Tag: Living it out

What is the Helmut of Salvation and why is it Critical to our Success as Christians?

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things- Philippians 4:8 ESV

I am convinced all Christians should make a regular practice of “praying on” the armor of God found in Ephesians 6:10-18.  

However.   

 We have to understand, the armor of God is not magical incantation or spell we say that shields us from Satan or his schemes. Nor, is it meant to be a rote prayer we pray in hopes of keeping the devil at bay. 

Words in and of themselves do nothing to defeat the dark forces at work in this world (Ephesians 6:10-12).  The “spiritual warfare” passage only contains power if we understand what it’s instructing us to do and then do those things. We need to pray on the armor of God daily because it is a powerful reminder about how we should live. Praying the armor on tells God we are serious about doing what He wants us to.

Here’s an example: 

Let’s say, I made a regular practice of asking God to put the shield of faith in my hand (Ephesians 6:16)). However, rather than doing the things I know will grow and cultivate my faith, I passively do nothing, or worse—I actively avoid doing things that will help me to grow in my faith.  In that case, asking God to put the shield of faith in my hand is a pointless exercise, a waste of my time and God’s.  Words without obedient action have zero power (Luke 6:46-48, 1st Thessalonians 1:5, 1st John 3:18). 

Seriously.

In order for the armor of God to work we have to understand what each piece is, what it does and what we have to do to possess it. Then we have to actually do the things that make us spiritually strong and give us protection from the schemes of the enemy (Ephesian 6:10-12, 1st Peter 5:8). 

This reality is perhaps truest of the helmet of salvation.  Ephesians 6:17 tells Christians to take hold of or to put on “the helmet of salvation”. Christians NEED the helmet of salvation because our world is literally plagued with disinformation and deception that can render us unable to think biblically.

When our minds our protected from the lies of the enemy we are empowered to think like God thinks. We know what’s real and true in a world of disinformation, propaganda and deception (Isaiah 5:20). The helmet of salvation gives us discernment (Malachi 3:18, Proverbs 10:13). Discernment keeps us from being sucked into all the insane worldly philosophies that have literally taken our world captive in the last decade (Colossians 2:8). Philosophies like sexual hedonism, run-of-the-mill hedonism, radical gender ideology, the death movement, Marxism and progressive Christianity. 

When we have the helmet of salvation we see through all the corrupt and faulty ideas our world’s system is built on (Psalm 119:125, 1st Corinthians 3:19-20, 2nd Corinthians 1:12).  Many of the philosophies popular today SOUND good, sensible and compassionate, some appear on the surface to be life-giving and beneficial.  Nonetheless, because these beliefs and values are a byproduct of a fallen world they will inevitably lead a person to hell, literally and figuratively (Romans 1:18-32, 2nd Peter 4-10). 

Sigh. 

When we have the helmet of salvation in place we think biblically, we reason through the issues and problems of life from God’s perspective rather than with worldly wisdom (1st Corinthians 3:18). We have the mind of Christ (1st Corinthians 2:16). The helmet of salvation provides us with the spiritual eyes to see through lies of the culture. When we see the world clearly, we automatically have the power to walk in holiness. The helmet of salvation empowers us to think clearly about God, life and eternity. Then we are able to effectively share those beliefs with the unsaved people God places in our path (1st Peter 1:16-17). 

Here’s the thing though: 

Sadly, few Christians today posses the helmet of salvation and therefore most do not think biblically or see life, people and situations the way God sees life, people and situations.  Christian cannot put on the helmet of salvation unless they make some intentional choices about how they live their lives and what they allow into their minds. This is because the helmet of salvation is a result of wise and righteous living. We get it when we ask God to give us discernment about the things we hear, see and are exposed to. We reap the power of the helmet of salvation when we sow the spiritual in our lives (Bible reading, prayer, obedience) and shun worldly, carnal activities and entertainment. 

We take hold of the helmet of salvation when we choose to believe what the word of God says rather than what our hearts tell us or the world says (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Alas:

We live in a time and a place where we are constantly bombarded with choices and ideas that make it very difficult to think biblically. Possessing the helmet of salvation is as much about what we choose not to do as it is about what we do. The shows we watch, the music we listen to, the books we read, the popular media we consume all impact how we think and what we believe to be true. 

If we wish to possess this particular piece of armor we must make hard choices about what we allow into our hearts and minds. 

When we choose wisely God puts helmet of salvation in place. Our ethics and values are shaped by the word of God and the Kingdom of God.  God’s will is done in us and we are empowered to live out the gospel in such a way God is glorified in us and the Kingdom is furthered through us (Matthew 5:14, Matthew 6:10-11) 

There is no greater reward than that.

Faith- the Superpower of Spiritual Warfare

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for- Hebrews 11:1-2 NIV

Faith. 

It’s a big stinking deal in the whole Christian experience. 

Faith in Jesus saves even the vilest sinner from their sins (Romans 10:10, Ephesians 2:8, Hebrews 10:39). It is faith and faith alone that made sinful people righteous even before Jesus came on the scene (Romans 1:17, Romans 4:1-12, James 2:21-23) and without faith there is no way we can please God no matter what we do or don’t do (Hebrews 11:6).

That being said    

As critically important as those things are, faith is even more than all that. Faith is also one of the most powerful defensive weapons we have as we do battle against the powers of this dark world (Ephesians 6:12).

Ephesians 6:16 tells us how it works: 

In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Satan wants to hit us where it matters most from a spiritual perspective. If we don’t have confidence in God and belief in His goodness we are more-or-less done from a spiritual perspective. Therefore, Satan wants us to replace our belief in God’s goodness with doubts and our confidence in God with fear.

