Category: Opinion

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

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

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

It’s way above my paygrade.

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

But what about our thoughts? 

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

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

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

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

Our thoughts ultimately shape us- 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Am I assuming good intent?

Am I the worst motives in this situation? 

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

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

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.  

What did Jesus Mean when He Called the Pharisees “White-Washed Tombs”?

Lisa M. Price2 Comments

When he became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly, and he was untrue to the Lord his God, for he entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense- 2nd Chronicles 26:16 NASB

I did not grow up in the church.

As a result, there were a bunch of churchy phrases tossed around I simply did not understand. Some I figured out pretty quickly. Others have taken me the better part of a lifetime to sort through and completely understand. 

One expression I found particularly perplexing was the phrase “religious spirit”.  I found it to be cryptic, creepy and more than a little unsettling. It’s a term not used anywhere in Scripture but it was a huge problem for several Old Testament leaders (2nd Chronicles 26:16, 1st Samuel 15:13-23, 2nd Chronicles 20;12-20). It was also an issue Jesus addressed frequently and always condemned in the strongest possible terms (Matthew 23:1-39, Luke 11:39-53). 

Many define a religious spirit as legalism or using rules as a substitute for relationship with God. Legalism is often a component of a religious spirit. However, defining the problem simply as legalism is an oversimplification of a complex issue. Anytime one simplifies a complex issue they run the risk of missing it when it’s right in front of them or worse yet, right inside of them. 

Yikes. 

A “religious spirit” is better defined as an appearance or façade of righteousness and goodness Christians choose over authentic heart change.  The highest value for a person with a religious spirit is not to please the Lord, or have their insides match their outsides. They just want people to think well of them (Matthew 23:5-7, Mark 12:38-40). Therefore, there is always an element of pride, self-centeredness and self-promotion involved in a religious spirit (Philippians 2:3, Galatians 5:20, 2nd Corinthians 12:20, James 3:14, Romans 2:8)

When a person has a religious spirit the goodness and righteousness on full display in their life is not a result of ruthlessly rooting out bad attitudes and wrong thinking. Nor, is it the result of inward goodness coming out of them in a healthy and life-giving way (Luke 6:44). Rather, it is the result of careful construction of a superficial image of piety and spirituality (Matthew 7:21-23). This piety gives every appearance of being very real. Nonetheless, it’s just a lovely veneer that effectively covers-up a multitude of spiritual, emotional and relational issues and problems.

Jesus called these folks “white washed tombs” because they look good on the outside but on the inside, they are just the messiest of messes (Matthew 23:27) 

A religious spirit creates a lot of confusion for those who know the person. People with a religious spirit present as Christians, and not just as any old garden variety Christian. These folks nearly always present as super Christians and frequently find themselves in positions of authority in the church. As a result, it is fair to say this one issue has been root of nearly every sin perpetrated by the Church. It is also the cause of many cases of church hurt.  The saddest thing about a religious spirit is what can ultimately do to the person.  A religious spirit can hi-jack a real and genuine relationship with God and replace it with a counterfeit Christianity that looks and even feels so much like the real thing that it can even fool the person in question (Matthew 7:22-23). 

It all starts when the approval of people becomes more important than the approval of God. The end result is that rules, outward obedience, success and looking good on the outside become more important than putting others first, heartfelt obedience, spiritual congruency and a vibrant relationship with Jesus. If a religious spirit is not dealt with decisively it always leads to spiritual ruin and relational callousness.

Anyone in the Church can have a religious spirit. 

The seeds that produce a religious spirit are pride, self-sufficiency and a reluctance to appear less-than-perfect. A religious spirit was the downfall of men who started out well, men like Saul, Hezekiah and Uzziah. It was the sin at the root of every sin the Pharisees committed. A religious spirit can and does sometimes affect church leaders, Christian influencers, little old ladies with big fat Bibles and run-of-the-mill Christians of all ages and walks of life. Truth-be-told, most Christians (myself included) have struggled (usually unbeknownst to them at the time) with a religious spirit at some point. Phoniness is probably the besetting sin of our time. It is for sure the primary reason the word Christian is so often linked with words like: fake, phony, fraud and untrustworthy. 

