Tag: God

How does one Christian Protect the Faith of Another?

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples: if you have love for one another- John 13:34-35 NASB

This week as I was reading through Matthew eighteen, I came across a statement Jesus made that no one really likes to talk about. Mostly, because no one really likes to think about what it really means:

Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to the person through whom the stumbling block comes! Matthew 18:7

Contextually this verse is a part of a greater statement Jesus made about the faith of children. Because this verse (on the surface at least) appears to be ONLY about children it is rarely given the consideration it probably deserves. 

I suspect Jesus wants us to apply a broader brush.

Matthew eighteen is not just about the faith of “children” because Jesus says that all people must become “as children” in order to enter the Kingdom of God. So, when Jesus talks about people causing other people to stumble, I believe we should assume He is giving a general warning about how we conduct ourselves as Christians (Luke 17:1, Romans 14:13, 1st Corinthians 8:9). 

HOWEVER.

We should all assume that causing a child to sin, whether they love Jesus—or not— is a particularly outrageous form of wickedness that genuine Christians will avoid like the literal plaque. Seriously. 

But I digress. 

Jesus’ warning begs a couple of questions: 

What is a stumbling block? 

How does one person cause another to stumble? 

Inquiring minds want to know, because inquiring minds recognize this issue is obviously a VERY big deal to Jesus.  A stumbling block is something one person does that causes another person to doubt the goodness of God or causes them to think it’s okay to do something that is unwise or even wrong. When we avoid certain attitudes and behaviors we protect the faith of those around us and we avoid becoming a stumbling block. Ultimately, it’s all about loving people well and avoiding the following:

Grumbling- 

I’m will not belabor this point, mostly because I wrote in-depth about grumbling just last week. Nevertheless, there are things that bear repeating. This is one of them. Grumbling, and its ugly counterparts (complaining, fault-finding, lack of gratitude) are contagious and can easily cause those weaker in the faith to stumble especially when the grumbling is focused on other Christians and/or Christian leaders.

Refusing to Grow-

Paul describes the church as a body where all the members are connected to one another. Not only that— we need one another (1st Corinthians 12:12-26). One way this works is through older Christians modeling the path of spiritual maturity to younger (or newer) believers (Titus 2:1-5). Anytime a believer refuses to grow and mature in Christ (Colossians 3, 2nd Peter 1:3-11) they hurt themselves and all the younger and/or less mature Christians who need to their positive example to aid in their own growth. 

Demanding perfection from others-

Nothing is more discouraging or sure to create a stumbling block with a new believer than an older believer who lacks patience and grace (1st Corinthians 13:4, 1st Thessalonians 5:14). New believers are a little bit like children (3rd John 1:4). Children are by their very nature messy, they make a lot of mistakes and sometimes they create chaos (1st Corinthians 13:11, 1st John 2:1-2).  Actual children and spiritual children need the big people around them to love them well and patiently lead them towards adulthood. They do not need people to make them feel like failures when they miss the mark. 

Being flippant about our Christian freedom-

Contrary to popular belief, Christian freedom is not about getting away with as much stuff as we can without getting sideways with God. True Christian freedom is about having a clear conscience and the spiritual power/moral fortitude to do what’s right (Galatians 5:1). When we use grace and/or Christian freedom as an excuse to walk as close to sin as possible we quickly become a stumbling block to others, especially those who are newer to the faith or who have a delicate conscience (1st Corinthians 8:9, Galatians 5:13, 1st Peter 2:1).

 Never getting around to the repentance part- 

Repentance is central to the Christian faith (Matthew 3:2-8, Luke 13:3, Acts 3:19, 2nd Corinthians 7:10, Revelation 2:5). However, many Christians lack a solid theology of repentance. We must understand that true repentance is not simply about changing our behavior. Repentance is about aligning our thinking about every issue under the sun to God’s way of thinking. When we think the way God thinks our behavior inevitably comes into line with God’s will (Romans 12:1-2) 

And finally, we become a stumbling block when we let people’s problems or issues in life keep us from investing in them or loving them well. Christians are called to be as much like Jesus as possible. Jesus was the ultimate investor in people. He was willing to die (the biggest investment one can make) so that we could have forgiveness for sin, a clear conscience, eternal life and relationship with God. We are most like Jesus when we are willing to look past a person’s problems and love them anyway. Love like that means we never become a stumbling block to anyone (1st Peter 4:8).

The Trouble with the Grumblies-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life- Philippians 2:14-15 NIV

I recently began reading a fictional story about the Exodus. 

