Tag: Spiritual health

Strategic Keys to Preventing Spiritual Burnout, Backsliding and Deconstruction-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, and like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord- 1st Peter 2:1-3 NASB

We all have them in our lives. 

People we love and care about who started the race of faith with a lot of hullabaloo and determination. Nevertheless, something went terribly wrong and they either deconstructed loudly and proudly or burnt-out slowly and left the Christian faith quietly. 

Their condition is sad, befuddling and scary all at the same time. It’s sad because we love them want everyone to experience every good thing Jesus has to offer (John 10:10). It’s befuddling because we cannot help but wonder what on earth happened. Were they never really believers?  If they are believers, will they make into heaven by the skin of their teeth with zero rewards? It’s scary because we don’t really know what the spiritual outcome will be for them.

Sadly, all the above questions are a bit above my paygrade. 

 I honestly don’t know if those who profess Christ and then regress permanently were ever really saved or not. Nor do I know what it will be like for them on judgment day. Jesus made it clear that there are people who appear to be Christians and are not (Matthew 13:30, Matthew 25).  It’s also true we are saved by grace, not works (Romans 3:23-24, Ephesians 2:8-9). However, everyone will receive rewards in keeping with their works (Matthew 6:1-6, Matthew 25:14-29, 1st Corinthians 3:15).

I do know God is gracious and good (Luke 15:11-32, 1st John 1:9, Lamentations 3:22). Therefore, prevention is without a doubt more important than understanding the ins-and-outs of issues that are above our paygrade. The sad reality is regression (or backsliding) can happen to anyone (Hebrews 5:12-14, Romans 1:21). It doesn’t matter if the person has been a believer (or even a Christian leader) for a long time. Nor does it matter how many cool things they have done for the kingdom. Regression happens to every classification of Christian. Because Jesus had nothing good to say about quitters (Luke 9:62) today we are going to look at the most common causes of spiritual regression and how to prevent them. 

Drift- 

The book of Hebrews has a lot to say about the spiritual dangers of drift (Hebrews 2:1-4, Hebrews 5:12-14, Hebrews 10:25). Drift usually begins with a tough season that leads to a low-level spiritual burnout.  Everything in life is hard and deep in our hearts we know God could make things easier on us if He was willing and obviously, He is not willing or the season would be less hard. So, we intentionally or subconsciously slow communication with the Almighty to a trickle. As a result, our Bibles get a bit dusty, church attendance becomes spotty and our prayers are more fleeting and compulsory than passionate and honest.  Before we know it, it’s like “God who?”. The key to preventing drift is accountability to other people and a rock-solid commitment to appropriately dealing with our anger at God (see point four) and trusting Him to do what’s best for us even when the circumstances of our lives are not all we hoped they would be. 

 Ditching church- 

Attending Church doesn’t make a person a Christian, nor does church attendance automatically make an attender spiritually healthy. However, church attendance is a gage of our spiritual temperature.  A desire to ditch church is a clear indicator of a problem. However, attending a healthy, gospel proclaiming church puts us in proximity to things and people that encourage and promote growth like other Christians, solid Bible teaching and prayer (James 5:16). 

Lack of intentional growth- 

Spiritual growth does not happen without effort (2nd Peter 1:3-11).  Choosing to grow means making a daily commitment to pray, learn the Bible and practice holiness (Isaiah 35:8, 2nd Corinthians 7:1). Choosing to grow also means deciding every single day to get up and persevere in our faith even when life gets hard and God feels distant.  It means never giving up or giving into spiritual laziness (Hebrews 6:11). 

Hurt that gets the better of us-

The Bible does not shy away from the reality that this life is full of pain and heartache (Romans 8:18, 2ndCorinthians 1:5). If we are not careful the trouble and tribulation that’s a normal consequence of living in a fallen world can cause us to become bitter towards God. Bitterness can lead to spiritual defection (Matthew 13:21, Matthew 24:9-10, Hebrews 12:15). On the other hand, pain and hurt can cause us to grow and become even more rooted in our faith (1st Peter 1:6-9). Prayer and close Christian friends are the keys to keeping the tough stuff from getting the best of us (Matthew 26:14, 1st Peter 4:7, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, Hebrews 10:24-25, 1st Thessalonians 5:11). However, waiting until there’s a crisis to build community or cultivate a prayer life will not do a whole lot for us. Prayer and community should be a priority for every Christian. The tough times will come (John 16:33) it’s on us to be spiritually prepared for those times (Matthew 7:24-27).  

And finally,  

Getting hung up on the stuff we don’t understand- 

No human being is capable of fully understanding why God does what He does (Isaiah 55:8-9). This means that when we come up against seasons of life or circumstances that make no sense. In those moments the only spiritually logical response is to trust and believe God is good and He is diligently working things out for our good (Romans 8:28). 

Questions we can ask to “Test the Spirits”-

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free- John 8:32 NASB

The book of 1st John was written by the Apostle John (Matthew 4:20-21, Matthew 17:1, Mark 5:37), from the city of Ephesus sometime around 90-95 A.D.  John was a very old man (late seventies or early eighties) when he wrote the book and the last living apostle. 

 The book of 1st John is a New Testament book I classify as “swan songs”. The term “swan song” is not a real theological term (I made it up). “Swan song” is actually a fancy-pants literary term for a farewell work or someone’s famous last words. John’s three letters as well as 2nd Peter and 2nd Timothy are swan songs because they were all written near the end of the apostle’s lives. Like all the swan songs John wrote 1st John with his impending death at the forefront of his mind. His overarching goal was to communicate critical truths that he hoped would empower followers of Jesus to survive and thrive in a world that would soon be devoid of apostolic wisdom. 

