Impact

"(v 12)Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel,(v 13) so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, (v 14)and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. " — Phil. 1:12-14

I want you to imagine the most dedicated, respectable, credible, knowledgeable, outspoken Christian that you personally know. Are you thinking of someone? What if you met with this person every morning for one hour before you went to work and just had normal conversation with them? Do you think that person would have a profound influence on the rest of your day? If this person really is a dedicated soldier for Christ, the answer is YES because undoubtably they would talk about spiritual matters the majority of the time.

Now let’s take it a step further. Take this person you just thought of and multiply their credibility level times 10,000. Multiply their knowledge by 100,000. Multiply their outspokenness by 1,000,000 (It’s really probably more but I’m just trying to make a point). Now, imagine that your job, the way you put food on the table, is to be physically chained to this person for 8 hours each day. No doubt this person would become the single greatest influence in your life. Well, this is exactly what happened to a few unsuspecting officers in Rome’s elite Praetorian Guard.

Let’s set the scene very quickly. The Apostle Paul has bogus charges brought against him while in Jerusalem. He is then moved about 50 miles up the road to Caesarea to have his case heard by the Governor of the region, Felix. After two years of his case going nowhere with Felix, Festus takes over as Governor. Festus hears Paul’s case and finds nothing to hold him on, but because Paul appealed his case to Caesar (remember Paul is a Roman citizen), he is sent to Rome. Finally, after much drama on the high seas, the convoy arrives at Rome.

Paul was then under house arrest in Rome while waiting for his chance to bring his case before the Emperor Nero. During this time he was physically chained to a Praetorian Guardsman 24 hours a day. The Praetorian Guard were elite soldiers, handpicked by the emperor to be his personal bodyguards. They were the top of the sphere of the Roman military. A better way to describe them in our U.S. mind set is they had the duties of the Secret Service and the training of the Green Berets. As a result of constant interaction with Paul, they began getting saved left and right, and these men began a revival that swept through the entire Praetorian Guard. Just think about that. If it wasn't in the Word of God I wouldn't believe it. Paul is the gold standard of not allowing circumstances to hinder your focus on the Plan of God.

As an amateur student of history, this subject fascinates me. I would have to write an entire book to fully examine Paul’s relationship with the Praetorian Guard, and the implications it had on the history of the entire Roman empire. (If you know of such a book please let me know, I would love to read it). I know this is a long devotion, but the point is simple. Though we are not physically chained to anyone, we are constantly interacting with the same people everyday, and we are influencing them either positively or negatively.

Whether it be family, friends, co-workers, or whoever. Are we influencing those we have in our six square feet for Christ? Or are we allowing our circumstances to compromise our obligation to represent Christ to a dying world? Go back, study the life of Paul (there are hundreds of books written on his life), this man NEVER let his circumstances dictate his actions. What spiritual advantage did Paul possess that we do not? The answer is NOTHING. We have the same ability to make a difference for Christ that Paul did, the difference is we choose not to step up. Starting right now, let’s take our Christian walk seriously and see if God will use us to do great things for Him. Who knows...maybe God really is faithful!!!!! A favorite quote my friend Andrew Robinson used to recite often, "One day someone is going to take the Word of God seriously, and the world will never be the same."

To Seek and Save the Lost

"From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all the things that I have done." --- John 4:39

There are several lessons we can draw from John 4, but today I want to look at Jesus' obedience to the will of His Father. Jesus was completely in tune with His Father's will, and He always acted in obedience to that will. Jesus never let physical gratification take precedence over spiritual matters because He truly believed and lived Matt. 4:4, "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God."

Going back to the beginning of chapter 4, Jesus is leaving Judea and going to Galilee. Verse 4 says, "and he had to pass through Samaria." If you turn to the back of your study Bible and look at the map, Jesus did not have to go through Samaria to reach Galilee. By this I mean there were other routes He could have taken to get there. John Hendricken notes, "There were several roads leading from Judea to Galilee: one near the seacoast, another through Perea, and one through the heart of Samaria." So why exactly did Jesus "have" to go through Samaria?

Jesus is passing through Samaria and becomes thirsty, so he stops at a well to get a drink. The disciples traveling with Jesus go into Samaria to buy some food, and Jesus is sitting at the well by himself. As he is sitting there, a Samaritan woman walks up to the well to draw water. This was the custom of the day, women would go to the well everyday to gather the family's water supply. Jesus asks her for a drink, and she immediately recognizes that he is a Jew. For a Jewish man to accept water from a Samaritan woman was unthinkable during this time. Jews looked at Samaritans as an impure race and had nothing to do with them. This woman has probably lived her entire life being shunned by people who looked just like Jesus. The woman inquires about this and Jesus begins to reveal to us why He chose to go through Samaria.

You all know the rest of this story. Jesus tells the woman that He has "water" to offer that will quench her thirst forever. The woman then answers, with what appears to me to be a sarcastic answer, "Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw." I don't know if she was being sarcastic or if she was genuinely ignorant and thought Jesus was going to literally give her a lifetime's supply of H20, it really doesn't matter because Jesus is about to end all of the jokes/ignorance. After she says she wants the water He has to offer, Jesus tells her to go get her husband. She replies that she has no husband, and busts her out. Jesus says, "You're right woman, you have had 5 husbands and now you are living with a man that is not even your husband"(paraphrased). The woman is busted, there is nothing she can do except acknowledge that Jesus is the Messiah. From this point on the woman's thirst is eternally quenched.

The disciples get back with the food and are "amazed" to see Jesus socializing with the Samaritan woman. She leaves the waterpots sitting at the well (vs. 28) because she is so eager to go back into the city to tell others about Jesus. As usual the disciples have their priorities all mixed up. They are more concerned about Jesus getting something to eat than Jesus doing the will of the Father. They are more concerned with the physical than they are with the spiritual. So the disciples are badgering Jesus about eating and He tells them He has food to eat that they know nothing about.

Verse 34 then reveals why Jesus chose to go through Samaria. "My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to accomplish His work." Jesus' desire was to do the will of the Father, and in this case the will of the Father was to evangelize one woman who in turn would evangelize many people from her city. On top of that, because of the testimony of this woman Jesus was asked to stay in the city for 2 more days, and "many more believed." (vs.41) The fact that Jesus chose to go through Samaria should not be considered a coincidence, rather it is a choice that Jesus made in order to comply with the will of His Father.

We have the ability to do the Father's will just as Jesus did. In order to be completely in tune with the will of God, we must first realize and act on the fact that "every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" is just as important to us as the physical bread we eat everyday to sustain life. We must operate in the filling ministry of the Holy Spirit, continually communicating with God (prayer) and allowing God to communicate to us (Bible study) if we want to accomplish God's will. Just going to church on Sunday is not enough...it must become an everyday, moment by moment lifestyle.

A Memorial

"Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves" --- Phil. 2:3


A Man of Action

I was blessed this weekend to learn of the selfless heroism of one such man, Sgt. Jeremy R. Wright of Shelbyville, Indiana. Like so many others, Jeremy was greatly impacted by the attacks on 9-11. The difference between Jeremy and "so many others" (myself included), is Jeremy was not only a man of conviction, he was a man of action. Not only was he impacted, he wanted to make an impact, and though he could have become an officer because he had a college degree in Chemistry, Jeremy enlisted in the Army in April of 2002 in order to take the fast track to the Army's elite Special Forces program.

Jeremy was by all standards a successful man. A man who at 28, as the trite saying goes, "had the rest of his life ahead of him." He was an All-American distance runner multiple times and was a member of the U.S. Mountain Running Team. He graduated from Wabash College summa cum laude in 1996 with a degree in Chemistry. But according to those who knew and served with Jeremy, he never mentioned these accomplishments. Instead of boasting about what he had previously done, he chose to focus on what he was convicted to do.