The story is written from the point of view of Aaron (Moses’ older brother and the first High Priest). The writer (Francine Rivers) focuses on what Aaron may have felt or thought. It (almost) goes without saying that no one could actually know what Aaron (or any other dead person) thought or felt.  Therefore, like all fictional stories about the Bible, it should be read with a healthy measure of discernment and not be given the same credibility or authority as the biblical account.  

That little disclaimer out of the way.

I am enjoying the story. It’s made me think more deeply about a biblical account that truth-be-told has never been one of my favorites. 

The story itself is a great story. After generations of brutal slavery in Egypt (Exodus 1:8-13). God chose Moses to liberate the decedents of Abaraham, Isaac and Jacob. God sent a series of plagues to mock the Egyptian gods and punish the daylights out of Pharaoh for his sin and stubborn refusal free God’s people (Exodus 5-12). God worked things out in such a way that when the Hebrews departed Egypt their oppressors gave them gifts that more-or-less set them up to begin their new life. As they were leaving God parted the Red Sea to allow the Hebrews pass through while the Egyptians who reneged on their promise to let the Hebrews go were drowned (Exodus 14). Then God miraculously provided for the Hebrews physical needs by sending them honey-flavored wafers each morning (Exodus 16). God also sent a cloud by day and pillar of fire by night to guide them exactly where they needed to go (Exodus 13:21-22). 

It’s good stuff. Until its not. 

The bad news is that it took the Hebrews approximately fifteen minutes to totally forget every good thing God had ever done for them. Rather than expressing gratitude, wonder and awe at God’s miraculous provision and care the people got a nasty case of the grumblies and found fault with everything God did and provided.

It’s super gross.

 In its most basic form grumbling is complaining. However, grumbling never ends with a bit of belly aching. It always includes ungratefulness and finding fault with God and others (especially leaders) (Romans 1:21). 

Grumbling is bad.  

Grumbling and the nasty things that go along with it (fault finding and ingratitude) were the reasons God let the Hebrews wander in the desert like a bunch of fools until the entire generation died (Numbers 14:28-34). Grumbling was at the root of every unpleasant consequence the Hebrews experienced throughout Exodus and Numbers. Unfortunately, grumbling is not strictly an Old Testament problem (John 6:43-66, Jude 1:16, 1st Peter 4:9). Sometimes people see grumbling as “discernment” or “an awareness of issues”. The difference is that discernment always sees a solution whereas grumbling faithlessly focuses on the negative.  Grumbling and fault finding are sins anyone can fall into, sometimes without knowing it. Following are just a few reasons to be on the lookout for the sin of grumbling in our lives:

Grumbling transforms our hearts-

Grumbling inevitably transforms people into an awful version of themselves. Once a person starts down the path of grumbling and faultfinding their heart undergoes a profound and ugly change. They become blind to the good and their complaints (even if they are groundless) begin to feel reasonable and even wise. Grumbling always leads to a profound lack of self-awareness in ourselves.

Grumbling is indicative of bigger problems-

Grumbling is typically the fruit of a heart that has either lost connection with God or never had it (Matthew 7:17-19, Matthew 12:33). Consequently, grumbling is always a sign of underlying sins like pride, bitterness, jealousy, selfish ambition and thanklessness (Psalm 31:18, James 3:14-16)

Grumbling destroys families, churches and friendships – 

Unhappy families, dysfunctional churches and fractured friendships always have one thing in common: at least one grumbler. Grumblers never keep their feelings or opinions to themselves. Nor do they work out the problems they have with people in a healthy way. Instead, they gossip, backbite and nurture their anger until it hardens into bitterness (Hebrews 12:15). This inevitably produces division and strife. Division and strife lead to broken relationships, fractured families and split churches (Acts 8:23, Galatians 5:15, 2nd Corinthains 12:20, Ephesians 4:31, Proverbs 16:28). 

Grumblers have issues with authority-

One way to know if you (or someone else) is a grumbler is to take a hard look at how you/they respond to authority. A grumbler almost always develops an issue with the authority if not right away, over time. Grumblers long for control, therefore, they struggle with authority. They want the final word, and they struggle to submit to anyone—even God. 

Yikes. 

Here’s the thing:

Grumbling is bad. Really bad. Nonetheless, it’s not hard to prevent grumbling or even to stop it once it starts. Loving God through a daily practice of worship, praise and thankfulness is the antidote to grumbling, fault finding and lack of appreciation for our blessings. If we combine praise and gratitude with a commitment to dealing with issues quickly and forgiving others from the heart, we are guaranteed to keep the grumblies at bay. 

Some Encouragement from the most Unlikeliest of Bible Stories-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

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

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

Sigh. 

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

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

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

Not cool.

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

Here’s the thing:

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

Instead. They lost. BIG TIME.