Faith is the anecdote to Satan’s assaults on our trust in God. 

Faith is critical to success in the spiritual battle because faith keeps the enemy from stealing, killing and destroying our trust in God and His goodness (Matthew 13:3-9)

Here’s the thing though. 

Faith is a fragile thing in a world as broken as ours. When bad things happen (and bad things happen all the time in a fallen world) the enemy plants doubt in our minds concerning the goodness and sometimes even the existence of God. These flaming arrows of doubt can be devastating when we are not holding firmly to the shield of faith (Mark 4:14). Because faith is such a fragile thing it is something we must intentionally cultivate in our lives.  We nurture and cultivate our faith when we:

Remember all the good God has done for us personally- 

From the beginning God’s people have constructed monuments to remind themselves of God’s faithfulness in their lives (Genesis 12:6, Genesis 28:18-22, Genesis 31:35, Genesis 35:14-20). Making the choice to be ruthlessly intentional about remembering the goodness of God is critical to maintaining and growing our faith. Satan’s arrows are doubts he plants in our mind concerning God’s goodness and ability to do what needs to be done in our lives. The habit of remembering God’s faithfulness in the past keeps us from being shaken in the present when life is hard or God feels far away (Psalm 42:2-5, Psalm 77:10-12)

Intentionally sow the spiritual in our lives- 

Our world is governed by the law of sowing and reaping (Job 4:8, Proverbs 11:18, Galatians 6:7-8).  This just means we all typically get back what we give or do, usually in a greater measure than we sowed.  If a person plants a potato they harvest a whole bunch of potatoes—not a single potato or a bunch of turnips. The law of sowing and reaping is every bit as applicable in the spiritual realm as it is in the physical. When we are intentional about sowing prayer, Bible reading and worship into our lives and then put what we learn into practice; we inevitably harvest more faith AND a steadiness to our faith that keeps us standing firm in the worst spiritual storms Satan and life throw at us (Matthew 7:24-29). 

Routinely hear the word taught- 

Romans 10:17 tells us one way we acquire greater and nurture the faith we already have is through hearing the word of God spoken and expounded on. This is one more really great reason to be in a church where the word is faithfully taught (Hebrews 10:24-25, 2nd Timothy 2:4)

Pray for more faith- 

In 1st Corinthians 12:9 the apostle Paul tells us faith is more than just a belief in something we cannot see it is also a spiritual gift. Like all spiritual gifts we are free to ask God to give us the gift of faith. Because faith pleases God more than anything (Hebrews 11:6), asking for more faith is not a request God typically denies those who ask for it with a sincere heart (Matthew 7:7-11, 1st John 5:14). 

Practice gratitude- 

Thankfulness is nothing more than noticing. The more we choose to notice all the things God has done for us and in us, the more our faith grows (Colossians 3:16).  

Choose to live life in Christian community-

Being in community with other Christians grows our faith because God uses His people to love and care for one another in times of need (John 13:34-35, Romans 12:10, Galatians 5:13, Ephesians 4:12, 1st Peter 1:22). When we are loved and cared for by God’s people our faith in God’s love for us is increased. Being in community is also where we here stories about God’s provision and care for others. Hearing stories about God’s care for others increases our own faith in God’s ability to care for us. 

Faith is believing all the promises of God even when we don’t see those promises fulfilled in the here and now (Hebrews 11:6). Our faith renders Satan powerless over us. When we are walking in faith God uses us to lead others into greater faith in Jesus. This realty literally makes faith a spiritual super power. We keep our super power in working order by nurturing it and trusting God to grow it.

What do the Shoes of the Gospel of Peace do for us?

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect- 1st Peter 3:15 ESV

Most church people tend to think of mission in terms of traveling to a foreign country for the purpose of doing service projects and/or sharing the gospel.  

There is nothing wrong with thinking about mission in those terms. 

It’s a perfectly reasonable and fine way to define the word. That being said, oddly enough, God’s definition of mission is much more in line with Dictionary.com’s definition of mission.    

Here’s their take on it:

  1. The business with which a group or individual is charged.
  2. Any important task that is assigned, allotted, or self-imposed.
  3. A  goal or purpose that is accompanied by strong conviction; a calling or vocation. 

Here’s the thing:

All Christians are supposed to be “on mission” all the time.  The details of our individual mission vary from person to person but our “big-picture” mission as Christians is always the same: to be the hands, feet and mouthpiece of Jesus in our broken and hurting world. 

One of the challenges we always encounter as we seek to accomplish our mission is spiritual warfare. The enemy is categorically not a fan of Christians “being Jesus” or sharing Jesus and he will do anything to distract and divert us from doing the good we are called to do (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 20:24, 2nd Peter 1:3-10, Ephesians 2:10). All Christians ought to make a habit of “praying on” the armor of God daily is because it is a much-needed reminder of our primary mission as Jesus’ people in this world. It says: 

Having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace- NKJV

Shod is not a word most of use in conversation. It’s a weird and antiquated word that simply means to “put on”. It tells us God wants you and I to take every aspect of the gospel with us wherever He leads. Every Christian experiences warfare surrounding this directive. The enemy will do anything within his power to stop us from:

Taking the presence of Jesus into our world-

All Christians carry around with them the presence of Jesus (1st Corinthians 3:16, 2nd Corinthians 2:14-15). It’s just what we do. One of our primary tasks as Christians is to live and behave in such a way the “aroma” of Jesus flows out of us all the time because the “smell of Jesus” inspires curiosity about Jesus in unsaved people (metaphorically speaking).  Satan will do anything and everything to keep us from radiating the presence of Jesus in our homes, schools, workplaces and churches. We put on the shoes of the gospel of peace when we choose to be intentional about taking Jesus into every situation life throws at us (Matthew 5:16, Matthew 13:43). 