After completing his SF training in July 2004, Sgt. Wright was deployed to Afghanistan four months later in November. On January 3, 2005, Sgt. Wright was killed in action when an IED exploded near his vehicle just outside of Asadabad, Afghanistan. At only 31 years of age, Sgt. Wright's life came to a sudden end on a foreign land, half the world away from his hometown, fighting for the liberation of a people whose language he did not even speak. A true example of selfless heroism. Sgt. Wright is survived by his father, Dale Wright, and his mother, Jacquelyn Nickel.

It is our responsibility and duty to remember and honor the legacy of men like Sgt. Jeremy Wright. Men of action who have integrity between what they say and what they do. They are the heroes of our history that fought to gain and preserve freedom on our home land, and confronted evil in foreign lands for the liberation of others who were either unwilling or unable to confront evil themselves. These brave soldiers have done it before, are doing it now, and will do it again if necessary. But not only are we to remember them, we are to learn from their lives. We are obligated to be motivated by their example to become "men and women of action." It's not sufficient to just have convictions, we must act upon those convictions. Merely remembering their legacy is not enough.

According to Ps. 39:5, our lives are but "handbreadths," which in the Hebrew literally means they are equal to the span of a palm. Look at your hand...from one side of your palm to the other is the length of your life. Our earthly lives are merely the dash between our date of birth and our date of death on our tombstone. It's what we choose to do with the short time in between that history will remember us by, and if we are not truly deeply influenced by men like Sgt. Jeremy Wright, then we have failed to give them the respect and honor they deserve. This is our duty, and as General Robert E. Lee said, "Duty is the sublimest word in the English language. You can never do more than your duty. You should never wish to do less."

I know we have some friends in Iraq that read our devotions, and maybe others in Afghanistan and other areas of the world...THANK YOU for your selfless service. Please know that you are in our prayers.

Defending the faith I

"...sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to MAKE A DEFENSE to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence" --- 1 Pet. 3:15 (caps & italics mine)

If you are open about your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ there will come a time when you will be put on the spot to orally defend your faith. "To make a defense" is translated from the Greek word apologia, which means "a verbal defense; a reasoned argument." As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, according to 1 Pet. 3:15, we are all apologists. This does not mean that we are to apologize (as we use the word in the English language) for our faith, but it means we are to give a defense of what we believe is the truth. This is where the theological term "apologetics" comes from. Webster defines "apologetics" as a "systematic argumentative discourse in defense (as of a doctrine)."

Apologia is used 8 times in the new testament (1 Pet. 3:15, Acts 22:1, Acts 25:16, 1 Cor. 9:3, 2 Cor. 7:11, Phil. 1:7, Phil. 1:17, 2 Tim. 4:16). Notice that Paul is the man using this word 7 of the 8 times. No one has had to make a defense for their faith more than Paul. Not only did he have to make a defense, but usually his life depended upon how effectively he presented the evidence. We could go into detail with each of these 8 verses, but today I want to pick out one in particular and give a real world example of apologetics. Monday we will study how to prepare for and deliver an effective defense.

"Brethren and fathers, hear my DEFENSE which I now offer to you." --- Acts 22:1

Paul has just completed his third missionary journey. Upon returning to Jerusalem he is spotted in the temple by some "Jews from Asia" (Acts 2:27). Keep in mind that Asia (modern day Turkey, northwest of Jerusalem) is approximately 400 miles from Jerusalem. These guys were 400 miles from their home and they spotted and immediately recognized Paul. Out of their contempt for Paul they began to cause trouble. "Then all the city was provoked, and the people rushed together, and they dragged him out of the temple. While they were seeking to kill him, a report came up to the commander of the Roman cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion" (Acts 21:30-31 paraphrased). To regain control of the crowd, the Roman commander takes some soldiers down into the chaos and "they stopped beating Paul" (Acts 21:32).

So Paul is now out of harm's way and in the safety of the Roman soldiers. The commander is trying to find out exactly what is happening, but because everyone in the mob is shouting different accusations, he is unable to get down to the bottom of the situation. Paul is then carried away by the soldiers and the angry mob is following right behind them. Finally they arrive at the entrance of the barracks.

At this time Paul has to make a decision. He can either allow himself to be taken into the barracks, or he can turn around and apologia (GIVE A DEFENSE). Put yourself in his shoes. What would you do? Would you scurry into the safe haven of the barracks or would you turn around and give a "systematic argumentative discourse" in defense of your faith in Jesus Christ? Remember the people he will be addressing would like nothing more than to see his blood spilled right there in that moment. For Paul there was only one option, and chapter 22 records how Paul systematically presented his case before the mob. (Your homework for Monday is to read ch. 22. It's Saturday, you don't have anything else to do.)

This is where the rubber meets the road. It's in these situations where the "poser" is separated from the "real deal". The "real deal" is not only willing to make a stand, but he/she is prepared. When the moment of truth comes, they have the courage to take the first step toward the mob and the knowledge to effectively present the facts. The "poser" will settle for the comfort of the barracks everytime.

We will probably never have to make a defense before someone who is trying to kill us. More than likely the worst thing we will ever face is rejection and verbal ridicule. Regardless of the potential outcome of our defense, we are commanded to make that defense. Monday we will study how to prepare for and execute our defense.

Fly Fishin'

This weekend I went fly fishing with a good friend, Steve Fletcher, in the Blue Ridge mountains of North Georgia. We had one goal for the trip...to catch trout. We left his house at 4:30 am, drove to the mountains, and finally deep into the moutains, down a long, narrow forest service road, we reached the stream at 7:30 am. We got all of our gear ready and headed down to the water. Because of the rough terrain, the remoteness of the location, and what some city slickers might call "unfortunate weather," we were the only two people on the river.

The morning was great. We fished upstream for 4 hours, and despite a few unintentional water baptisms compliments of the algae covered rocks on the riverbed, the trip was going exactly as we anticipated. We had already caught a couple of trout each and still had 3 hours to go. We took a break around noon to change change flies. By this time we had moved upstream enough that the layout of the river had changed. It was now very narrow and very fast, and the fishing space was limited at best. We decided Steve would fish ahead for a while, then I would "leapfrog" him and fish in front. Thirty minutes later, I needed to borrow a fly so I decided to find Steve. Because there were trees down across the river, occassionally it was necessary to get out of the water and walk around. That was the case at the point we intially split up. Around the first tree and back in the water...no Steve. Around the next...no Steve. One hour later I was almost a mile upstream with no idea where he was. Now we were separated with no possible way to communicate. Was he simply still fishing ahead of me? Had I gone too far and he was behind me? If so, how did we not see each other? Had he gotten his leg caught in a rock and was stuck? Was he co-starring in "Deliverance II"? How did this happen so fast? All I could do was guess.

I decided to go back to the last place I knew we fished together and wait, and then if he still had not shown up by 3 pm I would hike back downstream to where we started and figure out what to do next. At 2:30 I heard from behind me, "There you are." Turns out at the exact time I first went ahead to look for him, he came back to look for me. We had simultaneously gotten out of the water, on different sides of the stream, to bypass the same fallen tree. Needless to say, from the time we separated we never caught another fish. The entire reason we came, to catch fish, was put on hold because of terrible preparation resulting in a breakdown in communication. You think I have an analogy here? Actually I have two.

