A Heart Condition

The condition of our heart determines our behavior. Just as your heart contains four chambers that work together to pump blood throughout your body, let me suggest four spiritual chambers that work together to comprise what the Bible refers to as our “heart.”

ATTITUDES. Our attitude is what we think about others, our circumstances, and ourselves. Our presuppositions, expectations, and agendas determine who we are. Proverbs 23:7 – As a man thinks in his heart so he is.

ASPIRATIONS. What do you want out of life? What do you passionately pursue? What do you value? We are told to first and foremost seek Christ’s kingdom and righteousness, but don’t we often find other things to pursue? Like leisure, fame, possessions, relationships, security? The list could go on forever. But what we treasure is a clear indication of where our heart is. At least, that’s what Jesus said.

AFFECTIONS.  We often exclusively correlate the heart to the emotions. God is emotional, we read about Him loving, hating, grieving, laughing, and crying. We are created in His image and share the capacity to feel. The question arises . . . WHAT moves us? What makes us laugh or cry, rejoice or grieve? What we long for is an indicator of the condition of our heart. If we have made Him our delight, then He gives us the desires of our heart.

ACTIONS. Who ascends the hill of the Lord? He who has clean hands and a pure heart. (Psalm 24:3-4) There is the connection between the purity of our hearts and the appropriateness of our actions (clean hands).

These four spiritual chambers reflect the condition of our heart.

If God were to do a spiritual heart catheterization on you today, what would He find?

How can we be more “heart healthy”? Guard what goes in and stays in these four chambers. Check our attitude, submit our aspirations to God’s agenda, long for Christ preeminently in our lives, take care how we live.

 

 

When We Leave Jesus Out of the God Talk

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It is somewhat fashionable these days to talk about God. In many such conversations, God is viewed as a talisman, sugar-daddy, or teddy bear who only wants to make our lives successful, comfortable, prosperous, and without sickness or disease. Yes, it is fashionable to talk about God, as long as that talk is all positive and affirming.

Many dangers accompany such God-talk, not the least of which is a misrepresentation of the God of the Bible. Many today have broken the second commandment by verbally creating an image of God to worship that suits their tastes and perceived needs. The Maker of the universe, the Sovereign God does not stand ready to fulfill our commands.

Another subtle but even more dangerous element of this type of God-talk is that it leaves Jesus out of the conversation. I can understand why that is – this verbal golden calf God is nonthreatening, but Jesus is offensive. When we speak of Jesus, we are reminded of his cross and to the lost person that is offensive (1 Corinthians 1:18). That Jesus came reminds us that we are hopeless sinners who stand in need of God’s intervention.  We are not OK, we cannot look within ourselves for answers, we are desperately in need of a Savior.

The Bible makes it clear that Jesus is the central focus of any conversation about God, life, death, eternity, etc.

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. (Colossians 2:8-10)

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him,“Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 16:13-17)

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11)

Listen (and read) carefully what others are saying about God. If they speak of God only in general feel-good terms and leave Jesus, the Cross, repentance, and obedience out of the conversation then avoid and ignore them. Let’s talk up Jesus. Let’s proclaim Him. Submitting to His Lordship is the ONLY solution to our culture’s ills and the only answer to the deeply seated issues we face in life today.

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…(Hebrews 1:1-3)

FBF: Chicken of the Sea

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I love my wife’s tuna salad so much that she has to use a whole can of tuna just for me; one can all for me and one split between her and Bekah. But really tuna salad goes a long way. That little boy, who brought five barley loaves and two fish, must have brought tuna. What other fish can you spread out among 5000 men and their families? (Read the story in John 6:1-14) 

***Denominational note: obviously this crowd was not Baptist. A Baptist crowd would not have gathered like this unless there was a pot-luck or covered dish meal already planned! ***

Can you imagine what it was like to be that little fellow? Maybe his lunch box originally contained more than the bread and fish. Maybe he didn’t care for them and they were just the leftovers. But whatever the case, he made his lunch box contents available and it was enough for Jesus to use. How must it have felt for the Master to take his leftovers and perform such an amazing miracle? Imagine what was going through his mind as he watched his lunch – only multiplied by the hand of God – pass through the crowd until everyone ate all they could hold and still leave 12 baskets of leftovers.

We can learn a valuable lesson from this kid about allowing God to use us. First we see the simplicity – he gave what he had. The boy could have rationalized that all he had was stinky fish and stale bread. He could have reasoned that no one in the crown that day would be interested in what he had; it just wasn’t as good as food at some of the other gatherings he attended. We may find it easy to compare ourselves to others and think we have little or nothing to offer, but all God asks is that we bring to Him the “us” He created. The only ability we need to have is availability.

But we also see the commitment – he gave all he had. He didn’t “share” his lunch, he handed it over, all of it. He could have held back a little for himself, but instead he placed it all in Jesus hands. And here is the amazing thing about that – Jesus didn’t need five loaves and two fish. Jesus could have performed the miracle without anything from the boy. The boy could have reserved a fish and piece of bread for himself, and Jesus still would have been able to feed the crowd with four loaves and one fish. But when the boy gave up all his lunch, in return he received a stomach full much bigger than he would have gotten had he eaten just the 2 fish and 5 loaves. When Jesus used what the boy brought, the boy received a blessing and became a blessing to others because of it.