Sharing the gospel with words-

Saint Francis of Assisi once said: “Preach the gospel at all times and when necessary use words.” No shade on Saint Francis but this recommendation falls right into line with one of Satan’s most fervent hopes for us. Satan wants more than anything in this world is to keep Christians verbally quiet about their faith. He loves the whole idea of Christians living good lives but keeping quiet about why they live the way they do.  If he can get them feeling self-righteous about their timidity it’s a win win for team Satan. Don’t get me wrong—it is critical we live out what we profess to believe. Hypocrisy in the life of Christian is a deal killer for the spiritually curious. That said, our world needs to hear words spoken about Jesus not just see well behaved Christians (Romans 10:17).  

Living out the virtues of Christianity- 

 Ultimately, the aim of the Christian life is to live like Jesus lived. This requires we take off all the habits, sins and bigotries of our old life (Colossians 3:5-11) and put on new behaviors and attitudes that reflect our status as redeemed (Christian) people (Colossians 3:12-17, Galatians 5:22-23, Romans 12:1-21, 2nd Peter 1:3-9). Satan despises virtue with every fiber of his being because virtue gives the words we speak about Jesus power. He will do anything he can to convince us virtue is unnecessary and just too darn hard to pull off.  Part of “putting on the armor” is choosing to do our very best to a life of virtue and righteousness all the time in spite of the difficulties involved in doing so.  

Being a voice of wisdom and reason in a categorically stupid world-

We live in the stupidest of times (Judges 21:25, 1st Timothy 3:1-5). Even educated people believe the most outrageous things imaginable about stuff every one used to agree on. These include: what makes a person male or female, what is and is not acceptable regarding sexuality, the best way to parent children, marriage and pretty much every other moral issue under the sun. Part of our job as Christians is to be a voice of reason and wisdom in an increasingly unwise world. Satan will use our fear of being mocked to keep us quiet (Deuteronomy 31:6). It is essential we defend truth in a spirit of love, grace and humility (Ephesians 4:15). That being said, every single time Christians decline to speak up concerning the moral issues of our time the enemy gains major ground in the spiritual war.

In order take the gospel into all of life we must be intentional about how we speak, live and treat others. Putting on the shoes of the gospel of peace is about living the gospel and being the church. When we do that Satan is defeated, God is lifted and the body of Christ is filled with power. 

What is the Breastplate of Righteousness?

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

In keeping with his promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him- 2nd Peter 3:13-14 NIV

For some reason the whole notion of living a holy and righteous life has fallen on hard times in some Christian circles. I suspect this is due to some confusion over legalism and righteousness. When the two get tangled-up in a person’s mind any appeal to holiness, virtuousness or even just plain old common decency is seen as toxic to our faith journey. This is because many in the church see “being good” as a misguided attempt to earn God’s love and favor rather than simply accepting God’s free gift of mercy and grace. 

Here’s the thing: 

Legalism is bad. Really bad. Legalism is the idea that Christians must “be good” all the time or add good works or the keeping of certain manmade rules to what Jesus did on the cross in order to be saved from their sin and accepted by God. There is no biblical foundation for legalism.  The New Testament is clear: all it really takes to get right with God and spend eternity with Him is faith in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, a repentant heart and nothing else (Genesis 15:6, Acts 13:38-39, Acts 16:31, Romans 3:22, Romans 10:9)

Seriously. It’s that easy. 

However. 

That does not mean holiness and righteous living is somehow optional for Christians. Both the Old and New Testaments are filled with commands to “be holy” (Leviticus 11:45, Ephesians 1:4, Hebrews 12:14, 1st Peter 1:15-16). Furthermore, there is all kinds of instruction given in the Bible on how to live a life that pleases God. (Romans 12:1- 21, Colossians 3:1-25, Galatians 5:22-26, 2nd Peter 1:3-11). 

The warfare passage in Ephesians six takes the whole idea of righteousness a step further. It teaches that “righteousness” is a critical part of our spiritual armor. The armor of God is meant to protect us from the various schemes of the devil (Ephesians 6:10-13, 1st Peter 5:8). 

Ephesians 6:15 tells Christians to “stand firm”:  with the breastplate of righteousness in place.

Putting on the breastplate of righteousness means we make a commitment to choose righteousness, holiness and obedience over sin and self-will. It does not mean we never make a mistake. It does mean we make every effort to live the way God calls Christians to live (Colossians 3:1-25, Romans 12:1-21, 1st Thessalonians 4:3-9) When we put on the breastplate of righteousness it empowers and safeguards us in three critically important ways:

Righteous living keeps our hearts from being defiled- 

The Bible teaches that the human heart more than just an organ in our bodies. It is the place from which all of our thoughts, feelings and actions flow (Proverbs 4:23, Proverbs 6:18).  A pure heart produces good actions and an impure heart produces bad actions (Matthew 12:34, Matthew 15:18-20). Every. Single. Time. When we choose to sin, it has a polluting effect on our hearts. If we sin willfully for long enough that choice will defile us to the point we are worthless for doing any good for the kingdom of God (Matthew 5:13-16). Choosing to “put on” righteousness daily ensures our hearts will be pure and we will be useful to God. 

