Category: Spiritual Growth

Four Spiritual Lies that Make Trouble for the Church-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

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

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

There are all sorts of reasons for this.

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

Grace means God lowered His standards of behavior- 

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

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

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

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

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

And finally, 

Circumstances excuse wrong behavior- 

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

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

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

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

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

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

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

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

The case was closed in my mind.

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

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

The people around us-

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

Circumstances-  

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

What we see- 

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

The hearts of other people- 

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

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

Six Ways People Grieve the Holy Spirit-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, [c]by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption- Ephesians 4:30 NASB 

Contrary to popular belief the Holy Spirit is not a force, inspiration or an it. 

The Holy Spirit is a He. The Holy Spirit is the third member of the Godhead (the Trinity) along with the Father and Jesus Christ (the son). The Holy Spirit takes up residence in the heart of believers at the moment of their salvation (Acts 2:38, Acts 5:32, Acts 10:45, John 3:16, 1st Corinthians 6:19). He then acts as a seal or a promise of future eternal life (Romans 5:5, Ephesians 1:13). 

The Holy Spirit is more than just a seal or a promise. 

He empowers believers to comprehend God’s word and hear the still-small voice of God (John 16:13-15). He enables Christians to live a holy life and provides Christians with the supernatural wisdom and insight necessary to do God’s will (Acts 1:8, Acts 4:31, Acts 15:28). The Holy Spirit also acts as a guide and helper for all God’s people (Luke 12:12, John 14:26, John 16:7-11). 

 At salvation all believers are on a level-playing field where the Holy Spirit is concerned (Acts 2:38). There aren’t some Christians who get blessed with more of the Holy Spirit’s power and some who get stuck with less. We are all equal, equally loved and equally empowered by the Holy Spirit.  That being said, the Bible commands Christians to be “filled’ with the Holy Spirit (Acts 4:8, Ephesians 5:18). This Scriptural command leads me to conclude that in order to access the power, wisdom and leading of the Holy Spirit we must choose daily to do the things that connect us with God (Acts 5:32). These would include (but are not limited to) prayer, acts of charity and kindness, Bible reading and obedience to God’s commands. If a Christian refuses to connect with God, they have less access to the Holy Spirit’s power and influence. Sadly, some Christians are apathetic about working out their salvation “with fear and trembling” as the Bible commands (Philippians 2:12). This explains why some Christians appear to have more of the Holy Spirit’s power than others. 

The Holy Spirit has feelings.

 He loves, feels joy and can even experience profound grief. Because the Holy Spirit lives in God’s people so Christians can grieve Him (Ephesians 4:30). Anytime a Christian chooses to do something that grieves the Holy Spirit, the power of the Spirit is diminished in their lives. Grieving the Holy Spirit is a big deal, it is something we should avoid at all costs. 

We grieve the Holy Spirit when we:  

Refuse to regulate our emotions and control ourselves- 

In Ephesians 4:30 believers told not to grieve the Holy Spirit. Interestingly, all the verses surrounding verse thirty are about self-control and emotional regulation (Ephesians 4:29-32). This means when we give full vent to our rage, hold a grudge, hate, judge unfairly or pridefully elevate ourselves above other people we not only hurt others we also grieve God.  

Commit sexual sin- 

In a very real sense, Christians literally share their bodies with the God of the universe through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (1st Corinthians 6:19-20). Practically speaking this means anytime we view porn, commit adultery, have sex with someone of the same gender, lust or have sex outside of marriage, we drag the holy, flawless, sinless God of the universe into our immoral antics. God is categorically not a fan of adultery, promiscuity, homosexuality or any type of sexual impurity (Romans 1:18-35, 1st Corinthians 6:9-11) because sexual sin isn’t just about us. It’s also about who we hurt with our choices (1st Thessalonians 4:1-6). Sadly, when we sin sexually, we hurt others as well as the Holy Spirit. This knowledge should stop us cold if we really do have the Spirit of God living in us. 