#1

"If you then cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters?" --- Luke 12:26

Preparation, down to the most minute detail, was absolutely necessary for us to accomplish our goal of catching fish. We were so focused on what kind of flies to use and how my new fly rod was going to perform that we didn't prepare a plan in case we got separated. Once we got separated, we were no longer able to focus on fishing. This happens to Christians everyday. We are so "focused" on the "big" things, that we fail to give the "small" things the proper attention. We forget that our handling of the minute, mundane details of life are the pathway to success in the "big" things. I have been guilty of this before during extended periods of my life. I wondered why I was failing in the Christian Way of Life (CWL) & the whole time I was failing in the moment by moment battles. I have had to sit on the bench during spiritual conflict because I allowed overlooked details that I should have handled a long time ago come in and run my life. It's just like an old wise man once told me "Take care of the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves." Take care of the "small" things and the "big" things will come. This is a common characteristic of every hero of the faith, and it should be for us also.

#2

"Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." --- Matt. 4:4 (Deut. 8:3)

"These all with one mind were CONTINUALLY devoting themselves to prayer..." --- Acts 1:14

The second analolgy is the importance of communication. The purpose of communication is to share thoughts or messages through some form of exchange. This builds a relationship. In our relationship with God in the Church Age, we have immediate access to communication because we have two open lines. God speaks to us through His written Word, and we speak to God through prayer. James 4:8 tells us to "draw near to God and He will draw near to you." If your relationship with God feels distant, who do you think moved? It wasn't God. Maybe you're like me and struggle more in one area. I have no problem studying, but I struggle with prayer. Even though I study quite often, I am still not communicating with God as effectively as I could/should because of my lack of praying. I'm trying to work on that. The CWL is not a monologue, it is a dialogue. Both lines must be utilized to communicate. Even if I would have yelled at the top of my lungs, "Steve, meet me back at the last spot we fished together!!!!," it would have done no good. That would have been monologue because Steve never would have heard me in order to reply back to me. In order to live a balanced Christian life, we must constantly study God's Word and pray.

Thanks for joining us and please send all love offerings to CrossWord Bible Ministries c/o "Waterproof Walkie-Talkie Fund."

Defending the Faith II

"...but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence" --- 1 Pet. 3:15


Last time we looked at a real world example of apologetics. Today we are going to look at the proper way to "make a defense" of your faith. We are told to "sanctify Christ as Lord." This means that Jesus Christ must have priority in our lives. He must be set apart from and have priority over everything else in our life. This is extremely important because if Christ is first in your life, then your life will be filled with the fruit of the Spirit. (Gal. 5:22-23)

We can talk all day long about our faith, but if we are not living it then we are automatically disqualified in the eyes of unbelievers. People with negative volition towards the Word of God are always looking for hypocritical Christians. They reason that if "Joe Christian" believes one thing, then does another, then obviously that which "Joe Christian" believes has no validity. It's the equation if A=B & B=C then A=C. This may be true in mathematics, but we know this is certainly not true when it comes to the Word of God. The vailidity of the Word of God NEVER depends on fallen man's actions. Nevertheless, if we do not "sanctify Christ as Lord" then WE (the ambassador of the Word, not the Word) lose all credibility with whomever we are giving our defense.

"Always ready" is the Greek word hetoimos, which is a military term meaning "to be adequately equipped." In order to be adequately equipped we must plan & prepare beforehand. This requires a real, personal relationship with Jesus Christ through the filling ministry of the Holy Spirit, knowledge of the Word and application of that knowledge on a moment by moment basis. This is the preparation we need. I'm reminded of a saying that Jon Anderson's father used to tell us when we were kids. Anytime we would try to do something that didn't pan out, usually it was a spur of the moment trip to the ballpark or last minute idea of a spend the night party, he would always sit us down and give us a long speech about why whatever we wanted to do didn't work. He would always end with, "Prior Planning Prevents P(explitive for urine) Poor Performance." I guarantee you Chris Anderson had no idea 15 years ago that I would one day use this saying in a Bible Study! I learned a lot from Chris Anderson!

"To make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you." It is because of the "hope" that we have that we are able to make a defense. Hope in the English language implies something that we would like to true. This is completely different than the Greek word elpis, which we have here. Elpis means an "absolute assurance." It is not a wish, it is a certainty. It is because of this certainty we have in Jesus Christ that we can be bold enough to "give an account for (logos)" our faith.

"Yet with gentleness and reverence..." The word translated here "gentleness" is prautes, which means "power under control." If you have to be gentle with something then you have the ability to completely destroy it, but destruction is not your goal. If our goal is to lead others to Jesus Christ, then we must deal with them in gentleness. Remember, we are just ambassadors, we represent Jesus Christ. Our mission is to show others the love of Christ, our mission is not to try and administer God's justice on those hostile to the Word. All we are called to do is deliver the message, it is the job of the Holy Spirit to do the rest. An ambassador can never take rejection personally, because he rejected on the merit another. All of our work on behalf of Jesus Christ should be done with "gentleness and reverence."

A few verses to ponder & remember when asked to make a defense...

"Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" --- 1 Cor. 1:20

"For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." --- Heb. 4:12

Suffering

"'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope." --- Jer 29:11


There are different types of suffering. Some of it is self induced (this is where I am usually operating), some of it is undeserved (this is where Job was operating), but we should approach all suffering with the same attitude. Phil. 1:29 tells us "For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake..."

We will never be able to understand "why" some things happen because no matter how smart we are, we are not God. We do not have the ability see things that God sees. But we can take comfort because we do know a few things, and when we piece all of them together it starts to make sense. Here is what we do know:

1. God is love (1 Jn. 4:8). Everything that God does is based on His love.

2. God is just (Deut. 32:4). God cannot do anything that is unfair.

3. God is sovereign (Dan. 4:34-35). God is in complete control of all history.

4. God is all knowing (1 Jn. 3:20). Nothing catches God by surprise, He knows all things before they happen.

5. God is all powerful (Gen. 1:1). Anything God wills He is able to accomplish.

6. God has the ability, and will do it for those who love Him, to cause ALL things to work together for the ultimate good. (Rom. 8:28)

This is Theology 101 stuff, but it is often neglected in the times it should be most important to us. Because we know this about God, because He has revealed these essences of Himself to us through His Word, we should be able to approach every situation with the mindset of glorifying Jesus Christ and pressing on to maturity in our own Christian walk. Too many times we ask, "God Why is this happening to me?" Instead we should be saying, "Father how can I glorify Jesus Christ through this and grow closer to You? I know that you are a loving God, that you cannot do anything unfair, that you are in complete control of this situation, that you foresaw this before I was ever born, and that you are capable of getting me to the point where your will is done and working all things together for the ultimate good. All I have to do is have faith and rest in You. As a result, others will see Jesus Christ in my life and you will be glorified."

When we go through suffering God is actually demonstrating His love toward us. You cannot become the man/woman that God wants you to be without suffering. I know that sounds crazy, but think about it. It's only when we are able to come to the end of ourselves and totally rely upon God to deliver us that we can truly know that He is who He says He is. When we are totally dependent on God and say, "Ok God, I have no other choice but to rely totally upon You and what I have learned from studying Your Word. I am going to sit here and see if all these promises in your Word really are true." When we do this we see that God really is who He claims to be, and we grow closer to Him.

You know how much I like analogies, so I got one for you. The Cristian Way of Life is like driving. You can study that little book with all the different road signs, rules about yielding, obeying speed limits, etc., and it tells you how to drive. Everything in there is essential to know in order to be a good driver, but until you actually get behind the wheel and drive out on the road with traffic, you will never be a good driver. In the same way we have to apply in real world situations what we learn through the study of the Word in order to become the man/woman that God intends us to be.

Too Close to the Edge

Ephesians 4:14-15 “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 men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things GROW UP into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ.”