Righteousness prevents us from destroying our testimony about Jesus- 

In Revelation 12:11 we are told Christians overcome Satan through the blood of the Lamb (the saving work of Jesus) and the “word of their testimony”. A Christian’s “testimony” is their conversion story. It is the words we use to describe how Jesus took us from death to life. Our changed life lends legitimacy to our conversion story. Without a changed life there is no proof that anything of any spiritual significance happened to us. When Christians live like non-Christians it takes the power out of their conversion story. Conversely, living righteously gives our conversion story power and hope to others that they can be changed too. 

Righteous living is a protection that keeps us from shipwrecking our lives- 

The list of things that can ruin a person’s life is almost endless. A few highlights include such things as: adultery, sexually transmitted diseases, enslavement to pornography, drug addiction, embezzlement, drunk driving charges and credit card debt. All anyone (Christian or not) has to do to avoid all the pitfalls and snares that could possible ruin a person’s life is just to do what the Bible says to do and avoid all the things the Bible says not to do. That’s it. Obedience to God’s commands is a powerfully protective force that keeps us from running our lives into the dirt. 

Here’s the hard and horrible truth about all of this:

We cannot keep up a life of righteousness on our own.  In our own strength we will find ourselves putting on the breastplate of righteousness just for it to fall off a few hours later (metaphorically speaking). We simply cannot “be good” without God’s help. We are just a little too messy in our humanness to pull it off (Isaiah 64:6, Jeremiah 17:9).  The key to putting the armor on and keeping it on is found in seeking the presence of Jesus daily. When we walk in close relationship with Jesus He gives us everything we need to live the way he has called us to live. 

How do we Gird up our Spiritual”Loins”?

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free- John 8:32 NIV

I am not a Bible translator. 

However. 

I do know enough about the Bible and Bible translation to know there are words and phrases frequently misunderstood by readers due to an awkward translation from the original language (Hebrew, Greek or Aramaic) into English. It’s also true that Bible translators occasionally take liberties when translating Bible words in an effort to make difficult concepts clearer or less weird to the average reader.  Sometimes translation issues arise because there is not a truly suitable English word to use in place of the Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek. Other times the translator really is simply attempting to make a difficult concept easier to understand. 

Ephesians 6:15 is (in my opinion) an example of this.  

In Ephesians 6:14 Christians are told to “put on the full armor of God”. The purpose of doing so is to prepare ourselves spiritually to stand our ground against the devil and the various schemes he plots against us. In verse fifteen most contemporary translations tell us the very first step in the “putting on” process is to have: 

 “the belt of truth buckled around your waist”.

Here’s the thing

I do not like to Monday morning quarterback in a field I am not an expert in.  Mostly because it me makes look like a prideful, dumb jerk. Nonetheless. In my opinion using the word “waist” here lacks accuracy and has led to some confusion as to what the passage is actually saying.  

 In the original Greek, the NASB and a few older translations, it simply says:

“Gird up your loins with truth”. 

There are some really good reasons translators would choose waist over loins. Loins is a weird word. It just is. It makes people uncomfortable and it begs all sorts of questions, such as: 

Does the word loins mean what I think it means? 

How does truth protect my “southern regions”?? 

What does that have to do with any of this? 

For reals. 

The Greek word used in this passage is osphus and it means exactly what you think it means. It means loins, as in loins. As in our inner thighs or to put it more bluntly (and accurately) the part of our bodies that we use to make babies.  

So. 

Here’s some facts we know about our physical loins:

Our loins are the most personal, private place on our physical bodies.  No one (except a few weirdos) shows their loins to complete strangers. Having our loin area exposed is humiliating, so we keep them hidden.  Nor, do folks discuss their loins. It’s just too weird and personal.  If our loin area gets punched or kicked, it hurts. Really bad. It does not matter if the person is male or female— a blow to the loin area devastates a person’s ability to function, sometimes for a good while. 

Here’s the thing. 

We all have emotional and psychological places that are every bit as vulnerable and sensitive as our physical loins. We all have areas of shame and regret. We have all had experiences we don’t like to talk about—or even think about. When one of those places is exposed or hit in some way (triggered), it hurts like the dickens and we feel broken and shattered. 

These are the places Satan likes to hit the hardest (1st Peter 5:8). 

Satan kicks at our metaphorical loins by reminding us of all the stupid sinful things we have done or have had done to us. He tells us the trauma we have experienced left us damaged beyond repair.  He tells us our past or present sin has disqualified us from ever being used by God in a significant way. Satan tells we are defined by what do and if we don’t do enough or do things the “right” way we are failures. He tells us we are worthless and completely lacking in value. 

All Lies. Every. Single. One. Of. Them. Straight from the literal pit of hell. 

The first verse in this formative passage on spiritual warfare tells us that the very first thing we must do to defend ourselves against the enemy is to protect our most sensitive emotional places WITH THE TRUTH OF GOD’S WORD (John 8:32). Satan attacks us with lies about ourselves, about God and about other people and what those people think about us (John 8:44)

If we do not know the truth about who we are in Christ, where our true value comes from and what God really thinks of us those lies will shake our confidence in the goodness and forgiveness of God, and make us want to quit Christianity altogether. It will leave us unable to function spiritually. When that happens, we’re done for emotionally and rendered useless for the good works we were created for (Ephesians 4:10) 

The secret to protecting our spiritual loins is to know who God is and who we are in Christ. We have to know deep down in our knower that God is good and kind (Psalm 84:11, Isaiah 63:7, Acts 14:16-17) We have to realize that when we put our faith in Jesus and His resurrection we were at that moment made clean by Him (Hebrews 9:14, Acts 13:38, 1st Corinthians 6:9-11, Ephesians 1:4). We have to believe that when Jesus forgives us it’s a done deal. God does not go back and relitigate our sin every time we mess up or make a mistake. We have to accept that God’s love for us is real,  unchanging and endless (James 4:7)

We have to believe God is who He says He is. 