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

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

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

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

So.

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

It literally makes no sense. 

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

That being said. 

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

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

No. 

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

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

How we Position Ourselves to Receive God’s Blessing-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you- Hosea 10:12

The dictionary defines blessing as:

The act of blessing someone or something or a thing that is conducive to happiness or personal welfare. 

Most Christians (as well as many non-Christians and nominal Christians) would define blessing as a God-centered blend of both definitions. A blessing (in the Christian sense of the word) is when God moves on our behalf in a manner that brings greater personal happiness or benefit to our lives.

Okay, so I feel the need to give a little disclaimer before digging into today’s topic, so here goes:

We live in a fallen world. Nowhere in the Bible are blessings guaranteed to anyone (Hebrews 11:1-39).  It’s simply a fact that many (most) of God’s best and brightest walked through some incredibly difficult and trying situations, some received tangible blessings in this life others in heaven (Naomi, David, Daniel, Esther, Peter, Paul, Jesus). There is no guaranteed blueprint for obtaining God’s blessing and favor Nonetheless, we can live life in such a way that we position ourselves to walk in the blessings of God.

With that out of the way, I will return to our topic J

 Basically, there are two types of blessing in the Bible: conditional and unconditional. An unconditional blessing is a blessing everyone gets just for showing up. Life is a blessing; air is a blessing, sunshine and rain fall on both the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45). Therefore, sunshine and rain are unconditional blessings. 

 Most blessings fall into the conditional category.

Eternal life is a relevant example. Literally, anyone can receive the blessing of eternal life (John 3:16, Romans 6:23, Acts 2:21). However, to receive the blessing of eternal life one must accept God’s terms and conditions (faith in Jesus, repentance). Those are conditions (Acts 3:19, Acts 20:21, Romans 2:6-10, 1st John 5:11-12). The same is true for nearly every blessing found in the Bible. The following choices do not guarantee our life will always be easy and stress free (this is not heaven). These choices do position us to receive blessing and favor. 

It all starts with:

Believing in God- 

Positioning ourselves for blessing always begins with believing that God is (Hebrews 11:6, getting to know God and choosing to walk with Him in our day-to-day lives (Genesis 5:21, Genesis 6:9, Micah 6:8). A big part of walking with God is obeying Him. The Greek word for believe in the New Testament can also be a synonym for obey. If we really believe in God, we will make a real and resolute effort to obey Him. 

Living a life of honesty- 

God thoughtfully gave us a short list of the things He hates (Proverbs 6:16-19).  Lying makes the list twice. The only exception to the “no lies rule” is lying to save a life (Exodus 1:15-20, Joshua 2:1-14). Other than that one notable exception, God demands honesty from His people.  Lying, shading the truth and play-acting at being something or someone you are not (a hypocrite) is the fast-track to a life devoid of God’s blessing and favor (Proverbs 19:5, Psalm 26:4, Matthew 23:1-23). Conversely, a life of honesty and transparency positions us to receive God’s blessing and favor (Proverbs 11:3, Proverbs 12:22, Psalm 15:1-5, 1st Peter 3:10). 

Choosing humility- 

Jealousy, selfish ambition and vain conceit are all either a form of pride or a natural consequence of pride.  God hates pride. (Proverbs 6:16, Proverbs 16:18, 1st John 2:16).  Prideful people will not take advice, as a result they don’t grow or learn (Proverbs 1:1-33, Proverbs 11:4, Proverbs 12:1, Galatians 6:3). Furthermore, prideful people put themselves and their desires above the needs of others (Philippians 2:3-4). This creates all sorts of chaos and pain for everyone (Proverbs 13:10). Humility on the other hand is thinking about ourselves less and others more. Humble people know they don’t know everything, so they are curious about how others think and do life, this naturally leads to wisdom and care for others. God loves to bless the humble (James 4:10, 1st Peter 3:8-9, 1st Peter 5:5-6)

Doing good- 

God loves those who choose to do good to the best of their ability (Proverbs 2:7-8). Doing good does not guarantee blessing but it certainly sets us up for it. 

Living a life of wisdom- 

The Bible instructs people to live wisely, according to God’s precepts (Psalm 51:6, Psalm 111:10, Proverbs 2:1-6, Proverbs 6:6, Proverbs 10:8). When we don’t live wisely, life gets messy, and blessings become scarce (Psalm 10:4, Proverbs 12:4, Romans 1:21-23). Too often people make unwise choices and then become bitter when they fail to receive God’s blessing. Here’s an example, let’s say Joe or Jane Christian is praying for a godly spouse, but Joe or Jane spends the bulk of their time with non-Christians doing all sorts of non-Christiany things. Joe and Jane go to bars and pot shops trolling for dates. They rarely attend church. Eventually they meet a special someone who claims to be a Christian. This special someone rarely attends church.  During their premarital counseling they were told by the Pastor to wait to get married. They disregarded his counsel. They get married and it’s a disaster. PLEASE, for the love of all that’s good and decent, don’t misunderstand this point: I feel deep compassion for anyone trapped in a bad marriage or any other ugly and unfortunate situation. I have certainly made my fair share of stupid choices and have no room to judge. The point here is not to shame anyone but to encourage wisdom in the way we live, because wisdom invites blessing. 