“A woman walked up stairs one evening to tuck her son in the bed. After they prayed and kissed each other goodnight, she turned off the light and went back downstairs to read. About 30 minutes had passed when she heard a loud thump on the floor. She knew exactly what had happened. Her son had fallen out of the bed again. She walked back upstairs to his room, turned on the light, and saw him sitting in floor beside the bed. When she asked him why he fell out of the bed again, he replied, “I guess I just stayed too close to where I got in.”

In our Spiritual life, we too will “fall out of the bed” if we “stay too close to where we get in.” If we don’t press on to Spiritual maturity then we will continue to fall, just like the child in the story. Paul uses the analogy of a storm on the ocean to describe the life of a believer who refuses to grow up Spiritually. He describes a Spiritual infant as someone who is unstable and insecure. Paul tells us that until we can become grounded in sound doctrine, which leads to Spiritual maturity, we will also be “tossed and blown around”. Spiritual stability comes from Spiritual maturity. If you are a Christian who is just satisfied with your salvation and care nothing about Spiritual maturity, then you will continually be “tossed and blown” because you are staying too close to the place where you first “got in”. We are to “GROW UP” in Christ by continually hearing the word of “TRUTH” in “LOVE.” Jesus Christ says in John 14:15-16, "If you love me, you will obey what I command.” The path to Spiritual maturity begins with understanding that Jesus Christ loves us, and that we, in turn, are to love Him. When we truly love Jesus Christ, we will become obedient to His word. We need to stop “falling out of the bed like children”, and “grow up” by becoming obedient to Scripture because of our love for the Lord. If you are like the child in the story and continually fall in your Spiritual walk, then maybe you are “staying too close to where you got in”. It’s time for you to “GROW UP” in Jesus Christ. This is the only place where stability and security may be found.

Be An Example

"Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe." --- 1 Tim. 4:12

According to 2 Cor. 5:20 we are all ambassadors for Jesus Christ the instant we believe in the death, burial and resurrection. "Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." In Paul's first letter to Timothy, he outlines five areas of our lives we must be disciplined in to have an effective ambassadorship. If one of our main functions as a Christian is the represent Jesus Christ to the rest of the world, wouldn't you agree that it would be important to know what God's Word has to say about how we should do it? Let's take a look at what the Bible has to say on this subject.

The first area is speech. Nothing can hurt a Christian's witness quicker than speech because it is usually the first thing people notice about us. Ephesians 5:4 says "there must be no filthiness (obscenities) and silly talk (foolishness), or course jesting (verbal ridicule), which are not fitting..."

The second area is conduct. Conduct is defined by Webster as "a mode or standard of personal behavior as based on moral principles." Conduct is basically thoughts taken to the next level. There are only two areas in which we can operate in the CWL, the flesh or the spirit. There is no grey area, it is always one of the two. Galatians 5:19-21 tells us what our conduct will be if we operate in the flesh, and Galatians 5:22-23 tells us what it will be if we operate in the Spirit.

The third is love. There have been more songs and movies written about love than any other subject. We all want to be loved, and we all want to give love. The problem is God's definition of love is completely different than the world's definition. The world teaches us to love based on the object being loved. God tells us we must throw that concept completely out the window and love based on who God is and what Jesus Christ did for us. We are only able to love other's unconditionally because God first loved us unconditionally. You can't give something you don't have.

The fourth area is faith. There are two types of faith in the Christian life: saving faith and living faith. Saving faith is the faith we place in Jesus Christ for our salvation. This is a one time deal. Living faith is what Paul is talking about here. Living faith is a moment by moment walk where we make the decision to have faith (completely rely upon) the promises in the Word of God. This is the Royal Family Honor Code that we as Christians are called to adhere to.

The final area Paul writes about is purity. 1 Cor. 6:18 makes it very clear that we are to "flee immorality." To keep this one simple...don't do anything with your girlfriend/boyfriend that you wouldn't do if you were with them in a room with your mother, grandmother, little sister, Dr. Brettell, Bobby Joiner & Jesus. That should pretty much take care of that one!

The bottom line is if we discipline ourselves in these 5 areas we will "show ourselves to be an example of those who believe," which is what we are all called to do.

Situation Report - Enemy Forces

Ps 61:3 “For You have been a refuge for me, a tower of strength against the enemy.”

“If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.” Sun Tzu

In any type of warfare it is absolutely critical to know your enemy. You must know your enemy’s weaknesses so that they can be exploited, but you also need to know their strengths because the enemy’s confidence in his strengths just may be his biggest weakness. Today I will attempt to give you a situation report on the strengths of your enemy in Spiritual Warfare. I have looked up as much Scripture as I possibly could on the strength of Satan and his renegade band of hooligan demons. I hope that this information will heighten your awareness to the Strengths of Satan. But please don’t get discouraged; at the bottom of this rather long study, we will go over his weaknesses and trust me, he has some weaknesses. This is not a typical devotion; it is more like a military briefing on your enemy. Pay Attention!!

“In life, as in chess, forethought wins.” Charles Buxton

From Ezekiel 28:12 we know that he (Satan) is extremely smart. “"You had the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.” Also from Ezekiel 28:14 we know that he (Satan) was the highest appointed of all angels and was the guard for the throne room of God. “You were the anointed cherub who covers, and I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the stones of fire.” Before the fall, Satan had the highest position and power among the angelic creatures; power and wisdom sufficient enough to guard the throne of God from every possible enemy. Ezekiel 28:13 talks about his beauty. “Every precious stone was your covering: The ruby, the topaz and the diamond; The beryl, the onyx and the jasper; The lapis lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald; And the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets, Was in you. On the day that you were created they were prepared.” This glory and beauty represent the decoration of the highest officer in Heaven. From these passages we can expect that to this day he still is as fierce as he was as protector of the throne, that his intellect still far exceeds ours, that he still has power, and that he is still as beautiful as ever. Rev 12:4 says, “And his tail *swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth.” Satan has a great following, an uncountable amount, of fallen angels that do his bidding. (Demons) Satan rules over all the fallen angels. (Matt 12:24)
We can deduce that the enemy is: organized (Ephesians 6:12), wiser (Ezekiel 28:12), stronger (2 Peter 2:11), greater in number than we are (Rev 12:4), and do not die. (Luke 20:36) It seems that we are in trouble, but don’t get discouraged.

What does Satan have power over?
Genesis 1:28 “God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth." God gave dominion or rule over all living creatures and the entire earth to Adam. Adam gave dominion over all living creatures and the entire earth to Satan when he sinned against God. John 12:31 “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.” John 14:30 “"I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me;”

As ruler of this world, what can Satan do with his power?

1. He has the power over death.
Heb 2:14 “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,” (He killed Job’s children.)

2. He has power over nature.
Job 1:19 “and behold, a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people and they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you." (Job 1:16)

3. He has power and influence over armies, whether organized or barbaric.
Job 1:15 “and the Sabeans attacked and took them. They also slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you." Job 1:17 “while he was still speaking, another also came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three bands and made a raid on the camels and took them and slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you."

4. He can motivate humans to kill humans. (Cain /Abel)
1 John 3:12 “not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother's were righteous.” John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

5. Satan is a source of disease and handicap. Satan produced the illness of Job.
Matt 12:22 “Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw.”
Acts 10:38 “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”
Luke 13:16 “"And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen * long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?"
Mark 9:20 “They brought the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth.” (Mark 5:5, self mutilation; Matt 8:28, violence; Matt 17:15, commit suicide)

Satan is called the "father of lies", (John 8:44). He is called a murderer, (1 John 3:8). He is the highest authority in the cosmos, (Eph. 2:2). The unbeliever is made blind to gospel information by being distracted by Satan. Satan does not force anyone to be lost, he uses every means to steer the unbeliever away from the truth. His ultimate weapon in this is religion. (Gen. 3:5; Col. 2:8) 2 Corinthians 4:4 “In whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

Satan’s Weaknesses
“The greatest weakness of all is the great fear of appearing weak.” Jacques BTNigne Bossuet

Satan is not God!
Even though Satan is the “god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4) and he aspires to be like the most high (Isaiah 14:14), he is not God and does not posses the attributes of God. He is not omniscient. He is not omnipotent. He is not omnipresent. He has none of the attributes of God and never will.