Spiritual Warfare Series- What was Jesus’ Spiritual Weapon of Choice?

Lisa M. Price4 Comments

 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life-John 3:16 NIV

Love is more than a sweet sentiment. 

It is a formidable spiritual weapon. 

It is not an accident (in my opinion) that the “warfare passage” we find in Ephesians 6:10-20 is preceded by two and a half chapters that spell out in detail what love “looks like” and how our faith and love for others ought to work itself out in our churches, marriages, parent-child relationships and workplaces (Ephesians 4:1-6:9). 

Nor is it an accident the “love passage” found in 1st Corinthians 13:1-13 is sandwiched between passages that cover the ins-and-outs of how Christians should do church, worship and use their spiritual gifts. Paul understood probably better than anyone that love only works as a weapon when it impacts every part of our Christian lives. If we don’t get the “love” thing right our spiritual gifts become pointless parlor tricks, our worship never goes further than the ceiling and our churches are powerless to transform the lives of hurting people. 

Love was Jesus’ weapon of choice. 

 Jesus knew everything there was to know about every person He encountered and He still loved each and every one of them deeply and fully (John 3:16). He loved everyone He met in a way they had never been loved before. He did not turn away from the woman caught in adultery (John 8), the demoniac (Mark 5:1-14) or Mary Magdalene (Luke 8:12) or anyone else and for that matter. 

Instead. 

The almighty, all-holy, perfectly clean, absolutely sinless God of the Universe looked the worst humanity had to offer square in the face (literally) and because He was God He saw clearly the ugliness and sin in every person who crossed His path.  He knew exactly how their choices had affected them

And yet:

 He loved them anyway. He loved them by looking beyond their sinful ugliness and the effects of their choices. He met them where they were at and in the process loved them into a state of wholeness and health.  Then He went ahead and did the same thing for the whole human race by dying on the cross to pay the penalty of our sin (Romans 5:8)

Love is critical. It literally has the power to change the trajectory of a person’s life. 

Here’s the thing, though. 

 Love alone— or at least the way our culture defines love is actually dangerous (and icky) because it tends to devolve into a grody form of sloppy sentimentalism.   Twenty-first century love is like the drunk girl at the party who gushes sappy sentiment all over everybody but can’t remember any of what she said the next morning. Contemporary love is all about being okay with the worst in people instead of accepting people where they’re at AND helping them to reach new levels of growth, transformation and health. Sloppy sentimentalism feels delightful and appears to be noble but it isn’t really love because it lacks the power to save anyone from anything. 

Sigh.

 Authentic love: the kind of love that defeats the powers of darkness and changes the trajectory of people’s lives is firmly anchored in biblical truth (Colossians 1:13-14). True Christian love is always characterized by a willingness to resist current cultural beliefs that lead people away from God and into bondage to sin. 

It’s the kind of love Jesus had for people. 

When Jesus freed Mary Magdalene and the demoniac from their demon possession he did not encourage either one of them to go back to the choices that got them demon-possessed in the first place—although those choices may have still felt comfortable to them, even after meeting Jesus. Instead He showed them how they could live free from the sinful choices that led them to a life of bondage and despair.  Jesus did not forgive the woman caught in adultery (John 8) and send her back to her latest partner— instead He told her she should “go and sin no more” because that’s what warfare kind of love does. 

Warfare kind of love sets the captives free with equal measures of truth and grace (Isaiah 42:6-9). 

 Jesus would never have been okay with our culture’s contemporary definition of love. He would be disgusted with drug programs that help people to do drugs “safely” rather than free them from the oppression of their drug use. Jesus is undoubtedly appalled at the notion of encouraging someone confused about their gender to transition because transitioning doesn’t deal with the root hurt, pain or sin that led to their confused state in the first place (Jude 23)  

Jesus grieves deeply when Christians choose to love like the world loves because He knows that real love fights for the best heaven and earth have to offer; instead of simply settling for something easy but vastly inferior to what God wants for all people (2nd Timothy 2:3-5).  

Everyone who has been truly touched by the love of Jesus wants to love like He loved: with a warfare kind of love. We love like Jesus loved by living out the Bible’s standard of righteousness, fearlessly telling people the truth in the most loving way possible and sticking with them through the sometimes-long process of finding authentic freedom and growing into the image of Jesus (2nd Corinthians 3:18, Colossians 3:1-25). 

Spiritual Warfare Series- Understanding Satan’s Favorite Schemes

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes- Ephesians 6:10-11 NIV

At some point in their spiritual journey Christians have to face the fact that for followers of Jesus this life will never be all sunshine, daisy chains and good vibes (John 16:33).

This is because we live in a world at war (John 10:10, Job 1:1-22, Luke 22:31, Ephesians 6:10-13, 1st Timothy 1:18-19).  

Christians have a very real enemy who wants to destroy us spiritually, morally and psychologically (1st Peter 5:8). Doing so, takes him a long way towards his ultimate goal of rendering as many Christians as possible ineffective at glorifying God and leading others to Jesus.   