There is only one way to get free of a religious spirit. 

It is through an encounter with the living God. anytime we see God in all His glory and experience His presence the end result is that we are always undone by our own sinfulness (Isaiah 6:1-5). This knowledge opens us up to transformation. Therefore, it is critical we seek the presence of the Lord every chance we get. It’s why we should never ignore the still-small-voice telling us we have an attitude or behavior that needs to be dealt with (Matthew 5:29-30, Mark 9:43-47). 

When we make a regular practice of seeking the Lord and obeying His voice self dies. When we die to self we are free to truly experience the joy and freedom of the abundant life in Jesus (Romans 6:6, Ephesians 4:20-24, John 10:10)

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.

How we all Live out our Theology-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

As he thinks in his heart, so is he- Proverbs 23:7a NKJV

A practical definition of theology is: 

Theology is the framework people use for understanding God and how God relates to all areas of life.

Here’s the thing:

All people, (atheist, Christian, agnostic, heathen, pagan, Buddhist, whatever) have a theology.

Literally. All people.

Theology isn’t just for monotheistic Jews, Muslims and Christians. Even when a person believes nothing about God they still believe something about God.  Unbelief in God, just like belief in God, swiftly becomes a framework for understanding the world and how it works. Christians, agnostics, atheists, pagans and humanists all believe something about God. It might be the wrong thing, theology does not have to be good to be theology. Because ideas and beliefs have consequences, we all live out our theology (good or bad) in our day-to-day lives.  

Here’s what I mean:

A Christian who believes consciously or subconsciously that God rewards good works and righteous behavior with tangible blessings like a big fat bank accounts, well behaved children, good health or the perfect marriage will (consciously or subconsciously) endeavor to use their good behavior to manipulate God into blessing them with whatever their desire happens to be. This will result in a whole lot of attention being placed on outward behavior rather than on the heart. The ultimate outcome of prosperity gospel theology is always disillusionment because it is a belief system not rooted in Scripture (John 16:33, Matthew 13:21, Acts 14:21, 2nd Corinthians 6:4-5, 1st Peter1:6). A Christian with this theology will ultimately become angry with God when they don’t get whatever earthly reward they feel they are entitled to. This often leads to licentious living because the believer figures “if God’s not going to do His part, and reward me for my goodness I might as well live it up and party on”.

Sigh.

Someone who adopts a theology that rejects belief in original sin will ultimately end up with a soft spot for lawbreakers and delinquents (Psalm 36:1-4, Psalm 51:5, Romans 1:18-32, Romans 7:18-25). Most of these social justice warriors will work their tails off to create a system that goes easy on thieves and bad guys. Rejecting original sin leads well-meaning but wrong-headed people to believe crime is always the fault of someone besides the criminal. These soft-hearted but shallow thinkers will blame poverty, bad parenting, lack of quality education and society at large rather than the law-breaker for their law-breaking ways. Our upbringing does shape us, but at the end of the day (metaphorically speaking) people have freewill and make choices (Joshua 24:15, Ephesians 4:26, 1st Peter 4:3-5).

Anyone who believes God will not allow Christians to suffer or go through difficult situations will become cynical and disillusioned when suffering, hardship or persecution becomes a reality in their lives. And it always does. Because this brand of bad theology always leads to disappointment with God it is the number one reason Christians drop out of church, deconstruct their faith and turn their backs on Jesus. 

A Christian who believes Christians don’t have to do anything to become holy will never mature in Christ because they will shun proper Christian behavior as “works theology” (Philippians 2:12, Romans 1:7, Ephesians 5:3, 1st Thessalonians 4:3-8). Sadly, this choice will leave them ineffective and unproductive as Christians (2nd Peter 1:3-11)

Conversely, right theology leads to right thinking, and right thinking always leads to right behavior. Knowing trials, difficulty and hardship are tools God uses to mold us into the image of Jesus causes us to rejoice (more-or-less) in the midst of our trials (James 1:2-4, 1st Peter 1:6). Understanding the reality of original sin and how it effects people gives us insight into the behavior of others. It doesn’t preclude anyone one from having compassion for the sinner but it does help us understand that people make choices about what they do. Understanding that holiness is more than a gift we are given at salvation empowers us to become all God created us to be.  