There is nothing wrong with wanting God’s blessing and favor as long as we want God at least as much as we want what He can bless us with. 

How We Cultivate a Good Heart-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

 As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart– Proverbs 27:19 NIV

The heart. It’s the biggest of deals. 

the Bible teaches that the human “heart” is more than just an organ in our body. It is who we really are. It is the source of all our thoughts, feelings, actions and words (Proverbs 4:27, James 3:14). Because it is the source of so many critical aspects of our character, it is ultimately the determiner of our path in life. If our heart is good and pure, our choices and actions will be (for the most part) honoring to God, good for us and life-giving to those we love. Conversely, those with a sinful, prideful, unbelieving or hard heart are incapable of submitting their lives to God in a meaningful way, no matter how much they SAY they want to do good and honor God (1st Samuel 24:13, Matthew 15:8, Matthew 15:17-19, Proverbs 21:4, Proverbs 19:3). 

The Bible teaches we have a measure of control over the spiritual state of our own heart and the choices we make (Psalm 73:1, Matthew 5:8, 1st Timothy 1:5, 2nd Timothy 2:22, Hebrews 10:22). This is in direct contrast to the worldly belief that our choices (good or bad) are due to how we have been treated or are a result of trauma we have experienced. The Bible holds adults accountable for the choices they make because those choices are a direct result of the state of their heart, not the fault of other people. Wise Christians monitor, protect and deal with the condition of their heart because they understand it is one of the primary tasks of the spiritual growth process (Luke 21:34, Philippians 4:6-8). If one fails at this critical task they will be unable to live the Christian life with any degree of real success.

Sigh. 

No one wants that.

We cultivate a heart that pleases God by making a commitment to the following five action steps.

Taking our spiritual temperature often-  

Our life is full of indicators that reveal the state of our heart. Ww ought to ask ourselves the following questions on a regular basis: What is my go-to for entertainment? Is it full of sex, violence and darkness? Or is it pretty clean? Do I have a problem with lust? What kind of language do I use? Is it encouraging and spiritual or is it full of innuendos and cursing?  Do I routinely pray, read the Bible and attend church?  How and where do I spend my money? If, after asking ourselves these questions we discover our lives are mostly focused on the worldly, carnal and selfish, it is incumbent on us to change direction (Mark 7:21, Luke 6:44-45, Ephesians 5:3-5, 2nd Corinthians 9:6-7). Pronto. 

Choosing to walk in the righteousness of Jesus daily-  

In Ephesians 6:14 the apostle Paul tells his readers to put on the “breastplate of righteousness”. The purpose of a “breastplate” in biblical times was to protect the heart from damage. Paul wants his readers to understand that righteous attitudes and behavior protect our hearts from spiritual damage and moral defilement. There is good and bad news here. The bad news is that none of us (saved or unsaved) have any righteousness of our own. Our greatest acts of righteousness and goodness are like filthy rags compared to the righteousness and goodness of God (Isaiah 64:6). The good news is that Christians do have access to all of Jesus’ righteousness. When we put on righteousness of Jesus we are doing two things, first we are asking Jesus to empower us to walk in HIS righteousness. Second, we are reminding ourselves to act like Jesus instead of our own sinful, rotten, self-involved selves. When we choose to walk in the righteousness of Jesus our hearts are safeguarded from defilement and sin (Psalm 24:4). That’s why it’s called a breastplate of righteousness. 

Maintaining emotional distance from things and people that do not share our beliefs- 

It is perfectly okay to participate in secular activities and have friendly relationships with non-Christians (Matthew 9:9-12). It is impossible to impact the world for Jesus without relationships with non-Christian people. However, it is spiritually unwise to make our greatest emotional investments in people and activities that do not enrich our faith (1st Corinthians 15:33, 1st John 4:5, James 4:4). Anytime we habitually choose the secular over the sacred we run the very real risk of turning our hearts away from the sacred. When that happens loving the world becomes our new normal and our hearts become hard toward the things of God (1st John 2:15-17). 