 Thankfully, followers of Jesus sit squarely on the winning side of the war (Revelation 20:10). Nonetheless, ultimate victory does not exempt us from battle in the here and now (Philippians 2:25, 2nd Timothy 2:3-4, Philemon 1:2). The good news is that God has given us every weapon we need to be victorious. Our success is guaranteed if we learn how to use those weapons properly (Ephesians 6:13-18, 2nd Corinthians 10:3). 

One of the most powerful weapons we have in our arsenal is the Holy Spirit (John 14:26, Ephesians 6:18). Jesus calls the Holy Spirit our guide (John 15:26). A healthy connection to the Holy Spirit will give us spiritual eyes to see through the schemes and tactics of the enemy (2nd Corinthians 2:11, Ephesians 6:11). When we understand our enemy, we are far less likely to become collateral damage in the battle (Hebrews 12:1). 

We underestimate Satan’s craftiness at our own peril. That being said, he is not a particularly inventive creature. As a result, he tends to use the same strategies over and over again. If we learn to recognize those strategies the Bible calls his “schemes” that knowledge will empower us to live every area of our lives victoriously and lead others to faith in Jesus (2nd Corinthians 2:11).  

It’s a win win for team Jesus. 

Satan’s favorite schemes are as follows: 

The twisting of God’s words- 

This is was the very first scheme Satan used against humanity (Genesis 3:1-5). It was so off-the-charts-effective he stuck with it. Satan twists God’s word around in our minds in such a way that we end up doing the exact opposite of what God wants us to do. For example, I know a person who as a teenager was told (correctly) that Jesus said lusting in your heart is a sin (Matthew 5:28). This person concluded that since that temptation was a sin every temptation must be a sin. It seemed logical to them that if every temptation is a sin then they might as well just do the thing they were tempted to do because they were already guilty.  Sadly, the enemy created a lot of heartache for them before a good pastor straightened out their doctrinal errors. This scheme is dealt with most effectively through consistent church attendance and spiritual community. Messy theology is far more likely to be corrected when we habitually fellowship and study with other Christians. 

Discouragement or difficulty anytime we choose a higher level of obedience- 

It would make total sense for obedience to always equal obvious blessings and a trouble-free existence. Alas, that would be a fast track to one-hundred-percent obedience on our part all the time. Satan is categorically not a fan of spiritual growth or obedience. So, one of schemes is to go out of his way to make our lives difficult and complicated anytime we choose obey God fully or pursue Him on a higher level. 

A smooth path when we choose disobedience-

Interestingly enough, periods of rebellion can be some of the easiest, most stress-free times of our Christian life. When we are rebelling against God in any area Satan has nothing to worry about from a spiritual perspective, so he leaves us alone.  Our sinful choices have already rendered us ineffective.  Consequently, Satan will go the extra mile and find ways to make our path smooth in times of rebellion because a smooth path makes us unlikely to self-reflect and reverse course. Constant self-reflection is the key to overcoming this scheme. We should examine ourselves regularly and ask God to reveal any areas of sin  

Our thing- whatever that thing is- 

We all have an underlying or besetting sin that trips us up in life— usually without us even realizing what it is. Satan knows what our thing is even if we don’t and he uses our desire for that thing to trip us up every chance he gets. Our thing might be greed, lust, power, a fear of man or a desire to be in control or whatever. If you have a recurring theme in your life—and most of us do. Ask God to show you the sin at the root of the recurring theme.  There is one. If you figure out what IT is Satan will lose his power over you in that area.  

At least half the battle in spiritual warfare is understanding the tactics of our enemy. The other half is of the battle is trusting God with our lives and making the choice every day to walk closely enough with the Holy Spirit that we SEE those tactics at work so we can do something about them. 

Is it ALWAYS Sinful to Judge the Behavior of Others?

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

 The sins of some are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them- 1stTimothy 5:24 NIV

If I were to venture a guess, I would say the best known and most quoted Bible verse of all time would have to be Matthew 7:1: “Judge not lest you be judged”.  Bible believing Christians as well as some folks who have never actually cracked a Bible in their lives have the verse memorized and are swift to whip it out as their ace in the hole anytime they sense the tiniest bit of disapproval from anyone concerning anything at all.  

Most have decided it means that the best way to escape God’s wrath (and perhaps even the fires of hell) is to simply never make a moral judgment concerning anything. A lot of people believe “you do you” and “live and let live” is the New Testament solution to escaping trouble with God. 

I don’t think it means what they think it means. 

If evading God’s judgment were as simple as not being judgmental there would have been no reason at all for Jesus to come and sacrifice Himself on our behalf. Instead He could have just wrote STOP BEING SO DANG JUDGY OR YOU’RE GOING TO BE SUPER SORRY in the sky and saved Himself a whole lot of trouble. He didn’t. So, the meaning of His words matters. 

A lot. 

If judging the actions of others is the fast track to our own punitive judgment then we should watch ourselves very carefully in this area. However, if judging actions is not wrong, then maybe, just maybe a tad bit more of the “right” kind of judging will make Christianity more what God intended it to be in the first place (Matthew 5:13-15, 1st Thessalonians 4:7, 1st Peter 2:9, 1st Peter 2:12-15, 2nd Peter 3:11).    

I’m just saying. 

It is fair to assume “judge not, lest you be judged” is not a warning against making moral judgments about behavior.  Jesus was clear: He came to fulfill the law—not abolish it (Matthew 5:17). Most of the Old Testament law (parts of Exodus, all of Leviticus and Deuteronomy) is just a long list of things God says are right and wrong. The rest is basically just a “how to” properly judge when someone breaks the law and what should be done about law breaking.  It would be more than a little odd for God to say “no” to the whole notion of making moral judgments concerning right and wrong behavior after giving His people two and a half books of commands. 