Understanding how our theology is impacting us is helpful because it gives us a framework to understand why we are responding to God the way we are. It helps us answer questions like:

Why do I despair and believe God hates me when the going gets tough?

Why do I struggle with so many sinful strongholds?

Why am I angry all the time? 

Why do I blame other people (parents, co-workers, spouse) for MY choices and negative feelings about life?

At the root of every one of the above problems is bad theology of some sort.

Understanding the theology motivating us also helps us to flesh out our own motivations and understand the root cause things like chronic sin, wrong thinking and the weird reactions we have to certain situations. Understanding why we do what we do is the first step in changing our thinking, reactions and behavior. When spiritual understanding is combined with a repentant heart God is glorified and the world is blessed because we cannot help but grow into the image of Jesus (1st Corinthians 3:18). 

Understanding that even unbelievers have some form of theology opens the door for intelligent conversations about how a person’s underlying belief system is motivating their thinking about all sorts of issues.  Anytime we can have an intelligent conversation with a non-Christian we have a pretty good shot at making some spiritual inroads with them. Spiritual inroads are always a win.

Theology is not just for geeky old guys.

 Theology is something we all have whether we realize it or not, so we should all put some real effort into making sure what we believe about God lines up with what God says about Himself in His word.

Nope. The God of the Universe does not owe you a Detailed Explanation for Every Little Thing- Period

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he left, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as a stranger in the land of promise, as in a foreign land- Hebrews 11:8-9a NASB

I have observed a rather troubling trend in Church world. 

Let’s say Joe or Jane Christian does not understand a doctrine—or they don’t grasp all the motivations and/or reasons for an instruction given by God. Even just a few years ago Joe or Jane would have said to themselves: “Well, God is God and I’m not. I will obey God even though I don’t get it”. Times have changed. These days Joe or Jane Christian will most likely ignore anything he or she does not completely understand. Sometimes Joe or Jane will even blame God for their disobedience because He didn’t do an adequate job explaining the reasons for the command or doctrine in the Bible. 

This is not good Joe and Jane. 

Far too many Christians have determined it is perfectly okay to completely ignore God if they “don’t get it”. I belong to a couple of online apologetics groups. The members are (for the most part) Christians who routinely study God’s word and have desire to help other people understand the Bible. All-in-all I would say the vast majority of these people take their faith a bit more seriously than the average church-goer. However, even in these groups there are Christians who have decided that if they don’t understand all the ins-and-outs of a particular doctrine (the trinity, tithing, sexual ethics, etc.) they can just throw that issue out the window and do their own thing regardless of whether or not Scripture supports their decisions (Judges 21:25).

This is real. 

Creationism is a prime example. Because we live in a culture where Darwinism has been more-or-less accepted as fact by the masses, many Christians have niggling questions about creationism. Rather than accept what God says as fact or do some digging into the subject, some have simply decided because God did not do an adequate job (in their opinion) of clarifying how He created the world they are going to go ahead and accept the evolutionist viewpoint. 

What? 

Pretty much all the commands concerning sexuality are another area where Christians tend to question God’s judgement. We live in a world where the rallying cry of the masses is “love is love” and “you can’t judge me”.  Many Christians do not understand why God would take such a hard line on homosexuality, sex before marriage and adultery. Some reason because God does not explain His “no” well enough in the Bible it is perfectly okay to throw out the biblical standards because those standards do not line up with popular culture or their feelings. 

Again, what? 

Sigh. 

In Luke 18:8 Jesus asks a question:  

When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” 

I cannot help but wonder if this is at least part of what Jesus was talking about. The insistence we have to understand everything about God before we obey God is without question, a serious sin of our age. It is also an underlying indicator of unbelief. It is already impacting our power to evangelize. The results of obedience to God’s commands always bring blessing and (usually) a more successful outcome. When non-Christians see Christianity working it makes them curious about God. If Christians only obey the itty-bit they understand non-Christians see very little obedience and have zero curiosity about Jesus.