Feeding our minds and souls good things- 

A healthy soul and a pure heart don’t just happen. We must go after them persistently (Proverbs 2:1-11, Psalm 19:7-14). Intentionality about reading the Bible, spending time with Christian friends, prayer and listening to Christian music goes a long way towards cultivating a healthy soul and a pure heart (James 1:27, Psalm 119:105, Acts 2:42, Matthew 26:41). 

And finally:

Life is full of events, people and situations that can weigh our hearts down with unresolved anger, unforgiveness and just plain old spiritual weariness (2nd Timothy 3:12, 1st Thessalonians 3:3).  If we are not extremely watchful and wise, Satan will use these times to plant seeds of bitterness, resentment and cynicism.  Our responsibility during these painful seasons is to rest in the Lord, trust His plan and be obedient to the things we do understand (Romans 15:13, Ephesians 4:26-27, Matthew 6:15, Proverbs 3:5-6, James 1:1-2). When we do that we have a good heart and live a life that pleases, honors and glorifies God (Matthew 5:8, Matthew 25:23). 

It doesn’t get any better than that. 

Responding to Gay Pride Month with Grace and Truth-

Lisa M. Price2 Comments

 Little children, let’s not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will set our heart at ease before Him- 1st John 3:18-19 NASB

The month of June used to be known mostly for weddings, graduations and the start of summer vacation. However, somewhere in the not-so-distant past, June became known mostly for gay pride. There are three common Christian reactions to gay pride month:

Fight, flight or fawn. 

The fighters are easy to spot, mostly because they’re kind of loud and they don’t mind being spotted. The fighters wear straight pride t-shirts, have a “Boycott Disney” bumper sticker on their car and play Buddy Brown’s Everything is Gay in June on repeat until the 1st of July. The fighters love a good fight and will loudly debate the subject with anyone, anytime, anywhere.  

The flighters are a little tougher to spot, mostly because they will do anything short of sin to stay out of the fray. The flighters are a mixed bag. Some are natural born peacemakers; who simply despise fighting over anything.  There are also some former fighters amongst the flighters who learned the hard way fighting this particular battle in this particular cultural moment is almost as futile as pushing water uphill with a spoon. The average flighter’s goal is to keep their head down. They spend a lot of time praying that July comes quickly.

The fawners, for the most part have good intentions. Fawners are good-hearted people who love people and want every human being on earth to know they are deeply loved by Jesus (John 3:16). In an effort to make every sinner feel comfortable and loved, they tell all sinners (regardless of their spiritual state): “it’s all good”: God loves them just the way they are. Therefore, there is no need for repentance or change. The fawners are deeply caring and loving. They simply do not want anyone, gay or straight to feel bad about anything. 

I do get where everyone is coming from.  

There’s a fighter girl who lives inside me. She desperately wants to see the word of God defended. She doesn’t mind making people mad, sometimes she even kind of likes it (sigh). However, because I also understand the nature of this issue (Ephesians 6:12), I know change will never be achieved through clever arguments, a good fight or legal wrangling. This is one of those battles that can only be won through spiritual means (Mark 9:29, Ephesians 6:10-19).  I also get that keeping quiet feels like a noble approach. The less said the less opportunity for offense and no sane person wants to offend on purpose. However, no sinful problem or issue in the history of forever has ever just gone away on its own. God calls His people to engage the world not hide from it (Matthew 6:13-16, 2nd Corinthians 2:14).  I also understand and even empathize with the fawners. I, too want sinners to feel love and accepted.   However, cutting corners where truth is concerned is a form of spiritual malpractice that generates much bigger problems in the long-run (John 3:21, John 8:32, 1st Corinthians 13:6, Ephesians 4:15).

There is another way that glorifies God without spoiling for a fight, hiding from the issue or minimizing the consequences of willful sin at the expense of truth. It takes a commitment to the following three things;

Prayer-

I do not have a problem with Christians getting involved in politics.  Christians ought to be involved in all aspects of civil life. Redeeming every sphere of life and culture (including the political sphere) is our calling as Christians. That being said, nowhere in Scripture are Christians told to fight for legislation that reflects Christian values. Nor are Christians instructed to use the legal system to change hearts and minds. None of these things are wrong but they are not what we are instructed to do. We are commanded to pray (1st Kings 8:44-50, Colossians 4:2, Philippians 4:6, 1st Timothy 2:1-3). Over and over again in Scripture impossible situations and evil people are transformed because God’s people devoted themselves to beseeching God for a miracle (Daniel 2:14-17, Daniel 6:1-28, Esther 4:15-17, Acts 12:1-10, Acts 16:25-30). If I had the power to do so, I would declare June the national month of prayer and fasting. Alas, I do not possess that power. However, I do strongly encourage Christians to pray and fast throughout the month of June. Pray for those you know who are in the homosexual/trans lifestyle. Pray pastors everywhere will love and shepherd people well. Pray pastors and Bible teachers will preach the word of God with a compassionate and gracious boldness that draws all people to Jesus. Pray for a movement of revival to sweep our world. Revival will solve many of our most vexing problems. 