Only God is sovereign!
Satan has been given rule over this world. (John 12:31) God is the sovereign ruler of the universe. Jesus Christ’s position of authority, seated at the right hand of God on the throne, is equal to the authority of God. Ephesians 1:19-23 “and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might (1:20) which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, (1:21) far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come (1:22) And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, (1:23) which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” Satan and his army of fallen angels must submit to the authority of God. (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) Matt 8:28-32

Satan has no Power over Believers!
If you are a believer in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, then you are filled with the Holy Spirit, adopted into the family of God, and are positional “in” Christ, which means that you are now superior to angels. 1 Corinthians 6:19 “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?”
Our position in Christ makes us citizens of Heaven (Philippians 3:20), Royal priests (1 Peter 2:5,9), members of the family of God (Eph 2:19), adopted (Galatians 4:5) and an heir with Christ (1 Peter 1:4).

Believers cannot be possessed by demons. Demons cannot possess someone that God the Holy Spirit possesses. However demons can influence believers who are in the power of the flesh. A believer that has submitted to the power of the Holy Spirit cannot be influenced by demons. Satan shows us in Job the first chapter that he has no power over believers unless God grants it to him. Believers are protected from the direct action mission by the hedge of protection that God places around everyone in Christ. That hedge can only be broken if God allows it for testing and trails.

He has already lost the War!
When Jesus Christ died on the cross, rose from the dead, ascended to heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God, Satan became a great big loser. This fulfilled the prophesy of Genesis 3:15. The cross defeats Satan. (John 12:31) He will be confined in the Abyss, or the pit at the beginning of the millennium (Rev 20:2). He will be cast into the lake of fire at the end of the millennium. (Rev 20:10)

This is his biggest weakness. He has lost. He is defeated. The victory is in Christ. We can share in Christ’s victory every day by winning the daily battles that we face in this angelic conflict. Now you know his weaknesses, use them to your advantage. Keep on becoming victorious daily through the study and application of God’s Word. Find the purpose that God has for you in this war. Don’t stand idly by while the rest of the soldiers execute God’s plan and claim victory.

Good Soldier

2 Tim 2:3 “Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.”

Being a soldier is not a glamorous way to make a living. Soldiers make very little money, spend time away from family and friends, endure rigorous training, go to war in a moments notice, and risk their lives to preserve the freedom of others. Soldiers suffer hardship! Soldiers in the United States Army are expected to live by the 7 core Army values: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage or (LDRSHIP). To live by these values is to be a leader in the military and leaders set the example for others to follow. Jesus Christ not only lived these values, but also exemplified them and set the standard for the Christian Soldier to follow. Jesus Christ is the greatest soldier of all time. He endured hardship, not for personal gain, recognition, or accolades, but for us to have freedom from the bondage and penalty of sin. When you place your faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ, you are enlisted into the Royal Army of God, (Joshua 5:13-15) and you are now a soldier for Christ. With an invisible warfare going on at all times, all around us, it becomes necessary to train and fight like a soldier. A soldier spends countless hours training for battle. Every scenario in a battle is rehearsed repeatedly until actions become methodical and reactions become involuntary. What we have to understand, as Christian soldiers, is that we will encounter numerous battles on a daily basis. Unless we train like a soldier and our actions become methodical and our reaction becomes involuntary, then we will lose and the enemy will win every battle. We have to take Spiritual Warfare serious and take our training serious if we are to “fight the good fight as a soldier for Christ.” Our training ground is the word of God. We have to become disciplined by consistent training from the study and application of God’s word in order to give ourselves an opportunity for victory in this “unseen warfare”. We must carry the “shield of faith” (Ephesians 6:16) in order to defend against enemy attack. In Romans the 10th chapter verse17, Paul tells us, “Faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of Christ”. The only defense that we have, as Christian soldiers in this Spiritual war, is the faith that comes from the continual hearing of the word of God. We must also “take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:17) The only offensive weapon that we can carry into Spiritual battle is the word of God. If you are a Christian that is not training in the Word daily, then you step into battle without a weapon and without a shield. To go into battle unarmed and defenseless is suicide, whether in physical warfare or Spiritual warfare. Listen to Paul’s words to Timothy and start training like a soldier that understands warfare is inevitable. Start your training regimen in the Word today in order to be a formidable combatant in this unseen war. The enemy is not going to wait until your ready before they press an attack, they are going to hit you while your sleeping. We must remain alert, endure the hardships of a soldier, and stand ready to defend the freedom that is found only in Jesus Christ. We are all soldiers in this war! It’s about time for us to act like soldiers!

Direct Action

Ephesians 6:11 “ Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand up against the schemes of the devil.”

Direct means proceeding without interruption in a straight course or line without deviating or swerving: a direct route.
Action is an organized activity to accomplish an objective.

Direct action in the military is a surprise raid on an enemy location where deadly force is used to accomplish the desired outcome. This is a surprise attack or a preemptive strike on a position held by an enemy force with total destruction as the primary goal. Satan uses the direct action mission in his strategy. Satan is actively interested in attacking any believer that is becoming a threat. He saves this type of mission for the Spiritually maturing believer. Satan knows that he can’t get the mature believer with PSYOPS or cutting off his supply lines, so he must resort to direct action.

His objective in the direct action mission is to get the believer to blame God, lose trust in God, and ask God “why”. If Satan can get the believer to accuse God of being unfair, unloving, unable, unaccountable, unapproachable, unconscionable, and unbelievable, then he has succeeded in the direct action mission.

Satan, through his strategy and course of action, will press the attack on the Spiritually maturing believer because they are the most dangerous and most likely to exploit his weaknessand claim daily victory. God’s Word gives us a wonderful example of the Direct Action mission of Satan in the book of Job.

Job 1:13-17“ Now on the day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, and the Sabeans attacked and took them. They also slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you. “While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you. While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three bands and made a raid on the camels and took them and slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you."

Job was a Spiritually mature believer! God told Satan, “there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.” Satan understood that Job would not be deceived by psychological operations, nor would he be distracted away from the Word by cutting off his supply lines. Satan was confident in the assumption that if he hit Job hard, fast, and continuous with a flurry of tragedy he would buckle under the pressure. The first thing Satan attacked was Job’s possessions. He wiped out Job’s livestock and servants in a matter of minutes in order to rattle him. In rapid succession, Job’s oxen, donkeys, sheep, camels, and employees were taken away. This is a graphic picture of the direct action mission of Satan, but he is not finished with the attack. Satan was just prepping the battlefield.

Job 1:18-19 “While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, and behold, a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people and they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you."

Before Job had enough time to react to the news that everything he owned had been literally destroyed, he received news of the death of his children. I can’t even begin to imagine the thoughts and feelings that were running through the mind of Job. This is a full-scale military assault on the life of a mature believer. Who could withstand this barrage of disaster? Guess what? Satan isn’t done yet!!

Job 2:7 “ Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.”

As if the loss of possessions, servants, and family were not enough, Satan now attacks Job’s health. Talk about a bad day!! What we have to understand is that if Satan requests a direct action mission against us, then we are in for an all-out assault on every aspect of our life. He will hit you not once, not twice, but as many times as it takes to get you to blame God. Job held his ground. Can you? Do you have enough of the Word of God resident in your soul to withstand the direct action mission of Satan? Job 1:22 “Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.”