If Jesus wants to make tuna salad out of you, the only ingredient he needs is YOU . . . ALL OF YOU.

Why Your Church May Be Out of Shape

scalesI must admit, I am not in very good shape these days. I can pinpoint two main reasons for my conditioning decline: I was not eating right and I was not getting sufficient any exercise. Recently I have taken steps to improve my conditioning. I am more discerning about what I eat, and I am trying to get more exercise and be more physically active. After a few days, things are looking some better, but I still have a long way to go.

I have observed that what plagued me physically, plagues many believers spiritually, especially the lack of “exercise.” An alarming trend has emerged in Church-life over the last several years. With more frequency, believers are looking for churches where they can “just go” and not be asked to do anything. Citing burnout, being taken for granted, or not being appreciated, they either move to another church where they can begin again under the radar and not be asked to serve, or they lapse into infrequent attendance and inactivity in the church which holds their membership.

I can understand the reasoning; I have felt that way before, too. The problem with that line of thinking, however, is that it is fleshly and ignores that fact that God has uniquely gifted each believer to be a function part of a larger body. Two things happen when we decide to refrain from serving in the local body: the church suffers because she is forced to function handicapped, and the believer suffers because as a body part, they fall into atrophy.

…from whom [Christ] the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. – Ephesians 4:16

Please don’t let the spiritual gift God has given you go to waste. If you are being tempted to shrink back from serving, please reconsider. Your church needs you and you need to serve. Don’t let the body get out of shape.

Are We Running the Wrong Way?

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In the 1929 Rose Bowl game between the University of California Bears and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Cal offensive lineman Roy Reigels made a historic play. He snatched up a ball on the first bounce that had been fumbled by Georgia Tech running back Stumpy Thomason (I love that name) and got spun around and proceeded to run 64 yards toward an apparent touchdown – only he was running the wrong way – toward his own team’s goal line. Speedy Cal running back Benny Lom chased him down, trying to convince him to stop. Reigels thought Lam was trying to get him to lateral the ball to him so he could get credit for the touchdown. He ignored the warnings until finally Lam caught him at the one yard line and got him to stop. But it was too late. Tech players tackled him at the one yard line.

Of course in 1929, offensive schemes were quite conservative, so Cal lined up (with Reigels at center) to punt. Tech’s Vance Maree broke through to block the punt and the ball rolled out of the end zone resulting in a safety and 2 points for Tech. That play provided the margin of victory as Tech won the Rose Bowl 8 – 7 capping off a perfect 10-0 season and a national championship.

What about our journey through life?  Could it be that we are scoring touchdowns in the wrong end zone? Is the success we chase going to matter in eternity? When we stand before Jesus will we impress Him with our toys and trophies? Are the things we are living for worth dying for? Is it time we reassess our priorities?

For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?For what can a man give in return for his soul? Mark 8:36-37

Oh, by the way, in 1971 Roy Reigels and Benny Lom were granted honorary membership in the Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket Letterman’s Club. A step up, I would say, for a couple of Cal Bears.

FBF Post: What Are You Staring At?

Before I began this blog, I had another blog on a different site for several years.  That blog is now closed, but each Friday, at least for a while, I want to resurrect some of my favorite posts from the previous blog.  This one is from May 2009.

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“It’s not nice to stare.” That is what we are taught and that is what we teach our daughter. Nothing is creepier than feeling the cold stare of a total stranger.

But when it comes to our dreams and aspirations, we all stare at something or someone. Maybe our gaze is on a family member or a close friend, acquaintance, or even a celebrity. IF we could just be like them, then our lives would be so much better. So we think. Maybe our gaze is on a new job or yet acquired possession. If we just had that, then we could be happy. Such gazes are fantasy, and should we ever attain that at which we gaze, we would find it disappointingly empty and insufficient.

Yet another stare, is the gaze of observation. I have noticed Bekah watch me or someone else very closely only to soon imitate what she sees. She reads from her Bible and “preaches” with many of the same mannerisms I employ. She sings songs from the hymnal and “directs” the singing like those she sees in church. She stares that she may learn and imitate.

Such is the gaze you and I need.

But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. – James 1:25

God’s Word provides the perfect object of observation. But a casual glance, a cursory reading if you will, of that Word will not affect much in our lives. The word in the James passage that is translated “looks” literally means to stoop down or bend over to get a better focus on the object of one’s sight. When we take the time to examine God’s Word, to break it down into its various parts and seek to understand it contextual meaning and its contemporary application, then that Word can transform our lives.

When we gaze into the pages of Scripture we see God for who He really is, we see Christ crucified on our behalf and seated on His throne, we see ourselves and what we sadly are in reality, and we see the path of life God has mapped out for us to follow. To see all of that, one has to stare – a passing glance will not suffice.