 John (and nearly every other New Testament writer) was deeply concerned about false teachers (sometimes called prophets) who had already begun to infiltrate the church and teach things that bore no resemblance to sound doctrine (Matthew 7:14, Matthew 24:11, Acts 20:28-30, 2nd Peter 2:1, 1st Timothy 1:1-3). John wanted his readers to understand the importance of practicing discernment where Christian teaching is concerned.   In John 4:1 the apostle says this:

 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

The word for spirit in this verse means “breath” or “wind”. John is (in my opinion) echoing an idea the apostle Paul talks about in Ephesians. It says: 

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming- Ephesians 4:14

 John is warning his readers (us) that there will always be folks who appear to be legitimate spiritual leaders, but who are in reality false teachers. These folks blow a lot of weird doctrine around. It is critical Christians learn to discern genuine biblical teachings from spiritual hot air so that they would not be blown around and taken captive by false teachings. False teachings deceive God’s people into believing things that could lead to sin and/or a detachment from real faith (Colossians 2:18-19,1st Timothy 4:1). John’s concern begs a question: how do modern Christians discern between a good spiritual teacher or teaching and a bad spiritual teacher or teaching? This is important because nothing has really changed since John wrote his book. There are still a lot of false teachers blowing a lot of bad ideas around. Following are some questions to ask about all teachers, pastors and teachings we come across. Asking these questions help us discern between spirits. 

Is the teacher/prophet’s teaching or practice found in the Bible?

If not, proceed with extreme caution. God gave us the Bible for many reasons, one of those reasons is to give us some standards of practice in our churches. There is simply no substitute for actually knowing what the Bible says and understanding it’s precepts. The only way to get to know the Bible is to read it.  It is imperative believers get into the Bible and learn it for themselves. The most efficient way to get taken captive by bad teaching or mislead by a bad teachers is to have an incomplete or shallow understanding of the Bible. 

Is the practice the teacher is advocating for prescriptive or descriptive?  

There are two kinds of practices found in the Bible: prescriptive and descriptive. A prescriptive practice is something we are explicitly told to do in Scripture. There are many prescriptive practices found in Scripture. Communion (Matthew 26:26-29, Luke 22:19,1st Corinthians 11:24, baptism (Matthew 28:16-20), marriage between a man and a woman (Hebrews 13:4, Genesis 2:24) are a few such examples. Descriptive practices are things that happened but we are not explicitly told to do those things.  Jephthah sacrificing his daughter in Judges 11:34-35 and communal living (Acts 2:42-47 are examples of descriptive practices. If a teacher insists believers embrace a descriptive practice it is a flaming-red flag. Run. 

Is the leader honoring Jesus in their behavior? 

Our generation of believers has bought into the lie that any sort of moral judgment over any behavior is a grave sin, perhaps even the unpardonable sin. This view is based on Jesus’ teaching in Luke 6:37). Jesus’ teaching is important but Scripture’s teaching on judgment is more nuanced than one verse. It is true that no one can judge whether or not a person is worthy of heaven. That’s God’s job alone. Nor should believers worry about the behavior of non-believers (1st Corinthians 5:12-13). Again, that’s all on God to judge.  However, Christians are TOLD TO make moral judgments about the behavior of those who profess Christ as Lord (1stCorinthians 5:1-11). Some things are simply not okay for Christians (1st Corinthians 6:9-11, 1st Tmothy 1:8-11, Galatians 5:19-21), especially Christian leaders (Titus 1:7-9, 1st Timothy 3:1-13. It’s not our job to condemn Christians living in blatant sin, nor are we to withhold forgiveness when they repent. However, we are told to avoid spending time with those living in stubborn sin until they repent (1st Corinthians 5:12, 1st Corinthian 15:33-34) because sin tends to be contagious (Jude 22-23). A Christian leader who is living in serious sin is not someone we should be following.

And finally:

Where might this teaching lead? 

The true test of a teaching is where it leads those who follow it. Good teaching leads to holiness, righteousness, love and biblical grace (1st Corinthians 13, Titus 2:11-12, 1st John 3:6-8, Hebrews 12:14). Bad teaching leads to low view of holiness and an extreme view of grace that really becomes an excuse for sin and loose living. We are living on the cusp of a great revival, whether or not we see genuine revival in our lifetime will depend largely on how which voices we listen to.  

 Let’s contend hard for the truth faith (Jude 3-4).

How we Maximize our Spiritual Potential-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

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

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

It’s true.

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

However. 

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

Mercifully, all those outcomes are completely preventable. 

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

Making Jesus our center-

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

Refusing to circle the temptation- 

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

And finally,

Integrity is key-

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

The Four Kinds of Trouble Caused by Bitterness-

Lisa M. Price2 Comments

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you- Ephesians 4:31-32 NIV

Bitterness is bad. 

Really bad. 

In every reference to the emotion of bitterness, the Bible either clearly identifies bitterness as a sin or as the direct consequence of sinful human choices (Ecclesiastes 7:26, Proverbs 5:3-5, Proverbs 17:25, Jeremiah 4:18). Christians are straight-up commanded not to be bitter (Ephesians 4:31, Hebrews 12:15). The writer of Hebrews warns that bitterness is especially problematic for Christians because it triggers a unique kind of “trouble” for believers (Hebrews 12:15). It’s not overstating facts to say bitterness is an exceptionally toxic spiritual poison.  When we allow bitterness to take root it produces a playground for the enemy of our souls (Ephesians 4:26-27, 1st Peter 5:8). It also defiles (ruins, taints, corrupts) both the bitter person and the people they love. 