Satan will do whatever it takes to get you to blame God. Are you prepared? Are you trained, disciplined, and ready? Hopefully by understanding the strategy of Satan, you can make a daily plan to follow God’s plan and counter the “schemes of the devil”! This war is real and the daily battles we face are real. Take up the full armor of God and “stand firm!!”
Next Tuesday we will discuss Satan’s strengths and weaknesses. Don’t miss it!!!

“We have to understand that on the cross Jesus Christ won the strategic victory. But the war is not over, and we are still on the battlefield. Whether we as individuals win the tactical victory will depend on whether we can apply to our lives the things gained through Christ's strategic victory. If we want to win day by day, we have to utilize the assets that God has provided for us and follow the game plan that He lays out for us in the Word. Without a clear and accurate understanding of the Word, it is impossible for any believer to stand up to the strategy of Satan.” Gene Cunningham

Psalm 23

Psalms 23 “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever."

Have you ever had something in your possession not noticing what it actually was until you paid a little more attention to it? One Sunday while sitting in the pew waiting for church to begin, I noticed the bookmark in my Bible. The bookmark depicted a subtle place with blue skies and gently rolling green hills. The verses on the bookmark were from Psalms 23. I read the verses and immediately realized that this passage of Scripture has been quoted many times, whether in print or in movies. But do people take the time to actually study the verses? Today I will try to shed some light on the verses for you so that the next time you hear them quoted they will bring new meaning.

23:1 “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
Before we come to know the Grace of God, we are the like sheep without a shepherd. Numbers 27:17 "who will go out and come in before them, and who will lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of the Lord will not be like a sheep which have no shepherd" After we place faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ, He becomes our Good Shepherd. A good shepherd understands and provides for all of the needs of His sheep; they have absolutely no reason to want. God has supplied us with everything that we need in His Word. We must have complete confidence in the assurance of God’s promises, because He will always provide. Romans 4:21 “and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able to perform.”

23:2 “He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters”
The Shepherd cares for His sheep in many intimate ways, wanting only the best for them. A pasture is necessary for the survival of sheep. The tender, rich grass of “green pastures” is vital nutrition for which sheep feed; the word of God is our spiritual nutrition, which we feed for our spiritual growth. Matt 4:4 “But He answered and said, "It is written, "MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'" The Word nourishes us, sustains us, and is paramount for growth. The Word is also where we find rest. Ps 62:5 “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.” Rest can only be truly attained by 100% reliance on God to supply your needs. Matthew 11: 28 “Come to me all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”
Every year the teen group from our church takes a white water rafting trip. The rapid, raging, swirling water of the river is enough to make the heart race, not knowing what the outcome will be when the trip down the river is complete. Our Shepherd, loving His flock, will divert them away from tumultuous waters to “quiet waters” that give refreshing pleasure and replenishment.

23:3 “He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake”
No other animal is more prone to getting itself lost and unable to find its way than a sheep. Even the best of sheep of the flock have their times of going astray. We at times tend to take paths of unrighteousness becoming lost. We cannot take the righteous path without help from the Righteous. From the help of the Good Shepherd, He shows our errors and restores our souls and directs our steps. Psalms 16:11 You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

23:4 “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”
To the person of the world the shadow of death is always but a shadow, until it seems to get closer as our days become older. We do not have to succumb to the fear of death and its eminence. The fear of death is only for those who do not have the Good Shepherd. John 10: 14 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” Even death itself cannot separate God from the people He loves. As believers, we understand that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. “Your rod (the Word) and Your staff (the Spirit), they comfort me.” By studying the truth of God’s Word in the power of the Holy Spirit, we become enlightened to the all-sustaining Grace that God has for us. This is where true comfort and assurance is found.

23:5 "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows."
Every year at Thanksgiving we all go to someone’s house for dinner. We arrive to see that everything has been set at the table and nothing is left out. God provides all things for our bodies and souls, for time and eternity. Just as the Shepherd provided the sheep with green pastures and led to quiet waters God prepares our table, not sparingly but abundantly. 2 Peter 1:2 “Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.”

23:6 "Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever."
This whole Psalm has been about assurance. Nothing is more assuring than to know that we have eternal security when we place our faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. “and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Forever means forever. After studying this often quoted passage of Scripture I find great assurance in God’s marvelous Grace supplying all of my needs, not only in this life, but the life to come in eternity. I hope that you have become assured in knowing that God loves you, will provide for you, sustain you, and that you will be with Him forever. Thank you Father for the assurance of your all-sufficient Grace.

Entourage

"Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." --- Psalms 46:10 (emphasis added)

You will probably never hear a principle from the Word of God taught using an HBO original series show anywhere but from CrossWord, but I'm about to try. I just got done watching an episode of "Entourage" on HBO. The show follows an actor named Vince Chase, a guy originally from Queens who finds fame and fortune as a young actor in Hollywood. He brought along to Los Angeles with him two of his friends, one of which is also his manager, and his older brother, who is a washed up sci-fi mini series actor. These guys form his "entourage" and they basically live off of who Vince is. They have about as much temporary fun (P.C. way of saying "sin") as you could possibly have. They live in a huge house, they go to all the best parties, they get all the prettiest girls, etc. All because of their relationship with Vince.

The only reason why anyone would ever willingly give up living the kind of lifestyle the guys in "Entourage" live, or more close to home the SouthSide of B'ham, is because they understand their position in Christ. You have to be able to look at life from an eternal perspective. You have to come to a position where you can honestly say that you willingly will trade it for the glory and honor of representing Jesus Christ. If you are doing for any other reason, ie. so other's will tell you how great of a person you are, then you are no better off in your spiritual walk than you are if you participate in the "Entourage" lifestyle.

A friend from work asked me why I do some of the things I do, and if I realize what I am missing out on. The answer is I choose to live the way I do. (I'm not claiming to be perfect by any means, please don't think that's what I'm implying.) It's not to prove how "super spiritual" or "religious" I am. It has nothing to do with me, but it's because of who I represent. If I choose to live my life a certain way, it does not make me any better than the person who lives theirs differently. Just as Vince's manager/friend Eric is what he is because of Vince, everything that I am is only because of who Jesus Christ is. It's only my position as an ambassador for Christ that distinguishes me from anyone else. And I do understand what I am missing out on, and I consider it an honor to be able to willingly miss out on it. I am more thankful than I can express with words that I understand what I am missing out on at a relatively young age (my only regret in that respect is I wish I would have been younger...like 4 years old!!!!). It is only by the grace of God that I did not have to go down the same road as some of my other friends who now understand this principle. Friends who hit the bottom so hard they had nowhere else to go but up. I just kind of hung there bouyantly until I understood.

Phi 2:10-11 says "so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,(vs. 11) and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." That means that EVERYONE will acknowledge and submit to the sovereingty of the Lord Jesus Christ, whether willingly or unwillingly. That includes the "Entourage", that includes Bart Cannon, that includes MMS (I will quiz you about this next time I talk to you so you better read it). I just want to get as big of a head start as I can get before then. I don't like to be forced to do anything. That's the reason I choose to submit JC now rather than later. That's the reason I take time on a Sunday night to write a devotion for 4 people to read it on Monday morning (it may only be 1 by Tuesday).

This turned into a different kind of devotion than I usually write (I know I sound like a Baptist preacher), but there has been a lot of discussion lately about "freedom to sin" in my circle of friends (not specifically about them, but just with Christians in general). The truth is because of God's grace we do have the ability to sin and still retain our salvation through the work of Jesus Christ. However, we are commanded not to because God wants us all to advance to maturity and be a worthy representative of Jesus Christ. He does not want to have to force our "knee to bow," but make no mistake about it...He "will be exalted." If someone wants to go on living under the control of the flesh, go ahead. Have fun, but just know that a day is coming when you will be very regretful that you didn't head God's warning.