Lie- 

God hates lying with such a passion He excludes habitual liars from the kingdom of heaven (1st Timothy 1:9-11, Revelation 21:8). Lying grieves the Holy Spirit because God is truth, there is no falsehood in Him (Numbers 23:19, Titus 1:2). When a Christian lies, they do not reflect God accurately to the world because they are doing something God would never do (2nd Corinthians 5:20).  It’s literally our mission to show the world who God really is (1stPeter 2:9, Ephesians 5:1-33). When we lie, we fail to do what were made for. 

Are guided by a desire to self-promote-  

Selfish ambition happens when a Christian uses a platform or gift (church, music, influence) that is upheld as Christian to promote themselves and gain a following. The Holy Spirit hates selfish ambition (Philippians 2:23, James 3:16), mostly because it’s a crafty form of pride. It causes the believer to think (and look like) they are serving God when they are really seeking to glorify themselves as they participate in a super foul form of idolatry (self-worship). 

Refuse to forgive-

Anytime a believer behaves in a way that is in conflict with God’s character they grieve the Holy Spirit. No where is this truer than in the area of forgiveness. God freely forgives the foulest sinner. All the sinner has to do is ask and mean it enough to repent (Psalm 103:2-4, Acts 13:38). Practically speaking, this means we are never more like God than when we choose to forgive someone who clearly does not deserve to be forgiven (Colossians 3:13). Conversely, we are never more out of step with the Holy Spirit than when we hold onto animosity, unforgiveness and resentment (Matthew 6:15). 

And finally:

We grieve the Holy Spirit when we say “no” to God’s agenda for our lives-

The fast track to grieving the Holy Spirit is to refuse God (Hebrews 11:25). We refuse God by saying “no” to His will for lives. There are two ways to refuse God. We refuse God when we willfully decline to do anything He tells us to do in the Bible (1st Samuel 15:22). We also refuse God when we ignore the still small voice urging us to do good and bless others. Conversely, we bring joy to the heart Holy Spirit when we love others well, forgive freely and embrace the calling to glorify God with our lives. 

The Real Reasons Christians Don’t Grow-

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven- Matthew 18:3 NASB

Transformation and growth are non-negotiables of the Christian life. Christians are saved by faith for the sole purpose of being transformed into the image of Jesus (Romans 3:20, Ephesians 2:8-9). Passages like Romans 12:1-2, 2nd Peter 1:3-11, 2nd Corinthians 3:18, 2nd Corinthians 5:17 and Colossians 3:5 all drive home the notion that Christians are to relentlessly seek Christlikeness in their daily lives. 

Here’s the thing though:

According to Pew Research, sixty-three percent of self-identified Christians only attend Church once or twice a month. Only a third routinely read Scripture. More than half strongly support same-sex marriage. Nearly half (47%) believe there are no clear standards of right and wrong and over half (53%) believe abortion should be legal all or most of the time.  I do not believe Christians get the Christian life figured out and become perfectly obedient to Jesus instantaneously. I suspect many of the people interviewed by Pew are on a trajectory of growth that will eventually lead to greater obedience.  Nonetheless, the above statistics strongly suggest a large number of Christians do not grow or transform post salvation. 

The consequences of refusing to transform or neglecting to grow are spiritually catastrophic. Those who don’t grow are frequently led astray by false teachers and bad doctrine (1st Timothy 4:1). Declining to grow and change leaves believers with a feeble faith that is unlikely to go the distance or be passed on to others (Matthew 13:20-21, Hebrews 5:12, 1st Peter 3:15). Without intentional growth no one will ever reach a level of maturity that allows them to minister to others effectively because you can’t lead where you don’t go (Matthew 5:16). Perhaps the most alarming consequence of a lack of transformation is the reality that maturity and obedience in this life impacts what a person does or does not do in heaven (Matthew 25:14-30, Romans 8:17). The bottom line is without growth and transformation, Christians miss out on all the blessings we were redeemed for. 

Yikes. 

All the above realities are tragic. They are also one-hundred-percent preventable. However, in order to avoid those realities, it’s critical we un understand why Christians don’t grow and transform.  Once we understand the reasons, it’s easy to make changes that move us closer to God and fast-track our growth and transformation. 