Yikes. 

Bitterness produces a special kind of trouble, one that has the power to trip of even the best and brightest of God’s people. That trouble includes:

Hindering our ability to worship God-

One of the biggest spiritual issues with bitterness is that it profoundly impairs our ability to worship God. At the heart of all genuine worship is a spirit of gratitude and thanksgiving (1st Chronicles 16:34, Psalm 107:7, Colossians 3:16). It is literally impossible to be grateful to God and bitter at the same time. It simply cannot be done; salt water and fresh water cannot come from the same source (James 3:10-12). A person can worship God or they can hang out in the bitter barn. No one can do both. Additionally, I have observed it is very common for bitter people to simply quit church altogether. This is because a bitter person struggles to worship God freely and worship is the primary reason Christians gather. If you are a Christian and worship holds no appeal to you, or worse yet annoys you, bitterness is likely an issue. 

Becoming bitter short-circuits the only good thing that can come out of a trial- 

It’s simply a fact that if we experience enough trials in rapid succession without processing them properly, trials will make us bitter (Ruth 1:1-21). However, it is also true that trials serve a valuable spiritual purpose (1st Peter 1:5-7, James 1:2-4). Trials refine us and help us to understand what’s important in life. Trials also give us a deeper and more profound longing for heaven, unless we allow ourselves to become bitter. If we become bitter due to trials all we get out of them is cynicism, broken relationships and lost spiritual opportunities. If a trial (or series of trials) has left you angry, reclusive or depressed bitterness may be to blame. 

Bitterness hinders our spiritual purpose- 

God could rapture His people off the planet as soon as they come to faith in Jesus. He’s fully capable and it would make things easier for us, but He doesn’t. Instead, God leaves us in our families, friend groups and communities for the specific purpose of being His faithful witnesses to a lost and dying world (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8). One of the chief objectives of salvation is to become as much like Jesus as we possibly can so that the unbelievers and skeptics around us see Jesus in us and want to know Him better (2nd Corinthians 3:18). Bitterness makes effective evangelism nearly impossible, partly because bitter people reflect God poorly.   

Bitter people make people bitter- 

I am convinced that with a few notable exceptions, bitter people don’t intend to make other people bitter, but they do. Bitter people spread bitterness like a bad cold because bitterness makes people entirely self-centered.  The constant self-focus leads the bitter person to do outlandishly thoughtless and just plain mean things to the people they care about most.  Sadly, the bitter person is so self-focused they are either blinded to what they are doing to others, or they feel justified in their behavior. When someone is routinely hurt or mistreated by someone being eaten alive by bitterness, they quickly become bitter themselves, this is how bitterness “defiles many”. 

Bitterness is never inevitable; it can always be avoided or dealt with. The best way to avoid bitterness (or deal with it effectively) is to routinely examine our lives (2nd Corinthians 13:5).   Ask yourself the following questions:

Do I become excessively angry at the sins or folly of others?

Do I lack grace? 

Do people annoy me for no reason? 

Do I have a pattern of cutting people out of my life? 

Do I routinely make bad decisions because I refuse to take advice from others?

All of the above are signs of a bitter spirit. 

Anger, resentment and irritation are the precursors to bitterness. Anytime we begin to feel those feelings on a regular basis, it’s a sign bitterness is beginning to take root in our hearts. The antidote to bitterness is honest prayer and a willingness to forgive those who hurt us (Matthew 18:21-35, Mark 11:25, Luke 6:37, Colossians 3:13). We must make a habit of sorting out our hurt, pain and disappointment with life and people before the Lord. Honest prayer is rarely a one and done when it comes to correcting a bitter spirit. We must be willing to take our feelings before God until our hearts soften, and we are walking in alignment with the God who forgives completely and loves without limits ( John 3:16, Acts 10:43, 1st John 3:1, Psalm 103:12)

The Big Uglies that Lead to Bigger Trouble-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new- 1st Corinthians 5:16-17 NKJV

Most Christians get what sin is.  

The most basic definition of sin is disobedience to God’s commands. We sin when go our own way and do our own thing with no thought to God and His will for His creation (us). Because we are endlessly creative in our degeneracy it is nearly impossible to give an exhaustive list of ALL the possible sins. Some classifications of popular sins would include sexual immorality, deceit, murder, and idolatry. 

Here’s the thing though: 

Sin is much more complex than a simple act. There’s always a lead-up. No one just wakes up one day and out of the clear blue sky decides “today I will commit murder”. The book of James tells us that sin has roots. James calls these roots “desires”. Some translations use the word “lusts” (James 1:15, James 4:1). 

I call them the big uglies. 

The big uglies are the attitudes and aspirations that, if left untended eventually give birth to life destroying sins like adultery, bitterness, murder, greed, deceit and slander. If we allow ourselves to entertain these attitudes sin is without question knocking at our door (Genesis 4:7). 