It's like the new Vanilla Ice "To the Extreme" cd I insisted on getting in 1991 (you had it too, don't lie!). It was great when I first got it, but what is that doing for me 14 years later? It has absolutely no value now (in fact I probably lost some cool points by admitting I had it). So there it is...sin equals "Ice Ice Baby."

Bottom line...We all have to make and are responsible for our own decisions. We have no greater priviledge than to represent Jesus Christ and no greater command than to represent Him honorably.

Join me Saturday when I talk about the evils of wearing two piece bikinis (just kidding). I promise to use exegetics next time!

3 Days to Transformation

Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the Spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”


“Three Days of Transformation”

Any student of the Bible, whether daily or sporadic, knows the story of “Jonah and the Big Fish”. Just to briefly explain to those who don’t know: God sent Jonah on a mission to Nineveh, but Jonah was bullheaded and chose not to go there. BIG MISTAKE!!!! (Learning point: If God has a mission to complete then He will do whatever it takes to complete the mission.) Anyway, it took 3 days in the belly of a big fish for the mind of Jonah to be changed with regard to "Mission Nineveh". Something clicked in Jonah’s mind during that 3 day time period that allowed him to understand exactly what God had been trying to teach him. Jonah “became transformed in the Spirit of his mind” and volitionally pressed on with "Mission Nineveh".

To the disciples Jesus Christ was the greatest teacher that had ever lived. They even “hoped” that He was the Messiah that Israel had been awaiting for so long. But it took a transformation process of 3 days before they truly understood what Jesus had been trying to teach them. Only after Jesus spent 3 days in the grave and was resurrected to life were all of the disciples “transformed in Spirit of their minds” and volitionally pressed on with the mission of proclaiming the Gospel message.

The past 3 days has been a transformation process in my life. God was trying to teach me something that I obviously had repeatedly refused to learn. After 3 days, I have been “transformed in the Spirit of my mind” and can volitionally press on with the ministries that God has for my family and I. If you are still with me up to this point, then please stick with me. I promise not to take up too much more of your time.

Friday, April 8th 2005 started out like any other day in any other week of my life, but didn’t end until Sunday. This has been the longest Friday of my life. A friend of mine, who I will call Jane Doe, was in need of my help. Her husband, John Doe, was at the end of his rope and was ready to end his life. Jane Doe asked me to get involved in order to help him. I was reluctant to get involved, but while on a trip to “Dicks Sporting Goods” I received a call on my cell phone from Jon Doe. I used what little training I have in suicide prevention in order to “talk him down”, and eventually,after hours on the phone, he agreed to meet me back at his house for more conversation. I called back to my house and talked to Jane Doe informing her of the details before driving to her house to meet Jon Doe. (By the way, once this point is reached in the process of preventing suicide, it becomes my job to make a “safe plan” for the individual until professional help can be accessed.) Who would have ever known that the “safe plan” agreed upon by Jon Doe and myself would not be accepted by his wife Jane Doe. (The one that asked for my help in the first place.) I felt it was my responsibility to passionately, very passionately, remind her “It was my way or the Highway!!!!” Needless to say, she took the highway. Now Jane Doe has split the scene, my safe plan is shot, and I still have the responsibility of Jon Doe’s stability throughout the night. I spent the night with Jon Doe, and a Chaplain was scheduled for a meeting with Jane and Jon on the following day. Saturday, I see them both and Jane will not speak to me, will not look at me, and wants nothing to do with me. All of a sudden the guy (me) who was asked to help, has now become the enemy. I felt like I had won the battle over suicide on the day before and if I lose my friendship with Jane in the process, then it would be worth it. Big Mistake!!! I told Heather that I would still love Jane, and befriend her, but “I am not the bad guy here, she is!!!!” I spent the rest of the afternoon watching mixed martial arts fighting on television. (6 hours worth)
The next morning at church, Jane was there but did not sit with us. She even snuck out a back door so that she wouldn’t have to deal with me. I made up my mind that I was going to let her know exactly what I thought of her attitude, that she was completely wrong, and of course, I was in the right. Remember, I was just victorious in the suicide prevention arena two days ago. My attitude was wrong, but I felt justified. I deceived myself!!!!

Now let me tell you what really happened. I was led by the Spirit in every word that I used with Jon Doe during the crisis of suicide. But when Jane Doe did not agree with me, “the expert” (that’s a laugh), I released the “Old Man” and every word that I used when speaking with Jane Doe was from the flesh. Jane has always listened to my advice, teaching, and encouragement because she is drawn to “Christ in me”, not me. When she saw the “flesh” she didn’t recognize that person and she fled. Needless to say I made a BIG MISTAKE!!! And I blamed everyone but myself. That brings me to our verse in Ephesians.

Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the Spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

When I operate in the power of the flesh and place blame for my problems on flesh and blood (people), then I no longer fight a Spiritual battle but a flesh on flesh battle. I mentioned earlier that I watched numerous hours of mixed martial arts (bare knuckle fighting) on Saturday. (By the way, when we will not listen to God through His word then He will use any means necessary in order to get His point across to us, whether it be in the tummy of a big fish or through watching 6 hours of fighting on television. I prefer the latter, no doubt.) God not only taught me about my situation, but also taught me Ephesians 6:12 through watching The Ultimate Fighting Championships. I sat and watched with great awe and respect as the two highly trained, highly disciplined, martial arts fighters beat the snot out of each other in an octagon ring for 3 five-minute rounds. At the end of the match there was always a winner and a loser. But the more I thought about it, the more I came to realize that even though one guy won, he was still bleeding, bruised, scarred, sore, and needed medical attention. The loser was in the same condition, but a little worse. On top of that, he was shamed, humiliated, depressed, and also in need of medical attention. Anytime we make the “warfare” about flesh and blood, nobody really ever wins. When we go flesh verses flesh, there is always bleeding, bruising, scarring, pain, humiliation, shame, and everyone involved is in need of healing. The only ones who are victorious in a flesh-on-flesh battle are Satan and his dark forces of this world. The people involved have to be bandaged up and nursed back to health.

In this verse the word “struggle” is translated from the Greek word “pale” which means to grapple, or to wrestle in hand to hand combat. When I went flesh to flesh with Jane Doe, nobody won. We both felt the pain of a wresting match. Both of us were bleeding, bruised, scarred, and dealing with the pain. Today, after the Holy Spirit revealed to me my self-deception while operating in the Old Man, I sat down, explained, and apologized to Jane Doe instead of continuing to wound and blame her. I made a mistake and God convicted me by His Living Word, and transformed my thinking through application. As we live our lives in the devil’s world, we have to stay alert to the Spiritual battle that we face everyday. If we turn Spiritual warfare in to fleshly warfare, everyone loses. But if we allow the Word of God to transform us, then we can be victorious by learning from our mistakes. In closing, as an unbeliever I always had to learn the hard way. I made mistakes, suffered the consequences, and learned from the lumps that accumulated on my head. My Spiritual life hasn’t been much different. But I thank God for His grace, His mercy, and His love that allows me to make a mistake, learn from it, and grow out of it. Tonight Jane and Jon Doe are working on reconciliation. Jon is no longer thinking about suicide and is getting counseling. Jane is not pursuing divorce or separation as hard as she was 3 days ago. Thanks to your prayers, my availability, and God’s marvelous grace, disaster has been turned into hope for the future. I consider it a joy to have gone through the fire this weekend. It will be 3 days that I will never forget and I wouldn’t change them for the world. All glory goes to God for presenting little ole me with the opportunity to take one step closer to Spiritual maturity. Thank you once again for your time and your prayers.