Engagement – 

Get to know someone in the homosexual or trans lifestyle as a person.  Find a Christian family affected by this issue. Knowing people who struggle with a particular issue breeds compassion, inspires prayer and gives us all opportunities to be the hands and feet of Jesus. 

And finally:

Christians must commit to standing firm on Biblical truth. We stay true to what the Bible says about homosexuality and every other issue God’s word addresses. However, is equally critical we stand on the biblical truth that anyone, regardless of their sin problem can be transformed by the grace of God (Romans 3:23-24, Romans 5;8). Christians must use every opportunity to proclaim the truth that no one is stuck in their sin, no matter the sin. Thanks to the sacrifice of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit anyone can live life free from the power of sin and death. 

Where do you Fall in Matthew Chapter Eight?

Lisa M. Price5 Comments

So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple- Luke 14:33 NKJV

There are two kinds of Christians. 

There are Christians who mark up their Bibles and Christians who don’t. I am unashamedly the first kind of Christian. I can tell at a glance how impactful a chapter of the Bible has been to me by the sheer number of highlights, underlines and notes written in the margins.

I am currently working my way through the book of Matthew. The Bible I’m using is new enough that it’s more-or-less a blank slate at this point.  As I finished up chapter eight, I noticed an astonishing scarceness of notes, underlining and highlighting compared to the previous seven chapters. 

It was a little drab and dull in comparison.  

 I decided to go back and take a second look. Matthew eight tells the seemingly random stories of people or groups of people who all had encounters with Jesus. The first encounter is with a leper who is healed by Jesus. That encounter is followed by a story about a Roman centurion whose servant is healed by Jesus long distance (verses 9-13). Next up is the healing of Peter’s Mother-in-law (verses 14-15). 

 There is a departure from the healings theme towards the end of the chapter. Verses eighteen through twenty-two detail interactions Jesus has with a nameless teacher of the law and an anonymous disciple. The teacher promises he will follow Jesus wherever He goes. Instead he makes a bunch of lame excuses and goes his own way.  The unknown disciple also reneges on his initial pledge to follow Jesus (Matthew 13:18-22).

Immediately following those encounters the disciples find themselves in a nasty storm. The fierceness of the storm shakes their faith in a big way.  Jesus finds the disciples and their lack of faith in Him super annoying (verses 23-27). 

The chapter ends with Jesus healing two demon possessed gentiles. The demons come out of the men and after a brief conversation with Jesus, the demons agree to go into a herd of pigs. The demon possessed pigs immediately jump off of a cliff and die. The loss of the pigs ends up costing the locals a LOT of money. They frantically beg Jesus to leave their region because He wasn’t good for their bottom line. 

The end. 

Even after the second reading it still felt like a bunch of random stories. I wasn’t really feeling it.

 Then it hit me pretty much out of nowhere that all the stories had a common theme:

Response. 

The chapter records how different people respond to Jesus. The leper went to Jesus in faith and responded in obedience. The centurion responded to Jesus with such faith and humility, Jesus praised him for it in a way that almost certainly enraged the Jews present (verses 10-12). Peter’s Mother-in-law responded to Jesus’ healing touch with a life of service. The teacher of the law and the nameless disciple are both interesting. Both apparently understood who Jesus was but once they realized following Jesus might mean discomfort and/or a loss of status they responded by going their own way (verses18-22). The disciples are just sad at this point in the narrative. Even after watching Jesus heal scores of people (including some of their own relatives) they still struggled to respond with trust in Jesus when it came to the tough stuff of life (verse 23-27). 

Sigh. 

Then there’s the townspeople. These folks are the genuine sad-sacks of the chapter. They saw Jesus’ power and were so afraid of what following Jesus might ultimately cost them, they responded by begging Jesus to leave them alone. 

It occurred to me we all fall somewhere on the chapter eight spectrum. We might even find ourselves in different places in chapter eight at different points in our life. 

Perhaps you’re one of those individuals who started your journey with Jesus full of child-like faith. You responded to Jesus with a heart of obedience and you’re still keeping on. My prayer is that you have a heart like Peter’s Mother-in-law and you’ve invested your days in serving Jesus with everything you have (Matthew 25:21). 

I hope this is you.