The top five spiritual uglies are:

Pride-  

Pride is perhaps the most pernicious of the uglies. Pride was the sin that transformed Lucifer into Satan (the deceiver) and got him thrown out of heaven (Ezekial 28:12-15, Isaiah 14:13-14).  Pride is easy to spot in others but difficult to see in ourselves. Prideful people see themselves as more important than others and therefore entitled to certain rights and privileges others are not allowed.  Prideful people are reluctant (to the point of unwillingness) to admit wrong even when it’s painfully obvious, they are wrong. Prideful people (sometimes called narcissists) refuse to humble themselves, or admit fault (Proverbs 29:23, 1st Peter 5:5-6). Prideful people believe in their heart-of-hearts they are better than others. This makes them unforgiving and unwilling to extend grace (Matthew 6:15, Ephesians 4:32, Matthew 18:4). A prideful person will do ANYTHING to save face and come out on top. Anything includes (but is not limited to) big sins such as lying, controlling others, slandering and boastfulness (Leviticus 19:16, Psalm 101:5, Romans 1:3, Revelation 21:8). God despises pride (Proverbs 6:16-19, Luke 14:11). 

Rebellion- 

Rebellion is the stubborn rejection of legitimate authority. Rebellion is the big ugly sin that led to the fall of mankind (Genesis 3). Rebellion is closely related to pride. Rebellion begins with a prideful belief that “I know what’s best” and usually ends with a determined unwillingness to take “no” for an answer. Rebellion eventually manifests itself in open defiance towards all authority including God. A rebellious person has an “it’s all about me” view of life. They have no respect for authority, rules or the needs of others.  God puts rebellion in the same category as witchcraft. Rebellion is ultimately a veneration of self and therefore a super icky form of idolatry (1stSamual 15:23). 

Selfish ambition-

Selfish ambition is the yearning to create a following for oneself.  It’s a longing to be a big deal. Selfish ambition hurts the church because the selfishly ambitious person is mainly interested in using Jesus to become well-known and well-thought of (Philippians 1:17, Galatians 5:19-20, Philippians 2:3). Selfish ambition sometimes looks like “spreading the gospel” or “growing the Kingdom”.  It’s not. Those things always lead to peace, flourishing and healthy community. Selfish ambition, on the other hand always leads to strife, envy and conflict in the church (James 3:14-16).  The whole point of Christian leadership is to point people to Jesus and help them grow into the image of Jesus (Ephesians 4:11-12). At the end of the day a selfishly ambitious leader is always more interested in elevating themselves than Jesus. 

Jealousy- 

These days most folks see jealousy as more of a character defect or a moral shortcoming rather than an actual sin. However, God sees human jealously as one of the foulest and most dangerous of sins. Jealousy or envy is deeply rooted in the sin of covetousness (Exodus 20:17). Jealousy is never content with what it has (1st Timothy 6:6, Hebrews 13:5). It wants what others have and will stop at nothing to get it. The pharisees were so profoundly jealous of Jesus authority and influence they murdered Him (Matthew 27:18). A truly jealous person cannot stand to share the stage with anyone. 

 Self-reliance-

Self-reliance is when we choose to do any part of life without consulting God through prayer and Bible study for direction.  Self-reliance is choosing to lean on our own flawed understanding of the world rather than seeking God’s wisdom and moral insight (Proverbs 3:6). A self-reliant person often sees God’s commands as cumbersome and difficult rather than God’s way of protecting His people from harm. This stupidity harms the self-reliant person and creates chaos in the lives of those they lead and influence. 

Here’s the thing about the big uglies: 

Literally, ANYONE can get entangled in a big ugly (Hebrews 12:1). Seriously. Some of God’s best and brightest drifted toward pride, rebellion, selfish ambition, jealousy and self-reliance (David, Solomon, Hezekiah, Peter). The key to avoiding the attitudes that lead to us (and those we love and serve) to hell is a gut-level commitment to sticking as close to Jesus as we can possibly get. No one can escape the appeal of sin without God’s help. Therefore, it is imperative we make God, prayer, God’s word and intimacy with God our number one priority. 

Jesus’ Two Rules for Surviving Crazy Times-

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

Those who have insight will shine like the glow of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever- Daniel 12:3 NASB 

We live in weird, scary and truly unprecedented times. 

Seriously. 

Believers and even some unbelievers are stupefied at the rate culture is changing and the direction the world appears to be headed in. Governments are becoming more authoritarian. Robots are taking over. People are more calloused and attitudes and behaviors that were once thought to be totally out of bounds are not only accepted, but defended and even celebrated with wild abandon.  

Sigh.

Some believe all this craziness this means are living in what the Bible calls “the end” (Daniel 8:17-18, Daniel 12:9, Daniel 12:13, Matthew 24:3, 1st Peter 4:7). 

I don’t know if we are or we aren’t. 

Seriously. I don’t. 

No one does. It will be tough to tell for absolute certain if we’re living in the end times until Jesus shows up or doesn’t (Matthew 25:31, Matthew 24:36-42). 

That being said.

 In Matthew twenty-four Jesus gives two commands or rules for those living in the end times. Both are excellent advice for anyone living in weird, scary and or unprecedented times. This is because the temptations will be the same whether one is living in the end times or in just really weird times. These “rules” precede everything else Jesus says about what will happen just prior to His return. This means if we don’t take these two rules seriously at all times we will be done for when the really crazy-town stuff starts to go down (Matthew 24:4-27, Daniel 12, Revelation 13-18)

Jesus’ two rules for surviving scary times are:

See to it that no one deceives you- Matthew 24:4 NASB

See to it that you are not afraid- Matthew 24:6 NASB

That’s it. 