The top four reasons we don’t grow are as follows: 

We don’t want to- 

Spiritual growth is tough. If we want to grow, we must submit every part of our life to the will of God. Unfortunately for us, God’s will always involves leaving behind our sin and selfishness (Genesis 4:7, Matthew 5:29-30, John 8:11, Acts 3:19). Sometimes people who claim to love Jesus also love their sin. A lot. If a Christian loves their sin more than they love Jesus, transformation becomes super problematic. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit was given to enable believers to overcome sin and fulfill their calling as Jesus followers (John 14:26, Acts 2:38). Growth begins with a gut level desire to please God. If that is lacking remember that praying fervently for a desire to please God is a prayer God is REALLY inclined to answer. 

We never get at the root or reason for our behavior- 

People rarely do what they do without a reason, this is especially true when it comes to sin. When an individual lies it’s not usually because they enjoy deceiving people. There’s almost always a deeper reason. Maybe, they don’t understand their value in Christ, and they feel bad about themselves. So, they present themselves as more significant or accomplished than they are. Or perhaps, they are caught up in another sin that demands they lie in order to keep the sin under the radar. The fact that there may be a deeper reason for sin doesn’t make the sin acceptable. Sin is sin. That said, understanding what’s going on inside us can help us to change our behavior. Knowledge really is power when it is coupled with a desire to transform. 

We only deal with the surface issue-

Sin is always a problem. However, the biggest problem with sin isn’t the sin it’s the heart that produces the sin (Matthew 12:34, Matthew 15:18-20, Acts 8:20-22). Outward behavior (sin) is just the expression of an inward (heart) problem. People don’t commit adultery because there are too many scantily clad people in the world. They commit adultery because they have never dealt with their lust issue or their need for attention from the opposite sex issue.  Adultery is a sin but it’s also a symptom of bigger issues. Unless the heart problem is dealt with the sin will continue to creep up anytime, we feel weak, stressed or threatened. The solution to the heart problem is taking every sinful feeling and desire we have to God in prayer (2nd Corinthians 10:5) then refusing to feed any and all sinful desires we have (1st Corinthians 9:7). In order to change our hearts deepest desires, we must examine ourselves often, feed ourselves biblical truth, surround ourselves with godly people and avoid godless entertainment that normalizes wrong behavior (Proverbs 1:5, Proverbs 13:20, Proverbs 19:20, 1st Corinthians 15:33, 1st Timothy 4:11-16). 

And finally:

We give up before we get to the good part- 

Becoming fully obedient to God is a life-long process. Sanctification (becoming obedient to God) can be challenging, especially in the beginning of our faith journey. That being said, choosing growth and transformation brings a level of joy, peace and personal happiness that is almost indescribable. We just have to let the process play out to get to the good part. 

Four Clear Indicators a Christian is Walking in the Light-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven- Matthew 5:16 NASB

Okay, so, true confession time: 

 I know (and believe with all my heart) that all Scripture is good, useful and instructive (1st Timothy 3:16). Consequently, I believe everyone should read the Bible, all of it, not just the parts that give us good feels. Nonetheless, I am human and sadly there are books of the Bible I tend to avoid for devotional reading. Some of them make sense. Numbers is kind of depressing as is most of Judges.  I tend to avoid them both. The minor prophets involve a lot of thinking, because you have to know (and in my case remember) a lot of biblical history in order to understand them. Leviticus is well, Leviticus.  No one really likes Leviticus. 

However, some of the books I tend to avoid make a lot less sense. I think some of it comes down to writing style. 1stJohn is one of the books I tend to avoid. The Apostle John was definitely one of Jesus’ besties. He was also a VERY wordy guy, and I tend to gravitate towards a more abbreviated style of writing. 

Nonetheless, I recently felt compelled by the Holy Spirit to spend some quality time in the book of 1st John.  It has been incredibly gratifying. This little book is packed with wisdom, DEEP theology and some warnings that are especially relevant to our time. 

John begins his letter by stating in a very lovely but wordy kind of a way that Jesus is “life”. This means anyone who is “in Jesus” (2nd Corinthians 5:17, Romans 6:11, Romans 6:23) will experience the earthly joy and honor of becoming partakers of God’s divine nature (2nd Peter 1:4) and a life of bliss and fellowship with God forever (1stCorinthians 2:9). Then John describes both Jesus and the Father as “light”. This means God is a being that has no darkness, evil or sin in Him. He describes our relationship to the God of light in this way:

This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth- 1stJohn 1:5-7

 John makes it clear that a person can know, beyond a shadow of a doubt whether or not they are “in the light” or fumbling around in spiritual and moral darkness. Walking in the light means we are walking in holiness, love and truth. 