So, a couple of things: 

First of all, “faith without works is dead” (James 2:20-26) One of the “works” every single Christian is called to is to obey God in faith without completely understanding all the reasons why we are supposed to obey (1st Samuel 15:22, Deuteronomy 5:33, John 14:23-24, 2nd John 1:6) . It’s faith that pleases God—not picture-perfect understanding of every issue under the sun (Hebrews 11:6). 

Seriously. 

Second, no human, this side of heaven will ever have a complete understanding of God’s commands. We are simply not on the same level as God (Isaiah 55:8). Even being made in God’s image, humans differ from God in significant ways (Genesis 1:27). Our understanding of God, His logic and His choices is probably on about the same level as a dog’s understanding of a human’s logic and choices. It would be insane for me to be okay with my dog peeing wherever he wants to pee just because he doesn’t understand why I don’t want him to pee on my curtains. I have rules and boundaries around my dog’s pee-pee routines because I understand the chaos (and stench) it will create if I allow him to pee willy-nilly. My dog’s understanding of the issue really is irrelevant, and so is ours. Faith dictates we accept as fact the hard reality God knows more than we do about everything. Period. 

And finally, 

The more a person chooses to disobey God (whatever the reason why) the less they care about obeying Him. Every. Single. Time. When we willfully disregard God on any issue we make it harder on ourselves to hear His voice or care the things He cares about (Romans 1:18-23, Hebrews 5:11-14). Rebellion always hardens our hearts and makes us obstinate, willful and spiritually dull (Ephesians 4:17-24, Hebrews 3:7-15, Hebrews 4:7). No one who knows Jesus wants that. So, it just makes sense to remember God doesn’t owe us an explanation for every little thing and just obey already. 

What do the Imprecatory Passages Teach us about Hurt and Pain?

Lisa M. Price3 Comments

Let me not be put to shame, Lord, for I call upon You; Let the wicked be put to shame, let them be silent in Sheol. Let the lying lips be speechless. Which speak arrogantly against the righteous with pride and contempt- Psalm 31:17-18 NASB

About eighteen months ago I went through a situation that was ugly and unjust by any human standard.

Seriously.

 I will not be spilling the tea on all the details, suffice it to say it was a terrible deal that created a lot of unpleasant ripples in my life.  In the immediate aftermath I found myself completely shell-shocked and heartbroken by a situation I had zero control over.  

So,

I did something I have only done twice in my Christian life and only under the direst of emotional and spiritual circumstances: I cried out to the Lord and asked Him to give me comfort from His word. Then I opened my Bible fully expecting it to open to exactly what I needed in that moment. 

For the record, this is not a method I recommend.  It is certainly not the greatest way to discern God’s will, obtain answers to life’s greatest questions or even get comfort from Gods word. There’s a lot that could go wrong with this technique. The devil could certainly produce all kinds of mayhem with this sort of spiritual practice. Discernment is critical; therefore, this is NOT a spiritual practice I support as standard part of one’s devotional routine. 

All that being said:

 God is good and He deals graciously with His people where they are at in the moment. In that moment I felt overwhelmed, crushed in spirit and in desperate need of comfort. I needed to know God saw me and understood my situation. I wanted more than anything in the world to believe He was on my side. The Bible fell open to Psalm 35. Psalm 35 is a part of a collection of psalms known as the imprecatory or cursing psalms.  Following are the first eight verses: 

Contend, Lord, with those who contend with me;
Fight against those who fight against me.
Take hold of buckler and shield
And rise up as my help.Draw also the spear and the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me;
Say to my soul, “I am your salvation.”Let those be ashamed and dishonored who seek my life;
Let those be turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me.
Let them be like chaff before the wind,
With the angel of the Lord driving them on.Let their way be dark and slippery,
With the angel of the Lord pursuing them.
For they hid their net for me without cause;
Without cause they dug a pit for my soul.

Let destruction come upon him when he is unaware,
And let the net which he hid catch him;
Let him fall into that very destruction.

I will not lie.

That psalm was a salve to my weary, confused and broken soul. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt I was seen, understood and loved by the God of the universe. At that moment I felt like God got me and He truly cared about the details of my situation. 