Jesus’ instruction tells me God totally has the inside scoop as to what our go-to’s are as human beings. God knows we need routine reminders not to turn our brains off and let fear run the show.  There are at least three different ways people can be deceived about Jesus and at least one really good reason to not give into fear (Isaiah 41:10, Romans 8:15).   

It’s critical we remember anyone can be deceived about Jesus’ true identity (2nd Corinthians 11:4, Galatians 1:6). There are all sorts of folks who have a relationship with a really nice, really cool Jesus who is ultimately nothing more than a figment of their imagination. All humans tend to create gods in their own image, it’s kind of our thing (Romans 1:18-23). The closer we get to the end the more prone people will be to proclaim and worship a Jesus who bears no actual resemblance to the Jesus of the Bible. The real Jesus is offensive to those who don’t want to submit themselves and their desires to God, so instead, they construct a new (and in their minds) improved Jesus who is totally affirming of all sorts of attitudes and behaviors the Bible calls evil. It is incumbent on anyone who calls themselves a Christian to make sure the Jesus they worship looks and acts like the Jesus found in the gospels. The real Jesus would never be okay with or bless anything the Bible calls sinful (Galatians 5:19-21, 1st Corinthians 6:9-11, Colossians 3:5-11). 

People can also become deceived about what Jesus is all about, meaning there will be those who claim Jesus’ main purpose in coming will be political in nature. Some will actually claim they are the savior of the world. They will get people to follow them rather than God.  Others will circumvent religion altogether and attempt to construct secular governments (kingdoms) they promise will create a heaven here on earth. In exchange for access to these kingdoms, people will be forced to swear their allegiance to the leaders of these governments. Christians are told to pray for earthly leaders and to obey any laws that do not contradict God’s commands but Christians are never to worship or swear absolute allegiance to a human leader (1st Timothy 2:1-3, Matthew 22:21. 

 Another common deception revolves around the coming of Jesus, or the lack thereof. The Bible makes it clear that even some of His followers will claim Jesus’ return is a myth or a fairy tale that will never happen. Others will say they are really Jesus and should be worshiped. Still others will say the return of Jesus has already taken place and therefore its nothing to worry about (Matthew 24:4-5, 2nd Thessalonians 2:1-3, 2nd Peter 3:1-10).  The problem with denying the second coming is that it causes us to become like the servants Jesus warns about at the end of Matthew twenty-four. Writing off the return of Jesus as a myth causes us to doubt God altogether and become focused on money, pleasures and self. This inevitably leads to sin and the exploitation of others (Matthew 24:42-51).  

Yikes. 

The biggest issue with fear is it turns off the logic center of our brains. When we embrace fear, we forfeit our ability to think clearly. This causes us to doubt everything we know about God and the Bible. When we are afraid and walking in doubt rather than faith, we will do anything to make the fear go away (Hebrews 11:6). Anything includes sin, worshiping humans and swearing our allegiance to people and ideas that are in direct contradiction to everything the Bible calls good and life-giving. 

No wonder Jesus was so opposed to fear. 

The Potentially Fatal Gap in our Understanding of Christianity-

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So, glorify God in your body-1st Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV

The Bible is our go-to for understanding God, our faith and how to live out our faith in a way that glorifies God in this world. 

However.

Understanding the Bible is often complicated by the reality that the New Testament writers frequently referenced cultural practices completely foreign to the average Joe and Jane Christian.  Our ignorance of those everyday cultural practices can leave some gaps in our understanding of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. 

There is possibly no better example of this than the term bondservant.

The Greek word for bondservant (doulos) is used twenty-eight times in the New Testament (NASB translation). In all but one of those references (Philippians 2:7) the word bondservant is either used to describe followers of Jesus, or it is the word a follower of Jesus used to identify and describe themselves (Luke 1:38-48, Romans 1:1, Jude 1:1, James 1:1, 2nd Peter 1:1). All the Testament writers, without exception, taught that all Christians, are by their very nature, bondservants of the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:17, 1st Peter 2:16, 1st Corinthians 6:19-20, Revelation 1:1, Revelation 11:18). 

Okay, so, here’s the thing:

Our understanding of this one little concept is critical to grasping what it really means to be a Christian—no matter the era or culture. A lack of knowledge in this one little area will leave some big gaps in our understanding of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Some of those gaps could prove fatal. Seriously. It’s that big a deal. 

A bondservant and a servant were not the same thing. The Greek word for servant is diakonos. A dikonos was simply someone who served.  A diakonos could be slave but it was more common for them to be a free person. In the New Testament diakonos described a man or woman who worked in the church, usually in an official capacity such as a deacon or a deaconess (Acts 6:1-6, Romans 16:1, Philippians 1:1, 1st Timothy 3:10). 

On the other hand:

A bondservant was a slave by choice. The sold themselves for a price and in exchange for that price the bondservant forfeited all of their rights. 

All of them.

A bondservant could not purchase property, get married or even do something as basic as leave for the evening, without the explicit consent of their master. A bondservant placed every aspect of their lives in the hands of the person they sold themselves to. The master had all the power in the relationship and they were legally bound by their choice for the rest of their lives. 

 So:

Why on earth would anyone choose to become a bondservant? 

Ultimately, bondservants chose to become bondservants because they believed, after weighing all their options, living life as a bondservant would better for them in every way than running their own life and living as a freeperson. The bond-servant trusted their master to do right by them, usually because the master displayed stellar character and had an outstanding reputation.  