So, how do we know if we are walking in the light? There are four markers that clearly indicate a Christian is walking in the light and in fellowship with the God of light. They are:

Walking in the light means we love other Christians- 

John makes it clear that one direct measure of one’s spiritual maturity is their love for other Christians (1st John 2:9-11, John 13:34-35, John 15:11-13, Romans 12:10, Galatians 5:13). Unfortunately, many Christians either flat-out ignore this command and make a regular practice of publicly saying unkind things about fellow believers or they love other Christians in a manner that is not really scriptural.  Christian love should never devolve into a sappy sentimental kind of emotionalism that celebrates walking in sin or immaturity. Genuine Christian love receives people as they are but loves them enough to help them grow and transform into someone infinitely better and more holy (1st Corinthians 13, 1st Peter 2:2, 2nd Peter 1:3-11, Ephesians 4:17-32). Christian love is always all about wanting the moral and spiritual best for everyone. 

Walking in the light means we are real about who we are-  

A genuine believer in Jesus does not pretend to be perfect or without sin (1st John 1:8). Nor do they lecture others on the importance of transparency and holiness while they sin their faces off. Genuine Christians are real about their own struggles and never hide their sin. An individual who is walking in the light makes a regular practice of confessing their sin to God and to other Christians (Acts 19:17-19, James 5:16, 1st John 1:9).  

Walking in the light means we hate our own sin- 

Sin is one of the primary themes of 1st John. John’s aim is to answer the question: Can a born-again believer sin? His answer is a qualified “yes”. John is clear a Christian can sin, but he also makes it clear it’s abnormal for them to choose a life of sin and/or deceit (1st John 3:4-10). If a Christian sins, Jesus will advocate (help, root for, defend) for them and forgive their sin (1st John 1:7-10, John 2:1-2). HOWEVER, John also makes it clear that our eagerness (or lack of eagerness) to obey God’s commands is a powerful indicator of our salvation, or lack thereof (1st John 2:3-6).   

And finally, 

Walking in the light means we want light-  

According to the Apostle the Christian faith is a series of progressive moves towards more holiness, more righteousness and more truth. This means that if we are walking in the light, we will have a voracious appetite for even more light. Anyone who wants more light goes to great lengths to deal with the sin in their lives and love others with greater fervency all the time (1st John 4:7). 

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

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

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

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

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

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

What? 

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

It’s all about trust. 

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

Making an Ishmael-

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

Fear- 

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

A bitter root-

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

And finally, we must make sure:

We don’t miss the end goal- 

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

How to Best Love a Prodigal-

Lisa M. Price2 Comments

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

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

Like I said, it’s complex and messy.

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

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

We love a prodigal when we:

Understand the spiritual reality behind the child’s choice-

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

Choose restraint-

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

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

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

Pray for them-

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

And finally, 

Keep growing- 

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

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

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

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

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

Among the worst of the worst was Ahaz. 

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

Ahaz was nothing like his dad.  

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

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

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

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

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

His response proves my point: 

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

You read that right. 

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

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

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

 I have an Ahaz side to me. 

We all do. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

How we Maximize our Spiritual Potential-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. All that you do must be done in love- 1st Corinthians 16:13-14 NASB

Every believer in Jesus is literally bursting with all sorts of spiritual potential.  

It’s true.

Even those who don’t think they have it, have it. Spiritual potential is a fundamental component of the salvation starter package all Christian receive (Romans 10:9-11, Ephesians 1:13-14).  Therefore, anyone who yields their life to the Lordship of Jesus is blessed with gifts, talents and opportunities to use their gifts and talents to glorify God. We glorify God and maximize our spiritual potential by building the Kingdom of God and becoming more like Jesus in word and deed (Romans 12:2-8, 1st Corinthians 12:4-31, Hebrews 2:4). 

However. 