Resting in Him,
Buck

Add it up II

"For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" --- 2 Pet. 1:8

We left off by looking at three of the seven qualities that Peter gives us in order to avoid being "useless" and "unfruitful" in the CWL. As we discussed Saturday, the first three qualities are the application phase of the "Faith Cycle." If we apply these first three qualities, God will complete the last four. So let's go ahead and look at the last four.


"(vs. 6b) and in your self-control, PERSEVERANCE, and in your perseverance, GODLINESS, (vs. 7) and in your godliness, BROTHERLY KINDNESS, and in your brotherly kindness, LOVE. "

4. PERSEVERANCE --- The Greek word Peter uses here is hupomone. It means a "steadfastness" or "constancy." Perseverance in practice is actually nothing more than constantly maintaining self control until it becomes a habitual action. If we are constantly maintaning self control in the individual situations we encounter everyday (3rd quality), through the application of knowledge we have taken in (2nd quality), on the foundation of virtue (1st quality), perseverance is the result. The result of perseverance is;

5. GODLINESS --- The word used here, eusebeia, actually means "reverence" or "respect." Because God allows us to persevere, we begin to grow deeper in our relationship with Him. Only through the truth of God's Word can we develop Godliness. After maintaning self control we are left with nothing except reliance upon God to honor His Word that we can persevere. "All our cards are on the table with no Ace left in the hole" as Garth Brooks would say. We have consistently maintained self control, through the application of knowledge, resulting in perseverance, exactly as God promised us. Because of perseverance we develop and grow deeper in our "reverence" for Him at this point because we have lived experientally in the truth of His promises. God's promises are no longer simply words on a page, or static "gnosis" in our brain (or left lobe for you Thieme fans), they are concrete examples of His faithfulness in our lives. This brings us to love.

In the Greek language there are four different words for love. Two of them are used in our subject verse. The greatest commandment, according to Jesus in Lk. 10:27 is "to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." Jesus was quoting here from Deut. 6:5. This word translated "love" here is "agape," which is the same word used for the final quality in our subject verse. It means to love unconditionally. According to Peter, the only way to get there is to follow this path all the way from virtue through brotherly love, or "philos". So lets look at the difference between the last two qualities, both of which mean "love."

6. BROTHERLY LOVE --- The word here is philadelphia, which means "fraternal affection." We are commanded to love others in this way in Rom. 12:10, which says "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love..." Only when we have Godliness can we begin to see others the same way God sees them. Philos love is the first step in loving others as God loves them, but God does not stop us here. Though this love may feel pure, it is not love in its highest form and pales in comparison to the final quality, which is;

7. LOVE --- The final quality, as we have already briefly mentioned, is in the Greek agape. This means to love unconditionally. The prefix "aga" is also used in the word "agathos" from Romans 8:28, which says "God works all things together for the good", where good actually means "ultimate good." AGApe is "ULTIMATE LOVE. " It is the highest of all love, and the only way it is possible for us to give others agape love is because God first bestowed it upon us, and we realize that love through accepting His free gift of salvation. Unbelievers simply don't realize that love because they reject it. You can't give something you don't have. On a side note (thanks to a conversation I had with Jeff tonight), this is why it is IMPOSSIBLE for unbelievers to love unconditionally...at least according to the inerrant, infallible Word of God!
Because God is unconditional love (1 Jn. 4:8), it is only through His grace that we can give unconditional love. And our goal in the CWL is to be able to love everyone this way. This does not come natural to fallen man, but it is a quality that is given by God to the spiritually advancing Christian through the filling ministry of the Holy Spirit. There is no way we can give this kind of love on our own, no application on our part will work. It is only through allowing God to complete this part of the "Faith Cycle" in our lives that it is possible.

So there it is! ("Hmm, finally!" you say) Follow these steps and you are guaranteed victory in the CWL. The only way to win the world for Christ is to show them the kind of love that God has first shown us. This is our only reason for being here. (I have to remind myself of that everyday when I walk into work.) Buck and Jeff will be with you the rest of the week, so I'll see ya'll on Saturday. I'm planning on going Old Testament...Spirit willing of course.

Add it up I

"For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" --- 2 Pet. 1:8

"Useless" and "unfruitful" are two adjectives that we should never want our name to be associated with. Why participate in an activity if you are not going to contribute? The truth is, if we are not positively contributing then we are a hindrance to those who are. Like it or not, we are all participants in the Angelic Conflict.

The phrase "if these qualities" in this verse should be a flashing neon sign for us. It points us to the qualities that we must have in order to avoid being "useless" and "unfruitful." There are seven qualities that Peter gives us, three of them require application on our part and the other four are results of continuous application of the first three. This is the "Faith Cycle" at its finest. Because this is such a lengthy subject, we will use two lessons to cover it. The second lesson will be on Monday. So let's back up and examine the first 3 qualities.

(vs. 5) "But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith VIRTUE, to virtue KNOWLEDGE, (vs. 6) to knowledge SELF CONTROL..."

As always, with everything in the Christian Way of Life (CWL), the first command we are given is to be "diligent." Diligence in the CWL is a requirement if we want to press on to maturity. The seven qualities cannot be obtained without diligence. So that is step #1. Through this diligence, Peter is telling us, in the Greek literally "in your faith provide; to bring in by the side of" the following qualities. Each of these qualities are built through the development of the previous one. It's like climbing a ladder. The goal is to reach the top, but to get there you must go up one rung at a time. Only after stepping on the first rung can you go to the next one.

1. VIRTUE --- In the Greek this word (arete) means "a virtuous course of thought" and is translated in English as "virtue." Virtue is defined by Webster as "conformity to a standard of right." Morality has no relativity, we have an absolute standard to go by. We must make a conscious decision to conform to the standard that Jesus set for us. At the point of salvation we are "new creatures" in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). We have the standard, but we must choose to conform to it. IF we choose to provide virtue, then we must provide...

2. KNOWLEDGE --- Ignorance is the absence of the knowledge of God. All knowledge worthy of knowing is that of knowing God. Many times throughout scripture we are told to "seek" God. This means we are to actively pursue Him,and this takes effort on our part. I didn't actually get to know, to be knowledgable about, the members of CrossWord until I physically spent time conversing with them individually. Now I know them better than I want to (just kidding). It is the same with God. We cannot know God unless we spend time with Him. Again, this is a decision we must make on a daily basis to study His Word. IF we provide knowledge, then we must provide...

3. SELF CONTROL --- Only through the knowledge of God, the knowing of His Word, can we have self control. Self control comes through taking the knowledge we have and applying it to individual situations we encounter during our daily walk. It's making decisions that are consistent with the standard that Jesus has set for us. Knowledge itself is a great to have, but without the application of that knowledge it is "useless" and "unfruitful" in the CWL.

Knowledge without application is like the membership I have to SportsFirst. I have the membership card on my key ring, which allows me access to their facilities, but unless I actually go to SportsFirst and work out, I am not utilizing what that card has to offer me. Thats the only reason I have the card. Just having the membership does me no good, and that $47.00 magically disappears from my checking account every month. Dang, now I gotta go work out because I'm convicted of being "unfruitful".

It is important to note that these qualities must be "increasing," which they will be as long as we are advancing. In other words, the more we press on to maturity, the more we will find these qualities being evident in our lives.

We will examine the next four qualities on Monday. I hope I didn't scare you off today because this is the hard part. This is the "applying" portion of the "Faith Cycle." The last step in the Cycle, "Allowing God to Complete" will be next. If you properly develop these first three, the next four will automatically become evident.