Nonetheless 

 The life of a bondservant was far from easy. A bondservant was a still a slave. By definition their choices were not their own. Bond-servants didn’t debate the rightness or wrongness of the orders given by their master. They were bought at a price, therefore they did what they were told. 

So, what does this mean for Christians?

Well.

First and foremost, it means we have the best Master ever (Psalm 84:11, John 3:16, 1st John 4:10-12, Ephesians 2:4-8).  We have a Master who literally died for the sake of every single one of His servants (Romans 5:5-8, 1stCorinthians 15:33). We have a Master who loves all of His servants as individuals. It means we have a Master who not only wants what’s best for those who serve Him. He also knows exactly what’s best for His people. 

It also means your life is not your own. 

You forfeited your rights in exchange for your salvation. As a bond-servant of the Lord Jesus Christ you do what God’s word instructs you do (Luke 11:28). When you realize you’ve sinned. You stop.  Because your Master calls you to be holy just as He is holy (Romans 1:7, Ephesians 5:3, 1st Peter 1:15-16). If He wants you to love someone. You love them. Because you are called by your Master to love as He loves 1st Corinthians 13, John 13:34-35, Ephesians 4:2).  If your Master wants you to forgive a jerk who hurt you. You forgive. Because you are commanded by your Master to forgive as He forgave you (Matthew 18:21-35). If He wants you to lay down your pride at the altar and ask someone for forgiveness. You do it.  Because you are called to a life of humble service to Him (Romans 12:3, James 4:10, Luke 14:11)

Being a bond-servant of Jesus Christ means you are obligated to do what your Master wants to do and if your desires are in conflict with His commands, He wins. Every. Single. Time.  

That being said:

Being a bond-servant also means, that if we are faithful to our Master, if we carry out His orders. If we allow ourselves to be molded into the image of Jesus, our reward will be beyond anything we can even imagine (Hebrews 10:35, Matthew 25:21, 2nd Corinthians 3:18). 

How do we Survive and even Thrive in the face of Tyranny or Persecution?

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong- 2nd Corinthians 12:11 NIV 

Daniel chapter three opens with a exhibition of unbridled narcissism.  After hearing how awesome he was (Daniel 2:37-38). King Nebuchadnezzar decided to declare himself a god and have a massive statue created in his image (Romans 1:25). When his project was complete he threw a dedication party and commanded all the leaders in Babylon attend.  (Daniel 3:1-3).  The attendees were instructed to bow down and worship the statue anytime the music played. 

In classic Nebuchadnezzar fashion he informed the crowd that if anyone, for any reason, failed to worship the monument to his own awesomeness he would have them thrown into a blazing hot furnace (Daniel 3:4-6). Posthaste. Three Jews, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego stubbornly refused to get on board. It didn’t take long for one of the court sycophants to take notice and rat them out to the king. 

Nebuchadnezzar was not accustomed to being told “no”. Their refusal enraged him. He had the three men be brought before him and gave them one more chance to submit or face the consequences. 

They chose the consequences. 

But not before, making perhaps, the most beautiful statements of faith found anywhere in all the Bible (Daniel 3:16-18). Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego flatly refused to submit to an idolatrous act, defend themselves, or beg for mercy. Rather, they calmly informed the king they believed their God did indeed have the power to save them. They also conceded God might choose NOT to save them. Either way there was zero chance they were going to be bowing down to his silly statue. Period.  

God did save them.  

Spectacularly.  

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were bound with ropes and thrown into a furnace so blazing hot it killed the men tasked with executing them. When Nebuchadnezzar looked in on the men, not only were they alive and well, there was also a fourth man walking in the furnace with them. It is commonly believed the fourth man in the fire was the pre-incarnate Jesus. The God of the universe was so pleased with their loyalty and obedience He got into the fire with them. They walked out of hell without so much as the smell of smoke on them. 

Dang. 

In the face of the worst kind of pressure these three young Hebrews retained their composure, fidelity to God and faith in God’s goodness. 

It’s a great story.

However, it’s more than a story. It’s also a bit of a sneak peek into future events. (Revelation 13:1-8, Matthew 24:15).  The Bible predicts that as the end of this age approaches, society and the people in it, will become scarier, less open to truth, more immoral and much more lawless (2nd Timothy 4:3, 2nd Timothy 3:1-5, 2nd Thessalonians 2:1-7, Matthew 24:1-25). All that will result in tyranny and intense persecution of anyone who refuses to worship the gods of this world. 

Christians are told to watch for signs of these times (Mark 13:34, 1st Peter 4:7). 

Our world is becoming more lawless and corrupt all the time. Barring a massive revival life will only get tougher for God’s people as the world continues to wind down (Daniel 7:21-22, Daniel 12:1, Matthew 24:9-13).  Christians should always be ready for persecution and trouble.  Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were prepared for spiritually challenging times. Each was able to maintain their loyalty to God in the midst of the worst kind of oppression and cruelty because they did four essential things:

They knew God intimately and were familiar with His word-

The law (Bible) was their true north (Psalm 119). Their understanding of the law gave them knowledge about God that fueled their love for God. Knowing God, His word and how fiercely they were loved by God (Isaiah 49:15-16) kept them spiritually resilient in literally the toughest of situations. 

They were intentional about forming community-

From day one Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego and Daniel resolutely pursued community and the accountability community provides (Daniel 2:17-18). The strength they derived from their little community empowered them to resist the pressure to adapt to the Babylonian way of life. When the going got tough they had each other and that was often enough to keep them from caving to the enormous pressure to take the easy way out of a hard set of circumstances (Daniel 3). 