But maybe:

After a long season of hard knocks, you may be questioning whether or not Jesus is worth the trouble.  Perhaps, the storms of life feel unrelenting. Your faith in Jesus and His ability to care for you is being challenged at every turn.  Maybe life feels uncertain and you’re just kind of terrified. 

Or maybe, you’re like those gentile townspeople. You know Jesus is real, but you’re afraid of what following Jesus is going to cost you. You’re just not sure a life of faith is worth giving up that habit, relationship or sin. Maybe you’re so determined to do your own thing you’re willing to risk hell simply to have your own way. 

Wherever you are on the Matthew eight spectrum:

 I know Jesus is worth it (Psalm 34:8, Psalm 84:11). I know He’s faithful, even in the midst of the toughest most brutal stuff of life (Psalm 27:13).  I have also learned that even in the worst moments He is busy working out all things for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28-29). 

Trust Him today (2nd Corinthians 13:14, 1st John 3:16). He’s got you.  

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)

How Normal People Hear From God-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment


The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears- Psalm 37:17 NASB 

Hearing from God.

It’s a bit of a controversial subject. 

Even amongst Christians.  Most non-Christians and some Christians believe only really weird people actually hear from God. Others (both Christian and non-Christian) believe they hear from God all the time concerning every imaginable subject. However, it could be argued some of those messages are questionable at best. 

Sigh. 

God does speak. 

God speaks most often, most directly and most clearly through His word (Hebrews 4:12, 2nd Kings 22:8-11). God frequently speaks through His people (Acts 2:18, Psalm 37:30). Sometimes God speaks in a still small voice that pierces our heart and makes us aware of His leading in a particular area (1st Kings 19:12). Occasionally, God still speaks through dreams (Daniel 2:1-3, Acts 2:17), and every once in a while, God speaks audibly (Luke 3:22, Genesis 16:13).   However, even in the Bible the audible voice of God seems to be more of an exception to how God speaks than the rule. Nonetheless, it does still happen. 

All that being said. 

For all sorts of reasons, most Christians would like to hear God’s voice a little more often.  Hearing from God is how we get direction. It’s how we know we are on the right path and doing the right thing. When we hear the voice of God we feel seen and loved by God. The Bible is unequivocal: God speaks to all His people, not just the weird ones. Sometimes, God even speaks to people who aren’t His people.

The question for those of us who want to hear Him is “what can I do to better hear His voice?”. 

Thankfully, God wants us to hear Him so He doesn’t overcomplicate the process. Following are four simple, basic things anyone can do to get in better tune with God so we hear His voice more often and more clearly. 

It all starts with:

Nurturing and growing our faith-

Believing in God is not requirement for hearing from God. God speaks to atheists, agnostics, heathens and pagans (Genesis 31:34, Jonah 3:3-5, Acts 2:36-38). If He didn’t no one would ever come to know God. That said, believing in God ups the odds of hearing from God substantially. The more faith we have in God the more likely we are to hear God when He does speak. A foundation of faith also helps us to understand what is directing us to do when He speaks. We grow our faith by becoming rooted in Christ (Colossians 2:7). Spiritual roots grow deep through the regular practice of hearing and reading the word of God (Romans 10:27) and through regular prayer. The more we know the Bible and spend time with God the better acquainted we become with Him. Once we are personally familiar with God and how He operates it is much easier to discern what He’s saying and what He wants us to do with His message.  

Wanting to- 

Okay, so, admittedly this one is bit of a given, however it’s worth stating anyway. God will only speak in an intimate, friendly way to those who sincerely want to hear from Him. If we want clear communication with God we have to keep our hearts open to God. It is possible for our heart to close God without our knowledge or awareness because humans are often self-deceived (Obadiah 1:3, Zechariah 7:12). The best way to keep self-deception at bay and our hearts open to God is to practice regular self-examination and deal with our sin decisively (2nd Corinthians 13:5, Matthew 5:29-31).

Fostering fear of God- 

In the ESV version of the Bible Psalm 25:14 says that “friendship with God is for those who fear Him. He makes His covenant (promises) known to them”. Other versions say God “confides in those who fear Him”, still others say “the secrets of God are for those who fear Him”. They all means the same thing: God speaks most clearly and most intimately to those fear Him. Fearing God doesn’t mean we cower in dread of Him. It does mean we believe what He says enough to do what He tells us to do.  Fearing God also means we understand and embrace the “otherness” of God. Much of today’s teaching concerning God makes Him out to be a slightly bigger, smarter human. This teaching makes God out to be a really nice guy who never gets worked-up about anything. It’s true, God is kind. Kindness is fundamental aspect of His character. However, God is more than just nice. He is also holy, just and righteous. People who fear God embrace all aspects of God’s character not just the ones that give us good feels.  