How can we expect to grow more like Christ when we do not take the time and make the effort to stare at Him, study His movements and mannerisms, learn how He thinks, and observe how He acts? Is it no wonder we fail to reach our spiritual growth potential when we spend more time gazing at woefully insufficient models than gazing at the more than sufficient Master? Bible study is not optional for the disciple who wants to be like his Master.

If I can challenge you to ramp up one discipline in your lives, it would be this one. Spend much time in God’s Word, especially the New Testament, and most especially the Gospels. If we want to imitate Jesus then we need to stare at Him. See Him in action. Scrutinize His every step. Then and only then will our lives reflect Him.

So . . . who are you staring at today?

Are Your Issues with the Fruits or the Roots?

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I have often had people say to me,  “Preacher you need to preach a sermon on ___________ .” Most of the time people fill in that blank with something they think others are doing wrong, or something right that others aren’t doing and need to get busy doing.

Two kinds of issues are at play in every person’s life – fruit issues and root issues.  Fruit issues are the visible evidences of root issues. Most of the time, people suggest preachers preach about fruit issues. Sure, I could preach about tithing, alcohol, church attendance and involvement, etc.; but the best that kind of preaching accomplishes is temporary, guilt-induced behavior modification.  As soon as the next temptation comes, the guilt subsides and the fruit issues re-emerge.

If we properly address the root issues, however, then we will see different and more permanently positive fruit.  We don’t have tithing, attendance, involvement, alcohol, or other fruit problems.  We have LORDSHIP and OBEDIENCE root problems.  The key is to get right at the heart level and the behavior level will naturally improve. That was the whole point of Jesus’ comment in the Sermon on the Mount, “…unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20) Their piety was mere outward show, but Jesus calls us to a genuine heart.

I encourage you to ask God to work on you from the inside out.  Ask yourself why you exhibit some of the fruit issues in your life.  Ask God to set your heart right and watch the fruit issues take care of themselves.  Watch how God, as you submit to His Word, brings about genuine and permanent change in your life.

Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life. – Proverbs 4:23

 

Priorities and Prepositions

How do you determine what and who are important in your life and how do you rank their importance when they compete for your time and attention? We call these our priorities.  How do you determine your priorities?

If you were to ask most people to tell you their priorities, they would recite to you a list beginning with what they consider the most important followed by other areas of life in descending order of importance.  Most Christians would begin their list by stating that God comes first, followed by such items as family, job, church, hobbies in some order.  We feel good that we put God at the top of our list, but does the Bible encourage such a practice?  Consider the following:

And He (Christ) is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent. – Colossians 1:18

The verse does teach us that Jesus is to come first, that is what it means to “be preeminent,” but notice the preposition that begins that clause.  He is to come first IN all things, not above all things.  When we assign Jesus a place, even the top place, on our priority list, we fail to recognize His lordship in every facet of our lives.

When we give Him first place IN all things, however, we recognize that Jesus is the deciding factor in all of our priorities and decisions: how we appropriate our time, spend or invest our money, carry out our family responsibilities, perform at our jobs, play at our leisure, and serve at our church.  The primary question we ask when we make decisions about our life becomes “where is Jesus in this, what does He want me to do, how can I serve Him?”

Let me suggest a new priority paradigm.  Rather than thinking of your priorities as items on a list, think of your life as a wheel, your priorities as spokes in the wheel, but Jesus as the HUB. What are some ways you can begin reprioritizing your life today to put Jesus at the center of it all?

 

priority wheel

Time to Ask Myself Some Difficult Questions

We’ve spent the last week celebrating the unique freedoms that we enjoy as citizens of the United States of America. With all of the internal problems we’ve had over the last several years, we are still the greatest and freest nation on earth. Yet, we have seen those freedoms slowly eroding over the last few years.

In the face of these eroding freedoms, Christians have been praying for God to intervene and restore us. We’ve prayed and prayed, but the erosion has continued. In spite of calls for reform, we have devolved from a slow drift away from God to a fast track of rebellion into godless selfism. Our prayers have gone largely unanswered because we are praying for the reformation of the wrong people. We’ve prayed that our “leaders” and our “country” would turn to God, when we should be praying for the group most in need of spiritual reformation – us, me, you.

As our churches have celebrated our freedom to worship, many believers have exercised their constitutional right to NOT worship, but to go someplace else. As we fight to defend our freedom of speech, we fail to use that right to speak freely of Jesus to those with whom we work, play, shop, and live. We bemoan the loss of freedom to pray publicly, but we neglect private prayer on a regular basis. Jesus remains a part of our lives, but He is not preeminent. (Colossians 1:18)

We have squandered the freedoms God entrusted to us. He has told us in His word, “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.” – Luke 12:48

It is time you and I recommit ourselves to a radical obedience to God and His Word. The time is here for us to once again recognize that God comes first and to put away the idols of play that we have erected in our lives. It is time to ask the difficult question: what have I done with the freedom God has given me?