Spiritual potential can be maximized as well as squandered (Matthew 25:14-30). There are those who make the most of their potential for a season and get tripped up by sin or selfishness or just garden-variety idiocy (Matthew 13:3-9, Mark 7:21-23, Galatians 5:7, Ephesians 4:26-28). Others use their giftedness for their own gain. Some lack the moral discipline necessary to become spiritually stable and never really grow enough to maximize their potential (Judges 13-16).

Mercifully, all those outcomes are completely preventable. 

The Holy Spirit is our helper and guide (John 14:26). Therefore, we have everything we need to make a positive difference in this world. Maximizing our spiritual potential means always keeping a healthy fear of the Lord in mind all the time (Psalm 25:14, Proverbs 1:7, Philippians 2:12). We work out our salvation by being intentional about what we do and don’t do (Ephesians 5:14-16). If we live prudently, we will successfully squeeze out every drop of spiritual potential and be greeted with “well done good and faithful servant” when we see Jesus for the first time (Matthew 25:21). Spiritual success begins with:

Making Jesus our center-

Jesus cannot simply be an accessory or an add on if we want to maximize our potential. Jesus must be central to everything we do (Psalm 22:23, Matthew 5:16, Romans 15:5-7). He must be the truth that we declare everywhere we go and the one that we ultimately aim to please. God has given us all a mission field. Therefore, if you’re a stay-at-home mom, make God known to the other stay at home moms. If you’re a doctor or a dentist or a whatever God called you to be, make sure the people in your sphere of influence know who you serve and why.  

Refusing to circle the temptation- 

Nothing wastes spiritual potential faster than foolishly allowing a temptation to morph into a sin. Everyone has a sin that is uniquely appealing to them. These inclinations used to be called “besetting sins” or “ruling passions”. Besetting sins are the behaviors and attitudes we tend to go back to and struggle to let go of. For some it’s a longing to numb out with alcohol, food or drugs (Ephesians 5:18). For others it’s an unhealthy desire to be admired that results in conforming to the world system to make friends and keep the peace (Romans 12:2, Proverbs 29:25, John 12:43). For still others, it’s greed, self-centeredness (Ephesians 5:5) or lying (Colossians 3:9, James 3:13-15). For many the temptation is sexual in nature (1st Corinthians 6:9-11). One key to dealing with a besetting sin is to stay as far away from the sin or temptation as possible. Unfortunately, if we are not walking in the fear of the Lord, we will do the exact opposite (Galatians 5:16). We will try to get as close to the sin as we can without actually committing the sin. We will circle the temptation. We will look at it, touch it and think about how good it would feel to indulge ourselves. Circling the temptation inevitably leads to sin. The answer is to NEVER circle the sin. 

And finally,

Integrity is key-

Integrity is about more than simply doing the right thing when no one is looking, although that aspect of integrity cannot be understated. Every Christian should make a practice of examining their lives daily for obvious and not so obvious behavioral inconsistencies (2nd Corinthians 13:5). That said, ultimately integrity is about more than being good. It’s about owning our junk and admitting wrong when we get it wrong.  I am convinced most of the people in the Bible who encountered ugly longterm consequences for their sin (Saul, Nebuchadnezzar, Judas) were not punished for so much for the sin itself but more for their unwillingness to admit wrong and repent when God confronted them with the reality of their sin. One aspect of integrity is letting go of our pride.   Pride is a super bad, super ugly sin because it makes us too conceited to admit wrong, apologize for our errors and repent (Acts 3:19). Pride has a blinding effect; it makes us both unable to see our sin and unwilling to humble ourselves enough to own it.  Everybody fails. It just happens, having the humility to own our failure (Proverbs 29:23) ensures our missteps become steppingstones to growth and maturity. If we combine the humility that comes with true integrity, holiness and a commitment to making Jesus our center we will become spiritually unstoppable and make the most of every once of potential God has given us.

How to Prove Oneself a Fool-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

 Listen to advice and accept discipline, So that you may be wise the rest of your days- Proverbs 19:20 NASB

A friend and I have been reading through the book of Proverbs. Less than halfway through the book it is becoming painfully obvious that God has set a dividing line between the foolish and the wise. God calls His people to live a life of wisdom (Proverbs 4:5-7, James 1:5). He makes it clear in His word that only a fool refuses to listen to advice or receive correction (Proverbs 1:7 Proverbs 12:1, Proverbs 12:15, Proverbs 15:5).