They decided ahead of time where the lines would be drawn-

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego knew the time to prepare for persecution is not when it starts. We prepare for persecution by building our spiritual strength slowly over time. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego committed from day to saying “no” to the worldly temptations that would normalize sin that were so prevalent in Babylon (Daniel 1:6-21, Colossians 2:8, 1st Peter 4:12. 1st John 13:13, Titus 2:11-12). Because they went into their situation expecting persecution they were not spiritually disillusioned or confused about where God was in their situation.

And finally. 

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, believed with all their hearts that losing their lives (dying) would gain them something infinitely better. None of them were hung up on hanging onto the things of this world (Matthew 10:39). Their theology of heaven empowered them to walk through hell here on earth. 

We are no different from Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

 We have everything we need to survive and thrive even the worst the world throws at us when we choose intimacy with the Father, Christian community, obedience and belief in a better future with Jesus.

How do we “Fear the Lord”?

Lisa M. Price3 Comments

His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of the warrior; the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love- Psalm 147:10-11 NIV

There was a time in the not so distant past when all Christians and even most non-Christians agreed God was so unique, superior and different from humans that He should be honored, respected and regarded with a healthy dose of trepidation.  As a result, most Christians did their level best to do what the Bible said. Some were so intent on obeying God’s commands they wandered into legalism and created a whole bunch of crazy-town rules around God’s commands to ensure no one broke a single one of God’s directives. 

  That is called legalism.  

Legalism is terrible. Legalism inevitably leads to a cranky judgmental attitude, mean-spiritedness and pride.  Legalism has never in the history of forever made anyone more like Jesus.

Period. 

Okay, so, all that being said, there is one good thing that can be said about legalism, at its core legalism understands we can and do offend God with our spiritual flippancy and lack of attention to the things of God (Hebrews 2:1-3).

Here’s the thing though:

Legalism is not the biggest problem in the church today, not even close. These days, most people (even many serious Christians) tend to see God as just a slightly better, smarter and more evolved version of themselves. They believe God just really digs them no matter what they do or don’t do. This mindset causes people to view God as a non-judgy buddy or a benevolent gift-giver rather than as a holy, perfect, sinless being, who is entirely unlike us. A being who literally dwells in unapproachable light (1st Timothy 6:15-16, 1st Samuel 2:2, Psalm 99:9, Daniel 2:21-22, Revelation 4:8)

Fear of the Lord has become kind of old school and obsolete.  

This is a problem because when Christians lose their fear of the Lord they become dismissive about holiness and complacent in their faith. Spiritual complacency eventually metastasizes into a cancer that negatively impacts every aspect of our lives. It impacts how we handle sin and how we treat people. It affects how we witness and the way we approach God (Proverbs 1:7, Deuteronomy 10:12, Ecclesiastes 5:1-7, Revelation 14:7, Revelation 19:5). 

Our view of God colors our view of everything.  

When someone sees God as a friendly Santa Claus in the sky, sin just doesn’t seem like that big a deal (Genesis 6:5-6, 1st John 3:8). A soft stance on sin starts us down a moral spiral.  All of a sudden taking advantage of others and treating people made in the image of God with contempt doesn’t seem like a problem (Leviticus 19:13-15, Leviticus 25:17). When our view of God is gets off-center men can start to believe it’s okay to mistreat their wives, pornography feels like a perfectly reasonable way to meet legitimate sexual needs and adultery becomes acceptable under the “right” circumstances. When the problems with sin are minimized exploitation becomes the new normal and gender becomes a choice we get to make rather than the will of God for our lives (1st Timothy 3:1-5, 1st Thessalonians 4:3-8, Malachi 2:14-16, Genesis 1:27). When Christians lose their fear of God telling others about Jesus feels pointless because God’s warnings concerning hell are tough to take seriously (Matthew 5:22-28, Luke 12:25, 2nd Peter 4:4-22). When our view of God is skewed greed feels like sound financial planning and church attendance becomes about having our needs met rather than giving glory to the one who made us. None of this is good or life-giving. 

So.

It’s mission-critical Christians get the whole fearing the Lord thing one-hundred-percent right. Truth-be-told, for Christians the fear of the Lord is not a cowering, panicky, menacing terror that prevents us from approaching God and having a loving relationship with Him. 

This was once true. 

Prior to the death and resurrection of Jesus the thought of approaching God was fearsome and scary and rightly so.  Things tended to fall apart anytime sinful humans approached God in a flippant or haphazard kind of a way (Exodus 19, 1st Samuel 6:19, 1st Kings 19:13, Hebrews 12:18-21). People literally died. It was terrifying. 

However. 

All that has changed.  Thanks to Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross, when God sees a Christian He sees the holiness and perfection of Jesus rather than the individual’s intrinsic sinfulness. Practically speaking, this means followers of Jesus can approach God with boldness and expect to experience love, grace, forgiveness, comfort and even relationship in His presence (Psalm 25:14, Hebrews 4:16, 1st John 3:2)

Fear of the Lord is less about being fearful of God and more about an accurate perspective on the greatness, holiness and majesty of God. When we fear God we understand what our relationship is to God (Psalm 96:4, 1stChronicles 29:11, Ezekiel 36:23, Isaiah 55:9). When we get all that right fear of displeasing God causes us to go out of our way to obey God. Fearing God means believing two things with all our heart: 

  1. God is who He says He is.  
  2. God will do what He says he will do. 

People who fear God believe God sees everything. They read what God says about Himself in the Bible and believe those things are true and to be taken very literally. They know deep in their hearts that nothing in this world—including the inner workings of the human heart are hidden from God’s sight (Hebrews 4:13). They understand that God is merciful and they know He richly blesses every act of obedience and faith. They also understand God punishes deliberate disobedience. Fearing the Lord is understanding God is compassionate, merciful and good but in the words of C.S. Lewis—He is not safe.