So.

Cultural context is critical when it comes to understanding what the New Testament has to say about any subject.  It’s especially important when talking about judgment in general and judging others in particular. 

Here’s the thing:

First century Jews were some of the judgiest people on earth and they did not stick to judging actions. Mostly they were all about judging whether or not a person was worthy of heaven.

 Jews believed they were special in the sense that they were the only people capable of being completely righteous and worthy of living forever in God’s presence. If someone was not a Jew—they didn’t stand a chance. Further complicating things, most assumed any Jew who did not fully obey the law was a lost cause as well. Religious leaders were all about deciding who obeyed the law “well enough” to be accepted and loved by God. Even the judging of behavior was tainted with judging the worthiness of the person.

Thankfully, for us, Jesus set the standard for who gets into heaven. No one is actually “good enough” to get to get right with God on their own (Isaiah 64:6, Luke 18:19, Romans 3:12). We all suck (Romans 3:23). God in His great mercy God chose to make it all about faith in Him so we would at least stand a chance (Luke 7:50, Ephesians 2:8, Hebrews 10:39). No one (except God) can really know who has saving faith and who doesn’t. No one except God can judge another person’s worthiness of heaven. 

James 2:12-13 gives us some insight into Jesus words in Matthew 7:12. It says:

So speak, and so act, as those who are to be judged by the law of freedom. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment-NASB

Okay, so, the English translation of this verse is awkward and tough to understand.  The Greek, comes closer to saying something like this: You will be judged with liberality, kindness and generosity by God. So, you ought to judge other people’s actions and hearts with the same liberality, kindness and generosity you hope to receive on judgment day.  If you don’t judge others with a measure of grace God will apply the standard you use with others to you. 
Yikes.  That sucks.

So. Judging the rightness or wrongness of actions or behavior is not a problem. That said, a very big problem arises when we judge the motives or the hearts of people. 

We just don’t have the chops for that.  

It is sometimes critical we make judgments about the rightness and wrongness of actions. However, we must remember the goal of making a judgment about behavior is never to condemn anyone, but ultimately to help and encourage everyone to become a better, godlier version of themselves. 

The mercy we hope to be shown should ALWAYS be the standard of judgment we use on others. 

Period. 

The Seven Churches Series- Laodicea the Church that Gives us Hope (Seriously)

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord- Acts 3:19 NIV

If one had to live in the ancient world Laodicea was the place to be. 

Those lucky enough to live in Laodicea were affluent, healthy and proud for all sorts of really good reasons. 

Laodicea had it all.

It was a major financial center and home to a medical school that trained some of finest medical professionals in the ancient world. The region was famous for its exports, which included an expensive fabric made from a rare and much sought-after black wool and an eye powder renowned for its healing properties. The city was so affluent that when it was leveled by a major earthquake in A.D. 60 the city leaders refused to take any financial assistance at all from Rome. They didn’t need to.

The Laodiceans were a pull themselves up from their own bootstraps’ kind of a people.

The church in Laodicea had taken on the characteristics of the city of Laodicea. The people in the church were wealthy, sophisticated and self-sufficient. They were also far from God and uninterested in an authentic relationship with Him. The first century church in Laodicea did their level best to avoid hard teaching and controversy and as a result they suffered zero oppression or persecution.  They managed this feat despite living in a city that had all the factors that typically created a lot of problems for Christians (a large and powerful Jewish population, active trade unions and an abundance of pagan temples).

 Jesus begins by comparing the churches spirituality to the water supply in Laodicea.

This was by no means a complimentary comparison. 

For all its resources and natural beauty, the one thing Laodicea lacked was a tasty water supply. There was more than enough water available. However, it all came from a hot-spring located several miles up a hill outside the city. The water had to be piped in and as a result, it had an incredibly unpleasant taste and smell (think sulfur or rotten eggs) as well a warmish temperature, no matter the time of year. Jesus starts out by letting the Christians in Laodicea know that their deeds and lack of zeal is so gross to Him that He wants to spit the whole lot of them out of His mouth. 

Yikes. 

Jesus was fully aware of what was going on in their hearts and none of it was good or life-giving. The Christians in Laodicea were conceited and ungrateful for their many gifts. On top of that they lacked any kind of self-awareness at all. The Christians in Laodicea were snooty and smug regarding their earthly riches, physical well-being and abundance of resources. Jesus was categorically unimpressed with their worldly success.

 The text is clear.

 Jesus loved the Christians in Laodicea but was disgusted with their complete absence of good deeds and lack of humility. The church felt good about themselves, their resources and what they had accomplished in life but in all the ways that really mattered, they were shameful, visionless and adrift.   Jesus urges the Christians in Laodicea to repent in the some of the strongest and scariest language in all of the Bible (Revelation 3:18-19) 

Here’s the thing though:  

Laodicea is a spiritual success story.

Apparently, the church took Jesus’ words to heart. The best evidence strongly suggests the Christians in Laodicea heeded the words of Jesus, got their spiritual act together, repented their faces off and went on to make a spiritual difference in their world. 

 In April of 2021 My husband and I visited Laodicea. Our tour guide pointed out there is ample evidence indicating the church went completely underground by early in the second century (hidden churches, secret symbols, etc.).  The church would have had little reason to hide unless they had started to take their faith seriously and, in the process, became offensive to the pagan culture.  Moreover, one of the earliest church councils took place in Laodicea. It is highly unlikely Laodicea would have been chosen as a location for an early church council if the church in Laodicea still had a reputation for being spiritually weak, lukewarm and proud of their sin. 