And finally:

We must obey what we do hear. 

The speediest most effective way to get God to stop talking is for us to ignore His instruction and choose to do our own thing for our own glory. When we quit obeying, the Bible no longer make sense and the still small voice of God goes from still and small to radio silence. Thankfully all we have to do to get God talking again is go back to the same obedience we practiced in the beginning of relationship with God (Revelation 2:4-5). The simple act of repentance brings immediate joy, reopens the channels of communication with God and reestablishes closeness with God (Acts 3:19). 

Making Life Count-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God- Hebrews 6:1 NASB 

Humans are made in the image of God and God wrote eternity on the human heart (Ecclesiastes 3:11-13, Genesis 1:28). Consequently, all humans want make their life count by leaving some sort of legacy. This might mean leaving behind an organization so big and complex it alters the course of history. Or it might be as basic as being remembered as a decent human who treated others well.  

This universal ache is even more intense for those who follow of Jesus. 

Christians want to leave behind a legacy just like everyone else. However, those who truly know Jesus as Lord also want to leave behind a spiritual legacy that has lasting eternal value (1st Timothy 1:9). This might be as big and complex as a huge Christian ministry, or it might mean a simple legacy of good Christian works and/or raising kids who love, obey and worship Jesus. 

Christians are saved by faith in Jesus and what He did on the cross (Ephesians 2:8, Hebrews 10:38-39, Romans 1:17, Romans 3:22-26, Philippians 3:8-10).

However.

Christians were saved for the express purpose of doing good in this world (Romans 2:6-11, Ephesians 2:10, James 2:14-26, Matthew 5:15-16). Works are a key way we glorify God (Matthew5:13-16). The works we do also become a part of the legacy we leave behind in this world. We will be judged for the quality of the works we do. This view isn’t “works theology”, “anti-grace” or “legalism”. It’s scripture (Revelation 20:12-13, Matthew 3:10, 1st Corinthians 4:3-4, James 3:1, Hebrews 10:31-32). Good works would include (but are not limited to) preaching the word, leading the lost to Jesus, providing and caring for the less fortunate and loving the unlovable (Matthew 10:8, 2nd Timothy 4:2, Matthew 25:31-46, 1st Peter 4:8). 

 The Bible makes it clear the only legacies that have any real value are those that have eternal value. Therefore, it’s critical we avoid what the writer of Hebrews calls “dead works” (Hebrews 6:1, Hebrews 9:14). Paul describes in detail the end result of dead works:

Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, each one’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each one’s work.  If anyone’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward.  If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet only so as through fire– 1st Corinthians 3:10-14 NASB

Yikes. 

Dead works are works people do in the name of Jesus’ that ultimately help no one and have no eternal value. Even a good work can be a dead work. Dead works are good things done for the wrong reasons or with the wrong motivations.  A dead work is:

A work we do to impress people rather than God-

A work we do with the wrong heart attitude- 

A work we do with ourselves at the center-

There’s a lot of easily discernable bad news in this situation. 

Pretty much everyone has been guilty of the sin of people pleasing (Matthew 6:1, Colossians 3:23). We want people to think well of us. As a result, sometimes we do good things hoping to gain the esteem and favor of our peers. Or maybe we do good works because we hope (secretly) our good work will bring us something beneficial in return rather than just doing it to honor, obey and glorify God.  I, for one have been guilty (on more than one occasion) of doing the right things with a smile on my face and a crummy attitude in my heart (1st Samuel 16:7). Furthermore, most (all) of us have been guilty of doing good works secretly hoping people will think we are awesome (Isaiah 2:22, Proverbs 29:25). 

We all fall short of the glory of God. 

Sigh.

Thankfully, what is impossible with man is possible with God. Mainly because He’s awesome and totally willing to work with us even in our fallen, messy, self- aggrandizing state. Because God is good, and good to us we can do good works that have eternal value. We can please God.  God is not a cruel taskmaster judging us for every wrong thing we do. God doesn’t want us to be stuck with a bunch of dead works without any eternal value. God really wants every single one of us to hear “well done my good and faithful servant. Come and share in your master’s happiness” when we see Jesus for the first time (Matthew 25:21)

But.

We must be willing to do our part. 

This means asking God to give us the right heart. It means examining our motives on a regular basis and confessing any self-aggrandizement or selfish-ambition we may be harboring (Philippians 2:3, Galatians 5:19-21).  Our part in the area of good works is to humbly ask God to help us do the right things with the right attitude, for the right reasons.  Then we just have to keep on keeping on until Jesus calls us home.

When we do those things God takes care of the rest and we can not help but bring Him glory (Philippians 2:13).