However,

It also raised a few questions in my mind. I had read the imprecatory psalms before but never really thought much about what those psalms mean for Christians. Like most Christians I have been taught to forgive, forget, let go of hurt and pain and trust God to deal with things in His way and timing (Romans 12:10, Matthew 6:12, Matthew 18:21-22, Luke 6:37). The whole notion God would be okay with me asking Him to fight for me and bring humiliation on my enemies was a bit appalling even in the state I was in. 

There are a total of twenty imprecatory psalms. The primary purpose of these psalms is to make a an appeal to God for judgment or to call down curses on one’s enemies. The New Testament assumes Christians will have have enemies (Matthew 5:43-44, Luke 19:43). Therefore, imprecatory passages are not unique to the book of Psalms or even the Old Testament. Jesus even quoted two precatory psalms (John 2:17, John 15:25).  Matthew 11:2-24, Matthew 23:33, Matthew 26:24, 1st Corinthians 16:22, Galatians 1:8-9, James 5:1-6 and Revelation 6:10 are all New Testament examples of imprecatory New Testament passages. 

So. Why would the Bible call down curses on people?

These passages have a greater purpose that just calling down curses on the jerks who hurt us. These passages are gift to us. They prove beyond a shadow of a doubt God sees our suffering and pain. There are times when it can feel as if God is AWOL in the most critical of situations. When we are cheated, slandered or hurt by someone and nothing awful happens to the people who harmed us it FEELS as if God is ignoring our situation. The imprecatory passages remind us God SEES everything. There is no act of injustice, unfairness or inequality that is overlooked or ignored by God. The existence of these psalms serve as a much-needed reminder cares about our pain. God cares so much about our pain that He records the tears of the righteous on a scroll and stores their tears in bottles (Psalm 56:8, Isaiah 25:8, Psalm 116:7-9). 

There is a lot of comfort in that knowledge.

Each imprecatory passage reminds us God is not sitting idly by, twiddling His thumbs while terrible people do terrible things. Justice delayed does not mean justice denied. God is the author of justice. When the timing is perfect God will right every wrong and avenge every misdeed (Revelation 20:11-15, Jude 5-7, 2nd Peter 2:4-10). David authored many of imprecatory psalms as he was running from Saul and living as an outlaw. Each one stands as a reminder that God has a way of turning hopeless, painful, awful situations around in His timing. 

Ultimately, I believe the imprecatory passages to give Christians a healthy place to vent our pain to the one who understands it most and is most horrified by it. It’s critical to note, each one of the imprecatory psalms reaches a turning point in the lament where the author moves from cursing his enemies to expressing peace with the situation and faith God will deal with evil-doers appropriately. When read with faith the imprecatory psalms take us to the same place. 

How Does a Christian Make a Difference in a “Day of Evil”?

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is- Ephesians 5:15-17 NIV

How should a Christian live? 

 It’s a critical question serious Christians have been asking themselves and each other since the dawn of the Christian age. It’s also a question I have found myself pondering more frequently and with a greater sense of urgency. Anytime I pray about the times we live in and where we are headed two words come immediately to mind. Every. Single. Time.

Short and evil. 

My gut and all indications point to the reality that the time left may be short and the days we live in are becoming progressively more evil. I don’t know if Jesus is coming back tomorrow, two decades from now, or in a century. I do know we are closer now to Jesus’ return than we have ever been (2nd Timothy 3:1-5, 2nd Peter 3:2-3, Matthew 24). It’s simply a fact that the times we live in are more evil and much stranger than they have been since Jesus left the earth (Acts 1:3-9).    

War in the Middle East, economic turmoil, increased barbarity, sexual chaos,  gender lunacy, ceaseless social skirmishes and political machinations all point to a world in rapid and possibly irretrievable decline. Every square inch of our planet is crying out for the redemption Jesus will bring when He returns and restores all things to their pre-fall condition (Romans 8:18-25). 