How to Become a Healthier Christian-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment


Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? 2nd Corinthians 13:5 NIV

Christianity is not a faith based on a bunch of rules we follow in order to get God to like us (Matthew 22:37-40). 

Consequently,

There are grey areas in Christianity.

Although, the term “grey area” is not found anywhere in the Bible. Instead, the apostle Paul tells us that all things are permissible (meaning things not forbidden in Scripture). Nonetheless, many of those “permissible” things are not beneficial to our souls or supportive to our growth (1st Corinthians 10:23-33, 1stCorinthians 6:12). 

This basically means there are things Christians can do that we should be really careful about doing (if we do them at all). A classic example would be alcohol use. It is not sinful to use alcohol. However, there are numerous warnings concerning alcohol that should cause all Christians who use alcohol to put some serious guardrails around its use (Proverbs 23:21, Proverbs 20:1, Romans 13:13, Ephesians 5:18) 

Conversely.

There are a lot of things Christians don’t have to do—things not commanded in Scripture that we ought to at least consider making a regular practice of doing, simply because those things help us grow.  

Handling the grey areas of the faith well is all about practicing wisdom. It’s about having the foresight to seek the Lord for direction and going above and beyond to do life His way (Proverbs 3:5-6). We don’t do these things in a legalistic attempt to earn God’s love. We cannot earn something that’s already been freely given (John 3:16). Instead, we choose to live honorably as a way of saying “thank you” for what we have graciously been given (Ephesians 4:1).

One thing Christians are not commanded to do, that we should probably consider doing is what I call a “personal self-check”. The apostle Paul calls self-checks: self-examination (2nd Corinthians 13:5). 

Self-checks are one of the “what’s” of the faith. 

God wants us to do self-checks because frequent self-checks lead to self-awareness. Self-awareness protects us from falling into patterns of behavior that eventually lead to sin. Without frequent self-checks we run the risk of having “a Nebuchadnezzar moment” where we are warned about our sin but refuse to see our sin or refuse to own our sin despite God’s warning and ample time to repent (Daniel 4:1-37). Anytime we willfully choose the Nebuchadnezzar route, we receive all the possible consequences of our sin rather than God’s mercy (Romans 1:24-32). The full penalty is always a world of hurt for us and the people we love.

Sigh. 

A self-check is just a series of questions we ask are ourselves on a regular basis. My personal self-check questions are all designed to keep me on the straight and narrow by forcing me to think about my life holistically rather than in just pieces and parts.  

They are as follows:

Am I in the faith?

Being in the faith is about more than praying a sinner’s prayer “once a upon a time”. It’s also about more than church attendance. One can attend church and even lead a church and still be very much outside the faith (Matthew 7:22-24). When we are “in the faith” we seek God on a daily basis, we actively seek to disentangle ourselves from sinful attitudes and behaviors. Being in the faith means going out of our way to shore up the weak areas in our spiritual lives. Lastly, those in the faith make church and friendships with other believers a priority (Hebrews 10:25, James 5:16, 1st John 1:7, 2nd John 1:5). 

What do my relationships look like?  

The state of our closest relationships is oftentimes an indicator of our spiritual health. If our life is strewn with relationships that have been damaged or broken due to our willful sin, selfishness, rudeness or lying. We have a problem that needs immediate attention or our Nebuchadnezzar moment may be right around the corner (Proverbs 11:3, Hebrews 12:14, 1st Peter 2:17, Ephesians 5:21-22, Ephesians 5:25-28, Ephesians 6:4).

Am I walking in integrity? 

The best and most basic definition of integrity is being the same person all the time. People with integrity are not chameleons who adapt to fit into whatever situation they happen find themselves in (Proverbs 10:9). Integrity is closely linked to fear of the Lord (Proverbs 1:7). If we truly believe God is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do. Then we will do our level best to stay within the lines He has drawn for us. If we don’t we won’t.  

Is there any area of my life I’m hiding from God or other people?  

If there is a part of our life we feel we need to keep on the down-low we most definitely have a problem that requires our immediate attention. Openness and honesty are the hallmarks of a holy, God-fearing people (Romans 13:12). 

What does my thought life look like? 

Our thoughts determine our actions and our actions determine the course of our life (Matthew 15:18-20, Mark 7:20-22, Ephesians 2:3, Hebrews 3:1). Therefore, every Christian ought to pay attention to what types of thoughts routinely flit through their head. If we frequently think mean, lustful, judgy, angry or greedy thoughts we need to spend some time asking the Lord what’s at the root of these attitudes. Then we need ask God to reorder our thoughts and give us the mind of Christ (1st Corinthians 2:16, Romans 15:5-6).

The “what” of daily spiritual self-checks are absolutely critical to our spiritual health in our broken sin-sick world. Self-checks keep our hearts soft towards God, our relationships with other people healthy and our lives free from the spiritual and moral drift that does us in (Hebrews 2:1)