The Christians in Laodicea took Jesus up on His offer to enter into intimate fellowship with Him (Revelation 3:20).

This makes the final letter to the Seven Churches the most hopeful and encouraging of all the letters to all the churches. The outcome of the most messed up of all the churches tells us that no one is ever too lost to be found and even the most worldly of Christians can hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, respond to God’s prompting and become something beautiful and life-giving.  It’s critical we understand not all churches fared as well as Laodicea. Some ended in a sad fizzle.   

This letter teaches us that our deeds and attitudes matter every bit as much as our beliefs (James 2:14-20, Ephesians 2:1-3).

  Jesus cares about what we believe. Doctrine matters (1st Timothy 4:16, Titus 2:1) Every Christian should strive to understand the Bible and every church should teach it with clarity.  That being said, ultimately, Christians prove their faith by what they do and how they live. If we say we believe in God and live like unsaved people do we probably don’t believe at all.  The key to a thriving faith is to listen to the Holy Spirit and then DO what God tells us to do. 

It’s what keeps us spiritually alive and relevant to the world we live in.

The Seven Churches Series- Philadelphia-the Best of the Seven

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him- 2nd Chronicles 16:9 NKJV

The city of Philadelphia was a scary place to live.  

The city was built on a fault line and prone to frequent and fierce earthquakes. The entire city was completely leveled by a massive earthquake in A.D. 117. The residents of Philadelphia lived much of their lives either in fear of the next big natural disaster or figuring out how to recover from the last big natural disaster.  

Philadelphia was an even scarier place to be a Christian.

Christians struggled with all of the same difficulties everyone else did. They also had the misfortune of living in a city that was extraordinarily devoted to Rome. 

After Philadelphia was destroyed in A.D. 117, Rome cancelled tax payments for the city. This gift provided the capital necessary to entirely rebuild the city. The residents of Philadelphia were naturally super grateful. They chose to express their appreciation by turning their city into a hotbed of Emperor worship (for details on Emperor worship and how it worked read the blogs in this series on Smyrna and Pergamum).  

Emperor worship was the most common form of religious expression in the city but it was far from being the only one. Philadelphia was so jam-packed with idols and pagan temples it was called “little Athens” after the city in Greece celebrated for being the most “religious” (idolatrous) city on earth (Acts 17:17-34). Between the idolatry and the Caesar worship Christians lived under the constant threat of death or of becoming unemployable due to their refusal to join trade unions that demanded idol worship as a condition of employment (for more on trade unions read the blog in this series on Pergamum). 

Additionally.

  The Jews in Philadelphia could have made life easier for Christians by allowing Christianity to be recognized as an offshoot of Judaism. Instead, they did their level best to just generally make life as difficult as possible for them (Revelation 3:9).  They were so horrible to the church Jesus calls the Jews in Philadelphia a “synagogue of Satan” and promises to “force them to bow down” to the Christians there. This is a promise to personally repay their enemies for all the trouble and pain they were caused.  

Yikes. 

In spite of all the stress they lived under, the Christians in Philadelphia remained unwaveringly faithful to Jesus. They refused to cave to the almost unbearable pressure coming at them from all sides.  

It is just one of two letters that contains no criticism whatsoever.

 Jesus praises the Christians in Philadelphia for their deeds (Matthew 5:16, Ephesians 2:10-11, James 2:14, James 3:13) and for going through a “door” He had opened for them (Revelation 3:8). The history of the city helps us understand what Jesus meant and why He was pleased with the Christians there. The city of Philadelphia was intended from its inception to be a gateway or a door between the cultures in the region. Philadelphia butted up against three city/states (Mysia, Lydia, Phrygia) and led to what was a “great unknown” at the time. The goal of the city planners was to make Philadelphia a launching pad to spread Hellenism around the world. 

Jesus had other plans for Philadelphia. Jesus used men who had no idea what they were doing to create an open door for His message to go out to all the world. Before any of the Christians in Philadelphia were even born God set the city up as one of the major missionary hubs of the first century. 

And.

In spite of all of the persecution and trouble the Christians in Philadelphia experienced, they were off-the-charts successful at doing what Jesus called them to do. At great cost to themselves they went through the door Jesus opened for them. They remained faithful to biblical truth and the missionary call even though it had cost some of them their lives (Revelation, 3:8, Revelation 3:10). 

Jesus’ words give us an intriguing glimpse into the power and sovereignty of our God. Nothing in this life is an accident. Every opportunity we have, every connection we make, every good thing we are blessed with is given to us by God for a purpose. He has a plan and is constantly working to bring that plan to fulfillment. There are times when God is doing more in our lives than we are even capable of understanding (Ephesians 3:20), and sometimes the situations that appear on the surface to be least ideal and most painful are sometimes the ones that will bear the most fruit for eternity. 

We cannot know the future. Sometimes we struggle to even understand the present. It is not our job to understand. It is our job to obediently go through the doors God opens on our behalf. 

Jesus wants His people to be future focused, especially when the present feels dark and uncertain.

He ends His letter to the faithful in Philadelphia with some promises any Christian walking through dark times can hang onto.  He promises a “crown” to the few who remain faithful to Him. This crown will be a public acknowledgement of their fidelity that will be obvious to everyone for all of eternity. Then He says they will become pillars in His Holy temple.  This is a guarantee they will live in His presence for all of eternity.  Those who go through the doors God opens and remain faithful to Him will have the peace, safety and blessing in heaven they lacked on earth.