Until then we are in a war for the hearts, minds and souls of people (Ephesians 6:12-13). I am convinced in the coming days the church will see a great harvest of souls in the midst of growing evil and increasing social chaos. People will come to know Jesus, lives will be changed and destinies will be rewritten. How we choose to conduct ourselves now and in the coming years will greatly impact our level of usefulness to the Lord (Acts 2:16-18). Because we live in such critical times we have a real opportunity to make our lives matter in a significant way for eternity. But, in order to do that we must wake up every day and choose to:

Live as called people-

The Greek word for church is ekklesia. Ekklesia is a compound word with a prefix and a root. The prefix is ek, meaning “out of”.  The root is a form of the word kaleo meaning “to call”. The word church literally means “called out ones”. Christians are called out people. We are called by Jesus out of our old way of life into a new life in Christ where our primary function is to tell the world about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus (1st Corinthians 5:17, Romans 11:29, Ephesians 4:1, 2nd Thessalonians 1:10-12). The exact particulars of how we fulfill our calling depends on our giftings and the opportunities God gives us (Romans 12:3-8) Our success or failure in the area of calling depends primarily on how we see ourselves and the purpose of our lives. Are we here to gratify our own desires and to live for our own glory? Or are we called out for the purpose of glorifying God and proclaiming His truth? 

Be ready to give an answer- 

The world is growing darker and scarier all the time. Individuals who have never thought much about God find themselves experiencing anxiety over world events and never-ending social upheaval. Many of these individuals are seeking answers from people they never have before. Christians should be ready to use discussions about current events as a jumping off place to talk about Jesus, where all this is headed, faith in Jesus and what will happen to those who refuse to put their faith in Jesus (1st Peter 4:5, 1st Peter 3:15).  God is opening doors for spiritual conversation. It is up to us to make the most of these opportunities (Colossians 4:5-7)

Leave behind pride and selfishness-

Over the course of the last few years a spirit of competitiveness and kingdom building has taken root in the hearts of Christians and Christian leaders. A spirit of unity is missing in churches. This is simply unacceptable (Ephesians 4:1-3, Colossians 3:13-14). There is simply no place for pride, jealously or selfishness in these times (Galatians 5:13-26). There is too much at stake to waste time on such short-term thinking. 

Live filled with the Holy Spirit-

The Greek word Jesus used for the Holy Spirit in the book of John is parakletos. The word means “advocate”, “helper”, “intercessor”, “counselor” and “comforter”.  The Holy Spirit is a gift given at salvation. The Spirit’s purpose is to teach, help, comfort and guide God’s people as they do His will in this world (John 14:26, 1st Peter 1:12, 1st Thessalonians 1:5). Sadly, many Christians ignore or minimize the importance of the Holy Spirit out of fear of “being weird”. Being filled with the Holy Spirit isn’t weird, it’s biblical (Ephesians 5:8-20). All we have to do is ask and God will give us fresh inpouring of the Spirit (Acts 4:23-31, Acts 13:8-10, Ephesians 3:14-19). Being filled with the Spirit daily gives us invaluable access to God’s wisdom, power, knowledge and insight. The Holy Spirit empowers us to live holy lives and do God’s will in our sphere of influence.

And finally, 

Be available. Our availability is what God wants most from His people right now. Be ready and willing to pray for a friend, hold a hand, answer a spiritual question, fill a need and God will use you for His glory.

How Does God use Suffering and Evil to Bring about Good?

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

We celebrate in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also celebrate in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope- Romans 5:2b-4 NASB

Suffering and evil are ubiquitous in this life (John 16:33, 1st Peter 4:12).   Every human irrespective of race, socio-economic status or religious affiliation will suffer in some way during their time on this earth. 

Sigh.

The Bible tells us humans suffer because we live in a world that was broken by sin, rebellion and evil. When Adam and Eve chose to blow off God, go their own way and do their own thing they did way more than become free moral agents. They opened the door wide for sin, evil and suffering to become a key element of the human experience (Genesis 3:1-24). Misery, pain and difficulty have been hard-baked into life ever since. For those who don’t know Jesus, suffering just sucks. Life is a whole lot of pain with no real promise of hope or gain (Ecclesiastes 2:17).  Thankfully, God’s people have hope beyond the hardness of life. God does not cause suffering and evil but He will (if we let Him) use it as a force for good in our lives (Romans 8:28, Romans 8:38-39).  