It could be argued that there are a lot of fools in our culture.

 If I were looking for the most efficient way to get “cancelled” by the largest number of people or for the fast track to becoming a social pariah I would just offer advice and correction to everyone I met whether they asked for it or not. Even if the advice I gave was good (and it would be), no one would like me. There is simply no easier way to offend the average person in our culture than to offer unsolicited advice or correction. 

Nobody likes it. 

However, just because the average person dislikes something does not mean it’s necessarily wrong or bad. Listening to advice and hearing correction is a little bit like eating fruits and vegetables. It’s not the most enjoyable thing in the world and most folks would prefer to do something else or eat something else. It is true that an individual CAN go their whole adult life without listening to advice or eating vegetables. Nonetheless, sooner or later those choices will catch up to them (and their colon) in profoundly unpleasant ways. 

 I am not suggesting anyone should blindly FOLLOW every bit of advice they are given or agree with and then act on every word of correction they receive. Well-meaning people sometimes correct without knowing all the facts and people are wrong about all sorts of things. Moreover, some advice is just plain bad. To sort through this issue, we must understand the differences between following advice and listening to advice. Listening to advice is just a willingness to hear someone out.  It’s not a commitment to anything. It’s choosing to evaluate what we hear from others. Following advice is doing what we are told.  Listening to advice is a sign of wisdom and maturity. No one should blindly follow advice without taking some time to think and pray through what’s been said. 

God gave us brains. He expects them to be used. 

 All that being said, there are some serious consequences to living life on the wrong side of God’s divide. Some of those are:

We end up avoiding wise people-  

If we avoid advice, it will not be long before we are surrounded by fools or evil people who cheerfully tell us exactly what we want to hear. Truly wise people just kind of radiate wisdom. They can’t help it. To fools and those who are not accustomed to hearing wisdom spoken, wisdom sometimes sounds like an awful lot like advice even if the person speaking is not intending to give advice. If wise counsel annoys us, we will naturally steer clear of wise people (Proverbs 9:8-9). This is a huge problem because the Bible is very clear: we become like the people we spend time with (Proverbs 13:20, 1st Corinthians 15:33). 

We prove ourselves stupid- 

It is a rare thing for a stranger to attempt to correct a person. Correction is typically only offered by those who care most about our future happiness and success.  The consequences of refusing to at least hear out those who lovingly attempt to set us on a wiser path is that we prove ourselves to be hopelessly stupid (Proverbs 12:1, Ecclesiastes 10:3). 

We invite death into our lives-  

Refusing to hear advice or correction is just refusing an opportunity to gain wisdom (Proverbs 10:8) and snubbing wisdom is taking the fast track to death of one kind or another (Psalm 38:5, Proverbs 2, Proverbs 8:33-36, Proverbs 11:19, Proverbs 14:12). Sometimes the death that results in refusing wisdom is spiritual death, the death of opportunities or the death of relationships (Proverbs 14:1). Other times refusing wisdom results in actual death death. The easiest way to avoid the death of anything good in our lives is to love wisdom (Proverbs 12:28). One critical aspect of loving wisdom is hearing advice and evaluating any correction we are given. 

We stunt our growth-

Wisdom is the key to growth. It’s the key not just to spiritual growth but also all healthy growth in all areas of our lives. We cannot grow relationally, spiritually or in any other way without wisdom. Wisdom often comes through advice given by people (1st Corinthians 3:6-7). Anytime we willfully spurn correction or refuse to listen to wise counsel, we pretty much guarantee we will remain immature and ignorant in every area of our lives (1st Peter 2:2). 

And finally, 

We refuse Jesus-

Jesus is more than just the creator of the world or our savior and Lord. He is also the manifestation of all the wisdom in the universe (Luke 2:40, Colossians 2:1-3, 1st Corinthians 1:30, 1st Corinthians 2:6-8). Oftentimes Jesus speaks His wisdom through His people. Refusing to at least evaluate the wisdom other Christians have to offer is a form of refusing God when He speaks (Hebrews 12:25). However, making the choice to hear people out is a fast track to flourishing (Psalm 92:12-15).