerning Isaac would be null and void. 

Nevertheless. 

 Abraham obediently packed up a donkey, rounded up Isaac and a couple of trusty servants and headed to Mount Moriah with all the equipment necessary to make a human sacrifice. Just as Abraham gets to the point where he is about plunge the knife into Isaac, an angel of the Lord appears and firmly orders Abraham to abort mission. God then says something key: 

For now, I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.

Then a goat appears in a thicket near Isaac and Abraham. They sacrifice the goat, meet up with the servants and head to Beersheba where Abraham stays. 

The end. 

Well, okay not the end of the whole story but it was the end of the episode.

It’s critical to note Abraham was a really old guy at this point in the Genesis narrative. He was at least 115 and perhaps as old as 125, nor, was Isaac a baby or a toddler or even a little boy. Most scholars believe Isaac was somewhere between 15 and 25. This means Isaac could have jumped off the altar, kicked Abraham’s geriatric butt and put an end to the whole episode if he had been so inclined. 

Apparently, he wasn’t.

Furthermore, the text is clear. This was a test, only a test. No actual humans were sacrificed in the making of this story. God did not permit Abraham to “go there”. Therefore, it is manifestly unjust to accuse God of being a baby killer and a moral monster when there were no babies involved and the monstrous act never actually occurred.  

Also.

The whole notion of fearing God and loving God are inextricably linked in Old Testament times. To love God was to fear Him. No one who claimed to love God treated Him like a bro or a buddy. Nor, did those who claimed to love God question or challenge His authority or goodness. Those who loved God, feared, revered and above all else obeyed Him (Deuteronomy 10:12, Psalm 76:11, Psalm 128:1, Proverbs 1:28-30).  

Period.

Consequently, a reasonable translation of Genesis 22:12 could be: “now I know you really love me because you have not withheld your only son”. 

This matters because it is one of the Old Testament stories intended to point people to Jesus. An Old Testament story that points people to a New Testament truth or to Jesus is called a “typology” or a “foreshadowing”. Just as God knew Abraham really loved Him because He was willing to sacrifice His son for God. We know God really loves us because He sacrificed His son Jesus for us (Hebrews 10:10). When we read the story of Abraham and Isaac we aren’t supposed to scream and yell about what a despicable moral monster God is. Nor, are we supposed to call God a baby-killer on social media or renounce our faith in Jesus (Hebrews 6:4-5). 

That’s just stupid. 

We are supposed to put the puzzle pieces together and rejoice in the fact that our God loves us enough to give His only son for our salvation (John 3:16). 

 In recent years it has become common for Christians to treat God as if He were on the same level as an average Joe. People (even Christians) question God’s wisdom, virtuousness and integrity as if God were just “some guy” rather than the God of the Universe.  

Questions are not wrong. 

However, we ought to recognize our place, watch our tone and check our motives before we fly into drama mode. Are we asking because we genuinely want to increase our understanding of God? Are our questions born out of an earnest desire to learn and grow?  Or, are we simply looking to find fault with God so we can write Him off as a moral monster and move on with our lives unencumbered by His moral directives? 

God is more than capable of withstanding our honest questions. 

I believe with all my heart He has nothing but love and compassion for an honest seeker who just wants to know and understand. However, acting as if we know more than or are morally superior to God is just dumb and dangerously sinful.