Here’s how it works:

God uses suffering to take us from one place to another- 

Oftentimes God uses suffering, persecution and trouble to take His people out of a less-than-productive but comfortable spiritual situation into a far less comfortable but much-more-productive spiritual situation.   Such was the case with the early church. The early days of Christianity were in many ways idyllic. The early Christians love for Jesus and each other enabled them to create a beautiful little faith community where everyone was loved and cared for (Acts 2:42-47). Nonetheless, early Christians did little (like no) evangelizing outside of the Jewish community (Acts 2-7).  If it hadn’t been for some really nasty persecution Christianity would likely have remained a small sect of Judaism and it would have likely died out by the end of the first century. The stoning of Stephan and the persecution that followed changed the trajectory of Christianity forever. That awful event forced Christians out of their idyllic existence (Acts 8:1) and as a direct result of their suffering the gospel spread all over the world. If you are a gentile Christian then you have directly benefitted from their hardship. God does the same thing today. Oftentimes, persecution, personal tragedy or job loss is a catalyst for change that brings about a whole new level of spiritual usefulness in our lives.

God uses sinful behavior to reveal spiritual truth to the sinner-

 God does not make people treat other people badly. However, the way people behave reveals a lot about who they really are and what they’re all about. Such was the case with Saul. Saul was rejected by God as King (1st Samuel 15), then over the course of the next ten to fifteen years Saul caused David to suffer horribly by treating him very badly. When it was all said and done everyone (including Saul) knew that he one-hundred-percent deserved to be rejected as King.  God uses bad behavior as mirror to help individuals see their sin. What they do with that knowledge is entirely up to them. The only thing we are responsible for in these situations is our own response. We can respond like David did and allow difficult situations to refine us and prepare us for the next big blessing or we can become just like the jerks who hurt us (Ephesians 4:26, Hebrews 12:15, Ephesians 4:30-31). 

Suffering produces wisdom-

Suffering and hardship cut through the noise of life and makes us aware of all the things that really matter in life.  Suffering, pain and hardship cause us to cry out to God for help and wisdom in a way we don’t in times of prosperity and ease. Anytime we ask God for wisdom two things happen: He gives it in abundance without finding fault and we grow closer to Him (Psalm 57:1-3, James 1:5, Proverbs 2:3-6)

Our suffering has the power to make us like Jesus- 

Suffering is hard. There is literally nothing fun about it. That being said, suffering is what makes us more like Jesus. In fact, suffering even made Jesus better (Hebrews 2:9-10, Hebrews 2:18, Hebrews 5:7-9) Suffering made Jesus more obedient, more able to sympathize with the pain of others, and more able to comfort the hurting (2ndCorinthians 1:5). Ultimately, it was Jesus’ suffering that gave Him glory in His resurrection (Luke 24:25-26, Romans 8:17) If we allow it to, suffering does the same things for us. Suffering has the power to make us better, kinder, and more sympathetic. It also gives us a better resurrection and makes heaven more heavenly (Hebrews 11:35-38, Philippians 3:10-11, Revelation 20:6). 

We control how we respond to suffering.

We can shake our fists at God. We can let our personal pain transform us into harsh, angry, haters. Or we can allow God to take our suffering and transform us into something beautiful and precious. Faith is the key to becoming something beautiful in the midst of hardship. Hebrews eleven tells of those who lived by faith. All suffered. All were confused by their circumstances. Some were flogged and tortured. Some were imprisoned. Some even died for their faith. 

In spite of their circumstances, all the heroes of Hebrews eleven held tenaciously to the belief God is good. God’s assessment of these people is that they were so good and pure and beautiful this world was  literally not worthy of their presence (Hebrews 11:37-38). They trusted God with their suffering and He transformed them into spiritual gold. 

God is still in the business of doing beautiful things with hard situations.

Is it Selfish to have Children?

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

You have set your glory in the heavens.Through the praise of children and infants
    you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger- Psalm 8:1b-2 NIV

In recent weeks I have come across a shocking number articles all with a shared theme. Each one features women and/or men who have either: 

  1. Chosen not to have children. These folks universally feel really awesome about their decision and think everyone should do the same.

Or 

  • Chosen to have children and wish they hadn’t.

These articles are not a once-in-a-blue-moon occurrence. Hardly a day goes by when I don’t see a testimonial from someone who either wishes they had never had children or someone who is thrilled beyond words to be childless. Statistics prove this is not a figment of my fevered imagination. In 2021 the birthrate fell by five percentage points to the lowest in a century. The birthrate continued to drop in 2022. The 2023 birthrate appears to be on track for another drop.

There are a couple of things that trouble me about the “I wish I had never had children articles”.  First, our willingness as a society to allow these articles to be published reveals a disquieting approval of both callous and narcissistic behavior.  I, for one, cannot imagine the deep personal trauma I would have experienced if I had just happened to find an article written by my mother explaining to the world that giving birth to me was her supreme regret in life.

I am not extraordinarily sensitive to feel this way.

In a culture obsessed with personal trauma, one would think there would be an understanding that these feelings (as real and valid as they may be) should never be made public or spoken of within earshot of the child. Period. 

The “kids are terrible” trend is worrisome because, parenthood is an onramp to maturity that causes human beings to think deeply about issues outside themselves. When someone becomes a parent, all of a sudden they begin to think a great deal about how their beliefs, political views, relational interactions and spending habits will affect future generations. I cannot help but wonder: if a majority are no longer having children will most of society stay stuck in a state of perpetual adolescence? Will enough people be capable of thinking about future generations to keep society from spiraling out of control? Seriously. This is real stuff we should think about. 

I get that there are some practical reasons for this trend. 

The economy is terrible. Life is far more expensive than at any point in my lifetime. Many large corporations have become greedy (James 5:4, Malachi 3:5). They are cutting employees and expecting the ones they keep around to work harder and smarter for less money and fewer benefits. Inflation has made it nearly impossible for a family to survive on one income. The cost of housing in many areas makes it difficult to survive on even a “decent” salary. 

Those issues combined with higher societal expectations about what constitutes “being comfortable” and “financial stability” has made childlessness more attractive to many people. Others have delayed marriage to focus on educational and career goals, or because they have struggled to find a suitable partner. all this ignores the reality that there is without question an expiration date on female fertility. Postponing childbearing will mean childlessness for some people. Additionally, people have become much more self-focused. Taking care of the needs of others and acting selflessly are thought to be at best, a bit silly, and at worst a sign of mental illness. Self-care, me-time and cutting toxic people out of our lives are believed to be the apex of good emotional health. Unfortunately, kids (especially young kids) are naturally kind of toxic (Proverbs 24:15, Proverbs 29:15). Furthermore, me-time is in short supply in the early years of childhood. In a civilization where selfishness is thought to be a virtue a falling birthrate is almost inevitable. 

 Then there are the spiritual reasons for this trend. 

Christianity teaches every human life is sacred. Humans, regardless of age, social status or physical health are to be cherished and cared for because human beings are made in the image of God. Without the imago deo life is only sacred if we want it to be sacred.  Without the imago deo all of a sudden “being human” can be a terrible thing. After all, humans are draining, they use resources and sometimes they just kind of suck. This reality makes procreation a selfish act rather than obedience to the command to “be fruitful and increase in number” (Genesis 1:28). As a result, the earth becomes more important than the people on it. One of the weirder consequences of this belief system is the insistence humans do dehumanizing things in order to atone for their humanness. This is one reason why there is a demand for people to live in smaller, less comfortable conditions and eat bugs. Many believe humans are bad. Therefore, humans should be punished for being human.  Humans should live in cramped apartments, never experience the joy of parenthood, feast on creepy-crawlies and be happy about it.

Unfortunately, the anti-kid movement will only worsen the condition of our world. It will make people more selfish, less future focused and increase depression. Christians can help change this trend by celebrating children, making family a priority and flat refusing to jump on the “kids are bad” bandwagon. As we choose to live obediently to Scripture the world will see a quality of life in Christianity that will make them thirst for “The Living Water” (John 4:1-24) and giver of life.